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Rainbow Unicorn: Friendship is Magic

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

Chapter 4: Among the Apples

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1. Catering - The Apple Family: Sweet Apple Acres.

Rainbow Burst and Spike walked along a dirt road. Rainbow's head was low to the ground and her ears pulled back as she let out a huff. Spike followed close by, looking at the scroll.

"Maybe we should have gotten a map."

Rainbow grumbled, but said nothing for a moment. She continued walking with the dragon by her side, making her way down the dirt road. Suddenly, she stopped, reaching out a hoof to stop Spike as well. Spike turned to face Rainbow, but saw she was staring at something. He turned and looked up to see what had her attention.

In front of them was an arch trellis covered in leaves and... apples? That was something Spike had never seen before. In any case, the trellis seemed to be the gateway for a fence. Hanging from it was a sign with a large apple carved on it.

"HA!" Rainbow Burst cried out with a grin. "I told you I could get us here."

"After getting us lost how many times?" Spike asked with a smirk of his own.

Rainbow opened her mouth, shut it, let out a snort and turned away. Her ears pulled back against her head as her cheeks once again took on a pinkish tint.

It was not her fault. They were dropped off in an unknown town neither had ever been to before. How were they supposed to know how to get to their destinations?

Make some friends.

Some of the blush faded from Rainbow's cheek as a thought occurred to her. Was that the point? Had Celestia intentionally left the map out so that she would have to talk to other ponies?

Or maybe it was her fault. Maybe the reason Princess Celestia had not packed a map was because she expected Rainbow to plan ahead and do it. The entire point of this was to prove that she was ready for more responsibility after all.

"Come on," she said, forgetting the whole matter for the time being. She was always more one for doing something instead of standing around and thinking about it.

The two looked around as they entered the farmyard. Most of the grounds were not flat and even, but covered in small hills. Most were covered in trees, with the fruit of the farm's namesake growing on them. On another was a barn that had been modified into what was most likely the house for the ponies that lived there. Otherwise, why have flower boxes attached to practically every window?

"Over there," Rainbow said, motioning with her muzzle. The two made their way toward the first pony that they saw.

The pony in question was a stallion. He had a charcoal gray coat and a rosy red mane and tail. The cutie mark on his flank was the bottom half of three apples.

"Hey," Rainbow called out as she walked toward the stallion. Before she could get any more out, he was facing her, with a grin, their noses nearly touching.

"Well howdy there," he said. "Don't think I've met you before." He grabbed her hoof, shaking it. "Name's Apple Bottoms. Take it you're new here."

"Y-y-yes," Rainbow tried to say. Unfortunately, the stallion's enthusiasm was shaking her whole body, making it difficult to talk.

"Well, then." Apple Bottoms broke the hoof shake as he moved beside Rainbow, throwing his arm around her shoulders. "Welcome to The Apple Family, and your first reunion. And might I add," He poked her chest with his other hoof. "Whoever married you is one lucky pony."

Rainbow's hoof continued to move up and down at its own volition, still caught up in the new stallion's enthusiasm. It was only when Spike grabbed a hold of her arm and held it down did it stop. The end of the movement helped Rainbow return to her senses, which also helped her realize what Apple Bottoms had said -- as well as what it implied.

"What?" Rainbow squeaked out, her face burning hot. "No!" She shoved the stallion away. "I-no-I..."

She stopped and took a breath, slowly letting it out. Feeling a little more in control, she tried again.

"I am not here for a reunion. My name is Rainbow Burst and I was sent her to check on the catering."

"Oh," Apple Bottoms as understanding dawned on him. "The ya'll be wanting to talk to Applejack. Should still be working out in the orchard out in that direction." He pointed.

"Thank you," Rainbow said as she started walking in that direction with Spike right beside her.

"Hey!" Apple Bottoms called out as she went. "Does that mean that you're single?"

Spike burst into laughter as Rainbow Burst froze for a moment, eyes going wide as her body tensed. Instead of answering -- or even turning around -- she started to trot, moving at a pace that she hoped was quick without seeming like she was trying to get away from something.

The two kept up the quicker pace until well out of sight of the stallion and deep into the orchard. Rainbow stopped a moment, taking a deep breath and letting it out, before continuing on at a more relaxed pace.

"Sooooo...." Spike said once they were walking again, "about that emerald..."

Rainbow turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow.

"What? You expect me to give you one over that?" She gave a shake of her head. "It wasn't that weird. Just a misunderstanding with an... overly-friendly stallion. That's all."

"It was enough to make you want to run away," Spike retorted. "Besides, the bet wasn't how weird something would be, it was about whether or not anything weird would happen while we were here."

Rainbow Burst open her mouth to respond, stopped, and closed it. She looked away with a huff, annoyed because he was right.

"Spike, sometimes you're too smart for my own good." She gave a shake of her head. "Fine. You win. You'll get your emerald."

"Alright!" Spike cheered, throwing his arms up.

"But it's going to have to wait until after the celebration," Rainbow finished. She could not help but let out a snicker at the young dragon's drooping in disappointment.

The two made their way further into the orchard, looking for the pony they had been sent to speak with. It was a little confusing since all the apple trees looked the same to the pair.

"Maybe we should have gotten a guide," Spike suggested.

"Don't worry," Rainbow replied. "I think I see something over there." She sprinted ahead, being followed by Spike.

Not far ahead was a wooden fence blocking off an empty field of dirt. A large red pegasus stallion was in the middle, harnessed to a plow.

"Wow," Rainbow gasped out with wide eyes. "His wings are huge."

The stallion continued to pull the plow, working to dig furrows into the ground. The wings shifted as he worked, fluttering to keep cool as well as adjust to the straps of the harness. Every muscle tensed and shifted as he walked, flexing powerfully as he pulled.

That was actually kind of the strange thing to Rainbow. He looked large and bulky for a pegasus. More like he was meant to be on the ground working hard like he was instead of flying. Still, considering his build and wing size, he could probably glide for hours

"Rainbow?" a voice said as something poked at her.

"What?" she blurted out, looking around. Her eyes turned to the source of the poking, finding that it was Spike.

"You're drooling."

"No I'm not," she growled. Despite herself, she wiped at her mouth, finding that it was indeed wet.

"Really?" Spike asked. He crossed his arms and stared at her with narrowed eyes.

"Excuse me," Rainbow shouted out toward the stallion, choosing to ignore the dragon and change the subject instead of admit the truth. "Excuse me."

The red stallion stopped his pulling, turning toward the shouting.

"Are you Applejack?" Rainbow asked.

"Nnope," the stallion replied with a shake of his head.

With a sigh, Rainbow dropped her head against one of the fence posts.

"Of course," she mumbled. Lifting her head, she called out to him again.

"Do you happen to know where we can find her?"

"Eeyup," the stallion responded. With practiced ease, he slipped out of the harness and made his way toward the fence. The stallion gave a small jump as he flicked his wings, clearing the fence and landing right beside the pair. He gave a flick of his head, motioning for them to follow after him, before walking back into the orchard.

Rainbow Burst followed after the stallion, with Spike following after her. The mare's gaze shifted toward the pegasus in front of her, watching him. She watched the shifting of the toned muscles, the sway of his orange tail, the slight twitches of his wing as the lay against him. Her gaze kept shifting between those large wings and the flexing of his flanks with each step.

Distracted by the view of the stallion's backside, Rainbow did not notice he stopped walking and nearly bumped into it. With a nervous chuckle she stepped back and moved around him. The stallion simply gave a small smile, and motioned ahead of him. Rainbow smiled back as she moved past him and toward where he was pointing.

Up ahead was (surprise surprise) another apple tree. For some reason, this one had baskets set around the base of it. Rainbow and Spike moved closer, looking around.

"Heads up!"

At the sound of that, Rainbow Burst looked up, just in time to see apples falling down toward her.

Author's Notes:

Going to nip this now. No, Apple Bottoms is not taking Pinkie's place in this story. No, he is not going to be one of The Elements of Harmony. He might stay around and maybe even be a potential love interest (for a certain pony other than Rainbow), but I have not thought that far ahead. In fact, I just decided to use him for this while working on this chapter.

For those who don't know, Apple Bottoms is a pony that showed up in Apple Family Reunion, although supposedly under a different name I can't recall (there is also another pony in the same episode named Apple Bottom, who is a orange tinged brown mare with lime green mane). He is also in the Gameloft game which describes him as "This pink-haired party pony is one of the spunkier members of the Apple family."

Next Chapter: The Chance for Taste Testing Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 54 Minutes
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