Chapter 4 - Noon

Pinkie Pie was skipping through town, humming a merry tune. The bakery had actually sold out of most of their pastries – and rather than scramble to make more, the Cakes decided they wanted to spend their first holiday as parents with their babies. So after they sold out of baked goods, the earth pony was off the hook for the rest of the day. She trotted along until she saw Fluttershy sitting near a fountain, looking at her own reflection, looking depressed.

In the blink of an eye, Pinkie was by her side, a huge smile across her face. "Hi, Fluttershy!" she said with her usual jovial voice. "Mind if I join you?" But there was no point in asking. She knew the Pegasus would say yes, and that she would take a seat without receiving an answer, so she just sat down, and looked at the petals floating in the fountain. "They're sooo pretty! Next time I take a bath, I'm putting rose petals in them! Is that good for you, to put rose petals in a bath? Or can you break out in hives or something?"

"No, I think it's a good thing," Fluttershy said.

"Then I'm doing it!" the pony said with more conviction. "I wonder if I can exchange the rose petals with sprinkles…" She trailed off when she saw the yellow mare was hardly paying attention. "What is it, Flutters? Is it Angel? Is he okay?"

"The vet said he's fine," the mare said. "But they told me to go out and enjoy the holiday. I think they didn't want me waiting in the waiting room. If I didn't know any better, I would say that they kicked me out for asking about Angel too much. But that would be mean to assume such a thing. What am I supposed to do? I'm so worried…"

"But they told you he was going to be okay, right?"

"Well, yes," Fluttershy admitted, putting a hoof to her mouth as she thought back. "They have him on fluids and he was resting comfortably. Or so they said. They told me he should be fine to take home by tomorrow."

"Well, that's good, then, right?" Pinkie Pie said, smiling brightly enough for the both of them. "You can spend the holiday with me, and pick up Angel good as new tomorrow! Come on, Fluttershy! We can have soo much fun! It will be like a date! But not really. But it COULD be! We should go on a date!" Pinkie Pie started clapping her hooves as the idea came to her.

"On a date?" Fluttershy said, her former concern now replaced by confusion. Then the confusion turned to fear. "A date? I've never been on a date before…what do ponies on a date do? Don't they…" Her voice got really low. "Kiss?"

"Oh, silly," Pinkie Pie said, bopping the Pegasus on the nose. "It doesn't have to be a real date – we're both friends! And since we don't have dates for tonight, we could be each other's unofficial dates. So we don't have to be a couple, but we can be a couple of ponies out to have fun! Oh, it will be so great!" The mare clapped her hooves together again. "We can do all types of things ponies on dates during the Hearts and Soul's Festival do, but without the pressure of being a couple! We could go all out! What do you say, Fluttershy? You in?"

"Well," said the mare. "That does sound like it could be fun…but what could we do?"

Pinkie put her hoof to her mouth, furrowing her brow in thought. Then a light bulb lit over her head. "I know! We can go to Canterlot!"

"Oh, Pinkie," Fluttershy said, shaking her head. "That sounds so expensive."

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it! I've been babysitting so much lately, I haven't had time for parties! I know, huh? Shocking!" said the mare, though the Pegasus didn't react to the news at all. "But it's amazing how much money you can save by not throwing parties! This will be like a whole bunch of parties thrown into one! And it's for you and me, today. No other ponies allowed. Oooh, like a secret party, or something. What do you think? It'll be my treat since it's my idea! That's the only way you're invited to this secret party. Sounds fun, huh?"

With Pinkie Pie smiling broadly at her, Fluttershy seemed to forget her troubles earlier and slowly digest the idea of a day in Canterlot with one of her best friends. "Okay, Pinkie," the mare said softly, trying to match the pink mare's excitement. "That sounds lovely."

"ALRIGHT!" the earth pony nearly screeched, making everyone near the fountain turn to look at her.

Rarity followed her client out the doors of her apartment and onto the streets, which was brimming with activity for the holiday. While the unicorn loved Heart's and Soul's Day, she was very unhappy with how her day was unraveling. The client, a high class unicorn pony that held her nose so high, she would drown when it rains, stood outside wearing the cobalt blue dress, looking herself over in the mirror that Rarity carried out using her magic. "See, in the light," the white unicorn began, "you can see how the color really works with your fur color. And the earrings I picked out really bring attention to your beautiful eyes." She smiled a weary smile.

"I still say it's too dark," the client said in her posh voice. "How are ponies going to notice me tonight at the garden party if they can't see me?"

"Well, it's a color that works well for you. You see, if I were to go with brighter colors, then you would stand out too much, or it simply would not match your coat color," Rarity explained. "You did say you wanted to be understated, but dazzling. I think-"

"Yes, I know what you think," said the client, turning around in the mirror. "If I decide to take this dress - and that' a great big 'if'– then I'm going to need some alterations before tonight. This stitching is absolutely deplorable, and the shape of the neck is completely unflattering! Of course, you will have to take off at least half the price! We're cutting it far too close to the event. And I have things to do! This is cutting into my festival day."

Rarity bit her lip as she held back to torrent of words she wanted to attack the mare with, like how she was missing out on a festival day, too, due to the client's incompetence in figuring out how to order a dress in time, and she would be damned if she took one single bit off the price of the dress because she felt inconvenienced by her own deplorable attitude. No, she bit it back. But just barely.

"I knew I shouldn't have hired somepony from Ponyville, or all places," said the client. "How can anything with an eye for fashion come from a backwater like that?"

"I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW-," Rarity started, her voice almost screeching. But she didn't get to finish her statement, as a pony swooped in between her and her client, his back towards Rarity.

"Dear, I must say, you have really outdone yourself for this Festival!" It took Rarity a few moments to realize that Fancy Pants had come from out of nowhere and stopped the near-fight she was about to get in. "That dress looks magnificent! Why, if I didn't know any better, I would think you were getting your dress ready for the gala!"

Stunned, the client gave a half-witted stare to the stallion, before realizing she was expected to answer. "Oh? Oh, yes! I just had it delivered, and we were trying it on for any final retouches."

"Well, far be it for me to say," the stallion said, "but I've been around many dresses in my day, so I think I would know a thing or two about them. And this is perfection. I wouldn't allow anypony to do a thing to it! But that's just my opinion. I'm not sure how much you want to trust the opinion of a stallion to that of a mare."

"No, no," the mare said. "I think you're quite right. This dress really is magnificent. Come, Rarity, let's see about getting you paid and on your way."

"Y-yes," Rarity said. The client walked past her, and the white unicorn stood there, dumbfounded as to what had just happened. Fancy Pants turned and smiled at her. "I…I don't know how to thank you," she said.

"Well, you looked like you were in trouble," the stallion replied. "I wouldn't keep her waiting too long, though. Do you think you'll be long?"

"I'm not sure…"

"Well, I'll be at the corner café for when you're done. Do come see me after you've finished. We have a lot to catch up on!" Fancy Pants gave her a wink before trotting off to the café. Rarity breathed a sigh of relief, before turning and following her client back into her apartment.

Once outside again, properly paid for the dress she slaved over, Rarity smiled to herself, wanting to fall asleep right on the street if she could. Shaking her head, she remembered Fancy Pants' offer to meet her at the café. The unicorn quickly looked at her reflection in the window, looking around quickly to see if anypony was looking, then taking out a brush to fix all the stray hairs. After her hair looked more presentable, she took out her make up and freshened up her face as quickly as she could.

After an inspection, she figured she look better, but didn't want to keep the stallion waiting. Holding her head up proudly, she made her way to the café, where the stallion was sitting on one of the outside tables.

He looked up just as she was coming to have a seat. "Oh, lovely," he said. "I was beginning to wonder if you had gotten out alive! Or if she had, by the looks of things. You looked ready to strangle her."

Rarity let out a laugh as she sat down. "I would apologize for my behavior, but I'm actually sorry I didn't do more. I can't thank you enough for stepping in. I was seconds away from destroying my name to all of Canterlot!"

"That mare is really something. You're not the first to get frustrated with her. While I would have loved to have seen her get a good tongue lashing, I simply couldn't let her get to you like that."

"I am truly grateful, really," Rarity said again. "If there is any way at all I can make it up to you…"

Fancy Pants smiled. "Well, if you put it like that…how would you like to be my date for today?"

Rarity had a smile stained on her face while she considered what had just been said. Fancy Pants was asking her out on a date? A DATE? What's more, for Hearts and Soul's Day? While she had always felt she had a connection with him, and admired him (not only for his status, but the way he carried himself even while being surrounded by a bunch of uptight sycophants), she had never considered dating him. Not that he wasn't handsome or she wasn't interested, but she just assumed he was taken.

"Uh-I-er-froo," was all Rarity managed to get out at first. She laughed nervously, taking up the tea that had been set down for her using her magic and taking a sip. It gave her a moment to collect herself before trying again. "…what about Fleur?"

"Well, I would assume she has a date for tonight, as well," he said, no change in his demeanor whatsoever.

That was something Rarity always felt odd about. She had trouble reading the stallion. He often had that gentle smile on his face, which made it difficult to tell what he was thinking. Still, she never felt ill will from him, and she had always appreciated how nicely he treated her friends. "Well, then" said the mare, returning to her composed self. "I would love to!"

Applejack laughed as she threw piece of bread at Rainbow Dash's head. "That's just silly," she said. They were halfway through their Hearts and Souls Day lunch, but the meal took place very slowly as they kept interrupting each other with a new topic. "In what situation would mutant apples attack Ponyville?"

"If there can be zombie ponies, there can be mutant apples!" Rainbow Dash said, committed to her train of thought. "And there are more apples than ponies!"

"D'you wanna know what a mutant apple looks like?" Applejack got up and walked over to the nearest apple tree. She bucked just hard enough so that a few of the apples fell, then looked around at the fallen fruit. She picked one up with her teeth and tossed it to the Pegasus, who in turn yelped and kicked it back before even looking at it.

"You mean mutant apples exist?" she asked, curling her legs up close to her.

"Just look at the dern thing," she said again, kicking the fruit back over to her. It was malformed, and growing two apples out of one stem.

"Well, how in the hay is this supposed to attack anypony?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking at the odd-looking produce.

"Exactly," Applejack said, lying back down. "Mutant apples are ridiculous. Ah just don't understand why you have to turn mah apples in mutant, pony-killin' monsters in that head of yours!"

"Says the pony who made the citizens of Ponyville into the living dead," said the Pegasus, turning onto her back and balancing the mutant apple on her hoof. "Anyways, I just said the mutant apples thing to annoy you. The only real monster I would be afraid of is…" She thought for a moment. "Hmm. I don't know."

"Ya wouldn't be scared a zombies?" Applejack asked.

"Nah, I'm faster than any zombie could ever be," she said, tossing the apple into the air before hitting it with her hoof. It flew to her right and rolled down the shallow cliff. "What would I have to be afraid of?"

"Well, maybe you're not afraid with your wings," said the earth pony, "but us land-locked ponies would have one doozy of a tussle in store."

"Aw, AJ, I would never leave you behind to face off all those zombies," Rainbow Dash said, turning to her side and looking to the mare. "I would take you with me." The orange mare turned her head to the side, frowning. "What?"

"And the others?"

"Well, yeah!" the Pegasus said, getting up, rubbing a hoof to her head. "I would help them, too, of course! What do you take me for?" The cyan mare allowed herself to give a side glance to Applejack. The earth pony just looked, one eyebrow raised. "Okay, well, I would have to save you first, since now I know how terrified you are of zombi—you know what? This is a silly conversation. Why are we having it?"

"'Cause you started it!" Applejack said, pointing a hoof at the mare.

"Well, why are we listening to MY ideas?" Rainbow Dash said, tossing her front hooves in the air. "I already thought up coming up here. You should have an idea now."

Applejack rolled her eyes and shook her head, before lying down on her side. "Ah didn't know you could max out all your good ideas in one mornin'."

"Hey!" the mare nudged the earth pony with her hoof. "That's not what I meant."

Applejack smiled. "Ah know, Ah'm just teasin' ya." Looking at each other, the Pegasus smiled and lay down next to the earth pony. "Alright," she said. "Ah think I know of somethin'…"

"What's that?"

"What's it like to fly?"

"Awesome," came Rainbow Dash's automatic answer, a goofy smile on her face as she drifted to the thoughts of flying. "Why? Jealous?"

"Nah," Applejack said, waving off a hoof. "Figure if Ah was born without wings, Ah was probably never meant to let my hooves get too far off the ground."

"You could let them get a little off the ground," Rainbow Dash said, smiling down at the earth pony. She spread her wings momentarily for emphasis.

"How do you fi'ger Ah could do that?" she asked, suddenly aware of the position she was in: lying on the ground, alone with the Pegasus lying right up against her, looking down at her.

"I could show you," the mare said, leaning closer.

"…Ah….ah don't have wings, remember?" she said softly, their lips getting closer.

"There's more than one way to fly, Applejack…" For a moment, they looked intensely into each others eyes, before the two closed them, coming closer, until-

"There is?" asked a voice behind them.

Applejack's eyes shot open as she rolled over and got back onto her hooves. Rainbow Dash somehow managed to shoot herself into the air, and was now hovering in place, looking back at their interruption.

Scootaloo was standing there, flanked by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, looking up at Rainbow Dash with keen interest. "How can you fly without wings?" she asked.

Rainbow Dash let out a huff of air, before landing hard on the ground. "We'll never know, now!" she said, annoyance plain in her voice.

"Apple Bloom," Applejack said with an admonishing tone. "What are y'all doin' here? Ah thought y'all were gunna help out Granny Smith with the baked goods this mornin'?"

"We were," Apple Bloom said. "Until Scootaloo decided to help."

The Pegasus filly huffed. "How was I supposed to know that the pies wouldn't bake twice as fast if I put them in the oven at twice the heat?"

Rainbow Dash sat down on the ground next to Applejack, looking the three fillies over. "I tried to do that, once. Nearly burned down my parent's house." She laughed to herself. "Good times."

"What are y'all doin'?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Talkin'," Applejack responded.

"Bought flyin'?"

"Apple Bloom, how many times do Ah gotta tell you, don't listen in on mah conversations! Big ponies talk about different things than little ponies."

"Ah'm not that little!" Apple Bloom whined. "Just because I'm littler than ya'll-"

"Oh, brother," Rainbow Dash moaned.

"-don't mean I don't know what big ponies talk about!"

"Are you talkin' back to your big sister?" said the orange mare. "Do Ah have to tell Big Macintosh on you, again?"

"You know, you're not the only one who can tell on somepony!" Apple Bloom said, lifting her head up tall, smiling as though she had won the fight.

"What are you talkin' bout?" Applejack asked, narrowing her eyes at her little sister. She saw her sister's eyes shift to Rainbow Dash, and back. Suddenly realizing what she meant, the orange mare's eyes widened. "Apple Bloom," she said warningly.

"What? What is it? Why did she look at me?" Rainbow Dash asked, both confused and excited by the prospect at the same time.

"It's nothin'!" Applejack said, her smile too wide and toothy as she looked at Rainbow Dash. Then back to her sister, "Why don'cha just go and play with your friends, Apple Bloom," she said in a low voice.

"What? Something about me?" Rainbow Dash asked, smiling hopefully.

"Have you ever been in Applejack's roo—" The little filly was cut off when her sister shoved an apple in her mouth.

"Nothin' at all!" she said loudly, smiling nervously back to Rainbow Dash. "It's just a room. Kids these days…"

The Pegasus had a mischievous smile on her face. Applejack's face fell when she realized what was about to happen. "So, then, you wouldn't mind if I go check it out, now, would you?"

"Actually," the orange mare began to say, but in a burst of rainbow colors, the Pegasus mare was gone. "Rain—Rainbow!" She leapt to her feet, calling after the mare, "If you go into mah, room, Ah—"

"I don't think she can hear you," Scootaloo said, watching with a broad smile on her face as she watched the speck that was Rainbow Dash disappear.

"Consarnit!" The orange mare yelled, before rushing past the three fillies and towards her house.

Big Macintosh craned his neck, looking around the apple orchard, while Twilight Sparkle called out for the individual fillies. "Apple Bloom? Scootaloo? Sweetie Belle? Where are you?"

"There ain't much we can do, now," Big Macintosh said, shaking his head. "We tried. Ah have to get back so Ah can sell at market."

Twilight shook her head. "Those three are always getting into something. Well, at least this time, it shouldn't be anything dangerous." She turned to look at the stallion, who furrowed his brow in thought. "What?"

"Have y'ever seen mah sister mad?"

"Well," the mare said, smiling softly. "I meant dangerous in the, 'staring down a cockatrice and being turned to stone' sense of the word." The earth pony still seemed unconvinced. "Oh, I'm sure she's not that bad."

Just then, a flash of colors flew past, nearly knocking Twilight Sparkle over. She looked up to see the rainbow blur skid to a halt, before flying back over to the stallion and mare. Rainbow Dash looked at the two, confused. "W…what in the hay are you doing here?"

"Uh," the unicorn said, feeling her face get red. She suddenly remembered the conversation they had earlier, and wondered if she was in trouble. "Well, Apple Bloom and her friends wandered off to find you, and Big Macintosh didn't want them to mess up-"

The Pegasus put up a hoof to stop her. "They've already done that." Turning to the stallion, she waved a hoof nonchalantly. "Hey, Big Mac…" Then her eyes went wide with an idea. "HEY! Big Mac!" the mare said, landing in front of the stallion. "I don't suppose you know anything about something AJ is hiding in her room that has to do with me, do you?"

Twilight Sparkle noticed a smile flicker on the stallion's face. But before he could say anything, they could hear yelling in the distance. An orange blur was running towards them, yelling something that the unicorn could only assume was some sort of veiled threat.

"Uh-oh," Rainbow Dash said, hovering in the air again. To the stallion, she asked, "Do you, do you?"

"Well," the stallion began, "Ah'm sure Ah know nothin' about no box hidden in her closet underneath her blankets."

Rainbow Dash smiled, taking a glance back, before nudging the earth pony with her hoof. "I like your style, Big Mac." With that, she shot off like a light, taking a few leaves from the surrounding apple trees with her.

Before the unicorn could even begin to inquire what that was all about, the earth pony came skidding to a stop in front of Big Macintosh, panting hard from running. "Where did she…what did you…what did you tell her?" she asked, fire blazing in her eyes. The red earth pony looked away, despite the fact that his sister was right in his face.

"Ah told her Ah didn't know nothin'."

"Ah don't believe you!" Applejack said, stomping her hoof.

At this, Twilight interjected, "Something about a box in your closet," she said. The orange mare turned around, shocked to see the unicorn standing behind her, before realizing what she said. She turned back to her brother, glaring.

"You didn't."

"Ah might'ave."

"Big Mac, Ah'm gunna git you fer this, if it's the last thing Ah do!" she said, stopping her front hooves a few times for emphasis, before taking off with a speed Twilight had never seen in any earth pony before.

"She didn't even say hi," said the unicorn. "Or bye."

"She's got bigger things to worry about now," Big Macintosh said, trying to hide his smile.

"I'm surprised at you," Twilight Sparkle said, as the two started walking in the direction of the farm house. "You're a lot different than I expected you to be."

The stallion looked over to the mare. "How's that?"

"Well," she shrugged. "Quiet. Withdrawn. More like you were this morning. Not incurring your sister's wrath."

"Ah have mah moments," he said, smiling with his head held up proudly. "Ain't nothin' wrong with teasin' mah sister. It won't hurt her none."

"Still," she said, "I guess ponies can surprise you. Then again, there's only been a few times when we've actually spoken, and both times, I think you were under some sort of spell."

"A spell?" he asked, ambling along, looking over to the mare.

"Yeah. You know. When Discord turned Ponyville into the chaos capital of the world?"

"Ah don't recall that too well," he said.

"Most ponies don't really know what happened when they were under Discord's spell," Twilight Sparkle said. "What do you remember?"

"Ah remember being covered in dirt for some reason," he said, frowning. "D'you know why?"

"You…" Twilight blushed at the memory, but thought it was better that he knew. Who wanted to have a moment in time blocked out of their memory? All the girls worked to piece together what happened to them when they were discorded, except for Fluttershy. She didn't want to hear about how awful she was being. Still, she felt like he had a right to know, especially since he asked. Even if it did involve her and him having a somewhat awkward moment. "Well, you thought you were a dog," she said.

"Ah dog?" he repeated.

"Yes," Twilight Sparkle said. "You were digging holes in the ground."

"And Ah talked to you like that?" he asked.

'Boy, he didn't miss that cue,' the mare thought to herself. Outloud, she said, "Well, not so much talked to me as, well…kissed me. LICKED ME!" The mare jumped back in surprise, as the stallion turned his head, shocked at what he had heard. "I MEANT TO SAY LICKED! On the cheek! On my face! It was innocent. You thought you were a dog. Why did I say 'kissed'? I meant to say licked! I swear. That's all you did! I don't know why I said otherwise!" The mare looked down, her face as red as the stallion's coat. "I'll just be quiet now."

After a few moments of silence, Big Macintosh said, "Ah was a dog, Ah dug holes, and Ah licked you on the face."

"THOUGHT you were a dog. And yes, you did that. And NOTHING more!" the mare said, still staring at the ground.

"And the other time we talked?"

"Well, there was no licking involved," Twilight Sparkle responded, confused at the question, allowing herself to look up at the Stallion. But he started chuckling at her, which made her feel even more embarrassed. With a sigh, she finished explaining, "That was when you stole my Smarty Pants doll."

He stopped laughing. Instead, he looked like he had just been caught. "Ah'm sorry about that, Miss Twilight. It just brings back memories of when Ah was a little Macintosh, and Ah didn't think you would miss it after everything that happened."

Twilight Sparkle blinked, before realizing what he was saying. "Wait…you have my Smarty Pants doll? I've been looking everywhere for her!"

Big Macintosh was about to say something, but his mouth hung open mid-word, causing the piece of hay he was perpetually chewing on to fall from his mouth and to the floor. After a moment, he said, "Ah thought that's what you meant."

"I meant when you stole it from the girls," she said. "And I meant when you were under the spell. I don't understand. You actually like her? No one else seemed to…until the spell…"

"When Ah was little," he explained, "AJ used to have the doll, but she didn't much care for it, so Ah took it. But one day, Ah got into a fight with one of my friends, and we fought over the doll, and it tore apart. Mah parents were gunna get me another one, but…well, they never got a chance to before they passed away."

"Oh," Twilight Sparkle said, hanging her head down. "I had no idea. I'm so sorry, Big Macintosh."

"Well, it don't matter," he said, resuming his walk back to the house. "It pro'bly means a lot to you, and Ah've been selfish."

Well, yes the doll did mean quite a bit to her. She cared enough about it to bring it to Ponyville, and thought enough about it that she thought she could get three young fillies to fight over it of their own volition. She had fond memories of sitting in the garden with Princess Celestia during her studies, writing down her notes as Smart Pants lay next to her, her own notebook and quill out for taking notes. Just thinking back on those times made her feel warm inside. But…

"You know, she's probably a lot safer with you than with me," Twilight said, walking next to the stallion. "I DID nearly destroy the town with her, so…"

Big Macintosh smiled, looking forward. Then, he nudged the mare lightly with his head. "Thank you, Miss Twilight."

Twilight Sparkle blushed. "You could just call me Twilight. You don't have to add the Miss." He nodded, then continued toward the farm house without saying much else.

Once at the house, Granny Smith was outside by the pastries cart, waiting. She seemed annoyed to see Big Macintosh walking up so slowly. "Half an hour, Ah've been waitin'," she said, moving to the side. "That's half an hour sellin' that we won't get to do, now. Ah loaded the cart already – it took me a while, but Ah did it since you weren't here. Ah've done mah job, it's your job to sell 'em, ya hear?"

Big Macintosh nodded, putting on the harness to the cart.

Granny Smith smiled to Twilight Sparkle. "That's a rather nice flower you have in your mane, deary. You have a good holiday, ya hear? Ah'm gunna go lay down. Ah'm way past due for mah noon-time nap."

The mare put a hoof up to her mane, having forgotten the carnation was there. "Happy Heart and Soul's Day to you too, Granny Smith," she said, as the old mare turned and slowly made her way to the farm house.

Twilight looked back to Big Macintosh, who was looking expectantly at the mare. When she walked up next to him, he started his slow saunter, pulling the cart. "Do you have any plans for tonight, Miss…Ah mean, Twilight?"

"Not anymore," she said. She didn't want to get ahead of herself, but based on books she had read in the past, she figured where this was going. She couldn't help the smile that crossed her face.

"That's too bad," he said. "Well, if you're goin' into town, Ah can walk you home."

"Uh-huh?" she said expectantly. But then the stallion kept walking, and the mare's face fell. They walked silently for a few minutes, until Twilight Sparkle let out a sigh, and turned to the stallion. "Do you have plans for tonight, Big Macintosh?"

"Eenope," he said.

"Maybe after your done working for the day, we could meet up again for the festival." Twilight's heart raced at having just asked the stallion out, but she tried to keep herself as collected as possible while she waited for his answer. He looked at her, eyes wide, as though he were surprised at what she had asked.

Then, after looking forward again, he said, "eeyup."

"Eeyup? That's a yes?" she asked, smiling a little too happily.

"Eeyup."

"Okay! That sounds good." She tried to push away the thought in the back of her mind that this would make a great letter to Princess Celestia, and instead tried to live in the excitement of the moment.

Rainbow Dash landed through the open window in Applejack's room, then peeked out of the window to see where the mare was. She could see the blur of a mare in the distance, and decided she had about two minutes before she came into the room, swearing up a storm at the Pegasus. Luckily, due to her reconnaissance, she knew exactly where to look.

The mare opened the closet, and found the blankets folded neatly on top of a black box. The Pegasus haphazardly grabbed the apple-decorated blankets, before tossing them onto the mare's bed. She dragged the box out, and opened it up.

She didn't know what she expected to find, but she still managed to be disappointed.

Rainbow Dash took out the Mare-Do-Well costume that was folded into the box and looked it over. The hat was missing – that must have been in another box – but the rest was there, placed over some other paraphernalia. Applejack's ticket to the gala. A picture of all the girls posing together. A drawing signed by Apple Bloom of her sister wearing her element of harmony. Some pictures from one of the many Pinkie Pie parties they had attended, including a candid picture of both she and Applejack bobbing for apples.

She might have to keep that one for herself.

She even saw another drawing that Apple Bloom had done with Rainbow Dash's wings upside down, from when they were afflicted with the Poison Joke. "Hey!" said the Pegasus. She put that aside so she could question the earth pony about it later.

Since Applejack seemed to be taking so long to catch the cyan mare in the act, Rainbow Dash decided to put the Mare-Do-Well outfit on while she waited. It would have a nice effect of annoying the orange mare a little more, and she liked to mess with her as much as she could. After that, she sat down and looked through the rest of the pictures, happening to find one of the two competing in the Iron Pony contest, one where they were running together after the Running of the Leaves, and even one of the two with their pets after Rainbow Dash had chosen Tank.

All the pictures made the mare smile.

She perked her ears up when she heard hooves racing up the stairs. Her warm hearted smile was replaced by a devilish one. She didn't bother to look up when Applejack stopped dead at the door. "You know," she said, looking at the pictures in the box," I figured this could have easily been something creepy, like if you were collecting my feathers or something, or something really sappy, like a notebook with my name scribbled in it five million times. This borders on sappy, but it's also… a little anti-climactic."

Rainbow Dash looked at the mare, smiling, before her smile was replaced by confusion. Applejack was staring at the mare, a look on her face the Pegasus couldn't quite place. "What?"

"…You're wearin' mah costume," she said.

"Well, it's not like I don't know you're 'secret identity'!" Rainbow Dash said, using her hooves to make air quotes.

Still panting from running after the Pegasus, the earth pony let a mischievous smile creep across her face, before she stepped into her room and closed the door with her back hoof. "That costume don't got no openin' for your wings." Applejack stomped at the floor once, ready to charge.

"Pony feathers," Rainbow Dash said, just barely getting up before the orange pony tackled her to the floor. "Hey!" the Pegasus called, her wings pinned against her body by the costume. Applejack held the pony from the back in a vice grip, as the rainbow maned mare struggled for a moment. "Would you let me up!"

"Say you're sorry," Applejack said into the Pegasus' ear.

"For what!" she asked, huffing as she gave up her fight. The orange mare had her back legs wrapped around her, and there was no use struggling against those apple-bucking primed legs of hers.

"For goin' through my things!" she paused for a moment. "And thinkin' ah collect your feathers. That IS creepy."

"Okay!" Rainbow Dash said, "I'm sorry for that. I'm just glad I didn't say the other thing I thought was in your box."

Applejack squeezed the mare tighter, possibly in an attempt to prove she had the strength to do more to her than just hold her down and make her apologize. Whatever it was supposed to do, the Pegasus knew it was having a very different effect. Applejack felt so nice and warm, and she was enjoying the close contact to the point that she wondered how much longer she could make it last. "What else were you thinkin'?" asked the earth pony.

"Oh, no, I'm not telling you!" Rainbow Dash let out a soft laugh as Applejack rolled to her side, bringing the mare to her side along with her, and tightened her grip.

"Tell me," she demanded.

"Nuh-uh! Ow!" The earth pony nipped on the pegasus' ear and pulled it lightly. Well, if that was what Applejack was going to do as punishment, Rainbow Dash would never tell! The cyan mare laid her head back against her friend, and relaxed into the tight hold that felt more like a tight embrace. "I'm never telling you, now," she said softly.

"Oh, yeah?" With that, Applejack lifted a hoof away from her grip around the mare, and then—

"BA-HA-HA!" The ungraceful laugh came Rainbow Dash from being poked in her stomach. Unfortunately, after knowing the earth pony for so long, she had accidentally revealed her weak spot – a spot on her stomach that was extremely ticklish. The Pegasus resumed trying to get out of Applejack's grip as she was being tickled mercilessly by the pony.

"You were sayin'?" the mare said over the other pony's laughter.

"Okay! Okay!" she said, her laughter stalling after Applejack had let up on tickling her. A few giggles escaped while the pony caught her breath. After a moment of silence, the earth pony lifted her hoof again, ready to resume tickling. "OKAY! Okay! Okay! Kinky."

Rainbow Dash could feel Applejack's body go rigid when she heard what she had said. "Uh…come again?"

"I said it you might have had something kinky in the box."

Applejack got up so fast that Rainbow Dash rolled on the floor. The earth pony didn't dare look at the Pegasus, but if she did, she probably would have revealed a very embarrassed face.

"Well, it wasn't my first thought," Rainbow Dash said, getting up and starting to take off the Mare-Do-Well costume. "I mean, your brother DID tell me where it was. That would have been just awkward if he saw something like that from his sister."

"Ah'm gunna…head downstairs," Applejack said, opening the door to her room. "Just leave the stuff there, Ah'll clean it up later." Without looking back, the orange mare trotted out of the room.

"Well, what was that all about?" Rainbow Dash asked herself. Yes, it would have been embarrassing for the mare, but that was no reason to leave the room.

Rainbow Dash tossed the costume to the side, before going towards the hallway. However, when she heard a crunch under her hooves, she groaned. Looking down, she saw she had stepped on and cracked the lid to Applejack's box. She picked it up to investigate the damage. When she turned the lid over, she froze.

Taped to the bottom of the lid was a picture of Rainbow Dash. She remembered it well from the days when she let fame get to her head just a little. It was even signed by her, "With all my love, RD." The Pegasus knew the earth pony would never have added to her ego by asking for a signed autograph from her when everypony else was fawning over her. She must have found it.

Rainbow Dash put the lid back where she found it with the picture face down, and took a second to let the wave of emotion wash over her. She didn't want Applejack to know she saw the picture. To her, it could only mean one thing. And the idea made her so happy that she felt nervous. Taking a few deep breaths to try and steady her nerves, she limbered up her muscles a bit, and then made her way to the stairs.

Applejack was standing by the door, watching Big Macintosh and Twilight Sparkle walk off with the pastries cart to go to market. Rainbow Dash walked confidently past Applejack, nudging her hat with her hoof as she walked past. "Come on, AJ," she said, smiling to the pony. "This day won't last forever!"

Applejack looked down at her hooves, shifting uncomfortably from hoof to hoof. "Uh, RD, maybe we shouldn't…"

"Hey, don't quit on me, now," said the Pegasus, leaning forward to put a hoof on the earth pony's shoulder. She tried to give her a reassuring look. "You said we could hang out today. If you don't want to do it…"

"It's not that," she said, looking down at her hooves some more.

"Then…what's the problem?" The mare drew back. Maybe she came on too strong with her comment earlier.

Adjusting her hat, the mare took in a deep breath, before finally looking up to Rainbow Dash. They made eye contact, and Applejack gave a small smile, her cheeks getting a little pink. "Nothin'. Okay, let's go."

Though both mares were still nervous, they trotted next to each other. There was an anticipatory silence as they made their way back into the orchard to spend the rest of the day alone together.