Chapter 1

She was lost again. Lost in those deep, green eyes. She felt as if she were afloat on a vast green ocean, the warm sunlight glinting off the waves. Her environment faded from view; only these two brilliant pools of light remained. They gazed back at her with warmth and compassion. And … determination.

Determination?

That thought jolted her from her trance. She felt momentarily like she was plummeting, and instinctively unfurled her wings to compensate. But she’d never left the ground. Waking from her stupor, she realized with a knot in the pit of her stomach that her gaze had lasted far too long; surely Applejack was suspicious. She looked at her hooves, and gently kicked the loose dirt from the well-packed road.

“Ha! Ah won! Y’see, Ah can beat you at anythin’!” Applejack exclaimed. Her jovial demeanor didn’t fail to lift Rainbow Dash’s spirits, but her words left only a confused expression. “Well, anything but flyin’, of course.”

Rainbow frantically tried to recover the situation, her eyes darting from tree to tree, to the distinct line separating those conspicuously free of apples from those still carrying their crop. Her heart still racing, she tried to understand what had been won. After what felt like an eternity of mad thought, but was of course only several seconds in reality, she stopped, realizing she would have to say something.

“... won?”

“Oh. Darn. Ah thought we were havin’ a staring contest, seein’ as how y’all were lookin’ at–”

“Oh yeah! Well, I guess you got me on staring, AJ, but I can still beat you nine times out of ten!”

“Whew,” Rainbow thought, “she doesn’t think I …” She couldn’t even admit it to herself.

With a flick of the tail and a leap into the air, Rainbow Dash was gone, leaving behind a brilliant rainbow trail. A very careful observer may have also noticed a thin streak of moisture flanking the rainbow on both sides, Rainbow’s nearly-suppressed tears. Luckily, Applejack was not such a careful observer.

“Heheh, that Rainbow sure can be a strange one.” Applejack said to the empty air, while continuing her trot into town.

Dash flew, faster than she usually flew on a lazy afternoon. She hoped she could fly faster than her emotions, somehow escaping what she’d felt. The fact that she was flying over an orchard of apple trees, each one a testament to Applejack’s hard work and diligence, not to mention a symbol emblazened on Applejack’s flank, made that escape more difficult than usual. “Why do I keep doing that?” Rainbow thought, trying to push the inevitable conclusion from her mind. “Why can’t I stop looking at her? Why can’t I stop … staring at her? Why can’t I get her out of my mind?! Why can’t I look away from those beautiful eyes?” She bit her lip, as if that would stop the onslaught of her mind. She had had this conversation with herself hundreds of times, and each time she’d come to the same, inevitable conclusion, but each time she nonetheless started it afresh. “I can’t … I can’t lo–” She bit harder. “I can’t like her … like that … she’s a mare …”

Although her fast flying had taken her from Applejack’s farm, and hence from the reminder all around her, she was by now too lost in her thoughts to stop them. She flew at the edge of the Everfree Forest, towards nowhere in particular. She couldn’t keep her tears in; they washed over her neck and mane, forming a light mist wherever she flew.

“No!” she screamed in her mind. “I can’t love her!” This was the point in this well-rehearsed conversation where she gave up on comfortable euphemisms. “I just … I can’t.”

“But I do. I do love her.”

She thumped down unceremoniously on a tree branch overlooking the winding path to Zecora’s hut.

“And … I wish she could love me too.”

She did a quick inspection. She was well covered from above, no other pegasi would see her.

“But I could never tell her.”

This path wasn’t often used, so she wasn’t likely to get company from below.

“If I told her … I could lose her.”

The trees were thick and wild on either side.

“OK,” she thought, pushing her mind to change the subject, “I can nap here.”

Even that was a lie.

She lay there, body strewn haphazardly over the branch, and she cried. Somehow she kept quiet, but she couldn’t stop the tears. The image of Applejack’s eyes were seared into her memory, but unlike her last encounter, this image only brought her fear. And misery.

“This isn’t right, Rainbow. You’re braver than this. You’re the bravest pony in all of Ponyville! You’re the bravest Pony in all of Equestria! You can face this like any other challenge!” Her mind’s lies did little to help.

So, she still lay there. And she still cried. And she continued to cry until there were no more tears in her. Then she stared at the simple dirt path below, hoping she could somehow fill her mind with this trivial detail of life, forcing out the thoughts that made her fret so.

“HIYA Dashie, funny seeing you here!”

Rainbow was startled but kept her precarious balance. Why, of all ponies, would Pinkie Pie have to be the one to find her here like this?

Pinkie let out an exaggerated gasp. “Dashie, you look sad!” Rainbow couldn’t determine if the concern in the ever-joyful earth pony’s voice was genuine or not. “You shouldn’t be sad, that’s like … that’s like me being sad!”

This comparison almost got a chuckle from Rainbow Dash’s lips. Almost.

“What’s wrong?”

The enormous grin Pinkie wore wouldn’t fit the question for any other pony. But somehow with Pinkie it did. Rainbow was in no mood to talk, though, so she simply shifted her position, hoping Pinkie would leave.

“Oooh! A guessing game! I LOVE guessing games! Lemme think, hmmmm …”

Pinkie hopped about, raising dust that seemed never to cling to her bright, pink fur, and not even pretending like she was actually thinking.

“Did your favorite napping cloud float away so you had to sleep here?”

That one actually succeeded in getting a small smile on Rainbow’s lips. Pinkie was ecstatic; she was determined to improve her friend’s mood.

“No.” Rainbow replied, momentarily too lost in the absurd moment to remember her troubles.

“Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiid you try the Sonic Rainboom again?”

Rainbow’s smile vanished as fast as it had arrived. She hadn’t even had the courtesy to add “and fail.” She just implied it.

Still, the guess was wrong. “No.” The blue pegasus’ tone was sour.

Pinkie didn’t seem to take notice of the changing mood, as her expression morphed to a facade of intense investigation. She walked around Rainbow’s precarious perch, looking at her from every angle, as if her troubles would be conveniently painted on her flank.

Rainbow just wished her enthusiastic friend would leave.

Another exaggerated gasp.

“Oooooh, I know! I knooooow! You’ve fallen madly in love with Applejack and you’re afraid to tell her!”

Rainbow’s body turned stiff. Her mind raced. She fell from her tree, landing on the soft earth with a solid, but not damaging, thud. “Am I really that obvious?” her mind screamed. “Does everypony know?! Can they all just read me like a book?”

“Does Applejack know?”

As Rainbow’s thoughts spun in her nearly-motionless body, Pinkie hopped jubilantly in a circle around her.

“I’m right! I’m riiiiiiiiiiiiiight! This is why I love guessing games!”

Rainbow hyperventilated. She felt suddenly more like Fluttershy than herself. She pulled herself into the fetal position, burying her head in her hooves, as if she could simply squeeze away from the world and be free of this feeling. Her body trembled in fear and shame. This moment was more terrifying than any stunt she had ever performed. It was more terrifying than being face to face with Nightmare Moon.

Her head spinning, she pushed herself to form a coherent plea.

“P–please don’t hate me, Pinkie.” she wimpered.

Even in her addled state, she realized immediately how ridiculous that request had been. Was Pinkie Pie even capable of hate?

Pinkie just laughed gleefully, still dancing as merrily as if she was at one of her parties, and not choking out a confession of her friend’s deepest secret.

Rainbow felt trapped, like Pinkie was an oddly-upbeat spider ensnaring its prey. With much willpower, she managed to squeak out the more important imploration.

“Please don’t tell anypony. Please don’t tell Applejack!”

Pinkie stopped in her tracks. She leaned close to Rainbow’s ear and said in an uncharacteristically soft, compassionate voice, “I would never tell your secret, Dashie. Never.”

Rainbow Dash was surprised at how much this simple promise relieved her. She calmed slightly, and raised her head to meet that strange pink party pony’s gaze. In that moment, Pinkie was no longer the unpredictable force of nature she usually seemed. She was this pegasus’ best and most trusted friend.

“Oh!” Pinkie chirped, jumping back to the path as if the entire altercation had never occurred. “I’m supposed to be going to Zecora! Seeya later, Dashie!” And with that, she was hopping merrily down the path once again.

Rainbow let out a deep sigh. Maybe things weren’t quite as bad as she thought. Realizing how tired she had suddenly become, she decided this quiet spot outside the Everfree Forest was as good a place as any, and drifted into a troubled sleep.

Chapter 2

She was lost again. Lost in those deep, green eyes. They gazed back at her, but hollowly; she knew this image wasn’t real. This dream was altogether to familiar to her. So familiar that she could immediately know it was a dream. The dream was repeating a moment of her life, the moment that had plagued her memory for a year. This was the moment when she had first lost herself.

This was the moment when she fell in love with Applejack.

Of course, her mind twisted the original image, gave it a pleasant veneer over a sultry truth. She hadn’t really been gazing into her friend’s eyes; she was glowering. Applejack had actually beat her in a race, even after allowing her to fly! It seemed impossible. Even with that tree she hit. Ashamed and more angry than she had reason to be, Rainbow Dash’s menacing gaze had no love to it at all. To lose to Applejack running was one thing, but to lose flying? That hurt.

Their surroundings couldn’t be more serene, a placid lake reflecting the shining moon, pearls of light dancing on the golden autumn leaves of the surrounding trees. Even as she puffed and wheezed, exhausted from her run, Applejack seemed captivated by it. She didn’t even notice the angry pegasus’ stare. But Rainbow couldn’t appreciate this beauty; her childish anger was getting the better of her.

A simple question from the panting, winded earth pony changed all that.

“What’s it like to fly, Dash?”

She had expected gloating. Or even just a sly smile. All her anger melted away with this simple, earnest question.

“Um …” The pegasus honestly had no idea how to answer. How could she? This was akin to asking what it’s like to walk. It was second nature. Exhilarating, liberating, but still second nature.

“Ah guess … Ah guess Ah always sorta wished Ah could fly, like a pegasus. At least once. Just to feel it. Ah’m happy to be an Earth pony an’ all, but … well, it’s a silly foalish wish Ah suppose.” Applejack tried to smile, a foreleg twisting its way into the ground, but she couldn’t hide her embarrassment at this admission.

“Well it’s like … errr …”

Unable to put the feeling into words, an idea suddenly dashed to Dash’s mind. She smiled mischievously before turning around and sitting, wings unfurled.

“Hop on!” She beamed at her own ingenuity.

“Wh–wha? Are ya sure? Are ya sure y’all can carry me?”

As confident as she usually was in her athletic prowess, Rainbow wasn’t sure of this at all. But she certainly wouldn’t let on. “Of course!”

Applejack approached slowly. “Are ya … are ya really sure about this?”

“Oh come on, Applejack, even Fluttershy isn’t afraid to fly! … usually.” They both chuckled at the comparison.

Timidly, tentatively, Applejack wrapped her forelegs around the familiar blue neck, bringing her head close to that bright, multi-colored mane.

Rainbow Dash stood, lifting her usually earth-bound friend entirely off the ground. One by one she flexed her shoulders and hips, adjusting her weight and checking her balance. She flapped her wings a few times, feeling the lift, convincing herself that her new cargo wouldn’t prevent her from flying. Applejack wasn’t the lightest mare in Ponyville, but Rainbow Dash certainly wasn’t the weakest. With another quick nudge and the load balanced, she set herself to the task at hoof.

Not bothering to test the wind on such a calm night, and wanting to get a bit of surprise out of Applejack, she leapt into the air, and was off.

Applejack failed to suppress a scared yelp, then pushed her head deep into Rainbow’s mane. Rainbow couldn’t help but giggle; partially due to her friend’s sudden fear, partially due to the warm breath against her neck tickling her mane.

The farmpony’s heart beat fast against her back, each breath bringing it closer, then farther again. Warmth flowed through her, screening her from the biting night air. Although the legs around her neck were clinging for dear life, she liked having them there; she liked having Applejack there. She had a simple joy from helping her friend, and a sinister one from managing to help and terrify at the same time.

“You won’t see anything like that, AJ!”

Dash could feel her friend’s throat tighten before her head slowly rose. The new perspective caused her to grasp more tightly with her hind legs even as her forelegs loosened. Her steed suppressed a blush, realizing how suggestively close their bodies had now become.

Walls, carefully constructed in Rainbow Dash’s mind, were beginning to crumble. Thoughts and ideas that she had meticulously segregated from her day-by-day life were leaking, as through fissures in a breaking dam, into her consciousness. Although the attraction was purely physical, and she had more important and immediate tasks, an uncontrollable part of her mind was imagining how hers and Applejack’s bodies could be closer. Could be one.

She shook off the feeling, trying to reassert her compartmentalized mind. A trick, she was sure, would distract her.

Dash had intentionally not been living up to her name, trying to keep her friend’s first flight slow and easy. But a little bit of speed, she figured, couldn’t hurt. She dropped to the treetops and glided just above them, gaining speed and allowing her wake to rustle and dislodge leaves as she drifted from side to side. She couldn’t accelerate as rapidly as she usually would have, but that was probably for the best. Applejack was so amazed by this view of the forest she’d never experienced before, she gave no notice to the growing vortex of leaves behind them. She held tightly, not making a sound, entranced by the pegasus’ world.

The rainbow-maned mare knew exactly where she was going. They approached the edge of a ravine; just beyond, a small, conspicuous cloud floated unnaturally exactly where she’d left it. This was one of her favorite napping spots, and not a place she’d ever shared with anypony. With an exaggerated swoop, she landed on her favorite perch.

Leaves from their wake now caught up, encircling them in a rustling, golden aura. Applejack breathed deeply, lost in the scents and sounds and sights. Rainbow Dash craned her neck to watch.

But she was not watching the leaves.

The walls were crumbling again.

She watched the mare’s excitement and awe. Light broke unevenly through their autumn veil, illuminating the orange pony in random sweeps and bursts. She followed each trail of light as far back as she was able, garnering as much joy from the view as Applejack was of hers.

The walls could no longer hold back the waves. Rainbow Dash’s mind was being slowly inundated.

As the leaves began to fall past them, she watched the straw-golden mane before her bob and rustle delicately in the wind, where it wasn’t controlled by the farmpony’s trusty hat, which had somehow remained firmly attached. She watched the smile on her friend’s face and the sparkle in her bright green eyes highlight those adorable freckled cheeks. Dash was enchanted.

The walls were gone now. Rainbow Dash was more aware of herself than she had been for years. And she knew that the spectacle before her was the most beautiful she could ever be so lucky as to behold.

Applejack watched the leaves fall towards the rushing river far below for some time. She turned her head, intending to whisper into the ear of her talented blue friend. She wasn’t expecting that her friend was already looking back at her.

For the briefest of moments, by the luckiest of accidents, their lips met. Applejack blushed and pulled away. Rainbow Dash was exhilarated, as she now willingly allowed the rush of emotions to wash over her mind.

Regaining herself, the orange mare spoke simply, happily. “Thank you, Dash.”

She had no fear. She had no shame. She was Rainbow Dash! And she was ready to tell Applejack everything; ready to tell the truth about herself, the truth about her feelings.

“Applejack, I–”

But she could say no more.

She dared to gaze boldly, and for the first time, she was lost. Lost in those deep, green eyes.

The walls began to rebuild themselves, even though their master could want nothing less at the time. The flooding quelled slowly, and then stopped. She had later convinced herself to push these feelings farther and farther from her consciousness, but those moments were blissfully separate from her dream.

The image faded. This dream always ended here. Rainbow regretted that she had not acted differently this time, as if acting differently in her dreams could change her reality.

In the distant time and place where the body of this pegasus slumbered, a small patch of dirt road was discolored slightly by falling, salty droplets of water.

Continuity note: The events depicted in this dream make a bit less sense if they do not occur before (and probably considerably before) a particular event of season 1 episode 9, Bridle Gossip.

Chapter 3

She was lost again. Lost in those deep, green eyes. They held such honest compassion, such simple, warm friendliness. They made Rainbow Dash feel as if she were capable of anything. They emboldened and invigorated her even as they anchored her. She didn’t remember building up the courage, but she knew what she had to do, and she knew how to do it.

“So, y’all had somethin’ ye wanted to talk to me about, Sugarcube?”

“Applejack …”

She took a deep breath of the green-tinted air. It gave her strength. It gave her composure. It allowed her to say what she’d dreamed of saying for so long.

“Applejack, I love you.”

Part of her screamed to look away, but she maintained her stance and gaze. The seconds passed slowly as she frantically tried to read the earth pony and object of her yearning’s expression. Confusion? Fear? Anger? Amusement? Whatever it was, it was not what she wanted to see. Her own composure was faltering; she trembled like a filly lost in the Everfree Forest, and had to fight herself to maintain eye contact.

Applejack laughed. A small chuckle at first, quickly transforming into a full, boisterous guffaw. Finally breaking her gaze, Rainbow looked at the grass at her hooves, trying in desperation not to show her anguish.

“Ah thought after Lightie left there weren’t none left in Ponyville, but Ah guess we’ve got one more!”

She was still laughing even as she spun, bucking Rainbow in the chest.

It didn’t hurt. Actually, Rainbow hadn’t even felt it, though it did knock her off her footing, causing her to stumble backwards. She considered fleetingly what could have compelled her to have this conversation on the edge of a cliff, before instinctively spreading her wings to halt her freefall.

Or she would have, anyway. “Ugh,” she muttered to herself, “stupid day not to bring my wings.”

Applejack swooped down from above, her own unusual, bat-like wings silhouetted against the sun, making her appear as a dark, ominous shadow, contrary to her light-hearted, though cruel, laughter.

She really did have a beautiful laugh.

Rainbow Dash woke with a start, dripping cold sweat and tears into the dirt below. The bright blue eyes immediately in front of her startled her again, causing her to jump to her hooves, panting and trembling.

“Hi Dashie! Have a nice nap?”

“Pinkie! You sc– you surprised me! Just what do you think you’re doing?!”

“I was watching you sleep!”

It took Rainbow a moment to absorb that statement, her expression twisting into one of shock, and another moment to form a response.

“Don’t you think that’s kind of weird, Pinkie?”

The voyeur pony tilted her head slightly, furrowing her brow and replying in earnest confusion. “No?”

The other couldn’t think of an answer, so simply responded with a glare.

Pinkie never had any qualm with changing the subject of a discussion freely. “You look terrible, Dashie, you should really talk to somepony.”

The angry, though now befuddled, glare continued.

“I’ve got a present for you, but you can only have it when you’re less grouchy. See you later!”

She hopped away merrily, entirely unaffected by the debacle. Rainbow just stared, nonplussed, until she was out of view. Then she stared for some time at the quiet trees, making sense of this moment in her life.

Finally regaining her composure, the pegasus realized that her strange friend had been right in one regard: She should talk to somepony. And she resolved to.

As only two ponies in Ponyville knew about her sexuality, and one of them was Pinkie Pie, the choice of a talking companion seemed clear. Taking to her natural habitat in the sky, she set off for Fluttershy’s cottage.

Not feeling up to flying over Sweet Apple Acres nor for flying over the Everfree Forest proper, she took a roundabout path that brought her over the heart of Ponyville. She had always loved seeing the town’s activity from this perspective; most other pegasi living there opted for a more grounded lifestyle befitting Ponyville’s substantial earth pony population, and that left the skies in the nearly sole domain of Rainbow Dash. In her dominion she was nobility, and the serfs below respected and admired her. It felt good.

But this was no time for her silly fantasies, she concluded. She wanted to shake the tangled thoughts from her addled mind, and knew that Fluttershy’s gentle kindness could aid. Zooming over the thinning few houses at the fringe of the small town, she landed near Fluttershy’s door.

The sheer liveliness of this cottage never ceased to amaze Rainbow Dash. The chattering and chirping of animals was an ever-present companion of the quiet pony, and even the slight rustling of animals of the six-legged exoskeletal kind was a frequent undertone, a testament to the animal lover’s nonjudgmental approach to life. This noise came to an abrupt halt as Rainbow knocked roughly on the door.

The door opened slightly, a timid teal eye peering inquisitively through the seam. Concluding that the unexpected visitor was a welcome one, Fluttershy opened the door wide, revealing her smiling face behind it.

“Hello Rainbow,” she spoke in her usual soft tone, “what a nice surprise. Won’t you come in?”

“Hi, Fluttershy. Can we talk?”

“Of course. Is anything wrong?” Her typically keen eye for others’ welfare had as always not led her astray. She closed the door softly behind them before asking, “Would you like some tea?”

“No, nothing’s wrong … I mean, I guess nothing’s really wrong … I just wanted to talk.”

Fluttershy looked on gently, waiting for a response to her other inquiry.

“Oh. Sure, tea would be, uh, nice. Thanks.”

The light yellow mare trotted off to her kitchen, her long mane bobbing in front of her eyes as it usually did. It made Rainbow wonder how she managed not to run into walls; yes, short manes, Dash was sure, were best for pegasi. She found a somewhat-comfortable seat in a small but plush orange sofa and waited impatiently for her friend’s return.

Her eyes darted from corner to corner of the room, noticing the assorted array of birdhouses, dens and burrows for animals she mostly didn’t recognize. And in each of these small homes was a pair of eyes, peering right back at her. In fact, it was as if the entire cottage was watching her, and even though she knew that most of them couldn’t understand her language, it was an uncomfortable feeling to be sure. Just as she was beginning to regret her decision of a talking companion, Fluttershy reappeared from the kitchen, a tray with two teacups balanced precariously between her teeth.

Rainbow retrieved a teacup and took a small sip. It was a pleasant, airy brew with a flavor she couldn’t identify. But it relaxed her somewhat, at least for a moment.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Oh yeah,” she thought to herself, suddenly frantic, “something to talk about.” She searched her mind for anything she thought would help, but was drawing blanks. Applejack? No, Fluttershy didn’t know about her feelings and that would just make things awkward. Pinkie Pie? She wasn’t really the problem, just a catalyst. Lightning Star?

She pondered for a moment, trying to determine what had brought that name to the top of her mind. But the moment was fleeting, as her companion was still staring intently at her, waiting for a response.

“Did I ever tell you how I became the head weatherpony of Ponyville?”

“Well, I thought after Lightning Star left–”

“No, I mean why Lightie left.” Fluttershy’s soft tones yielded readily to Rainbow’s interruption.

Fluttershy waited for a moment to respond, lest she be interrupted again. “Sorry, I never really knew Lightning.” Her voice carried an entirely undue guilt, not atypical of the ever-shy pony.

Rainbow Dash launched into a tale of her past.

“When I first left flight school, it was really tough for me to find a job. Nopony wanted a flyer without official Cloudsdale certification, no matter how awesome I was. They wouldn’t take me in Manehattan, Fillydelphia, of course not in Canterlot. So I was stuck with little ol’ Ponyville.

“I thought they’d reject me here, too, but that’s when I met Lightning Star.” Her voice started to carry a more excited tone as she remembered her old friend. “She was fast, she was cool, and she could tell that I’m awesome, even though I didn’t have some la-dee-da degree. She hired me, and soon we were good friends.

“Even though you were living in Ponyville too,” she referred directly to her oldest friend, “we didn’t hang out much back then, so Lightie was basically the only friend I had. She was always super-cool and always thought I’d be in the Wonderbolts some day, and she trusted me to get the job done even if she caught me napping.”

Fluttershy, listening silently, smiled at this last comment. Some things truly never changed.

“Anyway, one day I told her … y’know, about me. About me … and mares. And she told me the same thing about her! After that, we were closer than ever.”

Lifting her silence momentarily, the other pony couldn’t help but inquire. “Oh? You were … close?”

“N–no! Not like that! I mean … no, no, we were just best friends. Um, anyway, where was I?”

She paused her monologue to take a sip of the now-cooling tea. Nutmeg? Cinnamon? The flavor still eluded her.

“Well, the trouble started with the mayor. Did you know the last mayor?”

Fluttershy’s response carried her typical timidity. “Oh, yes. He wasn’t very nice …”

Dash just laughed. “Yeah, he was kind of a jerk. But he was a good mayor. He was organized, he knew exactly what everypony should do, even Winter Wrap Up usually went OK with him. He was sort of like a grumpy Twilight.”

She balked at her own comment, realizing how insulting that had been to one of her good friends. But as she was still in the middle of her story, she threw off the feeling and pressed on.

“He did daily status reports with the weather team, and me and Lightie would go to talk to him. They were usually short, he’d just tell us if Applejack had asked for more rain or your animals needed more sun or something. Then he’d tell us what he wanted us to do and we’d do it. Not like the new mayor, she pretty much lets me run the weather team myself.

“Anyway, sometimes he liked to have little get-togethers with all the ponies who worked for him in all the teams. They would have been parties except he was the grumpiest pony in history. And at one of these parties, Lightie introduced everyone to her marefriend. She was a unicorn, green, with … never mind, it’s not important.

“The mayor noticed them.”

Rainbow’s tone began to sour, and her voice began to sink.

“After that, he never treated her quite the same. He’d say things like, ‘hey fillyfooler, we gotta bring in some rain,’ or ‘why don’t you use those stallion legs to kick over some clouds.’ It was stupid, but I could tell it got to her. I told her to ignore it, but she didn’t. She kept doing her job, but she was never happy at work any more, and always hated talking to him. It just got worse and worse.

Rainbow’s voice was now beginning to crack and sputter under the weight of her own memories.

“We talked less and less, actually she didn’t talk to anypony any more. She was always sad or angry, and eventually she was just barking orders like the mayor.

“Then one day, a couple months later, she was gone. She just … left. Her marefriend too. I never saw them again.”

Fluttershy finally chimed in. “Rainbow, you can’t blame yourself for that. The mayor was awful to her!”

The pegasus both literally and figuratively blue just shook her head plaintively.

“It’s not that, Fluttershy. Nopony said anything. Nopony ever told the mayor to stop. Everypony could see that she was hurting, but nopony said anything.”

Rainbow couldn’t stand to look directly into her friend’s eyes, so she confessed instead into the simple wooden planks of the other’s floor.

“Fluttershy … I never said anything. I could see that she was hurting, but I never said anything. I just kept doing my job, I let her get worse, and I … I just couldn’t say anything.”

She began to speak more quickly, racing against the welling lump in her throat, trying to say for the first time what needed to be said, in spite of her breaking voice.

“I would tell myself anything so I didn’t have to say anything. I told myself it was normal to hate f–... to hate us. I told myself I was just going through some phase. I told myself that some day I’d meet the stallion of my dreams and the rest didn’t matter. I told myself Lightie could be strong without me, I told myself that I didn’t need to say anything.”

Tears were now welling in her eyes, but she spoke slowly again.

“And I lost her. I lost her because I never said anything. I should have stood up for her, I should have been brave. I lost her because … I lost her because I’m a coward.

“I’m a coward, Fluttershy. When it really, really mattered, I was too afraid to say anything. And I lost my best friend, my only friend … all because I’m a coward.”

She stared at the ground, breathing heavily and trying to shake the bitter taste of that word from her mind. After a few seconds to regain her calm, she finally looked back up at Fluttershy.

And immediately was wracked with guilt. Fluttershy’s cheeks were wet, and she was breathing short, abortive breaths as she tried not to sob openly. Seeing the sadness in Rainbow’s eyes broke her control, and she embraced her friend in a tight, sad hug, as she cried into the rainbow mane. In the process she knocked over both of their teacups, spilling tea onto the table and floor below. Fluttershy, Rainbow concluded, was perhaps too sensitive for this story.

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy, I didn’t mean …”

But her voice trailed off, and she instead simply returned the embrace, trying to comfort the friend that was supposed to be comforting her. Eyes stared angrily at her from everywhere in the cottage, so she buried her head in the long pink mane before her to avoid their gaze. She muttered useless apologies as Fluttershy’s tears continued to stream down her neck; she felt worse than ever, and even worse for feeling bad about herself after what she’d just done to her oldest friend. This had definitely not gone to plan.

They held the embrace for a few minutes, until the sensitive yellow pegasus wasn’t weeping any more, and breathed softly into Rainbow’s damp neck. She broke the hug and held Rainbow’s head between her hoofs, staring with sadness and determination into the other’s eyes.

“Rainbow, promise me you’ll be brave with Applejack. I … I need you to be brave.”

Dash was so glad the emotional moment was over, she didn’t even stop to consider how Fluttershy knew about her feelings for Applejack. She just wanted to escape.

“I promise,” she lied.

Fluttershy released her with a gentle smile, and she made her way out of the cottage. She closed the door and prepared to take off for home.

“Hi again, Dashie!”

“Pinkie Pie?! How the hay do you always find me?!”

In her exuberance, Pinkie simply ignored the question. “I’ve got a PRESENT for you, Dashie!”

With that she materialized apparently from nowhere a small wooden bowl, full of an unappealing, unidentifiable brown goo.

“Um … thanks? What is it?”

“I told Zecora I needed a love potion for a friend,” she winked conspicuously, “but she said, ‘a potion would make a love untrue, what your friend needs is a brew for confidence.’ … no, wait, that doesn’t rhyme! ‘A confidence potion?’”

“Pinkie …”

“‘A confidence incantation?’”

“Pinkie!”

“Oh, anyway, she made you a confidence brew, it’ll help you … be confident!”

Quite happy with her gift, she skipped away, leaving Rainbow Dash as befuddled as ever.

“Confidence, huh?” Rainbow thought. “I did promise Fluttershy …”

Chapter 4

She was lost again. Lost in those deep, green eyes. They were drawing her in, a force beyond measure, a gravity for which she had no wings. She drew ever nearer, the aura of green and orange surrounding her, its fog leaving bliss wherever there was doubt. She could feel Applejack’s warm breath against her, and was suddenly very conscious of her own. But she still drew ever nearer.

Their lips met.

It was a wonderful elation, an instant of pure joy. Applejack’s lips were somewhat dry after her day’s work, sticking ever so slightly to Rainbow’s as the force and passion put upon them increased. They quivered lightly, but offered no resistance from her assailant. Her mane was thick and dense, but felt smooth under the gentle pressure of Rainbow’s hoof. Every curve of her toned flank only served to entice further the pegasus, who now gently pushed her prize into a supine position. Rainbow, whose own eyes were now closed as she enjoyed the physical sensations, was barely aware of how the farmer’s body trembled below in shock and confusion. The earth pony’s mouth was sweet, carrying the distinctive (and unsurprising) taste of some sugary, apple-based confection. Her tongue pulled back instinctively from its seeking predator, but soon they were entangled nonetheless. In this moment of euphoria, Dash had no other thoughts, no fears and no doubts. She wanted that feeling to last forever. She had no intention of letting it end. At long last, all the uncertainty and worry were gone from her mind, her body and her spirit were harmonious, together expressing the same love.

If nothing else, the flavor was a welcome relief from the bitterness of Pinkie Pie’s strange potion.

… Pinkie Pie’s strange potion …

… Pinkie Pie’s strange potion?

Too much confidence!

With this realization, the effects wore off in an instant, and all of Rainbow Dash’s recent troubles rushed to take their place. Her mind screamed uselessly at her for allowing this situation to come to pass, and her natural instinct to flee overtook all rational thought. Without even another glance at her prey, she was in the sky, panic-struck.

She flew low over the apple trees, piecing together the ramifications of what she’d just done. Thoughts and consequences ran through her mind unabated. That was definitely over the line. Friends don’t act like that. What if Applejack didn’t want to be friends anymore? What if she never wanted to see Rainbow again? What if she had Princess Celestia banish Rainbow from Equestria, or throw her in a dungeon, or banish her and throw her in a dungeon in the place she was banished to! Did Celestia actually do that kind of thing, or had she just been talking to Twilight too much? What if news made way to the Wonderbolts? They would never accept her now!

“Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!” she yelled into the sky in a naïve attempt to quell the assault of her own thoughts.

Still lying on her back, it took Applejack a minute or so to recover from Dash’s onslaught. The rainbow trail of her escaping friend was long-since gone before she asked the now-empty sky, “What the hay was that?”

True to her name, Rainbow dashed through the streets of Ponyville, not at all sure of her destination. In her directionless haste, her wake drew the attention of idle passers-by, who awaited a trick of some kind and were disappointed when it didn’t come. An excited Scootaloo clapped and cheered for her idol, even with only seconds to recognize the rainbow mare before she was gone once again. Rainbow only realized her destination once she had crashed through its window.

She grabbed Pinkie Pie by the shoulders and jostled her, shouting, “Pinkie Pie! Your stupid potion! I kissed her! I kissed her and now she thinks I’m some kind of creep and it’s all because of your stupid potion! She probably doesn’t want to be my friend anymore, she probably thinks I’m a weirdo! Why couldn’t you just butt out?”

Rainbow breathed heavily, glaring daggers at the smiling pink pony before her.

“Oooooooooh!”

Not quite the response she had been hoping for.

“Well,” a third voice made its presence known, “I can see that you have a guest, so I’ll just be on my way then.” Twilight shimmied towards the stairs, trying to make a nonchalant retreat while also avoiding tripping over any of the scattered boxes of party supplies which were the primary adornment of Pinkie’s cluttered living space.

Definitely not the response she had been hoping for.

“Yes,” a fourth voice chimed, laughing nervously, “thank you so much for the invitation, Pinkie, but I really must be off.” Rarity gracefully slid towards the stairs as well, more adeptly winding her way through the obstacle course than Twilight had.

Rainbow darted instinctively to block the way out. Her eyes wide and bloodshot, she veritably shrieked at her friends, voice cracking, “How much did you hear?!”

“Um …”

“That is to say …”

“I didn’t mean …”

“Not that we’d ever eavesdrop …”

“Everything.”

Rarity nodded in agreement, before echoing Twilight’s sentiment. “Everything.”

Rainbow sat, mouth agape. Her mind had abandoned her, leaving her a stupefied shell staring silently at the three mares before her. This was it. Everypony knew. So why, she wondered, wasn’t it liberating at all?

Twilight walked slowly but determinedly to the dumbstruck pegasus. She sat down at Dash’s side, close enough that they could feel each others’ warmth. Both were entirely still except for the the delicate rhythms of their breathing. In the gentlest voice she could muster, the lavender unicorn asked, “She?”

Rainbow nodded.

“Who is ‘she’?”

Rainbow looked up at Pinkie, hoping the usually talkative earth pony would tell her secret so that she didn’t have to. Pinkie smiled and passed a hoof over her lips, indicating she would never break such a promise. It would have been a kind gesture if it hadn’t been exactly the opposite of what Dash was hoping for.

“OK, Rainbow Dash, you don’t have to tell us if–”

“Applejack,” she managed to squeak out.

“Oh.” Twilight pondered her reply for a moment. “That’s … nice?” Affairs of the heart were never the intellectualite’s forte, so she struggled to be comforting for her clearly distraught friend.

“This isn’t how this was supposed to happen at all.” Rainbow fell to the ground and covered her face in her hooves. Surely this couldn’t be happening. She was sure she would wake up and find it was all just a nightmare, and Pinkie’s meddling had not revealed all of her deepest secrets to everypony, and over the course of just two days. None of this could be real.

A hideous silence filled the air, nopony quite sure what to do next. Rarity and Twilight glanced nervously at each other, neither able to communicate any ideas to the other through the hushed void. Pinkie jittered uncomfortably on all four hooves, not satisfied with the lack of happy, smiling faces in the room.

“I think you need … a party!”

The unicorns present glared at Pinkie. OK, she thought, not a party. But when there was no party to be had, there was only one solution: a song!

She cleared her throat.

“Oh no,” Rarity grumbled, “she’s not going to sing, is she?”

Of course, she was.

Author's note: This is the chapter in which I risk what small readership I have by making a multimedia experience. The background instrumental (piano) to Pinkie's Lullaby is available here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/64227214/PinkiesLullaby.mp3. You'll just have to imagine Pinkie's voice, I can't sing soprano.

“Rainbow Dash, please don’t feel this way,

“your friends just want you feeling happy, loved and gay.”

“Bad pun, Pinkie,” Twilight interrupted.

“Well at least I’m trying!

“Rainbow Dash, be honest and be true.

“Be sincerely you.

“And know we’ll always love you!”

It was surprisingly serene, considering the source. Her voice had the soft kindness that Rainbow had only heard in it once before, and it soothed her like a mother’s lullaby.

“Rainbow Dash, there is no need to be sad,

“love should make you glad, no matter why or who.

“And even if she does not feel the same way that you do,

“you’ll make amends. You’ll still be friends. A true friend would never leave you.

“Rainbow Dash, we’ll always be your friends,

“to the bitter end, and even farther, just for you,

“Rainbow Dash, be honest and be true.

“Be sincerely you.

“And know we’ll always love you.”

Rarity wiped a tear from her cheek. Twilight clapped politely until she was hushed by the singer.

“I figured she could use a good afternoon nap,” Pinkie said softly with a giggle, pointing at Rainbow’s sleeping form.

The trio of waking mares snuck down the stairs silently and said their goodbyes.

“You know, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight declared before leaving Sugarcube Corner, “you’re a really special friend. Don’t you ever forget that either.”

Chapter 5

She was lost again. Lost in those deep, green eyes. They gazed back inquisitively; she had hoped to find answers in them, but found them plagued by the same questions that had followed her through an afternoon of silent work. And they, like the rest of her, were tired. She took the opportunity to wipe the sweat from her brow, smooth her mane and adjust her prized stetson, carefully analyzing the reflected figure as it did the same. What compelled her to make herself presentable, she wasn’t sure, as she had no intention of being presented, but the memories of her day lifted her appearance to an uncommon level of importance.

Rainbow was fond of pranks, of course. Surely it had just been some strange prank. She’d see her friends the next day and laugh about it. “Rainbow,” she’d say, “y’all sure pulled a fast one on me, Ah’ll get ya back one o’ these days!” But she tore through that conclusion like thin paper wrapping a deeper truth. Could that have really been the kiss of a dare? Some cruel joke?

But if not, what was it? Applejack was no master of affairs of the heart, and had never found herself needing to unravel their complexities. The possibility of the brash, unsentimental pegasus sequestering deeper feelings seemed so outrageous to her, she dismissed it easily as well.

Time marched quickly and quietly onward as her thoughts vacillated insubordinately between these extremes, and her insular state probably would have continued unabated had she not been startled by the familial supper bell. She jumped, and felt her heart beating heavy in her chest, embarrassed by the realization that she’d just spent several hours with nary a thought not about Rainbow Dash. Chuckling, she deciding that the prank was designed to make her waste her evening; but she couldn’t help questioning why she was still thinking about the pegasus. She wondered what could have driven her friend to such uncharacteristic behavior.

She wondered what was supposed to have happened next.

That last rebellious thought having pushed Applejack briefly into the untamed wilds of her subconscious, she shook her head and trotted down the rickety farmhouse stairs, trying at the same time to steel herself and reveal nothing of her tumultuous musing. Big Macintosh was reserved, even shy, with most ponies, but not with his sister. Since the death of their parents many years prior, he had been like a father to her, and had learned to read her every thought and concern as if they were printed on paper. She was never particularly skilled at lying to anypony, but she certainly couldn’t lie to him. Not wanting to broach the subject, she decided she would try to simply withhold the truth.

She sat at the kitchen table, conscious of only two things: First, that her face was assuredly be a redder orange than she wanted it to be, and second, that she was lucky to have a brother who was one of the finest cooks in Ponyville.

“Well this is quite a spread ye’ve cooked up, Mac,” she beamed, hoping to distract from any uncomfortable topics.

He was uninterested in her compliments. Shrugging, the workhorse indicated to Applejack’s usual chair. She noticed that the third and fourth chair that circled the small kitchen table were conspicuously bare, reminding her that Granny Smith was out of town and Apple Bloom was at Sweetie Belle’s house. Alone with her big brother and nothing to talk about but her day, she tried to let the meal fill her mind, and dug in ravenously.

Big Macintosh chewed thoughtfully in silence, but never pulled his gaze from his clearly nervous sister. She stared into her food, wearing a very poor mask of casualness which did little to hide her true disquietude. His intentions were pure, he didn’t like to see her in a poor mood, but Applejack plainly didn’t want to talk. So, seeing that the weight of his stare wouldn’t break her, he decided to be a bit more direct.

“How was your day?” he asked with a practiced coolness.

“Good,” she replied flatly, “good day.”

Seeing that this tact wasn’t working, he applied a more direct approach. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothin’.”

He cocked an eyebrow, one corner of his mouth turning up in a devious smirk. If the direct approach wouldn’t work, he’d just have to go fishing.

“Hmmm … did ye knock down another tree?”

She snorted indignantly. Not that.

“Ah’ll bet some ornery customer didn’t like yer apples.”

A small laugh. Still wrong.

“Ah know,” he jabbed, running out of guesses but confident in his next one, “ye’ve got some nice stallion makin’ to court with ye, and y’all’re pushin’ ‘im away, just like ye always do.”

She finally looked up from her food, slightly shocked. Bingo.

“Who is he?” he inquired accusatively.

Applejack stuttered and stammered, unsure of how to answer the question honestly but not offer more information than she wanted to. After a few false starts, she once again stared dully at her plate. “There ain’t no stallion.”

Big Macintosh chewed ponderously for a seemingly endless moment. His perturbed orange sister nearly believed that she had been convincing, but then repeated what she’d said in her mind, and noticed something distressing. A slight upturning of the voice, an intonational nuance that had implied more than she intended. She looked up again to try to read his expression, praying that he hadn’t been very perceptive, but he was typically unreadable. Of course, the ever-deepening burning sensation in her cheeks was a further betrayal of her attempted deception.

“Who is … she?”

Flabbergasted, Applejack dropped the ruse. “Ah guess there ain’t no point lyin’ to ye,” she admitted. “Rainbow Dash was goin’ on like a jackrabbit in–” She cut herself off, but the damage was done. Her mind was wandering places she would never think to tread.

The big red farm stallion laughed a simple, light chuckle, proud that he’d managed to force this less-than-innocent confession. “Ah like Rainbow,” he declared, still tittering, “y’all should give ‘er a chance.”

Applejack sneered. “That’s all ye’ve got to say, huh? ‘Ah like Rainbow, give ‘er a chance?’”

“Eeyup.”

“And what, the fact that she’s a mare doesn’t even matter?!”

His continued stoicism infuriated her. “Nnope.”

“And if it were you?”

Pulling another bite of potato to his mouth, he chewed with irritating slowness while pondering the question. “If some stallion was makin’ eyes at me, I suppose I’d at least give ‘im a chance.”

Not very hungry and finding a rare opportunity to get the upper hand in one of their sibling conversations, Applejack pushed her plate away and declared, “Caramel’ll be glad to hear ye said that!” before strutting victoriously from the room. Her brother didn’t have the opportunity to think of a response, or even contemplate what had been said, before she was gone.

This momentary elation fueled by sibling rivalry subsided quickly as she trotted along the dirt road, but that allowed her other thoughts to resurface. Although usually preferring to to keep personal issues personal and solve her own problems, the stubborn pride that led her to do so was already broken. Thinking this a “big city” problem that a “big city” pony would be most helpful with, she found herself meandering in the general direction of the library, where she expected to find Twilight.

Passers-by waved and made their polite hellos, Applejack being one of the most well-known and respected mares in Ponyville. She nodded politely as she trotted by, inexplicably relieved to find nopony gawking or whispering about her. With Rainbow Dash’s usual boastful nature clearly in check, she could at least conclude that she wasn’t just a conquest for the pegasus. But that only deepened her confusion of the situation in general. When she arrived at the library she opened the door and poked in her head, but didn’t find her target as she glanced around the cluttered room.

“Hi, Applejack!” Spike cheerily called from the top rung of a ladder, performing some menial book-related task which Twilight had presumably assigned him.

“Oh, hi, Spike.” she muttered, “Is Twi in?”

“No,” he hopped down, “but I am, and I know the library like the back of my claw! What were you looking for?”

“Well, Ah just wanted to talk, really.”

He grinned broadly. “I can talk, I’m great at talking!”

“Thanks, but Ah was lookin’ to talk to Twilight.” Pulling from the doorway, she prepared to leave. “Ah’ll come back later.”

Disappointed, Spike scuffed the ground, murmuring, “Yeah, everypony always just wants to talk to Twilight.”

Applejack made a mental note to spend more time with the lonely dragon, but had to rebuff his friendly desires at the time. Thinking quickly, she devised an excuse that was both true and sure to disengage him. “It’s just that it’s kinda a secret. Y’know,” she winked, “girly stuff.”

His disappointment immediately transmuting to childish disgust, it was now Spike’s turn to rebuff. “Blech! I mean, uhh, it’s always nice seeing you, Applejack, too bad Twilight’s not here, see you later!”

The door slammed before she could make her goodbyes. As she walked lightly away, she couldn’t help but chuckle at her ruse. “Girly stuff, indeed.”

With Twilight unavailable, Applejack considered her other options. Fluttershy was a good choice to talk to about emotions, but she was too close to Rainbow Dash. Rarity was very cosmopolitan, and could probably offer good advice, but they rarely saw eye-to-eye. Of course, Applejack considered, she could just confront Rainbow directly, but this flighty friend was quite talented at making herself scarce; she would only be confronted on her terms. In fact, the only pony Applejack could think of that could always find Rainbow was–

She hadn’t even finished her thought before she realized that she had unthinkingly walked directly to Sugarcube Corner. For all of Pinkie Pie’s strange antics, she was a good friend, she was good at keeping secrets, and she always knew how to find Rainbow Dash. Applejack opened the door, chimes announcing her entrance, and was relieved to find Pinkie tending the counter.

“Hi Applejack, looking for some non-apple sweets?” the baker prodded her would-be rival with the subtle suggestion. The farmpony shrugged off the playful insult, other topics being of more immediate concern.

“Hey Pinkie, are the Cakes in? Ah was hopin’ we could have a chat, in private.”

“Mr. CAAAAKE, Mrs. CAAAAKE,” Pinkie hollered, “can you HEAAAR me?!”

Applejack just shook her head, but her boisterous friend seemed content with the results.

“They’re upstairs with the foals, they can’t hear anything from the nursery,” she explained.

“Oh. Ah gotta talk to ye about somethin’, but ye’ve gotta promise me ye’ll keep it secret.”

Pinkie nodded, then mimed a sequence of inexplicable actions. She seemed to grab something from above, then perhaps set it on the ground, or maybe bury it in the ground? Then she pushed something, or maybe she was pretending to sculpt something? Why would you sculpt something to keep a secret? Although the bewildered orange mare couldn’t make heads or tails of the display, she considered it sufficient evidence of her pink comrade’s sincerity.

“Ah was havin’ a nice chat with Rainbow Dash earlier today … she said she wanted t’ tell me somethin’, but then,” Applejack hesitated, searching for the right words. “Well, she just sorta froze for a bit, like she spotted a bear behind me or somethin’. And she started leanin’ in, and … she kissed me. Um, she tried to do a lot more,” her voice faltered as her blush resurfaced, “but Ah guess somethin’ spooked ‘er, ‘cause she flew away all of a sudden.”

Pinkie smiled and nodded politely, feigning shock and ignorance to protect the pegasus’ secret. The embarrassed pony before her having stopped, she gave a toothy grin and asked, “And then?”

“Err, Ah don’t rightly know. Ah … Ah’m not sure what Ah should do. Ah mean, what if it was just some prank? She likes pranks, y’all know that better than anypony. And what if … what if it wasn’t a prank? Ah don’t know how … that is, um …” her voice trailed off, as she found herself too rattled to proceed.

“A prank?” Pinkie thought. “This silly pony thinks it was a prank?” But she didn’t know how to assure Applejack that it wasn’t without revealing Rainbow Dash’s secret, and she would never reveal a secret.

“Can’t you tell if it was a prank or not?”

“Ah don’t think so? Ah don’t know.” Her confusion was as thick in her voice as her accent.

After a few moments pondering how to explain it while Applejack gazed on, lost in thought, Pinkie Pie devised the sort of solution that only Pinkie Pie could.

Although she would be loathe to admit it, Applejack’s life had been mostly devoid of romance. She had had the occasional date, but no long-term relationships. Her attempted relationships hadn’t ended poorly, they had simply fizzled, for reasons she didn’t understand. As such, she was unaccustomed to being kissed, and didn’t really know what the proper way to react to it was. She was even more unaccustomed to being kissed by mares; she understood that some ponies had “alternative proclivities,” but had never seriously entertained the possibility that she might be one such pony. Not until that afternoon, anyway. She’d simply never thought about it. The unfolding actions of the day were rather violently forcing her to reconsider; part of her was enjoying itself more than she cared to admit. But as unusual as it was for her to be kissed, as surprising as it was to be kissed by another mare, being kissed by two different mares in the same day was simply too much!

“Pinkie!” she yelped, pushing away her suddenly amorous companion, “what the hay was that?!”

The eccentric pink pony just giggled. “That,” she laughed, “was a prank kiss.”

Applejack was taken aback. She repeated the words in her head, and came to an important realization, one that in retrospect seemed obvious: Rainbow Dash wasn’t pulling a prank, she wasn’t trying to be cruel, nor was she a wild fillyfooler in heat, although she had certainly acted like one. There was more to it. More than she’d ever imagined was possible from the brash pegasus. Was it possible? Could this mare harbor these kinds of feelings, and in secret?

She sat on the ground, allowing her emotions to wash over her, and trying to decide what she should do. If she allowed things to proceed, would it ruin their friendship? If she didn’t, would the curiosity that was still growing in her drive her mad? Would Rainbow feel hurt, or abandoned? And what if they dated, but she realized she couldn’t feel the same way?

Pinkie Pie excused herself up the stairs to feed Gummy, but Applejack didn’t even notice, as she was so absorbed in her own thoughts. A shocked and familiar screech from upstairs drew her attention away from her own mind.

“Pinkie, you scare– you startled me!”

“Sorry, Rainbow,” Pinkie chimed from above with a small laugh, “he got away from me.”

“Why the hay is he wearing a top hat?”

“Why not? Don’t you think it looks good?”

“Is that … why does an alligator need a belt?”

“It’s a cummerbund! Isn’t it … dashing?” Her small laugh became a boisterous guffaw.

“Ugh, I’m leaving.”

Rainbow trotted down the stairs, clearly incensed, but skidded to a halt at the bottom, surprised to find herself once again face to face with the mare of her unrequited love.

They both sat, mere inches from each other yet seemingly so far apart. For a long moment, they both just stared, nonplussed and stalemated, until Applejack broke the silence.

“Um … hi, Rainbow.”

The pegasus feigned nonchalance poorly, scratching an imaginary itch behind her ear. “Hey, Applejack.”

Their silence resumed until the awkwardness became palpable in the air. Feeling the weight of another’s glare on the back of her neck, Rainbow looked around to see Pinkie voyeuristically encouraging her from a secluded spot at the top of the stairs. It was a small confidence boost, but a sufficient one.

“Look, Applejack, I’m sorry about earlier … we can still just be friends, right?”

Applejack replied flatly, “No ya ain’t.”

The pegasus was clearly shocked. “What?” she pleaded, voice cracking.

“Ye sure as hay ain’t sorry.” The farmpony glared mischievous green daggers through Dash’s skull. “Tell me the truth, Rainbow.”

“The truth?”

“The whole, honest truth.”

A few seconds passed. Rainbow swallowed hard. “I’m a fillyfooler.”

She had always expected this to be a confession, so it felt only natural to confess it, but Applejack just laughed, sarcastically spitting back, “yeah, Ah’d figured that out, Rainbow.” Even in this tense moment, the earth pony’s warm laugh lifted her spirits.

She bit her lip. Pinkie hissed from behind her, “go on! Go on!” Applejack could be a living lie detector when necessary, so she knew there was no use hiding anything.

Pulling from all the reserves of courage and confidence she had available, Rainbow puffed up her chest, looked Applejack straight in the eyes, swallowed her fears, and blurted out an unprepared declaration. “Applejack, I love you. I’m mane-over-hooves, can’t-stop-thinking-about-you, never-felt-this-way-before crazy about you! And I know you probably can’t feel the same way, and the thought that I could offend you, or hurt you, or … or lose you … I’ve never been more scared in my life, Applejack.” Her voice cracked and her courage waned, but she pressed on. “Please,” she begged, “please say we can still be friends … don’t leave me, Applejack. Don’t leave me, not like Lightie … I’ll promise to never mention it again, I’ll give you space and find somepony else and never ever ever bother you about this, just please … please …” she trailed off, still staring bravely, trying to guess what the other was thinking.

Applejack considered the situation carefully for a moment, then pulled her would-be lover into a tight embrace, murmuring softly into her ear. “Dash, Ah don’t know how Ah feel. An’ Ah don’t know how Ah oughtta feel either. But Ah know that y’all’re my very best friend. And ye always will be.”

Stripped to her bare emotions, the cyan mare cried softly and joyously into the wheat-gold mane beside her. She spoke meekly, “thanks.”

“And … and Ah don’t think Ah could forgive myself if Ah didn’t at least give ye a chance.”

It took a few long seconds for the words to sink in. The excitement rose in Rainbow’s voice. “A– a chance?”

“Let’s go for a fly, Rainbow.”

Author's notes: Caramel is not part of the Apple family. Look it up! (I had to ...) This chapter took me a while partially because I just couldn't get the pacing right ... I'm still not confident in it, but there ya go. Hope you enjoy.

Have I mentioned recently how much I appreciate comments? I appreciate them far more than ratings or views, I love to hear what everypony has to say. Constructive criticism would be enormously appreciated as well. Put some words in that box down there!

Cheers,

- Clavier

Chapter 6

She was lost again. Lost in those deep, green eyes. It was liberating and invigorating to allow herself this luxury without fear of being found out. There were no walls any more, the lies and withholdings had been washed away, and somehow through all of this Applejack had remained with her. More than that, Applejack was giving her a chance to prove herself. She just had to not screw it up. She just had to approach this carefully. Be fearless, but thoughtful. She could be thoughtful, right? She was no Twilight, but she could think things through. Surely with Applejack she could be thoughtful.

Applejack’s eyes, however, looked less thoughtful than … panicked?

Thud.

Or maybe with Applejack she couldn’t be thoughtful. And maybe, mid-flight wasn’t the best of times for a prolonged gaze. Actually, it may have been the worst conceivable time. The pair were now tumbling through unforgiving tree branches, the flier thanking luck that it was a relatively soft fir she’d struck and not something altogether more bone-shattering. Twigs and needles caught in her coat and wings, but did little to slow down her descent. Flailing, she tried to salvage this obviously unsalvageable situation by grasping wildly for Applejack’s twisting form, but she was falling faster, and didn’t accomplish anything before breaking through the lowest canopy and hitting the ground with a resounding thump.

Rainbow lay on her back, some muscles vital for flight bruised painfully below her. She rubbed her head and found a small lump, but nothing severe. A quick attempt to unfurl her wings brought a wave of pain up her spine, causing them to snap back instinctively. She pushed for them to move against the pain, but now they wouldn’t budge. There was little time to consider the implications of this, however, before an orange body careening with the familiar force of gravity towards her landed, crushing the air out of her lungs. Every muscle in her body tensed with the blow, her eyes forcing themselves shut and her limbs, save for her wings, grabbing tightly around the intruder like a fly trap.

Applejack was heavier than she remembered.

After a moment to cough and bring oxygen back to her lungs, Dash relaxed again. She clung on to the form above her, forgetting that their situation was somewhat dire, and just enjoyed the moment. It was nice. Applejack was warm … perhaps Rainbow was just imagining things, but it seemed like the her body heat had shifted somewhat from when they first started flying, less focused on her chest than– no, definitely wishful thinking. The body above her shuffled and moved, ultimately wriggling free of her grasp. At least, she figured, she didn’t need to be immediately concerned with whether Applejack was hurt.

Now too embarrassed to open her eyes after such a pointless crash, she continued to lay, supine, eyes shut and wings close. She searched her mind for a fix for this mood-killing blunder, hoping that maybe her companion would find a way to break the awkward silence before she did.

“Y’all OK, Dash?”

Well, that worked. It broke the silence, anyway. “I think so,” she muttered, realizing as she said it how raspy her voice was from a combination of inhaling dust and having the wind knocked out of her. She coughed a few more times, trying to clear her throat and sound healthier, to allay any possible concern. Nothing felt broken, she was breathing just fine. The air brought with it some of her shattered confidence. “After all,” she mused, “it’s not like I’ve never crashed before.”

After another moment of breath, she opened her eyes and continued, “Yeah, I’m– blind! I’m blind!” Her legs thrashed in the air, as if she could somehow regain her unexpectedly missing sense by grabbing it from the sky. Disappointingly, none of her gesticulations caught the disembodied sense, or even found her friend. Hysteria overtook her as images flashed before her mind; not images of anything in particular, just images. Sights. Light and motion. It was a terrifying thought, to be robbed of sight, and it led her to jibber incomprehensibly in panic.

Applejack was less concerned. She laughed. There was no sensitivity to it, just a deep, throaty guffaw. Somehow she managed to make even that beautiful; it carried her unusual accent even without words, giving it a unique and intangible quality that sent pangs of longing through Rainbow’s psyche. But it hurt. It didn’t seem like Applejack to laugh at another’s misfortune, especially not something this severe and life-changing. Had she really offended her would-be love so much? Was this to be the rather abrupt terminus of her coveted romance, as well as the end of her flying career and hence life as she knew it? It seemed awfully harsh.

The truth became as clear as the orange mare’s bright green eyes as the stetson, which had landed perfectly atop Rainbow’s snout, its brim obscuring her vision, regained its rightful place on Applejack’s head. Her cheeks burned with the embarrassment, now doubled by her two rapid-fire failings. She was given a chance, she was supposed to be impressing her love, and instead she was flying into trees and being blinded by a hat. But even as such, she managed to collect herself enough to see and take her cue.

“Uh … do I at least get points for making you laugh?”

Although the guffaw had reduced to a warm, friendly chuckle, it was still present. “Ah know ye too well not to expect a run-in with an angry tree now ‘n again.” The earth pony winked cruelly while making this quip, but Rainbow was unoffended, just glad to see she hadn’t ruined everything. Yet.

Flipping deftly to her hooves, the pegasus hopped back and forth to assure that nothing was damaged but the flight muscles of her back, then, scolding herself for inattentiveness, asked the same of Applejack. “You didn’t hurt yourself, right, AJ?” She excused a few wayward glances down the mare’s flank as merely assuring that her friend was undamaged from the fall, the fact that doing so made her damaged muscles ache in tiny but jolting pinpricks notwithstanding.

Applejack waived a hoof in the air dismissively. “Ah’m right as rain. Just a bit o’ dirt under the hooves.”

Rainbow made no effort to hide her relief at this statement.

“But, uh, where are we? How do we get back t’ Ponyville?”

“Oh, that’s no problem, I know exactly how ow ow ow!” Her wings once again seized painfully, disobeying her commands as torrents of pain jutted through her body. She had obviously not been capable of suppressing the resulting wince and grimace, as Applejack was immediately at her side, forehooves atop her, examining the damage.

They were so close. Tantalizingly close. Even though they had been much closer only moments ago, feeling Applejack’s hooves on her back, gently prodding and caressing, was somehow more intimate. Realizing that the resulting thoughts were perhaps no longer taboo, Dash briefly flirted with the notion of allowing them to wash over her mind and take her away from this whole awkward predicament. But even though her plans for wooing her prize were coming unhinged, she still had plans, and intended to set them in motion, so she resolved to stay firmly planted in reality. She would get them back to Ponyville, then … say something. OK, she decided, maybe she needed a new plan. In fact, how would they get back to Ponyville?

This train of thought was cut short by another jolt of agony sailing through her, making her pull away by instinct.

“Ooh, sorry, Ah bet that hurt.” Applejack pulled away as well. “This looks pretty bad … Ah think we need t’ get ye to a hospital. Which way’s Ponyville?”

Although it only took a moment for the pegasus to get her bearings enough to answer, doing so caused the consequences of her situation to dawn on her with cruel haste. Her expression drooped as she pointed a hoof.

Applejack focused carefully in the indicated direction. Ponyville wouldn’t be visible from the ground, but there were other landmarks nearby. She strained to see in the dim dawn light, but managed to make out some important figures. Sure enough, there in the distance were Canterlot and Cloudsdale, so Ponyville would be somewhere in the middle.

There in the distance.

The great, great distance.

At least a day’s gallop.

Three or more at a reasonable trot.

And it was already nightfall.

Rainbow was realizing this as well, though with more optimistic estimations of the hoof-based distance, as she wasn’t accustomed to grounded travel. Even with her guesses, though, this was trouble. Being stuck with Applejack, in the forest, for days? It wasn’t without its benefits, but a dating decathlon was not what this fledgling relationship needed. Still, both the pain in her back and the increasingly concerned looks from Applejack told her that she wouldn’t be flying tonight. Her well-laid plans were all certainly moot. She scolded herself for flying so far, even though she was sure her destination would have been worth it. That plan too was a bust.

While Applejack surveyed their surroundings, Dash talked silently to herself, summarizing her situation. “First you fall stupidly in love. Then, because you’re an idiot, you stalk her and don’t say anything for years, until it’s giving you ulcers and making you hide from your friends. Then, with the ‘help’ of a friend, you basically molest her. Then somehow she forgives you, so what do you do? Almost kill her, and strand her in the woods. Great job, Rainbow Dash, greatest flier in this particular empty clearing in the middle of nowhere. You’re a real relationship dynamo. You’re definitely winning the heart of the mare you love this way.” Her lips tightened into a grimace as she fell to her haunches, now berating herself for her failings. “Love. What was it Rarity likes to say? ‘Love conquers all?’ Love isn’t going to conquer a bruised back and get us back to Ponyville.”

Applejack trotted back into view, doing a poor job of hiding the mix of concern and consternation in her expression behind the façade of a friendly smile. “Hoo-ee, you sure are one fast flier, Dash. It’ll be a bit of a walk, but we’ve got plenty o’ food,” she motioned to a scattered few plum trees nearby, “and Ah couldn’t ask for better company. So let’s go, sugarcube!”

Rainbow shrugged off the small compliment, figuring it was just a misguided attempt to lighten the mood. She stood up slowly, still minding the sore spot on her back, then began to walk. She didn’t look to her sides, she didn’t talk, she just set her mind to the task of walking towards Ponyville, and did so. It was dark, but light enough to see the intervening brush and tree branches, and to make out the still-intoxicating curves of Applejack, who had lithely took the lead after a minute of walking side by side. Rainbow certainly didn’t mind the view, but was entirely convinced that their fleeting relationship could not be rescued, and so tried not to let such dangerous thoughts invade her mind.

The pair continued their mindless plodding in excruciating silence but for the occasional call of a bird or crunch of a twig beneath their hooves. It was horribly boring for the impetuous pegasus, but much safer than actually saying anything. The terrain wasn’t suitable for running; although certainly not the Everfree Forest, this area of Equestria was seldom trodden upon by pony hooves, with only the seasonal flyby of weather ponies and animal caregivers assuring that everything was to plan. As such, the brush was overgrown, the trees were exasperatingly thick, and Rainbow’s legs were turning to jelly against the harsh surface. Athlete or not, this wasn’t her kind of athletics; she was a flier. After what felt like an eternity, but was really only about two hours of walking through the foliage, she allowed herself to collapse, breathing so heavily that she was almost wheezing.

“OK, so after you almost kill her and strand her in the woods, then you make a fool of yourself and slow her down. Even better, Rainbow Dash. Maybe if you’re really lucky she’ll visit you someday, after you become the laughing stock of Ponyville and are forced to live in exile. More likely she’ll just never want to talk to you again, though.”

Her mind took an abrupt turn, now screaming at her. “No. No! You’re Rainbow Dash! You can fix this. You will fix this! So long as she’s still with you, you’ve got a chance, you just have to take it!”

Author's note: I said most of this in a blog post, but it bears repeating. After getting a bit stuck in my original plan, I had an unexpected idea and wrote this chapter with a whole new plot, not in my original itinerary. So most of what was to be chapter 6 was scrapped, though some of it will live on in chapter 7. I wrote this in one day, but am reasonably happy with it, and don't want to delay posting any further (six weeks?! What the hay happened to April?!). But as a result, I'm totally off the rails; I have no more idea what's happening next than you do.

Also: Yup, another cliché thrown on the pile. I live dangerously.

Chapter 7

She was lost again. Lost in those deep, green eyes. They had a mischievous glint, but over the same compassionate friendship that was their usual veneer. More importantly, to Rainbow’s unending relief, they didn’t carry any anger or malice.

“Best athlete in Ponyville, huh,” Applejack teased, “can’t even walk for an hour without fallin’ over.”

Even though it was clearly meant in jest, Rainbow reddened and covered her eyes at the jab. She could only think of a partial change for the subject, but hoped it would be enough. “I’m tired.”

Applejack furrowed her brow and swept her vision over the horizon. By now it was too dark to see anything, and this clearly unsettled her mood. “Ah was hopin’ t’ find some shelter,” she droned, “but Ah guess this’ll have to do.” Although she made a powerful effort to hide any disappointment, she couldn’t help shivering. It was turning into a surprisingly cold night, and the dwindling sunlight and canopy of trees collaborated to chill the pair to the bone. Even Rainbow Dash, who by benefit of her pegasus nature was better adapted to the cold, was beginning to feel the night chill as the latent warmth from their walk drained from her.

Rainbow considered the situation for a moment, shifting slightly to find a suitable position amongst the fallen leaves and grass. It was surprisingly comfortable, the various bits of plant matter forming a soft, warm bed underneath her. There was only one thing that could make it more comfortable…

With mostly noble intentions, she tilted her head, indicating to her side. After all, everypony knew that sharing body heat was the best way to stay warm. Being flank-to-flank with Applejack was just a bonus.

The farmpony snickered lightly, “So this is how ye get mares to sleep with ye, eh Dash?”

“Something like that.”

Another small laugh, then the crinkling of crushed leaves sent flutters through Rainbow’s heart as her love lay next to her. Applejack was close enough to feel every rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, close enough to feel her heartbeat and the tensing and relaxing of muscles as she shifted. For a moment she just rested, looking at Dash with an unreadable expression on her face. They stared at each other, both trying to guess the others’ intentions. Then she did something that surprised herself perhaps even more than Rainbow.

With a quick and practiced motion, she removed the band which tied her mane, allowing it to fall freely. She put a hoof over the cyan mare’s shoulder, careful not to come too close to the damaged wings, then rested her head over a very shocked Rainbow Dash’s neck.

Applejack’s hair drifted down over the pair slowly, forming an improvisational but surprisingly effective blanket. Rainbow relished every moment of the sensation, each touch sending a tingling wave up and down her back. As the unfurling locks landed over her bruise, the more sensitive touch caused her wings to jerk involuntarily, reminding her once more of just how bad the damage was. Nonetheless, she managed to suppress the pain; she would have been loathe to diminish Applejack’s beautiful tranquility.

Her heart was racing. She could feel Applejack’s as well, and it was far from still. She ran through the possibilities in her mind; she knew what she was feeling, but was Applejack just exhausted? Or was there more? Could she possibly read emotions through a heartbeat? Time was passing, but she couldn’t tell how much. She wanted to say something. She wanted to do something. Surely this was a signal of some kind; she chastised herself for refusing out of stubborn pride to read Rarity’s cheesy romance novels when offered, if only to train her in the art of seduction.

“Dash? You asleep?”

Suddenly it was obvious just how much time had passed while her mind raced. Her elation over being with Applejack made sleep quite impossible. “No.”

The earth pony breathed softly into Rainbow’s ear for a moment, deep in thought. It tickled, and made her instinctively flick her ear back and forth, but she still enjoyed every hot breath.

“Where were you takin’ me to, anyway?”

“Oh, um, it’s not important … it’s kinda sappy.” Her face was suddenly flush as it dawned on her just how absurd her plan had been in the first place.

“You’re the one who hates sappy, remember?” Applejack laughed, her chest pushing slightly into Rainbow’s shoulder with each exhale.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll tell you.” She paused for a moment, deciding how to describe it without sinking into utter embarrassment. It really was quite sappy. “When I was a filly at flight school, I didn’t really get along so well with most of the other pegasus ponies there. I guess I always kinda wanted to get away. So I’d take whole days just to see how far and how fast I could fly.

“Every time I’d push myself just a little bit farther. I was fast, but I didn’t have much stamina, so it was probably pretty stupid of me. Eventually I got so far out that I was too tired to fly back; I’d get to a point and think, ‘This is it, Rainbow. If you fly past here, who knows where you’ll be tomorrow.’”

She smirked, “of course, that never stopped me.”

“Anyway, one day I had sort of screwed things up with Fl– err, with a friend, and I felt like I needed to get out of there more than ever. I flew farther than I ever had before. By the time my wings gave out, it was the middle of the night and I was exhausted, but it felt good.

“I found a comfortable tree branch and went to sleep. When I woke up it was morning, and I could see where I was. There was a lake at the bottom of a waterfall, and the angle of the light made rainbows on a grove of apple trees on the other side.”

Pulling back from her reverent memory, she was once again acutely aware of her situation and surroundings. “Uh, I just thought you might like to see it. I know, sappy.”

Applejack pulled away slightly to turn and face Rainbow. She gave a soft smile, and all of the pegasus’ worries sunk away as they gazed at one another. Her lips quivered slightly.

Then she burst out laughing.

“Ah’m sorry, Dash, Ah just never heard o’ ye bein’ that cheesy before,” she choked through guffaws, “Ah’m sure it would have been very–snrk–sweet.”

“Ugh.”

Applejack took a moment to calm her laughter and readjust her position, now only laying at Rainbow’s side. She had stopped shivering from the cold, and seemed to be warming up all over. Actually, Rainbow realized, the mare’s body was quite hot now, and not only in the way that the lustful pegasus had always known it to be. She was relieved that the botched situation seemed to be improving.

“But just one thing, Dash. Fluttershy and y’all are good friends now, so what do ye mean, ‘ye screwed things up’ with her?”

Rainbow pursed her lips in frustration at her earlier accidental admission. “Promise you won’t tell Fluttershy I told you any of this?”

“Ah promise.”

She paused pensively, trying to decide how much of her past was supposed to be a secret. Ultimately she decided that the story was worth telling. “When I was first … um … well, when I first was starting to figure out that I like mares, it was because I sorta had a crush.”

Applejack’s eyes widened, but she remained silent.

“And I guess it had never occurred to me that she might not like me the same way; I mean, I’m awesome, how could she not? So I might have come on a little bit strong.”

She couldn’t resist any longer. “Ye mean you and Fluttershy–?”

“No! I mean, uh, I kinda wanted to, and she was very nice about it and all, but I basically just ended up messing things up and putting a wedge in our friendship. It wasn’t until Twilight came to Ponyville that we were close again, and I guess I was always sort of scared to make the first move after that.”

Applejack donned a skeptical expression. “Ye sure as hay made the first move with me.”

“Yeah, uh, about that … Pinkie Pie kinda forced me.”

“Are you joshin’ me, Rainbow Dash?” Applejack was smiling again, rolling her eyes to taunt her rival, “Are y’all sayin’ that ye’re scared of me?”

“N–no! I didn’t say scared! I was just, uh, biding my time.”

“Uh huh.” She leaned in very close to Rainbow, until their lips were almost touching and the breath from her nose tickled the pegasus. With a smirk, she taunted again, “Ye’re afraid of me.”

“Am not!”

“Admit it, ye’re afraid of me.”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Admit that ye’re afraid of me and I’ll give ye a kiss!”

“Am– what?”

Applejack just raised an eyebrow. It probably hadn’t been intended to be a seductive gesture, but it was one.

Rainbow was shocked. She was too flustered by the bizarre suggestion to know what to say. “That’s dirty pool,” she squeaked, voice cracking.

“Well?”

She twisted slightly to better look at her tormenter, the leaves crackling underneath them as she tossed herself onto her side. After a moment of pause, something clicked. This was not a difficult decision.

“I’m terrified.”

That was the right choice.

She had been expecting a light peck, probably on the cheek. Her expectations were wrong. Their lips locked, Applejack’s tongue thrust its way unabashed through her teeth, and whatever fragment of trepidation she had left was forced violently from her mind. One of Applejack’s hooves found its way down her side, and quickly hers were exploring as well. She pulled the mare she loved closer, not caring why this moment was happening, only that it continued.

But of course, it had to end.

Applejack pulled away suddenly, a mix of sheepishness and shock gracing her features.

“Um … I’m still pretty frightened?” It was worth a shot.

“Ah’m sorry, Dash, Ah just … Ah don’t wanna lead ye on or nothin’, just yer kiss before kinda through me for a loop, and now Ah don’t know what’s what.” She was sweating, and her eyes burned with a green passion under a layer of concern. Whatever complicated mess of emotions sapience was granting her, her more primal desires were quite clear.

Rainbow said nothing.

“When Ah was in Manehattan once, as a filly, Ah met this nice mare couple and got all confused. Ah asked my uncle Orange why some mares like mares, and he said, ‘Everypony’s just got ta do what comes natural for ‘em.’ Ah never really thought about it ‘til now.”

“And what … ‘comes natural?’”

Applejack gazed into Rainbow’s eyes for a tense moment, plainly lost in thought. Rainbow realized that she was, in fact, terrified of Applejack, no matter how much she’d told herself that that was just a ploy. She wanted so desperately to spark a romance here, but felt like she was barely keeping afloat in a sea of possible ways to screw things up. Applejack’s expression softened again, then became unreadable, as she’d clearly made a decision.

Rainbow bit her lip.

So did Applejack.

Before long they were moving farther, challenging each other to push the moment to new and ecstatic highs. In spite of the ever-increasing cold, Dash flipped the farmpony onto her back, biting softly at the fur on the nape of her neck and eliciting a barely stifled gasp in response. Applejack’s mane, which was still down, was collecting bits of debris, giving her a wild look that only enticed Rainbow further. Still, somehow, her hat remained on her head. Never willing to let her rival get the upper hoof, Applejack locked her powerful hind legs around Rainbow’s midsection and rolled the pair over once more, now tenting the couple under the cover of tousled locks.

Suddenly, Rainbow felt her neck tighten. The skin around her face pulled back instinctively, giving her, she was sure, a pained grimace. She felt a tight pinch in her back, where she’d now been flipped onto a jutting bit of rock. Applejack pulled away, looking confused, then concerned. A quick but jarring wave of pain ran through Rainbow’s body, and the tips of her hooves twitched as it left her.

She felt an odd sensation, somewhat like how she imagined it would feel if a warm, viscous liquid were being poured between her shoulder blades, under her wings.

Applejack now looked terrified, and seemed to float away, as the periphery of Rainbow’s vision blurred. She was screaming something, but Rainbow couldn’t hear it.

Actually, thought Dash, this sensation was exactly as if a warm, viscous liquid were being poured between her shoulder blades, under her wings.

“Oh horseapples.”

Chapter 8

She was lost again. Lost in those deep, green eyes. Quite literally, in fact, as her remote viewing spell once again found an odd position to look from, filling the crystal ball she was using as a refractor with a green glow. Although it gave a rather nice ambiance to the room, it did little to let her in on just what was going on at the other end.

Huffing, she decided that something more drastic needed to be done. If she couldn’t get the spell to lock on somewhere useful in the first place, she’d just have to move it. Of course, it wasn’t supposed to be movable … but that would just have to be trick number fifty-seven on her list. After a moment of concentration, she closed her eyes, seeing with the faint magenta glow that emanated from her horn. She could visualize the channel her magic took to its destination like a magenta kite string floating in the void.

She imagined putting her hoof out to the string. With a small degree of trepidation, she gave it a tug.

Poof!

The soot that now covered her face and chest, as well as the crystal ball and a fair portion of the library, seemed a fair indication that her little trick hadn’t worked. She coughed, at first perturbed and annoyed, but then just amused by the situation. She chuckled softly and went to her desk to add “clean up soot” to her to-do list for the next day, before being interrupted in these activities by a pink blur.

“Twilight! I heard an explosion! Are you OK? Were you doing something super-cool and you didn’t tell me about it?”

This made Twilight’s chuckle grow into a full laugh. “Sorry, Pinkie, I was just trying a new spell.”

Her laugh vanished as she realized something. “Oh no, I think I may have broken your crystal ball. I’m so sorry, I really didn’t think I would damage it.”

Pinkie laughed. “That’s OK, Twilight, it never really worked anyway.”

Her little blunder was turning into quite the late-night party, in fact, as Rarity and Fluttershy, having presumably not been far, entered the library with a trifle more civility than Pinkie Pie had. “Oh,” Rarity breathed, relieved, “I’m so glad you’re alright. You really must stop worrying us like that!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I was just trying my remote viewing spell. I was so concerned about Rainbow Dash earlier, and I wanted to see if she was feeling better, so I developed a spell that would let me see any pony from a great distance. It doesn’t seem to work, though, I kept getting caught up on some–”

“Eep!” Fluttershy had blown a bit of the soot off the crystal ball, which was intact under the layer of debris, and was now glowing a bright red, sinking into the ground with her hooves over her eyes.

The spell had, in fact, worked. There in the crystal ball, projected for everypony to see, was Rainbow Dash. And Applejack. In what appeared to be a rather intimate situation. Rainbow lay on her back, Applejack straddling her, mane unkempt and flowing over the pair. Twilight hadn’t thought too far ahead about what kind of scene she might intrude upon, and furthermore was now too overjoyed by the success of her spell to realize how invasive she was being.

“Yes! Yes yes yes yes yes it worked!” She bounded around the small table in a Pinkie-Pie-like fit of jubilance.

Pinkie Pie herself, never one to refuse a bit of harmless voyeurism, stared at the pair entirely unabashed, an accomplished grin on her face.

“Oh, my goodness! I really shouldn’t intrude. Oh dear; come now, Rarity, it isn’t proper. But it’s so much fun… no! Your friends’ private lives are their own business! But it’s not like I was trying to intrude… that doesn’t matter! Does it? Maybe it does! And besides, I was worried about them, I’m just being a good friend!” With each sentence of Rarity’s absurd soliloquy, she put a hoof in front of one of her eyes, but simultaneously removed the hoof from her other eye, assuring that her vision was at no point meaningfully obscured. Whichever eye was unobstructed never wandered an inch from the projection at the center of the room.

Even Fluttershy had, through unmitigable curiosity, raised her head. But her expression wasn’t as aloof as the others’. Her eyes were wide, her mouth hanging slightly open in a small frown.

“Girls…”

The others didn’t notice her, still entranced by their own interpretations of the scene.

“Girls, something is wrong.”

This managed to get Pinkie’s attention, but the other two were still lost in their gaiety.

She finally raised her voice. “Girls!”

Everypony knew that when Fluttershy raised her voice, it was serious. Twilight stopped mid-bound, Rarity put both hooves to the ground, Pinkie Pie affected a concerned expression, and all three looked at Fluttershy.

She was soft again, and her voice shook. “Applejack’s crying.”

Now all four were burdened by Fluttershy’s anxiety, glancing briefly at each other before looking once more into the projected image of their friends. It was hard to tell in the small crystal ball and through the thick golden mane, but indeed, Applejack seemed to be crying.

After a moment to take in the scene in this new light, Rarity added, “Rainbow Dash isn’t moving.”

In a brilliant magenta flash, Twilight was gone before she’d even thought to leave. She appeared seconds later, not far from Applejack and Rainbow.

“– you, Dash! Not like this, not in some Celestia-forsaken forest where nopony’ll ever–”

Twilight cut her off, nearly as frantic as the farmpony. “Applejack! What happened?!”

Applejack jumped and almost fell to the ground at this unexpected but welcome interruption. “Twilight! What the hay are– never mind, Rainbow’s hurt, Ah don’t know how bad, ye gotta do somethin’! If ye zapped yerself over here, ye can zap her to a hospital, right?”

She frowned at this, crinkling her nose and considering what needed to be done. “No, I could only get here because I teleported through the magical channel established by my remote viewing spell. Can you lift her?”

“Yer what now? No, never mind, no time.” To answer her question, Applejack flipped Rainbow’s limp form onto her back in a quick, powerful motion. Twilight winced slightly at the display, fearing further damage, but as had been established, there wasn’t time to worry about that.

It seemed like a flash of colors and cries. They were back at the treehouse in the blink of an eye; or the glow of a horn, anyway. The whole group galloped for the hospital, frantic with concern over their friend, paying no heed to the startled ponies they roused in their loud midnight run.

Pinkie Pie nearly knocked down the door to the hospital’s emergency room, then held it open as Applejack galloped through, still carefully balancing Rainbow. The receptionist glanced up, and immediately judged the severity of the situation, waving her hooves frantically both to direct the the group to a room and to signal doctors and nurses to follow them. Their frenzy finally came to a halt as Applejack slid her precious cargo onto a plain, sterile bed, then collapsed to the ground from the strain.

Although the group’s frantic run was now over, it was replaced by the bustling of a bevy of uniformed ponies, poking and prodding at Rainbow’s body with instruments of all description. The group shifted about, trying to stay out of everypony’s way, but a grey unicorn stallion with a trim pink mane made it abundantly clear that they were failing in this attempt.

He spoke in a stern tenor. “Alright, everypony who’s not on my medical staff, get out.”

They had only begun to shuffle out of the room when he interrupted them, pointing a hoof with an intensity that seemed almost accusatory. “Except you.”

Fluttershy shrunk into a corner with a terrified squeak.

“You’re a friend of the patient, yes?”

Her high-pitched squeal seemed vaguely affirmative.

“Healthy female pegasus?”

Another affirmative noise.

“Congratulations, you’ve just volunteered to be our blood donor. Prep her, nurse.”

The nurse, a dark green earth stallion, was a bit more sensitive, forming it as a soft-spoken request instead of a command. “You don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with, but we really could use you.”

Fluttershy calmed somewhat, taking a few deep breaths. Regaining her composure, she spoke emphatically. “No. I mean, yes! Anything if it’ll help Rainbow!”

He smiled warmly and led her from the room. The doctor’s icy glare led the others.

They soon found themselves glancing cursorily at each other in the hospital’s waiting room. It was an unsettlingly bleak environment, even for Twilight’s non-aesthetically-minded tastes. There were scattered works of drab art, each far too glaringly colorful to not be an obvious attempt at bringing happiness to a tense environment. She could almost see the enthusiastic but incompetent interior designer blathering about how green is a soothing color. It did little to soothe her.

Applejack looked nervous, and more than a little bit scared. Her mane was still down, but now disheveled in stringy locks, which she chewed on nervously. She rocked back and forth in her seat, staring at the thin green carpet.

“Applejack?” Twilight approached her somewhat timidly. “Are you OK?”

She looked up, and allowed her hair to fall from her mouth. She looked terrible; her eyes were bloodshot, her limbs shaky, and her mane and coat were a complete mess.

She spoke softly, painfully. “Ah love her, Twilight.”

Pinkie Pie and Rarity looked up at this comment, the former exuding giddiness from every pink pore, barely able to contain her excitement even to give the moment its necessary respect.

“Ah … Ah think Ah always have. Ah just never thought about it. Never really looked at it. All the time we spent together, all the jibes and jeers and competitions.” She made a pained noise that was almost like a laugh. “Ah always wanted to be with her. Ah’m such a fool.”

What little strength was left in her broke, and tears were streaming down her cheeks as she lifted her gaze to match Twilight’s. “Ah love her and Ah never even told her.”

Pinkie Pie gasped dramatically, then pounced on the dejected mare. “Don’t talk like that! She’s going to be just fine!”

“Oh,” Applejack huffed, “and just how d’ya know that?”

“Because if she’s not, this would be a TERRIBLE love story, and I worked WAY too hard for this to be a terrible love story!”

In spite of how utterly nonsensical that statement had been, it visibly lifted Applejack’s spirits somewhat to have such dedicated and supportive friends. On Pinkie’s cue, the group came together in a clumsy hug.

“Let’s just wait, Applejack,” Twilight suggested, putting on a compassionate but somewhat artificial grin. “I’m sure everything will be fine.”

The hug ended and the group once again took their separate seats, looking a bit less down but still anxious. Time passed incredibly slowly, and worse, there was no obvious clock in the room to judge how slowly it was passing. Twilight always felt trapped when she didn’t know the time, and this was no different. She twiddled her hooves and glanced periodically at her friends, only to find them doing more or less the same. Nopony spoke for what must have been hours.

She jumped at the sound of a door opening. Fluttershy stumbled through it, almost falling over, then walked uneasily in the general direction of Applejack. She lost her footing in the process, and tripped into Twilight.

“Oh,” she whimpered, slowly, “I’m so, so sorry.” She looked pale.

Twilight’s heart dropped. She looked up at Applejack, to see the most horrified expression she’d ever seen the farmer wear. She couldn’t bring herself to look to the others, especially as Applejack began to shake again, moving her mouth as if to form words, but with no sound.

Fluttershy blinked, looking at her hooves. “I’m kind of dizzy.”

Twilight was confused. “Fluttershy?”

“The doctor said she’s going to be alright. My blood’s compatible. In fact, she’ll be free to go as soon as the surgery’s over!”

Applejack’s relief was almost tangible as she leapt from her seat, nearly crushing Fluttershy in her embrace. “Thank you, thank you Fluttershy!”

She could barely speak through the hug, but wheezed out, “It was the least I could do.”

Applejack pulled away with a beaming grin. “Ah love her, Fluttershy.”

“Oh,” she smiled sheepishly, “I know.”

Author's note: I'll be out of town for two weeks soon, so I wanted to get this finished before then. With a bit of luck and no small token of magic, I'll have the next and final chapter up tomorrow.

P.S.: What, you thought Pinkie Pie would grow a fourth wall just for my story?

Chapter 9

She was lost again. Lost in those deep, green eyes. She was in a delirium, making it easy to lose herself in them. They were the first things she saw when she woke up, groggy and barely remembering why she’d been asleep in the first place; she wanted them to always be the first things she saw when she woke up. She wanted to live in their verdant depths and relish every moment of her life in bliss with Applejack, as sappy and un-Rainbow-Dash as that may be. She allowed herself to imagine this reality as a possibility, even to live in it, as she gazed up at those eyes.

“Hey there pony girl. Y’all fainted on me.” Applejack smiled slyly. “Now that’s a right terrible thing to do to a friend, don’tcha think?”

Slowly regaining her lucidity, Rainbow sneered playfully in response. “More like you tried to kill me!”

“Yeah, uh … sorry about that.”

“We’ll call it even.” The pegasus tried to wave a hoof in the air dismissively, but was still a bit tired and only succeeded in tangling herself in the sheets. This gave her pause. Sheets? Obliviously, she asked a rather obvious question before taking the mere seconds it would have required to determine its answer. “Where am I?”

“You’re in Ponyville Hospital. Ye gave us a real scare there.”

The normal response to this news would be shock, surprise, perhaps even fear. Rainbow wasn’t inclined to normalcy. She just rolled her eyes and groaned, “Not again, how long am I stuck in here this time?”

Applejack laughed a deep, warm laugh. Even her mocking laugh was beautiful, but this one was friendly. That wonderful laugh, Dash was sure, could cure her of anything better than some boring hospital. But instead of Applejack, another voice, a disinterested doctor on the other end of the room, spoke up in reply. “You’re free to go whenever you’re feeling up to it. Just make sure you check out and settle your bill.” He surveyed the responses of Rainbow and the group while running a hoof through a shock of pink hair at the back of his neck, before apparently concluding that everypony understood and he was no longer necessary. With this unsentimental gesture, he trotted from the room, confident in another job well done. Applejack laughed again.

That had drawn Rainbow’s attention to the rest of the room. It was like any other hospital room; drab, oddly green and filled with indescribable equipment. More importantly, it was filled with her friends. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy all sat at the opposite end silently, though the latter waved excitedly at Rainbow’s attention. They were giving Applejack space and time.

“Ah’ve got somethin’ Ah need t’ talk to ye about, Dash. Or maybe just tell ye.”

Rainbow knew full well that this could only be good news at this point. Things had gone too well for it to be bad. It’s rare that being knocked unconscious and waking up in a hospital room is a good thing, but even so, she was sure things were more-or-less OK. Kind of. Mostly.

Applejack pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, deep in thought. She spoke slowly and purposefully. “They say that ye either like stallions, or ye like mares. Like one day ye’ll just wake up, and poof! Half of Equestria’s yer oyster.

“But it ain’t like that at all, is it, Dash? It ain’t about stallions and mares, it’s about ponies. It’s about you and me.” She paused, examining Rainbow’s reaction. “Ah don’t give one lick about stallions. Ah don’t give one lick about mares. Ah love you, Rainbow Dash.”

Still only half awake, Rainbow achingly took in this postulate, staring at a point a few feet behind Applejack’s head. She stared listlessly at that point for a moment, then changed her attitude entirely when she managed to parse it all.

“Wait. Repeat that last part.”

With a snicker, Applejack continued her game. “Hmmm … Ah don’t give one lick about mares?”

Rainbow sneered.

“Now what was it…”

She tried a different tact, pleading with big, silly puppy-dog eyes.

Applejack relented, and spoke in her soft, thoughtful tone again.

“Ah love you, Rainbow Dash.”

“… So. Awesome.” She could barely even squeak out this declaration as the enthusiasm built in her. It started in her tail and wriggled electrically all the way through her, giving her goosebumps and causing her to vocalize her glee in a high-pitched hum. Finally it overtook her and she leapt from the bed and into Applejack. The farmer’s strong frame had little trouble taking in her enthusiastic energy.

“Applejack! This is so awesome! Don’t you see what this means? We’ll be, like, the best and most awesome couple in Ponyville and everypony’ll be jealous of us because we’re so much cooler than them and they’ll all–”

“Rainbow Dash!”

Pinkie’s out-of-the-blue exclamation caught the pair off guard, and they broke their gaze to stare quizzically at her.

“Dashie, you’re back! I missed you SO MUCH, you’ve been gone for DAYS!” With this, she pounced on the unsuspecting pegasus, knocking her to the ground.

Rainbow flailed comically. Giggling, she protested, “Pinkie, what the hay are you talking about, I haven’t been–”

Pinkie’s real meaning dawned on her. She looked to her friends, who were all nodding in agreement. She was back. She’d let baseless fear tear away most of her self, but it was back now. She was confident again. And her friends were all there for her, through everything.

She was Rainbow Dash again.

“That’s right, Pinkie, I’m back. Thank you.”

“Anything for a smile!”

She put on a broad, ridiculous grin as a token of gratitude. This seemed to placate Pinkie. Or perhaps she’d just been distracted, as she suddenly gasped and jumped off of her prey, bolting for the other side of the room once more. Her boisterousness truly knew no bounds.

“Rarity!”

Rarity looked shocked to be the topic of conversation, having been quite content to simply watch the scene unfold before her.

Pinkie skidded to a halt and started bashing her head into the couturier’s flank in a surprisingly unsuccessful effort to get her to move. “Come on, Rarity, there’s not much time and we have SO MUCH planning to do!”

“Planning? Just what in Equestria are you talking about? Stop that, it’s so unseemly!”

The party pony seemed bewildered that her intent hadn’t been obvious. “Planning for the wedding, DUH! I can’t do it all by myself!”

“Pinkie, that’s…”

But a small smile crept on her face, as she allowed herself to be swept up in Pinkie’s silly enthusiasm. Soon the giggling pair were galloping from the room, whispering secretive plans to each other. Rainbow only caught a small tiff over whether a banner should read “mare and wife” or “mare and mare” before they were out of earshot.

Rainbow was lying on her back through this whole spectacle, too entranced by the silliness of it to right herself. After soaking in the nonsense scene herself, Applejack took advantage of this situation. She trotted to Rainbow’s side with a grin, then sat atop her and declared, “Well looka there, pinned ya again.”

Rainbow would have none of this, of course. She flipped the pair onto the bed, but was soon rolled over once more, then again, and so on. This tussle very quickly degraded into kissing, nibbling, touching and licking as the pair allowed their previously abortive activities to resurface. That too stopped abruptly, however, as they simultaneously noticed the bright red glow coming from their two remaining spectators.

Fluttershy tried to strafe out of the room, but found herself hung up on opening the door silently. Twilight just tried to avert her gaze, focusing intently on a vase in the far corner of the room. To her credit, it was bizarre that even the roses were green in this hospital.

Her lips still pressed against Rainbow’s, Applejack suggested in a muffled voice, “Maybe this ain’t the best place fer this.”

Dash pulled away with a smirk. “Race you to your place?”

“Oh, you are so on.”

Two weeks later

“Scootaloo, what the hay! Get off o’ me!”

“‘Get off o’ me?’ That’s not very romantic.”

Apple Bloom raised a brow. “Romantic?”

Scootaloo frowned poutily at this comment. “If Rainbow Dash is a fillyfooler, I wanna be a fillyfooler too.”

This statement was too ludicrous for Apple Bloom not to laugh. She could barely explain through her chuckling, “That’s stupid, Scootaloo. They say ye’re either born that way or ye ain’t!”

“Well how am I supposed to know?!” She was perhaps as legitimately confused as she was indignant.

“How the heck should I know!”

“Aww, come ooooon!” The tone in Scootaloo’s voice would have melted the resolve of any colt her age, and many of the fillies to boot. But Apple Bloom remained resolute.

“I’ll call my big sis.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

Apple Bloom took a deep breath. “Applej– mmf!” She was cut off by Scootaloo’s invading lips.

It was like any first fillyhood kiss, really. Clumsy, flat, and not especially passionate, yet exciting and new. It only lasted a fleeting few seconds, though, its exhilaration serving to keep it just as brief as it was invigorating.

The little pegasus pulled away, her wings buzzing, with a wide grin. Apple Bloom tried unsuccessfully to pass off her flushed expression as anger. Nonetheless, they both instinctively turned their heads, looking to their flanks.

“Well that didn’t work…”

Author's notes

Well, that's it! That's my take on the oldest ship in the book. Sorry if this last chapter seemed a bit rushed ... on the one hoof it was, on the other, I just didn't have too much left to say. I may write a brief epilogue at some point, but I consider it complete as is. I'd just like to finish off by saying some things which probably ought to go in a blog, except that nopony reads those.

First off, thank you so much for reading! As I've already said, I prefer comments to virtually all other forms of feedback, so if you have any parting words, please consider posting something. Even if you're coming to this story months or years after I finished it, if you have something to say, don't hesitate! Gimme some words! Even (actually, especially) criticism is appreciated.

Second, some cross-pollination. If you have the remotest interest in dark fiction or gore, or even if my mentioning that has just piqued your curiosity in how someone with my writing style might handle that genre, consider reading my ongoing fic, Sweetie Belle's Cutie Mark. I promise you you won't regret it unless you do! Additionally, as I seem to have gotten a sudden boost in readership from Gold, it's only fair that I should return the favor. I've been editing Gold's Appledash work, Left Behind. You should definitely read it! Gold may have issues keeping his personal pronouns straight, but he can sure spin an enrapturing yarn. His writing style isn't especially similar to mine, so if you're getting tired of what I've termed "adverb salad," then it may be a refreshing change of pace.

Third, some hints in what's to come. After finishing SBCM, I have a few things on the docket: I have an extremely sad tragedy one-shot just to test the waters writing something sad that isn't gory. Then I have a few undeveloped ideas. One is a romantic comedy starring Applejack and virtually every other character in FiM, with the most ridiculous premise I could think of (this is to test the bounds of my characterization). The second is a crossover involving a certain jet-age aerial ace. If anybody's interested in seeing these come to fruition, or would like to draw a cover image or edit, feel free to follow me, get in contact, etc.

Finally, a deleted scene. This was the only decent bit of chapter 6 before I changed it entirely, and I thought it too amusing to ditch entirely, so enjoy the most passionate scene you never got to see, raw and unedited:

“Greatest daredevil in Ponyville, huh? So why’re y’all actin’ like a timid fieldmouse?”

“Well,” Dash stammered, “uh … Daring Do’s 4th rule of living a Daring life is to know when not to take risks!” She refrained from mentioning that the 3rd rule was, of course, knowing when to take risks.

Laughing, Applejack pulled the cerulean body before her in closer, joining into a much deeper, more passionate kiss. With Rainbow following her every gestured instruction, it was as if their lips and tongues were dancing, each twist and lap by the earth pony followed similarly by the pegasus in a perfectly-choreographed waltz. Having this sort of power over the usually forceful flier was exhilarating, and led the small voice which asked her “what happens next?” to form a larger chorus. She could read Rainbow’s desires clearly, although her own were in a haze. They didn’t seem crass or shallow, but earnest and thoughtfully restrained, worthy of being nurtured.

“So Darin’ Do taught y’all how not to take risks?”

Puzzled, Dash nodded, head turned slightly at the question.

“Ah guess it’s a good thing Ah don’t read Darin’ Do then!”

Several hours later the pair found themselves sweaty, panting, and ensnared together in Applejack’s purple sheets. Applejack stared into Rainbow’s rose eyes, nose twitching in consideration of exactly what had just happened, trying to collect her thoughts and feelings. It had all seemed to follow so naturally, but was now gathering a fog of doubt and confusion. Her mane was untied and wild, lying loosely over them both. With one fore hoof she patted down a bit of fur on her neck which had been twisted and stuck in an odd position with saliva, the other lay under her partner’s neck, occasionally idly twirling a lock of green hair. For her part, Rainbow was glassy, twitching excitedly, and repeatedly muttering “wow!” in a muffled trance, while enjoying the earthy scents and sensations she’d never before experienced.

“Rainbow?”

The pegasus tried to rouse herself from her trance to respond, but couldn’t. By now, Applejack had become accustomed to these dazed moments, both looking deeply into each others’ eyes, so she allowed it to continue until the desire to break the silence overwhelmed her.

“Ah … um, Ah didn’t know ye could do that with wings.”