Friday
11:21am - Home
Dear diary,
Day off work. Been lounging around mostly while Mom hollers at me to get off my flank and do something.
I told her I need to recuperate from my hectic and confusing love life, but she just snorted. "I never got time to recuperate. You deal with it."
That's nice, isn't it??
I told her, "You don't know what it's like to fall in love with your best friend!"
She just said, "Yes, I do." before slamming the Ponyville Times on the coffee table and saying, "Game set and match to me!"
Five minutes later
Flicking through the newspaper. Oh, somepony's grown a metre-long cucumber. How lovely.
One minute later
I'm actually bored of lounging. I've only been lounging for about an hour and a half - I woke up at ten. Went into the kitchen to amuse my darling mother.
I said, "Hello, darling mother."
She just turned around from her cooking and said, "What do you want?"
How antisocial!
"Nothing. I just came to talk to you. You know, like a normal pony."
And she said, "Well, be careful hon. I'm cooking, I don't want you having an accident with the oven or something."
I was about to point out that a) I'm (almost) a fully-grown mare and way too old to "have an accident with the oven or something", and b) it was my house, so I could go where I liked. However, she had quite a large knife in her hoof so I decided not to bother.
1:54pm
Okay, so I've listened to my CD collection right through, I've eaten lunch, I've read some trashy gossip magazine (how in the hay does Rarity like those things??!) and I've sat around a bit. Not much left to do, and there's no point in going to see any of my friends. Fluttershy's helping Pinkie run Sugarcube Corner, so I'm staying well away from there. Twilight's studying and would probably go insane (again) if I interrupted her... Rarity's at some fashion convention somewhere and AJ's working. And if you try to interrupt AJ when she's applebucking, you end up getting bucked yourself. That comes from experience.
Mom came in and sat next to me. "Hey, Dash?"
"Yeah, what?"
She smiled at me. "You and Applejack are getting on really well."
I went a bit red. "Uh... yeah. I guess."
She laughed a bit. "Hey, 'cause you were so super on Mother's Day, I decided to get you a little present." She pulled out two tickets, and it was only when I saw the writing on them that I realised that they were for tomorrow night, for K-Colt Live, the most popular music concert in Equestria. I looked at them for ages before squealing. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!"
"Thought you'd like them."
I stared at her. "They're actually for me?"
She laughed again. "No, they're for me." she said, giving me a nudge. "Of course they're for you, dumbo!" She gave them to me, and I held them up to the light to check that they weren't forged or anything. It still wasn't sinking in.
"How did you get these?" I asked.
Mom tapped her nose. "I have contacts."
I thought for a moment. "Dad's going, isn't he?"
"Uhm...yeah. Yeah, he is."
Ten minutes later
Mom left me to decide who to take with me. Surprisingly, she didn't want to go herself.
"Nah," she said, "you treat somepony special."
Somepony special? Hmmmm......
I won't take Fluttershy... she'd find it way too loud and whatever. Or Rarity; she'd spent about a year getting ready only to refuse at last minute on the grounds that "your taste in music is far too uncouth" or something stupid. Twilight? Uhm... no. I love her and all, but there might be dancing involved. Forget two left hooves, poor Twi has four left hooves!
Pinkie Pie? Maybe. She likes most of the same music that I do, and she's pretty rad at dancing. But...
To be honest there's one pony I've been aching to take out. She's awesome at dancing, she appreciates good music, and... she'd look gorgeous under strobe lighting. Horseapples, she looks good under any kind of lighting.
Three minutes later
"Mom, I'm taking Applejack with me to the concert, if that's okay."
"More than okay. You'll have an amazing time. Look on the tickets, you missed a bit!"
Missed what? I looked down, squinting at the print. Wait...
"VIP?! We've got VIP tickets??" I yelled, running over to hug her.
"Uh huh. Thought you might want to meet..."
"Who? Who?!"
"Well, there's your dad, and then there's..."
Thirty seconds later
We're actually going to meet DJ PON-3 and Octavia!!!!!!! Not to mention ALL the other stage acts (well, most of them.) Dad's gonna show us around as we're both Elements of Harmony - and guess what else? Mom told Dad to expect me to bring Applejack.
I said to her, "Am I that predictable?"
And she said, "Yup."
Oh well!
I don't think my life could get any better. The Vinyl Scratch is the best radio show in history!
AJ had better be free - this is gonna be so, so AWESOME!!!
6:12pm - Sweet Apple Acres
I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Applejack answered, and grinned at me.
"Howdy, Rainbow! What brings y'all here this evenin'?"
Something about the way she looked made it almost impossible to talk. "Uh... I... uhm..." I clenched the tickets tight in my hoof. "Applejack...I...uhm..."
"Are you alright, sugarcube?"
She called me 'sugarcube'.
Shut up, brain. She calls everypony 'sugarcube'.
I laughed. "Hehehe, yeah. I'm...fine. Yeah."
"You wanna come inside with me?"
Oh, boy. You have no idea what I wanna do with you, Applejack. Shut up, Dash!!!
Five minutes later - Sweet Apple Acres living room
We sat down on the couch, and AJ got us some juice. "You hungry?"
"No, I'm fine." I smiled, internally begging the butterflies in my stomach to quit it.
"So..." she grinned back, taking a slurp of her juice, "what can Ah do you for?"
I still kept the tickets in my hoof, hiding them behind my back just a little. "I have... a present for you."
Applejack gasped. "Really? Oh, Dash, you don't ha-" I suddenly pressed her ticket in her open hoof and she went silent. For a moment, she gazed at it, before looking at me, then back to the ticket. "Oh, Rainbow... K-Colt Live? Oh, Ah could kiss you."
Please do.
She looked at me and laughed. "Don't worry, Ah won't. Hey, thank you, Rainbow. An'...you're comin' too?"
"Yeah. VIP, all-inclusive, get to see my dad... et cetera et cetera..."
Her face brightened (oddly.) "Is your dad... Notedash?"
I went red. "Heh...yeah."
Applejack grinned. "Thought it was! Ah absolutely love his music. You must be so proud of him!"
Ha. "Dad's music is pretty great, I admit...but he gets so embarrassing sometimes!"
AJ snorted and smirked. "Oh yeah? Like how?"
"Oh, I dunno..." I thought, before a memory sprung to my mind that made me cringe. "That time he kissed my mom at the end of a concert a couple years back."
"Well, that ain't too bad, is it? Ah think it's quite romantic."
"AJ, they were making out. With tongue."
"...Oh."
10:34pm - Home, in bed
Result! AJ's free tomorrow night.
Do I call it a "date" as such? Or is it just a concert? Or is it just a date-type-friend-outing-thing?
One minute later
Should I make an effort outfit-wise? Or should I just be casual? You know, glow sticks and shades?
Two minutes later
If I do dress up, what on Earth am I gonna wear? No point asking Rarity: she only does townpony type outfits.
One minute later
I am going to improvise and ad-lib within an inch of my life. I need to be spontaneous and fresh to keep my reputation...cool. Right.
With all this growing party fever, I don't think I'll ever get to sleep tonight....
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Saturday - PARTY TIME!!
11am - Home
Rifling through my wardrobe at lightning speed!!!!
WhatdoIwearwhatdoIwearwhatdoIwear????
And why did I decide to dress with improvisosity? I mean, improviseness! I mean.. oh, I don't know!
There's only eight and a half hours until the concert... how in Ponyville am I gonna be ready in time? Ohmygoshhhhhhhh........
11:10am
Wait a second... I'm Rainbow Dash. And I'm having a girly fit over what I'm gonna wear??
No way. That's not how I work. I'm gonna wear what I wanna wear, and I'm gonna look cool wearing it.
5:02pm
Ready! Shades, glow sticks, and my denim jacket with my hair loose. Perfect!
Make-up. How do I put make-up on, anyway? Never done it myself before. Oh well, can't hurt that much.
One minute later
OWWW!!! OWW PONYFEATHERS OW owwwwww horseapples. Ow.
Mascara brush in the eye. It does hurt that much!
Two minutes later
Right, done. At AJ's for 5:30, an hour and a half train to the venue, then thirty minutes to beat the queues. I'm sooooo excited.
5:19pm
Went down to see Mom. She smiled at my outfit (for once.)
"You look lovely! I like your shades."
I blushed. "Thanks. I'm a bit nervous, though."
She offered me a seat next to her on the sofa and I perched down gingerly, as if the slightest move could wreck my appearance. "No need to be." she said. "You'll have a great time, and so will Applejack. Just act normal."
"Mom, I can't act normal! I have you for a mother."
She gave me a little poke before laughing. "Well, yeah, I admit, I'm not the most normal of parents. But who wants normality when they can have Firefly the Supermom, eh?"
I facehoofed, but grinned nonetheless. "You think I should just be myself?"
"Yes. And that's the best you can be." she said. "If Applejack doesn't want you, she's stupid. You're an incredibly special little mare, my girl."
Aww.
"Thanks, Mommy." I said, hugging her, and she gave me a curious look.
"What...did you just...did you just call me 'Mommy'?"
I laughed. "Yup. You know that one time you were going on about connecting with your 'inner foal' to find peace? I think I'm doing that. Or I'm inheriting your insanity, could be either."
Mom smiled and hugged me back. "Who's awesome?" she said, starting up this old phrase-exchanging game we had when I was little.
"I dunno, Mom... who is?"
"You are, Rainbow Dash!" we both laughed, and memories flooded my mind. Memories of all the things we'd done together, all the talks we'd had, all the vacations, the trips, the endless, endless flights through the endless, empty sky. Everything.
"You're awesome." we chorused to each other.
5:28pm - Outside Sweet Apple Acres
Waiting for AJ to come out. I've been told by Big MacIntosh to wait just a second.
"Y'all look mighty fine, Rainbow Dash, if you don' min' me complimentin' you like that. Ah think AJ would gimme an earful if Ah said that in front'a her."
I blushed, trailing my hoof in the ground a bit. "Thanks, MacIntosh, that's real sweet. Why wouldn't she...?" I asked tentatively.
"She might get it int'a her head that Ah like you. She wouldn't like that because she's the one that likes you, not me. No offence." He stayed still purposely after saying that, implying that it wasn't just a slip of the tongue. I blushed even more, my wings trembling under my jacket. I couldn't believe it.
"W...wha...did...she..." I stuttered, my heart beating hard.
"Eeyup." I opened my mouth to beg him to tell me more; urge him to spend time going over every little detail of this rumour, no matter where he'd got it from. But somehow, I stayed silent, my vocal chords unexpectedly out of order. Big MacIntosh chuckled pleasantly. "Well, Ah done given y'all somethin' t'chew on, there... Here she comes down the stairs jus' now. Hey, keep it shush, Ah don' wan' her knowin' anythin' Ah told ya. Right?"
I nodded vigorously, and watched as he moved out of the way and let Applejack step through the doorway and out into the moonlit yard.
She looked breathtaking. Absolutely, amazingly perfect in every single way that it is possible to be. Her hair shimmered in the light like gold, winding down and around her neck in a neat plait. Her face was lit up by her pleasant, meaningful smile, and I could see that she too had attempted to put on some make-up, even if it was incredibly uncharacteristic of her. She wasn't wearing anything too fancy, just two apple-shaped hair-slides keeping her forelock out of her face, and a red jacket to match her similar coat colour. I smiled back at her, not being able to do much else.
"All set, sugarcube?" she giggled, trotting over. Her tail flickered against mine, and I shivered. She looked at me curiously. "Hey, are ya cold? Ah got a coat if you wanna borrow it..."
"Nah, I'll be fine." I replied, as casually as I could. "Shall we get going?"
"Uh huh!"
6:21pm - The train
Jamming with AJ to Dad's newest album. It really is awesome music, even if I say so myself.
Being like this, just rocking out to music together... it's so... normal. My heart's beating normally, I'm not doing anything stupid, I'm not fiddling with my outfit... It's so much better this way. It feels... right.
7:10pm - K-Colt Live
Queues! Who'd have thought?
I said to AJ, "We've been stuck here forever!"
She laughed, "Ten minutes, Dash."
"But we're nowhere near the front!" Which was true, actually. AJ nodded, and we looked around, before I saw a familiar blue stallion trot down the queue line.
"Dad! Save us, please!"
He rolled his eyes. "Dash, VIP. You have VIP tickets: you don't need to queue."
Oh, yeah! I laughed and hugged him, and Applejack went all formal and polite (I could have sworn she curtsied at one point.)
"You must be Applejack?" said Dad.
"Yes, Mr. Note, sir... Ah'm Applejack..." she said quietly. To our surprise, Dad knelt for a second to kiss Applejack's hoof. She gasped, and went a little red, before grinning. Dad chuckled. "Now, shall we get going inside before we miss the music?"
"That sounds like a great idea." said AJ.
"Are you girls ready, then?" Dad laughed.
"Hay yeah!" we chorused.
7:22pm
Waiting for the concert to begin. The arena is packed out; we're pretty near the front, and if I turn around, I can just see a sea of glow sticks. Hyped!!
Ten minutes later
The concert began and the music was on, loud. I suddenly forgot everything that had been bugging me for the past two weeks and danced my best. I noticed almost immediately that Applejack was a really good dancer; even though she never listened to pop or rock music (I supposed), she moved better than any filly on the floor. I saw a few colts trot past and abruptly stop to gaze at her with their mouths gaping open, but I gave them a dagger-glance and they shuffled off almost as quickly as they had appeared. Hah.
8:32pm
Best act so far? Either the DJ herself or the Cloudsdale Revolutionists (stupid name for a rock band.) AJ loved Guitarstrings. He sings so fast!
One thing I noticed about DJ P0N-3 and Octavia: they actually are like how they act on the show. Always disagreeing, with Octavia occasionally getting humiliated while the DJ teases her, but they're pretty affectionate. They keep flirting (well, Vinyl keeps flirting.) and stuff. They must be dating... I wonder what being fillyfoolers is like for them?
Could me and AJ ever be like that?
I was right when I said that she'd look good under strobe lighting. I'm dancing with the best-looking mare in the club, and she only wants to dance with me! It's like a dream come true. Tonight is a dream come true.
8:44pm
Filly Antebellum, AJ's favourite country band, is on stage. They're actually really awesome.
They're playing "Own The Night", and Applejack is singing along properly (as opposed to screaming, like everypony else.)
Two minutes later
The lead singer of F.A. shouted out. "Okay, let's have a slow one! Ah want y'all t'find yourselves a partner, 'cause we're gonna waltz!"
Applejack whispered, "Betcha anythin' the next song is "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". You wanna dance with me?"
I nodded, surprising myself. We just gently wrapped our hooves around each other and prepared ourselves, unlike most of the girls in the crowd, who were hastily looking for single stallions to dance with.
A slow country beat kicked in and we started dancing, looking at each other and giggling. I was blushing really hard, but luckily the lighting meant that nopony could see (I hope.)
Applejack started humming the tune with the leading mare singing on stage as we gently twirled, and I could feel my heart beat quickening. The lyrics were romantic and heartfelt.
Suddenly, we locked gazes. I looked closely into Applejack's perfect emerald eyes, and the world seemed to fall away. The music was quieter, all the other ponies were insignificant. It was just us, dancing. I moved my forehooves further around her midsection, and we leaned in. My heart rate quickened even more. We got closer, and closer, and closer...
"Oh, Rainbow... Ah could kiss you..."
Claps interrupted us, nose-to-nose. We broke apart and saw a sea of ponies around us, stomping their hooves and yelling.
"Whoa, that was epic!"
"Are you two trained in dancing or summin'?"
"Sick! I could never do that."
"You looked so romantic..."
We looked at each other, before bursting out in laughter.
"Thanks, guys. We're just having a good time." I said, wrapping a wing around AJ, who looked redder than I felt. I saw that the lights had gone up for the interval, so I quickly saluted the crowd of new fans and ushered her to the stage.
9:04pm - Green room
We met Dad in the "green room", (more stupid names; it's not even green, for Pete's sake!) which is essentially where musicians go before performing and during the interval and stuff. We waited for about two minutes before the acts began arriving.
"Hey, Note! 'Sup!"
It was the Cloudsdale Revolutionists!! I had to clamp my hoof over my mouth to stop myself from squealing.
"Not much, guys! Great set out there. Talk about glow sticks!"
They laughed and bro-hoofed, and AJ and I stood there, dazed. Dad laughed and pointed to us, "This is my daughter, Rainbow Dash, and her guest, Applejack. You may know them as-"
Strummer, the guitarist of the band, cut him off. "Elements of... of... wait, I got this!... Uh... Loyalty! That's you, Rainbow Dash, isn't it? And Applejack is..."
High-Hat, the drummer, finished his band mate's sentence. "Honesty? That's right."
They laughed, and we shook hooves. I was still reeling a little bit from everything that had happened in the past hour. Just then, a few more ponies trotted in from the stage door, and Applejack almost fell over. Filly Antebellum!
"Whoa, Ah need a drink after that one!" the pianist chuckled.
The female singer nodded, and swayed over to the water machine. "Howdy y'all! Notedash, you're up next, right?"
Dad nodded. "Nice set, Summerbreeze. Hey, you guys had the whole arena hooked on your last song!"
Summerbreeze laughed. "Sure did! One couple got all the attention out there... Real professionals!"
Mezzo, the pianist, nudged her. "Hey, Ah don't know if you've noticed, but... They're right there!" He pointed to us, and Summerbreeze blushed. "Oh! Girls, Ah'm so sorry! Ah never-"
"It's fine," laughed Applejack, "we enjoyed dancin'."
The guitarist and male lead, Chord Medley, winked at Applejack. "We gotta cowgirl in the crowd! Where ya from, sweet pea?"
"Just outta Ponyville." she replied, tipping her hat and giving her tail a flick.
We got chatting to the two bands, each sharing stories of how they met and began their musical careers, when we were interrupted once more by some familiar voices.
"Make way, make way, here comes the cool!"
Another mare piped up. "Shut up, Vinyl. Just shut up."
It was the DJ and Octavia! Vinyl strolled in, greeting everypony with a hug, including us. Octavia shook our hooves politely.
"You guys are two of those element whatsits, aren't you?"
"Elements of Harmony." corrected Octavia.
We nodded, and Vinyl's face lit up. "You should come on the show! Bring the others along, we'd have a proper party!"
Octavia hid her face with a hoof. "No. We're not humiliating and ridiculing these two. They were part of the group that saved Equestria from eternal damnation twice, remember?"
"Humiliate and ridicule? Of course I wouldn't!" She winked at us, and we burst out laughing before Octavia dragged her away.
9:21pm - Dad's dressing room
After chatting with the musicians, we went to spend the last five minutes or so with Dad in his dressing room. It was big, with a proper wardrobe and mirrors, and they even had lights around them. Applejack stood at the doorway in awe, while I casually trotted in and fetched some Cola from the mini-fridge.
"So, how's Mom?" Dad asked, inspecting his mane.
"Mad. Utterly, utterly mad." I replied, rolling my eyes.
"Good to hear she's acting normally." Dad chuckled.
Applejack, hearing our conversation, walked over. "She made a memory tree with us." she said quietly.
"A what?" Dad asked, and we explained about the pictures and the photographs and the lights and the lanterns. When we had finished, he smiled at us warmly. "That's my Firefly." he said wistfully. "Seemingly crazy on the outside, but she really has got a heart of gold."
Applejack nodded. "Nopony's ever done somethin' like that for us before. It was an amazin' evenin', an' we owe her a lot. Granny told her that she's always welcome at our farm!"
Dad grinned. "Nice to see the Earth ponies still love her. They always have."
I smiled. "So, you're up next. You ready?"
"Hay yeah!" he laughed.
"Dad? One more thing."
"Yeah?"
"Please don't drag me on stage."
9:41pm
Dad just came on! He totally rocks.
I've never danced so much in my life. I have the coolest parents!
One minute later
Oh. My. Gosh. Did I just say that I have the best parents?? Help! The strobe lights must be making me delirious!
Two minutes later
Dad said, "Before my next song, I'd just like to dedicate this one to my girls, Firefly and Rainbow Dash. I love you both so, so much."
And then he sang "Angels". I'm smiling all over (not that smiling all over is even possible.)
11:38pm - Back in Ponyville, Sweet Apple Acres
Applejack and I stumbled back to her farm from the train station like complete drunks. It was cold, and the stars twinkled above us, and I was freezing and exhausted, but happy. I lent against my companion, using her weight for support. We got to her door, and before she went in, she gazed at me.
"Rainbow, Ah don't think Ah've ever had so much fun in my life. That was... incredible."
"Thank you so much for coming along." I smiled. "It wouldn't have been the same without you there. And... you really are an amazing dancer."
Applejack went a little bit red and giggled. "Oh, sugar, no way. You're better than me by a landslide. Or a mudslide, take your pick!" she laughed, relieving last year's heated competition.
I laughed along. "Yeah. Hey, thanks, though."
"Thank you too! We should do this again sometime."
"We should. Goodnight!"
"Nigh- Oh, Dash, wait!"
I had started trotting away, but she called me back, so I turned around.
And then it happened.
She kissed me, twice; a long one on the cheek, then, after pulling away to look into my eyes, a peck on the lips.
I reeled, and grinned at her. She grinned back.
"Whoa..." we both breathed.
"Am I drunk?" I said, stepping back and almost falling over.
"You are now..." Applejack smirked, equally dazed. "Don't breathe a word of this to anypony, or Ah may have t'kill you."
I nodded. "Goodnight Applejack."
"G'night, Rainbow."
Midnight - In bed
Best. Night. Ever.
It's official; I'm in love with Applejack, and she's in love with me, too. I know it.
When we were dancing, it was... amazing. I know she loves me. She kissed me twice!
(Side note: I'm not actually drunk. Love drunk, maybe, but not drunk drunk.)
I need to sleep on this. There's only one thing left to do, and that's to let the cat out of the bag.
Not that I have a cat in a bag. Just saying.
I have to tell her. I have to confess. I have to get this thing started somehow... anyhow...
But how??
To be concluded...