Mistress Do Well: Fractured Elements
by milesprower06

Intoxication

Twilight spent most of the next week in the library.

Half of her was downright furious with Pinkie. While she had experienced little inklings of doubt throughout the kidnapping, her first considerable hesitation was after the piercings and wing clippings, but Pinkie was the first one to notice something seriously wrong, and she just ran away. She didn't go for help or alert any of the others. Twilight was the only one to return the next day, and if she hadn't...

She didn't want to think about it, and with how fragile things still were, she didn't want to derail anything by yelling at her. Besides, Pinkie's fears were justified. By that point, Rarity's sadism had gone full tilt, and to her, both Rainbow and Fluttershy were worth nothing more than their feathers for her dresses. If she had been caught, there was no doubt in Twilight's mind that there would have been three pets instead of two.

The front door opened, and in came Rainbow from another day at work.

"Hey there, Dash. How was work?"

"Lookin' forward to a day off tomorrow, that's for sure. Anything ready for dinner?"

"No, not yet, but you're welcome to fix up whatever you like. I didn't know what you wanted tonight."

Rainbow took the invitation to go into the kitchen and begin boiling a pot of water.

She hadn't been home ten minutes before there was a knock at the door. Twilight put down her book and went to see who it was. Opening it, she was greeted by Applejack.

"Evenin' Twilight. I hope ya don't mind, but I, uh... I brought a little something for Rainbow."

"Sure, come on in."

The 'little something' turned out to be an entire barrel of the Apple Family cider, which Applejack promptly rolled in on its side. By this time, Rainbow had come out of the kitchen to see who the visitor was.

"Cider season isn't for another two weeks, though."

"'Ah know that. This isn't a belated birthday gift or nothin', this is just...well, my way of startin' to make amends. Free of charge, two weeks before cider season even begins. Nopony else did any work towards this barrel. 'Ah bucked, inspected, and pressed every single apple that went into this barrel."

Applejack lifted it up to the table, got a tap out from her saddlebag, and proceeded to hook it up.

"So, enjoy."

As she turned to leave, Rainbow spoke up.

"AJ, where are you going?"

"Home," AJ said, as if the answer wasn't completely obvious.

"Twilight and I aren't gonna be able to go through this whole barrel. Stay and have a few drinks."

This set off a red flag with Twilight.

"Uh, Rainbow, actually, I probably shouldn't, uh..."

"Come on, Twilight. One drink isn't gonna kill ya. It's been forever since I've had this stuff, and I want some ponies to enjoy it with. Now come on, go get some mugs."

Silently, Twilight went to the kitchen and got three mugs. AJ took them from her magical grasp, and filled them up, handing them out.

'Rainbow's right,' Twilight thought, as they clinked their mugs together. One drink wasn't going to do any harm.

It had been more than one drink, to say the least. AJ kept matching Rainbow mug for mug, and finally having ponies in the library, having somepony to converse with, made Twilight not want to be left out, so she did her best to keep up. It had started out with some friendly banter, but slowly but surely, the past began to rear it's undesirable head, and soon enough, the elephant in the room was out in the open, with AJ and Rainbow sitting on the floor against the table, almost directly under the barrel, and Twilight off to the side against a bookshelf.

"What would you have done?" AJ drunkenly asked in response to Rainbow's asking them for alternatives to kidnapping her.

"What we're doing right now. Talk. Talk to me. As a group."

The farmer offered no immediate response to this.

"What, did you think I wouldn't listen?" Rainbow pressed, taking another swallow of her eleventh mug of cider.

"Took you an awful long time to listen down there, with the whip and everything..."

AJ glanced at her eleventh mug, and continued her answer.

"But lets go your route. Alright. We talked to ya, and ya don't listen. Then what?"

"Sever the friendship. Ever think of that before kidnapping me? Yeah, kidnapping me and torturing me to save our friendship is WAAAY better than simply cutting ties with me."

AJ took another swig, already tired of this argument.

"What do you want from me?"

"I didn't do anything to you directly. I want to know why me neglecting my commitments to other ponies made YOU be one of the most sadistic down there."

"Was right dishonest what you were doin'. I don't tolerate liars under normal circumstances but seeing the constant disappointment on everypony's faces....I couldn't take that no more."

“So you kidnap and try to make sex slaves out of every liar you come across? Bet that works out real great. No wonder we haven't heard from Flim and Flam again.”

"Ya know darn well all that was Rarity's idea!"

"Yet you went through with it. Seems like an awfully dishonest thing to do to someone you consider a friend, 'honest Applejack.'"

AJ reeled back from the comment.

"So what was it huh?" Dash pressed, knowing she had struck a nerve with the stubborn farmer. "What was it really that had you enjoying your power over me so much? Or was it just that you simply wanted to be better than me?"

"Damn it, Rainbow. Fine, I was jealous of you! You have it so easy. You get up, move a few clouds around, and spend most of the afternoon napping, instead of spending that time keeping your promises. Meanwhile I'm at the farm, lucky if I get all my chores done before dinner! So there! At the time, I used my jealousy as an excuse to be unbelievably cruel to you. Is that what you wanted to hear?! I'm havin' a real hard time living with that. And it don't matter where I go. Whether here, or Dodge, or anywhere. I'll never be able to own up to what I did, or how I relished the feeling of finally breaking you. Truth is, you didn't deserve one bit of what we did to you.”

Applejack paused to point at the barrel of cider.

“That's one barrel. Barely 500 bits worth. I could give you the entire seasons worth, even bankrupt the farm, and that still wouldn't be just retribution. I've never liked takin somethin' I haven't earned, and that includes your forgiveness."

Applejack finished the last swallow of cider in her mug.

"Besides, I was done after that, after what Rarity said about where to put my earring. I wasn't gonna continue if she couldn't respect those helping her."

AJ barely noticed it in time, but managed to duck just before a mug flew inches above where her head just was, and shattered against the edge of the table.

After being showered with ceramic shards, they looked to Twilight, who had gotten up from where she was sitting.

"You can't be serious. Are you kidding me? First Pinkie, then you? You weren't coming back either? Because of one stupid remark? Are you fucking kidding me?!?"

Rainbow and Applejack were speechless as Twilight angrily wobbled towards them, unbalanced.

"I thought we had all agreed that it was for her own good. And yet one by one we were going to abandon her down there. So if I didn't come back, she would've been left alone to Rarity's sadism? Is that the friendship we were trying to save?!?!"

Applejack winced as Twilight screamed at her.

"You fucking cowards. Pinkie didn't go for help, and you were more concerned about your damned earth pony pride than you were with the friend we were 'helping'!"

Twilight shoved Applejack against the table on the last word of her sentence.

"Twilight, I-"

"Get out." Twilight said, aggressively moving forward, making AJ get to her feet and back up towards the door.

"But-"

"Get out! Come back when you realize that her forgiveness isn't something you can earn, and you learn to accept it and move forward!

Twilight gave AJ a final shove out of the front door and slammed it closed with her magic.

Awkward silence fell over the library for the next 10 seconds as Twilight glared angrily at the front door.

The silence was broken by a hiccup coming out of Rainbow's mouth.

"I...I gotta say, I can tell why you did this to yourself for all those months." she muttered, taking another swallow of cider.

"Do you love me, Rainbow?" Twilight asked, turning back towards the hammered Pegasus slouched against the table.

"If not, why are you living here? Just to tease me by sleeping across from me every night? And if so, are you gonna start showing it? I agreed when you said to take it one day at a time, but it's been a month. Can you give me anything? Having you here, so close, yet so far away, is torture."

Twilight stopped in her tracks, realizing what she had just said. A moment later, she was laughing at the sheer irony of her choice of words.

"Oh who am I kidding? There's nothing of me left to love, Dash. A failed Princess and an expelled student. All that's left is the librarian who's shunned by the entire town. Go...go and find somepony worthy of your love."

She swayed, first left, then right, then fell forward, rolling onto her left side, 3 feet from Rainbow, and went still.

Snores escaped from her mouth five seconds later.

Rainbow sat there, not moving, taking in the sight of her passed out roommate. Letting out another hiccup, she finished her mug, then finally decided that she should probably go get something to eat, and got up to go to the kitchen.

She didn't make it ten feet before falling over, and the only sounds in the library came from the two passed out, snoring ponies.

The first thing to register in Rainbow's mind was the splitting headache as she awoke with a groan.

The second, was the sounds of vomiting coming from the bathroom.

With another groan, Rainbow slowly got to her hooves.

"No, no, no..." she moaned, fairly sure of what she had caused last night.

She wobbled over to the bathroom, and sure enough found Twilight sitting in front of the toilet, the front half of her body leaned over the bowl.

"Twilight, are you okay?" she asked, as the alicorn slowly raised her head out of the toilet bowl.

"Nothing I'm not used to... Just been awhile, that's all."

"I'll get some bread..." the pegasus replied, turning to the kitchen, wincing at the morning light coming through the windows.

"Rainbow, stop... Wait."

Dash returned to the door way, dizzy.

"I'm...I'm sorry for what I said last night. I didn't mean it, it was just-"

"Twilight... Don't worry about it. I... I shouldn't have encouraged you to drink..."

Rainbow meant every word of that, as she made her way to the kitchen to grab the pack of bread. One, because she had completely ignored the fact that Twilight had been six months sober, and two... She couldn't quite remember half of what was said last night just yet.

She grabbed the bread off the counter, opened it, and stuffed two slices in her mouth and chewed and swallowed them as fast as she could. Better to swallow them as dry as possible so there's something to absorb the alcohol left in her stomach. She returned to the bathroom to find Twilight drinking from the sink faucet. She set the bread next to her.

"I'm gonna go make sure AJ made it home safely. I'll be back..." she muttered, before going to the last place she wanted to be at the moment; outside.

It was a short walk to the market, and saw Big Mac at the Apple Family kiosk, which he had taken over for the past year.

"Mornin' Rainbow," he greeted as she came up to the kiosk.

"Hey there, Big Mac. Did Applejack get home last night?"

"Eeyup," he affirmed with a nod. "We found her sleeping in the barn. Took her inside. Not much of a hangover, but then again, AJ's always been one to hold her liquor."

"That's good to hear."

"Hey, Rainbow. I need to tell you something..."

The door to AJ's room opened with a soft creak, and the farmer heard it click close before seeing Granny Smith come into view. From her position laying on the bed, she glanced at the clock, and saw that it was five past 1 pm.

"So I take it that gift of cider went over well?" the Apple family elder asked, coming up to AJ's bed. She didn't offer a response.

"Or...not?"

"Cider went over well enough, Granny."

"But that's not the problem, is it darlin'?"

"I don't think I can do this."

"Ain't like you to give up on somethin'"

"Ain't done nothing like this before."

"Now what would you be talking about? What you did to Rainbow, or accepting forgiveness for it?"

Applejack sat up, and turned to sit on the edge of her bed, facing her grandmother.

"Did they ever tell you what I did to her?" she asked, her voice starting to crack. Granny Smith shook her head.

"The investigators refused to tell us much of anythin', and you were near silent as the grave 'til the day you left."

"I whipped her, I tied her down, I raped her, and then... I... I watched as the others shocked her with a cattle prod, pierced her, and clipped her wings. Then, when she was broken, and crying harder than I heard anyone cry before... I was glad. I was glad and proud of my work."

"Lookin' to teach her a lesson about her ego, but it sounds like y'all needed the lesson too."

Applejack could not believe the lack of reaction from her grandmother. She had just told her how unspeakably cruel she had been and... She just sat there!

"Now why are you havin' such a hard time accepting that she wants to move past it, and help the rest of you do the same?"

"Even if I could earn it, what we did... What I did, was unforgivable."

"Who's to say it's something you can earn AJ? You could work the rest of your life to make up for what you did and none of it would mean a gosh darn thing if she didn't want to forgive you. You can't earn her forgiveness because it's not something that can be earned. It has to be given and accepted, only then can you truly begin to move past all this. You've been able to set your pride aside before, and you need to do it again now."

Granny Smith paused for a moment.

“Who died and put you in charge of deciding what is and isn't forgivable? I reckon there are plenty of ponies out there who'd agree with ya on that, but Rainbow Dash seems to think that's not the case. Shouldn't her opinion count for somethin'?'”

“I can't just...pretend it never happened.”

'Nopony's expectin' ya to, that's not how it works. Just because she forgives ya doesn't mean things will return to what they were before. It ain't 'forgive and forget' child. She wants to forgive ya and be able to start working towards what y'all had before, and it ain't like ya to shy away from work that needs doing, no matter how hard. Remember you ain't gonna be goin' at it alone."

AJ shifted in her sitting position.

"Fine, you want to earn her forgiveness? Here's how."

Granny Smith took Applejack by the hoof, and stood her up from the bed. Together, they walked down the room to the closed bedroom door, and she stood Applejack in front of the full length mirror, and took a few steps to the side.

"Here's what you have to do. Her forgiveness won't do a lick of good, unless you can forgive yourself. So look at Applejack, and apologize to her."

Applejack stared at her reflection, as tears began to prick her eyes.

"I'm... I'm sorrry, Applejack."

No, no that wasn't going to be good enough.

"I turned you into a monster... I fed a side of you that relished in the suffering of one of your best friends. Please forgive me."

As she sniffled, trying to hold back the tears, Granny Smith came back to her side, seemingly satisfied.

"Now there's one more pony you have to do that for, alright?"

She walked over to the door, and opened it.

"Come on in, sweetheart."

Rainbow quietly walked in the room, and Applejack immediately felt through a lump in her throat.

"But she has something to say to you first." the Apple elder informed her.

"Applejack..." Rainbow began, walking up to the farmer. "I'm sorry, AJ. I'm sorry that my broken promises and commitments made you believe you had to do that to me."

Hearing Rainbow apologize to her was the breaking point, and Applejack couldn't hold back the floodgates any longer as she turned and walked back towards the bed, shoulders heaving. Rainbow followed, Granny Smith slightly behind, observing.

"Is there something you want to say to her?" her grandmother encouraged.

Applejack continued to silently sob, and turned to Rainbow, tears streaming down her face.

"Rainbow..." she gasped, her voice cracking. "I'm so sorry you had to see that side of me. I'm glad you're back home, and I'm glad you brought me home to my family. I solemnly swear, on my family's name, that from today, until the day you forgive me, and every day until I die, I will be the friend I should have been."

Rainbow took a step forward and pulled the farmer into a hug, as she wailed into her mane, and Granny Smith made a silent exit. AJ clung to the pegasus for several minutes, and slowly broke the embrace.

"I'm so glad Twilight had the sense to get you out of there." she said with a sniffle.

"Yeah, me too."

"How're... How're you two doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Rainbow, they showed us the letter you left her. You told her you dreamed of her often when you all brought us back, and I'm sorry, but her reaction to that move in Twister last week was kinda obvious."

"I, uh... I don't know how we're doing. Haven't really been working on it."

"Well, she loves ya, Dash. Hope you realize that."

"I know..."

Rainbow gave Applejack one last hug.

"I know."