xjuggerscrapsx

by xjuggernaughtx

AppleDash - Attempt One (Romance, Adventure, but this chapter is SoL)

Land’s sake, where do they come from? Applejack thought as she strained against the metal pole. She’d been trying to work a rock out of the south field for the last ten minutes, but its stubborn refusal to move was really beginning to irritate her. With a low growl, she pulled the pole out from beneath the stone and brought it down repeatedly, hoping to break the rock up into smaller pieces. Five strikes later, the stone still sat, whole, before her. Same thing every year, she thought, leaning on the pole and wiping her brow with the back of her hoof. We spend weeks clearin’ these fields, and these dang rocks just show up outta nowhere come spring!

“Hey, Applejack!”

Applejack grinned, craning her head to watch Rainbow fly in. She’d always admired the sleek efficiency the pegasus displayed. Ain’t no wasted movement with that one, she thought, watching the minute adjustments Rainbow’s wings made as she angled toward the ground. Look at her! Like she was born to move.

“Ah, earth to Applejack,” Rainbow said, waving a hoof in front of her friend’s eyes. “You still with me here?”

“Ah, yeah,” Applejack returned, feeling the blood rushing to her cheeks. How long have Ah been starin’ at her? she thought, bending down to examine the stone, trusting that her hat would hide her blazing cheeks. Ramming the pole into the ground, she attempted to chip away some of the hardened dirt around the rock. “So,” she panted, “Whatcha up to, Rainbow?”

“Oh, just the coolest aerial maneuvering you’ve ever seen!” Rainbow said with a smirk, polishing a hoof against her chest. “AJ, you gotta see it! First I rocket straight up into the air!” she said, using her hoof to illustrate. “Then, I bank, twisting into tighter and tighter helixes, you know, with my contrail streaming out behind me!” she continued, spinning in a circle. “And finally, when I’m about to break the sound barrier, I shoot back up through the contrail circles and out over the top! The pressure wave turns the contrails inside out and spreads them out like a fan!” Rainbow flapped her wings, briefly taking to the sky to perform a quick loop-the-loop. “You’re gonna love it! Seriously, AJ! It’ll be the most awesome thing you’ve ever seen!”

Applejacks eyebrows shot up into her hat. “Wow!” she said, “Where’d ya learn to do that?”

Rainbow looked away, pawing at the dirt. “Well, I haven’t exactly learned to do it yet.,” she said. “I kinda just dreamed it up last night, but I’m about to learn!” Breaking into a wide smile, she stepped forward, wings outspread. Sidling up to Applejack, she elbowed the earth pony in the ribs. “That is, if Equestria’s second-best athlete can come watch me for a little while and let me know how I’m doing.”

“Second best?” Applejack said, smirking. “Rainbow, now Ah know you’ve been dreamin’!”

“Well, put your bits where your mouth is!” Rainbow said, stretching. “Let’s go for a run and loosen up! Then we can work on that trick some.”

Applejack frowned, sighing. “Sorry, Rainbow, but Ah can’t right now.” Rearing back onto her hind legs momentarily, she raised the pole over her head, and then plunged it back into the ground under the rock. “Ah… uh… gotta get… ugh… this here rock up… gah… before Big Mac can till this field!” she said, straining against the pole.

“Oh, jeez,” Rainbow muttered, rolling her eyes. Grabbing onto the pole, she threw her full body weight against it. Together Applejack and Rainbow worked the stubborn rock out of the ground bit by bit. Finally, as they both spat curses at it, the rock grudgingly gave way. It popped out so suddenly that the two ponies lost their balance and fell into a heap, laughing as the rock flew into the air and landed with a few feet away with a muffled thud.

“Whew!” Rainbow said, leaning her head against Applejack’s shoulder as she panted. “No wonder you’re so strong!” Playfully, she groped Applejack’s shoulders and sides. “I think your muscles have muscles!”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “If Ah was that danged strong, Ah’d’ve had that rock outta the ground ten minutes ago!”

“Well, whatever,” Rainbow said, dusting herself off. “It’s out now, so let’s go!”

Applejack sighed, shaking her head. “No can do, Rainbow,” she said glumly.

“What?” Rainbow shot back, already in midtrot. “Why not?”

“That’s just one rock, Rainbow,” Applejack said. “Ah gotta clear this whole field today,” she continued, spreading her hoof in wide arc in front of her.

“The whole field?!” Rainbow cried, her jaw dropping open. “AJ, that’s, like, three days of work!”

“Well, it’s gotta get done,” Applejack sighed. Rainbow frowned as she watched her friend’s mood darken. “It’s plantin’ season, and we gotta get them seeds in the ground before you and the weather team get the rain goin’. Otherwise, the crops won’t grow right. So Ah need to get all these rocks outta here pronto, or the farm’s sunk.” Applejack trotted the next rock and began wedging the pole into place.

“Well, I could ask the weather team to hold up for a week or two?” Rainbow said, trotting to catch up. “It’s not like it’s going to make a huge difference.”

“That’s just it,” Applejack said breathlessly as she strained against the bar. “That rain ain’t just for us. Lot’s of ponies need it. Ah can’t ask them to hold up the weather just ‘cause Ah don’t wanna work hard.” Applejack stopped, tipping her hat back to give Rainbow a disapproving stare. “You know better than that, anyway, Rainbow!” she said, frowning. “You’re on the weather team, and you know how delicate that rain schedule is.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know,” Rainbow said, looking away. “I… I just don’t like to see you like this Applejack.” She placed a hoof on Applejack’s leg. “Look, I don’t want to get all up in your business, but we’re all kinda worried. You’ve been pushing yourself really hard, and that’s great and all, but we haven’t really seen you in weeks. We keep coming around, but you’re always working.”

“Well, what’m Ah supposed to do, Dash?” Applejack said, throwing her hooves out beside her. “The barn got busted up last winter and we had to let Caramel and Barleystalk go to afford the repairs. Right now, it’s just me and Big Mac. Granny Smith’s too old to work at much, and Applebloom’s got school.” Applejack swallowed hard and took up her pole again, leaning on it hard. “It ain’t like Ah’m havin’ the time of my life, ya know.”

Rainbow sighed, dropping her eyes to the cracked field. To the pegasus, it looked as hard as steel. “I’m not trying to blame you, Applejack. It’s just… we all really miss you a lot.” She sat heavily, her shoulders slumping. “I miss you a lot,” she said quietly.

“Well, Ah miss y’all a heap, too, but right now Ah just got too much to do to be foolin’ around.” Applejack paused, tilting her head back so that she could see Rainbow clearly around the brim of her hat. As Rainbow’s face clouded with worry, Applejack’s heart sank. Good goin’, Applejack! she thought, wishing she’d just kept her mouth shut. Now you’ve gone and upset her! Sighing, she walked over to her friend. Sitting down, she threw her leg around the pegasus. If we could just sit like this. Just for a little while, she thought, I’d give anythin’.

Applejack gave her friend a playful shake, squeezing her in a strong hug. “Look, it ain’t that I wouldn’t love to be out there helpin’ you out with your fancy flyin’. I’ll be around just as soon as we catch up around here. It just...” Applejack scanned the farm, mentally checking off the vast multitude of chores that had piled up. “It just… might be a little while, okay?” Applejack caught Rainbow’s eye and smiled. “Besides, what does an earth pony know about flyin’ around, anyway?”

Rainbow grinned, rolling her eyes. “Trust me, Applejack. You’re worth like ten of those pegasi in Cloudsdale. Okay, so maybe you can’t fly, but you know how to move!” Rainbow shrugged, shaking her head. “I dunno how to say it right, but you always see stuff. Like when I’ve got my wings out too far, or my legs aren’t tucked enough, or whatever.” She playfully poked her friend in the side. “Too bad you weren’t born a pegasus! Maybe then, somepony could give me a run for my money!”

“Run for your money?” Applejack said, trying to snarl but grinning in spite of herself. “Land or air, if we was gettin’ paid to race, you’d be flat broke!”

“Pfft! In your dreams!” the pegasus said, jumping back to her hooves. “You’d never—”

Applejack stood, throwing out a hoof to stop Rainbow. “Ah hate to do this, sugarcube, but I can’t sit here jawin’ all day.” Slowly trudging back to her rock, she picked up her pole again. “I got lotsa rocks to move,” she said, squeezing her eyes tightly shut as she strained against the pole.

“I think you mean we’ve got lots of rocks, AJ,” Rainbow said, adding her strength. “I’m not going to leave you hanging here.”

Suddenly, Rainbow was beside Applejack again, pressing against her as the pegasus wrapped her hooves around the metal pole. Oh, Rainbow, Applejack thought, struggling not to move closer still. What are ya doin’ to me? I-I just don’t have no time for complicated right now… She tapped her rear hoof smartly against her shin, and found a refuge in the pain. “Oh, Rainbow, you don’t have to do this! It’s your day off!” she said, trying to shoo the pegasus away with a hoof. “You shouldn’t waste it workin’!”

“Yeah, it is my day off,” the pegasus, as she worked the pole back and forth. “And that means I get to do what I want.” She flicked Applejack’s hat back with a hoof. “And what I want to do is help out my best pal.”

“Thanks, Rainbow,” Applejack said thickly, trying to get her emotions under control. She hated asking for help, but for days she’d been feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of the list of chores. “Ah… Ah know it ain’t much fun…”

“AJ, you better catch up!” Rainbow said, smirking. “My side of the rock is coming out already!”

“Oh, what?” Applejack said, leaning harder into the pole. “You’re some sort of getting’ rocks outta the ground expert, now? Ah’ll show you how we get some rocks up on the farm!” With a final push, AJ popped the rock from its resting place.

“Well,” Rainbow said, wiping the sweat from her brow. “That’s two.”

~~~

By the time they finished tossing the last of the rocks onto the large pile in the field’s corner, the clouds above them were tinged with the pink and orange of the setting sun. As they both reclined against the pile, they wiped their brows and panted.

“Rainbow, Ah just can’t thank you enough!” Applejack said, throwing her hoof up to stop her friend from downplaying the day’s effort. “Nope, don’t start. We both know Ah wouldn’t even be halfway done without your help.”

“Pfft! You think this is something?” Rainbow said, leaning back against the rocks and cradling her head in her hooves. “Wait until tomorrow!”

“Huh?” Applejack replied, propping herself up on her elbow as she turned toward the pegasus. “What happens tomorrow?”

“Oh, just a little project called Operation Free Time!” Rainbow said, grinning. As Applejack cocked her eyebrow and scratched her mane, Rainbow snorted out a laugh. “I’m gonna get the girls together and were going to whip this place in shape for you!”

Applejack stood quickly, shaking her head. “Nope,” she said, dusting herself off, “Not gonna happen, Rainbow.”

“Oh, don’t start this stuff again!” Rainbow said, frowning deeply. “Yeah, we get it! You’re the hardest worker of all time! Didn’t we deal with this taking on the world thing of yours before?”

“It ain’t like that, Rainbow!” Applejack said, “It ain’t that Ah don’t want the help, but most everythin’ we’ve got to do takes some time to learn. It ain’t all diggin’ up rocks!”

“So we’ll learn it,” the pegasus returned, shrugging. “What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is that I got a peck and a half of things to get done,” Applejack said, looking off into the distance. From here, she could see the say the barn leaned unnaturally, and it tore at her. “We’ve got to recalibrate the milkin’ machine, retool the plow seating, drill a new well for the west orchard, and splice new seedlings.” She turned back to Dash, pursing her lips. “Ya know how to do any of that?” she said, staring at her friend.

“Well, no, but—” Rainbow began, fidgeting.

“There ain’t no ‘but’ about it, Rainbow,” Applejack said sadly. “Believe me, I’d love if y’all could lend me a hoof, but we’re on a deadline right now, and I can’t take the time out of my schedule to train and supervise y’all. It’d take three times as long as if Big Mac and I did it alone.”

“AJ,” Rainbow said helplessly. “There’s gotta be something we can do to help!”

“Ya already did, sugarcube,” Applejack said, embracing her friend tightly. As Rainbow returned her embrace, Applejack sighed, wishing she could just stay there forever. “But I’d be mighty happy if you’d show me that neat flyin’ trick when this is all done!”

Stretching her wings, Rainbow leaned forward until her shoulders popped. Sighing, she repeated this with her hips. “Well, okay, I guess, but you gotta promise to come get us if we can help.” She placed her hoof on Applejack’s shoulder, gripping it tightly while holding the earth pony in a fierce gaze. “Pinkie promise.”

Applejack grinned, rolling her eyes. “Okay, I Pinkie promise as long as you Pinkie promise to get that trick workin!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow said airily. “We’ll see how far I get.”

“Well, see if Fluttershy can help you out,”

Rainbow held her friend’s gaze with a flat, half-lidded stare.

“Well, it ain’t like you need her to do the flyin’, Rainbow,” Applejack said. “She’s probably better than me! She could see from all different angles.”

“Applejack, you know how windy it gets up there!” Rainbow cried, throwing her hooves up. “Fluttershy hates that! I spend more time trying to keep her from flying home than doing any actual training whenever she comes. Well, whatever,” Rainbow continued, tossing her mane to get it out of her eyes. “Maybe I’ll ask Cloudchaser at the bar tonight. She likes that athletic stuff.”

“Whattayamean, ‘ask Cloudchaser’?” Applejack said a little too quickly, wincing internally as Rainbow cocked her head to the side.

“What do you mean, ‘What do I mean’?” she asked, throwing a hoof out wide beside her. “You’re busy, you don’t want any help, and you do want me to learn that trick. Cloudchaser and I fly together sometimes. She’s strong, she’s fast, and she likes athletes! I’d rather it was you, but I need somepony who can keep up! What’s the problem with that?”

“Nothin’!” Applejack said, busying herself with the rock pile. She was just moving rocks from one place to another, but she just couldn’t look at her friend right now. “Ah… Ah just didn’t know Cloudchaser liked that stuff. Ah always heard she was kinda frou-frou-y.”

“What, ‘cause of that hair?” Rainbow said, “Yeah, she kinda goes overboard on the gel, but don’t let that fool you, she’s pretty fierce in the sky! Last week, we were flying back from Cloudsdale and she pulled off this barrel roll around me, and then punched through a cloud right where I was about to go so that I didn’t get wet.” she said, demonstrating again with her hooves. “You wouldn’t know this, but you lose a little speed due to drag when your feathers get wet from the clouds! So when she flew around me and through the cloud, it let me rocket through the hole at top speed and the cloud just burst apart into all these water droplets, and the air was just filled with them, AJ!” Lost in her story, Rainbow swooped her hooves through twists and turns. “They were, like, all around us, and the sun hit them and soon everything was rainbow patterned. We were just whooping and laughing, flying through it because it looked so awesome!” Rainbow stopped as AJ dropped a rock with a dull thud. Stepping forward as her friend’s back twitched twice. “AJ, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Nothin’!” Applejack said again, rubbing her eyes. “Ah dropped a rock on my hoof just the wrong way and it hurt me bad for a second, that’s all.”

“Here, let me see it,” Rainbow said, snatching her friend’s hoof and inspecting it. “I dunno, AJ, it looks okay.” Rainbow gently massaged the hoof, carefully feeling the bones. “Probably just a stinger.”

“Somethin’ like that,” Applejack returned. “Look, Ah gotta get in before Granny Smith starts yellin’. You know how she hates it when anypony’s late for dinner. You… you have fun with that new trick, you hear?” she said, doing her best to smile.

“Will do, AJ,” Rainbow said, giving her friend another quick hug. “And I know you’re not going to listen, but I still say you guys need some help.” Jumping into the air, Rainbow beat her powerful wings, rapidly gaining altitude. “You’re missing all the best stuff out there!” she called down as she banked away.

“Ah know, Rainbow,” Applejack sniffed, her eyes welling. This time, she didn’t try to stop the tears as she watched the pegasus disappear. “Ah’m missin’ out on a lot of things.”

Author's Note:

Ah, my horrible attempts at shipping. This one wasn't so bad, actually, but it wasn't good either. 'Hollow' is a word I'd use to describe it, because deep down, I don't care about love between the characters.

I think it was fresh off of Diary of a Pliant Tyrant, and I really felt like I could write anything. I had all these people that I knew that were into AppleDash, so I figured why not make them a story.

What I learned was that if you don't actually care about that story, then it just doesn't come out well. At least, it doesn't for me. I could have continued this, and maybe it would have improved with some editing, but I wasn't really interested in it.

An interesting side note: As you can see, I have the outline of the story listed below. That outline is actually an old one. I had a second version that was about four thousand words, that really broke things down in detail, but I lost it somewhere along the way. That was another reason that I never really followed up with this. I just didn't want to go through thinking all that stuff up again.

They are telling me that the story notes have to go in here, so this is going to be really long...

Planning

 

Synopsis – Applejack secretly wants to be in a relationship with Rainbow Dash, but feels like Rainbow doesn’t want to be with an earth pony. Desperate, she eventually makes a deal with the devil when she asks Discord to help her out. Discord imbues her with wings, but it comes with a personality modification: Granting her flight also makes her “flighty”. As she enjoys the time with Rainbow, she forgets about her duties on the farm, and the Apple Family suffers. Eventually Rainbow calls her out and they have a blow up. When Applejack returns to the farm, she is forced to see how bad things have gotten and the realization breaks the spell. Feeling that she’s lost everything, she despairs, but Rainbow returns to tell her that there is more to love than flying together.

Scene 1

Rainbow comes to hang out the Applejack on the farm. Rainbow wants Applejack to come watch her do some new tricks that she needs some opinions on, but Applejack has to work. Rainbow thinks that kinda lame, but is understanding. After she leaves, Applejack contemplates her life on the farm and how much she misses because of her responsibilities.

One thing that is vital to this scene is that Rainbow must talk in a way that makes it seem like she doesn’t want to be dragged down by an earth pony. Probably in a very broad sense, but because Applejack is sensitive, she over-interprets what Rainbow is saying. Maybe Rainbow could be going on about how much easier it would be to get an opinion of her new trick from a pegasus that understands flying, and Applejack could extrapolate that out to mean that Rainbow just prefers pegasi in general.

Perhaps when Applejack says she can’t do it, Rainbow says something about it probably being for the best because another pegasus would understand better, or something like that.

Scene 2

Applejack could meet up with Big Mac and discuss what they have planned in the near future so that she could free up a little time. Big Mac would be somewhat sympathetic, but not really leave her with any options. It’s a busy time on the farm and they don’t have the money for any outside help. Applejack would agree that Big Mac was right, but inwardly she’s becoming more resentful.

Scene 3

Applejack would meet up with Twilight at her library, asking for a favor. She’d ask Twilight for some way to get wings, and Twilight would try and help, but tell her that if there was an easy way for earth ponies to get wings, they’d probably have done it long ago. Eventually, Twilight would exhaust her resources and point out that it just couldn’t be done. Applejack would angrily assert that she did it for Rarity, and Twilight would answer that Rarity’s spell wasn’t permanent, and look what happened to Rarity because of it.

This might work up to an irrational argument about how Twilight doesn’t want to help a wingless pony now that she has wings herself. Depends on how emotional Applejack is getting.

Scene 4

Applejack goes back home, heartsick, where she runs into Rainbow playing a game with Apple Bloom. She tells Applejack that she got another pegasus to help her out today, so Rainbow doesn’t need her to watch her. So goes on about how she and the other pegasi are meeting up all week to work out together and maybe goes on about how they went out to dinner after or something to that effect. Applejack tries to be pleasant about the whole thing, but is inwardly devastated.

Got to be careful here. Anytime Applejack is hiding something, it can be a problem. She’s the element of honesty, so it’s better to have her deflect questions, rather than answer them.

Scene 5

The next day, out of jealously, Applejack heads over to Fluttershy’s cottage to see if she can pump her for some information on Rainbow’s new best friend. Fluttershy’s not there at the time, but Discord is. Discord is his usual irritating self as he teases the obviously upset Applejack. After he weasels some details out of her, he makes a big show about being hurt that she didn’t come to him to get her wings. She’s suspicious, but eventually he talks her into it.

The key here is that she wants to be able to fly. He’s going to parlay that into being flighty through some sort of word trickery. AJs not the sharpest tool in the shed, so he should be able to pull that off. Possibly some interchange about “changing AJs perspective.”

In the end, she gets her wings and struggles to fly off, just in time to see Fluttershy coming back. They have a brief conversation on the subject and Fluttershy helps her get the hang of flying.

Scene 6

Applejack surprises Dash as she’s flying along. Rainbow is overjoyed at the wings, asking if she had something happen like Twilight did. Applejack just says that “yeah, somethin’ happened” without giving too many details.

The two of them fly around, testing each other’s abilities and slowly moving closer together emotionally through the shared exhilaration of flight.

This ends when Applejack finally notices that it’s getting really late and she hasn’t done any of her chores.

Scene 7

Big Mac is annoyed when Applejack gets home until he notices her wings. He’s totally amazed, and (of course) nearly speechless. Apple Bloom is over-the-moon excited about it. Applejack apologizes for being late, and everyone is very understanding, considering the circumstances. Applejack heads out to do her chores, even though it’s getting dark.

Scene 8

Spike overhears Apple Bloom telling Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo about Applejack’s wings. He runs off to tell Twilight, but when he gets to the library, she’s already talking to Fluttershy about it. Twilight is suspicious of Discord’s motives, which earns her a rebuke from Fluttershy. Still, Twilight is about to go investigate when she gets a summons from Celestia. Frustrated, she complies, but she asks Fluttershy if she can keep an eye on Applejack and see if she’s okay.

Scene 9

The Apples find that Applejack isn’t around in the morning to start her chores. She’s left a note saying that she will be back later that morning. Apple Bloom and Granny Smith work together to try and cover for her until she gets back. Big Mac is annoyed. At some point, Fluttershy stops by to talk to Applejack, but finds out she isn’t there.

Scene 10

Applejack and Dash are flying around and having a great time when Fluttershy finds them. Dash invites Fluttershy to join them, which annoys Applejack a little bit (not too much), but she is welcoming all the same. Fluttershy asks Applejack about the farm, and Applejack is unconcerned. She’s says that she’s just moved her chores until later in the day, instead of starting first thing in the morning. Fluttershy mentions that Apple Bloom and Granny Smith are doing them instead, since he doesn’t think that Applejack can get it all done if she starts so late. Dash questions what Applejack is doing here if she really has so much work to do, but Applejack assures her that Big Mac is forgetting that she can do the work a lot faster with her wings, which Dash and Fluttershy totally get.

Scene 11

Twilight speaks with the princess about Applejack’s transformation and Celestia reminds her that magic operates off of laws. Magic comes at a cost, and nothing is ever gained without a loss. Twilight asks what they can do to force Discord to break the spell if it’s necessary, but Celestia advises her that Applejack is much more important to the spell than Discord is. She is the one who has ultimate control over the situation.

Scene 12

Rainbow and Applejack are flying through the clouds and setting sun, and friendship is transforming into love. As they rest on a cloud, they decide to spend the night together. Rainbow is a little caught off guard that AJ hasn’t gone back to the farm, but Applejack lies to her and tells her she’s worked overtime yesterday to get everything done.

This has to be impactful. Applejack is lying and that has to mean something. While she is under the effect of Discord’s spell, it’s not quite the same as when her honesty was drained away. The wings are making her less and less responsible over time. Flying has made her flighty.

Now, this all might be moving along too quickly for this to be believable, so the scenes above might have to have a few days between them.

Scene 13

Twilight returns to town to find Fluttershy at Sweet Apple Acres, which is in a bit of a shambles. It’s obvious they are way behind on work, and Granny Smith has thrown out her back trying to lug apples around and Fluttershy is trying to help her while Big Mac goes to get the doctor. Apple Bloom is in tears because she wasn’t strong enough to get Granny Smith out from under the heavy saddlebags Granny Smith was wearing. Twilight is furious with Applejack and flies off to find her.

She finds Applejack and Dash having a great time up in the air and takes AJ to task for what’s happened on the farm. When Applejack tries to blow it off, Rainbow is appalled she would do that to her family and tells Applejack she isn’t the pony she thought she was. They fight and both of them fly off in tears. Twilight doesn’t know what to do, so she follows Rainbow, figuring that her talk with the pegasus will be shorter, and then she can get to Applejack.

Scene 14

Applejack flies alone, angry and ashamed. She can’t figure out what has gone wrong, but she’s sure Discord has something to do with it. As she curses him, he appears as a small thundercloud, raining on her and they have an argument about what Applejack was really asking for when she wanted those wings. Discord says that he merely gave her the power to manifest how own wish. What came out of that was entirely up to her. When she demands to have it reverse. Discord tells her that only she has the power to do that.

Scene 15

Twilight catches up to Rainbow and lays out to her that she thinks Applejack is under a spell that is affecting her mind. Rainbow listens with growing concern that their encounters were nothing more than Applejack’s altered state. Needing to know the truth, she’s eager to join Twilight in getting to the bottom of this.

Scene 16

Applejack is so far gone that she can’t face going home. She’s decided to just fly off to Cloudsdale where she can make a new life and hope that Dash forgets all about this. Twilight and Rainbow find her, and they argue, with Applejack showing horrible levels of irresponsibility and selfishness. Rainbow and Twilight are so angry when she’s callous about Granny Smith that they literally haul her back home.

Once there, she’s confronted with the reality of the situation. Overcome with guilt and hating to see her family suffering, she realizes that her obligations come first. As she takes back her responsibility, her wings disintegrate. Ashamed, she takes back her work tools and runs off into the orchard, where Big Mac corners her. He discusses his own loneliness and understands her feelings. He doesn’t blame her for wanting to get away and knows that she never would have abandon them if it weren’t for the spell. He says there isn’t anything wrong with feeling like they are isolated and overworked, because they are isolated and over-worked. He says that they need to budget for a few extra hooves, so that they can both live a little.

At the end of the day, Rainbow is waiting in the barn for AJ, and they have a discussion about desire. Rainbow says that she’s always assumed AJ didn’t want any relationship, but that she’s been crazy about her ever since she first flew into Ponyville. Applejack talks about her being a drag because she can’t fly, and Rainbow lays it out to her that she’d rather spend every day on the ground with Applejack than in the sky with anyone else.