Love Conquers All.

Applejack bucked her back legs against the tree trunk. She backed up a little, allowing the apples to fall neatly into her saddle baskets. The orange pony trotted away from the tree, heading instead, towards a small cart. She got herself into position, just in front of the cart. She then reared up, so she was now standing on her back legs. The apples fell in an orderly fashion, without any of them going astray. Applejack gave the orchard a quick scan, once the apples were piled into the cart. Upon seeing that there was bit a single apple left, she let out a little 'yeehaw' to show she was done. Her celebratory hollering caught the attention of Big Macintosh. Who had been taking a sly nap in the barn, when he should have been apple bucking like his sister. He rose from his slumber and exited the barn.
"What's all the commotion about?!"
"Ah did it! Ah finished mah half of the apple buckin'!"
Big Macintosh was visibly surprised.
"What!? We've only been at this for an hour!"
"Somethin' wrong with you brother? We've been at this since the crow o' th' rooster this mornin' "
Big Macintosh guessed he had been asleep longer than a few minutes.

Applejack trotted past him, heading towards the Apple family homestead, although she simply couldn't leave without a sly dig at her brother.
"If ya didn't sleep on the job, you'd be done too y'know."
Big Macintosh gulped nervously. How did she know he had been napping? Nevertheless, standing there was only delaying his workload even more. He took one last look at the mix of orange, yellow and brown trotting off into the distance, before he got to work. Applejack was pleased that she had finished her workload; he happiness was only amplified when she what time it was. The hands of the clock in the kitchen of her home said it was six o' clock. Applejack wasted no time in getting to her bedroom. Once there, she opened the window, and stuck her head out as far as she could.

Her eyes first settled upon Big Macintosh working on his own. She let out a devious chuckle, and turned her attention skyward. The sun was beginning to set in the sky, casting an orangey hue across the horizon, beams of yellow and red blended together, spreading outwards from the enormous star that was the sun. Applejack always thought the sunsets looked beautiful, but she knew something far more beautiful came next. She counted down the seconds under her breath.
Three.
Two.
One.
Suddenly Applejack was treated to what she was waiting for. In the distance were a multitude of colours surging her way. The colours ranged through vibrant reds, all the way to a captivating violet. The colours streaked across the sky, their very presence shimmering against the sunset. Of course this rainbow streak of colour belonged to a particular pony, a certain pony that Applejack felt strong feelings of love for. Applejack sighed blissfully and rested her head on the windowsill.
"Right on time Dashy, right on time."
Applejack began to sway her tail lazily back and forth, as she slipped into a daydream. The rainbow started to dissipate, giving a final shimmer, before it completely disappeared.

Applejack had never told Rainbow Dash that she loved her. She had always suffered at the merciless hands of nerves when it came to tell Dash of such things. She always seemed to suffer from one of two things, or sometimes both at once. She sometimes seized up, causing her to feel completely unresponsive. Being frozen to the spot wasn't that big of a problem, as she only needed to speak. However even that was a trial in itself. The moment she opened her mouth to say 'I love you', her vocabulary always descended into gibberish. She only managed to speak words like 'wuh' and 'buh' which really aren't even words. Of course as convention dictates, once Rainbow Dash left the scene, Applejack gained full control again. It was quite the predicament to get past, but she was certain that she could sort it. At the present moment, the effects of getting up at the crack of dawn were starting to take their toll. Applejack's eyes felt heavier and her body felt weaker. Now would probably be the best time for some sleep. She made her way to her bed, climbed into it, and laid her head on her pillow. Slowly her drowsiness began to take full effect. She soon drifted off to sleep, her dreams filled with wonderful images of Rainbow Dash.

Upon the arrival of the next morning, Applejack was given a rude awakening. This wasn't due to the rooster crowing, but more due to invading sunlight. It streamed through her still open window. Her battle to remain in a state of lazy bliss, by her actually opening her eyes. The sunlight swarmed her vision, increasing her focus on the objects around her. This was the final straw, she had to get up now, and there was no way she could get back to sleep. She sat up and yawned, before crossing to the window and shutting it. She then made her way downstairs for some breakfast. As she made her way to the kitchen she caught a distinct smell of apples. This wasn't anything new; there was always an apple scent. Usually it was from the orchard, or somepony's cooking. She entered the kitchen and found a plate of apple pancakes sat on the table. A quick look around showed that no-one else was present, apart from herself. So she took it upon herself to clear away these pancakes. Clear away being the operant words for eat. Within five minutes, the pancakes had been devoured and not a morsel remained. With her belly full and her appetite satisfied, she headed outside. She decided to head into town, maybe she'd meet some of her friends there, and so off she went at a fair pace.

Upon entering the town she was ambushed by a bouncing, pink pony.
"Hey Applejack! Have you heard the news? Have ya? Huh? Huh? Huh?"
"Slow down there Pinkie Pah. What news?"
Pinkie Pie let out a long, drawn out gasp. Applejack sighed, and waited for her to explain the news.
"Oh it's some of the most beautiful, amazing, fantastic news ever!"
"Well would you mind fillin' me in sugarcube?"
Pinkie Pie put her hooves over her muzzle, as if she had said something she shouldn't. Applejack was about to ask if something was wrong, but she was cut off by Pinkie's verbal explosion.
"Rainbow Dash has a girlfriend!"
Applejack felt her heart sink, like a stone to a riverbed.
"T-that's great news Pinkie Pah…"
"I know right? Isn't it just some of the best news you've ever heard?"
"Yup…"
Of course it wasn't good news at all; Applejack had lost her chance with Dash. Pinkie Pie continued on, ignoring Applejack's obvious pain.
"Oh! I have to throw them a party! Seeya AJ!"
With that said Pinkie Pie was gone, leaving Applejack all by herself.

Applejack resorted that she wasn't going to be bitter of upset about the news. Instead she was going to find Dash and congratulate her. So she set of looking for a sky blue pony, with a rainbow mane and tail. However she was sidetracked by a crowd of ponies circled around somepony. She thought that the somepony might possibly be Rainbow Dash, so Applejack joined the crowd. The mass of ponies let out a collective 'awww' as a sign that something sweet had happened. Once the collective happy sigh had died down, voices could be heard from the crowd centre. Applejack identified one of the voices as Rainbow Dash's assertive and tomboyish tone. However the other was a complete mystery to her. She nudged fillies and colts alike aside until she reached the centre. Rainbow Dash was stood with another Pegasus. The Pegasus in question was a beautiful mint green, her mane a silvery version of the same colour. She had one hoof around Dash's neck causing her to blush. Applejack hadn't been listening to what they had been saying; she had been busy getting a better view. So now she just sat up and soaked up the conversation, even though she knew it wasn't going to help her mood.

The green Pegasus was the one talking when Applejack focused in.
"I shall always protect my little Rainbow Dash, that is, unless she doesn't need it."
Rainbow Dash blushed deeper, the crimson clashing with her normal sky blue colour. This time Rainbow Dash spoke.
"You're such a softie, and it's one of the reasons I love you!"
The two pegasi hugged, as Applejack watched on.
The two lovers stopped with their embrace so they could prepare for a takeoff. They stepped apart, making sure not to bump anypony else. They then started beating their wings and took off into the sky. They gave the crowd a little wave before they bolted off towards the horizon. Applejack felt as though she was mere inches away from crying, but she fought with herself to stay strong. Now that the main attractions had left, the crowd started to fan out, as people went back to their previous activities. Applejack was then noticed by her friends.
"Hey, AJ!"
Applejack turned around to witness Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie heading her way.
"Compose yerself girl. Keep it together."
Applejack regained her composure and trotted over to meet them.

"Hi Applejack!"
Her friends chorused their welcoming speech.
"Hi guys."
Twilight spoke out first before her other friends.
"What do you think of the news about Rainbow Dash?"
Applejack wanted to tell them how she really felt about the news. How unfair it was that she had tried to tell Dash her feelings for ages, and now her hopes had been trashed. Instead she chose to lie and bury her true feelings deep inside.
"Ah think its great news Twilight."
Behind her Twilight was a bouncing Pinkie Pie, who waited for her chance to speak.
"Ah don' mean t' be rude but ah think Pinkie Pah is gonna explode."
Twilight turned around with a questioning 'hmm' to find Pinkie Pie filling her vision, grinning from ear to ear.
"What is it Pinkie Pie?"
"I just wanted to tell you, that you're all invited to a party tonight at Sugarcube corner!"
Twilight looked to Applejack and Fluttershy, who all stared back, before she answered.
"What's the occasion Pinkie?"

Pinkie Pie cocked her head to the side, her wide smile still plastered on her face.
"It's to celebrate Rainbow Dash and her new Pegasus friend!"
The remaining trio of ponies all replied with 'oooh'.
"Well you can be certain that I'll be there" replied Twilight.
"I'll be sure to turn up" squeaked Fluttershy.
"Ah'm not sure if ah can make it…" confessed Applejack.
"Well I'll see you all there guys!"
Acting as if she ignored Applejack's dysphemistic attitude, Pinkie Pie bounded away. Twilight decided that she should go get ready now, leaving her some time to study later. Fluttershy also decided now was a good time to leave, mainly because she had some work to do. Fluttershy's departure from the group meant that the once four strong group, was reduced to one, lonely, pony. Applejack sighed, she wasn't going to attend Pinkie Pie's party, it was probably not going to help brighten her day, no matter how cheerful they always seemed to be. Instead she was going to go home and watch the sky. Even though Dash had a girlfriend it shouldn't stop her creating her nightly sunset masterpiece. Applejack perked up at the realisation of this and set off for Sweet Apple Acres.

Back home Big Macintosh had finally finished apple bucking his side half of the orchard. Applejack bid him fleeting congratulations as she disappeared inside. Big Macintosh followed her inside, but got sidetracked in the kitchen. Applejack meanwhile scurried upstairs and into her bedroom. She shut the door and crossed to the window. The sun was still fairly high in the sky so Applejack was going to have to wait a fair few hours. To pass the time she started to daydream. She thought of what life would be like if she had been with Rainbow Dash. She imagined all the fun that they would've had. She sighed again her thoughts momentarily interrupted. Time seemed to creep by slowly, almost teasing Applejack as she waited for her private spectacle. At regular intervals of what she thought were long periods of time, she would leave her room and venture downstairs. This was only to look at the clock, to actually see how much time had passed. Time and time again she was disappointed at how much real-time had actually gone by. She only seemed to be experiencing three or five minute lapses. She wasn't the sort of pony to get impatient easy, but when time wasn't playing fair, anything was possible.

Eventually it grew close to the time she was waiting for. In preparation for the moment, she opened her window and stuck her head out. Sure enough the sunset had begun, and now it was only a few seconds until the show. A few seconds turned into a few minutes. Those minutes soon turned into hours and Applejack grew sadder and sadder. The moment she had been waiting for had not arrived. She just couldn't take it anymore; today had just been one big disappointment after another. She looked out on Ponyville in the distance. All lights had been extinguished, telling Applejack that Pinkie's party had finished. Yet still no rainbow in the sky. Applejack broke down, letting her emotions take full control. Tears welled up in her eyes, and rolled down her cheek. She sniffed, as the tears flowed faster, pooling on the windowsill. She took one last look at the picturesque landscape, before getting ready for bed. She was still crying, and on this night, her dreams weren't going to be as pleasant as previous nights. There would be no dreaming of Rainbow Dash tonight, only dreams of loneliness, and sadness.

The next morning came quickly but neither the rooster, nor the sunlight, could rouse Applejack. She just wanted to be left alone, a trait that was most unlike Applejack. If her brother hadn't been constantly shouting to her from downstairs, she probably would've stayed in bed all day. She hurried downstairs to see Big Macintosh, who was coincidentally waiting for her at the foot of the stairs.
"Your friends are here sis."
He stepped aside to reveal Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Twilight. All of which looked worried, except for Pinkie Pie, who looked a combination of worried and happiness.
"What're y'all doin' here at this time?
The ponies were obviously distressed about something, and it showed in their speech. Each of them spoke a part of a full sentence, before another member of the little group cut them off and continued.
"Applejack." murmured Fluttershy.
"It's Rainbow Dash…" explained Twilight.
"She's…" said Rarity softly.
"Missing!" screeched Pinkie Pie in more enthusiastic tone than the rest.
Applejack just stood there, mouth agape. All she could think of was how bad things were, and how much worse it could get…