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Of Rainbooms and Dazzlings

by Jay David

Chapter 14: Applejack and Sonata

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In the bright sunlight of the afternoon, Sweet Apple Acres was truly a beautiful sight, with its row upon row of fresh apple trees stretching as far as the eye could see. It was a veritable paradise of green when contrasted with the adjacent town of Canterlot, and for it's residents the Apple family, it was, is, and always would be one thing; home. And speaking of the Apple family, one of its more notable members was right there in the orchards right now. Applejack, who, rather unusually, was not hard at work amongst the trees, but rather resting down by the nearby watering hole. Granted, her being Applejack, her work had been finished some time ago, with many full baskets dotting the orchards around her. So, she had afforded herself a well-earned break. At this moment, she was sitting beside that pond, soaking her feet in its waters, with a look of contentment upon her face.

It wasn't so long ago that this pond was the scene of a rather aggressive interaction between her and one of her new friends, but now, she simply chuckled as her mind looked back on that day. In fact, it was that memory that caused her to look as if she'd just remembered something important, as she turned to look in the direction of her home. Letting out a sigh, she pulled her legs out of the water, gave them a quick dry with a nearby towel, before pulling on her boots and making her way back towards the house. It didn't take her that long to get there, but, before she reached for the door, she stopped, having smelt something from a nearby open window. Knowing what it was, a smile crept onto her face, as she finally turned the knob, entering her home. After placing her Stetson to one side, she walked through the halls, eventually coming upon the family kitchen, and it was here that she finally spoke up.

"How are ya doin in here, Nata?"

Sure enough, there she was, Sonata Dusk, who was presently wearing an apron decorated in apples, all while waiting in front of the oven. As soon as she’d heard Applejack's voice, she turned to her, smiling widely.

"It's going great, AJ! It should be ready any minute now!"

Applejack smiled back at that, walking over to the table in the middle of the room, taking a seat and keeping her eyes on her guest. Within only a minute of doing this, Sonata squealed with glee as she began to open the oven. Craning her neck, Applejack saw that the youngest Siren, while wearing proper oven gloves, carefully pulled out what anybody would recognise upon seeing it; an apple pie. The look of it made her stomach grumble, but she remained silent as the blue-haired girl brought it over, placing it upon the table. After this, she put her gloves to one side before taking a seat herself.

"Okay...I think Granny Smith said we're supposed to wait a few minutes before eating it. Let it cool down and stuff."

Applejack nodded, giving a small smile to her guest as she did so.

"It’s mighty fine that ya want ta try this sort of thing out, Nata."

Sonata nodded back before looking up to her host.

"Thanks. I've been trying a whole bunch of new stuff lately, and after I heard Pinkie say how much baking she does...well...I figured I'd give it a go."

A look of understanding crept upon Applejack's face with that.

"Well...ah reckon its just dandy that yer doin so well. A gal should try new stuff. Happy ta hear its going well fer ya. After all, yer putting in a lotta hard work, and ah sure can respect that."

However, for a brief moment, Applejack turned from her, letting out a slight grunt of annoyance.

“More than a certain sister of yers anyway.”

Sonata smiled, having apparently not heard her, and was looking very much appreciative of that.

"Thanks!"

Turning, the Siren looked up at the nearby clock, and counted the seconds as they rolled by. Applejack too waited patiently, and it wasn't long before Sonata looked as if she was satisfied with the time that had passed. Getting up, she grabbed hold of a nearby knife and, after setting up a small plate, cut the pie and took out a good-sized piece of it. With steam from the pie still rising after the cutting, Sonata placed the thing upon the plate before serving it to Applejack, after which she took a spoon from one of the cutlery draws and handed it to her. Applejack, looking quite appreciative of the gesture, took the spoon from Sonata and, in a very Applejack-like way, simply delved in, taking a big chunk of the pie and lifting it to her face.

"Well...here's ta apple pie!"

Opening her mouth, she took in the pie chunk and began to chew, all while Sonata looked on eagerly. A few moments passed and Applejack really tried to taste the thing, looking around as the flavours worked themselves in her mouth. However, as time passed, the smile she had on before was now starting to fade, as, quite frankly, the pie in her mouth was, perhaps, one of the most bitter things she'd ever tasted, devoid of any of the sweetness she usually associated with the dish. After finally swallowing it, she slowly glanced over to Sonata who, like her, no longer had a smile upon her face.

"You...you don't like it, do you?"

Letting out a sigh, Applejack realised that she couldn't lie to the girl, and so shook her head in confirmation. Naturally, Sonata looked utterly crestfallen at this, taking a seat and looking at her pie with disappointment. Letting out a sigh, Applejack set her spoon to one side before leaning over, placing a hand on Sonata's and gaining her attention.

"Look, sugarcube...ya shouldn’t let this get ya down. Sure, it may not be great now, but these things take time. Ah know ya've done a lot of good stuff lately... but ya can't expect to be great at everything right away."

Sonata looked at her, taking those words in for a few moments, before looking down slightly.

"I...I know. It's just...I was really hoping I could do this well."

At that, Applejack put on a smile.

"Hey there. Ah know ya can do this, Nata. Ya just need practise, that's all. In fact, why don't ah help ya?"

Looking up, Sonata's face broke out into a massive smile.

"You'd do that for me?"

Chuckling at her response, Applejack gave a single nod.

"Sure ah would, friend! What kind of Apple would ah be if ah didn't help someone make the best apple pie they could make?"

Sonata's smile widened at that, and she nodded, agreeing to Applejack's offer. Smiling back at that, the farm girl got up from the table, with Sonata close behind her. The two girls walked over to the side of the kitchen, where a number of cooking materials still lay unused from Sonata’s cooking. After looking them over for a bit, Applejack placed a hand on her hip before turning to her guest.

"Alright then. First things first. How much sugar did ya put in this the first time?"

At that, Sonata looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Wait...I was supposed to put sugar in this?"

Next Chapter: Rarity and Aria Estimated time remaining: 41 Minutes
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