While it wasn't anything she hadn't dealt with before – especially recently – Rainbow Dash was getting a bit flustered after listening to so many complaints about ponies she knew quite personally. Laying on her bed with her forelimbs folded, she sighed to herself as Fluttershy continued rambling off one frustration after another she had with her recent encounters the Apples though she could tell her yellow friend was hiding something. More than once she had suddenly let her words drift off or stop herself mid-sentence. Couldn't she have bothered Twilight or whoever just this once?
"I just never would have believed he would have been capable of doing such a thing if I hadn't seen it myself!" Fluttershy spat. "And Applejack? Yeah, I can understand how she'd stick up for her brother, but I...ugh, I wish I could remember what all happened. It's all a blur. I was just so...so furious, y'know?"
"Look, Fluttershy, Applejack can be stubborn sometimes. We all know this. Me and her have butted heads before a couple times and things always turned out fine. Heck, we got into a hoof-fight during the Running of the Leaves a few years ago and now we can laugh about it. But you're all about turning the other cheek and forgiveness and stuff. You say you don't remember what you did while you over there, right?"
The timid mare twisted her lips and looked away, ashamed. "I have a feeling I probably did some things I shouldn't have other than yelling at them."
"What, did you beat her up or something?" Rainbow chuckled. The daredevil received an angry smirk. Here Fluttershy was, spilling her guts, and Rainbow feels the need to laugh at her? The lack of any reciprocation quieted the joker up. "Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Just that I can't see you of all ponies getting into any kind of physical altercation."
The gentle pegasus shrunk back again, recalling some things she did – also to some of her closest companions – after taking some particular advice too far. "It wouldn't be the first time if I did. I'd prefer if I didn't go down that road again. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop being upset at them for what they did. Not only to Angel and his friends, but to..."
And there she went again not telling Rainbow the whole story. Why was she being so hesitant? She knew she could tell her oldest, loyalest friend anything!
"To you, yes, I understand that. You said Big Macintosh attacked your animals, which...i have to admit seems hard to believe just based on what I know about him, but what the heck happened to make you think you may or may not have attacked them? It had to have been something pretty serious."
Fluttershy bit her lip and pawed at the cloud floor. She began to answer but quickly changed her mind. The speedster was losing her patience faster than her she ever fly.
"Come on, what is it already? This isn't helping!"
"He...I...w-we, um...we..."
Nopony could hear her mumbled reply no matter how good their ears were.
"You what?"
"I...I-I..."
"Fluttershy!"
"I slept with him, okay?!" she snapped, taking Rainbow Dash off-guard. "We...dated for a bit and...I slept with him. A lot. I'd rather not think about it if it's alright with you."
The blue mare laid there, mouth open, in complete surprise. Not at the fact that Fluttershy had been with another pony but more at how she practically yelled said fact at her. It wasn't something she was privy to often but it left her speechless every time, if only briefly.
"Oh. Uh...sure." Awkward silence filled the room...until Rainbow was her usual blunt self. "Was he good at least?"
"Rainbow!"
"What? I'm just curious."
The flustered mare huffed and rolled her eyes but answered anyway after a quick grumble to herself. "Yeah, he was pretty good."
"Well, at least there's that," the speedster replied with an added shrug. "But, yeah, still...doesn't excuse anything." Rainbow let out a long sigh. "Gotten kind of ridiculous recently. First Twilight comes to me complaining about Rarity, now you're here saying you and Applejack got into a spat."
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "What happened with Rarity? She told me a few weeks ago that Twilight said she was...getting intimate with Spike."
"Yeah, that's it. He admitted it too. The way he acted about it when we talked to him about it was...kinda terrifying." Fluttershy blinked in surprise when she saw Rainbow fearfully bite her lip. It wasn't something she saw in her friend often. "For a minute, I thought he was going to try and tear us apart. Guess there's more dragon in him than we give him credit for."
"So Twilight and Rarity really are fighting," the delicate pegasus muttered. "That's what I was told, at least."
Rainbow Dash nodded with a disheartening smirk. "Yep. It's not even so much the fact that Spike and Rarity lied to Twilight about how they were seeing each other really, but what happened later."
"What was it?"
"Apparently, Rarity told Celestia and Luna off."
"What?! She wouldn't!" Fluttershy gasped.
Rainbow folded her forelimbs in a huff. "Mmhmm. Twilight was right there in the room, and even though I wasn't, after everything I've dealt with, I believe her. Does it really surprise you that they're fighting after that? I mean, sure, she's the Princess of Friendship and all, but she's still a pony with limits and buttons that can be pushed. I'd think chewing out her mentor would be one of those buttons."
The imagery of another of her closest friends mocking the Princesses made Fluttershy's ears droop. She wasn't sure what to think of Rarity's story and everything Rainbow had told her made things ten times worse. While she was aware that the fashionista and her high-flying friend didn't spend as much time together as she and Rarity did, she had always assumed there was a certain respect and appreciation they had for each other anyway. Apparently, that was all gone for reasons she wouldn't have believed in a million years.
Out of the corner of her ruby eye, Rainbow could easily see how bothered her yellow friend was. She wasn't aware, but the two of them were on a similar wavelength. Still, the last thing Rainbow wanted to do was talk to Rarity about anything – frankly, she could have fallen off the face of Equestria for all she cared. There wasn't anything Fluttershy would have been able to do or say to the clothes designer that would have changed things. However, the Apples were a different matter to the speedster.
"Look," Rainbow sighed, "I know you're angry with A.J. and Big Mac. I understand why – totally! Twilight asked me for help when it came to her issues with Rarity. Do you...I don't know, want me to go talk to Applejack for you? See if I can help straighten this all out?"
"It's alright. You don't have to go to any trouble for me."
"Hey, it's no big deal doing a favor for my oldest friend. Besides, me and Applejack have gotten into enough arguments that we could probably predict how we were going to make up for them before they even happen by now. She'll listen to me."
-----
Rainbow Dash's speed always made hunting for anypony incredibly easy, even over an enormous farm like Sweet Apple Acres. Before she touched down to say hello to her competitive companion, she came to a quick stop at least a dozen feet from the ground, hovering overhead. It was a bit difficult to see what she thought she saw through all the leaves and branches, but a few choice gaps in the treeline confirmed her surprising suspicions.
It wasn't out of the ordinary to see the orange farmer dragging along a wagon with a few baskets ready to collect their harvest and bring them back home for cleaning. What was strange was to see the mare with one of her limbs in a sling. That...couldn't have been from Fluttershy, could it? Aside from that crazy comic book adventure she and her friends had, she'd never seen the timid pegasus do anything that would result in any kind of serious injury to anyone. Sure, she stepped on Rainbow's stomach as she ran away from when the girls wanted to drag her along to watch the dragon migration a while back, but Rainbow was fine within a minute or two.
The high-flying athlete never broke a limb before. A wing, yeah, a couple times, and while that was a drag and a half being unable to get airborne, at least she could walk where she wanted to go. Even while casually balancing on three legs, Applejack was wincing with every step she took. She couldn't even buck the trees with both hind legs if she wanted to stay upright. Rainbow couldn't imagine how much time her friend was losing by not being able to clear the trees in a kick or two.
Applejack's scowl caught the pegasus off guard the most. It wasn't the kind she'd have on her face during their more intense physical competitions. She looked as if she was about to rip a pony's head off. Rainbow bit her lip and nervously descended into the tree Applejack was struggling against. It took a moment, but a break in the action eventually came, giving Rainbow the opportunity to speak up without the possibility of causing Applejack to mess up in the middle of her work.
"H-hey cowgirl."
The farmer found the source. "Hm? Oh, hey Rainbow Dash."
"What's going on?"
"The usual. Just gettin' used to doin' half the work in twice the time for the next couple of days," Applejack muttered, showing off her injured leg.
Rainbow winced. "I saw from above. How's it feeling?"
"Eh, I've had worse. Just twisted it, but it should be fine in a day or two." The earth pony paused her work and angrily curved her lips. "Well, I didn't twist it, at least."
Blue ears sagged as did ruby eyes. "Fluttershy..." Rainbow mumbled.
Applejack spun about and blinked but the implication almost immediately set in. "Yeah! How did... She went and talked to you, didn't she?"
The daredevil dropped to the ground and kicked one of the full baskets onto her back and carried it to the waiting cart, hoping to win some quick points with her friend in case things went south. "Yeah. She said you guys got into a bit of an...argument."
"An argument, she says," A.J. harrumphed.
"Well, no, I'm saying that. She said she doesn't remember everything that happened, that it was kind of a blur to her."
The orange mare scooped up another basket, rolling her eyes and smirking. "How convenient. Maybe you should go find a camera and take a picture of my leg for her, see if she remembers then."
"Look, I'm just trying to get both sides of the story. I wasn't here. She says that Big Mac–"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Applejack interrupted as she loaded the cart. "Big Mac did something to her animals. Beat 'em up or whatever. Kind of funny how he was apparently able to do that from the orchard."
"So you're saying he didn't do anything."
"Course he didn't! Big Mac wouldn't hurt a worm makin' a meal out of my prized apple!"
"Then why would she claim that he did?"
"How should I know?" Applejack growled, turning around to find Rainbow only a few inches from her snout. It didn't do anything to calm her current disposition with such an accusatory action literally right in her face. "The girl showed up acting like a damned lunatic. You think I was gonna just let her spout off a bunch of garbage about my brother doing somethin' you and I both know he wouldn't do? You're out of your cotton-pickin' mind!
"And what about this, huh?" she asked, showing off her injury. "She attacks me and just when I think we've had it out enough, she sucker punches me and damn near breaks one of my legs! Even you and I know when to stop when we've gotten into tussles before!"
Rainbow backed off a bit, shifting her eyes away. Applejack did have a point.
The blue mare sighed. "I don't suppose I could convince you two to talk about it? Maybe get some apologies out?"
"Are you serious?" the farmer snarled, getting right back in her friend's face. "Why should I apologize when I didn't do anything? Listen, Rainbow, I know you've known Fluttershy since you were kids and all, but I'm gonna be honest with you – that girl's got some problems."
Dash's brow furrowed. The contest of wills between its two most common combatants had begun yet again. "Hey now, wait a minute!"
"She does, whether you want to believe it or not! She may not be afraid of her own shadow anymore like she used to be, but she still acts like everypony's out to get her half the time! And this whole thing with Big Mac now? Girl must be livin' in a fantasy land or something! Heck, why don't we ask Luna what's goin' on her head when she's asleep? Probably got the crazy idea that he's been screwin' her from a particularly vivid dream she had once and now she thinks it's real or...whatever."
"Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?"
"I really don't care! I'm the one with the busted up leg and after the stunts Fluttershy pulled, it'd have to be one heck of an apology for me to look past everything she did. Celestia knows she's had plenty of practice apologizin' for just about everything else she's ever done."
"Okay, that's enough!" Rainbow growled as she poked the earth pony in the chest. "You can be mad at her if you want, but there's no need to start flinging petty insults around!"
"Petty?!" Applejack snapped, shoving back. "This is my livelihood she just put a damper on because she was an irrational nutcase! I really don't know how you can defend her sometimes!"
"Hey, don't start making this about me!" the pegasus retorted as she started to hover a few feet off the ground with their noses still warring.
"Why not? You came here."
"I was intent on trying to get you two to talk things out, but if you want to work on leg number two, that's fine with me!"
The country girl narrowed her furious green eyes. She rarely backed down from a challenge, and if she was going to have to get into another set of fisticuffs with only three limbs, so be it. But if she could avoid it just this once, it'd be preferable. "I am not in the mood for this, Rainbow. I suggest you get on out of here like Fluttershy did or she isn't going to be the only one with problems."
Their heated glares could have burned a hole into the sun itself, and neither mare was giving an inch. However, during the silent battle for supremacy, Rainbow came to the conclusion that there was always the possibility that Big Macintosh could retaliate if things got too out of hoof and he learned that she further injured his little sister. Attacking somepony who was already hurt was beneath her, no matter how angry she may be at them. It was the sign of a true coward, and Rainbow was no coward.
Quickly, she thought of a good excuse and rolled her ruby eyes as she backed off. "Bah! I dealt with enough of this kind of crap thanks to Rarity. I'm not dealing with it again." Rainbow started to leave but left a cold message before she took to the sky. "Do us all a favor and leave Fluttershy alone from now, you got that? I wouldn't want to have to put you in a sling all over again."
"Leave her alone? Fine with me as long as she leave us alone too."
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
With a final sneer, the pegasus burst forth over the treeline and streaked her prismatic trail across the sky, heading back home to her floating mansion. Applejack grit her teeth in return and carried on with her work, thankful for the peace and quiet again.
As the speed demon disappeared, however, a small flightless fan of hers happened to notice her leaving out of the corner of her eye as she sat near the window of the Crusader's clubhouse. Was she just at the farm? Ugh, if only Scootaloo knew sooner! She'd never pass up a chance to hang out with Rainbow Dash and shoot the breeze! No doubt she stopped by to see Applejack. Perhaps the other Crusaders wouldn't mind if they interrupted their little meeting for a bit to hear what brought Rainbow to the orchard.
"Hey girls? Would it be a big deal if I headed out and hunted down A.J.? I just saw Rainbow Dash fly off. Maybe she could tell me...I-I mean us where she went in case we happened to...bump into her later or something."
"Uh...I guess so. Been kind of tough thinking of things to do today anyway," Apple Bloom said.
"Aww, I was hoping we could play some games I used to play back where I used to live," Cottontail whined.
"I'm sure we'll get to eventually. Maybe when we get back from Scootaloo's fangirling session," Sweetie Belle proposed.
It was fortunate that Scootaloo's orange coat hid her reddening cheeks so well. "Sh-shut up! What if she wants to hang out or whatever?"
"I'm just messing you with," the unicorn giggled. "Come on, let's go."
Apple Bloom took the lead out of the clubhouse, almost instinctively knowing where Applejack was going to be in the massive orchard though the muffled grunts and swears that could be hurt through the air thanks to the stress of working with one less limb made it a bit easier to hone in on her.
"So," Sweetie Belle eventually said, "how's your sister's leg doing?"
"Eh, could be better I guess. Could be worse too. She'll be alright."
"I still can't believe Fluttershy attacked her yesterday," Cottontail sighed. "After everything you guys told me about her, I would never have imagined she could do something like that."
"I know," Apple Bloom moaned, her ears drooping. "Applejack didn't go into detail as to what happened either. I'm not sure if I really want to know them or not. I really just hope this is all some big misunderstanding."
Several worrisome minutes later, the quartet caught up with the struggling applebucker. A few spare fruits laid on the ground, having missed their baskets. More sweat than usual dripped down her long neck, and she normally wasn't winded so easily. Amidst her labor, she spotted the four concerned fillies watching her.
"Hey girls. Thought you were hangin' out at the clubhouse."
"We saw Rainbow Dash flying away. Came out to see if she stopped by and what was up if she did," Scootaloo replied.
Applejack tightly curled her lips. "She did, and it's nothin' you need to worry about."
All but Cottontail exchanged a puzzled look. If A.J. was trying to hide her frustration, she wasn't doing a very good job of it.
"Are...you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just don't want to talk about Rainbow Dash is all."
"Why not?" her little sister asked. "What'd she do?"
Her good hoof slapped into her forehead. It almost felt as if she was going to break her teeth behind her lips as she ground them. "Apple Bloom, just...just go play somewhere else, okay?"
The Crusaders hung their heads as one save for Cottontail. She instead laid a hoof on Sweetie Belle's shoulder. "Girls? I...kinda have to go. Mom and Dad are expecting me soon."
"Awww, okay."
"Yeah. I'll head back to the clubhouse and get my saddlebag."
"Alright. We'll see you tomorrow."
The little pink unicorn waved goodbye as she turned and left. The tiniest of smirks curved her lips once she was a fair distance away.
-----
A long, tired groan came from the front of the house barely a second after the door was heard to close. High Note stomped his way to the living room with Curtain Call a step behind.
"About time they got home," Curtain Call grumbled.
"Shut up!" High Note snapped back. "You've had it the easiest out of all of us. Maybe you should go to that infernal school tomorrow, see how much you like it." Curtain Call stopped to lean against the wall in disgust – and stick her tongue out behind her spouse's back – while he approached the young pony. "So, what's going on?"
"Just as you predicted," Cottontail confirmed. "That hick of a pony could barely stomach hearing her friend's name."
"Pfff. So completely predictable with those two. You've done well."
"So, what's next on the agenda?"
High Note grinned evilly at the tiny filly. "Spread the word around – both of you. That pink pest is next on the list."