I should note that I am not affiliated in anyway with My Little Pony or Hasbro. Please Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Busy Days

Her orchard seemed bigger and more confusing than ever before. Between wandering around every single tree searching for snakes and doubling back home to help out around the barn, Applejack felt exhausted and lost. Every tree looked the same, and a couple of times that morning, she found herself lost in the dense trees. If it wasn't for Applebloom there running ahead of her, she may have completely lost her sense of direction. She sighed as she flipped a small bushel over on the ground, her eyes scanning for something wiggly and slimy.

"You alright, sis?" The little filly asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. Ah think so. Just a little tired is all."

"Ya know, if ya need more help, Ah can get my friends."

"No!" She cleared her throat. "Ah mean, no that's alright, Applebloom. Ah think we can manage just fine." She had nothing against those little fillies all full of energy and spunk, but trying to keep an eye out for snakes and keeping her other eye on those runts would leave her without any eyes. How is she supposed to get through the day without her eyes? She giggled to herself at her little joke.

"Ah think Ah found one!" Applebloom ran around a tree, chasing a white and green spotted snake through the shallow grass. "C'mere ya little wigglin' vermit!" The snake slithered around the tree a couple more times with Applebloom in tow before sliding into a gopher hole underneath the trunk. Before she could look up in time, Applebloom's face collided with the hard wood.

Applejack cringed before running over to her. "Are you alright, sis?" She asked, helping her back up on her hooves.

Applebloom rubbed her nose with her hoof and sneezed. "Ow…" She looked up at her big sister and asked, "How's my nose? Does it look alright?"

She laughed and squished the filly's hoof against her nose. "Ah ain't sure. There's somethin' on it." With a laugh, Applebloom pushed her big sis' hoof off her nose.

A voice from above them said, "I'm not expert, but I'm pretty sure that's not how you buck trees."

They both looked up, and Applebloom shouted, "Hi, Rainbow Dash!"

Dash fluttered to the ground and giggled. "Hey Apple-slice. What's up?"

"Apple-slice? That ain't my name."

"Oh sorry, I meant to say Apple-peel."

"That ain't my name neither. Did you forget my name?"

"I'm just teasing, squirt." Dash put her in an affectionate headlock and messed her mane up. "You really should be more careful, Apple-crisp."

"Ah'll try and remember that, Rainbow-crash." she replied, giving her a little hug.

"What's up, AJ?" Dash asked, "You two look like your having fun."

Applejack smiled at her friend. "Ah wish we were." She sighed, "We're lookin' for snakes."

"Snakes?" Dash asked, "Why are you looking for snakes?"

"So we could sneak em into yer bed when yer asleep." Applebloom said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah? How are you going to that? Have Fluttershy sneak up on me while I'm napping in my favorite cloud? That would be the day."

Applejack took a deep breath. Her legs were tired, and just trying to keep standing made her feel ten years older. "Them darn snakes are scarin' my poor cows. Ah need to get 'em off my orchard before Ah have a stampede on my hooves."

"Yikes." Dash remembered how panicked the town was the last time they had a stampede. It wasn't pretty. "I didn't think you guys had a snake problem out here."

"We usually don't, but for some reason, we're overrun with 'em."

"That sucks." Dash said, trying to sound empathetic. "I've never had to worry about something like that. My home is nice and high up in the sky." She was no idea how envious Applejack felt at that moment. "But there was this one time when a bunch of seagulls flew through the cloud floor into my living room. I guess they thought they saw just one layer of cloud and decided to take a short cut."

"Right…" Applejack said with a blank face. "Ain't that just dandy."

On the other hoof, Applebloom seemed much more interested in the little birds and clouds story. "Did they scare yer hooves off when they flew in?" she asked.

Dash shook her head. "Of course not. No little birds could scare me. Well, ok maybe I was just a tiny bit startled. They just took me by surprise. That's all."

"Ya'll got scared, huh." Applebloom laughed, not buying the fib. She nudged the blue mares side with a smirk.

"Applebloom, quit teasin' Rainbow. Ah'm sure it wasn't that bad." Applejack said.

Dash huffed with pride, trying to conceal her obvious alarm. "Yeah. I totally had it under control. They just needed to be pointed in the right direction."

"So, where you headin' off to this mornin?" Applejack asked, pulling the brim of her hat down to shield her eyes from the approaching sun.

"I have to check on the water levels in the streams around town. If it rains too much, we might have a flood."

"That would explain the snakes."

"Well, it hasn't rained yet."

"Ah know. Ah'm just sayin. Rain ain't gonna make my snake problem any better. Ah'm sure those little vermits heard 'bout the rain comin' up. That's probably why they're all out here."

"But it rains all the time." Dash looked perplexed. "Why would the snakes decide to come out now?'

"Hay if Ah know." Applejack sounded worried more than ever. "Wish ya'll wouldn't schedule rain right now. Ya'll got no idea how much of a pain this is for me."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry AJ. There really isn't anything I can do. I wish I could stop them, but I don't really get to make the schedule."

"Don't worry 'bout it then, Ah guess." Applejack sighed heavily, and her little sister could hear her disappointment.

"I'll see what I can do." Dash tried to sound chipper to cheer her friend up. "After I finish up, I'll talk to the rest of the team."

"Oh ya'll don't need to go 'n do that for me, Rainbow." Applejack said. "It ain't nothing worth gettin' churned like butter over."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm happy to do anything for my friends." Dash put a hoof around Applebloom and pulled her against her side. She looked up at her, clearly annoyed.

"Well shucks, Rainbow." Applejack sounded much better with a bit a relief coming over her. "That's mighty kind of ya."

"No problem, AJ." Dash gave Applebloom's ear a gentle flick with her hoof.

"Hey!" Applebloom took a step away from her. "That's my ear yer flickin' missy!"

"Oh, you mean this ear?" Dash gently flickered her ear again, and Applebloom nearly growled.

"If ya'll are done with yer horsin' around, ah think we best be off to work." Applejack said, trying to hide a giggle.

"Yeah, me too." Dash agreed as she stretched the tips of her wings a few times. "I'll let you know what happens with the weather team."

"Bye, Rainbow Dash." Applebloom said, sounded like she wanted to get rid of her. "Take yer time comin' back. Ain't wanna wear ya'll out too quick."

"I'm going to miss you too, squirt." She replied, making a comical dramatic effort to sound sad. Dash put her in another head lock, giving her a noogie before taking off into the air. "See you later, AJ. Good luck with the snakes!" She disappeared over the trees out of sight.

Applejack giggled hard for a few seconds. "So, when did you 'n Rainbow get so close?"

"Ah don't know." She replied. "She's usually only like this with Scootaloo."

"Maybe she's just happy 'er something." Applejack glanced back at the rows of trees as far as she to see. "Darn…" Now she was faced with a dilemma. With more than half the day left, it seemed as if she was left with fewer options to deal with her snake problem than before. Her eyes wandered in thought as Applebloom stared menacingly at the little hole the snake had scurried into. With great reluctance and a little bit of instant regret, she said, "Applebloom, go get yer friends. See if they wanna help."

"You mean it, sis?" She asked, beaming. "You really really mean it?"

With a heavy sigh, AppleJack nodded. "Yeah."

-o0o-

Fluttershy had just taken in a family of beavers the night before on top of the rest of the animals she had housed. Somehow, their dam had collapsed. It had been an old dam, but neither she nor her little friends had ever guessed such a sturdy home would fall into the stream. If the dam had to break, now had been a good time. With rain looming in the next couple of days, Fluttershy felt strangely relieved that her little friends wouldn't be stuck in bad weather in the middle of the night. Still, it sure is pretty inconvenient.

"Can I get you anything else?" She asked the father of the family. He seemed to be the most distraught and upset. "Maybe another blanket?" The little beaver shook his head. The small quilt patches they were using were nice and snug, and he was tired. His eyes and heavy little shoulders spoke more than his none existent words. The family of mice were nice enough to share their nook in the wall, but with three mice and three beavers in such a cramp space, the next few nights didn't look very pleasant.

Fluttershy felt overwhelmed by the amount of little ones she now found herself as caretaker for. The birds overcrowded their little homes, the yard outside was packed full with mammals both big and small, and she wondered if she had enough food to support such a large crowd. When she finally sat down on her couch for the first time that day, she thought about asking her friends for help. Would it be alright if she asked? Seemed like all her friends were busy these days like her. Twilight seemed to be engrossed in learning all things mechanical, Rainbow Dash was always busy either on weather patrol, playing in the sky, or napping, and Applejack was out rounding up the cows that had gotten loose after an infestation of snakes somehow made it into her barn. She had no idea what Rarity was up to, and out of everypony, she was always the busiest.

An owl slowly descended in front of her. "Oh hello there, Mr. Owl." She smiled at him and gently pat his head with her hoof. "How can I help you?" The owl motioned with his beak at the floor. "Are you hungry?" He nodded, and she walked across the room to pour a cup of bird seed in a bowl. When the rest of the animals flocked towards her, she sighed. The food wasn't going to last long at this rate, and she needed to think of something fast if she wanted to keep her guests happy. "Please slow down, Mr. Squirrel." she pleaded to no avail. "You might get a tummy ache."

Two loud knocks from the front door resonated through the living room, startling her. She hesitantly edged toward the door and asked timidly, "Um, who is it?"

"It's the one and only!" Dash replied. "You ok, Fluttershy? Sounds kind of rowdy in there."

Fluttershy swung the door wide open and pulled Dash inside before giving her a hug. "Oh, thank you thank you thank you! You have no idea how much I need some help right now."

"You're welcome?" Dash pushed the little yellow mare off of her before looking around. The noises from the guests was making it a bit hard to hear her quiet voice. "Whoa, you got the whole forest crammed in here. There wasn't a fire or anything, was there?"

"Oh, not at all." She said, pulling her hoof up to her chest to allow a line of ducks to pass underneath her. "It's just be a really busy couple of days for me. The beaver's dam broke, Mr. Pelican stubbed his toes pretty bad, and Mr. Owl has been hungry all day."

"Wait, you have a pelican here?" Dash asked. Fluttershy move forward and bumped into her to avoid getting in the way of the irritable Mr. Mouse. "Where's Angel?"

"Oh, well um, you see, he's…" She trailed off. "..in my room."

"You make it sound like that's a bad thing."

"No it's not that…He's, um, locked…in my room."

"Did he do something bad?" Dash asked, almost sounded happy. It was about time that little spoiled brat got a little of what's coming to him.

"No, he um…locked himself…in my room."

"What?!" Dash nearly growled. "Why? Are you locked out of your own room?"

"Sort of…I guess he's not too fond of so many guests in his home."

"But it's not his home, it's yours." She could feel something crawl up her leg, and she jumped into the air. "Whoa!" It was just a small mouse. "Sorry, little guy." The mouse gave a little snort and scampered off.

Fluttershy put her hooves on her shoulders and pleaded. "Please help me. I don't think I can take care of so many animals on my own."

"Are you sure?" Dash asked. "I'm not so sure your little friends like me so much." She remembered all to easily how she was bounded and held captive against her will by what appeared on the outside to be such loving little critters.

"Yes, please help me!"

"Ok ok, calm down, Fluttershy." Dash said emphatically. Fluttershy seemed to calm down a bit. "I'll help. What do you need me to do?"

She looked around the room again, scanning the chaos and aftermath. All the animals were either inhaling food, running frantically, or fighting with each other. The noise had become unbearable. "I kind of need-"

"What? I couldn't hear you."

"I said I need the animals to-"

"What?"

"I said-"

Dash turned away from Fluttershy and took a deep breath. At the top of her lungs, she screamed, "Quiet!" In an instant, all the animals turned to face her with shocked expressions and motionless frames. "Yeah, ok that's better. What did you say, Fluttershy?"

"I, um, I said I needed them to be quiet, cause I couldn't really hear you well."

"Great. Problem solved. Anything else?"

"I really can't have everyone eating at the same time."

"If you have already eaten today, step away from the food!" Dash pointed with a hoof at a group of chipmunks with their faces stuffed like tennis balls. "Yeah, I'm talking to you." They quickly obeyed. "Ok, what's next?"

"Um…I think…that might be it." It was incredible. Rainbow Dash had accomplished in less than a minute more than what she could have in the past three grueling hours.

"Really?" Dash asked. "It seemed like there was more."

"Oh, actually, there is one more thing. The beaver's dam broke earlier this morning, and I need somepony's help."

"Sure. Where is it?"

"It's by the stream running into the swimming hole." Fluttershy look around the room and gave an apologetic smile to her guests. "The beavers would be so happy if you helped them."

"Yeah, no problem" She said, stepping outside. Truthfully, she just wanted to get back out of that cramped and noisy house as soon as possible, even if it meant doing a little extra work that day. As they made their way outside, Dash turned towards the animals one last time. "You guys behave while were gone!" They all quickly nodded.

Fluttershy closed the door behind her before they started walking. "I'm so sorry about all this Rainbow, Dash. I'm sure you must be really busy today."

"Nah, not really. You look like the busy one." Dash grimaced. "I've never seem so many animals in one place before. Can you really take care of so many?"

"I really hope so." She replied. "I can't bare to turn them away."

"Hopefully it won't come to that." Dash put a hoof on her shoulder. Her poor friend clearly looked tired and stressed. "I'll help out as much as I can."

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash. This really means a lot to me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help."

She withdrew her hoof and looked away. "No problem. I'm just glad I got here when I did."

-o0o-

The last thing she heard from anypony that day was Applebloom and her friends shouting, "Cutie Mark Crusaders animal control!" After that, they took off into the orchard chasing each other. Applejack hoped that their hyper antics would scare the snakes away, but she still waited on the last horseshoe to drop before she would have to provide damage control of her own.

The barn was an absolute mess. The stacks of hay had been kicked over onto the ground with buckets of water turned over in every corner. It was hard to tell if the barn would be more work than the pest problem. She wandered around past wooden beams for a minute or two, kicking some of the buckets back upright as she went while surveying what needed to be done.

There came a knock on the open barn door. "Hello? Sweetie Belle? Are you here?"

"Oh hi-ya, Rarity." Applejack waved at her with a hoof.

"Good morning, Applejack." She smiled and walked inside the barn, taking care not to step in any wet puddles. "Or should I say, good afternoon."

"Is it afternoon already?" She asked.

"It is. Heavens, darling. You look dreadful. What seems to be the matter?"

"Ah'm just tired is all. Ah got up with the roosters, 'n it's been pretty busy for me since."

"You're this tired from waking up early?"

She sighed. "No, just tired from chasin' pesky vermit all darn day."

"Pests?" Rarity asked, looking around apprehensively as if something small and dirty would run past her hooves.

"Yeah. Them darn snakes got all up 'n my farm, scared my cows, made this here big mess, 'n now Ah'm stuck cleanin' up 'n chasin' em out of town."

"Oh you poor thing, Applejack." Rarity cooed as she tilted her head, "That sounds absolutely dreadful. Is Big Mac here to help at all?"

"Yeah, he's out back mendin' a broken fence, so Ah'm on my own today."

"I saw Applebloom come by this morning, and she and Sweetie Belle took off without saying anything to me. I thought they might be here."

"Yeah, she's here. Them 'n Scootaloo went off after them snakes."

"Are they helping at all. I sincerely hope they're not making your mess any worse."

"They should be fine, Ah hope." She pushed a couple buckets into a corner while brushing some hay back and forth with her tail. "Can't do much harm out there 'n the orchard."

"Well, if you say so."

Applejack took the last bucket and flipped it upside down to sit on. "Ponyfeathers.." She took her hat off and sighed heavily. "Ah'm mighty ready for a nap."

Rarity eyed her for a minute while making a thoughtful expression. It wasn't hard to come to the conclusion that she did. "I think I've heard just about enough."

"Uh, pardon?" AppleJack asked, "Did Ah say somthin' wrong?"

"I've made up my mind. You're coming with me."

"Coming with you? What? Where?"

"To the spa of course."

"Wait, Rarity, Ah don't think that's a great idea."

"And why not?" She asked, "You obviously need it. I see no reason why you shouldn't. In fact, I see every reason why you should say yes."

"But what about my farm? Who's gonna clean up 'round the barn 'n watch the little fillies out 'n my orchard?"

"Have Big Mac check up on them later. I'm sure they can't do much harm by themselves out there. At least, no more than they usually do. You said it yourself, did you not?"

"Yeah…" Applejack's face broke out into a little smile. The thought of a spa day sounded great. "Ah guess it wouldn't hurt none. Just for one day is all."

"Perfect!" It was hard to tell who wanted the spa day more. "I have such an amazing day planned! Oh, don't worry, darling. This plan involves a fair amount of sitting and laying down."

"Well call me a fly 'n a bucket of cream." Applejack laughed. "That really is the best idea Ah've heard all week."

"That settles it then." Rarity nodded her head once smartly.

Big Mac had agreed whole heartedly to Rarity's request to take his sister for the day. He didn't agree because he knew his sister needed the day off, but because the thought of teasing her later about doing such foo-foo frilly things away from the farm was too good to pass up. Besides, if he took the hard work ahead at a slow pace, it would be no problem for him.

And so off they went, into town, filled with glee and joyful anticipation of being pampered all day. Rarity had insisted that everything they would do together would be her financial responsibility, and Applejack agreed only if she could return the favor sometime in the future. A few select jars of next years zap apple jam was plenty enough for Rarity. If she could look fabulous, why not have her breakfast look fabulous as well?

It hadn't been more than a few minutes upon entering the spa before Applejack found herself laying on her tummy while having her shoulders rubbed furiously by a rather strong jawed handsome stallion in a white polo shirt. His hooves firmly smoothed out the knots in her back with the most skilled and precise touch. Rarity sat leaning back in a lounge chair with her hooves propped up on a stool, cucumber slices over her eyes, and a towel wrapped around her mane in a bun.

They both were having a glorious time.

"Oh, please be careful on the hooves, dear." Rarity said, addressing Aloe, one of the spa's master cosmetic physicians. "I believe I may have dropped a pair of scissors and stepped on them this morning."

"Ooohhh…y-yeahhh…" Applejack voice sounded silly with the stallions hooves bouncing up and down on her back. "Thank you so much for this, Rarity."

"You are very welcome, darling." Rarity took a deep satisfied breath. "I only wish I had taken you with me sooner."

"You said it…"

The stallion started moving his hooves down her back near her flank before pressing them harder. "Would you like a complimentary chocolate mint?" He asked in a low, calming voice.

"Boy do I." Applejack gratefully accepted a chocolate from a small glass bowl he held out to her. His hooves began massaging a rather painful knot in her back, and she grimaced.

"My apologies, miss." He said, withdrawing his hooves.

"Nah, keep goin' will ya please?" She asked. He complied dutifully. "Thanks, sugarcube. That's the spot. Right there." Her body relaxed into the cushioned table as she let out a happy sigh. Aloe and the stallion masseuse gave each other awkward glances. It sounded like the farm girl was enjoying this a little too much. Her tail gently swayed back and forth as shivers ran up and down her neck with her ears twitching.

Rarity took her cucumber slices off her eyes and blinked a few times to get used to the light. "May we have a scented candle lit?"

"Of course." Aloe stopped polishing her hooves. "Would you like the usual lavender, or perhaps something else?"

"Hm…" She thought about it for a moment. "What would you like, Applejack?"

"Whoa nelly…Yeah…" There was no tearing her away from her joyous bliss.

"The usual is fine."

Aloe obeyed and lit a small purple and white swirl candle on the table next to her. "Would you like me to continue?"

Rarity shook her head. "No thank you, dear. My hooves feel fantastic."

"My pleasure."

"Ya'll can say that again." Applejack giggled.

-o0o-

Through the rest of the morning into the afternoon sun, Rainbow Dash helped Fluttershy repair the beaver's broken dam. The little yellow mare never thought she'd be able to get around to tend to the damages that day, but with Dash's incredible stamina for busy work, they finished in mere hours. As the foreman of their little project, Fluttershy spent more time pointing here and there and telling Dash which branch she needed to fetch and how to stack them appropriately. It was fairly easy, and Dash felt pretty relaxed the entire time. It was apparent however, that Fluttershy was still exhausted. Her stress level had subsided, but that was only one part of her worry inducing day.

As they trudged home slowly through the green grass and flowers, Dash asked, "You been doing alright, Fluttershy?"

"Of course." She immediately replied, trying to sound more chipper and happy than how she really felt. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you look pretty worn out." She replied candidly.

"Do I? I'm sorry."

"You don't have to say sorry, Fluttershy." Dash gave her a gentle pat on the back as she hovered in the air. "Everypony has bad days. Even me."

"Thank you. Are you sure I'm not taking you away from other more important things?"

"Don't be silly. I just have to check up on the water levels around town. Besides, what's more important than helping out my best friend?"

"Aw…thank you." Fluttershy smiled with a slight blush. Hearing that she was somepony's best friend made her feel so happy. "You really saved me today."

She smiled down at her. "Anytime."

As they approached the small cottage, Fluttershy asked, "Can I offer you something to drink?"

"Sure. I'll take some cider."

"I'm afraid I don't have any. I'm really sorry."

"I'm joking, Shy. I wouldn't drink in the middle of the day when I have to work."

"Oh…of course." She opened the door and looked around. To her surprise, the house was almost empty except for Angel Bunny, the mice, and the beavers playing cards on the floor in the living room.

"Whoa. Where did everyone go?" Dash asked as she dropped to the ground and walked inside.

Angel began making gestures with his small paws. "They left?" Fluttershy asked, clearly understanding the language of animals that Rainbow Dash never could. "Really?" Angel nodded, going back to his cards.

"What did he say?"

"He said that you scared the rest of the animals away." Fluttershy replied.

"I did? I didn't mean to do that."

Angel got up, and to everypony's huge surprise, gave Dash's hoof a hug. He started gesturing again. "He says he's glad." Angel shrugged. "He says that most of them were…" Fluttershy trailed off, trying to discern clearly what he was trying to convey. "…They were freeloading? What does that mean?"

"It means they were taking advantage of you, Fluttershy." Dash laughed. "I bet most of your little animal friends were just here for the free food."

Angel bunny jumped up and down, pointing enthusiastically to Dash. Maybe the blue mare wasn't so oblivious to animal's speech after all. "Really?" Fluttershy asked, clearly disappointed. "I had no idea. I really hope they come back soon. I hate to think those poor little critters think I'm mad at them." Angel huffed in annoyance.

"I'm sure they're fine." Dash plopped on the couch with about as much grace and dignity as a used carriage salespony. She yawned and sat on her back upside down with her head hanging over the edge of the cushions. Her wide multicolored mane sprawled about. "They always come back. Besides, you really look like you could use the rest."

There was no arguing there. "I suppose so…"

"Hey, I got an idea. Why don't you take a nap here, and I'll go into town to get some stuff to make you lunch. More like a late lunch. How does that sound?"

"I couldn't possibly ask you to that, Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy quickly protested.

"Then don't." Dash got up and stretched. "I'm doing it anyway."

"Wait, it's ok. Really, it's too much trouble."

"I said I'm doing it, and that's final. Besides, I'm starving and could use something to eat too." Angel got up again and started making eating motions with his paws at Dash. He clearly was all for this new guest going out and picking up lunch. "You want some too?" Dash sighed. "Fine."

"Are you absolutely sure?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Geez, Fluttershy. It's just lunch. I'm not buying you a ring or anything."

They both giggled, and Angel rolled his eyes. Clearly, their conversation was distracting him from his little card game, but he remained as polite as need be in order to score on Dash's offer.

"Thank you ever so much."

"Don't thank me yet. I haven't bought anything. I'll be back in maybe an half hour? I dunno. Give or take five minutes. Oh, can I borrow your saddlebags?"

"Yes, of course you may." She replied, opening the closet doors and pulling them out with her teeth. She dropped them over Dash's back gently.

"Thanks." She said, opening the door and taking off into the air. "I'll be back in a little while. Don't forget to take a nap, ok?" With that, she flew away towards the market square.

Aren't ponies just the most adorable? If you liked the story so far, it would mean a whole lot if you left a review. Tell me your thoughts. I'd sure love to hear them.