In one of Castle Canterlot's royal suite bedrooms, Applejack blinked as a beam of moonlight from the window played across her face. She breathed a quiet huff, determined not to let it distract her from staring up at the ceiling with a firm frown on her lips.

Something fluffy brushed past the tip of her ear, making it twitch. She coldly pretended not to notice. A moment passed in silence before something brushed past it again, this time leaving a cool dampness behind it.

“Don't,” Applejack grumbled.

Apparently, she hadn't been clear, because the something came back a moment later and started nibbling at her ear – making its way down from the tip towards the lobe. Applejack viciously flapped her ear and swatted her assailant on the nose. “I said don't.”

“Why not?” Rainbow Dash groaned, sliding closer beneath the blankets. “C'mon, I'm cold.”

“There's extra blankets over there,” said Applejack, nodding vaguely towards the dresser on Dash's side of the bed.

“Yeah, but you're closer,” whispered Dash. She brought her muzzle up to Applejack's cheek, only to be denied again when the farmpony rolled onto her side, showing her back. Dash blinked. “What's wrong?”

Applejack snorted. “You're stupid, you know that?”

“What? You expect me to read your mind or something?” Dash threw back, furrowing her brow. “Come on, give me a break.”

“I reckon you're already darn close to giving yourself a break,” said Applejack. “Dumb, reckless pegasus...”

Dash scoffed and pushed herself up so that she could see the side of Applejack's face again. “Excuse me? Did I miss a memo or something? When did we start replacing foreplay with insults?”

“'bout eleven o'clock this morning, I'd say,” grunted Applejack, closing her eyes defiantly.

Dash cocked her head. “Eleven o'clock... Oh, come on!” She put a hoof on Applejack's side and frowned. “You're not still mad about that, are you?”

“For a start,” said Applejack coldly. “Yeah, I reckon I am...”

The wind forced back Applejack's mane as she pelted down the paved streets of Canterlot alongside her five friends from Ponyville, with Twilight Sparkle at the front of the group.

“Twilight, where are you leading us?” cried Rarity, in her whiniest voice. “What did that guardspony say to you? And can't we slow down just a little bit? My hooves are killing me!”

“There's no time,” Twilight threw back. “There's a group of changelings in the statue room on the outskirts of the palace. They're causing havoc, somepony might get hurt!”

Applejack grunted. “Not to be a sour puss, but ain't this somethin' the guard should be takin' care of by themselves?”

“They can't! They're tied up with similar incidents all over the city!” said Twilight. “They thought that Cadance and Shining Armour's spell banished all the drones, but obviously they were wrong. Girls, we're the only ones close enough to help. If we don't, years of culture will be destroyed, not to mention what could happen if somepony got caught in that room...”

Rarity made a surprisingly unladylike noise. “...As loathe as I am to engage in more fighting, I must agree. What is our plan?”

“The statue room has only one door, so the four of us will enter there, whilst Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy move in from the windows to flank them. Rarity and I will use our magic to slow them down, whilst Applejack and Pinkie start rounding them up--”

“Wait, wait. Go back,” said Rainbow Dash, flying up alongside Twilight with apparently no effort at all. “What was the first part?”

Twilight huffed. “You and Fluttershy go in through the windows--”

“No, no, further back. The changelings are causing havoc where?”

“The statue room on the outskirts of the palace!” Twilight growled. “That white building, over there!”

Dash cracked a smirk. “Great, that's all I needed to know.”

In another moment, the pegasus beat her wings and darted off towards the building, leaving a rainbow trail in her wake.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called after her. “What're you doing?!”

Applejack's breath caught in her throat, and she felt an uncomfortable twisting in her chest. “D-don't you dare go in alone, RD! Get back here right now!”

But Rainbow Dash was already long gone.

The group was still a good twenty seconds away from the building, but the rainbow trail in the sky was already descending upon it at a ludicrous speed. It pierced the skylight on the roof, and the sound of shattering glass rang out through the streets.

There was a pregnant silence, followed by a low rumble. And then the huge, double doors of the statue room burst outwards, letting out a multi-hued cloud of dust that very much resembled a Sonic Rainboom.

A pair of changeling drones whizzed overhead as the group drew near. Applejack glanced over her shoulder, only to see that they had both collapsed onto the floor, incapacitated.

The five ponies' canter slowed to a trot as they came up to the threshold, then the trot became a walk and finally they stopped, slack-jawed, in the doorway. All around the room, changeling drones were sprawled out in various painful-looking positions – atop statues, in the wreckage of smashed tables, or up against walls.

And in the middle of it all stood Rainbow Dash, coolly brushing a hoof against her chest. When she caught sight of her friends in the doorway, she smirked and trotted forwards.

“Hey guys. All done,” she said casually, as she walked past and back out onto the street. “Might wanna get somepony in to clean this up though.”

For her part, Applejack could only blink dumbly at the scene before her, even as she felt Dash's wing play across her flank in passing. “RD...” she breathed.

“Oh yeah, that was awesome!” said Dash, laying back on her pillow and gazing up at the ceiling. “You should've seen your faces. Priceless.”

Applejack glared at her. “Oh, it's funny, is it?”

“Yup,” Dash confirmed with chuckle. “Hilarious. Seriously, I wish I'd had a camera--”

“RD, there were two dozen changelings in that room,” said Applejack firmly.

“Twenty-six, actually. I counted.”

Applejack had to clench her hooves around her blanket to keep from yelling. “Twenty-six to one ain't safe odds, Dash! Not even for you.”

Dash scoffed and nodded. “Yeah, and I took 'em all out in five... no, four seconds! How awesome is that?” She rolled her head to the side and cast Applejack a self-assured smirk. “Hey, you should feel pretty lucky, having a badflank like me as your marefriend.”

“Lucky?” Applejack repeated, pushing herself up to gain some height advantage. “You're darn right I feel lucky. Them changelings could've really done a number on you!”

Dash creased her brow and blinked in confusion. “Um, yeah... Doesn't that make it more awesome?”

“No!” Applejack yelled. She closed her eyes and pursed her lips, trying to calm herself, but it did little good. “I mean... yes. I-- Argh! I wish ya'd stop bein' such a featherbrain for five seconds! You can't go puttin' lookin' cool over your own safety, it just ain't right! I mean, it's fair enough with your aerial stuff – the worst you'll get is a broken wing and a bruised ego. But these are changelings, they don't play by normal rules, they could've k--”

The word died on her tongue. She didn't want to think about it. She couldn't.

She locked her eyes with Dash's and gave her a solemn frown. “Showin' off ain't worth it if it means riskin' your life. Please, tell me you know that, sugarcube.”

For the first time in the conversation, Dash actually seemed to take something to heart. Her casual expression faded into a serious one, and she looked genuinely affected by Applejack's words.

“AJ...” she breathed. She shook her head and pushed herself up, so that she was at the same height as Applejack. “You've got it all wrong. I know I do stupid stuff sometimes, but I'd never do that. You wanna know the reason I ran ahead and took on those changelings by myself?”

Applejack stayed silent, admittedly a little surprised.

“...I did it so that you girls wouldn't have to.”

“Will ya stop playin' with that thing?” said Applejack, casting a scolding look over at her marefriend as they walked through Canterlot. “You're gonna break it or somethin'.”

“Uh huh,” Dash grunted, clearly not listening. She slid her snout under the amulet around her neck and lifted it up, looking down her nose at it. “So what does this thing do again?”

Applejack huffed and shook her head. “Why am I not surprised that ya weren't payin' attention? It's enchanted so's to give ya magic to see through changelings' disguises, or some such.”

“Oh, fair enough,” said Dash, dropping the amulet to her chest again. “I was wondering how we were supposed to find these stragglers if we couldn't even see 'em.”

“Well, it might be a darn sight easier if ya were actually lookin'...” Applejack frowned and idly kicked a stone in front of her. “Don't see why the princess didn't give me one...”

“Duh, there were only three to share between us,” said Dash. “...And obviously the princess has a crush on me, so...”

Applejack couldn't help but scoff at that. “Tch! Will you get your head outta the clouds, for once?” she said, rolling her eyes.

Dash chuckled and kicked off to hover above the ground. “Uh, hello – pegasus!”

With that, she beat her wings and took to the sky. Applejack simply shook her head.

“Excuse me,” came a voice from beside her.

Turning, Applejack saw a short, pink-coated mare, looking up at her with big eyes. “Uh, howdy. Can I help ya?”

The pink mare opened her mouth and hesitated before speaking. “...Where is this place?” she asked, in a slow, dreamy kind of voice.

Applejack titled her head. “It's Mane Street... Are ya lost or somethin'?”

“I am... lost,” the mare confirmed. “I came here with my sisters, but now I'm all alone. I can't find anyone--” She mimicked Applejack's head tilt. “--Can you help me?”

Applejack blinked, then flashed a smile and reached out to give the mare a reassuring pat on the fetlock. “Well, ya bet your left hooves I can, young filly. Ain't never turned down a pony in need yet! Now, why don't ya tell me what your sisters look like--”

Suddenly, a multichrome blur shot down out of the sky – tackling the pink mare before she could so much as blink. When the dust settled, Applejack saw her pegasus pinning the poor mare to the ground and snarling at her.

“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack cried, hurrying forwards. “What in tarnation do ya think you're doing?!”

“Stay back, AJ!” Dash growled.

“The hay I will! Y'all let that filly go right now!”

“It's not a filly...” said Dash ominously.

Just as Applejack was about to ask what in the hoof she was talking about, Dash lowered her neck – bringing her amulet down to rest on the 'filly's' chest. As soon as it touched her pink coat, it began to emit a bright, yellow light, which seemed to wash over the two of them.

Applejack had to hold a hoof up to her eyes to shield them. When she lowered it, she gasped at what she saw – Rainbow Dash hadn't moved an inch, but the mare beneath her was not a mare at all. It was a changeling drone.

“Don't even think about moving,” Dash warned. “No changeling touches my earth pony, got it?”

The drone simply tilted its head again and stared up at her.

Applejack couldn't find any words. She'd been fooled, again, by a simple changeling disguise. Fair enough, nopony was expecting it the first time around, but now she was supposed to be on the lookout...

A pair of guard stallions appeared on the scene a few moments later. “We'll take it from here, m'lady,” one of them declared, as he and his partner got a grip on Dash's prisoner.

The cyan pegasus hopped back and let them carry the drone away. It cast a wistful look back towards Applejack, but offered no resistance. It almost seemed harmless...

“Hey,” said Dash, poking her in the side. “You should be more careful. Those things could be anywhere... anypony. Can't let your guard down.”

“Uh huh,” Applejack grunted.

Dash scoffed lightly and draped a wing over Applejack's back. “Hey, don't worry about it. I'll stick with you this time and watch your back. Like I said, no-one's gonna lay a hoof on my marefriend when I'm around!”

“...So, ya see, I was only watching out for you, AJ,” said Dash, smiling with her head atop the pillow. “It wasn't about looking awesome, that was just a happy coincidence. The main thing was always keeping you safe.”

Applejack managed a cold grunt. “Well, that's mighty noble of ya, puttin' yourself in harm's way so's I don't have to. And it's also really dumb.”

“What'd'ya mean?” said Dash, furrowing her brow.

“You ever think about what it'd mean if somethin' happened to you out there, when you're runnin' off by yourself?”

Dash shrugged against the blanket. “Equestria would be down one awesome pegasus. But hey, it'd still have Fluttershy--”

“Don't,” said Applejack stiffly. “Don't even joke about that.”

Dash narrowed her eyes a little. “...You're really worried about me, aren't you? AJ, I'm the fastest thing in Equestria! Nothing can even touch me if I don't want it to.”

Applejack snorted. “That supposed to make me feel better? You havin' an ego? One of these days, that big head of yours is gonna get you hurt!”

“Ugh!” Dash scoffed and rolled out of bed. “Y'know what? I don't have to listen to this. I've tried explaining, but you obviously don't wanna hear my side. I'm goin' for a flight.”

As the brazen pegasus started towards the door that led out onto the balcony, Applejack called after her. “RD, don't you walk away!”

“I'm not walking away, I'm flying away,” said Dash, demonstrating a flap of her wings as she reached for the door.

“Rainbow Dash!”

“What? What'd'you want me to do?” Dash snapped, turning in place to glare at her. “I love you, AJ! I can't help wanting to protect you!”

Applejack sat up on the edge of the bed and pounded the mattress with her forehooves. “I know that, gosh darnit! Did ya ever think that maybe I love you too? That maybe I wanna protect you?”

Dash opened her mouth as if she was going to retort, but whatever words she had died on her tongue. Her wings fell limp at her sides as she huffed and averted her eyes.

“I just don't wanna see you hurt, RD,” said Applejack quietly. She shook her head. “No, scratch that, I wanna be there when you get hurt, so's I can take care of ya. But I can't do that if you're always runnin' off on your pre-emptive saves like some kinda gosh-darned hero! You did it when we were fightin' the changelings at the wedding too--”

“Hey, I did not!” Dash broke in. “I went to help Fluttershy!”

Applejack scoffed. “Yeah, for a second. And jus' so ya could get in a little private smooch when ya thought I wasn't lookin'!”

Dash glared at her. “Uh, déjà vu! Didn't we have that conversation yesterday?”

“Don't change the subject!” Applejack almost shouted.

“You changed the subject!”

Applejack held her tongue as she realised that Dash was right. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, the farmpony tried again to calm herself. “Right... I did...” she muttered.

Silence fell over the bedroom. Applejack was half expecting to hear the balcony door click open and the sound of wingbeats fading into the distance. But she didn't.

Instead, she heard hoofsteps, muffled by the carpeted floor, drawing closer. She felt a pressure on the mattress beside her, and saw, when she opened her eyes, her marefriend sitting beside her, eyes fixed firmly on the floor.

“Look, I'm sorry I made you feel like that,” said Dash softly, her voice scratchier than usual. “But keeping you safe – and everypony else too – is way more important than that. I won't stop watching out for you.”

Applejack shook her head. “I ain't askin' ya to stop bein' a good friend. I just want ya to do it somewhere close, where I can keep an eye on ya.”

“...You mean, like, watch each others' backs?” said Dash. She seemed to consider it for a moment, but then she shook her head. “I don't know. My way's safer for you.”

“Safer for me?” said Applejack, meeting her eyes and adopting a condescending smile. “RD, how 'bout usin' that big head o' yours for once? A bump on the noggin or a broken leg ain't nothin' compared to the thought of losin' you. And I betcha I ain't the only one who feels that way.”

Dash creased her brow again and gave a toothy, questioning smile. “Who says you're gonna lose me?”

Applejack closed her eyes and drew a focusing breath through her nose, before fixing Dash with a solid stare. “Alright, tell ya what. You look me in the eye, right here and now, and tell me you're always comin' back. If ya can do that, then I'll take it all back and leave ya in peace.”

There was a tense pause as Dash immediately rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to make the promise, only for no words to come out. She tried for seconds more, glancing rapidly between each of Applejack's ever-staring eyes as she worked her jaw. But, in the end, the pegasus shut her mouth and lowered her eyes in defeat.

“That's what I thought,” whispered Applejack softly. In the long silence that followed, she idly turned to frown at the middle of the carpeted floor. “You do what ya want, RD. I'm gonna get some sleep. I've had a long day.”

With that, she shuffled herself under the blankets again and found the pillow with her head, facing away from Rainbow Dash. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind, ready for sleep. It wasn't exactly easy with her marefriend sat staring at the back of her head.

After a moment, she felt movement on the mattress, as Dash crawled under the blanket and laid down behind her. Apparently, the message that Applejack was upset with her had finally sunk in, because the pegasus made no attempt to so much as touch her.

“...Applejack,” whispered Dash. “You know I love you, right?”

Applejack huffed into the blanket and scrunched up her eyes, as if she could ignore the question. But, ultimately, she never could. “I know,” she muttered. “I love ya too, Rainbow Dash.”

She felt shifting behind her, as if the pegasus was letting out a breath of relief. “Okay. Good,” Dash muttered, before falling into silence at last.

Applejack's expression softened into a thoughtful frown. That Dash was actually worried about such a question was enough to make her feel more than a little bad. The whole point of the conversation was that she did love her...

“I do love ya,” she repeated quietly. When Dash didn't reply, Applejack turned over to face her, meeting a pair of wistful eyes on a solemn looking pegasus. “Really, I do. It's just that I know ya tend to leap before ya look, a lot of the time. And whenever ya do somethin' like ya did today, it feels like that – like you're not thinkin'.”

“But I am thinking,” Dash threw back, with a particular softness to her voice. “I'm thinking about you. If I ever fly off like that, or try to take on something by myself, it's because I'm making a decision to keep you safe--” She shifted forwards a little, so that their snouts were almost touching. “--And if I can ever do that by staying close to you, I will.”

Feeling the gentle breeze of her marefriend's breath against her nose, Applejack could hardly even imagine herself snapping again. It was a sweet sentiment, and it was reassuring to know that Dash thought before she acted, even if those thoughts were somewhat limited. But, when she thought about it...

“I guess... I know that, too,” Applejack muttered, managing the faintest smile as she leant forwards to rest her head on Dash's neck. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't be,” said Dash. “I know how you feel, too. It's not easy knowing somepony you love is in danger, and knowing you can't help 'em.”

Applejack blinked and frowned in thought. “We talkin' 'bout that time at the wedding... when we were fightin' the changelings on our way to get the Elements?”

Dash cleared her throat quietly. “...Yeah. I was pinned down, couldn't get there when all those drones piled on you...”

“Didn't know ya saw that,” grunted Applejack. “How come ya didn't mention it before? Embarrassed?”

Dash shifted as if she was trying to shake her head, but ultimately ended up pressing her nose into Applejack's mane. “Sort of. I didn't want to mention it because I wasn't fast enough. If Twilight hadn't pulled you out of there, I wouldn't have got there in time to help.”

“Sure ya would've,” said Applejack immediately. Of that, there was no doubt in her mind – Rainbow Dash would always be there to protect her when it came down to it.

“...But it would've been a darn sight easier if you were fightin' beside me, rather than across the terrace,” Applejack continued. She pulled back to look into Dash's eyes again, this time offering her best attempt at a light-hearted smile. “Don't ya think?”

Dash dropped her gaze to Applejack's chest and nodded slowly. “Yeah...” she muttered. A moment passed in silence, before she shifted uncomfortably beneath the sheets. “So... does that mean I'm wrong?”

Applejack let out a sigh through her nose. She reached out to stroke her partner's cheek with a hoof. “RD,” she said. “The best place ya can be for me is right here by my side. Y'all can run off and fight all ya want, but when it comes down to it, the times I feel safest are the ones like right now – when I've got ya in arm's reach.”

At that, Dash gave a prolonged, deliberate blink before looking up to stare into Applejack's eyes. “Arm's reach,” she repeated thoughtfully, pausing to gulp on impulse. “...Or closer, right?”

Caught off guard, Applejack couldn't help but crack a smile at that. “Tch, c-cocky varmint!” she chuckled, prodding Dash in the chest. The pegasus gave a little, self-assured chortle too, before the two of them fell into a smiling silence.

“But yeah,” said Applejack lightly. “You're right.”

“Got it,” said Dash, smirking. “I'll keep that in mind.”

“You do that,” said Applejack.

Their stare held for a long, peaceful moment longer. Applejack glanced between each of Dash's inviting, crimson eyes, steadying her breath as she leant towards them. She closed her eyes...

In one of Castle Canterlot's royal suite bedrooms, the lovers shared a gentle kiss and stayed the rest of the night in one another's arms. Applejack felt perfectly safe in Dash's embrace that night, because she knew, in that moment at least, that Dash was perfectly safe too.

~FIN