FaR Chapter Fourteen- Pinkie's Surprise
Applejack's hooves held tight around Rainbow Dash. In her grasp the Pegasus shook spastically, like a small foal having a temper tantrum. The sky above them was a pitch black veil of shadows, stars dotting the sky like small pinpricks emanating light from heaven. The night breeze was chilly, and had a light nip to it, but it did not distract the orange earth pony at all. All of her attention was focused on the cyan Pegasus in her grasp.
"Rainbow, Ah'm sorry for eavesdropping, but I heard that somethin' was wrong... And Ah was worried about you!" Applejack hugged Rainbow tight for another few seconds before loosening; backing away to see Rainbow eye to eye yet still keeping a hold around the Pegasus's neck. "I don't want ta lose ya again, Dash!"
For a moment Rainbow was silent, tears still streaking from her dark pink, reddened eyes. In the chilly night air the tears solidified on Rainbow Dash's cheeks; small streams of ice. Her Rainbow mane, not long ago combed neatly for the party, was now a mess of color. To Applejack's surprise, rainbow began laughing lightly, mixed with crying.
Applejack knew that kind of laugh. It was the tearful laugh of some pony realizing a mistake, taking pity on themselves. Being able to put the past behind you, and while still feeling depressed being able to laugh at what it was that made you sad.
"Oh Applejack..." Rainbow met AJ's gaze with a guilty smile. "How could I have ever doubted you?"
"It happens to the best of us, Sugarcube!" Applejack smiled as well; glad to see that Rainbow was cheering up. With a quick wink the orange pony added, "Even the best of the best, like you!"
"Pfft! Best of the best? Look at me, Applejack!" Rainbow stood, breaking away from AJ's grasp and preformed a quick walk around circle. Rainbow still hadn't recovered to her full strength after the mishap in the desert. Here and there a rib could still be seen through her skinny, malnourished chest. As she walked her legs shook slightly, a shake that had not gone away since she'd woken in Applejack's farmhouse. It was true, Rainbow wasn't who she used to be. She was but a shell of a legendary flier, a skeleton wearing Rainbow's skin as sleeves. "I'm not who I used to be!"
Applejack didn't see it the same way Dash did. "You, Rainbow Dash, surpassed death itself! Ever since you dropped on me from the sky, oh so many years ago, you have been the strongest, toughest Pegasus Ah've ever met!" Applejack approached Rainbow, her tone rising to show the strength of her opinion. "If Ah'd been the one t' go through what you've gone through, Dash... Well, Ah wouldn't 'ave made it! Ah don't know of any pony else would have!"
Applejack paused for a moment to catch her breath, giving Dash a moment to cut in. When the Pegasus didn't, AJ continued. "There is no pony in the world like you, Rainbow Dash! Ah love you! The one, the only Rainbow Dash!" After another deep breath Applejack calmed down, noticing that Celestia had snuck away some time ago. "Rainbow, no matter what it is that you gotta tell me, sweetie, Ah'm here for you!"
As if to push her point further Applejack leaned closer, giving Rainbow a quick peck on the cheek. Then, she leaned back on her haunches, watching the Rainbow Pegasus.
A moment passed, and both could sense the tension in the air.
'Ah have to find a way to calm Dashie down...' Applejack thought deeply as she watched the frightened pink orbs that watched back at her. Finally a thought came to the pony.
"Hay, Rainbow?" Applejack spoke quietly, trying not to frighten the timid Pegasus. How she was now anything could set Rainbow off. Applejack had to be careful, prove to Rainbow that she was only there to help. As the night breeze blew through Applejack's coat she shivered in response. "Ah'm cold. Will ya please come sit with me?"
It worked. In the blink of an eye Rainbow was beside Applejack, a strong wing wrapped around AJ's shoulders. So often Rainbow pushed herself past her own limit, not caring for her own health. However Rainbow would give her world to keep Applejack safe, even if it was only safe from a mild chill.
Using this to her advantage Applejack leaned into Rainbow's chest, listening to the Pegasus's heartbeat. Her heart beat like a foal playing a drum set for the first time, rapid and often offbeat. Although she couldn't see it Applejack knew that Rainbow's cheeks had reddened.
"Thank you, Rainbow." The orange pony sat silently. After so many years taking care of Applebloom, in place of her mother, Applejack had come to learn that in times of stress it was best to take a step back and relax for a moment; give Rainbow time to come to Applejack.
Several minutes passed, with each Rainbow's heart calmed. The Pegasus's once erratic breathing had become warm, consistent breaths against the crown of Applejack's head. "Hay, Applejack? Look, I have something that I need to tell you."
Applejack had succeeded. She lay relaxed, eyes closed, taking comfort in Rainbow's warmth. "Oh course, darlin'. What's on your mind?"
"It's about my past."
'Rainbow's past!' Applejack's mind buzzed, but she did her best not to show it. 'Rainbow never talks about her past!'
"Go on."
"A long time ago, Applejack, I ran away. From my home, from my life, from everything I had ever known!" Somehow Applejack had shifted the way she sat subconsciously; she now sat on her haunch, her back against Rainbow's chest. Both of Rainbow's wings wrapped around them like a cocoon. "Do you remember that day?"
"Like the back of ma' hoof. It was mid-Autumn, and the golden leaves covered the ground. If not for those leaves then Ah mighta' gotten hurt when a certain rainbow crashed into me!"
"Did I ever tell you why I ran away?"
"No." Applejack thought to herself. If she wanted Rainbow to be honest, then she had to be as well. "But Gilda told me about your parents passing away..."
The air was silent for only a split second, but in that time the atmosphere had changed. "Passed away?" Rainbow spoke as if she'd never heard anything crazier.
Applejack immediately felt Dash's confusion. "Well, yeah, Gilda said that's why you ran away."
"Well, she fooled you pretty good, then." Rainbow laughed lightly. "No, I don't think they could ever pass away, at least not with me knowing it."
'...What.'
"Applejack, Gilda never met my parents. No pony did. Not even me. That is, until the day I left."
Applejack did not see this one coming. For some time Applejack was not sure she'd heard right, but somewhere in the deep of her mind she knew that she had. With Rainbow sitting behind her Applejack could see the vast starry sky above; she knew that not even the heavens could quench her confusion at that moment. Applejack's silence served as Rainbow's invitation to continue.
"When I was born I was left on a Cloud outside Cloudsdale. I was found by a Cloudsdalian family, taken in and cared for. However, they never went out of their way to make me believe that I was theirs. I, and every pony else, knew that I was different from the day school began."
"Different?"
"Yeah. Within the first week I could keep up with the instructor, the following week I could outrun him. I was scared, though. I didn't want to show off, so I began to sabotage myself. I'd feign crashes, and go slower than I really could. That's where the name Rainbow Crash came from"
Applejack didn't know what to say. She was too interested in Rainbow's story to intervene. So, after another long silence, Rainbow continued.
"Then, one day when I was home, the Pegasus who had cared for me found me in my room. They told me that my parent had shown up, looking for me. But... They had a strange look in their eyes, like they were scared of me." Rainbow's wings tightened around Applejack. "So I finally got to meet my parents, or rather my parent."
Rainbow paused again, but this time it was as if she was afraid to continue. Applejack gave her a quick nudge before speaking. "Don't worry, Rainbow. Ah'm here, and Ah'm stayin here. Please, go on?"
Another slow moment and Rainbow continued. "In the doorway stood princess Celestia. I was told that I was an accident of sort. Something to do with her magical powers mixing with a rainbow."
'But... That can't be possible.' Applejack struggled to escape Rainbow's grasp so that she could turn, and see distant eyed Pegasus. Her eyes were full of truth.
"She told me that I was a phenomenon of nature, that I shouldn't exist. But she gave me a choice. If I left Cloudsdale that night then she would give me a chance to live, and be free in an environment that I could continue to grow. Of course I took it, and with that I was thrown off of Cloudsdale. I was allowed to return, to attend the tournaments, but other than that I was to live in Ponyville."
"Rainbow," Applejack smiled at her friend. "That's incredible! You are even more amazin' than Ah imagined!"
Rainbow leaned back, confused. "But... You're not afraid of me?"
"Afraid of you?" Applejack laughed lightly, shivering in the cold night. "Rainbow, Ah love you!"
"But Applejack." The cyan Pegasus looked confused, bewildered, discombobulated. "I'm not normal! I'm a Pegasus born of magic!"
"In all fairness, Rainbow Dash." Applejack leaned in towards Rainbow, their lips meeting for the first time. The moment they touched Applejack was already pulling away, laughing at the redness of Rainbow's face. "You've always been pretty different."
It took all of three seconds for Applejack's words to sink in, and the moment they did Rainbow was already tackling Applejack onto the ground in a fierce embrace. "Thank you thank you thank you!"
Applejack returned the embrace, but quickly changed the subject. "Now, Rainbow, if Ah'm not mistaken we have quite a lot of time to get t' know each other. The ponies downstairs, however-"
Rainbow Dash shot to her hooves, sudden realization kicking in.
"Go ahead, Rainbow. Ah'll be down in a minute."
With a quick peck on the cheek and a muffled thank you Rainbow was gone, dashing down the staircase into the Carousel Boutique. Applejack sat alone, looking up at the stars.
"Applejack." the voice was soft, and friendly. Quickly AJ turned to the side, revealing princess Celestia sitting next to her. "Thank you, Applejack."
"For what, princess?"
"For saving my Rainbow Dash. Ever since that day in Cloudsdale Rainbow has feared me. If I was the one to save her in the desert she would have never forgiven me. Not only that, but because of you my sister is stronger than ever! She's inspired by you." Celestia looked away from the stars above them, meeting Applejack's gaze. "Applejack, you are an amazing pony. I hope you never forget that."
Suddenly the door that led to the Carousel Boutique exploded open, all of the ponies within running out in a heated stampede. Rainbow, the third out the door, flew immediately between Applejack and Celestia, a cyan wing dropping around Applejack's shoulders.
"What's goin' on, Rainbow?" As Applejack spoke each of the friends found a spot on the roof, their eyes craning up into the sky over Ponyville.
"Look up!" The Pegasus practically screamed the words, and immediately Applejack and Celestia did so. Applejack, however, couldn't help but notice Twilight Sparkle nestling under princess Celestia's wings, or Fluttershy's eyes sparkling with excitement. Princess Luna was jumping up and down alongside Pinkie, as if this was the greatest moment of their lives. Rarity, who was usually calm and tranquil, was giddy like a school filly waiting for her crush to ask her out.
'What in Ponyville could possibly-?'
And then it happened. High above, in the night sky an explosion of color erupted, shooting off streams of red in every direction. Several seconds after the color appeared a loud booming thundered through their ears. Another explosion, followed by another thunderous roar. Soon the colors and explosions filled the sky!
"Fireworks!" Applejack's eyes were filled with joy. These weren't just any fireworks, though. These fireworks were for her, for Rainbow Dash and Rarity. For Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie. The fireworks filled the sky like friendship filled their hearts.
Several more fireworks erupted, and then they stopped.
"Pinkie Pie, that was amazi-" Fluttershy was cut off mid-sentence by none other than the pink pony herself.
"Wait! Look up! It's not over yet!"
All eyes shot to the sky as six more explosions went off in unison.
One shot off lavender streams of light in every direction, sparkling in the night.
Another was bright pink, its streams of light swirling in random directions.
One was a soft yellow, gracefully filing the sky with its light.
Then there was Rarity's, brightly shining white with a variety of small speaks of color thrown in.
Rainbow gawked as one of the fireworks flashed off in a rainbow of color, shooting across the sky at an amazing velocity.
Finally one of the fireworks was the same color as the red delicious apples, lined with golden-brown streams of light.
Just as the six fireworks began to fade one final firework erupted. It exploded right in the centre of where the other six had been, vibrant and unforgettable in the night sky. A gigantic, luminescent red heart. They all watched, speechless, all of Ponyville illuminated in the bright light. Their stares continued until the heart faded from the sky.
Applejack turned to see seven sets of watery eyes, each matching her own. This was really it. Their last night together in Ponyville. Things were about to change, a lot! Who knew when the next time they'd all be together again would be.
"Well, every pony..." Pinkie giggled as she wiped a tear from her eyes. "This was my parting gift for you guys, I hope you liked it!"
"It was beautiful, darling!" Rarity smiled happily as she approached the door to her own house. "Now, if I'm not mistaken Twilight and I don't have to leave Ponyville till morning. I say we make the best of tonight! After all, Pinkie did go through quite some trouble to put together an amazing party for us!"
No pony disagreed, and soon every pony was making their way away from the frigid air. Applejack was the last to leave. Even after all the others had gone inside she sat on the roof, looking up at the stars. The last little while had been rough, and with her friends gone it was bound to get rougher. However, as long as rainbow stayed by her side-
"Hay, AJ?" Rainbow's voice called from the doorway. "Is everything alright?"
Turning slowly, Applejack smiled widely to her new filly friend. Everything was going to be fine. Great, even.