There was a time in which she adored the rain: the damp smell of precipitation, the nostalgic cool breeze saturated with an autumn mist, the looming yet crisp fog and clouds that hung low and heavy overhead, seeping so low sometimes as to distort and conceal the vicious and vindictive seeming spires and ridges atop cathedrals and boarding houses. And even in the wake of certain circumstances, the angelic lulling of raindrops slipping over the barred windows and tapping on warped wooden sills was something of a comfort for loneliness. Yet that evening, no intercession of weather seemed enough to sooth the uneasiness and reticent reclusivity of one withdrawn Rainbow Dash.

She had never known herself to be diffident in the slightest, but at the moment, her chilled legs seemed so very earnest to remain folded up against her beating chest. Instead of strolling or striding around as her usual confident self, she was resigned to her bedroom of her own volition. Her peers were of no concern to her, with their lack of understanding or sympathy, so she saw no need to go out and dance around for their closed-minded enjoyment.

Nuzzling her nose between her knees, she dropped her furrowed brows onto her eyelids and glared at the vacant bed on the other side of the room. Her room-mate, Fluttershy, was rather introverted herself, so it was odd that the girl was absent for so long. With a throaty groan, Rainbow Dash knocked the crown of her head against the wall behind her, leaving it there as she stared up at the familiarly distant roof.

It wasn't that she regretted spilling the beans about herself, she was certainly never shy enough to have kept many personal secrets for long. She was, however, somewhat embarrassed about the way that she had done it, shouting across the church like that. She had not even gone down for dinner that evening, though it was rare that the Sisters allowed someone to skip out on meal time; or classes for that matter, which too she had avoided. Their lack of concern to try and keep her in attendance was unnerving, as it had her guessing just how the administration might respond to her outburst.

“Yeah, in there,” a stifled murmur breached the thin white door just past the end of her bed, and Rainbow's head tilted in that direction unenthusiastically.

“I can't believe she's been like that, all this time,” could be made out among several other whispers and hushes. Another horrified voice continued, “Living with us.”

“Disgusting,” crawled between the door and the frame, and Rainbow's temper flared at the word.

“Well get used to it!” escaped Rainbow Dash's own tight throat as she gripped at the covers beneath her and raised herself to call back, “I'm not going anywhere!”

“She heard us! Shh!” accompanied scampering and scuttling of feet.

Rainbow Dash frowned as her body relaxed once more, and the thin frame of her bed accepted her similarly trim form comfortably once more. The rolling of distant thunder crept in between the thin gaps of her window, made from years of condensation eating away at any form of weatherproofing, and resonated in her pounding chest. Lowering her head, she wondered once more where on campus her sole supposed friend might have been.

Down the hall, a similarly perturbed and distracted young girl sat at her desk alone in her boarding room. As her own old pencil tapped along her unfinished homework, she listened to the somewhat comforting and familiar rhythm of the beat that was usually struck by a certain absent-minded acquaintance. Too anxious to continue her fruitless quest to complete her assignment, she pushed off the desk and scraped the chair back across the old worn floorboards. Her blonde hair once again fell into her face, and she tirelessly pushed it back behind her ear.

The constant drifting conversations about the girl who had outed herself aggravated the splinters in her boarding room door almost as much as it did her own freckled body. The door, however, did fine at completing its duty, as it swung open and revealed her arriving room-mate. She glanced up as Rarity strode in, and noticed immediately that she was not alone.

“Of course dear, Applejack and I would love to have you. It's the very least we can do,” the well-dressed young lady said in a courteous tone, opening the door wider to allow a shy girl to follow her inside, book-bag clutched to her chest.

“What is?” Applejack asked immediately, arcing one eyebrow suspiciously as she finished standing from her chair.

“Oh, Fluttershy here is the room-mate of, um,” Rarity paused as if the topic might seem sensitive, though it was the most common one floating around on that particular day. “That Rainbow Dash girl.”

“And?” Applejack awaited the purpose of that statement, tilting her head slowly.

“And, darling, she needs a place to stay. She really can't go back there tonight, after what happened at Mass today.” Rarity continued passively, rolling her wrist about as she spoke. “The Sisters said they understood, so she's staying here with us this evening.”

Applejack was silent for a moment as she looked over the two of them, who seemed somewhat uncomfortable yet set in their plan. Fluttershy nervously shifted her bag about in her hands as Rarity closed the door behind her and led the young girl to her side of the room. With a slow breath, Applejack analysed the situation as it fell before her.

“So, you're tellin' me,” Applejack began, catching their attention once more. “Rainbow Dash stood up in front o' all of us an' spilled her guts out—”

“Her proverbial guts, yes,” Rarity interrupted with ease, merely making room for some of Fluttershy's belongings.

“And now she's sittin' alone in her room with no one t' talk to about any of it?” she finished, her tone dropping as the statement rang true.

“Oh, hush with the faux concern, Applejack.” Rarity drolly laughed and flipped her bountifully wavy hair over her pressed collar. “She brought it upon herself. It's not my or Fluttershy's fault about it. We all know what happens when you openly make yourself a target around here. Just look at Rose.”

“That sounds like a darn flimsy excuse.” Applejack crossed her arms defiantly, frowning deeply to deny the charm of her usual smile from calming the air.

“I-I'm not,” Fluttershy spoke up suddenly, trying at a sentence as the other two glanced over at her. “I'm not good at dealing with this kind of thing, I-I'm sorry. I know it's not nice but... I don't know what I'd say to her any more.”

“I'm going t' go out on a limb here an' say,” Applejack cocked her head to the left as her hip swayed to the right in a particularly resolute stance. “That she ain't th' one who's changed here. I'm thinkin' that's y'all.”

“I don't quite know what you mean by that darling, and I'm aware that you've only been in this school a few years, but let me explain something to you,” Rarity started back up without reservation, striding over to Applejack and placing a hand over her own heart and black cashmere sweater. “In case the monochromatic uniforms were not clear enough, there's a certain sense of unity in this school. When someone like Rainbow Dash sets herself apart, she's inviting isolation onto herself. It's nothing personal.”

Applejack's expression fell solemn, realizing this was entirely the case. It was no surprise that the school would have nothing to do with her after such an announcement, and yet she felt so very wrong about it. She could not hope to understand Rainbow's feelings, and it made her feel terrible. Applejack was always the first to feel empathy and to step in if someone needed it, as evident by the fact she risked her own knuckles for Rainbow's merely one day prior. And this, she hoped, would be no different.

“Well y'all can sit here judgin' or feelin' sorry for her or not, but I ain't gonna be a part of it.” She shook her head and turned away, staving the urge to criticize her closest friend and someone she assumed was near to Rainbow Dash by gathering her blazer and satchel from their haphazard places on the end of her bed.

“Applejack, please,” Rarity spoke up in a sigh, knowing Applejack's usual tells that she was upset about something. “Where are you going?”

“Some place no one else is ballsy enough to,” Applejack replied firmly, taking hold of the boarding room door knob and yanking it open.

“Applejack!” Rarity called after her in vain.

Pulling the door closed behind her, she felt the nervous lump in her throat fall into her stomach. Even if she hadn't known the way to Rainbow Dash's room, the crowds of people glancing in its direction was telling enough. On her way there, she could feel the stares of her peers sticking to her and weighing her down, growing more frequent the nearer she came to the end of her determined path.

As she reached the similarly unremarkable door to the girl's boarding room, Applejack froze. She could hear the stifled murmurs as the rumours spread about, and for a moment, she wondered if the risks against her reputation were worth the dare. Of course, she felt silly about thinking such a thing at all, and in spite of it, rapped her knuckles hard against the door.

Inside, Rainbow Dash perked up at the unexpected sound. Her door had been avoided like some horrid disease by all except those who thought it funny to whisper about, and then suddenly, a knock. Conditioned already to expect no kind curiosity, she immediately jumped to her feet and stormed over to the door. Her hand grasped the knob like she had sharp talons, and with an equally sharp tongue, she barked back.

“What, come to see the freak-show too?!” Rainbow snapped as she pulled the door open abruptly, shocking the girl on the other side stone-stiff. The two of them stared blankly at each other for a few seconds, recognizing the similarly embarrassed and surprised expressions mirrored on their faces. “Applejack? What, uh... what are you doing here?”

“This ain't a bad time, is it?” Applejack carefully asked, uncertainty present in her voice.

“In the greater scheme, perhaps. In the day? No, not at all.” Rainbow casually bantered, leaning against the door frame with a shrug, crossing her arms loosely over her ill-fitted shirt.

“You mind if I, maybe,” Applejack started slowly, uneasily glancing around as she felt the judgemental stares of those around her. Brushing them off as best she could, she got back to the topic, “Mind if I come in?”

“You want to...” Rainbow's voice shakily faded out as she realized what the girl was asking, and her heart began to beat faster at the prospect. “Yeah—I mean no, I don't mind, but—yeah, come in.”

Rainbow Dash clumsily got out of the way, extending her arm out to gesture for Applejack to come inside. Nodding a thankful bow, Applejack followed her lead and stepped into the room, shuffling through the narrow doorway that pressed them nearly right together. As she entered and looked around, Rainbow's intrigued eyes flickered all over the girl's body, taking note of her toned arms and legs and her obviously firm stomach. She shook her head in self-loathing though, feeling just awful for gawking at the girl in such a foul way. Slicing the surprised and critical stares of their peers, the door closed shut behind them.

“So uh,” Rainbow swung her legs around as she strolled through the room, avoiding eye contact with the charming young girl who kept her company. “What brings you by?”

“I didn't see you at supper t'night,” Applejack evaded the real reason, instead pulling her book bag in front of her and rummaging through the largest pocket. Rainbow curiously peered over at her as she did, wondering what it was she had hiding in there. “Thought y'might be hungry.”

Generously, Applejack revealed a large, rounded bun wrapped in a napkin, something that she had swiped from the table during dinner when no one was looking. Despite her fit body, Applejack did always have quite the appetite herself, so she'd often sneak off with extra food if she could. Rainbow Dash blinked curiously at the full bun, and could feel her mouth salivating at the thought of it. With a warm smile, Applejack reached out farther, plopping it right into Rainbow's less than expectant hands. Rainbow Dash gratefully ogled it, before hurriedly unwrapping it and biting off an awful lot more than she could chew.

“Thanks Applejack,” Rainbow managed to mouth out over the pastry on her tongue.

“Don't mention it,” the blonde girl brushed off the gratitude humbly and buckled her book bag back up.

As Rainbow silently swallowed the mouthful she had nearly dislocated her jaw chewing, she stared down at the rest of the golden bun in her hand. Her eyes softened sadly, and as she sat down on her bed, she whispered, “You're always so nice to me.”

“Well,” Applejack started slowly, not certain how she was supposed to respond to that. Settling for keeping the mood light, she said, “Would y'prefer me t' be rude?”

“That's not it, it's just,” Rainbow tried to think up a better question, like why the blonde girl was standing in her room when the rest of the school was shunning or mocking or condemning her. She awkwardly took another bite, chewing her contemplation over the same as her bread. Perhaps she was just hoping to butter her bun in sentimental significance; hoping that Applejack was there for more than just to be friendly. “Ahh never you mind. Well don't just prop there all awkward, sit down.”

“Oh, yea'.” Accepting the invitation with a nod, Applejack proceeded to sit down on the bed beside her new friend, silently questioning how far or near she should have sat.

With a mere few bites left, Rainbow Dash decided to savour the rest, taking smaller bites and observing how she could make shapes out of the bite marks. Her solemn expression was clear, and seemed contagious as Applejack too fell silent in her presence. Neither of the two much knew what they wanted to talk about, but the mood and mutual knowledge hung heavy over their heads. Rainbow noticed Applejack's lightly freckled hands tense up in their place on her knees, wrinkling her navy-blue shorts just a little bit. It was not the first time Rainbow had seen Applejack out of her uniform, but it might have been the first time she bothered to really notice. Her head fell forward with her hunched back, causing the blue strands on the back of her head to fall over the other colours and veil her cheeks.

“Y'alright, sugar cube?” Applejack gently spoke up, taking Rainbow captive with those gleaming green eyes that were so carefully and attentively directed right at her. “You're lookin' a little blue.”

Applejack meant it as something of a prod or a jest, and she reached out and moved some of the girl's blue hair out of her face with a comforting smile. Turning to better face the freckled blonde, Rainbow attempted in vain to appear less melancholy. She ripped a piece of the bun off and balled it up between her fingers, tossing it lightly into the air and keeping the arc right above her head. Moving accurately, she followed the fall of the bread and caught it expertly in her mouth, proceeding to swish it from cheek to cheek as if playing with it.

“That'd be the dye, Applejack,” Rainbow casually responded with a flip of her long hair, though her oddly raspy voice betrayed her carefree exterior. As the two stared at each other, Rainbow Dash became more convinced that Applejack did not just stop by to shoot the breeze. Realizing she really had nothing left to lose, the subject rose up from her throat over doughy bits, “Why are you here, really? Didn't you hear what I yelled in church today? The whole school's talking about it. They all hate me, you know.”

“Y'never did really fit in much any who,” Applejack leaned back on the bed and kicked her feet out at the full length of her long and mostly bare legs, a part of her which Rainbow Dash found herself gazing at. “But if it's any consolation, I thought it was mighty brave of you.”

“Inarticulate? Yes. Blatant? Certainly.” Rainbow Dash fooled around with her vocabulary, rolling her eyes at herself obnoxiously. “But brave? Debatable.”

“Honest, Dash, it was real refreshing t' hear someone who ain't afraid o' bein' somethin',” Applejack shrugged and looked away, not sure how to discuss the subject matter appropriately, having never dealt with someone like her before.

“You must be the only one in this whole school who thinks so,” Rainbow dryly mentioned, poking at the last bite of her bun irritably. “What's got you coming around despite all that? Some silly desire to stick out from the conformity and otherwise mundane social stratosphere?”

“Looks like you've got that one covered f' th' both of us,” Applejack teased, and Rainbow couldn't stop the abrupt laugh that came from her throat. Once she contained herself again, Applejack continued, “I dunno. You're gonna get a heck of a lot of resistance an' hate comin' your way, y'don't need it comin' from me too.”

“You've got that right,” agreed the rainbow-haired girl firmly. Glancing over at her the gateway that joined the hall to other boarding dormitories—something that the rest of the school must have thought was hell—she added, “I may not be afraid of being gay, but I am a little nervous about what'll happen to me once I walk out that door.”

Falling silent at the reverberant sounds of such a taboo word, Applejack repeated the casual way in which Rainbow expelled it over and over in her head. Though she wanted desperately to accept her new friend, she felt quite uneasy in her solitary company, having grown up well-taught the negative connotation of her supposed condition. She had also, however, taken to heart the forgiveness and acceptance in the stories of the New Testament, and knew both their difficulty and worth. Her grandmother had always raised her to walk in those steps and do what was right rather than what was easy and popular, and she intended to honour her memory by continuing to do so.

“Whatever it may be,” Applejack took a breath as she gathered her thoughts, her shaky voice trying hard to convey her message. “I'll be there with ya. Got it?”

Applejack reached out and placed her hand right on top of Rainbow's, wrapping her fingers underneath the other girl's. Meaning it as a resolute and platonic gesture of support, Applejack had hardly anticipated the shift in Rainbow's expression as she looked down at their joined hands. Rainbow Dash, uncertain of her motives, felt a sincere warmth blooming between them, and was certain Applejack noticed the pounding of her heart in each filled and comforted wrinkle and bend of her fingers. Looking up at the beautiful blonde girl who sat beside her despite her disposition, and finding her lips particularly compelling, Rainbow could hardly stop herself from leaning slightly closer. Noticing a minuscule loss of distance between them, Applejack responded by pulling just that much away, her eyes widening in realisation.

“A-As a friend.” Applejack hurriedly added, pulling her hand away and blushing in embarrassment as she pretended not to notice any subtle hints at anything more. “I don't want to... t' lead you on, or-or anything.”

“Of course, I know that,” just as quickly, Rainbow agreed, nodding furiously. Sucking her teeth in a distant way, she went on to say, “Just because I'm gay doesn't mean that I like every girl around me, you know.”

“Right, right. I just... I thought I'd be clear,” she responded between pink-tinted cheeks as her embarrassment escalated, feeling silly for having expected the girl to suddenly develop feelings for her.

“Well,” Rainbow rolled her neck coyly until she faced Applejack directly, and a smile melted over her pristine features. After a taunting silence, she had to share, “I have to admit, you do have a certain charm. The whole Southern thing, it's pretty bleeding cute.”

“I-I, uh,” the blonde stammered awkwardly, trying to hide the blush on her face that always rose up when she merited a compliment such as that. Though she was flattered, Rainbow's cheeky grin reminded Applejack of the girl's femininity, and she brushed the mere inkling of curiosity out of her mind.

“I'm just teasing you, AJ,” Rainbow dropped a little nickname down to break the ice once more, her own charm adept at shifting moods about. With a rough nudge towards her companion, she chortled a quick snicker at Applejack's flustered expression.

“Sheesh! Does doin' that make you feel better?” Applejack chuckled back curiously, noticing that Rainbow's mood had noticeably lightened.

“You got me, I'm a little brat at heart,” the outgoing young girl shrugged her shoulders high up and left her heckling smirk hanging off her cheek.

“Naw, y'can be a bit of a punk, but you're a good kid, I know it,” the blonde agreed with a firm nod, feeling like she was finally beginning to understand this brazen girl.

“Do all good kids go around getting themselves whacked in class, making enemies out of peers and opposing the church to which they belong, Applejack?” Rainbow pondered aloud, letting her heavy-with-worry body fall to the bed, where she crossed her arms behind her head and flipped the darker parts of her hair. Applejack noticed the deep colours, which seemed to juxtapose the inherent inhibiting blankness of the white sheets beneath Rainbow Dash's small form.

“I dunno. Prob'ly not, you're sure th' only one whose hair reflects how blue she can get,” she brought up their old joke, moving Rainbow's hair a few fractions across the sheets with the top of her index finger. As the magnetic magenta eyes of the girl beneath her flashed up to her own, grasping an adorable look of thankfulness in them, Applejack's lips softened and curled up at either end, allowing a few more words to slip out, “Yup, I s'pose you're a special breed.”

“I could have told you that,” Rainbow played aloof once more, clicking her tongue and shrugging her relaxed shoulders against the hard mattress.

Their conversation fell out of the air for a measurable time, and was instead replaced with content gazes of understanding and appreciation. Rainbow Dash was usual quite adept at toying around with her expressions, she found nothing to display except an endearing smirk, which tugged at her cheeks and ached them. It faded, slightly, as Applejack broke the connection and looked away, finding the vacant bed where Rainbow's room mate should have sat. She swallowed uneasily as the truth of her location came to mind, and she noticed Rainbow look over obliviously at it.

“Don't worry, it's cool. My room mate wouldn't mind company, I bet,” Rainbow told her casually, and it became apparent by her demeanour that she had no idea her room mate had abandoned her. “I don't know where she's gotten off to, though.”

“I, uh,” Applejack struggled with breaking it to her, finding it somewhat more merciful to cushion the blow and tell her, rather than let her hang around waiting for someone who wasn't coming back. “I think she's studyin' with Rarity. Heard 'em mention somethin' 'bout a sleepover.”

“Oh, I see,” the mood dropped out of the girl's voice once more, as she easily put the puzzle pieces together and concluded why Fluttershy had chosen that particular day to be absent. Turning over and facing her back to the blonde, she murmured, “You don't have to hang around, you know. A duff bender like me can't be the best compa—ouch!”

She jolted as she had been slapped clean across the back of her head. Rainbow sat up abruptly after the ringing in her ears stopped, her incredulous eyes gawking at the surprising action done by the seemingly compassionate freckled girl. Though Applejack's frown appeared irate, her eyes sparkled with some intense determination and adoration, and Rainbow found her heart skipping a beat to notice how much she loved it.

“Enough 'o that down-on-y'self gob,” Applejack barked at her, and Rainbow froze up stiff, staring at the usually calm and charming girl's irritated expression. “We all gotta make th' most of our lot. Buck up, honey.”

“Jeez, you're bleeding crazy, aren't you?” she gasped as she rubbed the back of her sore scalp. A smirk cracked across her face, though, and the two of them gazed at each other knowingly. “I think we're going to be the best of friends, Applejack.”

As the slim bodied girl hissed to touch the tender spot, Applejack's stern expression melted. She leaned over and tried to have a look at the affected area, brushing Rainbow's lengthy hair to one side. Her concerned eyes sprang up into Rainbow's amused ones, and she spoke once more.

“I didn't hurt ya, did I?” the blonde asked tenderly.

“What do you think I am, a pansy?” Rainbow broke into a guffaw at Applejack's motherly nature, and even Applejack found herself chuckling. The next few words merited another smack, however, “Come on, you hit like a girl—ouch!”

Author's Notes:

Well, I decided to do up another chapter. I may get around to finishing this story after all. I know some of you may not like the exceedingly wordy and detailed way it's written, and lets not get started on the subject matter, but I have fun writing it, so... fuck it.
Also, it's unlikely this'll be as long as some of my other works.