“AJ, what the hay are you doing?”

Applejack started and then heaved a sigh, poking her head up above the tall grass she had been fairly well concealed in. At least she had been fairly well concealed from ponies who favored the ground, either by necessity or by choice. Ponies who favored the air were another matter entirely.

Her eyes followed something moving a short distance away and for the moment she ignored the pegasus staring daggers at the back of her head. Finally, she turned away from her quarry and looked up at Rainbow Dash.

“You’ve got the worst timing sometimes, ya wingy varmint.” Applejack matched the unamused glare being flung down at her with one of her own.

“That doesn’t answer my question, AJ.” Rainbow Dash folded her forelegs across her chest as she continued to hover and glare.

Applejack considered the situation for a moment, giving a glance back in the former direction of her quarry, no longer in sight. She turned back to Rainbow, giving her an appraising look. “Ya know what ‘stealth’ means?” she finally asked.

“What?” Rainbow’s wings nearly missed a beat. “Of course I do. What kind of question is that?”

“Ya want ta know what I’m up to, don’tcha? I’ll letcha tag along and see, if you can keep quiet an’ not give me away.” Applejack had her doubts, considering the aftermath of the Daring Do incident at the hospital, but she’d gotten so good at stalking her prey lately that a little extra challenge seemed worthwhile.

“Wouldn’t it just be easier to tell me?” Dash landed beside her friend, all enmity in her expression now replaced by puzzlement.

“Sure would.”

“But you’re not going to, are you?”

“Nope.” Applejack grinned.

Rainbow glared again, narrowing her eyes. Applejack’s grin grew steadily more smug in response this time. She mentally counted backwards from ten in her head. She’d barely reached one when Dash let out a groan.

“Alright, fine! I know how to be stealthy. Let’s just go already!”

“Good. Keep close and keep yer lips zipped. Ya need ta say somethin’, tap my shoulder an’ whisper in my ear.”

Applejack left the tall stand of grass near the park, Rainbow Dash following along behind. Her first objective was to relocate her quarry. A quick glance at the position of the sun confirmed that to do that, she needed to stake out the town hall. For the moment she trotted along openly, unconcerned about stealth. This would be the first time in quite a while that Applejack had failed to capture her prey so quickly, but the change would probably make an interesting surprise.

She surveyed the town square, looking for an appropriate hiding spot. On previous occasions, when the chase used to take her this long, Applejack had discovered a couple of preferred stakeout locations. However, this time she was having to think on the fly.

Not only would she need to conceal herself and another pony from her quarry, but she needed to conceal the exact identity of her quarry from Rainbow Dash for as long as possible. She wanted the extra challenge, and she knew that if Dash figured the game out too soon, the flighty mare would simply pack up and leave once her curiosity was sated.

Applejack checked the sun again; time was slipping away. She finally settled on a clump of bushes on the outskirts of the town square which didn’t directly face the town hall, but still granted them a wide view. As Rainbow settled in behind her, Applejack turned to face her companion, reinforcing the need for quiet by pressing a hoof to her lips. Dash nodded.

They managed to hide themselves just in time. When Applejack turned back around, her eyes followed the group just emerging from the town hall. Difficult as it was, she kept her head sweeping the square, homing in momentarily on different groups of ponies emerging from buildings or clustered around stalls. She could hear a soft rustle of feathers and fur behind her and feel Rainbow leaning in close, probably trying to figure out what she was looking at.

When the town hall group finally broke apart, Applejack’s eyes followed the two ponies heading away down the street. She noted the western direction of their departure with relief and hoped the two of them would be sticking together for a while. Not only would it give her a lead on the destination of her quarry, it would help keep Dash in the dark a little while longer; hopefully just long enough.

Applejack leaned back and whispered to Dash. “Follow me. We gotta go double quick.”

Racing past Rainbow Dash, Applejack galloped away from the town square at full speed, heading north. Rainbow soon followed after, powering herself through the air to catch up with her speeding friend, her signature rainbow trail left in her wake.

Applejack took a sharp turn west after a couple blocks, catching sight of Rainbow’s trail out of the corner of her eye. She clicked her tongue, but did not break stride. Her quarry would not be looking out for Dash, and as long as they got to the edge of town with enough time to spare, there wouldn’t be a trail to follow anyway.

Passing out of Ponyville proper, they crossed the stream on the edge of town, a short distance north of the bridge leading toward the Everfree Forest and some of the outlying properties. Turning south again, Applejack headed for a particular fork in the road where a large, somewhat overgrown screen of bushes, trees, and ferns stood.

Applejack quickly took up a spot deep in the undergrowth, signalling Dash to hide where there was more room in the foliage above. This would be her last chance to catch her prey and even if Dash was spotted, the distraction might still give her a moment to act.

She gently reached out a hoof, silently arranging some of the fern leaves in front of her so that they interwove each other and provided a more opaque screen. Bright orange fur did not camoflage well behind leafy greens. While her coat color did not do her any favors, she was comforted by the fact that her quarry was both unlikely to expect an ambush here, and therefore even more unlikely to give the stand of trees a second glance.

Her hoof stopped short and ever so slowly pulled back into an attack posture when she heard the sound of hoofbeats coming up the road. Applejack’s ears pricked, listening hard; there were two ponies coming. One was certainly the light, airy gait of a pegasus, while the other had a slightly heavier sound. The two ponies stopped near the road’s fork, but just out of Applejack’s line of sight.

“Thank you for helping straighten everything out with Mayor Mare and Mr. Comb.” The soft, wavering voice could only belong to Fluttershy. “Harry is usually much better behaved when he finishes hibernating, but I don’t think he had enough to eat last fall.”

“I’m glad I could help, Fluttershy.” There was the soft sound of fur against fur; a comforting nuzzle, Applejack assumed. “I was going to head over to Applejack’s place, unless you still want some company for a bit.”

“Oh, no. I’m alright now, thank you.” Fluttershy’s voice did sound stronger and more even. “I was really nervous before you showed up to help, but I’m feeling much better now. And I’m sure Applejack is waiting for you.”

After they exchanged goodbyes, Applejack could hear Fluttershy’s soft hoofbeats trail off in the direction of her cottage. Twilight seemed to stay put for the moment. She still couldn’t see the young alicorn, but there was no sound of hoofbeats, no rustle of feathery wings, and no flash of purple and twinkle of teleportation magic. Applejack’s ears remained on constant alert, and she tried desperately to keep her tail from twitching.

Suddenly. one hoofbeat. Two. Three. A flash of lavender through the green fronds, and almost instantly an orange and blond streak shot out and tackled the young princess into the soft grass on the far side of the road.

Applejack stood proudly over her catch, her emerald eyes smouldering. “Tag, Princess. You’re it.”

Twilight let out staccato giggles as she caught her breath, leaning up to plant a reward on her marefriend’s lips. “That was certainly a surprise. I thought you weren’t going to catch me today. I don’t usually last past lunch.”

Applejack inclined her head toward the tree she’d been hiding under. “I picked up a hitchhiker. Made things a bit more interestin’.”

“This is what I followed you around for?!” Rainbow Dash now hovered nearby, her eyes wide, mouth agape, and tongue lolling grotesquely out. “You two are so mushy sometimes. I’m outta here.”

Far from disgusted or outraged at Dash’s dismissal, they both grinned at each other, watching as the retreating mare continued to shoot glances at them over her shoulder.

Applejack pulled Twilight to her hooves and leaned against her as they walked the path back to Sweet Apple Acres.

“Same time next week, Twi?”

“Maybe.” Twilight grinned and nuzzled Applejack’s cheek. “Or maybe, I’ll surprise you instead.”

Applejack chuckled.

Author's Notes:

This chapter was pre-read by bookplayer and based on a comment by bats in response to this picture:

Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting pwincesses!