Author's Note: We're on the final part of Chapter 2. So far, the Apple Spectrum is a total of 102 pages on OpenOffice after you cut out all of the Author's Notes. A total of 57,862 words. Damn bro(ny), that's like, really long. And I'm not even done Chapter 2... OUT OF NINE CHAPTERS. And these are the shorter chapters...

Special thanks to user Civille/Bellum_Civille as my editor. Please check out his stories, especially the Pinkie-verse and Old Friends.

Chapter 2.10:

Swimming and The Friendship Report

Rainbow touched down just at the edge of the lake near the small dock as she dropped her towel onto the ground, looking back into the orchard's trails spotting Applejack booking it double-time towards the dock. Rainbow smirked as she so cleverly never specified the rules of their race. Applejack was panting up a storm when she ran up, still a bit exhausted from earlier. She finally trotted right next to Rainbow and stared at the cyan pegasus with angered eyes. She loosened her towel, letting it slide onto the wood next to Rainbow's towel. She pushed her stetson off her head with her hoof and shot daggers at Rainbow who was snorting in a pitiful attempt to hide laughter.

"Ah 'spose ya didn't really say what kinda race we'd be havin' so ah have nopony t' blame but m'self." Applejack said, letting out a sigh.

Rainbow pumped a hoof into the air, grinning at a technical win.

"Hyes! I should talk to Twilight more about this technical stuff." Rainbow said.

Applejack let out a small chuckle as she set her stetson down on her towel. Rainbow was busy posing, letting the wind blow through her mane and tail. Applejack shook her head, stepped forward and let out a sigh. She spun around, leaned on her forelegs and pressed her backlegs against Rainbow's rump.

"Huhn?" Rainbow said, looking over in Applejack's direction.

Applejack pushed quickly, causing Rainbow to let out a cry of surprise as she tumbled off of the dock into the water. She hit it with a splash sending water onto the dock, a bit landing on Applejack's coat. It was a decent cold, the nice refreshment to her otherwise exhausted self. It sent a few shivers down her spine as the few drops landed on her. A few seconds later, Rainbow resurfaced and began treading in the water. She gave Applejack a cold stare before dog paddling over to the edge of the dock. Placing her forehooves on the dock's edge, she pulled herself onto the dock; setting her back left hoof on the dock and pushed her whole self onto the end. She shook off, sending a few cold drops of water in all directions. Applejack raised a hoof, closing one eye to prevent water from bugging her eyes.

"Okay, I guess I deserved that." Rainbow said as she stopped shaking, her mane and tail frizzy and damp.

Applejack chuckled as she looked over at the damp pegasus.

"Ah reckon ya did, 'Dashie'." Applejack said as she walked over to the edge and sat down, leting her backhooves dip into the water.

"Well I'll try to fly slowly next time. Maybe even backwards so we can still talk." Rainbow said with sarcasm pouring out in mass numbers.

Applejack giggled while mentally telling herself to never give Rainbow the opportunity. Next time, she's getting the rope out. Rainbow looked over and smiled as she spotted Applejack. It's a smile of deviousness. She quietly cantered over to Applejack, just a few feet away and she stood directly behind her.

"Y'know, ah was thinkin', we need to have more days like this." Applejack said, oblivious.

Rainbow balanced on her backlegs and placed her hooves on Applejack's back, being careful to not bug her golden mane. Applejack however reacted too soon as she spun around, causing Rainbow to lose her balance as she attempted to push Applejack. Applejack reached around and grabbed one of Rainbow's forelegs and attempted to yank her over her shoulder into the water. Rainbow placed her other leg down and attempted to pull back with her entire body. Applejack however never lost her grip nor did she so much as budge. Rainbow extended her wings in a last ditch effort to win this tug of war when Applejack reached over with her other hoof and grabbed Rainbow's other foreleg and yanked. Both ponies tumbled into the water, Rainbow letting out a shrill cry as she once again fell into the cold lake.

Applejack felt the chills of the water assaulting her body from every angle, conflicting with her slightly sweaty figure. It was the perfect sensation after a nice, hard day's work. She released Rainbow's forelegs, all the while Rainbow flopped around like a fish out of water in the water. Rainbow kicked her legs as she resurfaced, taking another breath.

"Ack, okay, I deserved that too." Rainbow said, spitting out a bit of water.

Applejack stayed under a few more seconds before kicking her legs and resurfacing next to Rainbow. Rainbow let out a laugh while Applejack snorted, smiling.

"Ah, Rainbow, where would we be without ya?" Applejack said, half sarcasm.

Rainbow looked upwards to think, Applejack facehoofing when she realized the cyan pegasus will take that question seriously.

"Stuck on the otherside of that gorge because I doubt Fluttershy would have fixed the bridge." Rainbow rolled her eyes at the thought of Fluttershy being brave... but then again, she has had moments of bravery that put her to shame.

"Ah shoulda known ya would take that question seriously." Applejack said, letting out a quick sigh.

"If you're dealing with me, you should expect everything to be serious." she looked over at Applejack with a serious expression. "This mare means serious business." she pointed to herself, her pupils shrinking a bit. "This future Wonderbolt is serious business. Ya got that Apples?" Rainbow said, tossing her two forelegs into the air, treading water with just her backlegs.

Applejack chuckled. "Sure, whatever ya say, sugarcube." Applejack said, leaning backwards and proceeding to backstroke out further into the deeper waters of the lake.

Rainbow broke her serious expression and quickly released the laugh that had built up. She took a breath and dived down into the water, furiously kicking her backlegs while bringing her forelegs in front of her and parting the water. It wasn't a proper swimming technique but it worked well enough for Rainbow. She opened her eyes and looked upwards, seeing a shadowy golden blotch of colour almost directly above her. Rainbow put on a sly smile and swam upwards, pushing her forehooves above her while using her wings to help swim. She gained as much speed as possible (2 kph at the most) and placed her forehooves on Applejack's rump, pushing upwards causing the golden mare to flip backwards into the water.

Rainbow resurfaced while Applejack dived down backwards into the water due to Rainbow's little stunt. She flipped herself around, cursing herself mentally for allowing herself to be pushed. She resurfaced before her lack of a proper breath of air became too much of a problem and she saw Rainbow a few feet away. She splashed some water at the pegasus. Rainbow closed her eyes briefly as the splash ended and opened them to see Applejack swimming away at Olympic speeds.

Rainbow grit her teeth and began to sidestroke her way after Applejack, preferring the sidestroke to the forward crawl. She is nowhere near catching up to Applejack. She extended her wings, deciding to use her own physical strength to ignore the tiring effects of using wet wings in the water and began to use her wings as an extra set of arms, propelling herself forward. She already felt herself getting tired from her determination to catch Applejack, her wings being the source. She decided that there is no chance she'd catch Applejack using her current method... so Rainbow began the forward crawl.

The two ponies came to the centre of the lake, going at paces that would win them first place in the Pony Olympics. Rainbow was slowly catching up to Applejack, using both her physical prowess plus her lighter Pegasus body to gain that little extra edge. Applejack is getting slightly disoriented, having to keep dipping her face into the water all the while her ears are getting muffled from the constantly moving water. She is getting exhausted once more, opting to continue at her steady pace as she is certain Rainbow's far behind.

Until she dipped her head under the water during a stroke and saw rainbow-tinted water. When she pulled her head out of the water to look to her left, Rainbow's passing her. She once again began to overexert herself in an attempt to overtake Rainbow once more.

Rainbow however began to grit her teeth. She's trying so hard to beat Applejack for no reason once more this week, but now that she is in it, she might as well finish it. She is satisfied with her swimming, noticing that she is in fact, ahead of the golden Earth Pony. She did note the fact that she is getting tired, having advantages and disadvantages with swimming due to her body structure.

Applejack would have none of that. She is reaching her limit, however. She was unable to get faster, only staying at the same speed as Rainbow who is still ahead by a few feet. Neither felt like letting up, but... Rainbow couldn't keep it up. Her body ached, her wings were now acting as an anchor due to her exhaustion hitting her full force... this is one race she realized she will lose.

Applejack kept up her pace, her more natural Earth Pony body not falling victim to the exhaustion Rainbow is experiencing nor did she have two soaked wings acting as an anchor. Rainbow eventually was overtaken by Applejack... then they hit the opposite shore. Applejack ran out panting a bit as she ran onto the sandy shores before running onto the grass, shaking herself damp. Rainbow practically crawled out of the water, panting more heavily as her dripping wet wings dragged on the ground, picking up sand which dirtied her wings.

Applejack turned around with an uncontrollable grin on her face before being stopped as she saw Rainbow; a defeated, devastated and exhausted look on her face. Rainbow grit her teeth and closed her eyes, trying to shut everything out to catch her breath. She allowed herself to pant heavily and Applejack couldn't help but feel a little guilty. She trotted over to Rainbow and placed a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder and rubbed her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

Rainbow felt Applejack's hoof and thought quickly. Applejack swam the entire lake and even now, she's still not as exhausted as Rainbow. She's an Earth Pony; built to have high endurance and be one with nature in a sense. Rainbow isn't. Rainbow let out a few shudders as she attempted to hold back a mess of sobs.

This was the bump in the relatively straight road of the past few days; the one event that placed Rainbow in a state of despair. Applejack noticed the few shudders, unable to see the cyan mare's face. Applejack felt an odd feeling down her spine... a mix of surprise, shock and guilt once more.

"Darn it... I've tried my best to step into your shoes, Applejack." Rainbow raised her head and looked directly at Applejack; the aforementioned mare unable to tell if the cyan pegasus was crying due to the fact she is still dripping wet... but it sure did look like it. "I worked up a sweat, tried to actively work like an Earth Pony and you still beat me." Rainbow said. She turned her head and stared at her wings. Applejack motioned to speak but Rainbow cut her off. "It's these wings, Applejack. It's why we can't be equals, why I constantly use my wings in our games. Without them, I can't win." Rainbow said, for once in her life, feeling resentment towards being a pegasus.

Envy is a terrible curse. It damages friendships, drives ponies to extreme lengths to match whatever is their object of jealousy has. In Rainbow's case, it drove her to resent herself. Being a Pegasus Pony gave her flight, the ability to control the weather, the power to create Sonic Rainbooms, and anchor her performance with all Earth Pony activities.

"Rainbow, don't go bustin' yerself 'cause ya were born with wings. Flyin' is an amazin' gift, one that many Earth Ponies themselves want badly." Applejack said.

Rainbow shook her head. "I don't want these wings. They're the reason why we get into fights. I challenge you, I discover I can't win fair and square, I use my wings, you call me out on cheating, we have ourselves a bitter argument." Rainbow said, stepping back as she shook off Applejack's hoof off.

"Wait Rainbow, don' say that. We're equals..." Applejack trailed off near the end, realizing the possibility that no, they aren't equals. Rainbow shook her head again and proceeded to shake herself dry. "Rainbow, we're friends. Don't belittle yerself over a lost swim. Ah jus' had a head start." Applejack said, slowly moving towards Rainbow to try and comfort her.

"No, Applejack. I'm physically weaker than you. I'm an athlete but as a Pegasus, I'm not able to keep up with you no matter how hard I try." Rainbow quickly stepped backwards, backhooves getting hit by the water as the wind blew it onshore. "I'm sorry, I just need to think it over." Rainbow said as she extended her wings.

"Rainbow, ah..." Applejack went to say, but stopped. She only stared at Rainbow's eyes which returned the same stare; understanding. It was best to just let Rainbow think it over. Any attempt at comforting would only serve to make it seem Applejack felt pity for the cyan pegasus. "Ah'll see you t'night, Rainbow." Applejack said, smiling.

Rainbow stared at Applejack, keeping her saddened expression before smiling through her temporary misery. She nodded. "You're a great friend, Applejack. I'll see you later." Rainbow said, flapping her wings as she took flight, not her usual takeoff but a more humble, slow takeoff.

Applejack couldn't help but smile. She wanted to talk to Rainbow, convince her there is nothing wrong; to be honest but Applejack's mind said something else. Honestly, Rainbow isn't one to sit down and listen to somepony else for help. Applejack just watched as the cyan pegasus flew off at a steady pace. Applejack never averted her gaze, merely watching that rainbow mane and tail blow in the wind before disappearing over a hill in Ponyville's direction. Applejack sighed, still smiling and began the long trot around the lake back to the dock.

Rainbow never did use her towel.

Rainbow touched down atop one of the many light clouds floating above Ponyville, in a rather somber attitude. She lay down stomach first, stretching her legs out as she plopped her head atop a mound in the fluffy cloud. She let out a sigh, having worn out her petty sobs of jealousy. Her eyes were slightly puffy and now, she just felt disappointed she ended hers and Applejack's swim time. There was at least an hour until dinner at the Apple Family house. She shuffled her body forward on the cloud, allowing her forelegs to dangle off the edge and her head to peer down into the streets of Ponyville. She had a dull gaze, half caring about what went down in the streets of Ponyville.

She spotted Lyra walking into a cafe, Bonbon lying in wait. She saw the mail pony's at work. The air courier, Derpy, flying around in swerves in the general direction of Fluttershy's house, carrying a box on her back. She looked towards Ponyville Town Square, seeing Twilight Sparkle and her assistant, Spike, at the fountain. It was barely visible but Spike had his arms crossed, Twilight was rambling on while she fiddled with the water, probably taking a sample or something along the lines. Rainbow looked towards the Carousal Boutique, seeing that Applebloom had left Sweet Apple Acres and stood outside the Boutique with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, Rarity pacing back and forth letting out a frustrated shriek now and then. Rainbow stared for a few seconds as Rarity seemingly chastised the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Rainbow snorted at the thought of the Crusaders doing some outrageous thing.

She stopped staring and thought. She spent the last week being something she wasn't: an Earth Pony. When one event made her realize that she doesn't have the traits of an Earth Pony, all that confidence and excitement crumbled. She didn't want to admit it, but she was jealous. Full on jealous. Jealous of Earth Ponies. Jealous of her friend.

Her best friend.

Rainbow let out a long sigh as she stared down, letting her eyes stare directly down at the town below. She spotted one thing that stood out against the mess of colours: an erratic, bouncing pink pony being followed by a barely visible small blob of green. Rainbow followed as the two blobs zig-zagged through Ponyville towards Sugarcube Corner. Rainbow let out another sigh, and allowed herself to roll off the cloud directly below.

She didn't bother standing up and merely rolled until she fell off the cloud. She lazily fell towards the Earth, nose first. Pinkie looked up and gasped; just before Rainbow slammed into the ground, her wings extended outwards and she slowed down. The landing was still terrible as it was slightly hard on her hooves. She winced as a quick jolt of pain shot through her legs but she soon stood up. Pinkie's expression returned to her smiley face even when Rainbow opened her eyes. She looked annoyed, or angered at her. Rainbow was actually just too tired to try and express an emotion, even if she was annoyed or sad at the recent events.

"Hiya Rainbow Dash! What'cha do~oin?" Pinkie asked in her typical Pinkie Pie attitude.

Gummy walked up behind Pinkie and latched onto her tail. Rainbow almost chuckled; Gummy just mindlessly followed along through Pinkie's antics. Heh, owners really are like their pets.

"I... uh, just came back from Sweet Apple Acres. Raced Applejack... left in a fit of..." she paused, Pinkie loosing her wide smile and simply went for a smaller smile. "... sadness." Rainbow said.

Pinkie let out a loud gasp, her pupils shrinking. She stayed frozen like that, no sound leaving her mouth as she processed what was just said.

"Dashie? Race? SAD!" Pinkie said, leaning closer to Rainbow's muzzle with her own on each word.

Rainbow averted her eyes, looking to the side as she let out a long sigh. "Yeah. Sad." Rainbow said. She looked up as Pinkie stopped staring at Rainbow, her eyes darting back and forth as her face contorted into the serious Pinkie face. Rainbow let out one last sight. "Wanna go to Sugarcube Corner so we can talk about it?" Rainbow offered.

Pinkie looked up at Rainbow, her train of "thought" stopping. She nodded and a smile crept up on her face. "Okie doki loki! Laughter is the best medicine as they say, and as Pinkie Pie says, there is no place for laughter like Sugarcube Corner!" Pinkie said as her trademark Pinkie Pie grin showed itself.

This brought a smile to Rainbow's face as she flew into the air, hovering after Pinkie who proceeded to turn and start bouncing towards Sugarcube Corner.

A minute or so passed, Pinkie and Rainbow exchanging small talk with each other regarding usual stuff; how their day was going, how their week was going, any new tricks, any new pranks, the usual stuff. Arriving at Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie bounced in during the post-school hangouts. Fillies and colts hung out, buying a few sweets before heading home for dinner.

"Oh, hello there, Pinkie Pie." Mrs. Cake said as she gave a filly and her friends a small bag of cupcakes.

Pinkie Pie bounced towards the staircase, waving as a few fillies left the sweet shop, Rainbow holding the door open.

"Hellooooo, Mrs. Cake! I'm sorry but Rainbow wants to talk about something super duper important so I can't help right now!" Pinkie said as she approached the stairs.

Rainbow trotted after Pinkie Pie. Mrs. Cake nodded understandingly. "That's okay, Pinkie Pie. While you're upstairs, could you keep it down entering your room? Cup and Pound Cake are taking a nap." Mrs. Cake said as she waited for a colt to select a sweet. "Oh, and hello, Rainbow Dash." she waved at Rainbow whom returned the wave.

"Oka~ay, is Mr. Cake upstairs?" Pinkie asked as she slowly ascended the staircase, making each hoofstep as quiet as possible.

"Yes dear." Mrs. Cake said as the colt asked for a cheddar scone.

"Okay, I'll be down when I'm done." Pinkie said as she sped up the stairs, somehow making absolutely no noise as she did so.

Rainbow ignored it, noting that trying to understand Pinkie is harder than trying to join the Wonderbolts. She hovered up the stairs after Pinkie, noticing Gummy still holding onto Pinkie's tail. Reaching the top of the stairs, Pinkie tip-toed towards her room at an impressive speed... almost like a Ninja Pony. Pinkie carefully opened her door, Rainbow flying in after the shuffling pink pony. Rainbow flew in and closed the door behind her, Pinkie Pie bouncing into the air and landing on her bed. Rainbow landed on the ground and trotted over. Gummy let go and began to bounce around on the bed the same time Pinkie decided to start rolling. Rainbow trotted over and sat on the edge of the bed. This is when Pinkie stopped rolling and Gummy simply shuffled over to Pinkie's pillows, sliding under them.

"Alright. Dashie, why's your smile all upside down?" Pinkie said as she made a smile and twisted her head upside down.

Rainbow pondered the words she could use before sighing once more.

"Applejack and I are friends... that should be known by now, but we compete all the time." Rainbow started, pausing to make sure Pinkie was listening. Pinkie nodded. "So anyways, lately, Applejack and I have been doing some things together. Competing and such. Today, we decided to finish bucking early so we could compete again. We haven't in a while since we've been busy with Apple Spectrum stuff." Rainbow said.

"So you lost? Dashie, I don't mean to be a meanie rude pants, but are you a sore loser?" Pinkie asked, unsure of how to word it.

Rainbow thought for a second, completely unsure of whether Pinkie spoke the truth. Is she a sore loser or is she really just jealous of Earth Ponies? She thought and looked over at Pinkie who still had her serious face on.

"I'm really not sure. I don't know if I'm a sore loser even if I did lose something that wasn't intentionally supposed to be a competition..." she paused again, looking back down at her forehooves. "We were supposed to just have a nice, friendly swim at the lake near Sweet Apple Acres after we played Horseshoes and ran through the orchards. After a bit of messing around, Applejack splashed me and began swimming towards the middle of the lake. I decided to chase after it and before you knew it, we began to race. I was lagging behind because I wasn't using the best swim stroke so I changed. I began to catch up and I even overtook Applejack but... I got tired. My wings were beginning to hinder me in my exhaustion and Applejack overtook me. After all this, I realized..." she paused, attempting to hold back a few sobs.

Pinkie simply listened sympathetically. She placed a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder.

"I've acted like an Earth Pony this past week. I saw things from Applejack's... or your perspective. What it was like to work an honest day's hard work, to see things that you or Applejack would have to walk far to see such as the view of Ponyville from Ponyville Cliffs. After this race, I realized... I'm not an Earth Pony and I never will be. I can never be Applejack's equal. Am I a sore loser or am I truly jealous of Earth Ponies?" she looked over at Pinkie Pie, allowing a few tears to drop. "Am I jealous of my friend, Applejack?"

Pinkie said nothing for a second, allowing a brief silence to befall the two ponies. Pinkie leaned forward, wrapping her forelegs around Rainbow's neck in a hug. Pinkie patted, rubbing Rainbow's mane. Rainbow merely leaned her head against Pinkie's neck, letting a few sobs escape.

"Jeez, I've been a mushy pile of sobbing mess this week... I've just felt so odd this week." Rainbow said, lazily wrapping her forelegs around Pinkie.

"It's alright, Dashie. I won't tell anypony. I Pinkie promise." Pinkie released Rainbow from the hug, Rainbow doing the same.

"Thanks, Pinks." Rainbow said, rubbing her eyes. She looked around, letting her eyes wander as she waited to see if Pinkie had anything else she was going to add.

Pinkie did. "There are times I wish I was a Pegasus." Pinkie said, staring at the ceiling with wide eyes. Rainbow looked over at Pinkie. "Yes, a Pegasus Pony. Maybe if I was a Pegasus, I could create Sonic Rainbooms and create rainbows so everybody I know could smile. Maybe if I was, I could have become friends with you and Gilda. I could have been totally awesome and you and Fluttershy and I could have went to Flight School together. I just want to be able to make my friends smile. With wings, I could get to places faster, help plan parties..." she sighed, leaning against her pillows as Gummy crawled out and onto Pinkie's tummy. "Sometimes, I don't like being an Earth Pony. Maybe I could have smiled from day one instead of stayed on that no-smiles Rock Farm. I would have had different parents and a different childhood but..." she paused. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't born an Earth Pony, would I?" Pinkie said.

Rainbow's eyes widened. She looked at Pinkie who obviously hasn't met the same revelation as Rainbow. She let out a chuckle. Pinkie looked over at Rainbow, a smile errupting on her face as Rainbow laughed.

"Pinkie, thanks for the talk. Sorry, but I have to go tell another Earth Pony the situation." Rainbow said, rolling off of Pinkie's bed.

Pinkie let out a small giggle. "Heehee, okie doki loki, Dashie! I'm glad this talk made you feel better even if I have no idea when or how the conversation went right." Pinkie said, indulging herself in her own confusion.

Rainbow laughed. "Don't worry about it Pinkie, just concentrate on the fact that you helped me." she trotted over to Pinkie's balcony, opening the doors.

Pinkie rolled off of her bed, giving Rainbow a smile. "Alrighty, Dashie! I'll see you later!" Pinkie said.

Rainbow waved. "See ya, Pinkie." she walked onto the balcony, closing the doors before taking off towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack lay on her bed, resting a bit before dinner in a few minutes. She was worried about her friend; pride was everything to that pony but Rainbow did know when to put it away in favour of assisting the current situation. Applejack studied the dust floating around in her room, the window wide open letting the stiff breeze of the evening give her room a bit of a more natural scent and noise. A few hoofsteps were heard, big and clunky. The door to Applejack's room swung open and Applejack tilted her head to view the entering pony.

"Dinner's ready in five." Big Macintosh peered his head just passed the door, well enough to see Applejack.

"Thank ya, big brother." Applejack said.

Big Macintosh backed out, closing the door and Applejack heard his hoofsteps as he trotted back downstairs. Applejack turned her head, staring back up at the ceiling. She began to think once more. This truly was the calm before the storm. The next two weeks are going to be training in various fields. She wondered if Rainbow will be actively part of it, what with her new bit of sadness. More hoofsteps. Not clunky like Big Mac. The door swung open and Applejack expected Applebloom but... she did leave earlier again to play with her friends. Unless she just got back. Instead, Rainbow stepped through, and looked over at Applejack. Applejack immediately sat up in bed and felt a tingle of relief and nervousness hit her. Rainbow was here, but she could say anything. Rainbow looked at Applejack for a second before letting out a large smile as she saw the golden mane. Applejack smiled at this.

"Ah take it ya feel better?" Applejack asked.

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, much better. I moped for a bit but then I saw Pinkie so we talked, she asked me a question so I then flew here." Rainbow said, abridging the story to an unbelievable extent.

"So...?" Applejack asked, turning to let her backlegs dangle off of the edge of her bed.

Rainbow walked to Applejack's bed, sitting next to the golden mare.

"Applejack, sorry for leaving you back there." Rainbow said.

Applejack shook her head. "Nuh uh, no need t' apologize, Rainbow. Ah completely understand." she leaned back on her bed. "Sometime, we all jus' need t' stop an think some thing's over... alone. Ah'm not one fer goin' it alone but sometimes, it's what we all need." Applejack said.

Rainbow shook her head this time. "Loyalty is being there for your friends when you need it and when I needed a friend to be there for me, I decided to go alone. I still wound up going to Pinkie because, yeah; I needed somepony to talk to... but that somepony should have been you, Applejack." Rainbow said.

Applejack thought for a second before nodding. "A'ight, ah can understan' that." she said, placing her forehooves behind her head and crossing her hindlegs.

Rainbow hopped up from the bed and walked to the centre of the room and smiled.

"Spike, take a letter." Rainbow said.

There was silence. Applejack sat up and stared at Rainbow.

"Uh, sugarcube, Spike ain't here." she said.

Rainbow turned towards Applejack and thought for a second. She facehoofed. "Heh, oh yeah..." she turned towards the door and let silence overtake the atmosphere for a second. "Applejack, take a letter." she said.

Applejack cocked her head, smirking with a raised eyebrow. "What was that, sugarcube?" she asked.

Rainbow sighed. "C'mon, it's like a rule. Somepony else has to write this while one speaks." she said, turning to look at Applejack with a sheepish grin.

Applejack snorted before letting a natural chuckle escape. "Alright, fine. Ya win." she stood up and walked over to her desk, grabbing line paper and some ink and a quill, setting a blank sheet down and dipped the quills' tip into the ink.

"*ahem* Dear Princess Celestia,

Today, I learned something extremely valuable about myself and about life in general. I lived like an Earth Pony these past few days to the point where I saw the joys of acting like an Earth Pony but today, after losing a race (that shouldn't have started) against my good friend, Applejack (who is also an Earth Pony), I became jealous of Earth Ponies and resented my Pegasus wings. However, a talk with my other good friend, Pinkie Pie led me to realize this: if I hadn't been born a Pegasus Pony, where would the world be? Who would have done that Sonic Rainboom as a filly, giving my friends and I our Cutie Marks? To shorten, think about what would be different before wishing you were somepony else.

Your faithful future Wonderbolt, Rainbow Dash."

Applejack finished writing, not writing as well as Spike but enough to read the letter. Applejack wiped the tip of the quill off on a napkin and closed the ink and placed both ink and quill away. She rolled up the letter and held it up.

"Alright, send it." Rainbow said, not staring in Applejack's direction at all.

Applejack stared, letting a bit of silence overtake the atmosphere once more. Her pupils grew smaller as she looked at the room, Rainbow still in that position, hardly moving. Applejack brought the rolled up letter to her mouth and blew on it, loud enough that it could be heard.

"Alright!" Rainbow said, pumping a hoof into the air.

Applejack set the letter down on her desk, unsure whether or not Rainbow knew she wasn't Spike. She made a mental note to have Spike deliver that soon. Applejack trotted over to Rainbow's side.

"So yer no longer... ah..." Applejack fiddled, pausing to find the right word.

Rainbow nudged Applejack in the side. "No, no. I'm not jealous anymore. If I wasn't born the way I was, many things would be much different and I'm glad with what I have. I have a good job, I have good friends and I have the best friend a pony could ask for." Rainbow looked at Applejack, smiling while placing a hoof on Applejack's left shoulder.

Applejack smiled. "Thank ya kindly, Rainbow. Yer a great friend t' have too. Ah mean, all circle of friends need one hothead." Applejack chuckled at her joke.

Rainbow rolled her eyes, smiling as she gave Applejack a minor shrug. "Oh hush you. You're the stubborn one." Rainbow said, placing her hoof on the ground.

"Ah 'spose..." Applejack said, looking down at her hooves while she gave the ground a weak kick. She looked at Rainbow. "So, what say we go eat?"

Rainbow nodded. "Sounds good. I re~eally enjoy the awesome food here." Rainbow said as the two mares exited Applejack's room, closing the door.

Approaching the top of the stairs, Rainbow looked over at Applejack. "It's going to be a tough game, won't it?" Rainbow asked, with a nervous but happy smile. "The Market Harvest, I mean?"

Applejack wanted so desperately to say no, but she knew all too well. She didn't want to say yes... so she decided to word it in a fancy way.

"Don't think ya can handle it?" Applejack said with a devious smile.

Rainbow snorted. "I may not have as much endurance and stamina as you Earth Ponies, but your advertisement campaign would fall apart worse than Twilight's mind at trying to decipher Pinkie Pie." she retorted.

Applejack chuckled, and thought, looking at the wall before looking back at Rainbow.

"Care to make a bet on that?"

Rainbow smiled.

"I win and I give you my trust." Rainbow grinned.

"Ah win an ya give me free VIP tickets to yer shows when ya become a Wonderbolt." Applejack replied.

Both ponies raised a hoof, spat into it, and slapped them together; spit-shake.

"It's on, Applejack."

Author's Note: And so we conclude Chapter 2 of the Apple Spectrum. Next we have a lot, lot more chaos. Chapter 1 is essentially signing up, Chapter 2 is training, Chapter 3 could be considered the Qualifying Rounds... and this is where things get real. Please be on the look out for Chapter 3 and while you're at it, read my other fic; Hidden Depths. Summary on my Profile Page

Special thanks to user Civille/Bellum_Civille as my editor. Please check out his stories, especially the Pinkie-verse and Old Friends.