For those who like to keep their timelines all un-time-tangled, this happens a few weeks before all the other stuff you saw, like, even before Chapter 1! It’s kinda like a flashback, and I love flashbacks. I wasn’t even here for this one, so that makes it better! I think. ...What? Oh! Well, uh, apparently I’m supposed to get on with it, so here ya go:

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Applejack had expected this to be a relatively dull, if nice, weekend away from the farm. Certainly, she’d miss the family like she always did on a trip, but it was a short one this time- Just out to the nearest stadium for a one-event showing at the rodeo, then home again. That was what she expected, until her marefriend did something a mite suspicious: Rarity had joined her at the train station with an unfamiliar pair of saddlebags.

“Oh well darling, it is such a lovely coincidence you are heading out that way! I actually have business in Dodge at the same time. Funny, isn’t it?”

“...Eeyeah, just a bit.”
And while she had tried to find out what exactly Rarity’s business was, there was no luck. In the end, they made it to the desert town before she could get a straight answer. Even after they hopped out of the train and hoofed it the rest of the way, nothing. Finally, Applejack slowed down as they approached the large stadium-like building, shaking away bad memories from her last trip out to an event like this.
“Um, Rare, this is mah stop- The rodeo’s bein’ held here.”

“I know, darling!”

She looked in confusion. It wouldn’t be like Rarity to simply follow her into the competitor’s section, or to wait outside in the ‘dreadful’ dust.
“So... aren’t ya gonna head back to the room, or out to the stands?”

Her marefriend smiled and walked past her towards the gates.
“And how in Equestria would I make it in time for my event if I did that?”

“Yer what!?”

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They were relaxing in the locker rooms, Rarity still carrying the pair of deep and oddly-rugged saddlebags, Applejack finally making her crack. The unicorn sighed, looking around to make sure they were not being scrutinized by the other competitors.
“Well, Applejack, I just... I trust you. Completely, implicitly, with my life. But I simply worry how our dear friends would react to see my... choice in recreation. Fluttershy and Spike especially, I fear, would be quite upset with me.”

She snorted in derision.
“Can’t possibly be that bad.”

Rarity shrugged, rolling her shoulders (at least partially as an excuse to subtly lean into her, pressing their coats together for a moment) and sighing.
“I may participate in a past-time of royalty, but I don’t believe it is viewed as particularly savory, especially in the modern day. Just... trust me on this one, dear.”

Applejack didn’t have much response other than to sigh and prepare her lasso- She’d be ropin’ this weekend, and that meant she needed to rest up. And apparently, Rarity’s ‘event’ was before that-- So she could get ready and then hit the stands.

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After the first hour or so of the basic events passed by without any fuss, Applejack was sure this had to be it: The announcer had cleared the fields and announced an exhibition from a well-renowned unicorn. Sure as sugar, it was Rarity who stepped out. AJ watched from the stands, her eyes fixed on the spectacle below.

The vast and mostly empty circle of the rodeo grounds held only two things at the moment. On one far edge, a single bale of hay, minuscule from her view in the stands, with a target on the side. On the opposite edge, her refined and elegant marefriend stood in a small fenced-off area with her mane tied up away from her face. A burst of telekinetic power, and the flap of one saddlebag lifted to reveal... An arrow. A single straight shaft of polished white wood, pale purple feathers for fletching and a tip that Applejack would bet bits was a gem of some kind. It was just as beautiful as she’d expect of Rarity, and...

And then it rose in a haze of strong light, carried up level with Rarity’s shoulder. The familiar cloud of power around it began to grow more dense, eventually making a flat diamond-shaped plane with the bolt transfixed in the center. Rarity was visibly strained with the effort of the spell as the plane deformed, slowly pulling backwards and becoming even more... Opaque. In seconds, it was almost like a solid presence in the air, an actual bow made from nothing at all. Applejack only realized she was holding her breath when she exhaled at the same time Rarity did, watching the shot fly with staggering speed and hit... Dead center.

It was followed by a second. And a third. Each and every shot split the previous one with what she had thought was impossible accuracy, elegance, and grace. And when the display was finished, Rarity looked up into the stands, found her in an instant, and simply smiled. They locked eyes. Applejack drew a deep and shuddering breath.

She was in love all over again.

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And as for why Rarity was so afraid to show off her hobby, or when she’ll explain herself to Applejack, or to us... Well, I suppose you and AJ are both waiting, now! It’ll come up in time, promise!

And the author-person tells me we need to thank the creator of this super-pretty comic for inspiring this, before we go:
http://explosivegent.deviantart.com/art/Time-Off-Threading-the-Arrow-255927653
Byyye~!

--Pinkie