Applejack sits happily on the floor, head tilted down toward the hardwood and back against Fluttershy's sofa.  Her cyan marefriend sits atop one of the cushions and leans over the orange earth pony, softly scratching her back with her front hooves and simply enjoying the quiet time they have together.  Before having to go clean up the remains of Rainbow's home that is; Dash really isn't looking forward to that.  The pegasus, having grown up used to having things taken away from her, manages to keep that detail at the back of her mind and, in an oddly optimistic approach, feels content and happy knowing she has somepony who understands and loves her for who she is.  As far as she cares, if she can stay with AJ, nothing else in Equestria can take her good spirits from her.

Applejack's head tilts up from its comfortable position as soon as she hears the doorknob turn.  Dash doesn't stop what she's doing except to briefly wave to Fluttershy and Twilight as they step in the door.  

"Hey girls.  I take it you got everything sorted out?"  Twilight rhetorically asks the couple.  The two ponies aren't quite sure how much Twilight knows about them (though they certainly don't care) and so simply say nod in unison and continue on their merry way.  

"Y'all ready to head out?"  Applejack asks halfheartedly as the back-scratch slowly changes to a deep tissue massage; Rainbow lets herself get somewhat carried away, but knows to keep her hooves where everypony can see them.  At least until they're in private.  

"We probably should get to that...  I feel like we've been putting it off all day,"  Fluttershy says softly, trying not to look at Rainbow, knowing her heart would break if the pegasus's face showed her anymore negative emotion on the subject.

"That's probably for the best, actually."  The rainbow-maned pegasus leans forward and uses her weight to force a tight muscle in Applejack's withers to loosen up. "I've been calming myself down and thinking pretty hard for a while.  I think I'll be able to actually handle myself up there today."

Applejack lets out a slightly pained grunt from the 'muscular adjustment' and can't really think of anything else to add; she's still somewhat in a fog from the almost surreal experience that morning.  

"Do you think you can bring what's left of the place down to ground level so Applejack and I can help?"  Twilight asks, not wanting to feel completely useless out there while the only two fliers do all of the real work.

"Shouldn't be a problem...  Might need you to use your magic to stop the fountain for a while anyhow."

"That I can do, d'ya think we'll need anymore clouds?"

"Definitely, I bet I can't even stand in that place anymore..."

"Can Spike send letters to anypony else besides the Princess?"  Applejack asks, still enjoying her back rub and not looking at anypony in the crowd.

"No he can't, not unless they're another unicorn and have given him their 'mark'.  It's a magical transfer so he has to know who they are and how they 'decode' dragon-fire.  So far the Princess and I are the only ones he's managed to master, and he still doesn't always get them to me without some... complications."  Twilight shrugs and tries to explain the complex method behind dragon-fire information transferring, or "D-Mail", to her friends, but they all just give her the usual look of disapproval as whenever she tries to explain something to them.

"We can just fly over to Cloudsdale and place an order tomorrow or something, Twi, don't worry about it,"  Rainbow takes her hooves off of Applejack's back and wraps her forelegs around her neck, pulling her into a hug and forcing her to face the ponies in the room.  

"If you insist... Uhm... Shall we?"  She gestures her hoof toward the door to try and signal the two ponies to actually get their flanks up and get to work, "You two sure aren't trying very hard to act like you're 'just friends' right now."  She follows this statement by giggling into her hoof.

Applejack's cheeks turn a little red but she doesn't try and deny it.  Rainbow smirks and can even feel a slight sting in her own face, though hides it by nuzzling up to Applejack's neck, "What can I say? She grew on me like... like..."  Not exactly being a mare of many words, Rainbow struggles to find a suitable metaphor.

"Like an apple on a tree?"  Applejack helps her out a little, if not a tad on the cliche side.

"Gee I didn't see that one coming..."  Twilight rolls her eyes and tries to look over to Fluttershy for some kind of reassurance.  

The canary pegasus breaks her streak of silence with a mousey giggle.  She waits for Applejack and Rainbow to be looking toward them, then walks over to Twilight and kisses her softly on the cheek.  "Don't worry, Rainbow... You could say we know the feeling,"

"I'm still gettin' used to the fact that you two are together.  For the longest time I seriously thought I was the only one in Ponyville who swung that way.  Heck if I had known I had this much selection earlier I probably wouldn't have settled for 'Southern Comfort' over here,"  She snickers into her hoof, still hugging around a very unimpressed Applejack.

"S'cuze me?"  She says indignantly and turns her head to look Rainbow right in the eyes with a look of pure disdain.

"Hee hee.  Ah Lahv you AJ."  She manages to pull out an astonishingly girly side from the deepest recesses of her inner self and kisses the earth pony, leaving Twilight and Fluttershy to stand just a little awkwardly in their respective places to watch the emotional gushing.

"You're adorable and all... but we're losing daylight, you wanna fix that house or just move in with AJ?"  Twilight allows a second or two to pass before trying to catch the attention of the two slightly blushing, and very intimately connected ponies.

"Good question..."  Rainbow breaks the kiss but doesn't break eye contact.  Secretly, Applejack's favorite color is purple; Rainbow's eyes have her almost hypnotized.  

"Maybe we should just leave without them 'Shy..."  Twilight walks over to Fluttershy and speaks softly into her ear with an obvious frustrated twang to her voice.

"I don't really know if I feel comfortable leaving them alone in my living room anymore..."  Fluttershy speaks back in the same low-tone, knowing that the couple on the floor can hear them, but still trying to act discreet.

"Oh... Speakin' of which, you're almost out of shampoo, Fluttershy."  Dash breaks away from the trance and decides to brashly throw that piece of information out in the open.

"Rainbow!"  Applejack says and jabs her hoof into the pegasus's ribs.

"Uhm... Why?"

"Ehhm.  Just come with us Sugar-cube... We'll tell ya on the way."  Applejack grimaces a little bit, still not nearly as comfortable as Rainbow evidently is about being forward.

"I hate it when you guys say that..."

The four ponies all finally take to the road, walking in a lighthearted but still somewhat dark mood toward the wreckage of Rainbow Dash's former home.  Each pony takes place beside their respective marefriends, Fluttershy behaving predictably as ever (to which Twilight is extraordinarily attracted), and Rainbow Dash actually mimics the shy pegasus by laying her wing over Applejack's back.

The ruined home comes into view, most of which has dissipated and left only an amorphous husk of soft, puffy cloud.  The rainbow fountain had breached at some point that night and is currently leaking off of the side of the structure.  Rainbow Dash takes one look and sighs, but does her best to keep her composure as she and Fluttershy slowly fly up and hover above the roof.  Fluttershy gently pushes on the surface and shrinks away as the entire structure shifts under the light touch.  She shrugs at Rainbow Dash and together the two ponies force the cloud structure toward the ground.  The roof caves in a little more from their combined weight, and a soft mist flows off of the ruins as it comes into contact with the ground.  The earth-bound ponies step inside of the home, easily pushing their way through the misty clouds without any collision, and taking in the true extent of the wreckage.  

Everything significant in the home is made of clouds, including most of the furniture and other possessions, so all of it is almost completely through its own process of dissolving into the air.  Mist rises off of everything, even the token solid objects, which Applejack promptly begins to gather up and take out of the moist environment.  She picks up a picture frame that seems light as a feather, somehow having survived the cave-in.  Behind the foggy glass lies a photograph of an adolescent Rainbow Dash in Flight School holding a trophy.  The corners of the photo are slowly beginning to diminish with water damage, so the earth pony quickly takes the delicate thing out to a rocky outcropping away from the cloud.  

Twilight uses her magical prowess to create a standing bubble around the fountain, stopping anymore leaks from the thing.  She continually calls up to Rainbow to make sure the bubble doesn't have any leaks as the two pegasi try to sift through the 'attic' of the demolished home.  Fluttershy flies out carrying a very heavy looking water proof box that she clunks down on the ground near the unicorn.  

Rainbow Dash follows soon after carrying two similar boxes, setting them down in a small pyramid with the other.

"What's in these things, Rainbow?"  Fluttershy asks, trying to catch her breath from the difficult flight out.

"Mostly some back-up bits just in case I have an emergency... great timing huh?...  And a few things to remember home by though, but that's why they're locked up tight."  The cyan mare replies in a relatively morose manner as she flies off to destroy the roof and get into the rest of the home.  Since she's a pegasus she can't just walk around inside of the clouds like Applejack and Twilight can, so everywhere she goes she has to break through with a kick.  She finds it oddly cathartic, and begins to kick an opening from the roof to the ground, giving at least some access to every level of the small home.  The pegasus loses herself in emotional venting, breaking through the cloudy debris with an unnecessary level of force.  She sails right past Applejack, almost kicking her in the nose on the way down.  The surprised pony opens her eyes wide and can scarcely see through the cloud.  The only visual she can really pick out from the grayish white surrounding is the beautiful color spectrum of the empowered pegasus standing before her.  For the first time in her life, Applejack feels truly smitten by another pony as she stands strong and proud in the beautifully dampened environment of mist and broken light.

Fluttershy watches intently as Twilight uses her telekinesis to lift out any objects from the cloud that are more dense than water vapor.  She can't help but see the strong-willed, intellectual unicorn in her usual state of full concentration.  Eyes closed, horn glowing with the familiar, warm violet aura of magical energy, and small objects sailing past the pair into neat, organized piles.  Fluttershy stays out of the way and waits for Rainbow's order as to what they should do with the remaining clouds; she has far more knowledge of such things than the yellow pegasus, and she knows it.  

"There... That should be all of it,"  Twilight says through a few deep breaths, clearly exhausted from the magical exertion. "I wonder what AJ and Rainbow are up to..."  

Applejack and Rainbow Dash certainly are enjoying themselves in the mist.  They embrace each other with their forelegs, eyes closed, and muzzles pressed firmly together.  The velvety feel of Applejack's coat through the moist, steamy environment, even in the cold of the winter day, makes Rainbow Dash feel as though a fire has burned up inside of her; every single second is one of pure intimacy for them.  The rainbow-maned pegasus doesn't care that they're kissing each other so deeply in the sundered carcass of her old home, nor that they're technically in public.  Applejack has her inhibitions as usual, but fights for just another second with Rainbow.  Then another, then another after that, each one leaving her wanting more and more and making her wish that the moment would never end.  

"Are you two alright in there?"  Fluttershy calls down the large hole that Rainbow Dash had kicked in the roof, making both of the ponies at the bottom blush intensely.  The yellow pegasus doesn't quite see what they're up to, only that they're both down there together.

"Just fine!  We're just... Just makin' sure we didn't forget anythin'."  Applejack tilts her head and yells over Rainbow's shoulder, still in the heat of the moment but trying to work herself down to interact with their friends.

"Here's what I was lookin' for..."  Rainbow smirks at Applejack as she finishes her sentence and holds up an old pendent that she had picked up a while before.  The pegasus didn't want to leave it in the pile of things outside and instead resolved to just keep it to herself.  It was a personal sentiment that she had never shown to anypony else.  

"I think we'd better get goin' sugar-cube.  Plenty of time for this afterward."

"I think you're right...  Damn that Twilight and her speedy magic.  Should have done this Winter-Wrap-Up style and told her to pick everything up by hoof."

The couple giggles and stands up, fixing each others' manes before parting ways.  Rainbow of course exits first, flying through the hole in the roof instead of simply walking through the walls.  Applejack doesn't stray far behind after finding her way through the mist.  

"Well, I think we got everythin' in there.  Dang good job gettin' all that stuff outta there with your magic Twi, we could have been here all day without that."  Applejack doesn't lie to the unicorn, but certainly avoids letting her see the opinion that she hides behind her face.

"Unfortunately,"  Rainbow Dash interjects as she hovers in between the ponies, looking back and forth between them. "None of the cloud in there is salvageable anymore.  I'm gonna have to get some new material to rebuild the place."

"Do you need something to hold that fountain together?  That bubble isn't going to last very long."  Twilight points a worried hoof at the fading magical shield keeping the rainbow fountain from spilling all over the dead, grassy plot below them.

"If you've got anythin' in that fancy library of yours that'll hold a self-replenishing cloud spring then sure."

"Hmm...  It's a fluid rainbow just like the one Pinkie tasted on our tour of Cloudsdale right?"

"Yeah, though it uses the sunlight to replenish itself.  As long as some of the rainbow is exposed to light for a while it'll keep refilling."

"So if we were to put it in one of these boxes you have here it wouldn't go bad would it?"

"Nah, they keep for a while..."  Rainbow opens up the first of the three waterproof boxes that she keeps emergency supplies in.  Removing a few bottles of preserved fruits as well as a pouch full of bits.  Setting these aside, she removes the last of the items:  a first aid kit, and a small, purple lock-box.  She tries to hide the box from her friends' eyes, setting it very close to her tail while she gives Twilight the 'okay' to use the box.  

Twilight moves the fountain over the piece of hardware and opens up a small hole in it, letting the rainbow liquid fall inside until Dash tells her to stop.  

"Alright...  We might as well wait for the rest of the place to just dissolve.  You guys mind helping me take this stuff over to Applejack's barn?  Y-you don't mind do you AJ?"  Dash asks quietly, almost worried that Applejack won't let her.

"Don't mind at all, Sugar-Cube.  We've got plenty'a extra room in the barn."

"Of course we'll help, Rainbow, what're friends for?"  Fluttershy steps over to the pegasus and smiles at her, picking some of the lighter objects out of the pile and draping them over her back.  Everypony there picks up as much as they can lift and begins their trip back to Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack drops off the last of the loose objects from Rainbow's wrecked home in her barn, pulling the door shut on her way out to say her thank-yous and goodbyes to the other three mares.  

"Thank you so much for all your help everypony,  I dunno what I'd do without you."  Rainbow steps around and gives both Twilight and Fluttershy a big hug before returning to Applejack's side.  

"You're absolutely welcome Rainbow.  We know you'd do the same for us if you needed to."  Twilight hugs her back and responds in a soft, sincere tone.  

Rainbow simply gives a smile and waves to them.  The sun is starting to set behind the western mountain range so everypony just wants to get home.  Moving Rainbow's stuff took a little longer than expected, but neither Twilight nor Fluttershy regrets helping, even though they're freezing out in the chilled air.  

"So Rainbow..."  Applejack turns to look the cyan pegasus in the eye as she watches the other couple disappear around the corner, "What was in that little purple box I saw you try to sneak back?"

"The box? Uhm...  It... It was just something I like to hang onto, that's all."  Dash rubs the back of her neck, a tell that Applejack has gotten used to by this point.

"Well if you don't wanna talk about it I understand, Sugar-cube... I was just curious is all."

Rainbow sighs and puts the act away, dropping her hoof to the ground and looking AJ in the eyes with her head tilted, "I'll tell you a little later tonight...  I'd rather be alone with you for it, n'kay?"

"That's fine, Dashie.  I don't wanna make you do anythin' you're not comfortable with."  The orange earth pony kisses Rainbow on the forehead, something that Granny Smith always used to do to subtly let her know that everything was going to be okay any time she had worries.  It seems to have the same affect on the pegasus, who fights back a tear and stands up to hug Applejack.  "In the mean time, you wanna go watch the sunset before supper?"  Applejack pulls away from the hug to look the pegasus in the eyes again, taking initiative to make her feel loved and welcomed just with body language.

"I'd love to."