Still in their flight suits, Soarin followed Rainbow Dash as they flew out from Ponyville, leaving the town proper and heading out to... somewhere. While they might have done a show in Ponyville before, Soarin had not really done much else. A little looking around town, but not much, and certainly nothing out where they were now.

As he did, he wondered one thing: what did this have to do with pie?

With a shift of his body and quicker flick of his wings, he sped up to get in earshot of the other pegasus.

"Rainbow!" he called out. "Where are we going? There was a bakery back in Ponyville. Couldn't we just go get something from there?"

Slowing down slightly, Rainbow rolled over onto her back. She smirked as she looked at Soarin, flying backwards without any signs of trouble.

"Yeah," she said as she continued to fly. "Sugarcube Corner's pretty good, especially if you like cupcakes." She then turned back around. "But trust me on this. If you want the best apple pie in Equestria, you want someone from the Apple family to make it. And in Ponyville--" she stopped flying, hovering upright "-- that means going to Sweet Apple Acres." She then motioned with a hoof behind her.

Not far ahead of them was a farm. It looked like something out of a painting. There was a wooden fence painted white, a farmhouse, a barn, chickens, and lots and lots of apple trees.

"Come on," Rainbow said as she flew toward the place. Gliding through the top of the gateway, she curved toward the farmhouse and came to land right at the top of the porch steps.

"Yo, AJ!" Rainbow Dash called out as she knocked on the door. "It's me! You in?"

Not long after, the door was opened by yellow coated earth filly.

"Hey, Bloom," Rainbow said to the filly. "Applejack here?"

"Yeah," the filly -- Apple Bloom -- answered as she pushed the door open further. "She's in the kitchen. Go on in."

"Thanks."

As he followed after Rainbow and entered the house, he looked around. The place looked to be made of raw wood. Just bare planks making up the walls and floor. Framed pictures filled the space on some of the walls and above the mantle of a fireplace, and bright area rugs were scattered all across the floor, some of which were worn pretty thin.

The place looked very lived in and...happy? Could a home be happy? The ponies in it, sure, but the building itself?

In the kitchen were two earth mares. One was an elderly green mare with clear, orange eyes that felt like they could read Soarin in an instant. The other was an orange coated mare with a blond mane and tail. She was currently at the oven, pulling something from it.

"Hey, AJ," Rainbow called out toward the orange mare. "The pie ready?"

Applejack glanced toward Rainbow before turning and heading toward the window. Setting the pie she had down on the sill, she picked up another one waiting there.

As she carried it toward them, Soarin got a good look at her. Applejack was larger than most of the mares he had met. Not just taller, but a thicker build. She was wide in the chest and across the back. There were signs of muscle, indicating a lot of exercise, but not the lean smooth muscle that he and the other Wonderbolts had from all of their time flying. It was bulkier, heavier looking.

"Here ya go," Applejack said as she set the pie on the table. "Should still be nice and warm in the center."

As she spoke, something about her voice sounded familiar.

"Have we met before?" Soarin asked.

Applejack turned and looked at him with her green eyes. They did not give the same feeling of being studied and evaluated as the older mare, but there was something about them that made Soarin just want to tell the truth. She then smiled, letting out a small chuckle.

"Couple times," she answered. "In fact, you bought one of my pies before."

"I did?"

"Eyup. Here." Applejack pushed the pie towards him. "Take a bite and see if that helps."

"I doubt it," Soarin said as he looked at the pie. "I've eaten a lot of pies in my life."

"And I've baked a lot of pies in mine. Try it. Trust me." She gave a wink.

With a shrug, Soarin leaned in and took a big bite of the pie.

And had his mind blown.

The pie was perfect. The best he ever had. A miraculous blend of contradictions. The golden brown crust was both tender and flaky, crunching as he bit into it, yet melting like warm butter on his tongue. The apples were sweet with a little tartness, as well as soft with a little bit of crunch to them. The syrup that formed was gooey, but not too sticky. A hint of fresh cinnamon danced across his taste buds.

The world was brighter. Colors sharper. Air sweeter. A chorus of angels with southern accents sang out in harmony.

"You alright there, sugar cube?" the most beautiful, majestic, and glorious mare Soarin had ever seen asked, raising one eyebrow as she looked at him with wonderfully grass green eyes.

"It's... it's the best pie I've ever had," Soarin stated, unaware of the grumbling beside him as Rainbow pushed at one of his now outspread wings. "I will never be able to have another pie again, because they will all pale in comparison to this one, just like all other mares will pale in comparison to you."

"Aw, that's mighty sweet of ya," Applejack said with a smile. "Glad you liked it. Go ahead and dig in."

With that, Soarin started really tearing in to the pie, savory every bite before swallowing it and taking another. From the windowsill, the fresh pie looked on in horror, wondering if it would meet the same cruel fate as its predecessor.

"See?" Rainbow Dash said with a grin. "I told you: best pie in Ponyville."

Soarin was too busy enjoying bliss to disagree, even if he wanted to.