//------------------------------// // Feelings of a Rainbow // Story: Orange and Cyan // by PaperBack //------------------------------// As silence now surrounded the two talking mares, neither one wanted to break it. They both sat staring of the window in their own contemplation, wondering how, well Applejack was, they would get the mare they longed for. While they continued to stare out the window they could see the faint light grey and light peach colors of early dawn, though nopony took notice. “Are you guys alright?” asked a quiet yet excited voice. Applejack jumped a little and turned to see how the voice came from, “ Yeah we’re alright Pinkie, just couldn’t sleep… Why are you awake?” “Oh I’m always awake at this hour!” she squeaked, “ I work in a bakery remember?” she giggled, “ Plus I think we’re close to Ponyville.” “Yeah, I think that’s Canterlot off over there.” said Fluttershy noticing the faint glow of the lavish city. Applejack let out a content sigh and smiled, “ It’ll be good ta be home.” she said “Oh...Applejack.” said the shy pegasus The orange farmpony turned to her friend, “Yeah?” “You might want to take that feather out of your hat.” Applejack looked at the light yellow pegasus with a confused look on her face, “ Huh, why. It’s not like it’s hurtin’ anythin” “Well...it’s just that it’s a primary…” Fluttershy said taking the feather out of Applejacks hat. “Yeah… that’s what Rainbow said. What’re ya gettin’ at Flutters?” she asked now a little concerned. “Well you know how how Pegasi lose their feathers, right?” Fluttershy asked. To which Applejack nodded and said, “ Yeah, I’ve got a few more of Rainbows feathers... come ta think of it I also have a few of yers and Twis as well.” Fluttershy stared at her orange friend, and Pinkie did as well, “ Um.. are any of my feathers you have… primaries?” she asked “Will ya just tell me what the big deal with primaries is.” Applejack said getting rather annoyed at her light yellow friend for beating around the bush. “Well Pegasi don’t lose their primaries that often, but when we do we try and keep them in hopes that someday we will give them to our special somepony that we are really serious about. The gift of a primary feather is one way a pegasus can let their somepony know that they are serious about their relationship with that pony.” Fluttershy finished with a small nod Applejack was silent for a moment, then she looked at the feather in her hat Fluttershy was still holding. “Oh…” she said shyly, “ Ah had no idea, although Ah do know that feathers are real important and special. But Ah didn’t know that primaries were even more so.” “Oh yes all of our feathers are a way we can show affection to our special some pony. So if you don’t want to give ponies the wrong idea I would take the feather out of your hat, I’m sure Rainbow won’t mind if you add it to your collection.” Fluttershy said giving Applejack her hat back with a wink that only the earth pony noticed. Applejack looked down at her hat in her hooves and sighed, “Ah guess yer right, Ah don’t want ponies gettin’ the wrong idea ‘bout me and Rainbow.” she said as she removed the feather from her stetson and stowed it safely in her saddlebags, she then looked over at the sleeping pegasus, “ It would a been nice ta know that before I stuck it in mah hat… but there’s nothin’ Ah can do ‘bout it now. Thanks fer tellin’ me ‘bout the feather before Ah made a foal of mahself when we get home.” Fluttershy smiled and leaned over to hug her friend, “It was no trouble at all.” she then whispered if AJs ear so quietly she could barely hear her, “ I won’t tell anypony about anything.” then she released the hug and gave Applejack a soft smile. The rest of the train ride was uneventful as the others three sleeping ponies woke from their slumber. The next after Pinkie was Twilight, then an hour or so after her was Rarity, who greeted her friends with an annoyed glare. Fluttershy then suggested they all go to the dining car and get some breakfast and some coffee, to which Rarity softened her glare immensely, and happily followed the other mares. They all returned to the car they had been in for their journey home, to find Rainbow Dash still asleep. With nopony wanting to disturb the pegasus they all decided to move to the next car, even though they could see Canterlot they would not arrive in Ponyville until late in the evening. “Hang on girls,” Applejack said in a loud whisper as she stopped at her seat and grabbed a second smaller sketchbook and her colored pencils out of her saddlebags, “ Okay, let’s go.” she said turned back to look her sleeping crush, “ This sleeping ‘til noon thing is gonna change if you and Ah start datin’, sugarcube.” she said to herself. She felt a hoof on her shoulder she turned around quickly to see who it was, luckily it was just Fluttershy, who gave her a knowing smile, and the cowpony sighed and smiled again then followed her friend into the next car, leaving their friend to sleep. An hour or so passed by relatively slowly for the other mares chatting away the rest of their long journey. As for a certain cyan pegasus the rest of the journey was passing by even slower, given she was still asleep, or so everypony thought. As Rainbow Dash continued to lay on her side acting as though she was still asleep, though she was awake, and her eye were open staring at the back of the seat she was lying on, lost in her thoughts, “WOW!!! I still can’t believe AJ has a crush on me! I wonder how long she’s had it? And did our time in the cave make it finally make her realise it? I know I’ve had a crush on her since we first met after me and my parents moved to Ponyville… I wish they didn’t have to move… But if AJ and I start dating then they’ll have to come by for a visit!!! But wait… How am I going to ask her out I can’t just walk up to her and ask, ‘ Hey, AJ I heard you wanted to ask me out,’ ‘ Really where ja hear that?’ ‘ I heard you talking to Fluttershy’... No… that she wouldn’t like that very much… What if I do something super special for her to show her that I feel the same way about her as she does about me?... THAT’S A GREAT IDEA...But how or what am I going to do...maybe I should talk to somepony, Fluttershy maybe, cause AJ already talked to her about her crush on me, and I can’t believe that Fluttershy like Rarity… well maybe I can. But wait AJ said she had some drawings of me in her sketchbook.” she rolled over onto her hooves and walked over to where Applejack had left her saddlebags, but instead of finding the book she found the feather she let her friend keep. “Oh… heh... I guess I did forget to tell how special primaries were… “ she said quietly to herself out loud as she removed the feather from its resting place to examine it, “ Wow, this is a really awesome feather. I think that’s the-” she was cut off be the sound of the door to the car ahead of her opening. She looked up in horror as if to see Applejack catching her rifling around in her stuff, “Oh, Rainbow you’re awake, how did you-” “Shush Flutters, and come over here I have to show you this.” Rainbow said to the light yellow mare, who did as she was asked. “Okay… what do you want to show me?” she asked as she sat down next to her cyan friend. “This!” she said holding up the feather Fluttershy looked at the feather and gasped, “ Oh wow Rainbow! That is the best feather of yours I’ve ever seen.” she said getting a really good look at it. “I know, that’s the straightest rachis I’ve ever seen one of my feathers have! Normally they’re a little bent.” she said holding it perfectly up and down. “Yes and look at the barbs, not a single one of them is overlapping or missing!” “I know and just look at the way the after feather forms it into a raindrop, and the downy coming out at that forty-five degree angle I’ve been trying to achieve for such a long time!” Fluttershy looked at her light blue friend feeling very happy for her, “ I’m really happy for you Rainbow, I’ve had my perfect feather for a while, and it’s nice to finally see you get yours.” said the light yellow pegasus grabbing her friend and giving her a gentle hug. Rainbow returned it happily. “Yeah and I know the pony who’s gonna get that feather.” she said with a sly smile Fluttershy quickly let go of her and stared at the cyan mare in shock, “...Y-you h-heard th-that?...” Rainbow gave an affirmative nod, “ Yep every word, even the part where AJ told you she had a crush on me. Which I can understand, I mean who wouldn’t wanna go out with me.” she said with her usual cocky smile, “ But don’t worry Flutters I won’t tell anypony unless you tell them first… which reminds me you can not tell AJ I overheard you guys talking, got it?” Fluttershy nodded sternly and said, “ Got it, I won’t say a word.” “Good. Now I want to look at the drawings AJ did of me. “ Lifting the flap to look inside the other bag, she quickly found what she was looking for. “Are you sure you want to do that Rainbow? I don’t think Applejack would like that very much.” Fluttershy said looking at the door to the car she had come from, as if expecting the orange mare to come trotting through there at any moment. “Yeah….but I saw the drawing she did of me in the cave, and I heard she did more, so I’m curious, nothing wrong with satisfying it is there?” she asked her yellow friend. “Well no I guess not… but I’m going to go back now before one of them comes looking for me and catches you here.” she said turning and heading back the way she had came. “Okay I’ll be there when I’m done looking through this.” the rainbow maned mare said taking the book out of it’s hiding place. Once she was certain nopony was coming through any door she sat down and opened the book. She flipped to the page with her in the cave, she gave a small blushing smile at the drawing, she turned the page over to find nothing on the back. Turning the book over she saw herself lying on a light cyan and pink cloud, the sun was either setting or rising she couldn’t tell. On the cloud with her was an orange pony with a stetson on her head lying under one of her wings, there was no ground beneath them, it was Rainbow and Applejack lying on a cloud together enjoying the sunrise or sunset. The next drawing Rainbow came to was ,again of her, only this time she was in the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. She was lying next to the orange mare who was lying on her back with a small blue- green foal with a rainbow streaked blond mane, and tiny wings curled up on her chest, and a loving smile on her face. Rainbow stared at this one for a long while, pondering the meaning the drawing had. “Does AJ really think about me that way? Does she want to have foals with me someday?” she asked herself as she continued to stare at the drawing, “...Well it is just a drawing… but could it be more than that?...” she shoved those thoughts aside and closed the sketchbook she held in her hooves. Putting it back in the saddlebag she got it from she decided to join her friends in the next car. When she got to the door to the next car she looked back to where AJs seat was, “AJ… I love you.” she said to herself, then she turned and opened the door and walked in. “ Why good morning darling.” cooed Rarity upon seeing Rainbow enter the car, all of her other friends turned to see who Rarity was referring to, AJ looked up from her other sketchbook she was currently using and smiled at her friend. Rainbow caught her gaze and immediately lost herself in her emerald eyes for a moment,... she blinked and tore her eyes away from the orange farm pony, trying desperately to hide her reddening face. Which she apparently managed to do, because nopony had said anything, or they didn’t notice, or perhaps they did notice, but they were not going to say anything about it. Thus this is how they were finishing their wonderful journey to Manetana, with the exchange of stories from both sides of the cave, what Applejack and Rainbow Dash had gone through, and what the other ponies had to go through to find where they would hopefully come out, and of course they all knew the rest of their adventure.