Chapter 1
The drive home to Sweet Apple Acres had been the longest half hour of Applejack’s life. Taking on a job at the juice bar in the food court had been a good idea at first, but with the school’s out for summer and the sweltering heatwave that had just landed, Applejack felt like she hadn’t had a break all day. Her feet ached in her boots, her hand blistered from all the fruit she’d cut up and her head, it felt worse than the sugar hangover she’d get after a Pinkie party. All Applejack wanted to do was crawl into her bed and sleep the rest of the day away...too bad, Granny Smith had other ideas.
From the moment she stepped foot out of the family truck, the oldest Apple family member had sent the tired girl out to help her brother with the evening cider deliveries. To Big Mac’s credit, he had insisted that Applejack stick to driving duties and leave the heavy lifting to him, but Applejack wasn’t the kind of girl to let a man do a job that she was more than capable of doing herself. So, the stubborn farm girl had forced her aching body to lift and unload a few dozen crates of cider to various stores around town, all the while she fought to keep her eyes open as they cruised through the quiet roads home.
“Do ya think that yer should have a lie-down fore dinner, AJ?” Big Mac questioned worrisomely as they pulled up to the farmhouse.
“Ah d-” Applejack started but was quickly cut off as the tell-tale sound of her girlfriend’s motorbike grew closer. An excited smile overtook Applejack’s sleepy frown as she hopped out of the truck to meet the rainbow-haired athlete at the gate.
“Ah guess not.” Big Mac chuckled to himself as he watched his little sister impatiently wait for Rainbow Dash to cruise up the dirt path.
“Well, aren’t you ah sight fer sore eyes.” AJ teased as Rainbow pulled up, shut off her bike, and pulled her helmet off that allowed her rainbow locks to fall down her shoulders.
“I always am.” Rainbow shot back as she jumped off of her bike. “It’s good to see you too, by the way.” She blushed, still not entirely comfortable with the intimacy that came with being in a relationship. Taking a quick look around the area for any possible witnesses, Rainbow was happy to find that the couple was alone. Slightly more comfortable, she leaned forward and placed a small kiss on the farmgirl’s lips. “Strawberries?”
“I cut up too much at work.” Applejack explained without Rainbow Dash having to inquire further before she pulled the shorter girl into a loving embrace, not satisfied with just one kiss.
“Put er down, fore yer put da pigs off yer dinner!” Granny Smith called out affectionately, causing Rainbow to jump away from AJ like she was on fire.
With beet-red cheeks, Rainbow shot the oldest Apple a small wave before whispering, “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look her in the eye again.”
“Don’t sweat it sugar cube. She’s seen a lot worse.” AJ rolled her eyes as she reached down to take Dash’s hand and lead the embarrassed girl towards the family home.
“Still, I think we should keep stuff like that to a minimum,” RD spoke absentmindedly, only realizing how her words might have hurt her girlfriend when she saw a small frown fall upon her face. “At least around your family.” She corrected herself, “I don’t think I could live without kisses like that.” She teased, planting a passionate kiss when they had made into the privacy of the empty Apple home.
“Aww, when’d ya get so romantic.” The taller girl teased as she pulled away ever so slightly but still made sure to keep her hands threaded through Rainbow’s surprisingly soft hair.
“Shhh, you’ll ruin my rep!” Rainbow blushed as she moved forward to plant her lips against AJ’s neck, littering her smooth skin with dozens of kisses. Moving the pair towards the old couch, Applejack let out a playful chuckle as the two fell over the arm of the couch. With Rainbow Dash comfortably nestled into AJ’s side, she quickly continued her attack on her girlfriend’s neck, while Applejack allowed her hands to begin their exploration under Dash’s shirt. Seeing Rainbow like this was a welcomed sight, so often the shorter girl would keep intimacy like this to fleeting moments where she was sure they wouldn’t be interrupted or caught, never had she even dared to kiss her out in the open of the Apple family home. It wasn’t that Dash was ashamed of their relationship, far from it. It was just as she’d said, she had a reputation to uphold and, in her mind, anyone seeing her all loved up would tarnish that.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Applejack let her eyes close happily, as she relaxed into Rainbow Dash’s touch. As Dash moved up Applejack’s neck, the farm girl found herself gently drifting off to sleep, every kiss from her girlfriend bringing her that much to the land of dreams.
“AJ?” Rainbow paused her shower of kisses after a few moments as soon as she noticed Applejack’s hands had stopped tracing random shapes on her stomach. “Applejack…” She tried again, her voice a little louder than before. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She chuckled as a soft snore filled the air. Pulling out her phone, Dash cuddled into Applejack’s side and snapped a few photos of her sleeping beauty. A small yawn escaped from Rainbow’s lips as she put her phone away, ‘maybe AJ has the right idea’, she thought to herself as she draped a lazy arm around Applejack. She knew that anyone could walk into the Apple family home and see her in this position, but for the first time, she didn’t care. Applejack’s arms were just too damn comfy to remove herself from.
***
When the Apple family entered the small farmhouse that night, a smile could be seen on each of their faces when they came across the sleeping couple. Carefully, Applebloom placed an old knitted blanket over the cuddled-up girls and snapped a few pictures of her own - ones that she’d later use to blackmail the rainbow-haired girl into giving up her extra portions of dessert - and flipped the small lamp off.