“Tell me again, why couldn’t you have just left your stand closed today?”

“Because, Berry!” Carrot Top groaned impatiently, “I still need to make money! I lost that whole potato crop thanks to this crummy weather.”

Berry Punch buried her muzzle in her hoof.

“I told you those potatoes were just fine. I even ate one; do I look poisoned to you?” Berry fixed Carrot with a completely unamused glower.

“So, you got lucky,” Carrot huffed as she counted a stack of bits and hoofed over a bundle of carrots to a sandy coated stallion. “I can’t take a chance on my customers. If ponies got sick from my crops, I’d have to get out of the farming business. I might even be run out of town!”

“Pinkie’s still working at Sugarcube Corner despite that ‘Baked Bads’ incident.” Berry drained the last of the bottle she’d been nursing all morning and tossed it into a nearby trash bin. “Whatever. Isn’t it going to look suspicious when a bunch of other ponies are walking around with carrots and you refuse to sell any to Applejack?”

As Carrot turned and opened her mouth to explain her plan, her face froze as she caught a glimpse of a familiar, well worn stetson bobbing through the crowd.

“She’s coming! Act casual.”

Berry snorted and did what came naturally in this situation; she leaned against the wall of the stand and popped the cork on a fresh bottle of wine while rolling her eyes. She was already a disturbingly long way through the bottle by the time Applejack came up to the stand.

“Howdy, Carrot, Berry.” Applejack tipped her hat to her fellow farmers. “How’re y’all today?”

Berry just muttered something unintelligible into her wine.

“Berry’s having a bit of a bad day, but I’m alright, except for the weather.” Carrot Top tried to put on her best smile, while internally glaring Berry Punch into oblivion. “How are you?”

“I’m real sorry ta hear that, Berry.” Applejack gave Berry Punch a sympathetic look before turning to Carrot Top. ”I’m doin’ real good, actually. Dash is gettin’ back later today, so I’m lookin’ forward ta that.” Applejack put on a huge grin. Both Carrot and Berry turned their heads, each quite uncomfortable for very different reasons. “An’ hey, that’ll solve yer weather problem. Ain’t like Raindrops has done a Manehattan job on us, but nopony can beat Rainbow Dash when it comes to the weather.”

“No kidding. I’m really looking forward to having my... our weather back the way it should be.” Berry just silently glowered at Carrot’s falsely sweet demeanor.

Much as she wanted to speak up and put a stop to what was about to happen, Carrot’s irrational fear about being run out of town echoed across her mind. Berry could picture herself being run out of town by all of her best friends, and it was not a pleasant thought. On top of that, it was most certainly not something a mother should put her little filly through.

Berry took another swig from her bottle and noted with displeasure that it was half empty. She was grateful for having the foresight to bring along her least alcoholic wine, but that only helped matters a little.

“Anyways, I came over ta see about gettin’ some carrots an’ potatoes. I got plans fer dinner, an’ I’m fresh out.”

“Oh no!” Carrot put on a look of shock that she hoped was convincing. “That’s some really bad luck. I wish I could help.”

“Shoot, I weren’t lookin’ fer a handout. I got plenty of bits.”

“No, no, it’s not that.” Carrot adopted a moderately convincing sheepish look as Berry quietly scoffed into her bottle. “The thing is, I ran short yesterday and I gave out a bunch of rain checks. I have plenty of celery available, though.” She smiled a smile that was even more falsely sweet than usual.

“Oh.” Applejack’s ears drooped. “Well, I can’t exactly ask ta cut in line. Wouldn’t be fair, would it?”

“Tell you what, Applejack. Drop by again around four o’clock. I’ll try and save some for you if the rain checks don’t run them all out.”

Berry slipped quietly away, unable to watch any more. She headed toward the flower stand where the rest of the girls were, hoping that maybe she could talk some sense into them before Applejack got there.

“Alright, sugarcube. Thanks fer tryin’, anyway.” Applejack tipped her stetson once more as she prepared to leave. “I got a few other things ta buy anyway. See ya later.”

“See you, Applejack.” She waved at her retreating form. As soon as Applejack was lost among the crowd, Carrot Top turned to gloat at Berry Punch over a job well done, only to find that her friend was gone without a trace. Carrot snorted and laid her head down against the counter of her stand.

“How much for carrots?” a rose-coated mare asked, walking up to the stand.

“Two bits for five, five bits for fifteen,” Carrot replied without looking up.

“Well, I hope you’re proud of yourselves. Carrot’s already brushed off Applejack and you three are about to do the same thing.” Berry glared at all three flower vendors. She was already a little cross-eyed, and now held a fresh, nearly full bottle in her hoof.

“Oh, calm down, Berry” Rose groaned. “It’s not like we want to do this. It’s our businesses at stake!” Lily and Daisy nodded their agreement. Junebug was conspicuously absent. Her fellow conspirators didn’t want to take any chances in case she had been spotted spying the previous afternoon.

Berry was about to retort, but was hushed by Daisy before she could speak.

“Act natural, she’s coming!”

All three flower vendors struck unnaturally casual poses, primping their displays of flowers. Berry held a hoof to her forehead, feeling either a headache or deja vu; she suspected it was both.

“Howdy, girls. Howdy again, Berry.” Applejack said as she trotted up to the stand. Some of the enthusiasm she displayed earlier had dimmed, but she was still pretty chipper. “You girls having a good day? I know Berry’s a mite under the weather.”

Berry Punch winced at that expression and how acutely accurate it was at the moment. She nodded vaguely in acknowledgement and went back to nursing her bottle.

“Under the weather,” Lily echoed, nodding sagely. “That sounds about right. This whole week’s been kind of funny weather-wise, hasn’t it?”

“Ain’t that the darndest thing? Carrot was just sayin’ that a little bit ago.” Applejack chuckled and all three flower vendors followed suit, forcing out laughter of their own. Berry rolled her eyes. “Well, don’t y’all worry. Dash’ll be back tonight, so I reckon the weather’ll be all sorted out tomorrow.”

“That’s great!” Daisy piped up, all three putting on false smiles. “So, what can we do for you?”

“Funny enough, I need ta buy some flowers. A couple bunches of daisies and a dozen roses in as many different colors as you got oughta do it.”

“Sure thing,” Rose said as she and Daisy started to gather up the order. They both stopped short a moment later. “I almost forgot to ask, you’re buying them for decoration, right?”

“Nah, I planned on eatin’ them.” All three flower vendors put on their best pained expressions at Applejack’s words. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Well, the thing is, Sea Swirl was helping us out with this pest repellant spell, but it didn’t go so well.” Daisy shook her head sadly, her ears drooping. “They look pretty enough, but none of these flowers are good to eat anymore.”

“You’re pullin’ my legs...” Applejack said sadly. “Ya ain’t got any edible flowers?”

“I wish we did. I’m sorry, Applejack.” Lily chimed in this time, all three flower vendors putting on identical sorrowful expressions while Berry Punch slumped against the side of their cart, trying to drown the conversation out with generous gulps of wine.

“How about lily bulbs?” Applejack asked. Lily started to reach instinctively for the box under the counter where she kept them. “I hear they cook up like potatoes.” Lily stiffened at the last word and shoved the box farther out of sight instead.

“Uhh... no one ever buys them.” Lily invented and Applejack felt her spirits lift a bit. “So I just toss them on the compost heap.”

“Dang. Well, thanks anyway.” Applejack turned to go, her cheery manner thoroughly deflated by now, but she turned back to face Berry before getting more than a couple steps away.

Berry Punch looked confused for a moment and then gasped as Applejack pulled her into a hug.

“I was gonna tell ya this at Carrot’s stand before ya disappeared. I seen ya hittiin’ the bottle again today. If ya need a friend ta talk to, come find me, okay?” Berry felt tears well up in her eyes at Applejack’s words and hugged her back.

“Thanks, Applejack. I will.” Applejack gently patted Berry’s back a few times before pulling away and tipping her hat to her.

“Seeya.”

Berry slumped to the ground and shoved her half full bottle of wine away, completely ignoring all of the excited chatter above her.

Applejack lay against the stump of an old tree beside the road leading to Sweet Apple Acres. Her empty saddlebags lay forlornly in the dirt beside her.

The summer sun was already well past its peak and currently lay hidden behind a spare cloud. She found the out-of-place cloud completely appropriate, given her mood. She thought about going back to see Carrot, but there wasn’t much point. Dinner was already ruined, but at least she still had the movie.

Suddenly, Applejack had to shield her eyes as, in a shower of cloud fluff and a flash of rainbow, the cloud burst apart, causing the bright rays of the sun to stream into her face. Under the shadow of her hoof, she could just make out a rainbow streak, topped off by a cyan blur. It was heading straight for her.

“Hey, AJ!” Dash’s scratchy voice called out, accompanied by the thump of four hooves against the hard dirt road. “Whoa, you look totally bummed. I thought you’d be happy to see me.”

“I am happy ta see ya, Dash. Been looking forward to it all day.” Applejack sighed. “Just, the rest of the day ain’t been goin’ so good.”

Rainbow shimmied out of her saddlebags and plopped down beside Applejack, casually putting a foreleg around her shoulder.

“It’s gotta be pretty bad if it’s still bumming you out after getting to see Rainbow Awesome Danger Dash.” She gave Applejack a little nudge and was rewarded with a small smile. “Tell me all about it, and I’ll see if I can make it better.”

Applejack just sat for a moment. She nearly started answering purely out of instinct, until she realized exactly what she would be confessing, and to whom. It would certainly get the job done, but it wasn’t anything close to the way she had pictured it.

“It ain’t really all that bad, sugarcube. It’s just frustratin’.” Applejack looked up at the sky. “Probably just the weather this week getting ta everypony, even me.”

“Yeah, Raindrops does an okay job, but she’s not quite ready to be a full time manager.” Dash followed her friend’s gaze. “At least she didn’t pull a Manehattan; I would have heard about that.” That got a chuckle out of Applejack.

“Anyway, I had plans fer makin’ dinner, but I needed ta pick up a bunch of stuff at the market, and I couldn’t get any of it.” She sighed once again, reliving the day’s disappointments. “Even after I asked Twi and Pinkie for help, we combed the market and the only ponies with the stuff I needed weren’t sellin’.”

“Were you making dinner for your family or... nevermind.” Dash cut herself off. “Got a list?”

“Say what?”

“Come on, if you asked Twi to help, I just know she made a list.” Dash stood up and trotted over to her saddlebags. “The market’s still open for a bit, if you give it to me, I bet you I can go get your stuff in ten minutes flat.” She started unloading some small canisters from her saddlebags. “Hold onto these for me. I’d borrow your bags, but if they’re not selling to you for some dumb reason, then I probably shouldn’t show up wearing apples on my flanks.”

Applejack felt her face go a bit red at that and quickly looked for a distraction.

“What’re these things, anyway?” She turned one of the canisters over in her hoof, reading the label, as Dash took the list from her other hoof.

“Powdered lightning fizz,” Dash said, puffing out her chest. “Remember? It’s one of the drinks from Cloudsdale I told you about. It’s not quite as good as when it’s made fresh, but at least you girls will get to try it.” She grinned and hovered, leaving her hooves free to strap her saddlebags back in place. “Be back in a few minutes.”

Applejack finished stowing the canisters in her saddlebags as Dash saluted and flew off.

True to her word, Dash came flying back down the road and landed in front of Applejack at ten minutes on the dot.

“I’m sorry, AJ,” she said, her ears at half mast.

“Aww, don’t be sorry, sugarcube. Twi an’ Pinkie an’ me tried fer hours,” Applejack said sadly. “I’m happy ya gave it a shot.”

“I couldn’t get the wine; I couldn’t find Berry Punch anywhere.” She unstrapped her bulging saddlebags and set them in front of Applejack. “Got everything else though.” Dash could practically feel herself drooling and had to stop herself from asking if she was invited to dinner.

Applejack’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates. “Sweet Celestia, you’re amazing.” She almost squealed as she looked through the bags. “How’d ya do it?”

“It’s no problem for The Dash.” She grinned, rubbing a forehoof against her chest and posing. “Carrot Top and all the flower girls owe me favors. They’re always asking for special weather requests.”

“Well, no wonder they’ve been grousin’ about the weather.” Applejack chuckled. “Don’t that mess things up, though?”

“Nah, not with the Everfree right next door. It’s always kicking up rogue weather.” Dash shrugged. “I got chewed out for trying to use the clouds for the regular weather service, so now I just stash them somewhere safe for later. I use them when somepony has a request and trade them for other little favors.”

“Well, dang. Ya didn’t have ta use up yer favors on me.”

“Nah, I hardly ever use them for myself; it doesn’t feel right. I’d rather help out my friends.” Dash grinned, then turned her attention back to all the food in her saddlebags. “I do kinda wish I’d picked up some extra when I got your stuff, though. You got all my favorites.” Applejack felt her face heat up again as the conversation turned back to the food she’d been trying all morning to buy.

“Half of that is fer you,” Applejack said simply.

“Huh?”

“I’ve been waiting fer ya to get back into town so I could ask ya out on a date.” Applejack looked straight into Rainbow Dash’s eyes and spoke with the firm resolve she’d rehearsed all week. “What d’ya say to a movie, then back ta Sweet Apple Acres fer a home cooked dinner?”

“Wait, you wanna?...” This time it was Dash’s turn to go bug-eyed. “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” She took off from the ground and did several vertical loops before flying straight into Applejack and hugging her tight.

“I’ll take that as a yes, sugarcube.” Applejack grinned down at the pegasus clamped around her barrel.

“How’d you know what kind of food I like?” Dash asked after she calmed down enough to speak clearly. Her voice was a bit muffled by Applejack’s chest.

“I talked with the girls. I figured they should know, in case I uh... put all our friendships on the line, askin’ out one of our friends an’ all.” She looked sheepish. “Fluttershy suggested the food.”

Rainbow looked shocked. She was putting two and two together in her mind and getting five.

“Don’tcha fret, sugarcube. Yeah, she told me y’all dated fer a while.” Applejack leaned in a bit closer. “But, she also said she wanted ta see you find somepony ta make ya happy again, an’ she reckons I’ll do a good job of that.”

“I’m gonna owe her big time.” Dash grinned stupidly.

“I think Rarity’s takin’ care of that.” Applejack grinned an extremely smug grin.

“Rarity?” Dash looked perplexed at Applejack’s grin before the pieces clicked into place. “Rarity?!”

“Reckon so.”

“Huh. Never woulda guessed.”

“Eeyup.” Applejack stood, picking up both sets of saddlebags. “How about we go stash this stuff at the house and get goin’ to the movie? We can have some of yer lightning fizz with dinner. I ain’t surprised ya couldn’t get the wine, Berry didn’t look like she was havin’ a very good day.”

“I wasn’t until now.” Berry Punch was walking down the road toward them. She had her own saddlebags strapped to her back and looked much more alert and sober than the last time Applejack had seen her. “I wanted to apologize for everything you had to go through today.” Berry dipped her head, her ears drooping.

“Hey now, it weren’t your fault,” Applejack consoled.

“It was, partly. I could have stopped them, should have stopped them, but I didn’t have the courage.” Berry sniffed, trying to compose herself again; the alcohol hadn’t completely worn off yet. “I’d just about worked up the nerve to make things right when I saw Dash buying up all the stuff you were after. I saw her flying out this way, so I went home and got a couple bottles of wine for you; the last thing on your list.”

“Well, that’s right kind of ya.” Applejack paused, considering. “Wait, just how in the hay did ya know I was after wine?”

“Junebug overheard you talking about your plans yesterday. The other girls were afraid you’d get all the good weather and they’d get the short end of the stick if you and Dash started going out.” Berry dipped her head again. “I really should have tried harder to stop them instead of just drinking and hoping it would go away.”

“What?! They tried to sabotage AJ so they’d get good weather?” Dash turned to look at Applejack, but her indignation was quickly dispelled by the laughter that greeted her.

“It weren’t a very good plan if all they tried ta do was stop me makin’ dinner fer ya. Even if you’d come back empty hooved, I was still gonna ask ya out.” Applejack grinned wide and Dash followed suit.

“Berry, y’all remember what I said. You need somepony ta talk to, you can come ta me any time.” Applejack tipped her hat. “‘Cept fer right now of course. I gotta go show this wingy varmint a good time.” She leaned in toward Dash and said, with a bit of a leer. “I still wanna try the lightning fizz. We’ll save the wine fer dessert.”

“Have fun!” Berry waved and wished them well as they galloped away, tails floating along in their wake and Dash’s wings flared. She turned her face to the slowly setting sun, feeling the warmth bathe over her before trotting off to the south to tell Carrot the good news.

Author's Notes:

Lightning fizz.