“Hypotheticals”
(AppleDash)

Applejack was not a careless pony, nor a clumsy pony. She was not a pony given to daydreaming or flights of fancy. She was solid and strong. She was tough and no-nonsense. She was, in every conceivable way, the loyalest of friends and the most dependable of ponies.

Except … except perhaps not the loyalest of friends. There was, perhaps, a pony even more loyal than Applejack.

And that was precisely the problem.

There was a pony who caused Applejack to miss certain trees during bucking in the orchard, as Applejack found herself distracted by remembrances of a rough-edged voice and fierce rose-colored eyes. A pony who caused Applejack to stumble over her own four hooves while walking through the trees, as Applejack kept finding her gaze drifting skyward instead of watching where she was going. A pony who rested all too often in Applejack’s thoughts, just as surely as she was, right this moment, resting in one of Applejack’s trees … and a pony who would stubbornly stay put, no matter how many kicks Applejack would give.

But that didn’t stop the farmer from giving the tree a good, hard buck anyways.

“Hey!” The groggy pegasus wobbled a bit but, through years of practice, was able to maintain her perch in one of the apple tree’s lower boughs. “What’s the big idea, AJ?”

Applejack put on one of her best irritated glares. Fortunately, she was good at looking irritated--she had two siblings, after all. “This ain’t no motel, Rainbow Dash!” She gave a snort for good measure. “Why don’t you skedaddle and go make it rain or somethin’ else useful like that?”

Dash stood and lazily stretched, much the same way that Opalescence would. “It’s not scheduled to rain ‘til next week. Besides, you know you like having me around.”

“I’d like havin’ some rain for my crops a whole lot more, I tell you what.”

In lieu of an actual response, Rainbow Dash simply blew her a raspberry. But the pegasus stayed put, just like she always did, nestled quite cozily among the branches of the apple tree and looking as though she had no intentions of leaving anytime soon. The late afternoon sunlight filtered down through the leaves, and where the dapples of light fell upon Dash, her sleek blue coat practically glowed.

Applejack had to look away. She took a deep breath or two and, when she turned back around, Rainbow Dash was still peering down at her with those penetrating eyes of hers, a slight grin on her face.

And though Applejack was not a pony prone to giving voice to every ridiculous thought that crossed her mind--nor a pony prone to thinking ridiculous thoughts--still she found herself blurting out, “What if I hadn’t been in Dodge Junction?”

Immediately Rainbow Dash’s grin dropped into a frown. “Whaddaya mean?”

“What if … what if I weren’t there? When y’all came to fetch me after I didn’t come back from the rodeo.” Applejack paused and licked her lips. “What would ya have done?”

“I guess we woulda kept looking somewhere else ‘til we did find you.”

“But what if I weren’t nowhere?”

“Have you been hangin’ out with Twilight too much lately? 'Cause that sounds just like Twilight’s philosophical mumbo-jumbo.” Dash laughed and good-naturedly shook her head. “You had to be somewhere, AJ! I mean, c’mon.”

The earth pony rolled her eyes. “Well, no kiddin’. I didn’t mean it like that. I meant …” She had no idea what she’d meant. “What if I weren’t even still in Equestria?”

“Huh? Why wouldn’t you still be in Equestria?”

“I dunno!” Applejack yelled, suddenly annoyed. She could feel heat flood her cheeks. “But I could’ve left, couldn’t I? So, what if I’d up and left?”

“Then I would’ve left Equestria to find you wherever else you’d gone,” Dash shot back, sounding equally annoyed. “Ugh! What’s with the game of twenty questions, anyways? What is up with you lately?”

That was a really good question.

It was a really good question that Applejack really didn’t want to answer.

Slowly, the farm pony blew out her breath in a loud, gusty sigh. “I’m sorry, RD. I’ve been feelin’ a bit out of sorts lately--don’t pay me no mind.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at that but didn’t say anything.

“Now, go on, git. I reckon Twi’s got in the newest Daring Do book by now.” Applejack forced herself to turn around and to start walking away at a nice, even clip. “I ain’t got time for ornery pegasus ponies today.”

But Applejack didn’t get but twenty feet away before she was stopped dead in her tracks by a familiar voice calling out to her, in an unexpectedly gentle tone, “Hey, Applejack?”

“Yes, Rainbow Dash?” she replied, staring straight ahead.

“I would’ve went ‘round the whole wide world, if I had to. Went ‘round twice over, even.” Rainbow sounded oddly contemplative. “You’re stubborn, sure, but I’m even more stubborn--and even though you’re pretty fast for an earth pony, we both know I’m way faster. I would’ve caught up to you, sooner or later.”

Applejack stayed still as stone. She swallowed before answering. “I reckon you’re right. I reckon you would’ve.”

“Besides,” added Dash with a chuckle, “you know Rainbow Dash never leaves her friends hangin’!”

Applejack knew that. Of course she knew that. So she couldn’t explain why such a simple statement of fact was causing her throat to close in tight, as though it was trying to choke her, or why her knees were trembling the way they did usually only after the first day of apple-bucking season.

“Anyways, guess I’ll see you later, AJ. Maybe sometime next week we should--”

"Say, you ever bake an apple pie?”

“Um. What?”

Slowly, Applejack turned to glance over her shoulder. Rainbow Dash was standing on the ground now, only a few feet away, wearing a puzzled expression on her face.

“Apple pie,” repeated Applejack, her voice high and strained, as taut as the strings on her fiddle. “I could teach ya, if you wanted. Ain’t no apple pie that tastes better in all Equestria than the ones made from the Apple family’s secret recipe.”

Dash snorted in amusement. “Uh, yeah, baking is more Pinkie Pie’s thing. Why would I wanna learn how to make a pie?”

That was a really good question.

It was a really good question that Applejack really didn’t want to answer.

“Well, Rainbow ... you wanna get in good with the Wonderbolts, as I seem to recollect.” This was not a lie. “And back at the Grand Gallopin’ Gala, there was that one stallion--Soarin’ was his name, I think?--and he seemed to like my apple pie a whole awful lot.” This was also not a lie. “And I reckon he’d be mighty impressed if you made him the best apple pie he’d ever eaten.” This, too, was not at all a lie.

Rainbow Dash tilted her head and looked thoughtful. “Hey … hey, yeah! Yeah, that’s an awesome idea!” She broke out in a mega-watt smile. “You’d really teach me how to make special Apple family pie?”

Applejack returned her friend’s smile with a grin of her own. “Why, shoot! Of course I would! Anythin’ to help a friend.”

“I’ll swing by the farm after work tomorrow afternoon, then,” replied Rainbow, with a decisive nod. “Thanks bunches!” And with that, she snapped out her wings and launched into the sky like an arrow released from a bow. In a matter of seconds, she was nothing more than a tiny blue dot disappearing into the distance.

Applejack stood there, staring upward at the multi-hued contrail left in the pegasus’ wake, for several long moments. “You’re welcome,” she muttered to herself and, still grinning, trotted off toward the barn to go fetch an apple cart.

She didn’t trip or stumble even once.

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Author’s Notes: This one was inspired by, and written while listening to, Wreckless Eric’s “Whole Wide World.” I think “The Last Round-Up” made me okay with AppleDash? And I feel conflicted about this? And will now write only in upspeak?