2. Another Day In The Apple Orchard
The froth of Sweet Apple Acres' hoofmade apple cider was thick and delicious, any that found its way to somepony's lips was never left to linger for long. Cider was precious to most any who tasted the sweet golden liquid, and everypony knew better than to lose even a drop if they could help it. The fresh scent of apples held firmly onto the bubbles in a warm embrace, and even the hardest of brews was sugary and succulent despite the intoxicating buck. The Apple family usually didn't make too many barrels of the hard cider, the alcoholic brew, but since they just lately built the cellar they had plenty of room to store them. That was exactly why Applebloom wasn't allowed down there, she was young and reckless and would hardly understand which barrels to steer away from.
Applejack was an expert at making cider by now, she knew just the right proportions of buzz and buck, sweet and bitter. Despite having herself a drink or two, she was determined to get back to work after a brief break with Rainbow Dash. And though Rainbow would be carefully when flying so soon after drinking, especially drinking Applejack's brew, she probably had some weather duties of her own to perform around town.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders continued to watch their targets from the shadows behind the pony door of the barn, though only one of the three was sold on the idea thus far. Sure, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were always around each other, whether they were helping each other out, just spending time together, competing for something or arguing, most of their free time was spent with each other. Sweetie Belle was no sucker, nor was she some hopeless romantic, she knew she had a knack for these kinds of things and was set on proving it. Applebloom, on the other hand, was determined to deny the very idea of such a thing.
"But they're both girls!" Applebloom tried to make some kind of argumentative case, but it fell through rather easily.
"Applebloom, what if this is your sister's special somepony?" Sweetie Belle reminded her, and that was true enough, Applebloom was not about to tell her own big sister who she could and could not like. That was not her place, and she knew nothing of the rest of the world's accepted ideas, "Don't you think that things like heritage, colour, or gender aren't as important as love?"
"I think she can do just fine at findin' that out all on her own." Another valid point was raised by Applebloom as she tried to stand between her friends and her sister, surly there was something else they could spend their time on.
"Maybe she needs our help! Wouldn't you just love to know that you're part of the reason for your sister's happiness?" Sweetie Belle kept at it, playing around with the idea of responsibility and approval.
"Well, yeah I guess, but Applejack is—" Applebloom had to agree on that point, but before she could go on with her objection Sweetie Bell hijacked her sentence with some melodramatic spectacle reminiscent of her older sister.
"Lonely? Solemn? Imprisoned by her own sense of moral and familial obligation instead of experiencing her own emotions?" Sweetie Bell took a long gasp for breath but gave not a second to either friend who might have tried to speak up, "Trying to keep herself appearing strong and independent while she's dying inside?"
"Uh, I don't know how to respond to—" Applebloom scratched her head as her face contorted into a confused expression, but again she could not express a full thought of her own.
"Maybe Sweetie is right. I mean just think about it, we could be like sisters!" Scootaloo suddenly realized, grabbing Applebloom's hooves and yanking her onto her hind legs to dance around.
"Rainbow Dash ain't your sister." Applebloom grumbled in a grouchy manner, pulling away from the contact.
"Give it time." Scootaloo suggested, nodding her head as she imagined such a thing.
"Why is it that you girls only ever pick on my family?" Applebloom complained as she looked back out at her older sister, who had finished her cider and excused herself to go check on some pies in the oven. "First my brother, and now my sister?"
"Coincidence." Sweetie Belle played innocent, batting her eyelashes about.
"I mean, I guess I just never really thought about my sister with any other pony. Are you seriously suggestin' that we try to set up Applejack with Rainbow Dash?" Applebloom put her hooves up on the lower half of the door, looking out into the glorious sunshine like something was about to go horribly wrong, "That just seems ridiculous, I mean if they were meant to be together don't you think they would be already?"
"It's not that simple, Applebloom." Sweetie Belle put a hoof on her friend, both trying to ease her worries and convince her to do her will, "This is a delicate situation, I mean, nopony wants to hurt any other pony's feelings, or embarrass themselves, or ruin a friendship as strong as theirs. Now, go talk to her already."
"Why do I have to—" Applebloom asked and nearly shouted a yelp as her two friends shoved her out the barn door and into the sunlight. Rainbow Dash looked over at her curiously as she heard it, blinking and raising one eyebrow. Applebloom just grinned and raced away towards the kitchen.
"Come on!" Sweetie told Scootaloo while she hurried after Applebloom, making certain she went right towards the kitchen where her sister was checking on the baked goods.
The farm was always vividly alive with colour and charm, each natural plant or animal holding perfectly its unique purpose and expressing something divinely normal about the land they lived on. Rainbow Dash was a stark contrast to it all, her sky blue coat more suited to the sky and the myriad of hues that sprung from her head and rear something supernatural and fantastic. Still, Applejack, a sucker for convention and tradition, seemed to have the bright headed pony around as often as she could manage. Perhaps she knew that there was more to life than the soil beneath one's hooves. Despite her awe inspiring appearance, Rainbow Dash had a habit of lazing around when she could have been doing something more productive. The crusaders, however, never wasted a moment.
The girls ducked behind each and every obstacle they could, watching Applejack through windows and doorways. Applebloom nervously frowned as the other two pulled her along, still not certain this was a pursuit they should follow. An overturned wheel barrow, a crate, a flower box, anything that could conceal three fillies would do just fine on their crusade for the truth. Hushing each other, they crept up on the target pony, her blonde mane tossed over her shoulder easily as she grabbed an oven mitt and reached in to remove the pie and check it. One of Applejack's favourite secrets was to sprinkle some cinnamon and brown sugar over the pie as it was cooling or finishing baking, so she instinctively reached for the mix she desired. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo slid Applebloom across the tiled floor towards her sister, though she loudly clicked her hooves against the ground to try and slow herself down. Applejack peered over at her noisy sister with a smile as she added her final ingredient.
"Howdy Applebloom, did your friends go on home already?" Applejack asked gently as she placed the sugar back where it belonged, putting her hooves on the counter and lifting herself up to do so.
"Uh, no, they're around." Applebloom finished in an accusing growl, looking back into the hallway to see the other two girls stacked on top of each other and peeking in to the conversation, "Hey, uh, Applejack? Can I ask you somethin'?"
"O'course Applebloom, what do you wanna know?" Applejack accepted easily, checking the crust for crisp and the inners for consistency.
"Well, um," Applebloom almost shied away, but looking back at her friends giving her ushering gestures and such egged her to go on again, "Do you like Rainbow Dash?"
"Oh, Applebloom of course I do, she's one'a my best friends. That's like askin' if you like Scootaloo," Applejack laughed whole heartedly until the other two girls fell out of the doorway in shock and landed in a heap on the floor. Applebloom and Scootaloo stared at each other with disgusted faces, responding to such a statement.
"Eww, no! Gross!" The two shouted in horror, frantically stepping even further away from each other as Applejack curiously watched their odd behaviour.
"Don't even say that Applejack!" Applebloom cried out as she turned back to her sister with an angry face, pouting at such an accusation.
"What's wrong with Scootaloo?" Applejack asked, still not grasping the meaning of the conversation. She thought the two must have had some fight or something, nothing a good chat couldn't untangle surely.
"Nah, it's just I don't—" Applebloom tried to defend herself, but changed tangents mid-sentence with another holler, "That ain't what I'm askin'! That ain't the same thing at all!"
"It ain't?" Applejack wondered, biting at her lip as she went to open the oven again and replace the pie. Applejack knew when something was bothering her little sister, so she asked up front what was going on, "Somethin' on your mind, sugar cube?"
"She means to ask, do you like Rainbow Dash? Like," Sweetie Belle tried to clear it up, first by clearing her throat as Applejack grasped the oven mitt and went to put the pie back in, "Really like her?"
"What'd you say?!" She nearly dropped the pie in surprise, but managed to get control of it before shoving it in the oven and nearly bucking it shut. The oven mitt hit the floor harshly and Applejack swallowed nervously, trying to find an easy way to reply to such a thing, "Now what went and put that in your noggins? You really shouldn't be thinkin' of—"
"Do you think about it?" Sweetie Belle went on to ask, a seemingly innocent question placed in a less than innocent context. Applejack was caught off guard by such an inquiry.
"Well, see now I—" Her face turned scarlet as she tried to get the image out of her head or hide her thoughts from the probing young fillies around her. She decided being loud and aggressive was the best way to go about shutting them up. "This ain't gonna help y'all get your cutie marks if that's what you're thinkin', now scram, I got work to do. All them apples ain't gonna buck themselves!"
"Don't you think it'd be quicker if you asked for Rainbow Dash's help?" Sweetie Belle tried again, noticing the way Applejack twitched at the sound of her friend's name.
"Get outta here!" Applejack shouted, scaring the little fillies into a sprint out of the kitchen. She stood there in the kitchen for a moment, her eyes looking around for any more spies, before she sighed a bit and took off her cowmare hat with an uneasy frown.
The three girls high-tailed it out of the kitchen, looking over their shoulders the whole way in case Applejack decided to toss something out after them. That wasn't much like her, but neither was that outburst. They breathed heavily as they ran back out into the sunlight, the bright radiance tangling in their shimmering young coats and kissing their hidden skin. The day was puttering along now, the sunlight torturing the ponies beneath and teasing them with the idea of sleep by every brief cloud that passed the sun. Applebloom found that she was somewhat disappointed by the reaction, as she had kind of wished that Applejack could be happy in the way that Sweetie Belle promoted. As they walked back past the barn into the orchard, Scootaloo sighed audibly more than once.
"Well, I guess that was a bust." Scootaloo said with a notable frown, stomping her hooves into the ground in a rude fashion.
"Was it?" Sweetie Belle asked rhetorically, flipping her mane like she knew something the other girls did not. As they sent her confused looks, she decided to reveal her hand and interpretation, "Didn't you see the look on her face?"
"She looked mighty angry to me," Applebloom murmured as she looked back down at the dirt she was so accustomed to, dark with fertility.
"Listen, girls, the reason our matchmaking didn't work last time was because we tried to make people fall in love who clearly weren't even friends to begin with." Sweetie Belle explained with a confident trot, looking back between the coming trees at her two imminent targets, "This time, however, we have a relationship to start from. All they need is a spark, you know, like what Twilight told us ignited the Elements of Harmony, don't you see?"
"I know Twilight's a princess and all, but that don't mean you gotta quote her every word." Applebloom complained as she scoffed a bit at the idea, "Ain't the Elements of Harmony somethin' friendship is based on?"
"Yes, but don't you think that love can follow the same concepts? Loyalty, honesty, generosity, kindness, laughter, and, uh." Sweetie Belle put her hoof to her chin, hoping somepony would fill in the blank adequately.
"Magic."Scootaloo and Applebloom spoke together, though neither seemed too interested in what Sweetie was getting at with all her fancy speak.
"Exactly, don't you think that love is kind of like magic too? A really strong kind of magic!" Sweetie called, her voice cracking at the top of her youthful vocal range. She still gestured about with her hooves, and the other two girls looked at each other as she did. "We have nothing to lose, girls. This is the call of the cutie mark, the epitome of adult relations, the aspirations of all young fillies alike! I know in my heart that these two are meant to be, now, who's with me?!"
"Well, I guess we could—" Scootaloo murmured a bit to Applebloom, but Sweetie's voice shouted out like it always did.
"Who's with me!?" She screamed the repeated words, and the other two winced as they heard the shrill voice. Giving in to the obviously overwhelming possibility, the two responded together.
"We're in." They replied, one slightly more confidant than the other.
They heard the door by the patio swing back open and ducked into cover, peering over at where the noise originated. Applejack had gone back outside near Rainbow Dash, and rolled the barrel of cider into the shade despite Rainbow's complaints. Regardless of whether she wanted to laze around or not, Applejack never had much of a choice when it came to working the farm. She would have plenty of time for relaxing once she was certain everything was taken care of, well, not plenty of time, but there should be some time. Rainbow Dash slurped at her mug slowly as she watched the barrel land on the grass in the shade of some little shed. Applejack wiped some sweat off her brow and turned back to her friend.
"Now then, I got some apples to pick for Granny's jams, since I went and cooked up so many of 'em for the pastries earlier. Shouldn't take long, ain't you got some rain clouds to clean up, any who?" Applejack asked, walking past the winged pony and looking back over her shoulder.
"It's not raining yet, it can wait. Can't you leave the cider? I'll take good care of it, promise." Rainbow Dash grinned this wide and untrustworthy grin, bringing out a chuckle from her friend.
"We'll drink more once the work is done, I can't relax with chores on my mind." Applejack explained, ducking her head under the bar that joined two wicker baskets, which she used for carrying apples back from the orchard.
"You don't have anything better on your mind than that?" Rainbow almost suggestively muttered over the brim of her cup as she raised a questioning eyebrow. She probably didn't intend for it to sound so enticing, but to Applejack the words were torturous.
"Well, well I," Applejack's face lit up as she remembered what the girls had been pressing her about, but laughed it off a little too hard. Rainbow narrowed her eyes, wondering what could possibly be so funny, "I won't be able to pick apples so well after a few more of those mugs, it's better I do it now. It'll clear my head."
"Maybe you had a bit too much already, sure you don't need an extra hoof or two?" She asked as she sat up in the chair and eyed the farm girl.
"Don't you worry about it Rainbow, I'll finish this up lickety-split and come on back for some more cider." Applejack started trotting off, passing the first few trees and mostly disappearing into the orchard.
"There are apple trees right here you know!" Rainbow shouted after her, but got no response. She frowned a bit, scratching her head. "Crazy pony, she's going to put herself in an early grave with all that worrying, I'll tell you that much." Rainbow muttered into her mug as she finished it off, licking her lips to save the flavour.
"Tell me about it." Applebloom's voice startled Rainbow so much that she flipped the chair right over and ended up underneath it. Looking through the wicker bars she glared at the young filly before lifting it over her head.
"Where'd you come from, kid?" Rainbow asked irritably, getting up and shaking herself off, brushing the dirt from her wings.
"I live here," Applebloom replied with a big old smile, which just kept sitting on her face as Rainbow stared at her. The other two fillies came up behind her, skipping about in a carefree manner. "Applejack ain't gonna admit it if she needs help, y'know that. What about you? Ain't you got some sky stuff to do?" Rainbow Dash just shrugged and she set up her chair again and went to sit in it. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shoved Applebloom to keep talking, "You wanna pick some apples or somethin?"
"I'm here for the cider." Rainbow Dash replied curmudgeonly as she sank into the seat, crossing her arms.
"Come on Rainbow Dash! It'll be fun!" Scootaloo knocked her off the seat she had just barely sat back in, and shoved her towards the orchard. Rainbow glared at the little filly, who just faked a smile and kept pushing her along.
"What fun could picking apples possibly be?" Rainbow groaned as she picked up her feet, annoyed with the ushering along. Applebloom ran up to them with the same contraption that Applejack adorned, though it was smaller in size. "This is slavery, I didn't agree to this!"
"But we're too small to buck the trees ourselves," Sweetie Belle made the saddest most manipulative face she could, dropping the corners of her mouth and watering up her eyes like she was about to start crying. "Please?"
"I, uh," Rainbow Dash made the mistake of looking into her great big shining eyes, a secret weapon reminiscent of Fluttershy's stare. Rainbow grimaced a bit and scowled, sighing loudly with a drop of her head, "Yeah, okay."
"Yay!" The three fillies skipped around her, despite her look of annoyance and lack of amusement.
The trees were wide and tall, breaching the toes of the sky and casting soft shadows on the cool dry grass in the orchard. The apples still clung onto their branches, some colours still just fading in beneath the sheen of the skin. Tossing her wicker baskets to the ground, Applebloom clicked her hind hooves thrice, and the other two girls fell into a line with her. Rainbow Dash looked around curiously, wondering just what it was they were up to. Applebloom cleared her throat, and though Sweetie Belle was the one who usually did the singing, this particular song was suited just for the little red-headed filly.
(Another Day In The Apple Orchard, lyrics by Ezrienel)
"What could be wrong,
When the sun is shining?
Grab a bucket or barrow,
And quit your whining!
There's plenty to be done,
And the work's just begun!
Brace your haunches, one, two, three!
Come on girls, buck them trees!
Grab them apples, gold, red, green,
Toss 'em if they ain't pristine.
(Rainbow) This isn't fun, you little liars.
Don't you want that sweet hard cider?
(Rainbow) Why do I feel like I'm being tortured?
It's just another day in the apple orchard!
My first day pickin',
I was screamin' and kickin',
And this is what my sister told me:
Look at them apples, ain't they sweet?
If you love the taste
Why would we waste
A day in the orchard kickin' up your feet?
Brace your haunches, one, two, three!
Come on girls, buck them trees!
Grab them apples, gold, red, green,
Toss 'em if they ain't pristine.
Applejack needs a bushel a day,
Don't you slack now, don't you stray,
Work ain't easy, it's true you heard,
It's just another day on the apple orchard!
Brace your haunches, one, two, three!
Come on girls, buck them trees!
Grab them apples, gold, red, green,
Toss 'em if they ain't pristine.
The reward is sweet, and it ain't no lie,
All you can eat of warm apple pie!
Just what the good doctor ordered,
Another day in the apple orchard!
Another day in the apple orchard!"
The final few apples fell into the buckets, bouncing about and losing one or two over the heap. All four of them fell off their hooves and collapsed into the grass, laughing and panting in exhaustion. Rainbow Dash was accustomed to wearing herself out, but all the apple bucking was not something her legs were used to doing. The little fillies had tried their best to buck, but by the end of the harvest they were pretty tuckered out. They all managed to pull themselves up and take a look at the bunch of bright fruits. Feeling accomplished, they all looked at each other and smiled. Despite the hard work, it was actually quite a fun time. Hearing the crunching of dry grass and fallen twigs, the ponies turned to the direction of the noise.
"What in the hay is all this?" Applejack asked as she came between the trees, her own baskets full to the brims with apples. "Did you girls do all this?"
"It was mostly Rainbow Dash," Sweetie Belle suggested with a sly smirk. "I think she just wanted to help you out."
"Ah shucks, you forced her out here didn't you?" Applejack knew, and all the little fillies almost fell over as their trick had been shattered, "Well whatever the reason, thanks y'all. Guess we should carry all these apples back now." Applejack started off towards the farm again, the apple buckets swaying on her shoulders as she stepped.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders, though tired, were not beat yet. Sweetie Belle looked at the baskets that Rainbow Dash and Applebloom carried, the rounds of fruit so temptingly easy to snag. If a helping hoof was not the way to unlock their secret affections, perhaps she would try something a bit less expected and a bit more juvenile. After all, their relationship was already rather physical and playfully competitive, what better way to take advantage of such a relationship was there than this?
She reached over to Applebloom's basket, attracting the attention of both her and Scootaloo. She silenced their suspicions with a wink and a grab of an apple, before completing her idea by gesturing that Applebloom give the basket to Scootaloo. She did so, and Sweetie Belle handed Applebloom the apple, since she had the best toss of them all. With a nudge, she got Applebloom to forcefully toss a fresh ripe apple at her elder sister, who was still turned away. The rest of the Crusaders ducked behind Rainbow Dash, who stood there blinking with the basket still in her teeth. Applejack flinched as the apple struck her, then cast this dastardly glare back at the group behind her. Without provocation, all three of the younger fillies pointed their hooves at the prime suspect: a certain cyan coated pegasus.
"Now, now, you should know better than to toss apples at me." Applejack warned her, trying to be gentle about it as best she could as her temper began to flare. Rainbow shook her head viciously, knowing the blame was falling squarely on her despite the fact she had been paying absolutely no attention a few seconds ago.
"But I didn't!" Rainbow Dash's voice squeaked a bit as she defended herself, making an angry face in return, "If I did, you'd be limping. Trust me."
"Likely story." Applejack didn't believe a word of it, and lowered herself until the baskets hit the ground before ducking under the bar and releasing herself from the weight. She grabbed an apple from one of her baskets and turned back around with her eyes narrowing, "Put 'em up, baby blue."
"Hey, what are you—" Rainbow Dash dropped the bucket of apples she was carrying as Applejack bucked an apple at her, which shattered as it his the tree Rainbow Dash had just raced away from. "Watch it! If I didn't know better I'd say you were aiming for me!"
"Then I hope you can dodge." Applejack grinned as she bit another two apples, tossing one straight up before the other, bucking them both directly at Rainbow Dash.
Applejack tossed another few apples into the air, bucking them straight down their determined path towards the now flying Rainbow Dash. She used her wings to out-manoeuvre the apples, but still jolted back and forth uneasily as they were catapulted her way. Determined to end this little spat, she grabbed a few of her own apples from the trees around that had yet to fall and began returning fire, tossing apples while she avoided a barrage.
Not one to be outdone by any possibly usage of her family apples, Applejack ducked and dodged around every assault Rainbow launched back at her. Finally she grabbed a mouthful of apples and tossed them at once into the air, alternating kicks as she propelled them at her rival in quick succession. Instead of letting Applejack gain the upper hand, Rainbow sped forwards with one beat of her strong wings, avoiding and evading each apple as it whizzed past her. Forcing her two front hooves in front of her, Rainbow Dash raced beyond perceived speed and closed the distance between the two before even one more apple was bucked. Rainbow didn't let any potential damage dissuade her, tackling Applejack to the ground with great force and sending them both into a speedy roll backwards until they hit a protruding root.
Their laughter was louder than any sight, and as the dust kicked up finally cleared the Cutie Mark Crusaders hurriedly approached the scene with great big shining eyes. Applejack chuckled as she laid against the wide trunk of a tree, with Rainbow Dash close over top of her. The two continued to share a heart felt snicker as the aggression evaporated, and Applejack stared at her friend's grinning expression. Applejack's hoof lightly touched Rainbow's chest, curling up to hide the obvious attraction. She bit her lip as she let the topic slip away, though her body told each of the fillies who watched that she was earnestly begging for some physical attention. Even Applebloom, who sought denial as a means to escape the possibility, saw the repressed look on her older sister's face as she touched the mare before her, silently begging for some satisfaction. Sweetie Belle's eyes lit up like fire as she watched them, her otherwise conservative opinions burning up under the blaze of clear passion. She held her hooves up to her face to frame the two before her, and muttered to herself and her friends what she wanted of the pair.
"Now, kiss!" Sweetie Belle whispered as a grin spread across her visage, staring in awe at the two before her. But her own aspiration fell apart before her in shards.
The rainbow haired pony before her flipped her mane and back away, holding the guffaw longer than the intimacy, accepting the whole ordeal as a friendly joke. Applejack knew well how to hide her disappointment, and brought herself to her hooves with a false smile. The two continued to chuckle a little as they picked up the few apples that were still good, putting them back into the baskets and making to carry them off. With a simple playful nudge of one to the other, they continued back to the farm. Sweetie Belle stared vacantly at the scene that unfolded, such a blatant attempt to seem less than fond of each other, there was no way it was possible they could both buy it! But she breathed out of her nostrils in a huff.
"Oh, come on!" Sweetie Belle sighed loudly in exasperation. She hurriedly shook off the disappointment and put on a brave face, "We were close with that one, girls." She argued as she followed the two older ponies closely, inspecting their behaviours carefully, "But maybe we need a more romantic and isolated location."
"More isolated than the apple orchard? More romantic than the apple orchard?" Applebloom seemed entirely taken with her repeated location, and her two friends rolled their eyes a bit at the idea.
"Or maybe," Sweetie Belle thought as they returned to the farm, placing the apples near the barn for baking. Applejack started rolling out the cider once again, and Rainbow Dash was nearly drooling with anticipation, "We just need the right poison."
"Oh no, I thought we decided that we are not using any more potions or poisons, no way!" Scootaloo argued as she tried to get a hold of Sweetie Belle, who insisted that wasn't what she was talking about this time.
"I didn't mean literal poison!" Sweetie Belle shrieked and her voice cracked loudly, causing the two ponies in front of them to look back at her questioningly. She just smiled nervously and faked a laugh until they shrugged and turned back around. "It's some kind of expression Rarity used for alcoholic drinks. She says they're nothing but uncouth poison, besides her sip or two of wine with dinner. Rarity will hardly even touch anything that has alcohol, she says it drives a person to behave in ways they normally wouldn't hear of, drives them to act out their deepest desires and spill their darkest secrets."
"Well that ain't a bad idea, but where are we gonna get alcohol?" Applebloom whispered, noticing the way her sister still glanced back at them like she knew they were up to something.
"They're drinking hard cider, aren't they?" Scootaloo mentioned, and she and Sweetie Belle grinned, they just made it too easy sometimes.
"Hard cider? That's alcoholic?" Applebloom asked curiously, and the other two made weird faces at her, "And here I though it just meant it had rocks in it or somethin', I know that Applejack has her whiskey on the rocks, she says. Wait, ain't whiskey alcoholic too? Why does anypony ever wanna drink rocks?"
"Beats me." Scootaloo shrugged and contorted her face at hearing such oddities, moving the handle of the apple bucket around in her mouth.
The golden hills, harvests, and hay across the scene lit up anypony's eyes upon first sight, whether it was shimmering in the sunlight or dulled in the dusk, Sweet Apple Acres was just that kind of wonderful place. The apple and arrow that rested on the peak of the barn swivelled about now and then, and the Apple family kind of missed the way it used to squeak before they had raised a new barn. The new barn's ageing carmine paint was dulling to auburn like the seasons did, but nopony who spent such time there as the resident family could have possibly noticed. Applejack's own luminous golden mane blew in what whisks of wind made it through the trees and over the hills, but she did not mind it. She brought the harvest of apples up to the door for Granny Smith, and made certain the other buckets found their way to the same spot.
Rainbow Dash beat Applejack to the patio furniture, eagerly rubbing her hooves together in anticipation as she waited for her cider. Applejack did as she desired and rolled the barrel back out, putting it onto the same table, which was now shadowed by the lowering sun. Rainbow could not wait any longer, and hurriedly came up behind Applejack before she had even grabbed a mug and put her mouth under the nozzle. Turning it one way, she let the cider flow into her mouth and over her lips. Applejack laughed and turned it off, pushing her friend out of the way and retrieving the steins again. She filled it right to the brim as she was plenty skilled and doing and shoved the mug into Rainbow's hands.
"Leave some for the rest of us, will ya?" Applejack laughed and she got herself the same mug she always drank from and filled it up as well.
"You want a fair share, you better drink faster than that!" Rainbow said as she gulped more of the cider down, letting a few drops slide down her chin and between the short fur of her coat.
"What are we gonna do now, Sweetie Belle?" Applebloom asked quietly as they approached the pair, keeping a good distance away to muffle their little voices.
"Let them get a drink down first while a think," Sweetie Belle touched her hoof to her chin, tapping it while she tried to come up with something she must have read about in Rarity's magazines. Surely they mentioned something about lust and liquor, but Sweetie hardly knew what that meant much less how to provoke it. She frowned then, noticing her two friends waiting on her word, "You know, I don't see either of you coming up with any genius plans."
"My idea of romance is going out for ice cream or milkshakes," Scootaloo admitted with a scowl that told even ice cream might not please her, "And Applebloom thinks the apple orchard is romantic enough."
"Hey!" Applebloom did not have much of a way to negate the accusation, but was still offended by it.
"Okay point taken, let me just think," Sweetie Belle watched as Applejack casually enjoyed her cider, while Rainbow seemed more interested in consuming as much as she could so the taste might never disappear. Rainbow finished off her mug and hurried back over to the barrel, turning the nozzle and watching it pour out in this rich, golden hue. All the while Applejack watched, though she made a point of seeming like she wasn't. Sweetie Belle noticed the way Applejack bit at her lips a bit, and tasted every drop of cider on them. It gave her an idea, and she wrapped her arm around Applebloom to whisper to her, "Here, Applebloom, just go up to your sister and whisper this in her ear." Her voice dropped into a hush, the words catching into Appleblooms ear and letting not a syllable escape.
"What?!" Applebloom yelped at the strangeness of the request, and blushed a bit, "Now why would I wanna say that?!"
"Just trust me will you?" Sweetie Belle urged her on and pushed her towards her sister, who hardly even noticed her coming. Finally though, she looked over and faked a carefree smile.
"Ain't you kids gone back to the clubhouse yet?" Applejack asked gently, swirling around the remains of her drink in the bottom of her mug absently.
"No, not yet. I just, well see," Applebloom felt nervous saying things like this to her sister. They never did speak about that sort of thing, and it was awkward just to think about. Applebloom did as she was told though, getting up closer to her and whispering so nopony else might accidentally hear, "Don't you think that, um, apple cider has a way of mankin' anypony's lips look irresistible?"
"Now what in Celestia's name has gotten into you, Applebloom? You're way too young to be sayin' those things!" Applejack nearly shouted, making a terribly disappointed face at her younger sister, who backed away in fear and put her ears down flat against her head, "I mean, thinkin' that—"
Applejack stopped herself as she noticed Rainbow Dash aggressively chasing the bottom of her mug, the drops of cider that got away were slipping over her lips and dripping once or twice from her chin. Applejack's face flushed and her words fell apart into fragments around her as she stared blindly on, gawking and gaping at her friend's sweet looking lips as they made a cosy bed for froth. Rainbow licked at the rim of the mug, leaving the refreshing froth on her upper lip like it belonged there. It was uncertain whether her gaping was a result of the cider or her own dark thoughts, but either way she was captivated. Applejack swallowed some cider soaked saliva as she gathered herself, trying to ignore the golden, gleaming goodness that gripped Rainbow's lips.
Applejack blinked twice as she tried to get a hold on herself, and spoke without looking at her little sister, "Uh, what were you sayin'?"
"Nothing," Sweetie Belle interrupted as she and Scootaloo hurriedly grabbed Applebloom and dragged her away to safe cover, "We're going to go play now, bye!"
Applejack didn't even bother waving the girls off, she was still trying to pull herself away from staring. The cool, refreshing cider looked so temptingly tantalizing on Rainbow's warm lips, the golden liquid capturing the beams of sun that crept over the shadow of the shed. Applejack found herself approaching her friend, her eyes still intent on memorizing the rounds of each loose drop. She bit at her lower lip again, nipping back the desires as always she seemed to be doing. Rainbow had pulled her chair right up next to the barrel by now and was leaning on the table it was placed on for support. One could already perceive the sway of her eyes and the heat in her cheeks as mild intoxication. Rainbow Dash noticed Applejack so near and paused in her indulging, raising a questioning brow.
"Oh hey, Applejack. You coming to scold me again or something?" She asked with a chuckle, her hooves curling in. Applejack stepped closer again, halting Rainbow's laughter dead. Their bodies were dangerously near, and the heat of the sun was nothing but a cool breeze compared in contentment to their communion. Applejack leaned too much nearer, her breath especially noticeable against the cider-stung face of her friend.
"Sweet Apple cider ain't never s'posed to be left on somepony's lips for so long, y'know." Applejack said huskily while her eyes held the connection, both parties almost paralysed by the vicinity. Rainbow Dash twitched a bit as the furry top of Applejack's hoof brushed against her soft, tingling lips. Applejack moved her arm closer to her own face, and though she did not break the eye contact she could smell and feel the cider there. Her tongue emerged from her mouth, moist and thirsty, and she let it drag across the remnant drops of the sweet apple cider, enjoying the especially interesting taste. "It's an awful waste."
"Now," Sweetie Belle whispered in the tiniest and most captivated musing, her eyes firmly set and shining like she was going to push them together herself, "Kiss!"
Rainbow Dash was bestilled by the action, and for a moment longer than she anticipated her voice was caught in her throat. She decided to take it as a playful joke, and smiled a bit though her eyes were still uncertain, "Uh, there's more in the barrel, you know."
"Don't mind if I do." Applejack replied with a tip of her hat as she dipped her head under the nozzle and turned it. It was in utter defiance of what she had said earlier, and used that fact to lighten the mood. Rainbow Dash laughed at the ridiculous show and nudged her friend until they both started chuckling, shrugging the subject away as usual.
As the pair before their eyes gently swept the erotic moment under the rug the way they were prone to do, the three young fillies blinked in confusion. It had seemed so easy to push them over the edge at first, but now it had become clear that Applejack and Rainbow Dash were very uneasy with such change, or both equally stubborn. Sweetie Belle let out this heavy held breath and pulled another sharp one in, her quivering lip and twitching eye an obvious sign of what was to come. The two other fillies immediately covered their ears and closed their eyes, preparing themselves for what always came after that.
"No!" Sweetie Belle shrieked at the very top of her lungs, rattling the loose stones all across the yard. The birds in the trees nearly fell out of their perches as they flew off, and several apples toppled out of nearby trees. She held the note for a good few seconds before she noticed the staring. The orange and blue ponies a mere few meters away gaped at her with shocked expressions until she stopped herself. She just looked back for a few seconds, her hands still thrown above her head in frustration. She blinked, and came up with some flimsy excuse, "There was a snake."
"It was just a twig, she's fine." Scootaloo nervously played with a laugh as she and Applebloom grabbed their still stage-frightened friend and yanked her away from the scene. "Let's go play!"
Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other and shared a mutual shrug, before they both got back to the cider they used to drown anything unconventional. They both had far too much to lose on something as silly as interpreted interest.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders hurried away from the scene so they would not give anything away as to their secret intentions. Sweetie Belle groaned and stomped about, upset that her plans were all falling through. The other two followed her with worried expressions, hoping she was not about to have a hissy fit or something. She stopped though when they were far enough away from Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and sighed loudly again.
"I was sure that would work!" She complained with a frown, stomping her right hoof again in disappointment, "We need to have a plan. Last time, we sat Big Mac and Cheerilee right in front of each other and hoped something would happen, but Applejack and Rainbow Dash are together all the time, that wont work!"
"Well we ain't tryin' that love poison again, I can tell you that much." Applebloom reminded her again, and Sweetie shot her a pouting, irritated expression before she tried to be constructive.
"We don't need any more potions or spells or tricks, what we need is," She had to think of the word, and it rolled around a bit in her mouth before she got it right, "A crisis."
"A crisis? Like what?" Scootaloo asked as she tilted her head to one side.
"It has to be something important, something drastic." Sweetie Belle continued to explain, trying in her head to figure it out before spouting it, but she chewed on the idea for a bit. It had to be something extreme and imminent, something nopony could figure would be a lie, "What if something, no, somepony very dear to them was taken away, they'd have to go and save them, right?"
"How're we gonna to do that? Hire somepony to kidnap somepony else?" Applebloom wondered, the whole thing sounding like trouble if she ever heard it.
"Not exactly, I mean, what if the pony who was kidnapped was in on it? And just pretended to be missing?" Sweetie Belle tried to iron out the details, her vision coming together before her eyes as she looked into the faces of her friends.
"Well who in Equestria would want to do that?" Scootaloo scoffed as she poked at the dirt, still not sold on any of it.
"It'd have to be somepony fast, somepony small," Sweetie glanced at her short haired friend to see if she was getting it, but it apparently was only clear in two of the three fillies' heads, "Somepony who means something to Rainbow Dash or Applejack." Both Sweetie Belle and Applebloom looked directly as Scootaloo as she nodded, agreeing to the terms without fully grasping the implication.
"Why are you looking at me?" Scootaloo noticed the stares and tilted her head in question. Her friends just both let slip a couple of not so innocent smiles and Scootaloo understood their motives at once, "No way, no way! Why me?"
"Well you are the bravest, ain't cha? Scoot-Scootaloo?" Applebloom did her chicken call, and Scootaloo glowered under the accusation, "It has to be you, Rainbow Dash would never let anythin' bad happen to you. B'sides, my sister would rally the whole apple family if I went missin', I'd never be able to stay hidden."
"Please, Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle expelled this glorious puppy-dog face, her lips quivering and everything, "You'd just have to stay out of sight, you could stick real close the whole time and we could see you at night when Applejack and Rainbow Dash are asleep."
"You going to beg me?" Scootaloo huffed, but the other two looked at each other before falling at her feet and bowing, saying all kinds of weird begs and pleads. Scootaloo stiffened up with embarrassment and shoved them away, "Stop that already! I'll do it, I'll do it. But both of you owe me one." Applebloom and Sweetie Belle hit hooves and cheered a bit as Scootaloo sighed in defeat.
"This is going to be great! Now all we need is a good story and a convincing act." Sweetie Belle got right back down to business, drawing with her hoof in the dirt. The other two peered over her shoulder and made concerned expressions, wondering just how far she was willing to take this whole thing.