Sweet Apple Acres

"Ranch Hands"

1. Sweet Apple Acres

"A ranch? You have to be kidding me, Twilight," I spat rudely as her smile contorted into a forced one. "Why would I willingly spend my spring break smelling horse manure?"

“Come on, your last chance to qualify for the city championship is just after spring break, if you guys can't pick it up that game will mark the end of the season. None of the other members of the team seem to have such a negative opinion of the idea,” she responded politely, letting me have a little fit and groan obnoxiously about it.

"They don't have many opinions at all if you ask me," I remarked, which was true. The only opinion I knew all of them shared was their misogyny. "Come on Twilight, when I voted you in for team manager I thought you'd have some better ideas than this."

"Voted me in? You put in a good word for me with the coach, but I like to think I got in of my own merit, thank you," Twilight snapped at me, and I could tell I had hurt her feelings a bit. "The school already paid the deposit, it's happening Rainbow Dash." I hated when she said my name like that, all serious and disappointed like she was my mother or something. "Deal with it."

"But Twilight—" I tried to talk rationally to her, but she turned suddenly and stormed off, leaving me standing there feeling like a jerk. I sighed a bit and ran my fingers through my myriad-of-hues hair nonchalantly. "Don't expect me to like it!" I found myself yelling as I growled again and stormed off myself.

She was a good team manager, I'd give her that. I never had a problem with her until then, though I could understand that she was just trying to do something nice for us. It was no secret that I had been on edge lately, but who could blame me? The whole team seemed to hate me because I was the only girl in the whole bunch. What could I do about that? There wasn't enough girls interested in forming a girls soccer team, so I had to join the boys'. It was humiliating enough, especially when I was a better player than every one of them, but having them constantly making remarks? It was always, 'Don't break a nail', or 'Careful, it's muddy, don't want to get your dress wet', like I ever, ever wore a dress. Jerks.

Still, Twilight insisted that we needed some kind of bonding retreat or something, which is how she got the idea to send us on a trip for spring break. If it meant actually winning games I didn't score every single goal in, I was all for it I guess. We had fund raised for weeks for a spring break trip: bake sales, car washes (which I had skipped out on, knowing what the remarks would have been then), movie nights, you name it. I don't know why I cared really, this was my graduating year and I should be able to have one hell of a going-away spring break. Still, no college recruiters would ever look for a star player on a losing team, so I got the idea well enough. Anyway, the closer it got to the trip, the more I realized there was no way out of it. Twilight had even gone and told my parents about it, so they forced me to go just the same. Served me right for being close friends with my malicious team manager.

I leaned against the other side of the school bus, arms crossed in defiance. I could hear the rowdy guys getting on the bus and stomping around, shaking the whole thing. The worst part was I kind of wished I was in there, that I could joke around and be friendly with the guys. I let my head fall back and tap against the cool orange metal, and though I could feel my multi-coloured hair nestling uncomfortably close to bolts, I didn't care.

There was little hope of getting out of this, Twilight always had a check-list and marked off everyone's names as they boarded, she'd know I wasn't on yet. Well, I smirked as I remembered that she had already put my bag under the seats in the storage compartment of the bus, if she was going to make me go I was going to make a good time of it. I had packed some insurance deep inside my clothes; it was my final spring break after all, nothing wrong with letting a little loose.

"Rainbow!" my name rung out in this annoyingly loud and high-pitched voice, dragging on for seconds too long until I looked at the source of it.

"Sheesh, Pinkie I'll be gone for like a week, chill out," I said to her as I pried myself off the side of the bus and approached her. "You guys better put a leash on her while I'm gone," I told our friends, who came out after Pinkie to say their farewells.

"Only a week? But Rainbow, what if there's a horrible crash?!" Pinkie kept on, and the meek girl beside her gasped.

"Crash?" Fluttershy's timid voice was barely heard beneath Pinkie's rants.

"What if your body is mangled in the explosion—" she started, and I tried to cut it short.

"Explosion? Who said anything about—" she wouldn't let me get much of a word in.

"What if you have to be scraped up off the road, and they take you to a hospital far away, and the three of us rush to your side to say our goodbyes, but by the time you arrive you already died and we never see you or talk to you again!" Pinkie hardly paused for a breath. "So, determined to see you off, I have to find some mystic shaman and concoct a secret time potion, but to make it work I have to sell my soul for the chance—"

"Enough already, you're freaking me out. I'll be fine, okay?" I knocked her a nudge on the shoulder, and she seemed to relax a bit and get back to her old happy-go-lucky self. "I bet that the only thing that'll change is one of those guys will have a broken bone, courtesy of yours truly."

"Do try to have fun, at least?" my third friend spoke up at last, though she was never good with goodbyes. "I don't know how you possibly could, what with all those ruffians on some muddy farm."

"I'm sure I'll live." I smirked again as the three of them gave me supportive smiles. "It's just too bad you guys can't come with me, Rarity on a farm would be one hell of a sight," I teased as she pouted about the remark.

"Well," Fluttershy squeaked in again. "I'm volunteering at the animal shelter again this year, they said they'll give me a good reference on my resume."

"Yes and I will be hosting the débutante ball at my house again," Rarity tried to act modest, but we knew she was more than proud of it.

"What are you girls talking about?!" Pinkie all but screamed as we cringed, though really we should have been used to it by now. "I'm going to party all week long!"

"Yeah, I'm sure you will Pinkie." I shook my head, though I knew it was probably true. I found myself expelling a slow breath of air, trying to hold the comfortable moment for just a bit longer.

"Rainbow Dash." I jolted as I heard Twilight's voice from a ways behind me. "Get on the bus, we can't wait all day. And here I thought you were the fastest one on the team?"

"Then I guess you haven't heard Snails in the locker room when he thinks no one is around," I called back, and I heard some laughter and defensive wailing. I gestured for the other girls to follow me and made my way back to the bus. "Is this really what you wanted to do on your spring break, Twi?" I asked her as my hands slipped into my pockets. "I thought you'd have a reading list ten feet long."

"Oh don't worry Rainbow." She stepped off the bus and folded the clipboard under her arms. "Its never a good time without some reading material, I brought my notebooks to study for exams while I'm at it. No need to waste precious time, right?"

"Yeah, right." I felt like busting her chops about it, but remained silent until I came right up to the bus doors. "Guess I'll see you girls later."

"Have fun Rainbow! Fluttershy and I will tell you all about our parties when you get back, maybe we'll even save you some fun!" Pinkie pulled the shy girl into an embrace, and she tensed up as usual.

"Me? Why me too?" Fluttershy asked gingerly.

"Oh come on, I know the animal shelter closes at like five, that leaves plenty of time to spend with your dear friend Pinkie!" she squealed and jumped around a bit.

"I suppose I'll see you in a week, dear Rainbow Dash. Do take care of her, Twilight," Rarity added with a flip of her self-proclaimed gorgeous hair. I merely stuck my tongue out at her. "I expect to meet the man of my dreams at the ball, so do not be surprised if you come home to find me a changed woman."

"Pinkie, I think Rarity wants to party a bit this week too, don't forget to drag her along." I grinned as I grabbed the handle on the bus door and pulled myself up the stairs with a lazy wave.

"The more the merrier!" I heard her crying out and Rarity making some offended noises as Pinkie Pie hugged her too. "See you Rainbow! Bye-bye Twilight!"

I heard them say their farewells to Twilight as I swung around and sat near to the front of the bus. There was no way I was about to sit in the back with those Neanderthals, no way no how. I peeked out of the window to watch them finish up their hugs and let Twilight get on the bus. It kind of made me smile, seeing them all together. I'd hate to admit but I'd miss them all, we'd all been so busy with our graduation preparations that it'd been a while since we were all together.

I leaned back into the uncomfortable, squeaky leather seat and tried to make room for my legs. The bus doors closed behind Twilight and she pulled out the clipboard once more, doing another scan of the bus to be certain everyone was on board. Our coach sat up by the front too, but you could tell he really didn't care if anyone was skipping out. These guys were more than enough to handle for one person, we all knew that. He'd have his hands full all week.

I fell asleep time and time again on the road, I don't know how Twilight could keep her eyes open staring at that book the whole way. I would sometimes leaned over the seat in front of me and look over her shoulder, try to strike up a conversation or something, but I ran out of things to say pretty quick. It seemed every five minutes the coach had to get up and tell the guys to shut up or quit fighting, they sure were a mess.

I leaned against the cool glass of the window, watching the hills and buildings disappear gradually. I heard the guys say my name a couple times, and could barely resist the urge to look back and glare at them. They never picked on Twilight like that, but then again, how could they? If they messed with her, someone could get a pink slip or worse, a pink uniform. She had control over the equipment, no one wanted to mess with that kind of power. That didn't keep them from saying things behind her back of course, the whole school had it out for her because of her attachment to books, the only thing that kept her from knowing about it was my iron fist. Anyone who messed with Twilight, or the rest of our gang for that matter, had to deal with me. And I was no pushover.

I sat up a bit as we turned suddenly, something we hadn't done in about an hour I'd gauge. We slowed down a bit as the gravel kicked up from the tires, and drove under this great arch of a sign that read "Sweet Apple Acres". From my guess, this was the place. Twilight looked up too, and finally closed her book before her fingers might have frozen up in that position.

We pulled up sideways to the whole place, and I could see all kinds of old barn structures and fences. This elderly lady was already on her way to greet us, though at that speed it might take a minute or two to reach us. The bus doors opened, and I stood up at long last, stretching my arms. I dodged out into the aisle and made my way to the front, getting a mouth full of that dry, dusty air as I did. I could feel the heat just groping into the bus, and wanted to go and sit back down. Not that it was cool in the bus, but with the windows open the wind sure did keep us happy on the ride here.

"Move it, Rainbow Crash." The guy behind me shoved me, sending me stumbling off the bus and almost falling to the ground. I caught myself in time though, and had a tickling urge to deck the fool who put his hands on me. I didn't though, I just scoffed and stood by the side of the bus by myself again.

"Rainbow Crash, yeah real original guys, only been using that one since kindergarten," I complained mostly to myself as I rolled my sleeves up my arms and tucked my bright hair behind my ears.

The elderly lady finally reached us and had to take a break as she caught her breath. Luckily, the guys were being immature and pushing each other instead of getting off the bus and gathering around, so she had plenty of time. The bus driver came around and unlocked the cargo compartment, so I had to move out of the way. I ended up standing near Twilight, who had already gone and greeted the old lady. Having arranged the whole thing, Twilight must have spoken to the lady sometime before. Finally, Twilight got everyone's attention by standing in front of them all and the coach got them all to shut up with threats of discipline.

"Welcome y'all to Sweet Apple Acres, folks 'round here call me Granny Smith," the elderly lady shook as she spoke, and leaned heavily on her cane.

"I wonder why," I heard one of the guys whisper, and I just rolled my eyes.

"Ya'll'll mostly be dealin' with m' grandson Big McIntosh, he's th' strappin' young fella who's gettin' yer bags out f'r ya." She couldn't do much of a gesture, so we all just sort of looked back at the bus to see him unpacking the bags from the cargo hold. It was no wonder they called him Big McIntosh, the guy was a titan. I guess ranches did require a lot of work, or at least I'd think so. "My granddaughter's 'round 'ere somew're too, oh Mac where'd that girl scamper off t'?"

"Got me," he shrugged as he replied in this deep, intimidating voice.

"Oh well, I'll g' get dinner ready. Hope y'all like buffalo stew." The elderly lady had already turned around and started walking to the ranch house as she babbled on.

"Can't say I've ever had it," I murmured to myself and crossed my arms tightly again.

"Al'right then," Big McIntosh's voice boomed again as he came around the group of us and stood straight before us. "Grab yer bags and I'll take y'all to the loggin's."

I grabbed my dufflebag and slung it over my shoulder, the mass tipping me a bit. I shrugged the weight around until it was comfortable and waited for the rest of the guys to grab their things, my foot tapping impatiently all the while. I saw Twilight grab her bag last, after checking to be certain everyone already had their own. Hers was a dull purple of course, but looked to be stuffed to the bones. She dragged it across the dirt and gravel a bit until she came up beside me, smiling as if she was excited about this whole thing. I could barely mirror a fake expression of my own, but did my best not to drag her down. Her bag seemed to be doing a good job of that already. The large country man came up beside her though and spoke right to her.

"Lemme get that for ya little miss," he offered as he reached out, letting her release her hold on it before he hoisted it up like it was full of crumpled newspaper.

"Oh, well, thank you." She sort of blushed a bit in embarrassment but let him carry it.

"Eeyup." He graciously accepted the thanks and led us along to the loggings, which was this great long cabin on the other side of the ranch house from what I could see.

The ranch sure was something, in every direction the land seemed to go on until the Earth sloped, disappearing into the horizon. There were crop fields, stables, pens, and this great red barn a little ways away. I could hear all kinds of animals too, and winds in the trees, but otherwise it was a lot quieter than I was accustomed to. The gravel beneath our feet shook and was kicked roughly around, and I found it a bit difficult to step. After all, my feet were used to grass and concrete, not dirt and gravel. On the way to the loggings, we passed this little shed which had it's door wide open. I tried to look in, but Big Mac started talking before we had come around enough to see.

"Ah, there she is. That's my little sis," he spoke as she came into view, and I was surprised at how normal she looked. She had this long blonde hair done up in a loose pony tail, tanned skin and freckles all over. She looked at us as she heard Big McIntosh speaking, and she dropped my metaphorical jaw with her stunningly symmetrical visage. "Say hey there, A.J."

"Howdy y'all, I'm Applejack, but you can just call me A.J., just a sec now," she said as she finished up whatever she was doing and closed the shed up behind her, showing us the dusty back of her jeans as she did. I usually wasn't so quick to notice things like that about a girl, but with all the guys around me snorting rude comments, it was hard to avoid.

"Cut me a slice of that Apple pie," I heard from the group, and made a weird face about such a thing to say. "Maybe this ranch wasn't such a bad idea," came next and, "Check that out." Twilight avoided the confrontation of telling them off, but I could tell she heard them too and it made her just as uncomfortable. "Southern comforts, as they say. That country girl sure is fine."

Worst part was, they were right. They were damn right. She turned back around and came over to us, tipping her cowboy hat back on her head to let the sun caress her face. I found myself angry with her that she had me looking at her like that, or maybe I was angry with myself. I must have just been jealous, no one ever said that kind of stuff to me no matter if it was rude. Whatever the case, I sort of snorted a bit and looked away, waiting for us to get a move on it.

"Al'right y'all, Big Mac's gonna take you to yer rooms." She went over to her brother and he handed the bag he was carrying to her, which she just as easily hauled. "Just drop of yer stuff and come on back out. You can unpack later. You girls," she addressed us and I twitched a bit at the attention. "Yer comin' with me."

"Lucky," someone whispered in a hush, and for a second I thought it might have been the coach's voice. But that probably wasn't the case.

"Come on now, don't be shy." She smiled and winked directly at me as she gestured for me to follow after her. I couldn't help but look right in her gleaming green eyes as she did, before obeying in a less than enthusiastic way.

"Nice to finally meet you Applejack, I'm Twilight Sparkle, we spoke on the phone. This is Rainbow Dash, a good friend of mine." Twilight walked up beside this rancher girl and shook her hand, though I could tell Applejack's shake was overly friendly and a little rough.

"Yea', I remember you." She nodded firmly before going on, "So what brings you two 'round these parts? I can't imagine most girls wantin' to spend their spring breaks out on a ranch."

"Not by choice, I'll tell you." I murmured grouchily as I adjusted my bag on my shoulder a bit and focused on looking around the ranch more than this stranger.

"Ah shoot, well we sure are glad to have ya. We'll take good care of ya, promise." I felt her looking at me again and it made the heat feel worse. "If ya need anything, just go ahead and ask. I'll be around."

"Thank you so much, Applejack," Twilight said in a friendly manner as we stepped into the far door of the loggings, the opposite end from where the boys entered.

"Nothin' doin'. Now, we only have the one buildin' for our guests, so I hope you don't mind bein' so close to your team mates," she explained as she held the door open for me. "They're at the other end, but the main hall goes all the way down to either entrance and the common room is free to all of ya. You two are lucky." She smiled as she stopped at the first couple of doors. "The rest of the guys have to bunk together, but seeing as how you're on this end all alone, you can have yer own rooms."

"Sweet." I was glad to finally hear some good news, and I pushed open the door to one of the rooms, finding two bunk beds, one on each side. I could pick any bunk I wanted, which was awesome.

"Toss yer things in there and get on back outside so we can show you the grounds," Applejack called to me from the next room as she put Twilights bag in there. "This'll be yer home for the next few days, hope y'all enjoy yourselves. Come on out when you're ready."

"You got it," I said as I watched her leave, kicking the screen door open before stepping back out into the sunshine. I waited for a moment before I said anything more, making certain she was out of earshot, "Hey, Twilight, did you catch that at all?"

"Catch what?" she asked me sceptically, seemingly already knowing what I was going to say.

"That girl, she was totally sweet on you, didn't you notice?" I poked at her, leaving my room and intruding on hers.

"Oh cut the crap. You're crazy Rainbow Dash, she did nothing of the sort. What's with you, anyway? She was just being friendly, to both of us," she corrected me sternly, making sure I understood. I crossed my arms and acted angry. I knew I was just blowing smoke, but for some reason I felt on edge, and needed someone to blame. I pouted a bit as Twilight finished moving her stuff around and inspecting her room. "Now come on, we don't want to be rude."

"Whatever you say, Twilight," I agreed with a sigh and let her pass me before following her out the back door.

"Come on Rainbow Dash, cheer up, would you?" She pulled me along despite my grumblings and led me back to where we were supposed to meet the rest of the team.

There she was again, just standing next to her brother chatting him up. I could hardly make out much of her silhouette though, the sun was so bright above her and the sky was so blue it was as though I was blind. I shielded my eyes with my hand as we approached the pair, and without provocation they noticed us. The tip of the some tall water-tower-looking contraption finally took the sun away and I could see her once more, her freckles do-si-doing out of the way so her slightly dimpled smile could shine out. She gave us a courteous tip of her hat, though I don't know why since we saw her but two minutes ago. I let my hands stretch my pockets even though my palms sweated profusely in the heat.

"Hey again," she said out of the side of her smile, keeping the whole expression afloat. "I trust y'all found everything all right."

"Absolutely," Twilight replied for the both of us, shoving me a bit to be less of a downer.

"Come on out, y'all," she called to the rest of the team, who of course hurried out as if they were sprinting from their rooms.

It still irked me, how upset it made me. I knew I was competitive, hell, I loved to be first. She just made me feel, like, jealous. It was stupid. Anyway, the rest of the guys finally piled out, and they hung on ever damn word to boot.

"Now, who's up fer some ranchin'?" Applejack asked as her hands locked onto her angled hips, raising her chin in question. I looked over my shoulder as every single guy around me had their hands way up. I smirked, I knew what kind of business they were running around here, keeping this girl around. It was obvious. "Good, Big Mac here'll take you to the stables whenever yer ready."

I almost spat out a laugh when I felt the mood shift to disappointment around me. Men sure were predictable.

She must have had some work to do, because she took off before the rest of us, and though most of the guys seemed to want to follow her, Big McIntosh was well aware of their desires. He was no one to be fooled when it came to his sister, I could tell. He took us around the farm first, giving us short introductions to the facilities and the buildings before he took us around to the stables. From what I could tell, it was just the three of them running the whole place. They must have kept busy.

I didn't really want to see the horses up close like everyone else, so I waited by this fence that encircled some kind of riding area. Even Twilight seemed to be interested, and Big McIntosh led three horses out of the stables, offering rides. Some guys must have thought it was a joke, or thought they'd show off or something. Fall off was more like it, I was glad to simply be watching them all make fools of themselves.

Behind me was the barn, and from what I could tell from our tour it was mostly empty except for the hay around the sides, all stacked in big square bales or mounds. Sure, there were pitch forks and wheel barrows and that sort of stuff, but otherwise it was vacant. Looked cool to me though. Anyway, I was just watching my team mates fall on their faces or struggle to get control of the horses, when I heard a noise form behind me in the barn.

"You don't wanna ride?" I heard her voice again and it almost startled me. I looked back at her, watching her bend over and move some loose hay away from a couple of bales.

"It's not really my thing," I admitted with a shrug, letting her get back to whatever she was doing as I looked out at my team. For a moment anyway, before I felt like I was compelled to speak, "You always get this many people here?"

"This many? Nah, business has been slow as of late," she made conversation as she grunted a bit to move some stuff around—I don't know, I wasn't watching. "Sure is nice to have y'all here."

"What are you doing, anyway?" I finally asked as I looked at her, watching her feel around the hay to get some kind of a grip on one of the smaller square bales.

"I gotta feed the horses, we keep these smaller hay bales here to keep em dry, use 'em as fodder for the animals," she explained to me as she got enough of a grip to lift the whole thing up. It was pretty big though, and from the way she struggled to get a better grip, it looked like it was going to knock her over.

"Well don't hurt yourself there." I smirked and poked at her buttons, pushing off the fence and going over to the girl. "What's wrong? It's just hay."

"It's a lotta hay, lots of light things can make one big heavy one, you know," she told me simply as she turned around and carried the hay a few steps. I snarled at her though, that comment rubbing me wrong.

"You calling me dumb? At least I don't break a sweat carrying grass," I snapped, trying to take a shot at her. She just sort of raised her eyebrow at me, though her tone was not entirely care free.

"Yeesh, what's with the hostility? Y'think you can carry this to the stables, then?" she asked, stepping towards me and looking over the compressed bundle of dried grass and straw.

"As a matter of fact," I started, when she shoved the whole thing into my arms and let it go.

I let out a surprised yelp as I caught the thing on my finger tips, trying desperately to move my hands around to get a grip. Applejack smirked at me then, seeing the way my knees were buckling. She sighed a bit and put her elbow onto the bale, leaning in as I squatted a bit, the weight pulling me down. I couldn't see her other hand, but the one that sat on the weight nearly broke my arms.

"Honey, you city folk don't know nothin' 'bout hard work, it ain't about showin' off, trust me," she told me as she leaned closer, her plaid shirt open loose around her chest teasingly blowing in the breeze. I could feel my eyes dart back and forth before I got a hold of myself.

"You trying to pick a fight with me?" I struggled to say with conviction, too focused on keeping the bale off the ground. She didn't seem that angry with me though.

"Nah I ain't," sounded sincere, and her gentle expression made me all the more vindictive. "I don't know what bee has got up yer boxers, but you should let him sting ya and move on."

She put her other hand back under the hay and picked the whole thing up again, walking away from the situation in a damn stride. I gawked at her, watching her hips sway easily as she carried the armful to the stables without so much as another word. I snorted again, feeling the stares of my team mates and Twilight as they looked on from a long few yards away.

"What does that even mean?!" I put my hand to my mouth and called after her, but she didn't reply.

Slowly I let my hand slip back to my side, and went back to leaning on the fence like I wanted to push it over. I rested my chin on my crossed hands, breathing out such a deep sigh I thought the dust by my feet might get kicked up. I must have just been stressed out or something, letting her get to me like that.

On Quick Hooves

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2. On Quick Hooves

"I don't know what her deal is," I spat, pacing around the living room in a bit of a huff. It wasn't what I was accustomed to doing, nah, I didn't usually get so wound up. But this girl, she must have had something real rotten against me. "It ain't like I did her wrong or somethin', I barely know her for Pete's sake."

"Ah, Applejack don't be so hard on her, you just said you don't know much about her. Ain't it possible something's been troublin' the poor girl and she's just all bent outta shape about it, same as you?" Granny Smith tried to tell me, and I suppose it made sense enough. But that really was a lousy reason best I could see.

"That ain't no excuse for her rudeness, Granny," I said in a groan, trying to cool off about it. "I don't know, maybe I'm overreactin' or somethin'." I stopped pacing about for a second to take a good look at myself, and it came around right easy for me to understand. I put my hand to my forehead and forfeited my pride. "Ah, shucks, I am ain't it? Al'right, al'right, I'll apologize or somethin' next I see of her. But if she don't take it or keeps up that act, I ain't gonna stand for it, y'hear?"

"What? Sorry baby girl I musta drifted off, what were ya sayin'?" She squinted to look at me and babbled something awful. At first I thought it was cute, but now it was getting pretty troubling. Granny never did slow down too much, but all that hard work and dedication seemed to be taking its toll whether she liked it or not.

"Nothin' Granny." I shook it off and gave her a smile. "Thanks. I'll go check on dinner, they'll be comin' in soon."

"Who will?" she asked as she rocked back on her rocker and didn't bother looking right at me. I just sort of kept up my smile and took off, I wasn't about to explain it all again.

I came into the kitchen and checked each and every pot of stew, stirring them to the bottom to make sure Granny hadn't left them on too long and burnt the pots. I took the liberty of sneaking a taste myself, I did love the way Granny cooked when she had people over. And heavens, I was not disappointed. I took over the rest of the kitchen myself, baking the bread and rolling in the barrels of cider for the guests. The last thing to do was finish setting the table, which I would have left for my little sister if I wasn't so preoccupied cooking I forgot to call her down to help out.

I gathered enough dishes and silverware to set the table for the vast amount of guests we had, and it was barely enough let me tell you. I set it all out as usual, Big Mac at one end and me at the other. Granny was probably too tired to stay up for dinner, she wasn't much for the big crowds now anyway. I turned all the stove tops off at last, removing my oven mitts and approaching the bell we had on the window in the kitchen. I reached up and yanked the chain, sending this echoing ringing sound all across the farm.

"Soups on, everybody, get on down to the ranch house if yer hungry!" I called out before closing the window up before any mosquitoes found their way in.

I wasn't about to give a second call, so instead I moved some on the pots off the stove and over to the service area. I heard the screen door pull open, and I already knew it was; Big Mac was always the first one in to eat.

I swerved my body half out into the dinning room and called out, "I hope you're hungry." But to my surprise, it was not my big brother. It was that same rainbow-haired girl, with that usual scowl. I could tell she was not too keen on being alone in a room with me much either, as we just stood opposite each other and stared for a few seconds. I didn't let it get to me, of course. "Pull up a chair, honey."

I turned back into the kitchen to finish peeling some apples when I heard the rest of them coming in. The boys were loud enough to be heard from across the farm surely, and as they came in I just shook my head a bit and rolled my eyes. The folks that visited my farm come and go sure as the seasons, all looking and thinking they're something special, all too fickle as the last. They think that since they're men they can just step into some leather boots and carry on around the farm better than any girl like me, but they had another thing coming. Farming and manual labour wasn't just something that came along with any equipment, I knew that for darn sure.

I cut up the apples into slices and put in the pies before I decided to poke my head out. The table was getting full all right, and I could tell Big Mac was having quite the time talking sports and such with the guys, but seeing me there he stood up immediately. He came on over and I sighed to myself, sometimes he was just too sweet and loyal.

"Hey sis, you need any help in here?" he asked he as he leaned against the door frame, taking in the smell just as I did when I first walked in.

"Ah, no way no how Mac, get on out there already, I'm just about to serve it up. Those boys look hungry, better get yourself a big helping before it's all gone," I told him with a grin, pushing him out of the kitchen despite his continuing protests.

Seeing as how most everyone was here already, I decided it would be best to start bringing the food out already. First I took out the bread of course, along with the tossed salad which I was not surprised went all but untouched. I grabbed a couple of baskets and placed them around the table, happy to see that my little sister Apple Bloom had saved me my usual seat at the head of the table closest to the kitchen. Unfortunately, she had let that Rainbow Dash girl sit right up next to it. I could have sworn she must have known those things and done them on purpose. I just smiled at her though, playing friendly as usual. I went back into the kitchen to get the stew, taking one relaxing breath before returning.

I faked a smile as I came back out and started with the end of the table closest to the kitchen, where I always began. I fished Apple Bloom a nice big ladle full of mostly vegetables, knowing she'd have to eat them in front of all these people instead of causing a tantrum. She obviously knew my tactics, as she glared at me while I poured it into her bowl. I skipped myself at the head of course, I wasn't sitting down any time soon so I could wait. Next in the line though was just who I didn't quite want to serve. I tried to keep on as if nothing was wrong leaning around her with a meaty spoon full and slowly pouring it as if not to splash.

I felt her annoyed gaze on me, her half-lidded eyes glaring at me from her seat like I was the devil himself. I just smiled easily at her, letting her know that her vicious hostility would just wash right off of me. I must have spent a bit too long pouring her portion, because next I knew all eyes were on me and from what I could tell, our close vicinity was heating the air between us. I laughed it off subtly and went on to the next guest, Rainbow's friend Twilight. She was very polite about it, picking up her bowl and bringing it over as to make it easier for me to fill. I flashed her that same old smile and kept along, letting the stew wane as stomachs were filled.

It ain't like I didn't know how people looked at me, the hot weather made it impossible for me to keep my shirt done all the way up, despite my will to do so. And I could tell when I bent down to distribute rations that they were lingering, and I hated every second of it. I mean, it was like these guys thought being on vacation made them exempt from punishment. I mostly just dropped the food into their bowls, not that they gave much of a darn any who. The whole time though, the stare that made me most uncomfortable was that of the girl Rainbow Dash, who just sort of watched. I couldn't help but return the gaze once in a while, but every time she looked like she was bored or waiting for something. And every time that I would get kinda peeved about it and look elsewhere, something would have me turning back. Anyway, I finished serving the whole group and since they already had their cider and all, I pulled up a chair for myself.

The stew smelled great, still hot and steaming and everything. I blew on it a few times, inspecting the spoon full to be sure it was the perfect scoop of everything I wanted all at once, before I brought it close to my lips. It never made it there, which is as much as I should have expected. I jolted a bit as I felt the sharp pain in my leg, causing me to drop the spoonful back into the bowl. I passed a shocked expression on the the girl sitting next to me, already having a predisposition that she was the offender. To my surprise, she didn't even own up to it, just sat there moving the stew around in her bowl like she was none the wiser.

I almost growled at her, but decided to take the high road and scoop another spoonful again, bringing it even closer to my mouth. But once again, the table jerked suddenly, followed shortly after by another swift kick to my shin. I glared at the Rainbow haired girl beside me, who now was giving me a mimic of my own expression. I dropped my spoon that time, giving her little grumpy fit its fair due of attention. I drew my own foot back a step, ready to unleash just what kind of retaliation was necessary. However, I was stopped not by another menacing attack, but by a small, girlish giggle that came from the opposite side of me. I turned and looked at the young girl, only to see her holding her mouth as if she just might burst. I had seen that guilty expression before, and smirked at her knowingly.

"Ah shoot Apple Bloom, you're messing with us, ain't cha?" I said with a grin as she tried to hide it, but inevitably gave herself up with another fit of giggles. "Get over here, you're gonna pay for that one."

"Sis, lemme go!" she cried out as I grabbed her and messed her hair up noticeably, giving no heed to her weak little squirms. I looked up at the girl I had once called my foe and smiled gently, finding her casual smirk something of an admission of innocence. She just shrugged the same, going on to swallow a scoop of her own stew.

"No harm no foul, don't cha think?" I spoke to her, and she seemed to agree. Sharing a mutual laugh, the two of us went back to our dinners, but not without a challenging stare or two along the way. It was all in good fun of course, the mood had indeed been lightened.

After dinner I gathered up all the dishes and put them in the sink as usual, after the display Apple Bloom had put on she'd be the one doing them. Not that I was angry with her, but I myself didn't want to be doing to dishes, I'll tell you that much. The guests all filed out at once, going back to their rooms to unpack and get some shut eye I imagine. I stood by the kitchen doorway and watched them all leave, knocking the door open roughly and going into the darkening sky. I didn't have any time to linger on trying for an apology with the Rainbow haired girl, she left too quickly and I had my own chores. I cleaned up the table and made sure everything was all locked up before I would let myself got to bed, I had a busy day scheduled for tomorrow. I mean, I had to actually go about dealing with our guests in person, a daunting task far as I could tell. Girl so worked as myself, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I had plenty to get ready for the next day, I was well aware of that every second as I lay in bed asleep. Finally the rooster came around calling and I was up at the crack of dawn, checking on the animals first as usual. Big Mac was already up bright and early too, he was usually up before anyone except maybe Granny, who was awake most often just for the heck of it. She still did her part around the farm, but she wasn't quite as quick or spry as she once was, so Big Mac and I did anything she asked of us. Today was the day that we were to take some of the group riding down by the creek. Usually Big Mac does the rides, but since we had such a large amount of guests for once I had to step in to offer a hand in controlling them. Didn't bother me much, most of the time they'd get tired or bored in the first ten minutes any who.

"All right, saddles are on. Wanna bring em in, Mac?" I asked my brother as I finished tying the last saddle on nice and tight.

I could tell not everyone was present, which was entirely expected. The rest of them were probably either still asleep in their rooms or playing cards in the community hall. It was something of an annoyance really, I mean folks come all the way out here and pay good money for an experience, but spend the whole time in their rooms. Guess they were all just afraid of looking like fools. I was surprised to see one somewhat friendly face there, her multi-coloured hair something of a spotlight on her head. From what I could tell, she was being dragged along by that Twilight girl. At least she was there, I guess, willing or not.

The horses were still kept in their pens for the time being, we didn't want them all out at once and getting spooked or something around all these strangers. I cleared my throat a bit and stepped out in front of the lot of them, my hard leather boots crunching the loose straw about.

"Good mornin', I trust y'all slept well," It might have been a question, but no one went to answer. "My brother and I are gonna take you out for a ride, so step up one by one and we'll get cha set up with a horse. Those of you who tried it out yesterday please move up first."

I let Big Mac set most of them up, as a girl and all I thought it might be a bit awkward for me to help the guys onto their horses. It could be a bit emasculating for the most of them, so instead I took Twilight over to my most timid horse and set them up together. I knew they'd be a good match, Twilight seemed to be good at leading, and her horse was one of the most obedient we had. She was also an older horse, much less likely to cause to girl trouble or get startled by anything. I put her in a helmet just in case though, I think we both felt safer that way. Once I taught her how to guide her horse around a bit I turned back to take a gander at the rest of them. Big Mac sure was good at teaching new fellows and taking control if anything went wrong, that's why this was usually his duty. But even from here I could see Rainbow Dash sulking a bit off to the side, acting too cool for any of this.

"Hey, Rainbow, was it?" I called her over, and she reluctantly came over to me with that same arrogant attitude still in hand. "Somethin' tells me you're not too keen on this whole riding thing, are ya?"

"What gave me away?" She sort of smirked about it, but I was not about to let her off the hook quite so easily. I took her by the elbow and led her to the front of the pens, to the horse I thought might suit her the best.

"This here's Blaze," I told her as I brought them together, watching the way they sized each other up. "He's one of our fastest rides, built like a truck and a bit of a wild card." I smiled as I saw her eyes settle on him, flickering a bit with anticipation. "But I think you can handle him, don't you?"

"How bad could it be?" She shrugged and passively agreed to it, letting me open the gate and guide him out before she decided to get too near.

"Just go up to him slowly, leave your hands at your sides like you intend him no harm, and don't stare in his eye or nothin'." She did as I told her and came up to the side of him. "Here."

I took her hand and guided it to Blaze, placing it on his side and letting her slowly extend her fingers comfortably under mine. I moved her hand slowly against his coat, letting the two of them meet and feel each others' rhythms. Rainbow still didn't make to move at all, and I had an irking feeling she was looking at me instead of Blaze, maybe for more guidance or something. I had to give her a bit of a push.

"He won't bite or nothing, try climbing up. Put your foot here in the stirrups, that's right, now hoist yourself up and swing over in one smooth motion." I put my hands on my hips as I watched Rainbow feeling the leather of the saddle. "My, my, looks to me like Blaze here is takin' mighty kindly to ya."

"How could he not?" She grinned as she felt his coat again, going nice and easy with it.

I quickly told her a little about his cues, what he liked and didn't like and a few instructions about movement and control, but she really didn't seem to listen. I let her take him out and into the riding area before checking on Twilight again. By then most of Big Mac's trainees were getting the hang of it, and so I went and found my own horse. I always rode her, no one quite responded to me better and she was brave as could be.

I pressed my hand against her orange fur and let her know I was getting up before swinging up without an issue. I grabbed her reins and let her out to the others as my brother finished up with the boys and made certain the rest of the pens were all locked up. His horse was so deeply coloured he might have even looked red in a good light, one of the strongest horses we had and the very one we had to pull the plough. I rode up in front of them all and did a quick inspection to be sure no one was holding on wrong or sitting uneasily.

"Al'right, I'll ride up front and Mac will stay at the rear. If you want to turn tail at any time, do so in a group so we don't have to hang back waitin' for y'all. Got it?" I ordered, and they all just sort of nodded at me speechlessly. I could already feel that most of them wouldn't make it out of the riding area, they were too nervous or disinterested or what have you.

I was right of course, the most of them didn't take nothing seriously enough to follow through, and once a good lot of them quit the rest were following easily. Big Mac already took a load of them back while we moseyed along the farm trail, and had returned for another straggling bunch. I stuck mostly beside Twilight, making sure she was doing all right. I knew she was nervous, but that didn't stop her at all. Rainbow didn't need much or any supervision, she was a fast learner and her and Blaze seemed to have been a perfect match. We had been out there for quite some time, and looking back I saw that most everyone was baking in the sun and willing to turn back.

"Anyone else want to go back to the farm, yet?" I called out, and I could see it in their faces for sure. Before any of them got much of a chance to respond, Rainbow Dash said something from right beside me.

"I'm no quitter, this is nothing," she said lazily as she leaned back in the saddle, yawning like she was bored.

I did like her tenacity, sure, but dragging the rest of the group along wasn't mighty kind of us. Hearing her proclamation, no one else opened their mouths about it. I suppose a little friendly competition within their group was healthy and all, but I would have felt bad if I was keeping Twilight out just because she wanted to support her friend.

"This is gonna be a long day, ain't it?" I sighed those words as I looked back at my rainbow-skulled company. I was trying to give her a hint, but she had another way around it.

"Then why not make it a bit more interesting?" I heard her speak and it made my heart race, whatever it was had me excited to know. I raised my eyebrow in question and waited for her to go on. "How about a race, just for kicks. What do you say?"

"Race?" I thought about it, leaving all the others in the dust might give them a chance to cool off or ask Big Mac to take them back without looking weak in front of the only female member of their team. It might just work. "I say you're on, sugar cube. First one to reach the far fence sound all right?"

"Better grab those reins if you want to have a chance!" She galloped past me in an instant, and I instinctively adjusted the cowboy hat on my head into a more secure position, pulling the riding strap down under my chin. I gestured to Big Mac to take care of things again, while I showed this city girl just how we do things on the farm.

I took off after her, knowing well how to adjust myself on the saddle to decrease wind resistance. Blaze was not the horse I'd like to chase after in a race, but I knew my riding skills would make up for the lack of speed. The adrenaline sure was exhilarating, I hadn't felt such warm winds through my hair in what must have been months or years, working on the farm left little time for play. I felt myself gaining on her, her rainbow hair blowing about the same way mine did, though it was shorter by some amount and not confined in a pony tail like mine was prone to be. I rose upright a bit in the stirrups, feeling like I was charging this fast on my very own two feet for a moment.

The far fence was not far now, just past the tree line a bit and a while before the creek. She was pretty good for a newbie, that was for certain, but knowing my way better around the terrain and with horses it was not much of a challenge to catch up neck and neck with her. She must have heard me there, because she looked over at me and grinned, just as enthralled by the competition as I was.

I took the lead then, tipping my hat at her like I was otherwise unconcerned with her attempt to out ride me. She seemed to get rather riled by that, and made another attempt to catch up to me. Though her horse was quick and agile, mine was none too slow herself. The fence came by quickly and I had reached it first, slowing down as Rainbow Dash caught up to me with something of a huff. Without admitting much of a defeat, she went on to argue.

"Bet in a foot race I'd whoop you, Applejack." She tilted her head at me as if that was a matter of fact.

"I wouldn't doubt that," I agreed with her to pass the subject along, though she knew nothing of my own athletic career. "Want to try your luck once more? There's a creek almost a mile up, if you can find it you'll see me waitin' for your sorry rear to catch up."

"Not likely." She must have really had a thing about competition, I barely even finished spouting the rules and she was all for it. I didn't know what she thought she had to prove, but I was no push-over neither. It was on.

Rearing Wild

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3. Rearing Wild

"You're gonna have to do better than that, Applejack!" I called back to her with a snicker, loving the way my horse just raced on like he had nothing else on his mind, which I guess he probably didn't. Applejack was giving me one hell of a ride though, keeping on my flank like she would pass me at any minute.

My grin spread like warm butter across my face, loving not only the daring adventure of treading lands unknown, but competing the whole time. And she was chasing me, actually racing after me like she wanted to. I flipped my hair out from behind my ear as I adjusted myself on the bouncing saddle, smelling the nearing scent of water and grass. I moved the reins around in my fingers, anxious about the finish line which must have still been a while away. The ground flew past me at breakneck speed, dust and rocks kicked up through the air like falling leaves.

I felt the horse rear its head a bit and it made me uneasy, like it knew something was up ahead that I didn't. Next thing I knew there was some bunch of fur breaking through the brush and snapping twigs that had just barely grown anew. The horse reared back onto its hind legs, crying out in this great shrill voice as it turned back at whatever shadow had crossed his path. I could hardly manage to hold on through the shaking and hysterics, I myself no better in mind than the animal that knocked me back. I lost my grip on the reins and flew through the air, and in the chaos I must have been screaming or something, but I was too shocked to hear it.

I hit the ground and skidded through the gravel, trying to get myself together, but I was too slow. My horse reared up right onto its hind legs above me, dirty hooves knocking up and down like the metallic gleaming shoes were bent for my body. I scampered in the dirt a bit, but so shocked as I was I barely moved a foot before it looked like it was going to come down on me. I must have blinked, because suddenly before my eyes was another pair of rearing hooves, knocking the mad horse off its tangent. The second set of hooves veered out of trouble's path and stomped a mere few feet in front of me, protecting me from the now fleeing horse, still crying out and taking off into the bushes with the shadow close behind.

"Rainbow," she called from atop the courageous horse who had prevented the assault, letting the thing get control of itself for once. She leapt from the safety of the saddle onto the hard ground in front of me, kicking up dust the same as I myself had done mere seconds prior. "I gotcha, yer safe."

"Holy shit, A.J., what the—" She hurried over to me and grabbed at my feet, leaning close over me and trying to keep me still as I freaked out.

"Hey—quit that." She yanked on my ankles and pulled me down with my legs to either side of her, pinning them to the ground around her. I just stared at her like she had jumped out of the sky before me. "Now, I am not above tyin' you down, so quit yer squirming, would ya?" She looked down at my legs, and even I could see the darkening fabric around the knee of my jeans, and perhaps I had been too afraid to even feel the blood or the wound. She felt around the injured area for a moment, her hand going so far up my thigh I thought I might scream, "It ain't broken or nothing, you'll be fine. Now come on, hop on behind me."

"What do you mean, 'come on'? I nearly got trampled to death, and you're telling me to get on another horse?" I shouted as she grabbed a handful of rocks and shoved them into a saddle bag before she went back over to her own horse to calm the poor thing down a bit.

"Well if you didn't notice, your horse just went charging off into them woods with a coyote on his hooves, we gotta go after him an' I ain't leaving you behind, so brush yourself off and get up out of the dirt already." She glared at me, a stern expression of ambition clouding her normally cool and charming exterior. I didn't find much use in arguing, so I pulled myself up as she kicked her legs up into the stirrups once more.

"Fine, I'm coming already," I growled as I went over to her on her horse, accepting her outstretched hand as a way to pull my now aching body onto the rear of the saddle. I reached back and tried to find a secure hold for my still shaking hands to get a grip, but before I could Applejack kicked and slapped at the horse, galvanizing it into a full sprint.

"Hold on tight, honey," she called back to me as she felt me slipping around.

"To what?" I shouted back hysterically, taking hold of the saddle bags straps, the saddle, anything I could touch. She sort of laughed a bit as she looked over her shoulder at me, that same endearing southern smirk plastered across her face.

"To me, silly." She reached back and grabbed my trembling hands, pulling them tight around her midsection. I could feel the muscles of her stomach strain as she kicked at the sides of the horse, and hesitated locking my hands together as I was too interested in her movements.

I gazed at her, well, more like gaped really, as she drove us onward with mere practised manoeuvres of her body. She sat up nice and straight as we sped along, and I felt like a slouch when I realized just how tightly I pulled myself against her. It was terrifying and thrilling all at once, and every second of it tantalized my greedy need for action. Her brilliant blonde hair blew about behind her, most strands breaking free of her loose pony tail from the force of the ride.

I already could tell just what a dead weight I was on her, but she didn't seem to care one bit. I leaned forward to get a good look at her face, and from what I could tell she was still grinning like a crazy person, as unaffected by fear as I had been before I saw it. I mean, sure times had gotten rough on the field during some games and all, but this sort of solitary horror, dependence and intensity had me reeling. Under the cool shade of the trees and nearly deafened by the brisk wind, I actually felt my face heating up into something of a blush.

"Yee-Haw!" she called out as she picked her cowboy hat right up off her head and let it taste the wind. She put it back on tighter, feeling her fingers against the rim until it was nice and straight. I almost laughed about it, how easily and daringly she just confronted the situation.

We broke through another wall of thick brush and finally saw the predator, a dark coloured dog-like creature that panted heavily in the chase. It growled lowly with teeth reflecting what small fractions of light broke through the canopy of trees, but none of that—not even the threads of saliva grasping at its long fangs—deterred Applejack. She reached into that same saddlebag where she had stashed all those rocks and pulled a few out. Taking precise aim, she threw each one as hard as she could at the creature, shouting at it all the while. Finally it took notice, just as she tossed this great big stone and hit it in the snout. She raised her hands and yelled once more before the coyote squealed some painful cry and took off in the opposite direction. I sat up and let the open-mouthed smile calm my otherwise shaken expression. I hooted a bit as it took off, but Applejack did not pull the horse over for an instant to revel in the victory. She was still after that other horse.

Hot on its trail we came up behind it, the light colours of its flank reminiscent of the coyote's pale jaw, galloping through the gritty path-vacant land. I felt Applejack check over her shoulder once more, but she did not look to me. She was checking something on the other side of the saddle, some bundle of ropes she must have secured there earlier. Her hand followed her gaze next, reaching back and patting around until she found it. Of course, she touched my thigh again once or twice before she found it, unclasping it expertly before bringing it up to the front with her. She moved around a bit with her body like she was tying something, before she touched my hands.

"Take the reins, would ya, partner?" she proposed suddenly, and my jaw hit the saddle.

"Take the—wait, what?! You're not serious!" I shouted after her as she adjusted herself and nearly put the reins in my hands herself. I gripped at them uneasily as I felt her adjust accordingly.

"As a barn fire. Just hold on and make sure you don't steer us under low branches." She stood up in the stirrups right then, so high in fact her thighs were nearly resting on my shoulder, drawing the rope out and twirling it around above her until it became a circular shape.

I looked forward a bit and saw the other end of the rope tied to the weird knob on the front of our saddle, something she had once called the horn when she introduced me to it all. She spun the rope above her time and again, waiting for us to gain a little ground. I understood well enough what she was planning, so I made sure to do my best to direct us closer to the other horse. Finally we must have been near enough, because she let the thing fly, and boy did it ever. It landed right on the other horse's saddle, before she tugged hard on it and closed the loop right around the other saddle's horn. I was dumbfounded by such accuracy, and almost let the reins fall loose.

"Rainbow, you wanna slow her down a bit?" she asked me, though it seemed like a suggestion really. I did as she had directed me before and used the cues to slow her horse down, though the other one had trouble following obediently.

Applejack stifled a groan and she pulled hard on the rope, directing the rogue horse to avoid its current path and look back at us. It made some distressed noise, but Applejack yanked once again and it seemed to get the message. She sat back down in the saddle between my legs and made certain the rope was still tied to her saddle just as well. She reached out along the rope and went to reel the other horse closer, which as it slowed down, it seemed more open to obey. The girl encircled by my arms sighed and leaned back against me, finding some consolation in my being right up close behind her. Without lingering too long against my body, she took the reins back and carefully slowed the horses' gallops to mere trots and then a casual walk. I don't know how the hell she did it, but she managed to fix the entire situation with minimal trouble. She directed the two horses to the creek, where we were supposed to have finished our race. Though I had been in the lead, I guess it was safe to say who had won.

"All right sugar cube, off you get," she told me as she looked back, letting me get myself down at last. I cringed a bit as I landed on my wounded leg, but was otherwise pretty lucky. She followed quickly after me, letting the horses graze around to cool off. "Now, let me have a look at that leg of yours."

"No way, what do you think you can do?" I argued, not wanting her or myself to see what just might be hiding under my pant leg. She did not take that as an acceptable answer though, and she came right up to me and put her hands on her hips, that same commanding stare I had seen before. I hate to say it, but I caved. "Fine, fine, sheesh, but go easy all right?"

"You got my word." She nodded as I reluctantly sat down by the creek and slowly tried to pull the pant leg up, though it was awkwardly tight and uncomfortable. "For Pete's sake."

She reached into her boot and pulled out this dastardly intimidating pocket knife, flicking it open in one swift motion. She went to cut at my pants but I moved away at astounding speed.

"Relax, they roll up, they roll up!" I repeated as I hurried along with the process, not wanting her to cut open a perfectly good pair of pants, despite the fact the blood had probably ruined them.

I hurriedly finished rolling them up and let her lean in closer, her hot breath tickling the skin. She inspected it in detail, though I could already tell there was still gravel lodged in the skin and it would scab up something fierce.

"Allow me." She reached back and removed her red hair band, letting her already loose hair fall around her shoulders in this tauntingly golden drape.

She wrapped it twice around the fabric to hold it above the wound and moved between me and the creek, extending my leg beside her for easy access. She leaned forward and I sat up on my arms, propping myself upright as to get a good look at what she was doing.

"It's just a scratch, A.J., I'll be fine." I tried to reason with her, but I heard her hands dip into the water with an easy, stifled moan to accompany them. If I hadn't been listening to intently, I might not have heard it at all. She turned back with a scoop of water and let it run over my leg, the cold surprising me to twitch. "Hey, that's cold!"

"Oh quit yer belly aching," she growled at me as she got another couple handfuls and ran it over my bare leg, her fingers carefully rubbing the dirt off. "You don't want to get an infection or nothing, do ya?"

"You don't have to worry about me." I leaned back and crossed my arms behind my head, enjoying the sweet feeling of foreign fingers on my body.

It kind of felt like a caressing massage, but whatever it was I found myself enjoying it. It was something I really had no experience with, especially not like this. I glanced down at her as she poured another scoop over me though, and could already see the rough red skin she was trying to hide.

"Did you hurt yourself? Your hands are all red," I stated bluntly, tilting my head at the marks.

"It's just rope burn, nothin' I ain't had before." She brushed the subject off and finished cleaning the wound up before splashing a rinse. It made me feel pretty bad actually, that her hands were all torn up because of my recklessness.

She leaned over me as she ran her damp hand up my leg to undo the tie she had done to hold my pants out of the way, and I could better admire the way her shirt hugged at her curves. I immediately looked away of course, it was really none of my business how she dressed or how fabrics looked around her. I hoped this wasn't some hero complex getting to me, I mean I probably would have been just fine without her help anyway. I looked up at what bits of the blue sky I could make out, letting my eyelids fall a bit as Applejack finished with my wound and relaxed by the water herself. She picked her hat up off her head and ran her hand through her long, blonde hair, feeling freedom in her fingers I could imagine. I don't know what I was looking at her for anyway, girls did not interest me, never had never would. If they did, I might have to reconsider having female friends like Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rarity. I didn't want to hurt anyone or make them feel uncomfortable, you know? It just couldn't happen. Simple as that.

"You wanna ride Blaze back now?" she inquired as she stood up, barely getting a breath of a break. She was a workaholic, I could already tell.

"If it's all the same to you..." I rolled my neck and looked at the four-legged scamp with a frown. "I think I'd rather take my chances riding shotgun."

Brand New Days

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4. Brand New Days

My midsection felt cooler then, when the wind was able to reach it since she finally moved her hands off. I was not so accustomed to riding doubles, but who'd have thought that her hands would feel just so darn hot on me? I felt her legs press up against me a bit harder as she leaned back, stretching and yawning over the sounds of afternoon grass bugs. I told myself I looked back at her to be sure she wasn't falling asleep or falling off, but as I lingered on her I was not quite so sure. Maybe I was just worried or something, she did have quite a fright and for all I knew she was hiding more injuries from me to keep me quiet.

She unzipped her hooded tee a bit more, and I could see her breath running up and down her throat as she leaned her head back and let the sun touch her skin. She had quit whining pretty quick, though I expected more complaints about how long it was taking us to ride back at a cautious pace. I could feel her still damp pants against my thigh and arm, as I must have splashed her even though I tied the cloth up higher than necessary. I was glad she pulled her pants back down when we started riding, or I might be feeling her smooth legs against my forearms with every step instead of just the damp cloth.

"Hey, A.J.," I heard Rainbow Dash speak up, though she faced the sky and not me.

"Hm?" I couldn't say much myself, I just kept my attention on her in case she decided to do the same.

"You lived out here your whole life?" she asked gently for once, her usual aggressive behaviour taking a break for the time being. I didn't much know what had brought that sort of subject up, but it was an innocent enough question to answer honestly.

"Yeah, but I'm not here all year any more," I told her vaguely.

I was never one to divulge too much of myself all at once. Not to strangers anyway, with my family hardly a thing went unsaid. She didn't say anything for a minute as she took in the answer and I turned back to guide the horse again. I thought the conversation might have slipped away, but again her voice touched my ears.

"Why do you ever leave?" I wasn't sure if it was a rhetorical question or not, mostly because I wasn't sure what kind of an answer to give. I smiled though, finally hearing something that told me she wasn't entirely hating her time here.

"Only for somethin' real important," I replied as I directed my horse to take the next turn, and touched the rope still attached to Blaze to be certain he was paying attention. The coarse twists of the dry rope did not feel quite so fine on my still burning hands, but I didn't make a show of it. "I go to school in a town a few hours south of here most of the year. My aunt puts me up at her place when I do."

"Cool," Rainbow's response was not entirely void of concern, it actually seemed like she might have been paying attention. Maybe she was actually interested, but neither of us pushed the subject more than that. We were just about at the farm anyway, and I felt her pull herself back up to take a gander. "Thank God it's not too much longer, my butt is falling asleep back here."

"You get used to that." I laughed at the sentiment, feeling something of similar ails myself. I felt her shift a bit as the horse bounced a bit on the gravel, and she reached back out and put her hands around me. I felt her move them around a bit, trying to get comfortable or something, touching my hips and my stomach and my belt. It kinda felt like she was awkward about touching me, and I smiled a bit, giving her an out, "Y'know, I don't much mind where you hold, as long as you don't fall off."

"Yeah, I bet you don't," sounded like some rude insinuation, but I didn't dignify the accusation with any response. I moved our pace up another step every few seconds, wanting just as bad as apparently Rainbow did to get off this horse.

I froze up a bit as I felt her lean forward, her breath trickling down my neck warmer than the sun soaked air. But doing my best to avoid the idea, I cleared my throat and repositioned my sweating hands on the reins. I frowned, finding myself unusually anxious in such a situation. I glanced back once more to find her watching me just as closely, so in a spur of nervousness I ushered my horse on, taking us into a speedy gallop. Blaze was more than willing to keep up, and I could feel Rainbow's heart race against my back as we rode on. She even went so far as to hold on that tiny bit firmer.

We glided down the last hill towards the farm, and every time I saw it I held my breath at such a sight. It was glorious: all the far fields golden and lush, the barn just the same brilliant scarlet as ever I knew it to be, the ranch house calling out for me to come in for dinner. Not a thing had changed except maybe me, and I liked it that way. We slowed a bit as we came upon the riding area and pens, and I could clearly see Big Mac waiting by the gate for me to come in. He must have had better things to do, but he was always a softy for family. Beside him I saw Rainbow's friend, Twilight waving expectantly as we kicked up the dust all the way to the pens. Rainbow Dash must have been glad that the rest of her team had already gone and left, it might have been embarrassing even for her to be put up on the back of a saddle like dead weight.

"What took you guys so long?" Twilight asked as I slowed before them, readying myself to hop off.

"Rainbow here couldn't get enough of eatin' my dust," I chuckled as Rainbow pouted and I kicked off my left foot, swinging it around to hop off my horse. I turned back of course, my hand outstretched. "Need a hand, sugar cube?"

"As if." She snorted and jumped down, flinching as her knees buckles against gravity. She tried to turn away so Twilight didn't catch it, but like any good friend she could tell when Rainbow was hiding something.

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight's voice was low and I watched Rainbow shrink under her full name. "What happened to your leg?"

"Uh, nothing," she tried to sound certain, but I don't think anyone would have bought such a feeble attempt. Twilight stormed over to her and forced her to face straight ahead, looking down at the wetted and bloodied fabric of her pants. She growled and glared at Rainbow, waiting patiently on an explanation. "Okay, okay, I fell off the horse, happy? There was this coyote and—"

"Coyote?!" Twilight snapped, and admittedly it sounded pretty bad. Big Mac didn't seem to concerned of course, after all, I was there too.

"It was fine, Twilight. Applejack was right there with me if you forgot." Rainbow crossed her arms and crossed her wounded leg behind her other one, trying to push the attention onto me. "Besides, I'm not completely useless you know. I can handle myself."

"You know we're on this trip to help the team bond, right?" she asked, and I suppose that made sense enough to me. "Not to let you get bitten by some wild animal!"

"Cool it Twi, I'm sorry okay? We were just racing, and it came out of no where. Could have happened to anyone!" she argued stubbornly, and I could tell Twilight was not in much of a mood to keep up with it. I hid my chuckle with my hand as Rainbow flashed me something of a death stare.

"Help me bring the horses in, will ya Mac?" I asked as I excused myself from the conversation, pulling my own horse right close behind me. I tipped my hat over my eyes a bit as I walked off, trying to hide my snickering from the both of them.

"You're not my mother, you know," Rainbow kept on and I shook my head, knowing that probably wasn't the smartest choice of word I ever did hear.

"And who ever said I was? It's my job as your team manager and as your friend to make sure you don't get yourself hurt, is that too much to comprehend?!" she snapped, waving a finger in Rainbow's face just like her mother might have. I shook my head, smirking at Rainbow's guilty expression. She looked right back at me of course, smiling a nervous yet amused smile about such an expected reaction.

By the time Mac and I finished up bringing the horses back in, Twilight and Rainbow had left. I wasn't disappointed or nothing, don't think that. I had plenty to do on my own, and heck I couldn't even start listing everything I now did by habit more than necessity. Even while the rest of them were eating dinner, I was still out and about working like a hog till the moon came up. Finally though, everything seemed to be in order and I let myself get some shut eye. Sleeps felt more like naps whenever I was on the farm, I always had something better to be doing and sleep was just some silly necessity. Most of the next day I was to help Granny with getting all the jars together for the apple sauce and jam, but I wanted to stop by and see Big Mac doing the cattle drive.

He was always real good at it, but I was the rodeo star around here. No animal was any match for me when I had a lasso in my hands, and I was one heck of a horse back rider to boot. Course I was out of practice now, and Big Mac had been doing these duties without me for quite some time. I leaned on the old cattle fence, watching him way out in the distance gathering each cattle without a hitch. The family dog Winona was out there with him too, she was pretty good at being his second in command, keeping them from slipping around his flanks. It used to be my job, but though I felt a tug at my chest wanting me to be out there with them, I was content enough just to watch for once.

I missed the farm, truly I did. It was nice to be back once in a while, see my big brother and how strong he was getting, how tall Apple Bloom was growing, I had to miss all that stuff since I was going to school so far away. Apple Bloom got to stay around here until high school, we had after school programs and elementary schools and such run by the community and the church. We had so few kids here they put everyone from kindergarten to grade nine all in one little building. Big Mac hadn't bothered going to school much, the farm needed him more and he knew it. And I knew if it meant giving Apple Bloom a good education I'd stay behind and work with Granny and Big Mac for as long as it took, and maybe that's how my big brother felt too. I smiled as he came into view and waved at me, enjoying the audience.

The rest of the guests were by the gate I noticed, watching on with just as little interest as ever. That was what we got for bringing a bunch of kids around here on their spring break. I found myself walking around to them anyway, maybe just to have some company instead of standing there all alone all depressing and all. They'd be pretty excited when it came around to the branding, they always were. Usually we didn't need to brand them since they didn't often wander, but it was a good deal safer in case they did and served as an experience for all the folks who came by for a real ranch experience.

"Hey," I heard before I got too close to the rest of the group, and I looked over to see Rainbow Dash standing there with her hands deep in her pockets like she was nervous about something. "Twilight says that as punishment for yesterday I have to come and apologize, for like, putting you in danger or something." She kicked at the dirt a bit, avoiding my eyes.

"That doesn't sound much like one I ever did hear." I smiled though, finding her behaviour somehow endearing. "But the sentiment's nice. Twilight sounds like she's got a hard whip on her hip."

"Whatever that means." She flipped her hair a bit, still seeming embarrassed. She came around a bit though. "She's always making me do difficult or stupid things. She just wants me to be disciplined or something. Beats me."

"Sounds like a good leader if you ask me." I looked back out at Big Mac as he drove a good lot of the cattle in. Rainbow came over to me and leaned lazily on the fence with her back, barely looking over her shoulder to watch. "How's that leg of yours, any who?"

"I'll live." She shrugged, kicking the injured leg out a bit as if to demonstrate it didn't stop her. She looked right over at me then. "So, tell me: you still in high school or what?"

"Yeah." I laughed a bit at the way she phrased it, like she didn't believe it or something. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, I don't know." She huffed a bit and turned to face the cattle, probably just so she didn't have to look at me. She crossed her arms over the fence before she explained, "You just seem, like, older or something. I don't know anyone my age who can do half as much as you do around here."

"I guess I'll take that as a compliment." I did just that as I glanced at her, that cute, fake apathetic look bringing a smile to my face.

"I just know this wouldn't have been my first choice if I had a say in it. It's my last spring break of high school you know, I should be hanging out with my friends or something, before whatever happens after graduation." It felt to me like she was actually confiding in me about something, and I could already tell that didn't happen too much with her.

"Twilight's your friend, ain't she?" Rainbow nodded, but that must not have been the point. "You know, it's my spring vacation too. And if all goes as planned, I'll be graduatin' this year just the same. You think I wanna be stuck at the ranch takin' care of a buncha ingrates?" I smiled though, to show I was merely joking. "Sometimes it don't matter much what you want."

"I guess." She shrugged, burying her face into her arms.

"Well, Big Mac's gonna be branding the youngins soon. He might need a hand," I told her as I walked past her towards the crowd, and though she hesitated, she did come after me.

As I anticipated, the guys were all more than excited about watching some hot fold of metal burn the flank of some young calf. It was rather disgusting to think they liked it so darn much, I only did it because I had to. We'd had the same old shape to our brands since before I was born, one big, round apple. Everyone in the whole darn county knew it was ours by the name of our ranch, Sweet Apple Acres. Anyway, after that was all done I took after the cattle and made sure there was no difficulty with the branding before I let them go. After all the commotion I went back to organizing the shed, which I had been doing when the whole lot of them arrived in the first place. I mean Big Mac sure was good at his job, but he was quite a pig when I wasn't around to keep cleaning up after him.

By midday it felt like the sun would never go down around here, yet when the night came round it was as though I was robbed of my entire day. I had just myself got back from school, and as usual spent my spring and summer breaks on the farm with the family, making something of an income if I could. These spoiled brats didn't seem to know much of it, the only reason they ever cared to spare a glance at me was to fondle me with their disgusting eyes. Well, that ain't entirely true, Twilight checked in with me from time to time about scheduling, boy that girl had way too much on her mind for any kind of healthy, I can tell you that much. And sure, the rainbow-haired girl and myself had been more civil to each other, but there was still tension and she avoided eye contact if we were ever talking, like she was too good to look at me or something. Arrogant one, that one.

My days always went by too quickly when I was busy, I didn't have much time to think about it so my body sort of went into autopilot I guess. Course in all that heat, I changed into a darned skirt once all my dangerous jobs were taken care of, my jeans were awfully hard to move in when they kept sticking to my legs. Not that I liked the darn thing, it had been my mother's, but the shorts I had in my drawers here were all too small for me now. Big Mac was too busy with the guests to give me much of a hand, but I wouldn't have wanted to switch duties, no sir.

Finally though, a little after dinner that day I could hear the whole lot of them playing on the field I had just myself mowed earlier in the day. They sounded like they were having something of a blast too, so after the dishes I decided to sneak out and have a look. They were kicking around a soccer ball far as I could tell, playing on two small teams for practice. I noticed right away, that though Rainbow Dash ran after the ball every time, and was open for a pass and score constantly, she wasn't ever given a chance to kick. I suppose being the only girl on the team had some down sides, but she was probably pretty popular with the guys otherwise, a girl as fit and pretty as she. Even I could notice that.

"Pass the damn ball already!" I heard Rainbow Dash call out from my place behind Twilight, who held the whistle as the coach had himself another few brews from Big Mac's courtesy.

"Oh, you want the ball?" came something of an answer, though none of the other guys even seemed to care how loud she called out. "Here then, go get it." The boy who had spoken stopped the ball with his foot before kicking it way too far out left field. Clearly he was not passing it to anyone but the dimming horizon.

"Hey, enough with your attitude. Get off the field, come back when you feel like playing for a team, you got that?" Twilight blew her whistle and forced the player off the field, despite his aggravated bickering. It didn't seem to be much help though, and I saw the Rainbow headed girl moseying off the field anyway. I ducked behind the shed Twilight was set up next to and tried to avoid any wrath.

"Thanks Twi, but I don't feel much like playing anyway," was all Rainbow Dash said, and it was quiet too. Not arrogant or aggressive like usual.

"But Rainbow—" she tried to console her friend, but the girl would have none of it.

"Don't worry about it, you can go over the plays with me alone later, like always. No biggie." She shrugged as she waved her friend off and went back to the loggings. It wasn't as if her team would be far behind, it was getting dark already. It was more of a statement than anything, I think.

"Somethin' tells me the team doesn't much 'preciate havin' her around," I found myself saying to Twilight as she turned around to greet me.

"It's always been like that," she tried to reason, and I suppose there was little else to do but that, no one could force friendship after all. "Rainbow Dash is the only girl on the team, the guys resent her for it. Especially since she's a better player than they are, for the most part. This vacation was supposed to bring them together, because if they lose their next game, the season is over for them."

"Yeah, I can relate. Being a girl in a man's profession, it ain't no picnic." I smiled at the idea. I mean, guys don't usually look at me as anything other than Big Mac's little sister, who for the sake of doing so would want to violate. They never took me seriously, neither. "Want I should talk to her?"

"No, no, she'll probably just bite your head off. She likes to be alone for a while, to cool off. She'll come around," Twilight told me, but she too watched her friend walk away in a slump. I could tell she was not happy about the way they treated her.

"Al'right, well I got some chores to do around here any who. Guess I'll see you tomorrow, Twilight." I excused myself, somewhat uncomfortable talking about a near stranger behind her back. I started off again to finish making certain the animals had water nearby.

"Okay, have a good night," she said after me before blowing the whistle again, calling another foul play.

I didn't know much about these people for certain, but they sure did seem dysfunctional. Most folks were I suppose, they come down to this ranch to find something in themselves or in each other that they always seem to miss in the bustle of the city life. I wasn't one to judge though, I myself had my fair share of troubles and stresses.

The last thing I had to do of course was to make ready the hay for the morning, so it would be no trouble for Mac or myself to move it around as we needed. The barn was dark by now, and everyone had since gone to bed for the evening. I would have got to this all sooner, if I didn't have so much else to be doing. I picked up a pitchfork and began moving the loose hay around, getting it out of the way as best I could. But it seemed even in the dark of night in the most desolate of barns, I was never quite alone.

Sharing Swigs

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5. Sharing Swigs

It never did get easier, the guys never let up about anything, trust me. I guess it builds character anyway, but I was kind of sick of it from my own damn team. I mean, you get enough smack talk from the opponents, getting it from your supposed team mates, well, it was unnerving. I rummaged through the bag once I was certain the rest of them had gone to bed. Even if they hadn't, it's not like they'd be looking for me anyway at that time of night. I was sure the coach had passed out, when he came back to the loggings he seemed nothing shy of intoxicated, I'd know it. Feeling through the layers of clothes, I finally found what I had been digging for. It was too easy to feel for, big and cool and hard and made of glass. It even made a sloshing noise as I pulled it out, the rusty brown liquid swishing around in the bottle teasingly.

I grinned this real devious kind of grin, even just looking at the stuff made me feel pretty bad-ass. Sneaking it onto the trip? That was just the icing, the sweet bad-ass icing. I tucked it into the inside pocket of my jacket, though it didn't really fit since it was so large, and made my way to the back door. At this time, Twilight would probably be deep into her studies, hardy an Earthquake could wake her out of that trance. I slowly pushed the door open so it wouldn't squeak, and let it fall it back into place before I took off into the night.

It felt so good, running through the brisk air with such a taboo clenched between my chest and my elbow. And I knew if nothing else would help, this must. I sneaked between the shadows of the buildings, the porch lights hardly any nemesis of mine. I knew exactly where this sin of mine would lead me, and let it go right ahead and do it. I didn't have to catch much of a breath as I arrived, my fitness keeping my breathing easy enough to hide even if there was eavesdroppers.

The barn was mostly dark except for one light at the top, which seemed to have been on for a while so I took it that it was on all night. In the middle of the barn was this rotting old remnant of a barrel-style table, though most of it was falling apart. There was this stool on one side, but I thought it suited me just well enough. I figured it was a good a place as any, so out of my coat I revealed the source of my rebellion: a tall, thick bottle of the finest black label whiskey I could get my hands on. Not that I knew much about the stuff, but right now that really didn't matter. I just wanted to forget all of this, get away from these awfully confusing feelings, this team, and that Applejack girl.

I cracked the seal around the rim and took much enjoyment on twisting it off. I made it of utmost importance to bring myself a shot glass, I didn't want to get myself so wasted I dropped the bottle from my lips after all. Not that I did this stuff too often to know, Twilight would kill me if she knew, and no one on the team could find out or my athletic career might suffer. Besides, getting your lips on stuff like this when you're under-aged is hard enough. My hands shook as I poured the gloriously deep liquid into the glass, though the smell seemed worse to me than the horse manure I had complained about initially.

"Whiskey?" I nearly spilled the whole lot of it across the table, but got a hold of it and myself before that happened. I looked around into the shadows for the source of the voice, and begged it was not who the accent told me it was. "Well, maybe I had you pegged wrong after all."

"Applejack?" I found myself saying in a somewhat uneasy tone, acting as though I might still have the time to hide the stuff.

"I thought we made it pretty clear that under-aged alcohol possession on the premisses was strictly forbidden?" She leaned her pitchfork against some pillar gently and came over to me.

"If you aren't going to turn me in, leave me alone will you?" I asked her, playing like I didn't care. I did however, notice the oddity that was her denim skirt, something she clearly wasn't used to wearing.

"Turn you in? Nah." She put one hand on the end of the makeshift table and extended the other, grasping a second stool by the seat. "I'm gonna join ya."

"Join me?" I smirked and laughed a bit at the idea. "I don't know if that's such a good idea, farm girl. You wouldn't want your family or church to find out or something."

"What's wrong, city slicker?" Her own grin rose up eagerly at the challenge. "Afraid I'll drink you under the cask?"

"Pfft." I snorted as I took my first shot, holding it down carefully as I poured another one. "Afraid you'll get me drunk and take advantage of me, maybe." I joked as I slid the shot glass her way and tipped the bottle towards her. "Cheers."

"You wish, honey," she replied with a confident expression and a flirtatious wink, downing the whole thing without the slightest stifled cough. I felt the warmth in my stomach as the shot hit home, but since I hardly felt a buzz I went to pour another just as quickly.

"Why are you always showing up around me anyway? Can't a girl have some privacy?" I complained as I polished off my second shot, hoping the conversation might delay the drinking long enough for me to catch my breath.

"I should be sayin' the same thing, I was just out here finishin' up my day's work when you crept in here like you were buryin' a body," she argued, and I guess it made sense. "Hit me already." She teased me, but from the way her fingers drummed at the barrel I imagine she wanted another shot, nothing else. Nothing else she'd say, anyway, I was still convinced this girl was some kind of siren or something. That became all the more likely the more that I drank. "What's with you, any who? D'you have some problem with me?"

"Playing dumb, are you?" I spat as my hands began to move of their own accord, seeming entirely possessed by the idea of getting the girl across from me drunk. "Clearly it's you who has the issue, I haven't done a thing to you."

"That goes double for me." She nodded as she took a shot I was not even certain that I poured.

I suppose we were both a little too stubborn to admit that either one of us was at fault. Maybe we had a lot more in common than we thought, which was probably why we butted heads like we did. Still, even when we fought, for some reason, I was happy to have her company at that moment. Not that I'd admit it.

"Whatever, don't think I'll forget about you free-loading off my whiskey, Freckle-face." I found something of a name for her as my vision blurred a bit and the marks on her face looked something like stars to me.

"Disregardin' that name..." She frowned as she heard it, which only sealed it in my mind as her new official nickname. "The way I see it, I'm saving you from drowning yourself and gettin' a massive hangover tomorrow." Applejack was probably right, but I wanted to be righter. I grabbed the whole bottle and smiled, watching her expression settle into a serious one.

"Oh yeah?" I said through my teeth before I brought the whole thing to my lips, almost tipping over from the mere fumes. "We'll see about that." I bluffed as I tipped it back, trying my best not to breathe as I gulped sip after sip.

"Quit that!" Applejack grabbed my wrist and yanked me forwards, letting the liquid fill back into the bottom of the bottle instead of the neck and making me hit the barrel of a table with a light thud. She pried my hand off of it and took a big old mouthful of her own, which I watched with a pout and a frown. "Why are you always turnin' everything into a competition?"

"It's who I am," I told her as I peeled myself off the wood of the barrel. "You don't like it, get out of here, but leave the bottle."

"Rainbow Dash," she gently spoke my full name, and it tickled me to hear. "I'm only gonna think less of you if you drink yourself into a coma. Relax, will you?" She leaned forwards and poked my nose, my damn nose! "You already have some good qualities. You're cute, al'right? Drinkin' doesn't have to be your specialty too. Give yourself a break."

My face heated up at that, and I wasn't sure it was entirely the whiskey's doing, no matter how quickly I was downing it. I didn't get compliments like that as often as one would have thought, but it made me all giddy to hear it coming from someone as beautiful as she was. Not that it should have mattered. Nevermind.

"You said I'm cute." I grinned as I heard the words, taking them quite seriously. "I knew I wasn't crazy, you're making a pass at me, aren't you Freckle-face?"

"Dream on." She huffed and took another swig to hide her embarrassment behind her flushing. "What are you doin' with all this whiskey, any who? You don't strike me as the drinkin' type."

"Beats me, I guess I just needed some means to get away," I found myself reciting, pouring another shot as if it would stop the questions and the aching unhappiness I disguised as anger. Applejack just continued to stare at me intently, like she could see through it.

"Isn't that why you're here on the ranch? To get away?" I smiled at that, and maybe that was what Twilight intended for me the whole time. I was too blind to really notice, I guess. With everything that had been going on with the team and the stress of possibly not getting into any college, maybe I was a little more than stressed. "If it's any consolation, I'm kinda glad yer here," I could hear her lips going numb from the cool liquor on her words. "I spend every vacation at home with my family, it's kind of nice to meet somebody new, y'know?"

"You gonna get all mushy on me?" I raised my eyebrow at her, but she reached out and punched me on the shoulder roughly instead, which actually rattled me with the booze sinking into my veins.

"Hush, you." She finished off her sip and nearly shoved it in my mouth that time. I just sort of laughed a bit and did as I was told, tipping it back nice and far. I must not have been paying such close attention, as I just then realized how low the bottle was getting. "Hey now, don't go hoggin' it!"

She reached out again and plucked it from my lips, her fingers nestling nicely into the grooves of my own. We just sat there for a moment, looking at each other with the heat of our hands nearly glowing in the brisk evening air. I could see the barn swaying around us, and it suddenly became all the more apparent. I wasn't sure how long we sat like that, as I hardly had any conception of time by then. She was the one to move away first, her hand sliding down mine and gripping the larger part of the bottle.

"Or what?" I asked slowly as my teeth peeked out between my upturned lips.

"Or I'mma spank you silly, give it here you greedy goose." She yanked it from my clumsy hands then and took the last few sips away from me. I had to admit, under the fog and haze the idea actually intrigued me, which would have frightened me if I was not too drunk already to feel it. "Well, I guess that does it."

"You got any secret stashes around here?" I found myself prying as I extended my arms out over the barrel and grasped the far end, making Applejack scoot back a hint. I could feel myself becoming more obnoxious, but I kind of liked it honestly.

"I dunno if that's such a good idea, sugar," she replied as she found her way to her feet, and I could tell she herself was not entirely sober. But then again, I must have had more than she did, and I wasn't feeling all that bad.

"Come on, we should—" I stood up to go and get her by force, but suddenly the whole force of the whiskey knocked me silly.

My legs felt like jelly, my head rung about and my eyes almost went black. Perhaps I had been drinking a little bit faster than I was used to. Next thing I knew I was sitting in the hay and Applejack was saying something to me, her face not far away. I felt like I couldn't really focus on anything, but no matter where I looked, she was always there, and attracted me right back to her gorgeous, speckled visage.

"Dash? You okay?" sounded very distant, but her concerned expression had me grinning.

"I knew you were gonna try something, Freckle-face," I murmured as I brought myself closer, smelling either her laundry soap or shampoo. She tried to push me off but I grabbed on tighter, and she succumbed to the grips. "I can see them up real close now, those freckles, Freckles." I snickered and reached up to touch them, noticing the way she twitched when she felt me against her, but again, didn't pull away. "They look like sprinkles, I want to just lick em off your honey skin." I laughed loudly as her face went bright red.

"What the—? Rainbow get a hold of yourself!" She shook me a bit and it rattled me around. "Good lord, you're really drunk ain't cha?"

"No!" I sat up suddenly, almost smacking her in the head as I gathered myself to my feet, grasping her tight, plaid shirt for support as she helped me up reluctantly. "I'm really thirsty, you got any more of that sweet, sweet poison?"

My finger trailed over her jawline temptingly, and her eyes followed my advances without falter. I could hear how sensual my voice resounded in the dark barn, and even I could not have resisted my charms. She, however, swallowed hard and bit at her bottom lip like she was trying to distract herself.

"I ain't givin' you one more drop, come on I'm takin' you back to yer room before you do somethin' stupid." She laughed a bit as her arm came up around me, letting me feel that hot radiance of her body.

"Stupid like what?" I asked her with a shove, but she did not let me go. Probably in fear I'd fall over without her.

"Stupid like runnin' into the fields naked or gettin' yourself mixed up with one of those guys down the hall from you, come on now." She gently pulled me along as she spoke, her voice lulling me with ease.

"Those guys don't like me anyway," I growled as I helped myself along, my head hanging down as I did. She let up a bit on the dragging me around, and paused as I got myself together enough to speak again. She looked at me too, just really looked at me, you know? "You like me, don't you?"

"I don't know if that's a question you should ask or answer right now," she simply said as she moved us from shadow to shadow towards where must have been the loggings, I really couldn't say. "But you ain't half bad." Came with a whisper as she smiled a bit, apparently trying to make me feel better.

"Thanks, you're pretty yummy too," I murmured into her ear as I let my lips brush against her.

Her forced chuckle sounded rather awkward, but she hugged me closer like she didn't want to let me go. She shuffled me around a bit on her shoulders while she reached out towards the back door or the loggings, but after she pulled once, then twice, then once more, it was apparent that it was locked up tight.

"Shoot, Mac already came around and locked em. We gotta get someone from inside to open it up," Applejack grumbled in a hush.

"Twilight will do it!" I spoke up, only to find her fingers pressing against my lips to keep me in a whisper, which crept out beneath giggles I could not stifle. "Her light was on too, I saw it. She'll still be up reading, she always is— is reading." I repeated the word and thought about it, as it even sounded weird to me but for some reason my mouth was saying things.

"All right, come on." She dragged me back around to the side and leaned me against the corner of the building, seeing as how Twilight's room was a corner one. I could see the raised ledge sized balcony of her window from here, light casting out across the farm but leaving the two of us in shadow underneath. Why they had such high windows, I couldn't tell you, must have been some security thing. "Stay here, will you?"

"Aye aye," I gave a salute that almost slapped me in my face before she pried my other hand off her shirt, where I hadn't really noticed I was wandering.

I licked my teeth inside my lips, watching her turn around and brace herself against the wall. It was still pretty dark, but I could make out the basic design of her denim skirt, something I found odd to see on a country girl so serious about business as she was. I let her slip around the corner and grasp at these warped pieces of wood along the wall. I was impressed by her acrobatics under such conditions, but even more impressed as I watched her toned legs climb up past my face. Her one leg bent at the knee, and gripping the lip of the window as she tapped on the glass. We held our breaths for a moment, but Twilight never came by. Again, her knuckles rapped against the glass gently, and even through the exterior wall I could hear Twilight cry out in surprise.

"Is she naked-nude or something?" I whispered and Applejack gave me this horribly spiteful look, which told me no. I shrugged, I mean after all it was just a question.

"Applejack, is that you?" I heard Twilight's voice as she cracked the window open.

"I have a bit of a problem," she started vaguely with a sheepish grin, before I finished it off for her the way she did my whiskey.

"Freckles had me out late drinking, we're locked out Twi, can you get open or, like, just, open the door!" I called up with my words all jumbled, putting my hands around my mouth as if it would muffle or direct the sound.

"Freck—" I heard Twilight's skeptical and incredulous repeat, but Applejack kept going.

"Don't ask. Think you can get her inside quietly? I think if her coach hears about this she might be in some pretty deep mud, and her other team mates don't seem all that sympathetic," she tried to explain for me, but I was too busy just looking up at her in that position, trying to get an accurate read on just what bright hue of delicious red her undergarments were.

"You can get inside me quickly," I misinterpreted the words intentionally, and watched Applejack's face become pale.

"Sh-Shush!" she hissed back at me in a surprisingly high voice.

"Leave it to me, I'll meet you at the back door," Twilight agreed and closed the window up once more.

Applejack jumped back down as I averted my gaze, feigning disinterest. She smirked at me as I crossed my arms and pretended to be in no hurry, and she pulled me off the wall and walked me to the door once again. I heard the creaking as Twilight got the door open and leaned out, gesturing for us to hurry along. Applejack led me by hand into the building before knocking open my door and pulling me into my own room. Twilight followed quickly after us and closed the door with her back, giving me this irritated face. I was placed by Applejack onto my less than comfortable bed and felt the mattress squish about between my fingers. Looking back up at Twilight, I felt my smile spreading and pushing my red cheeks around, mimicking some innocent childish expression. She did not seem interested in talking to me, though.

"What happened to her? What did she do this time?" she asked Applejack with a serious tone, the kind of tone I expected before one hell of a lecture.

"Well," Applejack started to explain, but she looked me in the face as she did.

She looked concerned, or perhaps something more. My own usually defiant expression softened as I met her gaze, and for a moment, we just saw each other. She could have ratted me out without a second look, but for what seemed like a once in a blue moon occurrence for her, she lied.

"I was out drinking in the barn, and she walked in on me. Said she was gonna turn me in, so I bribed her with a taste or two," she fabricated, and I was impressed by her audacity. Something about her had seemed so honest, but her selflessness seemed to extend beyond merely right or wrong in this case. She was protecting me.

"I don't believe a word of that." Twilight shattered our illusion without an issue. "I know Rainbow Dash, this has her name written all over it."

"Damn it Twilight, you're so smart," I murmured as I hung my head a bit, going for the flattery discount.

"Don't give me that, go to bed. I'll deal with you in the morning when speaking to you causes physical pain," she warned me and I tensed up. She was probably right about that. I just nodded in acceptance and grabbed on to the wooden ladder to the top bunk, pulling myself up a step or two. "I'm sorry if she caused you too much trouble."

"It was no trouble, I got a good look at some apple-coloured underwear!" I snickered as I got myself into bed, loving the way it made Applejack squirm.

"Hey now, better keep those sneaky peeks to yourself unless you want a smack, y'hear? Don't worry about it, Twilight. It was my fault, I shoulda known better than to challenge someone with so much to prove." She half smiled as she looked back over at me, and I could tell she was looking at me in the eye despite the fact I was mostly hiding under the covers. "I'll come back early and check on her in the mornin', you should get some rest too. Thanks again for your help."

"Any time." Twilight nodded in affirmation as she opened the door for Applejack, and it pissed me off for some reason.

I rolled over in my bed and looked up at the ceiling, hearing Applejack's voice trailing off as the door was closed behind and she went back to the ranch house. I finally closed my eyes, and overwhelmed with the realization of the embarrassment, never wanted to open them up again.

The Vacant Hall

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6. The Vacant Hall

"Rainbow, hey," I had my arms crossed between the horizontal wooden bars that kept her safe from falling off the top bunk, just watching her peaceful expression for a moment. It was a rare sight, surely, "Rainbow Dash, wake up ya bum."

I reached out and touched her shoulder, letting my hand move gingerly to her hair, which I brushed off of her face delicately. It was very soft, and I resisted the urge to run my fingers through it all to see it her whole head bore such silky strands. I rocked back and forth a bit in my boots on the bottom mattress of the bunk bed, keeping myself standing at her height.

"Honey, it's time to get up already." I must have touched her face or something, because something startled her to jolt awake. Her eyes opened suddenly, the deep pink hue tantalizing me to keep up there. But not for long.

Her scream shook me right to the core, and I couldn't much help reacting in the same way: with a scream of my own that sent me tumbling off the bunk bed and to the floor. I was not quite too lucky though, as falling back so far got me real close to the other bunk, and as I hit the floor with my rear I met the opposite bunk with my skull. I heard myself groan out loud as I reached up and touched my aching cranium, feeling the tender spot carefully. I had almost forgotten that Twilight had been in the room, and she immediately came over to my aid. She touched my arm as she tried to get a look at it, but I pushed her away and insisted that I was just fine and dandy.

"Ah, it's just a bump, I'll be fine," I said with a scratchy voice, looking back up to the top bunk across from me to see the startled face of my new acquaintance.

"Oh shit, did I do that?" she asked in a guilty and surprised voice, and I vacantly smiled a bit before pulling myself up and dusting myself off. "You okay A.J.?"

"What'd you call me?" I narrowed my eyes at the name, which surely I had told them all to call me but I hadn't expected to be spoken by Rainbow Dash again. No, she chose a nickname much more... colourful.

"Whatever, what are you doing in my room anyway? See, I told you she wasn't to be trusted, Twilight!" She leaned over the bunk and spoke to her friend, who nervously laughed and avoided the subject and my questioning gaze.

"Well excuse me." I put my hands on my hips and bent one leg behind the other, the straps of my loose overalls hanging crooked, "Here I was just coming to check up on you. You almost missed breakfast, sugar cube."

"Breakfast! Twilight how could you let me sleep?" she shouted as she hurriedly climbed down the ladder to get out of last night's clothes.

"You're blaming me?" she inquired as she gave her friend a less than amused expression, watching her rush about to find remnants of ensembles to assemble.

"I'm so hungry, I don't even care what it—" She stopped suddenly as she was half way adorning a sweater and gathering pants. Putting her hand to her mouth, she bolted out the door in a blink. "Bathroom!" we heard from down the hall as her ridiculously fast feet carried her away.

"Well, better she gets sick now than after breakfast." I shrugged as I went to take my leave, but found Twilight looking at me still. "Can I get cha somethin'?"

"No, I'm fine thanks. Guess I'll see you later." She let me leave, but continued to give me this weird look. This look was like, like she knew something I didn't, or was trying to figure something out. I sure as heck didn't know what she thought she saw, but I wasn't about to stick around and ask.

Breakfast was usually a buffet sort of deal, Granny and I cooked up as many flap jacks, scrambled eggs, sausages and bacon as we had. This being a farm, we had a lot of that stuff. By the time we finished cooking it all, it had been eaten up already. Big Mac already went and took the lot of them out to the dairy cows, today he was showing them how to take care of and milk them. I just knew someone would be squirting milk around, that's why I never directed that part of the tour. Come to think about it, I never directed much of the tour for that same reason.

I was taking a wheelbarrow full of soil over to the vegetable garden now, which took me right through the middle of the farm. I could hear the lot of them laughing while they were doing the milking, of course, and looked out there. Most of them were inside the pen already, but one of the guests was not. My guess was that she still fell too uneasy to go watching milk splatter around, but there she was just leaning on the outer post of the cattle pens, staring at me. I stopped walking for a second as she did, wondering if she was going to call out to me or something, but she didn't. She stared at me real intently for a moment before making some scowl and turning around to go back into the pens. I guess it must not have been important, so I picked up the wheelbarrow again and kept on.

The garden was in mighty good repair, as it was one of our main attractions of course. Anyone who wanted to come in for a few eggs ended up grabbing a couple carrots or snow peas or what have you, they just looked so mighty fine it was difficult to resist them. Even our guests at the ranch, they just loved being able to walk outside and pick their own vegetables for a change, wash them off and eat them fresh as they come. I already had my gardening gloves on from when I shovelled the soil into the barrow, so I just reached into the pile and grabbed a couple handfuls to sprinkle around. Rains and winds often brushed away the topsoil, so it was important to the vegetables and to the general aesthetics to keep it a glorious dark brown in colour. A bark and playful growl caught my attention, and without question I knew it was just my dog Winona, but she wasn't alone. I heard some small, quick steps rushing about in the gravel, and I would know those scampering skips anywhere. I rested my hands on my knees and called out to the girl.

"Hey, Apple Bloom," I said to my sister loudly enough for her to hear me over her zealous steps. "You finish puttin' up them flyers for the apple picking?"

"Uh..." She stood still and played around with her hair as she kicked the gravel anxiously, while Winona tried to get her attention back by circling around her. "Yea'."

"Apple Bloom," I repeated her name and she shrank a bit under my gaze. I smiled though, missing the days when I myself could act a little empty in the head and be given a little slack. "Come on over here, sis. Put a little dirt 'round the edges and grab a bucket of water from the well to water 'em and we'll call it even, sound good?"

"Yes ma'am." She nodded and hurried over to me, taking my dirty gloves without an issue.

"Rest of them are still milking the dairy cows, ain't they?" I stood up and brushed the dirt off my sleeves and overalls.

"Yea', my guess is they'll be out there fer a while, you can hear em makin' a mess all across the farm." Apple Bloom giggled as she all but threw the soil around randomly. I let her be though, going back to the ranch house to pick up the flyers right where I left them for her to pin up.

We had these cork boards down the hall in the guest loggings, where we'd tack up lots of activities for people to participate in. That's what I was doing any who, I had this little stack of flyers and was putting them up down the hall. I always left thumb tacks on the boards so I didn't lose them or have to buy new ones all the time, so I'd grab a tack and press it through the paper, holding the rest in the crook of my elbow as I did it. I didn't much mind if they were straight or not, people would get the idea any way. I put one up by the front entrance and a couple around in the common room before I went down to where the girls were staying. They had a board of their own down there, and I went to grab another flyer and pin it up, when I heard that familiar old creaking of the screen door. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that same old messy head of multi-coloured hair. I gave her a questioning look, wondering what had brought her back her so soon.

"Ain't you supposed to be at the dairy pens?" I asked her as she let the door fall closed hard against the door frame behind her. She didn't even bother to silence it as it shook and shivered around, she just looked up at me, and I could feel her rough mood rubbing up against me.

"Oh, you're here," Rainbow murmured, though her tone was not as agitated as I imagined from her expression.

"Yea', I won't be long," I told her certainly as I pushed a little harder against the tack.

"What do you want from me, anyway? Why is it you're just like, always hanging around me?" she asked in a rude tone, and I didn't really know what to say to such a thing, something she always seemed so keen on wondering.

"Uh, I work here sugar, remember?" I sort of smiled as I finished taking up the flyer, but she was in no mood to return one. I tilted my head to the side and spoke again, "Something wrong?"

"No, it's just..." She shook her head suddenly to try and keep whatever it was inside, despite her clearly troubled expression. She groaned a bit and then got angry again, "Yes, actually, something is. A.J., ever since I got here something about you just has me really, really peeved."

"I'm sorry?" I tried, though I didn't really know what she meant. She didn't want any apology, either, she just approached me until she was hardly a foot away.

"Well just look at you, it's like you just—you don't even know!" She slammed her hand into the wall beside me, almost causing me to flinch. I looked down at myself as if I might suddenly spot what she was going on about, but all I saw were my old work overalls. She stepped forwards again and nearly pushed me right up against the wall, like she was going to try and intimidate me. "You're so... you, you know? And It's cool, and I like it, I really do. But the worst part is, around you I get just get so, so..." Angry, I imagine. I sure do my best to go pushing people's buttons, that's what I've been told. "Confused!"

"Pardon?" I raised my eyebrow in question, but she was not interested in answering anything I might have had to say, so I just shut my mouth and let her vent.

"It gets me so mad when those guys say things about you too, you maybe don't hear them but they all do it, and I just..." She chewed on the words again as if they were some tough piece of meat.

That made sense, somehow she must have felt like we were becoming friends, too. And friends look out for each other, that's what I did for her, that's what Twilight does for her, I can guess she does that for Twilight too. Being so interested in managing clubs and reading books don't make many friends, surely.

"I can't even talk!" she shouted through a growl.

"Look, I know that you ain't much for small talk. All that stuff in the barn, water under the bridge, sugar cube." I tried to calm her down and show her that I understood. "You were in a bad place and wanted to pick all those fights just to let off some steam, that's all. And you got carried away with the drinkin', we've all been there."

"No, that's not it." She shook her head and avoided my gaze, though I chased it around with a serious look. Her eyes finally snapped up to mine, and it actually frightened me stiff. There was some intense determination in them, but not to seek revenge or anything. No, this looked like something more passionate than that. "I have to be honest with you, Applejack."

"Uh, yeah, okay?" I muttered with a few slow nods, waiting on her words.

Her breath pulled in slowly, but finally, she came out with it, "I think I'm getting feelings for you."

"What'd you say?!" I nearly shouted, pinning my darn self to the wall that time. No one—not a man nor a woman— had ever said that to me, not once before. I was not the type to get close to people, I was always too busy with work and the farm and my family. "Yer screwin' with me, right?!"

"Shut up, will you?" She hushed me, but her eyes were still crying out, and it almost felt like it was working. I swallowed uneasily under those cursedly magnetic eyes, too entranced to even hope to try and slink away. With a pained moan, she conceded to her urges, murmuring, "Damn it, Freckles."

I was already flushing like crazy in the heat of the confrontation, but her warm body pushed even closer than that. I felt her hand stroke my cheek and take hold behind my head, and she leaned in. My eyes grew wider than two turkey serving saucers as I felt her lips press against mine, the softness and delicacy of them out-shouted by the rough indulgent movement of her will against mine. I couldn't even breathe, feeling her body come right up to mine and capture it entirely. My heart was tight in my chest, feeling like Rainbow reached right in and grabbed it— beating and all. That right there was my first kiss. Backed up against the wall with a stack of flyers in my hand, lockin' lips with some girl I hardly knew. The girl part, that was the biggest surprise for me. I never even considered that I might enjoy it, but that was what terrified me most of all. It felt really damn good.

She pulled away, and not even in my wildest dreams could I have said something that even resembled a word. I just stood there utterly dumbfounded, completely uselessly gawking at the crazy-haired girl front of me. My eyes darted between her own, and with my shoulders all up and tense I thought it would be clear how terrified she made me. Her own eyebrows fell a bit and her face got all serious as she noticed the way I looked, like I was about to pass right on out.

Her head slowly shook a bit back and forth as she pulled away. Her eyes fell down onto my lips, which were still humming and quivering something fierce, made even more tender as her cool breath danced across what moisture she had left on them. It almost made me feel bad, seeing her standing there just as confused as I was. She released the hand she had used to grab me and instead touched her own lips, managing somehow to speak while I just watched on like a loon.

"I-I, I'm so sorry," she stuttered before she turned and abruptly sprinted off, leaving me entirely alone at last.

I still just stood there against the wall, and boy was I glad it was there, else I would've fallen right off my feet. My breath came back to me as I heard the screen door slam again and felt the vacant air around me. My shaking hands finally let go of the stack of flyers, and they fell out around me all a strew. My knees gave way and I slid down to the floor, feeling awful small all alone in the hall, in the whole farm. If I didn't think I'd look pathetic as a snivelling wreck I think I might have just started crying, but there was no need for that. After all, it wasn't like it was a big deal or anything, it didn't change who I was, but still I could not quite get my grip back.

I should have been angry with her, stealing my first kiss away and shoving so many bad thoughts in my head, but I wasn't. The only reason I must have liked it was because it was just so taboo, surely. Folks out on the farm here never even spoke of such things, and sure I liked the girl but I don't imagine I had feelings for her like she seemed to for me, surely not. Surely not. I put my hands up to my head and closed my eyes, letting it all sink in. She had gone and kissed me, and not only had I let her, the more I thought about it the more I led myself to believe I had wanted to kiss her back. The more I wanted her to run on back in here and do it again. I was losing it.

I pulled myself to my feet suddenly, knowing that I was stronger than that. I went and picked up all the loose flyers and strode right out of the hall like nothing was wrong. Nothing could fix me back up like some good old fashion hard work, that was always the truth. I took the time to do those projects I had been putting off for so long: the squeaky front door, the rusty tractor sprockets, the busted water shoot, anything I could get my hands on. I even went so far as to narrate every move in my head, so my thoughts could not even dream of drifting from the problems I could actually get my hands on and fix. Whatever it took, I had to get my head on straight, time would heal everything else.

I should have known that Big McIntosh would have noticed, he wasn't quite as slow as people sometimes thought him to be. He came up to me while I was shovelling out some of the pens, and he picked up a scoop of his own. For a while, neither of us said anything, between siblings close as us not a word needed to be spoken to know something just wasn't right.

"Somethin' on yer mind, sis?" he finally asked, his deep voice rocking against the rafters like thunder.

"Just lettin' off some steam, that's all," I lied, and I hated the feeling of doing it. But I couldn't tell him, shoot I couldn't tell anyone, and it was eating me alive. I did however want to talk, and maybe I could bring it out without confessing anything. "Hey Mac, you date, don't cha?"

"Eeyup." He nodded, scooping a big chunk and hoisting it into the wheelbarrow we had for that kind of stuff.

"Do you date often?" I kept on, because really I had never seen him with a girl. I was sure he had been out before, but he never talked about it, same as me.

"Nah, not too much. Got lots to do 'round here, y'know?" he reminded me, and I nodded slowly in agreement, digging right under this old mess in the corner. I looked back at him and saw that he was still around, hanging close like he knew there was more to the conversation. I bit at my lip to find the words to mouth right.

"What do you like about girls, any who?" I sheepishly let slip, avoiding making eye contact in case he could sniff out my agenda.

"I dunno." I leaned on his shovel a bit as he chewed it over. "I just like em, I guess. They're pretty, they smell good." I could tell this wasn't easy for him, but he kept on, "They're awful perceptive too, and it's cute the way they say one thing but mean another. Keeps me thinkin', I guess. I can't really explain it, y'know, I ain't too good with words." I knew that, but it was nice that he tried. "When I'm with em, my heart just feels real good. I smile a lot, 'specially when they smile at me."

"I think you're better with words than ya think," I said to him with a smile. "Maybe that's why you're so popular with the ladies." I guess I understood all of that, but still I wanted to know more. I tried to speak up again, but hesitated. Instead I just brushed my forehead with my sleeve, getting up the courage before, "Ever thought about likin' boys?" It slipped out.

"What?" He perked up and looked at me, and I just shrugged innocently like I was joking or something. "Can't say I ever did. They just don't make me feel that way, y'know?"

"But, well I mean hypothetically, what if one did? What if you found yourself, I don't know, likin' some guy?" I babbled out like it didn't concern me, but I did really want to hear the answer.

"Well, I'd hope you didn't think any less of me, I guess." I paused and looked at him seriously as he spoke. Did my opinion mean that much to him? Or did he catch on, and was trying to tell me something? "If I met someone who gave me that feelin', someone who made me smile, well that'd be that. It don't really matter much 'bout nothin' else, don't cha think?"

"You sure do have one big heart, Mac." I shook my head as he finished, liking the way he put it so simply.

Still, life was never quite so simple as Big Mac liked to think it was. And I still wasn't quite sure how I felt about it, any of it. About men, about women, about Rainbow Dash. My heart said one thing, but it kept getting all mixed up in my head, so I wasn't all too sure. Maybe I had to figure out how I felt about men, firstly, as that was the normal thing. I never really had the need to until now. I wanted to know, I wanted to stop this palm-sweating anxiousness already. I had to.

Tastes Like Apple

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7. Tastes Like Apple

I hadn't talked to her since we were alone in the hall outside my room the day before, and she must have been avoiding me. I had seen her rushing around and fixing things all day that day, like anything was better than dealing with it. She had left me a little trail of bread crumbs of course, the flyers she had put up right at the spot I left her, an invitation to go apple picking. It wasn't hard to convince Twilight to go with me, she must have thought it was me finally coming around to make friends with the guys. I really just needed to see Applejack again, maybe apologize better or something.

I didn't mean to offend her or scare her or whatever I did, I just couldn't help myself when we were all alone and she was... just standing there, looking at me with those, those beautiful eyes. I wasn't totally adverse to letting myself feel something for her even though it was weird and new, I mean how could I? But I didn't want to scare her away or anything, and damn it I couldn't even tell you what I did want. At that moment when she stood before me, staring at me all cute and everything, it had been her lips, and damn it, it was awesome.

Just thinking about it drove me crazy, it even kept me up all night tossing and turning, reliving it in my head. That's when I went out into the hall, to clear my mind, and when I found that flyer she pinned up. I must have scared Twilight stiff barging into her room in the middle of the night, telling her we were going apple picking. I had been the one dragging her around that time, plucking her from her room and pulling her to the orchard in tow. Some of the guys had come along too, and I hated that.

But there she was, her open-collared blouse tucked into her tight jeans as usual, and those same jeans hidden under her boots at the shin. She must have dressed that way on purpose, to tease me or something. No, she was too decent to do something like that. She came closer and I could see her shining eyes, the whole ranch reflecting into them. Though she appeared surprised or uneasy to see me, she didn't linger on it. Tipping her hat over those same very alluring eyes, she walked right past me without a word. I blinked, actually feeling kind of hurt about it. Well, I frowned deeply as I watched her pick up a ladder from leaning against one of the trees and a basket beside it, I was not someone who could be brushed off.

"Hey Rainbow, do you think that—" Twilight started to talk to me, but I was a girl on a mission and stormed right past her.

"So what'd you drag us all out here for, anyway? To pick some damn fruit?" I yelled at Applejack, watching her turn around and actually look at me, surprised by my outburst. I let out my breath heavily, glaring at her until she spoke.

"Well I guess we should get started then." Didn't even sound like it was directed at me. She tossed the ladder over her shoulder, putting the basket handle onto one of the legs. I could hear the irritation in her voice as she went on, "This orchard spans from here to the mountains, there are thousands of trees and hundreds of thousands of apples. We gotta pick em, we gotta inspect em, then we gotta carry em around and make stuff with em. Who's ready?"

"Lead on, Apple-girl." I gestured with an outstretched arm, waiting for her to start.

She started off through the trees, intentionally keeping her pace faster than mine so I couldn't catch up to her without running up like I wanted to. Her tactics would not work on me of course, if I know anything about myself it's that nobody is faster than me. I swung around and looked at the guys behind us, quite a ways behind us if I could be frank. They were all looking at each other like they weren't really following what was going on between us, the idiots. Twilight hurried after me in something of a jog, and I could tell that she already knew something was up.

Applejack finally stopped once she found one of the biggest, fattest and tallest apple trees I had ever seen. She pretended to look around some more as the rest of them caught up, knowing I wouldn't confront her with all the witnesses around. That's probably why she didn't just run off and leave them behind, too.

"It's plenty easy, you can reach a good amount from the ground, but some of the best apples are up a few branches." She nearly threw the ladder to the ground, digging the legs into the ground really deep. I tried to play it cool and aloof, but seeing the ladder wobble a bit as she stomped up it made me give up a bit of my ground. She didn't seem to notice me walk over there, but she felt when I clamped onto it with my hands, holding it steady. Turning to glare at me once more, her eyes narrowed and her voice seeped out, "You ain't gotta hold the ladder, Rainbow."

"I want to," I simply replied, holding the stare just as long as she did, though I acted less than concerned and caring.

"I do this all the time by my lonesome, y'know, I don't need the support," she snapped at me, closing her hands and pressing her knuckles against her hips.

"Yeah and when you fall and break your neck you've got no one to blame but yourself," I retorted, my own voice cracking a bit as I raised it. We were both too stubborn to back down, so we just stood there looking at each other like glares could maim.

"Uh, guys?" We both woke up a bit as we heard Twilight's voice and looked over to see the whole lot of them just scratching their heads and watching. "You going to get on with the demonstration?"

"Right, right," I heard Applejack masking her stress and troubles and clearing her throat to go on. "Well any who, you reach right on up and find one that looks bright red and ready, then you just put yer fingers 'round it and give it an easy tug and twist."

"I wouldn't mind one of those myself." My ear twitched as I heard one of those same snide sexual comments from my team mates.

Without even thinking, I bent down and grabbed one of the fallen, decaying apples from the ground. It didn't bother me much that it was rotting away in my hand, so I went ahead and threw it at the offender, hitting him square in the neck and winding him. He was lucky it was rotting, or else he might have started choking. Applejack didn't even seem to notice, or say anything about it anyway.

"If it's ready it'll come off without a hitch." She twisted it at the stem and it easily snapped off. She pulled it down and showed us this divine looking apple, perfectly symmetrical and everything. It kind of reminded me of— "And there ya have it, one of the sweetest apples you ever did taste." Yeah, that sounded right, and didn't I know it.

"Is that a guarantee?" I raised my eyebrow, smirking as I got her attention again.

"Why, you wanna have a bite?" Applejack leaned down on the ladder and returned my daring expression, before shoving the apple right into my mouth. I made a muffled noise of surprise as she did it, I wasn't quite expecting her to be so rough. She smiled as I took a bite and chewed it, and if I wasn't mistaken, I think the act was somehow flirtatious. "How is it?"

"It tastes like an apple," I told her with my mouth still full, the juicy sweetness making me salivate more than normal. Of course, I wouldn't tell her all that.

"Well I certainly hope so." Applejack laughed as she sat on a step of the ladder. "Go ahead y'all and give it a try, pick and apple and have a bite or two."

I didn't want to admit it, but these apples were really something special. I looked up at her as she leaned her arms onto her bent knees, and I absently took another scrumptious bite. Maybe I had been too forward with her, but I would have thought that was the sort of thing she would respond too. Then again, even I felt awkward about it and uncertain, and here I was initiating contact. I really must have been crazy. The rest of the bunch finished picking their snacks while I polished off my own, and from each mouth that tasted the sweet, sweet fruits came musings of delight. I guess I could relate, after all. Applejack climbed back up the ladder then and started plucking some more apples, placing them into the big round basket she had brought along with her.

"So, you're graduating this year too, right?" I asked in nonchalantly, though I already knew the answer. I was mostly just trying to get her talking. She just nodded as she kept on picking those apples, so I went on, "Got plans for next year?"

"Yeah, I got a full scholarship to Quest State," Applejack said, and modestly added, "I run track, y'see. My grades ain't great, but I work hard."

"Yeah, I hear that." I smiled at the familiar story, it was something like my own. I sighed and remembered the reason we were all here in the first place. "Doubt I'll get a free ride though, our soccer team sucks. It's our last game to qualify for the city championship two nights from now, but no scouts come to watch us, and I wouldn't want them too if they did."

"I dunno much how you play, but with that attitude I'd wager it ain't too good," she told me, though it didn't sound like she was taking a shot at me or anything. Still, I was defensive about it.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I growled as I watched her reaching out for the apples, her clothes squeezing her body the ways I almost wished I could.

"Listen to me sugar cube, there ain't no one who wants to watch a game where the players are all down on themselves. You want people to watch? Get yer head out of the mud, and give yer feet a chance to make a splash." She didn't look down at me while she was speaking, but as she finished she touched my shoulder, and she handed me a warm smile and an unexplained wink.

Something about her spirit had me hypnotized, and maybe that was exactly what she was talking about. She went right back to her duties though, and I couldn't have thought up anything to say to her that could have possibly been an adequate response.

I suppose bothering her while she was working would be rude of me anyway, unfortunately. I leaned against the ladder lazily instead, yawning as if it would pass the time. I jerked up as the ladder budged and hurriedly turned and wrapped my arms around it, holding it still. Applejack glared down at me angrily, but for my defence the best I could do was grin and sheepishly scratch the back of my head.

I was alone in my room by the time the sun was going down, and I could hear the boys in the common room shouting like wild. I just rolled over, facing my back to the door like I didn't give one damn what they were all up to. I really didn't, I mean it was our last night on the ranch, and for all I knew I would never see Applejack again. I closed my eyes tight for a moment, trying to get her out of my head for even a minute.

I hadn't seen the coach in a while, Big Mac had driven him out to get cigarettes and they hadn't been back for at least half an hour. The boys took that as a free pass to do whatever it was that amused them. I heard the back door open, seeing as how it was so close to my room, and pulled myself up. If it was Twilight leaving, she must have had a good reason. I stretched my legs out and went to the door, opening it but a crack to see if her door was open. I pulled it open more and went to go out into the hall, maybe check on her and make sure she wasn't wasting away in her room breathing in the dusty old smell of studies all night long. I was about to touch her doorknob though, when her whole door opened right in front of me.

"Oh, Rainbow, was that you getting in?" Twilight asked me with a concerned expression. "I didn't know you left."

"I didn't," I told her as my eyes drifted down the hall towards the boys.

I felt my jaw clench up tight as I saw her there: Applejack, leaning over their table like some flirtatious barmaid. She was all dressed up fancy, dark jeans and a tight blouse, made to suit her curves better by the suede vest fitted perfectly with tassels and designs. I stepped away from Twilight's door, letting her get back to reading if that's what she was going to do. However, she, too, seemed interested in whatever was going on down the hall. I could hear them even from here, whistling or barking or spouting gritty slang I didn't even want to decipher. I slowly came up behind her, but merely watched, waiting to see just what it was she wanted from them.

All eyes were on her as she leaned one hand on their table and crossed her cowboy boots behind her in that sexy way, and I was not surprised by their focused gazes. After all, she even managed to command my attention. The boys at the table put their cards face-down on the table in front of them and pulled the illegal cigarettes out of their mouths; they must have felt like such bad-asses or something about it too. Didn't fool me one bit.

"Hey baby, what brings you by?" our mid fielder spoke up, leaning closer to her as if to smell her hair. It pissed me off already, I was the one who should have been feeling that blonde silk between my fingers and taking in her scent. But still, I watched on like I was hollow to it all, not even my face contorting to show my troubles.

"My brother told me he was drivin' your coach into town," she smoothly replied, her words flowing through the otherwise silent room like drapes fluttering on the wind. "Nearest town is an hour's drive away, and another hour back. Thought you boys might need some supervision." The guys all hooted and laughed as she smiled at them, giving them exactly what attention fed their egos.

"You sure are right about that," the goalkeeper agreed, as the team moved to make room for one more chair around the table. "We're just playing a couple rounds of poker, but we can up the odds a bit if you think you can persuade us."

I definitely did not like where this was going, and could just feel my blood boiling under my skin. Something told me they were planning to bet on that nice pull-apart shirt of hers, if not her jeans.

"Gets mighty lonely in the ranch house," her voice taunted me, this suave and sultry tone some devil's tool to steal me away. I knew it worked just the same on the men who stood around her, as it was damn near irresistible. "Maybe you wanna deal me in for a hand or two?"

"A hand, I can do." One of our other strikers went for what he was best at if nothing else, scoring. But I would never let him get near the goal, just the same as it was on the field if we ever played on opposite teams.

I grabbed his wrist about an inch away from his intended goal, Applejack's all too sculpted rear. I squeezed at it until I heard the bone click, nearing it to broken as best I could without crossing the line. I stepped even closer until Applejack stood back up and recognized me gripping the eager wrist of my horny team mate. Her eyes met mine under the dim lights of the common room, which were all burnt out in odd places and sprinkled with insect corpses. The rest of the room was silent, awaiting our inevitable confrontation. I twisted our striker's wrist just a spell more, I mean it's not like he needed it or anything, and it was the closest I could get to touching Applejack herself and showing her just how angry I was with her. Either way she seemed to pick it up, and cocked her head at me.

"I don't need yer help, Rainbow. I can take care of my self just fine, thank you," she snapped at me, and from where I was standing it sounded to me like she was actually welcoming all that masculine attention. I certainly was not.

"Look, I don't know what you're trying to do, but coming all the way out here dressed like that?" I tried to hint what I was implying, but the accusation just made her all the more angry. The men stepped back a bit as our glares collided.

"Dressed like what? What exactly are you sayin'?" Applejack asked me as if she wanted to be civil about the whole thing. Upon hearing the stifled, excited laughs of our sweeper, she broke free of her repressions and slammed both her hands hard onto the table in front of us. "And just what in the hay are you snickerin' at?"

"They feel the tension between us too," Though they probably didn't know what kind of tension it was.

"Pardon?" she slowly spoke, her dangerous tone all the more enthralling to my daring side.

Applejack gave her attention back to me and pushed herself up to full height, which was just above my own, though that might have been the doing of those saucy boots. I didn't really want to reveal our affairs to everyone either, so I decided instead to play a little game of chicken with the farm girl.

"So how about this, how about you answer the question that's on every guy's lips right now." My hand touched her shirt just below her breast and trailed down slowly and sensually, feeling her breath quicken to a halt and her stomach muscles contract under the attention. My fingers flicked against her apple-shaped belt buckle and nestled themselves right behind it, though we both waited patiently for the words, "How far down do those freckles really go?"

I heard the slap more than I registered it against my cheek, and it was so hard that she turned my head clean away from her. I blinked a bit, not expecting such a violent reaction so quickly to come from her, but there it was. Everyone else held their breaths as I looked over at her, with this incredulous stare that demanded an explanation. She stiffened up under the attention though, and I could see the blossoming fluster of an embarrassed blush appearing against her cheeks. It actually nearly killed me to look at her then, I could see her eyes shining under that same dim light, and it was as if they were on the cusp of watering over her speckled face. She turned abruptly and walked right down the hall, her boots clicking all the way across the hard wood floor. I even saw the screen door fly open, and watched her swaying body disappear into the night before I moved too much.

As she left though, suddenly the mood picked right back up, and I felt my own team mates high-fiving me in sequence. I looked over at the lot of them, though I could feel my cheek hot with the swelling and throbbing with the pain. They laughed and cheered, grabbing at me and hugging like they thought I was some kind of hero or something. I didn't really understand what had changed or conspired, but they must have thought that I was some daring bad-ass, some no-limits player just like the rest of them. I blinked a bit as I got used to it, until the confident smile graced my face and I accepted all their praise. It may not have been the bonding Twilight was looking for, but it was a start, anyway.

I grinned as they all joked around, repeating my words and guessing at the results, but felt the dismal gaze of someone whose opinion mattered somewhat more to me. Down the hall, I could see Twilight staring at me, her expression disappointed and angry. It upset me to look at her, all alone down there while my fickle, senseless team showered me with much desired appreciation. She shook her head at me and went right back into her room. She was right of course, it was disgraceful of me to make someone I felt so strongly about feel so objectified and awful. I just smiled though and avoided the most of it, waiting until their cheering had gone down and their attention went elsewhere again.

All I came to the ranch for was their acceptance, it would be nice to finally have the support of my team. It was what would win me some scholarship or a silly game, wasn't it? But at what cost? I found myself alone in my room again, and at the end of the day, whether I was persecuted or admired, that's where I'd end up. All alone, and guilty. I tried to close my eyes once again, blaming Twilight and all her stupid lessons and reasons that had given me a conscience, blaming Applejack for being just so damn herself. I sat upright suddenly, and let myself feel cold in the draughty air as my blanket fell and folded on my lap. I rubbed my hands over my eyes and forehead, letting them sift through my hair and mess it up like it ought to be. If this was my last day at this ranch—and as much as I hated to think— the last day with Applejack, I just couldn't leave things as they were.

I threw off my covers and stood up again, hearing my own nervous heart beat in the otherwise silent room. It had been quiet for hours and I had just lay there letting it be that way. Once the coach got back he started screaming at the boys, and they had gone to bed a long time ago now. Only the crickets and wind told of life now. I pulled my door open, listening carefully at first in case and steps were to be heard. But as I imagined, the night was sleeping just like everyone else.

I crept across the floorboards, avoiding what little I knew of the squeaky floorboards from my few days at the ranch, and so slowly pushed the screen door open it was like a long harmonious yawn of some distant shrieking bird. I closed it carefully behind me too, leaving it unlocked, and waited for any response. Finding no betrayal to my defiance, I felt my bare feet through the gravel until I reached the farm house. It creeped me right the hell out as I opened their front door, and I felt like some sneaky robber or something just stalking about in their home. I didn't really know where I was going, but I had seen the stairs through the archway when I had dinner with them and only hoped the bedrooms were up there.

I froze on the second top step, hearing the conspicuous creek that rang out as some cry for help. I looked down at the cursed thing with a toothy frown, wishing it would call out something about a false alarm. Either way, the more I waited the more I realised that it was safe. No one came out to find me, and ushered by the close call I hurried up to the second floor, only to find at least five doors along the hall. I groaned to myself and pressed my palm to my face before giving it my best guess.

The first door in front of me looked too easy, so I peered down the hall to be sure first. The door down the hall on the left had all these cute little decorations on it, so I assumed that was Apple Bloom's room. Down further was a new looking door, like a guest room or something. The one at the end of the hall seemed plausible, but I attributed such masculine placement to an older brother or elder, and the one beside it too. So, I had no other option than to try the first door, no matter how daunting it seemed to be. I pressed myself against it and touched the cool metal of the doorknob, listening to the slow, easy breathing of the inhabitant. I noticed that the door was already left negligently ajar, so I peeked in, knowing her by distant silhouette as quickly as I'd know my face in a mirror.

I stepped in and closed the door behind me with the knob still turned, gently letting it turn back into place in my control. I came right up to the bed, her sleeping form seeming so vulnerable and fragile in the light of the moon that sung in through the parted drapes. Her hat was hung up on a pillar in the middle of her room, somewhere it must have always slept. Beneath it, this cosy little bed for her dog rested, though there was no dog there. Her hair fell around her straight as ever, though it was out of the pony tale just as I had seen it when we were alone by the creek. I walked around the bed, my eyes tightly fixed on her, and let my shadow slide up her body as I did. As much as I thought about it, I couldn't come up with a way to wake her without seeming like a murderer, so the best I could do was go for the gentle approach. I leaned over the far side of her bed, so I could get a look at the door in case someone walked in, and positioned myself over her.

"Hey, A.J., you asleep?" I asked even though the answer was pretty obvious.

She just kept breathing quietly, and it was too tempting to resist. I slowly raised my leg and pressed my knee on the soft mattress, and then the other, crawling closer to her. I was so barely hanging above her now, our lips so perfectly already introduced that to let them meet again seemed entirely sincere. But I did not indulge, and instead tried to whisper once more.

"Applejack?" But nothing.

I pulled myself fully up onto the bed and reached towards her, finding her hands on her midsection folded up over top of the covers. They were cold, the cool spring's night taking hold of them like I wanted to. I squeezed them a bit, letting my own hot blood warm her up. The touch must have stirred her, because she made some fragment of a noise and took my hand suddenly, turning over in her sleep in the opposite direction and yanking me off balance. I landed right behind to her, my hand taken captive, in this suggestive and inexplicable position. I closed my eyes tightly to calm down before I made my move to try and get her up and aware again,

"Yo, Applejack, come on that's not funny." I pulled against her grip, but she was strong. I leaned closer, feeling my breasts touch her back and press up close. "Let me go, Freckles!"

"Who the—?" she murmured but I felt her go still under the covers.

She suddenly turned right over and nearly hit my nose with her own, our eyes clashing in what bits of light we used to our advantage. She took in a breath and yelped a loud and long-held shout, scrambling to get away from me until I pinned my hand against her mouth. Her muffled screams still slipped out, but I shushed her again and again until she understood well enough what was going on.

"Jeez, you're going to give me a heart attack!" I whispered and sighed in relief as she went quieter, though her eyes grew angry with me and she said something that sounded something like—

"Givin' you a heart attack?!" she barked into my hand, and I finally gave her a bit of air. "What the heck are you doin' in here, Rainbow? How did you even—?"

"Quiet down, A.J., it's the middle of the night," I warned her as I touched her tasty lips again, making sure she intended to stay quiet before letting her have some more space.

"Yeah, the middle of the night and some crazed girl is lying on top of me and stiflin' my screams!" she whispered hurriedly, and I guess I could understand that it sounded rather terrifying. I grinned and tried to shrug it off before responding.

"Hey, if I could wake you up without acting like some rapist I would, trust me," I argued quietly as she tried to shake me off of her. At least rapist was better than murderer, by some margin.

"Forgive me if I find that hard to believe!" she growled again and pushed against my assertiveness, that is, until we both froze to the sound of a squeaky floorboard down the hall. We looked to the door, then instantly looked back at each other in fright. "Get off me, Rainbow!" came another frantic whisper as I tried to get my balance with her shaking the covers about.

"Sis?" We both looked at the door again with terrified expressions as the doorknob turned, but before I could say a thing Applejack tossed me right off of her and onto the ground behind the bed, in one clump of blankets and confusion. "You all right?"

"Uh, yeah Apple Bloom." She jumped to her feet and stood in front of the bed, I could see her feet from under the bed is how I knew. "Just a bad dream is all."

"What about that thud?" she asked in her tired little voice, rubbing the sleep from her eye as if she could spot me from back here.

"I fell out of bed, silly." Applejack laughed and explained, shooing her back out the door with her disinterest in talking and her gestures.

"And got back up so quick?" I swallowed nervously from behind the bed, thinking that she must have heard me coming up or something. I prayed that Applejack was good under pressure, because I felt like I was about to burst.

"You know how agile I am, sis, now go on back to bed. Everything's fine," she told her little sister without hesitation, even chuckling a bit to try and sell the story. Apple Bloom just stood there for a little longer though, sizing the situation up.

"You ain't got some guy in your room, do ya?" I covered my mouth in case she had heard my laboured breathing, she was so close to the truth I felt like I was about to scream just to relieve the anticipation.

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack called her name in anger, taking it as a means to avoid directly lying. "No, I ain't got no guy in my room, all right? Have I ever once lied to you?" She waited for a response, and there was nothing but a presumed shake of the young girl's head. "This is the honest truth Apple Bloom: I definitely ain't got no guy in here. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." She accepted it with a bit of a huff, seeming like she had come in specifically to sniff out some kind of scandal. Applejack just tapped her foot on the ground over and over until her little sister sighed out loud and accepted defeat too. "Al'right, I'm goin', I'm goin'."

Applejack saw her out, even looked through the door to make sure she was gone before she closed it with both hands and sighed a breath of relief. I pulled myself up onto the bed, resting my head on my hand and my elbow on the sheet-covered mattress.

"Was that necessary?" I asked with a pouting expression, but she shot me something of a death glare and responded promptly, albeit quietly.

"Unless you wanted to wake up the whole farm with the shrill cries of a young girl, yeah, it was," she told me as she pushed off the door and came over to me, her plaid pyjamas swaying with what little of her body I could see in such low lighting. "So, are you gonna tell me what yer doing in my room, or am I gonna have to beat it out of you?"

"Come on, if it's what you're thinking I'm here for, it would be happening already and you would not be able to resist me." I smirked, and she huffed a disbelieving laugh like she thought it was ridiculous, shaking her head and letting me go on already. "We need to talk, A.J., like seriously talk."

"Yeah, about what?" She started getting defensive again, and I groaned as I pulled myself to my feet.

"What did you think you were doing with those guys, anyway?" I started, calling her on what little bits of courage she seemed to let slip out. I wouldn't get very far, of course.

"Well that ain't none of yer business, Rainbow. Now if that's all, I'd appreciate it if you left my room now," she spat, letting me know just how unwelcome I was.

"You and I both know that's not why I'm here, and as much as I'm trying to have a civilized conversation you're trying to avoid me like the damn plague!" I tried to keep it quiet, but found myself having to hold my mouth to keep it down.

"I don't know what you're goin' on about. All I know, is someone thought it'd be just hilarious if she screwed around with the ranch hands, thought it'd make all her team mates laugh or somethin'." She turned around and crossed her arms like she was protecting herself from me.

"Me? You think I was lying to you? That kiss was real, A.J., and you know it just as well as I do, you can't fake that kind of emotion. And you liked it, didn't you?" I tried to get through to her, but she didn't even so much as listen. I tried to get closer but she avoided me again. She didn't even bother trying to tell me how she felt about any of it. "You know what your problem is? You're fake!"

"Fake? You watch yer mouth, honey." I got her to respond at least, but I had much more to say than that.

"When we first got here you were all about the confidence, the charm." That surprised her to hear, I could tell. "And now you're acting all shy and uncomfortable and angry, what's that about? It's like you don't even know what you want, or who you are!"

"Well excuse me! This sorta thing ain't never come up before, all right? Sorry if I'm a little uneasy, ever since you came around I've been all kinds of crazy." She let out her breath as she hit her back to the door again, her hands running through her loose hair.

"Well it's coming up now, isn't it?" I approached her commandingly, and I could physically see her shrink under my gaze, nervous to have me so alone and so near, or afraid of something in herself. "And I don't hear you denying anything about how you feel. So do you like me or not? It's a pretty simple question."

"I—" She started to say something, but forced herself to stop. I nodded a few times as I waited, but she still didn't give me a straight enough answer for my liking. She did answer, though, "I just don't know, okay? How the heck am I supposed to feel when someone kisses me like that?"

"You don't go feeling things because you're supposed to, nothing about this is how it's supposed to be." I flared my nostrils angrily as I stood close to her again, that same closeness we had before. "So what, you're just going to let me leave this place like I was never here? It's that easy?"

"I never said it was easy, Rainbow," she argued, and if only for an instant I saw some glimmer of honesty from her, something that told me she would fight for it. But just as quickly, with her evasive gaze, it disappeared.

"Thing about me, A.J., is that some people call me reckless or stupid or crazy, and some call me stubborn or pig-headed." I touched her again on her cheek, seeing her body respond even if her mind did not consent. My finger raised her chin up until she actually looked at me. "But all I really know is I'm the kind of person who takes chances."

I wished that I would have kissed her again, but I was afraid that she would not kiss me back. Last time was hard enough, to watch her stare at me with those big emerald eyes and reject me. She didn't shake me off though, and something told me she wanted me to just grab her and take her for all she was worth. But I wanted her to tell me herself, from those perfectly shaped lips, when I would be too distracted looking at and commenting on those adorable freckles and that southern accent. She did nothing like it, though. Her lips moved, but the words were cold and despondent, defending herself from my invasive and aggressive means.

"Get outta my room." I hoped I had heard it wrong, but the look on her face and the way she moved out of standing in front of the door confirmed it for me. My body went numb with the disappointment, but I just absently nodded.

"Well, fine. If that's what you want, then good riddance. Just don't say that I didn't try." The words fell out of me as quickly as I dropped them, wanting to just leave that horribly comfortable room before I started embarrassing myself too badly.

I felt the catch in my throat and clench in my chest as I tore the door open and stormed out, leaving her with whatever privacy she thought she needed. If I wasn't so concerned with keeping her out of trouble, I would have just screamed and started punching at her walls, but I kept it all inside as I raced out the front door. This whole ranch idea, it was stupid to begin with. I was better off getting myself drunk at some stupid party and waking up alone on Pinkie Pie's couch. That was the spring break I was meant to have. All this, this was just a torturous waste of my time.

Who Makes You Smile

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8. Who Makes You Smile

My morning felt lonely and quiet after everything that went on last night, the sun shone in and broke across my floor like a bunch of rusty nails, begging me to step onto their comfortable warmth. This ranch was my home and sanctuary, but now it felt more like a prison. I just felt so awful about everything that happened: trying my chances with those guys to see if it stirred up anything in me that might make me feel normal again, sending Rainbow off so coldly. I squeezed my blankets again, feeling the extensive rolls of fabric that could not be filled by just one person.

Despite my will to stay in bed until the sun went back down again, I managed to pull myself up and get dressed for work. The apples, cows, horses and chores did not care much about my personal life, they never gave me a break if I had a dilemma or trouble. That was just the nature of it. I grabbed my hat last and pulled it over my hair, opening my door and moseying down the stairs. I came into the dining room, leaning over and kissing my little sister on the top of her head.

"Howdy Apple Bloom," I greeted her as I did it, walking around her in her usual seat to go to the kitchen and grab myself some oatmeal or cereal. "You're up early."

"Nah, sis." She laughed a bit as I scooped up a bowl and found some granola to stuff it with. "Yer up late. I thought you'd be helpin' Big Mac with collectin' the eggs."

"What?" I leaned back and looked out the window, measuring the height of the sun above the ranch. She was right after all, usually I got up around dawn, but it was quite a bit later than that. "I guess I had a rough night, didn't get to sleep 'til late."

"Yea', I remember," she replied as she picked up her bowl and carried it into the kitchen behind me, pushing it up onto the counter that was still a little too tall for her to reach properly. "That ain't much of a breakfast," she commented on my little bowl of granola.

"I just ain't that hungry, I guess." I looked down at it too, and even I knew it was strange. This was not the kind of breakfast that would keep me energized out in the sun, but I didn't feel much like eating.

"Yer usually stuffin' yer face at breakfast," her voice squeaked a bit with surprise, and I just chuckled as I shook my head and opened the fridge. "You sure yer all right, sis?"

"There." I grabbed a hard-boiled egg from the second shelf and bit the skinny end of it, leaving it there half in my mouth as I murmured against the cold exterior, "Y'happy now?"

"You're so weird, Applejack!" She giggled loudly and started pushing me into the dining room, seeing as how we weren't ever supposed to eat in the kitchen if Granny had anything to say about it.

I kept on laughing as I came to the table, which was still set up long for when we had guests over. I knew my way to my seat as well as I knew my own two feet, but looking at it made me feel awful lonely. I sat down as Apple Bloom went back to wash her dish, and my eyes drifted to the seat that Rainbow Dash had taken when she sat with us. I shoved several spoonfuls of granola in my mouth at once before chewing, hoping it would shake out the thought of her sitting there, the idea of her kicking me under the table; as if it had been her doing at all. I darn near swallowed the hard-boiled egg whole just to get up out of my seat again and leave that table, it just wasn't good for me to be lingering on stuff like that.

Thinking of no better way to get some distance from the ranch than this, I found myself out picking apples in the orchard again. Granny still hadn't finished with the last batch the bunch of us brought her, but it was some honest work I felt I needed to be doing. Even though the sun was shining hot as usual, the apples were cool to the touch and tasted as fresh as if I had pulled them out of a flowing stream, still sometimes saturated with morning dew.

I had two baskets with me on my own, each one big and heavy as a barrel, though that might be stretching the truth a mite. With all the weight already on my shoulders, these apples felt like stones to carry. I hadn't noticed the day drag on, but while I was up on a ladder grabbing another load of apples and inspecting them for quality, I heard the grinding of wheels on gravel. Now that was an odd sound to hear out here so vividly, usually it was only pick ups or little cars that came down this road, but this vehicle was loud and heavy. It must have been their bus ride home.

Though I tried to hold myself still with resolve, I jumped off the ladder as I heard it round the bend, and found myself almost chasing the noise and abandoning the buckets of apples as they lay. Despite my better judgement and the screaming in my head that told me I was a fool, I raced down the hill as the orange vehicle pulled up and drove into the drive way, feeling my breath catch in my throat and the long grass snap at my legs.

I don't know why I ran, maybe I just didn't want to miss the chance to say goodbye, or wanted to be a good host, either way I found myself at the ranch lickety-split, trying to calm my breath so I did not give away my earnestness. By the time I got down there they were just finishing up packing the bags into the storage compartment, and the lot of them were still hanging around outside the bus. I breathlessly walked up to Big Mac, who was helping the driver stuff their bags back into the undercarriage.

"So, they're leavin'?" I tiredly asked him as if it wasn't obvious.

"Eeyup," he simply replied as he hoisted a big old sack into the bus, before closing it up and letting the driver lock it up tight.

"All right, everyone on the bus!" their coach called and blew a whistle to get their attention, though I thought it was a little excessive. I crossed my arms as I watched them board, acting like it didn't bother me in the slightest, even though my heart still raced.

"Hey," her voice broke me out of my façade, and I looked up to see her standing a few feet before me, making the same awkward, angry expression. "I didn't think you'd... I don't know, make it."

I knew what she really meant by that, but didn't address it. Instead, I played coy, "O'course, I gotta be a good host."

"Right, right," she repeated with a few solemn nods. She cleared her throat anxiously as she kicked at the gravel, but found some more vocabulary, "So, like, goodbye or whatever."

"Yeah," I replied simply, but noticed that she put her hand out to me for a shake.

I looked into her eyes one last time, finding them staring straight back at me with not only that aggressive attitude, but with some hidden sorrow buried real deep. I took her offer with minimal hesitation, as showing my nervousness might have told everyone of my own hidden worries. We shook three times, our hands locking closed firmly in this perfect last embrace. I felt numb besides that touch, her hand so nice and cosy warm like it made everything else disappear. She pulled away first, and stepped back to get on the bus after her last team mate.

"G'bye," I said, and it even sounded weak to me.

"Thanks again," Twilight's voice seemed distant to me as I watched Rainbow get on the bus and sit down near the front, on this side of the bus like she wanted to let me see her until she left. I shook it off and looked at Twilight, smiling like I was just as carefree as ever. "I know that the team sure benefited from this experience, myself included. And maybe one or two of us even found out something about ourselves." She looked at me with this simple smile, but it did not quite seem so simple as that. There was no way Rainbow would have told her what had gone on, she was too proud for that, but then what was she implying? "Anyway, I suppose we should get on the road. Hope everything goes well for you all!"

"Have a safe trip," Granny Smith chattered out with a wave of her hand. "Y'all come back now, y'hear?"

I could not look away that time, when there was a pane of glass between us, and if the bus wheels rolled fast enough, the rest of the world. She looked out at me too, with a neutral kind of expression, though I could feel some suppressed hurt. As the vehicle started up and groaned awake, I watcher her give me some tiny remnant of a wave, a lazy half-salute if you asked me. I raised my own hand up to my head level and waved it gently back and forth as they pulled away. I stepped forward without conscious consent as the bus turned away, seeing just one more second of her bright, rainbow-coloured hair before the glass reflected the sun into my eyes instead.

I stood there still, with my one hand up like an idiot, until I couldn't even hear the muffler coughing up the dirt road. That overwhelming sadness was new to me, that pull at my chest and that miserable melancholy I had only read about when I myself was so far from my farm, and never even when I was so far away did I understand it the way I did now. I let my hand come down and contorted my face a bit, questioning just what all that mushy gunk actually meant.

"I guess I should get started on all them apples you brought by," Granny Smith said to me as she started towards the ranch. "Got plenty a' sauce and jam and pies to make. Applejack, you comin'?"

"Yea' Granny, I got two more barrels for ya." I paused, remembering that I had left them way out back where they'd do no one any good. "... Back in the orchard," I admitted with a sheepish grin.

"Well what the hay are they doin' out there?" she asked me in that curmudgeon old tone. "Somethin' on your mind got you slackin' off, Applejack?"

"Nah, Granny, it ain't nothin' but a little negligence, been so busy and all." I tried to find myself a good enough excuse, but I knew that hardly a word of it seemed to be truthful enough.

"If that's all." Granny kept on walking, like she couldn't tell if something was wrong. Or maybe she could, and she knew that leaving it up to me was the best course of action to take, because whatever she did seemed to get me thinking. I smiled at the dirt, feeling myself losing what grip on sanity I seemed to have left.

"Well," my mouth moved without my consent, and by the time I figured it out I was still going, "I was just wondrin', you have any idea where all those folks were from again, Granny?"

"Oh, I don't know. It must say somewhere on the reservation sheet in the office. Why?" She waved the subject off as though it had little importance, carrying on like she was none the wiser.

"I just need to know." My legs carried themselves in that direction, though I tried to call out to Granny about how little it seemed to mean. "I'll be right back, okay?" I finally said over my shoulder as I came up to the office: this little wooden shed next to the ranch house close to the drive way where there was a phone, a fax, a window and some pens and paper.

I rifled around erratically for a while, feeling my time running right out before me like a chicken on the road. Course, then I realised that we had them filed away chronologically for any situation like this—well, maybe not exactly like this—and promptly knocked open the stubborn, sticky drawer. Pulling out the most recent file, I frantically searched all possible headings for something to tell me where they came from, but all I could come up with was a city name: Ponyville. I knew the place of course, but it was mighty far away and quite sizeable, so it didn't really mean squat.

I scanned once or twice more, hoping I just wasn't looking hard enough, but nothing more came up. Slamming the file on the file cabinet, I picked up my hat off my head and ran my fingers through my hair, trying to take a calming breath instead of lashing out. I struggled to remember if Rainbow had said anything about where they were from. I mean, it didn't matter to me or nothing, but I deserved to know, right?

"Hey, A.J.," I heard Big Mac's voice as he leaned in through the open window of the office, looking down at me kneeling over the files in the shadows like I must have been crazy. "You find what you were looking for?"

"No." I frowned at the words scrawled across the pages and the file folders; the labels and the titles all meant nothing to me.

All I really knew was the name of the city, and that didn't quite seem like enough. I got up to my feet though, leaving that transient bull spit on the floor where it belonged. I felt it then, that fervent rush, that pull, that determination I must have seen in her eyes a hundred times.

"Not yet." I reached up to the office wall, plucking the old pick-up keys off the protruding nail in the wall, where we always kept it. "Don't wait up for me, Mac."

"What do you mean?" he asked me, but I expertly slipped passed him and raced towards the truck, feeling the keys around between my fingers like they worked to turn my own ignition. "Applejack?!"

"I can't really explain it Big Mac," I called back with a grin, turning around in my sprint and nearly tripping over my rushed backwards footsteps, the slightly raised heels of my boots catching in the gravel. "She just makes me feel like smilin'!"

I heard myself laughing about it: about how sneaky I had been with my family, about how wrong I had been to stay behind, about how blind I had been to my own darn feelings, about everything. Big Mac had been right. If someone makes you feel like smiling, makes your heart swell up so much you think it just might burst, well, that's someone you'd better chase. No matter who they are.

I jumped into the truck, putting my keys into the ignition before I had even closed the door all the way. I turned the key and felt the truck howl with ambition, shaking with anticipation for the ride just as I was. I reversed out of the driveway and pulled onto the street in a single motion, letting the dust kick up over where that bus had once pulled up and taken her away from me. I leaned out the window at my family, who all came up to the end of the driveway to wave me off whether they agreed with my unspoken decision or not. I expected Big Mac would have a heck of a time trying to explain my absence to Apple Bloom, but Granny would probably forget I left just as quickly as she forgot I was there.

They had quite the head start on me, but at the speed I was going I was sure to catch up with them. That's what I thought as first, anyway, but as I kept on I found that this one horse road was long and deceptive, the dust kicked up leaving me no way to see far enough ahead that I might make out a vehicle in the distance. The day dragged on and on though my foot was hard against the pedal, each moment passing stole away what resolve I thought I had found until I reached the nearest town, and all the various roads meant there was no way for me to follow the dead trail. I swerved off the road and pulled into a shallow ditch, leaning my forehead against the steering wheel like it could direct me any better than my dirty, ranch hands.

I sighed, smelling the oil and gasoline from the truck above the scent of dirt and dust that covered our roads. If this was all it took to stop me, I don't know why I went after her at all. I fingered around in my pockets, searching for the old black cell phone I never really needed to use until then. I had picked it up about a year ago so I could call Granny from anywhere, in case something happened to her while I was at school, and only now did I see its true worth. I opened it up and waited impatiently as it turned on, giving me all those stupid greeting messages as it did. Closing my eyes, I wondered just what it was I thought this stupid thing could help me with.

The most I knew about them was the city they were in, and some first names. I tried to remember the license plate on the bus, but nothing came in clear, the only thing I could have seen from beside it was the school district number. My eyes snapped open at the idea as that school district number came to me, and I remembered it well enough to recite. Finally the cell phone sounded off and came to the home screen, and though I knew so little of this technology stuff, I found a way to call an operator.

"Yes, hello?" I spoke loudly into it, trying to figure out the volume they might hear me at. I heard something of a response, but didn't care to listen or remember the words. "I'm lookin' for the school board of district 13. Any way I can get a hold of them?"

"I'll put you through," was such an easy response I could not help but let my hopes rise and my face lift into a smile. I heard the phone ring and ring three times before someone bothered to pick up.

"Hello, Ponyville school district 13 main office, how can I help you?" the female voice on the other end described, and I could hardly wait for her to finish before I started asking her for help.

"Yes, yes, I'm lookin' for a high school, a buncha their kids came out to a ranch over spring break, and one of them..." I paused without a good reason enough to call, except maybe the honest truth as best as I could put it, "Well, she forgot somethin' behind. Any who, you can tell me how to reach them?"

"I'm sorry, but we don't have access to that kind of information at reception, and certainly can't give it away if we did." I wanted to throw the phone out the window as she told me that, but settled for just clenching my fist up and smacking the armrest. I sighed, moving my hat off my eyes so the sweat would not bother me so much. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Uh, wait, let me just..." I racked my brain to come up with another angle, something, anything that might generate a response. I tried to go over what Rainbow had told me about their team, and what I must have figured out on my own. I spoke up suddenly, "Okay, yeah. I know they had a senior soccer game scheduled for tomorrow. Can you give me that? Where the game is taking place, even?"

"There are three games scheduled for that evening. I'll need something more," she explained, and I felt like I could just get nowhere with this woman. I needed something more specific, something that was unique to their team. That was easy, actually. Heck, I knew that one better than anyone, I'd wager.

"Okay, okay." I smiled against the warm metal of the phone, as my mouth made the words my brain was eager to express, "The team's been losing lately, this is their last chance at the city championships. And this team, they've got a girl on it, y'hear? There's only one girl on their team, and she's this—this rainbow-headed fire cracker, hot-tempered and all, but an ace player. You know who I'm talking about?"

I spoke with such reverence it shocked me that I had not noticed my own desires sooner, but now I was down to asking some stranger over the phone for information I should have just grown the gall to ask from her myself. There was this pause over the line, and I thought for a second that she had hung up, but her voice returned.

"A rainbow-headed girl, you said?" My own hopeful grin melted across my face as the sun climbed in through the wind shield like a Northern star, guiding me to her.

No More Games

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9. No More Games

I leaned forward on the bench, putting my hands onto my forehead and letting them slip through my already matting hair, wet with the sprinkling rain and blown about by the winds of running. The mud under my cleats squished about uselessly, dragging me down like anything else out here on the field seemed to do. The crowd was cheering despite our awful performance, sure, and the team was playing despite our losing score, though that was nothing new to me. Those meaningless things were not what mattered to me, but they should have been. They usually were. I had nothing else but this game, and I knew it. I wasn't particularly adept at school work, spent most of my class time sleeping. I didn't spend long hours on work or talents, all I had was my speed, my agility, my ability to play a stupid damn game. And even that, the only thing I was known for, it waned when my head was out of the soccer field and in a crop one.

"Get back in there, Dash!" the coach yelled the same few words that I had been telling myself, and now I was forced to listen.

I picked myself up as if I was on strings, my body just sort of listening to the commands and being pulled about. I knew the team needed their ace striker, but today I did not feel like that player any more. I barely got back on to the field as the ball whizzed passed me, and I just let it go. Before I could even think to control myself properly, another goal was scored against us. I swore I must have even been able to hear the scoreboard flip over, and still I did nothing. It was so miserable, watching my team just jog back away from the goalkeeper as he picked up the ball, though not his head. One of my midfielders came right up to me, and through the slick squishing of the mud under his shoes I made out his words.

"Yo Dash, what's with you? I thought you were our star player?" he asked me, and I could hear that he was more angry than concerned, they all were. Our season was about to end, and on such a bitter note as this.

"That hasn't changed, I'm just having an off game, that's all," I heard myself almost yell back at him, getting defensive as if it was my place. He just put up his hands like he didn't want to get me all riled up or that he didn't care to hear any reason.

"Well get it together, I shouldn't have to tell you how important this game is," he reminded me anyway before he ran back out to keep up with the game, leaving me grinding my teeth and scowling. I just wanted to smack myself, to kick myself in the butt and get going again, but something was keeping me down.

I ran up to the opponent's side of the field, pretending that I was watching where the ball was. I could hear the grass scratching at my cleats, and all I could remember was racing through it on horseback with Applejack. I don't know if I had just stopped caring about soccer or if it was these damn teenage hormones that everyone had been complaining about that finally got to me, but either way I was struggling just to keep light on my feet.

The cheering of the crowd used to fill me with verve, inspire me to run as fast as I could and destroy anyone who stood in my way with expert manoeuvres and confidence, but now all it did was remind me that everyone was watching me, looking at me, judging me. That sort of thing never bothered me, hell I was awesome and no one could say any different, but here I was hiding something that was supposedly shameful and letting it get to my game. I breathed heavily in the dark air, the overcast skies and slowly approaching dusk casting some veil over the field.

If I listened closely, I could hear the cheers of my friends in the stands, but even that seemed to get quieter as the game dragged on. I looked over to be sure they were even still there, and it seemed even Pinkie Pie was losing her will to shout, and that said something. They looked at me and could clearly tell something was wrong with me. Twilight sat on the bench near the coach, and her expression was not much better. Here I was, out in the middle of this giant muddy field with my future on the line, and neither me nor my friends had anything good to say about it, no comforting words or praise, nothing but the dull roar of the already feigning crowd.

I flinched a bit as the ball hit my foot, rolling back slowly in the mud like it was begging me to kick it. Looking up, I saw my midfielder stumbling after the pass, crowded by three of our opponent's players. The crowd called out again, and louder, as I felt my body move on its own. Despite the troubles in my heart, my body carried on and took control, saving the ball from another opponent's swipe. I took it up like every time before, dodging their midfielders and defensive line like they were no match for me, not for my speed and agility. I could see the goal from here, their goalkeeper nervously backing into his place and his feet stumbling around in the mud like they always did. Seeing my confident smirk, that always got them shaking. I was close now, the goal posts like arches targeting my shot for the perfect goal, but as my last step hit the slick grass I noticed one last obstacle catching me.

Their sweeper raced in front of me, and though I did my best to avoid it, his elbow hit me in the shoulder and his foot hit mine as he brushed me off without difficulty, his size an easy defence to my skill. I tripped over his outstretched leg as he made the stolen kick, and for a second I thought I could feel him push me off my feet. Though the air was so comfortable and kind as I soared through it, the mud was cold on my hot hands and arms, boiling from the exercise.

I just stayed there for a minute, lying on my stomach in the grass and dirt with the rain still falling gently around me. I felt awful, covered in mud and embarrassed in front of my entire team and all my friends in the stands. I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees, watching the way the mud slid between my fingers where even the grass could not clean it from. The rain ran down over my head and dripped from my nose, the splashes on my cheeks turning the cleansing liquid a dirty colour. I heard the call for a foul go out, but the crowd had become rather quiet compared to my own heart beating. The referee came over to me and tried to touch me, but I shoved him away, nodding that I was fine despite the burning of my hands and the fluster on my face.

It was just so humiliating lying there, and even if I got up everyone would see all this mud and think of me as dirt. I was supposed to be the star player, and here I was beaten and demoralized by some guy who was not even twice my size. I heard the rest of my team run over to this side of the field, and I knew that someone was going to have to make a penalty kick. Usually it would be me, and I would jump at the invitation, but now my pride was dashed and it surely wasn't just because of the game.

I felt like screaming at myself, too distracted to avoid such a blunt and immature move from the other team. They knew we weren't going to beat them, so now they were just taunting us about it. I could feel the mud sticking to that wound on my leg, as it wasn't quite healed yet after the fall off that horse. But this time, I was all alone in the dirt, with my once friendly team ready to rear up and stomp on me and these coyote foes ready to eat well at my expense. My trembling hands dug into the mud, and I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling the mud on my face slip about with the expression.

"Hey, Rainbow! Rainbow Dash!" rang out over the otherwise quiet crowd. I could barely hear as the blood rushed to my ears, but I listened closely for it again, to be certain I heard what I did, "Rainbow Dash!"

"Applejack?" I asked aloud as I recognized that same old way she put my name together with her southern accent. I looked over my shoulder into the stands and searched for the source.

"Rainbow, over here!" She waved at me from the front bars in the bleachers, like she had just got there and hadn't even tried to find a seat yet. I sat up as I looked over at her, and though this was not how I wanted her to see me, I was almost beaming just to know she was there. Applejack's smirk caught on mine and she put a hand to her mouth to call out to me again, "I thought I done told you it's yer feet that should be fallin' in the mud, not your head! Now dust yourself off and get back into it, will ya?"

"What took you so long, Freckles?" I shouted back, barely able to keep my voice steady, much less keep my body from rushing off of the field to meet her.

"Yer lucky I showed up at all, that's the most pitiful score I ever did see!" She sure was right about that, we were quite a ways behind and there wasn't much time to pick it back up. "That ain't the Rainbow Dash I know!"

I pushed myself up off the ground and to my feet once again, the rush of blood to my body like a surge of strength, a second wind. I grinned under the still fresh mud on my cheeks, knowing that sort of daring, challenging statement was the best thing to get me going again, and through my teeth I spoke, "It sure isn't."

I walked right through the penalty area towards my team mate who had stepped up to take the shot, and shoved him out of the way. Stumbling a bit, he let me take over as I always did. The goalkeeper shuffled again, and I could see his eyes shifting about like he wasn't sure what going on. That same old confident grin returned to me between the splatters of dirt, and I could almost feel the fear in the rest of their team gripping them as mud dripped from my brow. Without a second though, I drew back and smashed the ball with my kick, launching it through the air with no resistance to speak of, so fast it as as though it was on fire. It flew into the net behind the goalkeeper, his face astonished and his body still frozen in the same position he had poised himself in before I even shot.

I extended my hand towards him, my index and middle fingers pointing at him together while the rest curled up into my palm. I winked and drew the hand upwards like a gun had just gone off, and the crowd grew mad with cheers. It was only a matter of time before they saw my true speed, and none of them could even hope to keep up when I was on a roll. I pulled my hand back and blew on the tops of my fingers, backing up into a jog then turning back around into a sprint to high-five my team.

"Come on boys," I shouted to all of them as they fell in around me and we readied for an attempt at a counter attack. "We've got a score to settle."

The entire momentum shifted with that, that small act which motivated not only the crowd, not only the scoreboard, but the whole team. The ball was like a torch, a brazier in the night which called us all to it, sprinting, running, galloping and forcing us all to take the fire and force it to our will. I snatched it without dispute from their own striker as he tried to come across our line, sneaking it around behind me and around my feet like it was something alive on its own. With my confidence and motivation restored, I doubt there was a player alive who could have stood opposite me. I dashed around them all, leaving their team in shambles with every play, knocking the ball about like a minion of my own command and shooting it like it knew my will itself. I did not even have to say what edge we gained on them, because nearing the end of the game the score did not matter as much as the fact we had gained our ground back.

There was never a moment before that captivated me like that one, where I raced across the field utterly unopposed, and what drove me on was the constant cheering of someone I knew so little of but held so dearly. I spun around my competition like they were stationary obstacles, the ball following my every whim and slashing through their defences time and again, rolling the scoreboard onto its back. I raised my hands up as the goal was scored, shouting and trotting about as my team came around me again with supportive efforts, passing to me time and again at last, blocking offences like they were just absent rolls of our practise ball. I raced towards their goal once more, and though they admirably tried to sneak it away from me as usual, I avoided every attempt. The goal lit up in my eyes, the spirit of competition driving me to kick with the strength of my whole team, nearly ripping through the net with a final goal.

Before I knew it the final whistle called out, and I threw both hands up and shouted, running backwards until my team grabbed me from behind and called my name to the stands. Me being the only girl, it was hardly a challenge for them to lift me up and let me see the field around me I had just conquered, see the stands, see the girl who leapt over the bars and hurried out to me. I struggled until they put me down, too focused on the victory to drag me around to their celebration.

My heart raced as I ran to her at first, but seeing no one else on the field I slowed, letting our reunion drag on. I flipped my tangled hair over my shoulder as I grinned, enjoying the victory as long as I could before she brought be back to Earth. We came up to each other, our gazes for once equally held and acknowledged. She smiled and touched her hair so she would have something to do, her other hand tucking into her rear pocket like it was more comfortable there than it was around me. We stopped a few feet away, smiling like fools.

"So, what, you had a minute between picking apples and milking cows to stop by?" I asked her with a lazy roll of my neck, trying not to sound quite so appreciative and glad.

"I made the time," she told me in that same old accent, her slight dimple appearing with her cute smile, spreading her freckles around the way the splashes of mud on my face moved around with my words.

"I'd say you should come closer, but, uh..." I chuckled a bit as I looked down at my horribly muddy uniform. "I guess it can wait."

"Ah, a little dirt ain't never hurt no one." She ran right up to me then, throwing her arms around my neck like they belonged there.

It felt so damn good, having her wrapped around me the way I had anticipated. I couldn't even keep from picking her right up and spinning her around, hearing the way she laughed into the embrace, squeezing tighter and faking some complaint until I put her back down. She reached up and tousled my hair for that one, roughing it up so it nearly went into my eyes and caused me to close one up.

"Do I get a hug next!?" We both flinched a bit at the sheer volume as Pinkie Pie ran over to me with her arms out like some airplane.

The wind was quite literally knocked out of my lungs as she hit me, and my face contorted into this terrified expression as she squeezed me harder. I hardly noticed Rarity and Fluttershy come up behind her, considering I was still trying to pry Pinkie Pie off of me. Her arms were around my diaphragm as if she had planned to suffocate me, and even as she pulled away I was tensed up and frozen in this broken looking position.

"Who's this?" Pinkie asked as she tilted her body around me to see Applejack properly, and I nearly choked myself to respond promptly.

"Oh, uh yeah, she's my," I started, but paused as if she didn't know how I should introduce her. I mean, I wasn't sure if she would be okay with me telling my friends about everything, it wasn't only my secret to tell. She seemed to butt in to fill the void.

"Friend, I'm her friend from over spring break." She smiled nervously as Pinkie's face lit right the hell up. I looked over at Applejack with a confused expression though, I mean, was she embarrassed by me? She didn't look embarrassed, more like supportive or something.

"Oh my gosh! This is so exciting! It's so good to meet you, I'm Pinkie Pie!" She went right in for a hug but Applejack instantly stepped back and extended her hand for a handshake instead, stopping her mid-tackle. Pinkie accepted it anyway, grabbing it with both hands and jumping around with it instead of properly shaking it.

"Pleasure's all mine." Applejack watched the girl bounce around in front of her, grabbing her same old cowboy hat by the rim and picking it up while introducing herself, holding it over her heart sincerely, "I'm Applejack, but most folks call me A.J."

"Your southern accent is just so darling, where ever did you pick it up?" I heard Rarity ask, and I think it was supposed to be a compliment.

"Uh, the farm?" Applejack responded simply as if she wasn't sure if that was a good enough answer.

"You're from a farm? Like, big crop fields, long dirt roads, far away from the city?" Pinkie spoke up in something of a gasp, and everyone looked at her in wonder. "Then why are you all the way out here? Just to see a soccer game?"

"Yeah, somethin' like that." Applejack nodded surely as she slipped her hat back on, like it was a good enough reason. I found myself unable to stop smiling at that moment, with all my friends around me and Applejack. If I hadn't been so tired after the game I might just be running around cheering.

"So you've met Pinkie already." I laughed as she waved again in case anyone could ever forget. "This is Rarity, and the girl shying away behind her is Fluttershy. And you already know—" I looked around for my eggheaded friend, but she was not to be seen. "Hey, where's Twilight?"

"I saw her talking to this very august older gentleman by the stands, his ensemble simply inspired," Rarity responded, and Applejack sort of looked at me as if she wasn't sure if Rarity was joking, but I just smirked a bit. "Speaking of which, that dishevelled appearance may look somewhat droll on you, dear, but we should get you cleaned up before you catch a cold."

"I vote we go out for pizza first," I spoke up loudly, my will to sit down a relax, not to mention gobble up some greasy food with my favourite girls, controlling my actions.

"Might want to wait a minute on that one," I heard Twilight's voice come up from behind me as she approached us after talking to the coach, walking right up to me and Applejack. "I have even more good news."

"Who was it you were talking to in the stands, Twilight?" Rarity asked, and I wanted to know too. Even Fluttershy came out of hiding a bit to hear the answer.

"That's the news, he was a scout from Quest State." I really hoped Twilight wasn't just pulling my leg, I could feel myself eagerly anticipating the end of this story. "He saw you play, and he said that he wants to recruit you for their soccer team, he can offer you a full scholarship if you'll play for the Wonderbolts!"

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh oh my gosh—no freaking way! This so so awesome! The Wonderbolts, Quest State Wonderbolts!" I actually screamed, I had always wanted to play for the Wonderbolts! Something else occurred to me in my cheering and shouting. "Quest State, isn't that where you're going A.J.?"

"Sure is." She smiled with a few quick nods, and I just started beaming like a crazy person. This day could not have got any better! Applejack put her hands on her hips and smirked. "I guess we're gonna be spendin' a lot of time together, then?"

I had to bite my lip from screaming again, and I could feel my heart rattling around inside of me like it was going to burst. I could hear Pinkie rambling about victory parties from beside me, and though there was so much commotion I just kept on staring at Applejack, her green eyes drawing me in.

"Kiss her already!" Twilight said from behind us, putting her hands together in front of her with her eyes glistening in anticipation. She must have been kidding, but I was not.

Applejack smiled a bit, but the way she tipped her cowboy hat down a bit over her eyes told me she was still a little nervous about the whole thing. She pretended to take it as a joke, I could tell from the way she shook her head and kicked at the dirt. This really sinister grin crept across my own face as I got the idea, and I stepped closer. Her eyes flickered back up to mine intently, and she watched as I reached up with my right hand and grabbed the edge of her cute little hat. I snatched it from the top of her head and flipped it over my wrist, putting it backwards onto my own head. Sufficiently moving it out of the way, I put my other hand against her hot cheek and pulled us into a kiss right then and there.

This time she did not move away or go still, she actually moved her own lips against mine with the same ferocity as I did. It was amazing, easily the greatest moment of my whole life summed up in one perfect act. As my arm wrapped tightly around her waist and pressed the girl against me, I felt nothing but pride and joy. I finally let her go, our lips still lingering an inch apart until our eyes opened back up. The rest of the world came back around us, the noise and the bustle and the voices. But still, we stood there grinning at each other.

"Wait a minute," I heard Rarity speak up first, her usual over the top melodrama absent for once. "What just happened?" I saw Fluttershy flash bright red and try to look away, having no idea how to respond to the situation.

"Since when did you like girls?" Pinkie questioned, and I almost fell over as the bluntness of it struck me. I glared over at her like I was about to snap.

"What kind of a question is that?" I growled with somehow an angry, confused and surprised expression.

"Pinkie, dear, you can't just ask someone questions like that," Rarity told her in a simple tone, and I wondered if they had realized it before I had.

I guess I hadn't really told them that I hadn't made up my mind for sure before then, but this should have made it pretty obvious. They never really asked me, though, and I guess I didn't think I was into girls until I went to the ranch. Pinkie, not getting a good enough answer from me, directed her expectant expression to Applejack for some kind of response. She flinched with the attention, looking around at my friends' curious gazes before speaking.

"Well don't go lookin' at me, truth be told I don't know spit about it either." She put her hands up defensively, before she glanced over at me and noticed I still had her hat. Snatching it back from me and positioning it the correct way on her own head, she continued, "Till Rainbow came around I was still stridin' the straight and narrow, far as I thought."

"Ooh," Rarity balled up one fist and slapped it onto her open palm, as if something just made sense to her. We all looked over for her explanation, "So that's what you meant when you said Rainbow had met someone special on the ranch, Twilight?" I blinked, hearing for the first time that Twilight had figured it out before the rest of them.

"You knew?!" Applejack and I both shouted as we turned to look at Twilight, who just stood there with this great big toothy grin and this nervous stance.

"I thought we had a deal that you weren't going to use your freaky genius powers on any of us?" I growled with a grouchy expression, crossing my arms in defiance.

"Oh come on, anyone could have seen it," Twilight tried to defend herself, using logic as her weapon of choice. "You guys argued constantly, yet you were always hanging out alone, there was that constant evasive flirting, not to mention that cute little pet name. It was written all over your faces!"

"No pizza for you," I told her as he started off towards the parking lot to go get that pizza I had been craving, Twilight following after us.

"You guys!" she called as she came back into the group, pouting.

"You can have some of my pizza, Twilight," Fluttershy offered kindly as she always would, though it was apparent we were all just joking about it. "Pinkie made me eat so much of it last week I can hardly look at it."

"And cheeseburgers, and french fries, no, waffle fries! And ice cream, and cupcakes, and grilled cheese sandwiches!" Pinkie Pie started ranting, but none of us were sure if she was listing what else she had forced Fluttershy to eat while they hung out or naming food she was planning on eating tonight.

"I know it's your big day Rainbow Dash." Rarity looked over at me, and I could tell from the way she scanned my clothing she was not too happy. "But I am simply not going to allow you in my car looking like that, all covered in mud and grass."

"Don't you worry, I'll give her a ride in my pick-up," Applejack offered as she grabbed my hand, the first move on me she had actually made despite my wishful accusations earlier on.

"They probably do need some alone time," Twilight muttered, though we all heard what she said and knew what she implied. Applejack laughed about it, taking it in stride with that good nature of hers.

"That's it, no bread sticks either." I smiled back at her, sticking my tongue out.

We all laughed that time, Fluttershy included. Though the skies above were still dark and the future mostly uncertain, I didn't have a thing to complain about. Perhaps it had been a good idea that Twilight had taken me on that spring vacation after all, and I think that I owed her more than a few bread sticks for it. After all, if I hadn't gone all the way out to some farm in the middle of nowhere, rode a wild-rearing stallion, gave myself a wicked hang over and crept into a strangers house, I wouldn't be holding Applejack's rough, working ranch hands.

~~The End~~