Applejack was checking on her crops when a shadow loomed over her. The pony froze, then, ever so slowly, looked skyward, expecting the worst; storm clouds? A ghost? A fire-breathing dragon?. However, it was only Rainbow Dash, moving the clouds around in the sky.
Applejack shook herself and laughed. "You scared the dickens out of me, Rainbow Dash!"
"Did I?" Rainbow Dash smirked. "Maybe you shouldn't be so jumpy."
Applejack pawed at the earth, looking over the crops once again before turning her attention on Rainbow Dash. "Look, girlie, you need to put your clouds somewhere else. These here crops need sunshine."
"Nah. I'm too tired to move them right now."
"Too tired?" Applejack frowned. "Look, I wont stand here and argue, but-"
"Good. See you later!" Rainbow Dash turned to fly off.
"Wait!" Applejack shouted, growing angry. "You need to get rid of these clouds before you go."
"I'm not gonna do it." said Rainbow Dash, crossing her arms. "I'm too tired."
"Pff. You don't know the meaning of tired." Applejack replied. "I doubt you've ever done one day of hard work."
"What, like clearing the clouds out of the sky isn't hard work?"
"How could it be? All you do is flap your wings a little."
"Hah! There's a lot more involved then just flapping my wings. But hey, I can't expect a typical ground pony to understand. All you do is play in the dirt."
"Play in the dirt?" Applejack's frown deepened. "I do so much more than 'play in the dirt', missy!"
"Looks to me like you're not doing anything. Just standing around."
Applejack glared at the pegasus, then took a breath to calm herself. "Look, Rainbow Dash, see those watermelon plants over yonder? They need sunshine in order to grow up big and strong. So would you please move them clouds?"
"Nope." Rainbow Dash then laughed and started to fly away.
Applejack did what any farm pony would do when a critter was running loose; she grabbed her lasso and ran after Rainbow Dash at top speed. Once she was close enough, she swung out with her rope and captured the pegasus, who dropped out of the sky and landed in a patch of flowers.
"Yeeehaw! I got ya!" Applejack bucked with excitement, laughing.
"Yeah, ha ha, very funny." Rainbow Dash looked at her wings. They were being held down by the rope. She frowned at Applejack and said, "Now that you've had your laugh, untie me!"
"Not until you move them clouds."
"How can I move the clouds if I'm tied up?" snapped Rainbow Dash.
"Figure it out." replied Applejack.
"That's not fair!" yelled Rainbow Dash, struggling to untie herself.
"And I don't think it's fair that I have to wrangle down a pegasus just to get her to do her job!"
"Okay, fine. Untie me and I'll move the clouds."
Applejack looked at her doubtfully. "You promise?" she asked.
"I promise."
Applejack stepped closer and chomped into the rope, biting it in half. As the ropes fell away from her, Rainbow Dash lifted high intot he air, stretching her wings gracefully.
"Very pretty." Applejack said. "Now move them clouds!"
Rainbow Dash looked down at Applejack, debating whether or not she should listen. However, Rainbow Dash did end up obeying the country pony. She gave the cloud one big kick and it burst into nothing.
"That weren't so hard, now was it?" asked Applejack.
Frowning, Rainbow Dash turned her proud head away and flew off. She was feeling very odd. When Applejack had slipped the rope over her body and yanked her down from the sky, she had felt... thrilled. The feeling of the tight rope crippling her ability to fly; the way Applejack made impossible demands... It was amazing. But frightfully confusing at the same time.
"I must be overthinking it." Rainbow Dash said to herself. "Why would I enjoy being grounded?" She flapped her wings hard and settled down on a cloud. From this view, she could see all of Ponyville. "Arguing with Applejack was pretty fun, too. I liked the way her face turned red..." Letting out a soft sigh, she laid down in the cloud and day-dreamed.
Today was Market Day in Ponyville, and everypony would set up a booth outside of their house and sell their handmade and homegrown goods.
But Rainbow Dash did not contribute to this day. She had nothing to do except for moving the clouds around to make it a sunny day. Rainbow Dash sighed and rolled onto her back, feeling the cloud's soft embrace beneath her.
Meanwhile, Applejack tended to her daily chores of feeding the pigs and chickens, along with collecting the hens' eggs. Once she was finished, she attached a cart to herself and headed down the path towards Ponyville. In the cart were several different fruits, vegetables, and nuts. All organically grown on her farm.
At the sound of the old cart rattling it's way into Ponyville, Rainbow Dash popped her head out of the cloud. "It's Applejack!" she cried excitedly from above.
Applejack did not hear Rainbow Dash and continued to make her way to her booth, where she unloaded her cabbages, potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries, and more, placing them on the table one at a time with delicate teeth.
"Oh man, this is just too perfect!" Rainbow Dash wiggled with anticipation. "I could upset her cart and spill all of the produce; she'd be so mad- I bet she'd be itching to rope me up again!"
Rainbow Dash took a breath in, then let it out slowly. She counted to five, then zipped out of the cloud, soaring downwards at an alarming speed.
Applejack flinched, then looked up and shrieked. "Rainbow Dash, don't!"
Crash! It was too late. The booth collapsed onto itself, all of the fruits and veggies tumbling in the dirt at their hooves. The cart was broken in the impact as well; one wheel was bent at a bad angle and refused to budge. Wiping off banana guts from her face, Rainbow Dash sat prettily amongst the mess, grinning ear to ear at Applejack.
"Here it comes...!" Rainbow Dash whispered.
"Why in blue blazes did you wreck my booth, Rainbow Dash?" Applejack demanded, her voice catching with emotion as she struggled not to cry. The loss was great. Every Market Day, Applejack's family relied heavily on the sales she made. But now there was nothing... "Do you realize how hard it is to grow all this food?" Applejack asked quietly, her mouth quivering.
Rainbow Dash's face fell. "Wait, are you crying...?"
Applejack looked away, wiping her eyes with a hoof.
"No, no, you're not supposed to cry!" Rainbow Dash lifted herself into the air and landed in front Applejack. "You're supposed to get angry and tie me up again?"
"Tie you up?" Applejack frowned. "Do you think this is some kind of game?"
"You did bring rope with you, right?"
"Forget about the dang rope, Rainbow, and apologize!" Applejack snapped.
"Apologize...?" Rainbow looked at the huge mess she made, then a grin spread slowly on her face as an idea came to her mind. "Nope." she said, looking away. "Not gonna do it."
"Y-you aren't even gonna say you're sorry...?" whispered Applejack. "Don't you see what you've done-"
"Yep. And I don't care." Rainbow Dash met Applejack's eyes. "Maybe you should...punish me."
"Gosh darn it!" Applejack threw down her hat. "I'm had enough of you." She turned and unhooked the cart she was attached to, then began picking up the busted produce, setting them in the cart. As she cleaned up, she could feel Rainbow Dash's eyes on her. She didn't understand why the pegasus kept bothering her today. She'd never acted this strange before... Until she roped her...
Applejack decided to test her theory and grabbed the rope from under the cart, turning and throwing herself at Rainbow Dash with sudden force. She wrapped the rope tightly around Rainbow's middle, pinning her soft feathers tightly against her sides. Once she was finished, she pushed Rainbow Dash away and said loudly, "There! That ought'a teach ya!"
Rainbow Dash squirmed, feeling the rough texture of the rope scissoring against her skin. All of a sudden, she started laughing.
Applejack stared at Rainbow Dash in disbelief. "I don't think I'll ever understand you." said the country pony. Yet, as soon as she said that, she felt like that was a lie. Maybe Rainbow Dash was more than just a stubborn pegasus. Maybe she was adventurous and brave; liked to try new things. Just like Applejack; she enjoyed planting new things and seeing how the growth of one plant affects the growth of another. That was similiar. Wasn't it?
"Hey Applejack," said Rainbow, attempting to open her wings. "Can you pull that rope a little tighter please?"
Applejack felt a smile coming on her lips. "Not until you move that cloud." she answered, nodding her head to the single cloud hovering about Ponyville.
"But my wings are tied." said Rainbow Dash, blinking.
"Stay put." Applejack came close to Rainbow and took hold of the rope with her teeth, pulling it tighter. "There you go. Now fly up there and move that yonder cloud."
Rainbow Dash threw back her head and laughed, and Applejack couldn't help but join her.