Chapter 59: Girly Stuff
Rainbow Dash is in a heap of trouble.
Applejack angrily stalked through the orchards, looking for the telltale tail that marked which tree Rainbow was napping in. Rainbow’s workmates had been by the farmhouse looking for her lazy flank yesterday, and their assurances that they had covered for her weren’t helping Applejack’s mood.
It had been a simple plan: Find Dash, talk things through, make up. Maybe make up in a more fun way. But Dash had spoiled it all by not even being around to yell at!
“I swear, if’n you ain’t got a darned good reason fer skipping out on work and not being around, I’m gonna whip your flank and make you sleep on the darned couch!”
It felt good to kick up a little fuss, at least. It would have been better to have Dash around to hear it, but at least nopony else was here instead.
The longer it took to find Dash, the more Applejack added to her imagined punishment. The couch was too soft, Rarity was right about that. Dash was sleeping in the rafters of the old barn out back. The one with the spiders and the bats. And she was on dishes duty.
Wait, no, she’d drag a cloud into my kitchen. Danged inconsiderate pegasus!
She gave one last look around, snorting angrily. There were too many trees to check, and she wasn’t sure Dash was even in one of them.
No more naps on my farm. Not for a while at least. Can’t even have the courtesy to be around when I’m mad at her…
“Applejack?” Apple Bloom’s voice called from off in the distance. “Ya gonna have lunch? Granny says ya been pitchin’ a fit for too long, it’s time to come in.”
“Granny can mind her own doggone business.” Applejack muttered under her breath. She turned towards the direction of the voice, finding Apple Bloom up on top of a hilltop just to the north of her. “Tell Granny I’ll be by shortly, Bloom.”
" 'Kay. Foods gettin’ cold, though. Oh, and I invited Scoots and Sweetie over for dinner, too.”
“That’s fine.” Applejack replied as she began a leisurely trot back to the farmhouse. She stopped suddenly as a thought occurred to her. “You happen to catch sight of Rainbow while you were out lookin’ for me?”
Apple Bloom looked down at her quizzically. “Uh... didn’t have to. She’s been back a while. I just called her down to come eat.”
“Just called her—” Applejack blinked as her eyes tinged with a red rage, and she took a breath to steady her poor nerves. “Where was she at that you called her down?”
“She was up in your room, o’course. Where else?”
“ ‘Where else?’ ” Applejack repeated, flabbergasted and infuriated. “How about anywhere else on this farm? How about in all the danged trees I’ve been searching for her sorry hide? How about anyplace but up in my danged room taking a danged nap?”
“Uh... AJ, you okay?”
“Course I am!” Applejack replied with a bitter laugh. “I just wasted my morning looking around for somepony who snuck in while I was out looking for her!”
“Well, Rainbow didn’t sneak in or nothing. She just came back this morning. Looking fer you, actually. But she said she was kinda tired so she went to lay down.”
“That don’t explain where she was last night.” Applejack said under her breath.
And that, of course, was the reason Rainbow was in trouble. Applejack had been ready to lay it out for Rainbow, be reasonable and try to help her marefriend understand what was going on, just like Rarity had suggested. She’d been ready all day.
Only trouble was, Rainbow had never showed up, for the first time in months.
They didn’t make it a point to spend each and every night together. Since getting together, it had been two to three times a week. In fact, Applejack had been worried about sneaking her in as often as she had. But Dash had never gone a day without at least stopping by the farm, until yesterday. Until the day Applejack really really needed to talk to her.
And now, after wasting a whole morning looking for her, (time she could have spent yelling at Dash, getting over herself a little, and then making up with her) it turned out Dash was napping in her bed.
“AJ?”
Applejack took a deep, deep breath, exhaling slowly. It was all gonna be okay. She’d just have some lunch, tell Dash she needed to talk some things out, and while she was at it, figure out what the heck her marefriend was doing last night.
And if I don’t like the answer... We’ll see, I guess.
“All right, Bloom, I guess we don’t need to keep Granny waitin’ anymore.”
Apple Bloom trotted on ahead while Applejack walked to the farmhouse at a more leisurely pace. She had to get her head on straight so she wouldn’t make a big fuss in front of her family. It was bad enough Granny had mentioned she was pitching a fit to Apple Bloom of all ponies... Not that that was what she was doing! It just wasn’t right for Granny to be making assumptions.
What she had been doing was calmly and methodically checking every tree on her farm, and occasionally swearing when she didn’t find Rainbow in any of them. She wasn’t kicking trees, or breaking fence posts, or growling at customers who were a mite too good-looking.
That wasn’t pitching a fit at all.
Applejack nodded firmly, setting her face in a calm, but business-like expression. She needed to go eat, then talk to Rainbow, then get her chores done for the day. Maybe talk to Granny about not just throwing out accusations with no cause. But that could be later on.
And depending on what Rainbow said... maybe take a little break to snuggle up. She really didn’t like getting hot under the collar about things, it’d be nice to not be for a bit.
That’s a fine plan. Plenty rational. Granny’s a danged fool.
“AJ,” Big Mac said genially as she entered the kitchen.
“Mac,” Applejack replied, exchanging a meaningful nod with him. The big lug knew how to say a lot with a little.
“Applejack! Hey, sorry I didn’t stop by yesterday—”
Applejack silenced Rainbow with a curt nod, her eyes flicking to the table. Little Miss Dash could learn something from her brother. “Let’s eat. We can talk later.”
Rainbow winced, but nodded quickly, getting up from her chair and scrambling to pull one out for Applejack for some reason.
“I can get my own seat, thank ya kindly.”
“You can get mine, if you don’t mind.” Apple Bloom piped up.
“Huh?” Rainbow replied, looking over the table, straining to see Apple Bloom over it. “Oh, uh, yeah sure, kid. Gimme a sec.”
After a bit of fumbling, they were finally all seated in some fashion. Her sister had a plate of fritters, Granny was dozing quietly in her rocker, and Big Mac was polishing off what seemed to be his third plate of pie.
Dash was mercifully silent as she ate, for which Applejack thanked the stars. She wanted to talk, but not in front of her family. They had their noses too deep into Applejack’s business as it was, she didn’t need them butting into her relationship, too.
“So... you was looking for Rainbow Dash, AJ,” Apple Bloom said, breaking what had been a comfortable silence. “Didja need to talk to her about something?”
Applejack said nothing, turning slowly to her sister with a glare that would melt the ice off a windigo.
“You were looking for me, AJ?” Rainbow asked, a little louder than Applejack would have liked.
In her corner, Granny stirred with a loud snort. “Eh? Somepony looking fer somepony?”
“AJ was lookin’ for Rainbow, Granny.” Mac said, collecting his plates and Apple Bloom’s into a neat stack.
“What fer? She’s right here, ain’t she?” Granny looked around the room, squinting. Her expression lightened when she noticed Rainbow. “There she is! Apple Bloom, tell your sister I found that Rainbow filly fer her.”
“I’m right here, Granny.” Applejack said with a growl.
Granny’s head whipped around to face Applejack, and she stared at her for a long moment. “Bloom, never you mind, she’s right here.” Granny yawned, smacking her lips. She reached down to the table at the side of her rocker, picking up a glass of water, and took a long sip, letting out a happy little sigh when she was done drinking. She took another long look at Applejack, mumbling to herself for a moment, then smiled. “Oh, hey, that’s right! I found that Rainbow filly. She’s right there!”
Applejack noisily pushed back from the table, getting up from her seat. “C’mon, Dash,” she said as she walked out of the room and began climbing the stairs.
“Uh, yeah!” Dash said hurriedly, trotting after her.
When they were safely inside the room, Applejack firmly closed and locked the door behind her.
Rainbow was sitting on the bed, staring at the floor. When she heard the door being locked, she looked up in surprise. “AJ?”
Applejack shook her head, sitting down in the one chair in the room with an audible grunt. “Jus’ gimme a sec. I had a bad morning and my head ain’t right.”
“Okay...” Rainbow replied hesitantly. “Any way I can help?”
" 'Less you can go back in time and show up yesterday, all I want is for you to stay put a sec while I get sorted. I got some stuff I need to hash out with ya.”
“AJ, I’m sorry about yes—”
“Save it. I told you, I ain’t right. I got a lot of pots on the boil right now. That’s why I needed to get away from my kin fer a sec.”
“Yeah... about that, you do know they can probably hear us, right?”
“No we can’t!” Apple Bloom said from the other side of the door.
“Bloom, you hush up now!”
“Ow! Why’d you have to go and smack me, Granny?”
“Cuz you’re being an idjit!”
“What— Oh! Um... I mean, ain’t nopony listening over here, no ma’am.”
Applejack rounded on the door, her face flush with anger and embarrassment. “Mac, you there too?” she demanded.
There was a long pause. “Nope?”
Applejack unlocked and opened the door, letting all three of them spill out onto the floor. “You get out of my room, you mangy varmints!”
“We was just worried—” Apple Bloom said, scrambling to her feet hastily.
“You was just being nosey, is what you were doing!” Applejack said, cutting her sister off. “Now go on! Shoo!”
The three of them got up quickly, Big Mac going as far as to throw Granny over his shoulders so they could escape quicker.
“The nerve!” Applejack said as she slammed the door. She turned back to Rainbow, who was still sitting on the bed, trying her hardest not to snicker out loud. “Oh, go on, you can laugh I guess. May as well get it out of your system.”
Rainbow shook her head, with only the occasional stifled giggle escaping from the hooves she had clamped to her mouth. “I’m fine!” she finally managed to say when she had calmed down enough. “It... it was just the look on Mac's face, sorry.”
“Yeah, I suppose.” Applejack said, sitting heavily on the bed. “I’d probably laugh too.”
She looked down as a hoof covered her own. Dash wasn’t usually the type for hoof holding. It was kinda nice.
“Um... AJ, are we okay?” Rainbow asked quietly.
Applejack looked down at the hoof, then up at Dash in confusion, and in the back of her mind, a kernel of suspicion formed. “Any reason we shouldn’t be?”
Rainbow didn’t answer for a long, long time, and when she finally did, it was a lot louder than Applejack was expecting. Rainbow withdrew her hoof and slammed it down on the bed, getting up and pacing back and forth. “I knew it! I just knew the moment I asked that question it was gonna be trouble!”
She rounded on Applejack, staring her straight in the eye. “Fine! You’ve been weird for a while now, and I don’t know what’s going on, okay? And I should know, I should know you well enough to figure it out, but I don’t. So just tell me what I did so I can deal with whatever it is already.” She bit off the end of the sentence with a snap, staring at Applejack expectantly.
Applejack just held Rainbow’s gaze for a while, finally looking away in shame, her ears clamping back to her hat. “You ain’t done nothing, Dash.”
“Exactly!” Rainbow spat out in a rush. “I didn’t do—” her eyes widened as she processed what Applejack had said. “What do you mean, ‘nothing’? Of course I did something, or you wouldn’t be mad!”
“I said ‘nothing’ and I meant it.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense!” Rainbow near-shouted back. “You’re one of the happiest ponies I know short of Pinkie Pie normally, but then that thing with Pinkie happened and you were all like how ‘we’ messed up when I was the one who kissed her, and I thought we were okay but then you won’t hold me and none of your family knows what’s going on with you—”
“Dash—”
“And just now you were all mad at them when it’s me you should be mad at!” Rainbow finished, breathing heavily. “So just... out with it! Hit me with whatever I did so I can figure out how to make it up to you! Please!” she hung her head low to the floor. “Just let me know, I’ll do whatever.”
“You’re breakin’ that poor filly’s heart, Applejack.” Granny shouted from downstairs. “Ain’t no cause for that, no ma’am!”
“Granny, you’re bein’ too loud!” Apple Bloom replied in a slightly softer voice.
“Bloom, somepony’s gotta say it. That Rainbow filly is jus’ about cryin’ her eyes out up there—”
Applejack got up without saying a word more, opening the door and walking down the stairs. Her family was waiting at the bottom, falling silent as she emerged. She shouldered past them, making for the door.
A large red wall emerged in front of her. She looked up to see Big Macintosh blocking her path. “You’re gonna wanna move, Mac.”
“Nope.”
“Why are ya bein’ so mean, Applejack?” Apple Bloom asked from behind her.
“She’s bein’ a danged fool, is what she’s doing, Bloom.”
Applejack stared her brother down, and despite the height difference, he flinched. “AJ...” his deep, gentle voice rumbled in a tone meant to placate her.
“I’m goin’ for a run. I’ll be back.” Applejack replied, not breaking eye contact for a second. After a moment or two of tension between them, he moved out of the way, and she trotted out.
Above her, she heard her window being opened noisily, and in moments she was confronted by an angry Rainbow Dash hovering in front of her. “AJ, what the heck?”
Applejack simply trotted around Rainbow, continuing down the path.
Rainbow watched Applejack trot for a while, unsure what to make of what was happening. She’d done it, she’d finally confronted the problem head on, and Applejack had told her she hadn’t done anything wrong.
What she was supposed to make of that, she hadn’t a clue, but the only conclusion immediately coming to mind was that if she hadn’t been the one to make Applejack mad, then somepony else must have, and she wanted to know who it was so she could kick their flank all over town on general principles.
Unless it actually was her after all, and AJ just didn’t want to say, in which case... she’d be kicking her own flank? How would that even work? Maybe Applejack would have to do it, which would kinda suck, but at least then maybe things would be okay again.
She flew after Applejack, not directly confronting her, just following her. She wasn’t sure what to do anymore. All she knew was that Applejack had outright said she wasn’t okay, and Rainbow wasn’t happy with just letting that be a thing.
The problem was, resolving this was clearly going to involve a whole lot of feelsy girly stuff, when Rainbow had been bracing herself for a lot of yelling and maybe wrestling.
She was really bad with feelsy girly stuff.
She was okay with talking, that was fine. She could listen, even if it got really awkward... But the crying just about killed her. And the worst of it was, AJ wouldn’t be the one doing the crying.
Gimme a good fight any day. I’d be fine, no sweat.
They were a good ways away from the farmhouse now, and AJ wasn’t showing any signs of slowing down, much less stopping. Another day, she might have tackled her to the ground, forced the issue. Instead, she flew lower, letting her hooves touch the earth, and ran alongside her.
They galloped together in silence, Applejack giving her a sidelong glance, but not actually changing her gait. At least this was something Dash could understand. It was a competition, now, to see who could go on the longest without stopping for a break.
But it wasn’t a fair one, because Dash was well-rested, and had only begun running, whereas Applejack had been galloping flat out for a good half hour now. Still, she was AJ, so the run could easily go on for the rest of the afternoon until sunset if she really wanted to push herself.
The communication between them was unspoken, but understood. Applejack wanted to run, Rainbow wanted to be near her. It was simple, but simple was good. It felt like... the beginning of right. Not quite there, but they were on the path. She followed Applejack’s lead, hoping it would work better than what she’d tried earlier. At least this felt like it was doing something.
In time, they were well outside the limits of Ponyville, and Applejack slowed to a stop. It was clear she could have gone on, but choose not to. Dash nodded, finding a soft spot of grass on the side of the path.
She opened her mouth, but hesitated, finally closing it once more. Instead, she looked off into the distance at Ponyville, choosing not to be the first to break the companionable silence that had developed between them.
Applejack sat down heavily beside her, laying down on the soft earth. She looked... weary. Not physically, though. It seemed like life itself was making Applejack tired.
“Sorry.” Applejack said at last.
A million replies ran through Rainbow’s head at the speed of light. But she didn’t let any of them actually hit her lips. They all basically amounted to the same thing: AJ had no reason to apologize. Instead, she lay down beside Applejack, and carefully spoke the one answer that was different from the rest, hoping it might be the right one. “What for?”
It felt weird, slow, but... if she could do it for Shy, she could do it twice over for AJ. It kind of made her brain hurt, letting the ideas pile up and trying to pick the right one instead of the first one to cross the finish line. She wondered if Twilight felt like this all the time. Maybe that was why she got headaches?
“For making you worry.” Applejack said, laying her head down on the cool grass. “Granny was right. Ain’t right what I did to ya. I been doing a lot of things that ain’t right.”
“It’s cool.” Rainbow replied as nonchalantly as she could. “I made you worry too.”
“Nah. I guess I kinda knew you were okay. You made me mad, is what you did.”
Rainbow’s eyebrow raised, and she was tempted to pounce on that admission, since it was different than what Applejack had said earlier. But like Daring Do, Dash was noticing details, trying not to just dive for the treasure once it was in sight. There could be traps. “I thought I didn’t do anything?”
“You didn’t. But you weren’t here to be mad at. Made me more mad.” Applejack sighed. “Weren’t so easy to stay mad with ya around.”
“Should I go?” Rainbow asked hesitantly.
“Nah, you can stay. I told ya, I ain’t right. But that don’t make it your fault.”
Applejack’s line of thinking was seriously starting to make Rainbow’s head hurt. “Um... then whose fault is it?”
The other mare lifted her head up, pointing a forehoof at her own face. “That’d be me. But it sounds like you been feeling like it’s you.”
“Well, yeah!” Rainbow spit out before she even had a chance to consider if it was a good idea. She winced, and thought more carefully about what she said next. “I mean... let’s face it, AJ, between the two of us, I’m not the one ponies turn to for good ideas. I... I kinda just... do things. I... don’t think it through, most of the time, and... I feel like I screwed up, even if you say I didn’t.”
“Not so’s I can blame you, sugarcube.” Applejack replied with a sigh. “Ain’t about anything you did at all. Ain’t even about what you might do.”
“Then what?” Rainbow demanded, growing more frustrated. “Just tell me what’s bothering you, already! I can take it! Whatever it is, I’ll fix it!”
“Ain’t something you can fix, Dash. It’s just... how you are.”
“Well, then, how am I?” Rainbow asked. “Am I too fast? Too rough? Do I talk too much? Maybe I’m too pushy?”
Applejack didn’t answer, but she placed a hoof on Dash’s own, smiling at her. “Nah, you’re good, sug. I told you, it’s on me.”
Rainbow looked down at the hoof, frowning. “So... there’s something about me, that I can’t fix, and it bothers you.”
Applejack raised a single eyebrow in surprise. “I never said—”
“You did.” Rainbow said, cutting her off. “And you’re just like ‘Well, it makes me mad, but she can’t help it.’ But I can, AJ, whatever it is, I’ll try to stop. But I can’t do that unless you tell me.”
“I... yeah, I guess you’re right. I mean, I don’t know if it’ll do any good, but I guess it’s better to have it out there.” Applejack hesitated a moment more, then sat up. “Okay. So... I’m... I’m kinda the ‘jealous-type’.”
Rainbow took that in for a moment while AJ fidgeted uncomfortably. “Uh... okay,” she said, scratching her head. “Wait... is this about Pinkie again?”
“Not... about Pinkie, no. Actually... it was Lily that set me off.”
“Lily?” Rainbow asked, even more confused. “Who’s Lily?”
“She sells flowers with her sisters, Rose an’ Daisy.” Applejack replied. Seeing Rainbow’s unbroken blank stare, she sighed. “Look, I guess it ain’t so much Lily as what I saw you doing around her.” When Dash still showed no signs of understanding, she smacked a forehoof to the side of her head. “You was staring at her backside, Dash!”
Dash’s brow furrowed as she tried to remember what Applejack was talking about. “I... I don’t remember. I mean, that probably did happen, but I didn’t mean anything by it, you gotta know that.”
“I do.” Applejack replied. “It’s just... I get a little crazy when I think about it. I chased Lily off from my stand because she said one of my apples was bruised. I guess I was kinda growling at every pretty little thing I saw.”
“Huh.” Rainbow looked at Applejack for a time, uncertain what to say. Eventually, she smiled just a little. “Applejack, that’s... that’s kinda cool.”
Applejack stared at her as if she’d just suggested they try to reform Discord. " 'Cool’? Dash, I made her run off in tears. Heck, I ran into Rarity and she called me out on how awful I was being. I let her talk me into going to the spa to relax a little and get my mane done—”
“Wait, you did something to your mane?” Rainbow said, peering at AJ, trying to see under her hat. “Lemme see!”
Applejack clamped both hooves down on her hat, glaring at Rainbow. “Dangit, that ain’t the point! An’ it doesn’t matter none, you didn’t even notice...”
“I was a little busy staring at the floor trying not to tick you off, AJ!” Rainbow replied with a smile, batting at the hat like a cat with a toy. “C’mon, I wanna see what you did!”
“It... it ain’t nothing special. I mean, Rarity went hog wild at first, makeup, a new dress... I wouldn’t stand for it—”
Rainbow finally managed to dislodge the hat, snatching it in her hooves and clutching to her chest. Applejack was struck motionless, blushing as if she’d been caught doing something very personal in the bathroom.
“Huh.” Rainbow said after she had a chance to look AJ over. In a move that she hoped looked as cool as it seemed in her head, she flipped the hat up onto her head with a flourish. “Yeah, that looks nice.”
“It ain’t so different from how I normally wear it. Just a fancy braid is all. I... I don’t usually fuss with my mane. I got things to do an’ a couple hair ties do the job just fine...” Applejack trailed off, her eyes finally coming up to meet Dash’s. “Do... do you really like it?”
Rainbow nodded firmly. “It looks good! And... you let Rares do that to you for me?”
Applejack blushed a dark red, nodding. “A... a mare likes to look good for her marefriend, is all, and Rarity said maybe a little change was good... then she tried to change everything all at once and I yelled at her for it.” She let out a little huff. “I’ve been danged moody lately.”
“You think?” Rainbow asked with a smirk. She was feeling a lot better. Actually she was feeling pretty high on life. Applejack wasn’t mad at her, she was mad at everypony else! Probably bad news for them, but it was really kind of awesome that Applejack liked her that much. She could deal with jealousy, it was something she understood. A pony got jealous when something they really liked was threatened.
She wasn’t entirely sure how to reassure AJ she wasn’t going anywhere, though. But it was an easier problem to solve than trying to guess how she’d messed up. “So... Lily, huh? Why her?”
Applejack’s expression clouded, her face pulling down into a frown. “Don’t go asking about that. I feel bad enough for that filly as is. She didn’t do nothing wrong other than being too danged cute around the wrong mare.”
Rainbow shrugged helplessly. “I dunno. I don’t even remember who she is. I mean, there’s a lot of cute ponies around town.”
“Really?” Applejack demanded. “C’mon, she’s always selling flowers about three stalls down from mine!”
“Hey, when I go to the market it’s usually to see you. I don’t buy flowers. I know some nice fields around town full of ‘em when I want some.”
Applejack’s eyes blazed. “And who the heck are you getting flowers for, then? I ain’t got none from ya!”
Rainbow rocked back a little from the sheer shock of AJ’s utterance.
Whoa.
“Uh, hello? Tank? You gonna get mad at my pet, now?”
Applejack blushed again, immediately looking sorry for her outburst. “Oh! I... dangit...”
“Do you like flowers?” Rainbow asked curiously.
“Well, not so much as a rule... but, you know, it’d be nice to get em...”
Rainbow nodded, deciding to fill Applejack’s room with daffodils the next time she had a chance. If Applejack didn’t feel like eating them she could always give them to Tank after a while.
Wait... flowers…...
She had a sudden flash of a white flower cutiemark next to a long blond tail flicking enticingly in the the breeze.
Feathers, I think I know who she means now. Kinda skittish... Oh, oh right, Lily is kinda hot. Not on AJ’s level, but she does have a nice—
Rainbow coughed loudly, holding her wings rigidly at her sides. She really needed to watch who she was looking at in the future. If it made AJ upset, it wasn’t cool. “Right, okay! So, uh...... we’re okay now, right?” she asked, shifting uncomfortably.
Applejack did not respond immediately, eyeing her suspiciously. But after a good minute of silence, she snorted and nodded. “Yeah, we’re good.”
It was like the anchor of worry that had been dragging her down for the last couple of days vanished in one fell swoop, and Dash did a little dance inside of her own mind. “Good,” she echoed her marefriend. " 'Cause I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now.” After that she leaned over, and pulled her main girl over with one of her wings, capturing her lips in a prolonged kiss.
Applejack’s eyes widened in surprise, and she looked a little annoyed at first, but eventually they fluttered closed, and she leaned into the kiss.
“So, uh,” she said after the kiss ended, and Applejack looked at her with a dazed smile. “Do you want anything else? Heart’s and Hooves cards... or a romantic dinner for two in Las Pegasus... maybe even a fancy dress?”
“Gosh darnit, Dash—” Applejack muttered, although the smile that sat on her lips didn’t budge. “I swear, if we end up feudin’ again, I’m sendin’ Rarity after you.”
That was fine by Dash. More than fine, really. Prissy as she was, Rarity would suss out what was wrong with AJ long before she could, and then she could fix it all the more easily. “Deal,” she said with a grin that spanned her face from ear to ear. She leaned against her marefriend and teasingly whispered: “I was planning on getting a stack of romance guides from Twi and everything...”
“Hush up, featherbrain.”
They walked back home in silence, Applejack walking as close to Rainbow as equinely possible without the two of them getting their limbs tangled.
Home. It really did sound nice. Rainbow hadn’t really had a place she thought of as home for a long time. She had a house, of course, but it wasn’t really much more than a place to put stuff like trophies and keepsakes.
She’d had a lot of houses. They’d lost her Moms when she was too young to remember much more than that she was the best mom ever, and her Pops was a little shiftless, so he’d just move them both around whenever the mood struck him. Flight Camp had been weird because of that, as she’d had a bed there that she’d gotten to sleep in for several months at a time. Same bed, same room, same everything.
Later, when she’d gone to Flight School, it had been much the same. She’d even got to be roomies with Gilda for a year or two. But when Shy had left school to move to the ground, she’d followed soon after. It wasn’t like she was leaving home, after all. Her Pops was around somewhere, she’d find him when she wanted to see him, and he knew where she was if he wanted the same.
She hadn’t quite known what to make of how she felt on AJ’s farm. Even before she’d gotten the courage scraped up to write AJ a love note, she’d always felt... safe there. Welcome, even. It was just how the Apples were. They were just awesome like that. That was why she hadn’t been very surprised to find out AJ’s worries about telling her family about Rainbow had been kinda dumb.
Big Mac was a great big softie, Apple Bloom was easily the second best little sis in the world (Scoots had that title on lock-down, even if AJ might disagree) and Granny was... Granny. She kinda surpassed categorization, but at a rough estimate she was at least totally radical. Rainbow thought she might have to make up a new word for her.
Of course, none of them could really touch how awesome AJ herself was, but Rainbow was aware she was a biased judge in that contest, so it was cool.
“Bit fer yer thoughts, sug?”
Rainbow flashed Applejack a big grin. “Sorry, I was just thinking about how awesome everything is. It’s like... like something was missing, and we added something.... Well, it’s really girly and not-cool, but it’s for you, so that makes it cool?” Rainbow tilted her head to one side as she looked into Applejack’s eyes. “Does that make sense?”
“Uh, yeah, I think?” Applejack blushed furiously. “Truth is, I kinda... liked the make-up and all, cause I wanted to look good fer ya, but... then I got riled ‘cause I was worried it was the only way I was gonna be prettier than the other mares you was looking at—”
“Whoa, just stop. AJ, you’re totally hot, okay?” Rainbow interjected. “Like... you got the total package. Braided hair, mussed up hair, bed-hair, makeup, no makeup, they’re all just points that add to the total. On a bad day you’re at least awesome.”
“Don’t go pullin’ my leg now—”
“I’m not!” Rainbow exclaimed, stopping in her tracks. “Look, I was thinking about things, a lot, you know? Like... I was worried about us, because things were weird, and I didn’t know why, and I... I started thinking about what I wanted.”
Applejack stopped as well, and they stood together on the road, just looking at each other. “So... what do you want, sug?”
“I want us.” Rainbow answered, taking flight in a sudden swoop and twirling around in midair. “I want cuddles at night, and late nights where I can’t sleep and you hold me close while I stare at the ceiling, and I want mornings where you wake me up when that stupid chicken screams at everyone—”
“That’d be the rooster, Dash.”
“Whatever! I wanna take you with me while I track down my Pops so he knows about you. I wanna get Twi to cast that spell on you again and we’ll go to Cloudsdale and race in my old racing course. I want two awesome ponies being awesome together until we both get so old all we can do is sit around like Granny and nap or whatever she does.” Rainbow let out a little laugh. “Okay, maybe I wanna do more than that, but I guess it’s hard to move when you’re older than dirt. We’ll figure it out.”
Applejack stared at Rainbow for a long, long time. Long enough that Rainbow was starting to worry she’d said the wrong thing, and she dropped to the ground, expecting to be reprimanded. Maybe the ‘older than dirt’ thing had been too much. She still wasn’t sure what to think when AJ approached silently, but the hooves going around her neck didn’t seem to be a choke hold, so she guessed it was okay. She gingerly returned the hug.
“T-That may have been one of the nicest things anypony ever said to me.” Applejack whispered.
“Really?” Rainbow whispered back. “Cause I was just kinda... saying stuff. I mean, I could write you a poem if you wanna get really girly—”
Applejack cuffed Rainbow on the side of the head. “Don’t push it, Romareo.”
“That’s the Applejack I love.” Rainbow said, squeezing Applejack even tighter.
They separated slowly, almost unwillingly, then continued down the path towards the farm.
“Well, if’n it ain’t the two love-birds!” Granny said as they entered the farmhouse. “You two finished yer tiff, did ya?”
“Uh... I think so?” Rainbow replied, whispering to Applejack: “What’s a tiff?”
“She means we was having a little tussle.” Applejack whispered back.
“No we weren’t!” A brilliant blush grew on Rainbow’s face as she said this. “I mean, we could have, but I felt like it was more of a hugging moment. The tussling can happen later on, in your room, but... quietly, so they don’t hear us? Maybe we should just sneak out to the barn. Feathers, the cows might rat on us—”
“Well, lookit there! The Rainbow filly done turned purple!” Granny cackled loudly. “Guessin’ you two settled things. Just keep it down, later. I need my rest.” Granny hobbled off to the kitchen, mumbling something about pegasi and their lung capacity.
In the main room, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were sitting down with a pitcher of lemonade, cooling off. As they entered, Scootaloo jumped up, quietly giving Rainbow a big hug which maybe went on for a second or two longer than necessary. Rainbow tousled her mane a bit, waiting for her to let go when she was ready.
“Applejack, you’re back!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, getting to her hooves and hugging the living daylights out of her sister. “You okay, now?”
“Right as rain, Bloom. Sorry if I was a little ornery earlier.”
Rainbow’s ears perked up in shock, and she looked back at Applejack, mouthing ‘Not in front of the kids!’ She kept looking at Applejack, waiting for the look of confusion to progress to a nod of acceptance before looking back down at Scootaloo, who had finally decided it was time to let go.
“Having fun, kid?” Rainbow asked as Applejack chatted with Apple Bloom.
“We were doing chores. We gotta get back to it after this,” Scootaloo replied, her face scrunching up in annoyance. “But it helps Apple Bloom, so it’s okay.”
“Gotcha.” Rainbow replied, watching Apple Bloom and her sister seperate, Applejack smiling fondly at the little filly. “They’re kinda awesome, aren’t they?”
“Yeah...” Scootaloo said, gazing at Apple Bloom with a surprisingly similar expression to the one on Rainbow’s face.
Huh, puppy love? That’s cool. Good on ya, kid.
Rainbow said her goodbyes, waiting for Applejack to do the same. Applejack needed to get out in the orchards to help Mac with a couple things she’d been complaining about needing to have finished before dinner, and Rainbow needed to get with Thunderlane to move some storm systems from Cloudsdale into the correct paths for later that week, but they had a little time before their respective responsibilities, and planned to spend that together, in bed. Not tussling, of course, unless Applejack wanted to. Rainbow just wanted to kick back for a while, maybe catch a nap.
Maybe tussling.
As they entered Applejack’s room, Rainbow gazed at the bed as if it was a tomb full of treasure at the end of a long journey. She was looking forward to the first nap she’d be able to properly enjoy in days. Her sleep had been fitful at best because of worry, and the fatigue of several days of stress was coming around to collect its toll. She yawned, a great big goofy grin on her face. Naps were awesome.
“Hey, Dash?” Applejack asked from the door.
Rainbow turned around and plopped down on the bed, looking back up at Applejack. She yawned again. “Yeah?”
“That stuff about your dad, did ya mean that? Or was that just ‘sayin’ stuff’?”
“Hmmm?” Rainbow frowned for a moment. “Oh, yeah! Actually, I tried to find him yesterday. The girls at the post office told me his mail’s being forwarded to Las Pegasus. He manages for the weather service, so they send him around a lot. But yeah, I was talking to Shy yesterday and she was telling me about how things went when Rarity met her mom and dad and I was like ‘I should track down my old man, see how he’s doing—’ ”
“Wait, wait.” Applejack held up a hoof, her eyes wide. “You... you were trying to find your dad, just so he could meet me?”
“Well... I mean, I haven’t seen him in a while, myself. We... we don’t talk much.” Rainbow admitted. “It was kinda rough for him, after Moms died. But yeah, basically I wanted him to meet you.”
“And that’s where you were, yesterday?”
“Yeah... that’s what I wanted to tell you earlier. I checked with the neighbors, and the guys at the service. Finally ended up tracking down our old mailpony. That’s how I know about where he’s probably at, now.” Rainbow’s brow furrowed as she tried to remember something else she’d meant to tell AJ. “Shoot! I meant to give you something earlier!” She got up and went to the dresser drawer, fishing out a silver locket. “Here!” she said, presenting it to AJ in an extended hoof.
Applejack just looked at the tiny locket for a moment, seemingly uncertain what to do with it. “What’s this?”
“It’s...” Rainbow blushed, clearing her throat and looking away from Applejack. “Look, it’s... it was my from my Moms. She gave it to me when I was like... way young, and she said I should give it to somepony I... you know, care about. I told her I wasn’t into mushy stuff, but... I kept it in a safe spot at my Pops’s place, just in case, you know?”
Applejack flipped open the clasp, looking at the tiny picture inside. Rainbow had checked it over herself, yesterday, to make sure the mare at the photo shop had gotten it right. It was just a tiny picture of her, smiling as big as she could smile. It had been a little hard to do, because she wasn’t sure if Applejack would even want the locket, but she was pretty good at smiling bravely when she was scared.
“She said I should put a little picture in there of myself, so it would be like the pony I liked was being... protected. My Pops has one, and he’s been really lucky, with... you know, bad weather. Lightning never comes close, you know?”
Applejack just stood there, staring at the locket. Rainbow laughed uncomfortably.
“Don’t worry. I can get you the flowers, and whatever else you like. It’s cool. You don’t have to wear that silly thing—” Rainbow reached her hoof out once more to retrieve the locket, and Applejack snatched it up against her chest, fumbling with the little catch mechanism in the back with her teeth.
“I... I can help with that, if you want?” Rainbow asked as she watched Applejack wrestle with the necklace.
Applejack shook her head, reaching around her neck with the now open necklace. Despite what Applejack’s stated wish, Rainbow ran around her, hooking the two ends together and closing the little catch.
They were both silent for a time, Applejack looking into her mirror at the little locket around her neck.
“So, it’s okay?” Rainbow asked quietly.
Applejack turned, throwing her arms around Rainbow, and nodded into her shoulder.
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Yep Dash, you totally fail at the 'girly-feelsy' stuff. Just terrible.
Oh my gosh!
Dash do you even know what engaged or married means, because you just proposed about a dozen times there.
Dash you might be bad at girly stuff, but by Celestia you are so brutally and utterly and sweetly honest about your feelings it barely matters. Who needs flowery words when the person speaks from the heart, without the brain getting in the way and making things all...complicated with fears, doubts, and worries.
Well done Rainbow Dash well done -applauds her honestly simple, if quite awkward and at times clunky, show of pure true loyal love.-
Yeah, Dash, you're not 'girly'. That's why we all love you.
The flowers convo was hilarious.
Dash and AJ adventure soon™ !!
Looking forward to the conversation with Dad...
Awwww sweet chapter
Commence read.
Very sweet chapter.
Glad they worked through things.
All of the squee.
ALL of the squee.
Awwww, that was so sweet~ That's why I love Rainbow, she speaks from the heart, brutally honest without her thoughts getting in the way.
OH ITS GLORIOUS!
Nice job!
One does not simply read a chapter of Green.
One savors it.
How many Interludes are you going to do?
7177874 It's... a bit difficult to say. I do one after every arc. Arcs last for 3 chapters, and I plan to keep this up until the story reaches its end?
Adorable ponies being ponies.
Im waiting for completion before I commence a 'cover to cover' reread. This story is absolutely fantastic in almost every way, I check up on it often. Keep being awesome steel. -The Shipshelf
Don't think there's supposed to be a quotation mark there.
Replace the second quotation mark before "where" with an apostrophe. Also spaces between the apostrophes and quotation marks for recognizability.
'Hooves'
Supposed to be 'had'.
Again space between quotation marks and apostrophes for recognizability.
Is "Moms" Dash's child name for her mother? If so, ignore the next few points pertaining to her.
In this context it should be 'tousled'.
'Kept'.
Spaces between apostrophe's and quotation marks for recognizability.
See previous quote regarding name.
See previous quote regarding name. Also take out the first "my".
And just because I can:
Well, at least something went absolutely right for once.
This was a wonderful chapter, and that ending... those feels!
7185953 Thanks, although... ponies have feet. Four of them. XD
7185978
That's debatable, but this isn't the place for it. I haven't quite finished reading as I'm a bit short on time at the moment, so there may be a few more.
7185978
Okay I'm done being completely anal and a grammar nazi. See my comment for the complete corrections.
7187888 Changes made. And if you'd like a place to discuss hooves versus feet, let me introduce you to my pet.
Thanks though. Oh, and yes, Moms and Pops. Dashisms, you know.
7188166
Ah, I don't really pay attention to blog posts which explains why I didn't see that. I can also see your point on the nuances of proper feeling with writing, and if I come across as being overly particular with my criticism's, I apologize, it's just what my mind see's.
7188274 no worries. Thanks for pointing those out.
This chapter was/is so well written that is full of feelings!!! The pacing, the structure, the moment, totally worth it. I know it was a pain to write, but as I usually says, I can wait for a chapter full of quality. quality over quantity.
This is the best propose I have ever read!!!!!
7192891 I think this may be one of my favorite things I have written. Rainbow is just so adorably clueless.
Aughhhh! A direct hit, right in the feels!
Seriously, loved this. Dashie's special brand of clumsy romance is one of my favorite things.
Ahhh, couple months away and now I'm all caught up and wanting more. Love this series.
Keep up the good work Steel.
7219995
Yeah it is that special type of heartwarming clumsiness. You gotta love that mare sometimes.
7543201 She needs to give herself more credit.
She may not be "good" at it, but she more than makes up for that by worrying so much.She cares so much that she might be doing it wrong that she does it right anyways, and even when she does mess up it's okay because she Genuinely had only the absolute best intentions at heart and so her mistakes are mostly harmless at worst.
7558272
Yep. The best example of Dash's heart being in the right place, and being well adorably Dash when it comes to romance is this fic right here.
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/183328/spring-is-dumb
Oh, it's been too long since something hit me as squarely in the feels like this...
I'm also really bad at feelsy-romance things, so this hit a little too close to home.
That's it, I'm favouriting this story.
7711859 if it's been a long while since you been hit in the feels, or just want another one
, enchanted library and enchanted kingdom, the latest chapter hits hard
Never thought the mention of twilight's and cadence's sunshine sunshine dance could ever hit me in the feels, much less pulling non metaphorical tears out of my eyes in streams
I >> AH, AJ and AB dialog.
This is still one of the better chapters in this story. Full of mushy, syrupy goodness.
Rarity became somewhat of a linchpin, didn't she? The one sane, reasonable voice in a sea of madness. Funny, somehow. Though to be fair, the role of 'linchpin' seems to be wandering from pony to pony. However, I love how RD and AJ just... go about things. Sure, they need help from time to time. A nudge her, a dress-down there, a steady shoulder in between, but they just... they do. They might fret, they might worry, but they do. They have an inherent tendency to spring to action when push comes to shove. And it's refreshing how level-headed they are. Even when their concerns become a little silly. RD doesn't overthink, she's just like: There's a problem? There's a problem! Great, now that we not that, let's do something about it! And AJ is like 'Problem solved. We good? We good. Noice.' They don't inject artificial drama, not like the others do, and even while they have their problems to deal with and it's obviously not free of drama, it still somehow feels like a breather between the sections with Rarity and Pinks and Co.
A little like the CMC-sections. A short interlude to get off the rollercoaster for a moment, so you can collect yourself, keep your stomach down and get ready for the next round.
11112103
Appledash can be said to be a character of its own. It's brash, and cocky, but loving and levelheaded. Rainbow and Applejack compliment each other well, since both are physical, and struggle with their emotions at times. They can be the strong shoulder for the other to lean on. It's hard to phase these two, and easiest to see them reconcile.