Chapter Five
Rainbow's vision was filled with gold. And it wasn't from the sunshine, either.
She and Applejack were walking towards the school parking lot with their friends, all of whom were chatting animatedly amongst themselves about their homework and complaining about how heavy their backpacks were. But Rainbow Dash couldn't bring herself to join in, let alone listen. Watching the girl in front of her was far more entertaining.
Applejack had a very interesting way of walking. Perhaps to make up for her rather unimposing stature, she tended to stride with a slow roll of her shoulders and with her chin tipped up a little, her fists clenched at her sides. Rainbow didn't know if any of this was intentional or not, but it certainly added to her charm.
Today, however, all of Rainbow's attention was trained on the curtain of loose blonde hair that tumbled down the back of Applejack's orange, checkered shirt. Her Stetson was tilted further over her forehead than usual, revealing the dark roots that lay beneath her golden waves. Her hair glinted with flecks of sunlight in an almost blinding effect, curling around her elbows and rippling like a wheat field in a breeze.
Yeah. Lame comparison. Similes weren't Dash's strong point.
Still, Rainbow had to pinch her arm to stop herself from reaching out and caressing that beautiful flaxen hair - she'd already made that mistake once today. It was just so hard to exercise self-control, considering that this was the first time Applejack had ever had her hair down like this.
Well, at least she could admire it from afar. Dash sighed contentedly as she at stared into that field of deep green -
Wait, what?
"Sugarcube, Ah can feel yore eyes borin' into mah back like nails. Ya mind not starin' at me?" Applejack had swung around and was now eyeing Rainbow with a touch of annoyance, hence the sudden transition from blonde to emerald.
Dash opened her mouth to counter her blunt statement with some comment that she hadn't actually thought of yet, but was fortunately saved by Twilight.
"That doesn't make sense. Fingernails can't bore into things. Neither can toenails, for that matter. They're not quite that sharp; in fact -"
"Darling, I believe she was referring to the other type of nails," Rarity interjected helpfully.
"Oh." Twilight's face fell and a faint blush rose to her cheeks. "Right."
"Heavens t' Betsy, gal, we need t' get ya out on th' farm," Applejack snorted, shaking her head pityingly and hefting her backpack, which she'd slung over one shoulder, further up. "Make shore ya can tell somethin' ya hammer from somethin' ya bite."
"I don't bite my nails," Twilight protested as everyone around her tittered. Even Fluttershy, who was never particularly fond of teasing her friends, couldn't help a smile from breaking out on her lips.
"Sure," Rainbow smirked, feeling relieved that Twilight had saved her from having to answer Applejack's accusation. "Tell that to your nails." She indicated Twilight's fingernails, which were, indeed, rather rough and jagged. It was a known fact that Twilight had a habit of chewing on her nails when she was stressed out, which happened far too often to be healthy.
The purple-haired girl frowned and opened her mouth to retaliate, but was effectively halted by the sound of someone's voice calling her name. "Twilight?"
Vice Principal Luna was hurrying towards them, looking cool and collected as usual in a crisp, navy blue dress that perfectly matched the hue of her shimmering hair. "There you are. Sorry to bother you as you're leaving, but I was wondering if you and a few of your friends could stay a few more minutes to talk to me about this year's Halloween Party."
Twilight, in addition to all of her other academic responsibilities, was also the secretary of the student body. It was therefore her duty to help plan all of the school's major events. Although Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy weren't technically required to help, you'd be crazy not to ask them to, since Pinkie was essentially the Party Queen and both Rarity and Fluttershy possessed remarkable designing and decorating skills. Being three of Twilight's best friends, they had already cheerfully offered their services, and Twilight had been far too smart to say no.
"I suppose we can spare a few minutes," Fluttershy responded softly. "I mean... if you guys don't mind..."
"Of course not!" Pinkie shrieked, all of her limbs vibrating hyperactively. "More party planning time! Yay!"
"I must agree with Pinkie's... erm... enthusiasm," Rarity added. "I think we can take a few minutes."
"Of course!" Twilight gushed hastily, nearly stumbling over her words in her effort to please the vice principal. "We have a few minutes. Let me just..." She twisted around. "Applejack? We're still heading over to your house, right?"
"'Course," she promised, giving her a sunny smile.
"Great. Well, why don't you and Rainbow head over and we'll join you later. Don't wait up." Shooting Applejack a final grin, Twilight turned around and walked away with Luna, followed closely by Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy.
Rainbow Dash stared after her friends, three of whom were walking and one of whom was bouncing. "Well, all I can say is that I'm super happy I never offered to help Twilight plan that party. Principal Luna's already got her eye on me all the time. I really didn't need the extra few minutes." She wriggled her shoulders, trying to ease her back, which was sore from carrying her backpack. The thing weighed more than a small child.
"Oh, hush," Applejack fired back. "That ain't nice. Heck, Ah'd have offered t' help mahself, 'cept Ah got too much work t' do on th' farm."
"Can you believe they're doing a Halloween Party though?" Dash complained as they started walking again, idly running a hand through her wind-ruffled polychromatic locks. "I mean, we already have to go to the Fall Formal. Why do they have to dump another weird party on us? This is my senior year. I don't want to have to go to a bunch of dumb dances." Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Rarity's parents drive into the parking lot and slow to a stop in front of the school's main entrance, probably to pick up Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle for their sleepover. Her suspicions were confirmed as the two kids burst out of the school, followed by Scootaloo, and piled into the back seat of their expensive Bentley, whooping with glee. Scootaloo unobtrusively slid in after them, although whether Rarity's parents noticed her remained to be determined.
"Dash, may Ah remind you that attendance is optional," Applejack said, rolling her eyes. "An' Ah know fer a fact that yore gonna go anyway, 'cause all th' rest of us are gonna be there." Her sharp eyes picked out Apple Bloom in the back seat of the Bentley, hanging out of the window, and she waved at her little sister, her face wearing that familiar expression of watchfulness that read, 'Be on your best behavior or I'll tan your hide.' Rainbow Dash had been on the receiving end of that expression many times.
Rainbow bit her lip, unable to deny AJ's statement. Her best friend was right, as usual. She knew Rainbow too well. Why did Applejack have to be so damn levelheaded all the time? Arguing with her was no fun. You always lost.
"'Sides, Ah think this is gonna be fun," Applejack continued as they stepped onto the asphalt of the parking lot and began weaving their way through a series of gleaming sports cars and vibrantly colored Volkswagen Bugs. "This is the first Halloween Dance ever. An' Ah really want t' see ya wearin' that ladybug getup again..."
Dash groaned. "Can you, like, stop talking about that? Forever? Please?" When she was eight, she had attended a costume party with her friends dressed as a ladybug, complete with antenna and a giant plastic carapace attached to her back. As expected, no one had ever let her forget it.
Applejack gave her a winsome smile, her eyes dancing with amusement. "Not a chance, darlin'."
Rainbow grunted under her breath and narrowed her eyes in a surly stare. "Well, how 'bout I tell everyone about that time I caught you wearing a bright pink ball gown and posing in front of a mirror..."
She blushed profusely and averted her gaze. "Alraght, alraght. Ah won't tease ya no more."
"Good." Rainbow smiled viciously.
An invigorating September breeze whispered in their ears as they continued through the parking lot. Rainbow Dash could already make out Applejack's pickup truck about thirty feet ahead of them. First of all, it was the only car in the lot painted bright red. Secondly, it was also the only car that was perfectly preserved. While most of the cars in the lot were paint-chipped and splotched with patches of rust, Applejack's pickup was in pristine condition. Its windows gleamed like diamonds and its strawberry-colored exterior was shiny enough to make Rarity drool. Applejack didn't have many possessions (although technically the car belonged to Granny Smith, who had bought it years ago and just never had occasion to drive it very often), but she worked hard to keep what she did own as neat and clean as possible. Rainbow Dash could attest to that fact: AJ had been wearing that same old Stetson for all of the years they'd known each other, and it was still, somehow, spotless. Dash figured that Applejack must have secret superhero cleaning powers.
Applejack stepped up to the truck and gave its hood a fond pat. "Reckon Ah better git goin'. Rainbow? Where's yore car?"
Rainbow's smile faltered. "I - I didn't bring it."
"What? Why not?" Her forehead creased in a frown. "Look, Dash, ya keep sayin' ya have a 'hot sports car'. How come ya never bring it t' school?"
Rainbow's pulse began to race. Oh, this was bad. She should have been prepared for someone to start asking questions eventually. "Um, well... it's because I'd rather run instead," she blurted out, spouting off the first lie that came to mind. "It's fun. And, um, good exercise. For track. And stuff. Uh... you know?" She laughed weakly.
Applejack pursed her lips suspiciously. "Rainbow..."
"I'm not lying! I promise."
"Ya wanna give me a Pinkie Promise on that?"
Dang. This girl was good. If you were lying to someone, you couldn't Pinkie Promise that you were telling the truth unless you had some kind of death wish. No one yet knew what Pinkie would do to you if she found out you'd broken a Pinkie Promise, but no one really wanted to find out, either. "Well, maybe not..."
"So ya are lyin'." Applejack crossed her arms over her chest, leaning casually against the pickup's side, her golden hair rippling very distractingly around her back as she moved.
Rainbow sighed and pressed her hands over her forehead, forcing herself to look Applejack in the eye - never an easy feat for anyone, as her eyes were so unnervingly keen. You could hide nothing from that penetrating green gaze. "Look, AJ, you're my best friend, okay? But there's some stuff I just don't want to share right now. Because reasons. But I promise I'll tell you someday. Pinkie Promise. Okay?" Rainbow really didn't want to talk about the tragic details of her life right now. After all, she hung out with her friends in order to escape from her life, not to revisit it in conversations.
Still, if her friends knew how she really lived, knew the torture she went through from the moment she woke up to the moment she went to bed...
They would be appalled. And that was exactly what Rainbow didn't want: a pity party. She was strong. She was tough. She could deal with her life on her own, and always had been. She was fine. Just fine. Just. Fine.
She was also a brilliant liar. To her friends. To her teachers. And to herself.
The farmgirl tilted her head, studying Dash meditatively. She was far too wise, and knew Rainbow far too well, to keep pressing for information. "Alraght, sugarcube. Ah'll let it go. Fer now. But... are ya tellin' me ya run to school ev'ry mornin'? That's gotta be, what, five miles?"
Rainbow opened her mouth to proudly say, "Actually, it's ten miles." But she stopped herself just in time. As far as Applejack knew, it was only five miles from Rainbow's house to Canterlot High. Because as far as Applejack knew, Rainbow still lived in a house. As far as Applejack knew, Rainbow still lived in that small but charming Tudor home in that secluded suburban neighborhood with that aunt and uncle who doted on her.
As far as Applejack knew...
Feeling like a despicable human being, Rainbow Dash forced herself to continue with her complicated charade, biting back the 'ten miles' before it could spring from her lips. "Yep. Five miles. But I'm, like, the best runner in the school. That's a piece of cake for me. And running to your house is going to be a piece of cake too."
Applejack arched an eyebrow quizzically. "Whaddya mean, 'runnin' t' mah house'?"
Rainbow scoffed. "Well, I don't exactly have a car, and I have to get to your house somehow, don't I?"
"R.D.," Applejack said firmly, "ya must be loopier'n Pinkie Pie on steroids if ya think Ah'm gonna let ya run all th' way t' th' farm. It's fifteen miles away from here!"
"But -"
"No way, no how. Yore comin' with me." Her jaw set determinedly, Applejack opened the passenger door of the pickup and crooked her finger. "Git in."
Her tone brooked no argument. "Yes ma'am," Rainbow Dash smirked, stepping up to the car and clambering into the passenger seat, which was faded and pockmarked with age. Definitely not as well-kept as the exterior. Applejack slammed the door behind her and walked around to the other side of the car.
The pickup rattled a little as she slid into the driver's seat and closed the door, trailing her elbow out of the open window. She dumped her backpack into the space between the two seats and gestured for Dash to do the same. Then she procured her keys from her shirt pocket and started the car. Dash winced as the engine rumbled to life with an ominous shudder, rather like a squeaky cough, that belied the pickup's true age. "Are you sure this car is safe to ride in?" she asked dubiously as she buckled her seat belt, remembering that AJ had said earlier that the car had stalled on her way to school. "It sounds like Sunset Shimmer with a sore throat."
Applejack laughed at the reference to their friend, who was spending the whole year studying in Europe thanks to a special study abroad program Canterlot High offered (although she still made sure to talk to all of her friends back home at least once a week). "This baby's been drivin' fer a good twenty years. She ain't gonna die on us now, sugarcube." Her lips curled in an amused smile as she steered the pickup out of the parking lot, her strong fingers guiding the steering wheel with ease. Her tanned forearms glowed in the sunlight, tendons rippling in her wrists as her hands shifted over the wheel.
Rainbow settled back in her seat, feeling slightly reassured. She cranked her window down - Applejack's car was so old that it had cranks to lower the windows - and rested her elbow on the rim. As always, she found her eyes flicking over to Applejack. Her blonde hair rippled faintly in the breeze from the open window as she drove and her eyes were staring straight ahead in concentration, but her face wore an easy smile.
"Dash? Yore starin' at me again."
Okay. Apparently Applejack's eyes weren't as forward-facing as Rainbow had thought.
Rainbow Dash had to think fast. "Um, yeah, that's because I was about to ask you a question."
"Well, Ah'm listenin'." Applejack reached the lot's exit and turned right onto the two-land road that ran by the school, heading deeper into the Canterlot suburbs. To the left, the grand buildings of Canterlot City gleamed in the distance, looming high into the clouds.
Fortunately, Dash's bluff quickly became reality as an actual question presented itself to her. "Okay. Um, I saw you talking to Spitfire earlier when I came out of the changing rooms. What were you two talking about?" She suddenly felt nervous, wondering if she really wanted to know the answer to that question. A part of her had wondered at the time if Spitfire herself had a crush on Applejack. What if Applejack confirmed that? What if Applejack actually liked her back? Rainbow could hardly bear the thought.
For some reason, Applejack's smile faltered, and her grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Uh - she was jus' - well, it wasn't a big deal or nothin'," she hedged, refusing to meet Rainbow's gaze.
Rainbow arched an eyebrow. "Spill the beans, AJ."
She sighed and bit her lip. "Spitfire asked me if Ah wanted t' be th' captain of a field team."
Rainbow's jaw dropped. All thoughts of Spitfire crushing on Applejack vanished in her overwhelming excitement for her friend. "Seriously? No way! Applejack, you totally have to say yes!" Her voice cracked in her eagerness.
"Ah dunno... Ah'm pretty busy with farm work'n all." Her eyes darted uneasily from side to side, as though Spitfire had told her something else that she was reluctant to share.
Dash was too focused on Spitfire's proposal to notice Applejack's nervousness. "C. H. S. really needs a field team. And I can't think of anyone better to lead it than you."
Applejack's eyes brightened. "Ya - ya think so?"
"I know so!" Rainbow knuckled Applejack none-too-gently in the shoulder. "You absolutely can't turn this down. Plus, if we're both captains then - " Her eyes widened as she realized she was saying more than she had meant to, but it was too late to stop. "Then we'll get to hang out together a lot more," she finished softly, lowering her eyes. Idiot. Why did I have to go and say that? I sound like a total creep.
A faint flush rose to Applejack's cheeks, although Rainbow didn't notice it. "Ah - Ah reckon Ah'd like that," she answered quietly, her hands trembling on the steering wheel.
Rainbow perked up. Maybe there was a chance to salvage the situation. "Me too. We don't really get to hang out much anymore, outside of classes."
The pickup truck rattled as it chugged over the bridge which officially marked the beginning of the countryside. Applejack sighed and tugged at her shirt collar, meaning to straighten it but ending up unintentionally making it even more crooked. The smooth, freckled skin beneath her collar seemed as though it were lit with an inner glow, and the edges of her collarbones gleamed in the sunlight that sliced through the window. "Well, since ya brought that up... Dash, ya haven't been over t' the farm since we were sixteen." Her country accent was slightly more pronounced than usual, as per usual when she was nervous. If she hadn't been driving, she probably would have taken off her Stetson and started wringing it in her hands - another one of her habits when she was worried.
Rainbow squirmed in her seat as a pang of guilt struck her. Had it really been that long? She hadn't even noticed. When they had entered high school, they had naturally had less time to see each other, but they had always, always, managed to figure out ways to wrest a few extra minutes with each other out of their busy schedules. Even though it was torture being around the girl she loved without being able to tell her, Rainbow refused to let that deter her from spending time with her best friend - and, as such, the two of them had been with each other whenever they could spare a moment. Now that Rainbow thought about it, however, she realized her junior year had been so busy that it was quite plausible that she really hadn't been to AJ's house all year. The thought made her sad. Since when had she stopped having time for Applejack? Or any of her other friends, for that matter? She hadn't been to their houses in a while, either.
Applejack was still talking. "An' ya know what else? Ah don't think Ah've been over t' yore house since we were sixteen, either."
Rainbow gulped. Busted.
"Ah used t' come over t' yore house almost ev'ry weekend," Applejack continued, finally glancing away from the road in order to meet Rainbow's gaze. Her freckles glinted in the sunlight streaming in through the front window. "Yore aunt an' uncle were always so nice t' me. How're they doin'?"
Lies. Everything Applejack thought she knew about Rainbow's life was a lie. And it was Rainbow's fault.
"They're doing fine," she promised scratchily, feeling proud that her voice didn't even betray a hint of a quiver. "They're, you know, busy. With business trips and stuff."
Yeah. So busy they hadn't even wanted to keep Rainbow at their house anymore. If only Applejack knew what Dash's aunt and uncle had really been like.
"That's nice, Ah guess. But it still don't explain why ya stopped havin' me over. It's been so long that Ah might jus' start comin' over without bein' invited."
"Granny Smith would totally kill you if she saw you do something that rude," Rainbow wisecracked, finding a glimmer of humor in the situation despite herself.
"Maybe," Applejack conceded with a smile, the slight cleft in her chin vanishing as her lips spread in a grin. "But she'd be more likely t' kill me if she saw Ah was lettin' my best friend slip away from me. So c'mon. How come you've been avoidin' me?" Her tone was teasing, but her eyes were brimming with concern.
Rippling fields of farmland rolled past outside the window as Rainbow debated how to answer that question. "I just... got busy, I guess," she finally replied, staring out of the window so that she didn't have to look Applejack in the eye while she lied. Her polychromatic bangs blew in her eyes from the force of the wind, but she made no move to flick them away.
Applejack took a hand off the steering wheel, reached out, and tucked Rainbow's jagged bangs behind her ear. Her eyes were sad. "Ah miss ya, is all," she murmured, her forehead creased. She knew that Rainbow was hiding something, especially after that conversation they'd had earlier about Rainbow running to school each morning, but she knew from years of experience that Dash wouldn't talk until she was ready. There was no point in asking any more questions - Rainbow's answers would only get more and more vague until they drove Applejack to the brink of irritation.
Dash stared into those beautiful emerald eyes, at those long, curling, eyelashes, and was overcome by a wave of horror. Oh, God. How long can I keep lying to her like this? I'm a monster. A monster. "Y - yeah, well," she forced out, clearing her throat and abruptly turning her head. All she wanted to do was to wrap her best friend up in a hug and say 'I miss you too', but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Sappiness wasn't acceptable.
Applejack awkwardly pulled her hand back and gripped the steering wheel once more. "Well... Ah jus' want ya t' know Ah'm here fer ya."
Rainbow's eyes stung, and a lump rose in her throat. She didn't trust herself to speak.
Applejack shook her head and reached out to turn on the radio, fiddling with the dials until she found a station she liked. The strains of a banjo and a harmonica wafted through the air. "Alraght. Ah know yore gettin' uncomfortable, Dash. Ah guess Ah'll stop talkin'. This day's too nice t' be all mopey anyway."
Rainbow Dash had to agree - on days like this one, when everything was dappled with gentle sunlight and the air was crisp with a hint of the upcoming winter, it was impossible to stay sad for long. She wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, forced herself to regain her composure, and casually crossed her long legs over the pickup's dashboard.
"Hey!" Frowning, Applejack lunged across the car and swatted her legs off. "Git off mah car! I jus' cleaned the dashboard!"
"Chillax! My sneakers are totally clean." Grinning evilly, Rainbow displayed the soles of her shoes, which were splattered with mud and flecks of churned grass. "See?"
Applejack set her jaw. "If I weren't drivin' right now, Ah'd give ya a real tellin-to." Her face was stern, but a low laugh lurked in her voice. That was what Rainbow liked so much about AJ's voice - apart from the adorable accent, of course. You could always tell when she was amused, because her whole voice seemed to ring with laughter. It was just part of that country charm that made her instantly likable.
"Fine, I'll take them off," Rainbow said, rolling her eyes and removing her legs with a sigh. "But can I choose the music at least? I don't want to listen to this country crap all the way back to your house."
"No," Applejack informed her snippily, stubbornly turning the music up even louder. "Mah car, mah rules."
Shaking her head good-naturedly, Rainbow Dash stuck her tongue out at her friend and then contentedly stretched out her arms, crossing them behind her head. It was kind of nice to be able to relax like this, even if she had to listen to bad country music.
Okay, scratch that. It sucked. Rainbow Dash was suddenly reminded that she found it harder to sit still for more than a few seconds without getting bored. Twisting her lips in a grimace, she uncrossed her arms and stuck her right elbow out of the window, tapping her fingers obnoxiously against the side of the car.
"Please stop makin' that noise," Applejack said in a patient tone of voice that nonetheless communicated her irritation.
Rainbow groaned, not bothering to hide her annoyance, and dragged her arm back inside. She wrapped her hands around each other and started fidgeting, simultaneously scuffing her shoes together. Why wasn't there anything to do?
Her eyes settled on the glove compartment and her face broke into a grin. Perhaps there was something to do after all. She leaned forwards in her seat and slyly opened the compartment. She was almost certain that Applejack was watching her out of the corner of her eye, waiting to see what she did. Rainbow stuck a hand inside the compartment and rummaged around. A pair of thick, heavy-duty gloves (well, it was a glove compartment), a car instruction manual (wow, Rainbow had thrown away her car instruction manual the day she got it), a book, a collection of random odds and ends that included a crumpled gas receipt and a pen that had been snapped in half, and a bar of chocolate, which Rainbow promptly stole. Applejack raised an eyebrow, but graciously chose to let her have it.
There was even a spare hair tie in the compartment, which Rainbow hastily pushed out of view. She didn't want Applejack to tie her hair up - she was enjoying seeing it down probably far more than she should be. Feeling a little disappointed that she hadn't discovered anything more interesting, like a severed arm or something, Dash closed the glove compartment and sat back in her seat, huffing impatiently.
Applejack glanced over with a teasing smirk. "What? Are ya bored? Am Ah drivin' too slow fer Miss Rainbow Flash?"
"Yes," Rainbow protested, flailing her arms. "You drive like an old granny!"
AJ scoffed. "Not mah old granny. She used t' drive like a cat bein' chased by a rattler. Why, Ah remember bein' scared fer mah life sittin' in the backseat while she drove!"
"Seriously?" This was a rather interesting snippet of information.
"As Ah live'n breathe!" Applejack assured her. "Hoo boy, Ah've never been more terrified in mah life than when she drove me t' school in th' mornin's."
"Huh." Rainbow was impressed. Granny Smith had just become twenty percent cooler. "Not bad. But that still doesn't explain why you're driving so slow. We've been driving for ten minutes, and we're still not even halfway to your farm! Or maybe it's your car's fault. You need to get rid of this old clunker."
The friendly atmosphere in the pickup withered and died. Applejack reached out and turned off the radio. Her mouth was set in a thin line. "No one insults mah car," she told Rainbow in an even tone of voice that had been known to turn grown men into stammering puddles.
Dash curled her lips in a reckless grin, her amaranth eyes flashing with excitement. "Prove it."
Applejack glanced in the rearview mirror, her bangs blowing over her forehead beneath her Stetson. There were no cars behind them, or in front, for that matter. No one was watching.
She spun back around and shot a sly grin at Rainbow, her jade eyes glinting. "Yore on." Without warning, she sat forward in her seat and floored the gas pedal, smiling confidently.
Rainbow Dash yelped with surprise as the pickup sped down the road at full throttle, trees and fields flashing by the windows too fast to see. She couldn't help noticing that Applejack was driving as expertly as though she had done this before. Suddenly feeling reckless, she unbuckled her seat belt and stuck her whole torso out of the window. She stared ahead with a wild grin on her face, her eyes watering from the force of the wind and her hair whipping across her forehead. A surge of elation coursed through her veins, and she gave a whoop of pure joy, pumping her fist in the air. Applejack let out an answering whoop and pressed down on the gas even harder than before, spurred on by Rainbow's enthusiasm. Her face was alight with glee as the wind tossed around her golden hair and nudged her Stetson.
The moment ended all too soon. As the paved road slowly gave way to crumbly gravel, Applejack slowed the pickup truck to a steady crawl once more, wiping her hair out of her eyes. "Land's sakes! Haven't done that in a while." Still smiling, she turned the car onto the long dirt road that served as the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres.
"Why'd you stop?" Rainbow complained as Applejack halted the truck at the end of the driveway. She reluctantly pulled herself back inside the car. "You could've stopped, like, an inch in front of the house. Like in the movies. No one's watching."
Applejack snorted. "Granny's always watchin'. An' jus' 'cause she drives like somethin' possessed don't mean she likes me doin' it." She turned off the pickup and patted the dashboard. "So? What'd ya think?"
"That was totally awesome!" Rainbow exclaimed in her trademark scratchy voice. "This baby's still got some life in her!"
Applejack gave a low, rough chuckle. "She sure does." The two of them scooped up their backpacks and let themselves out of the car. "C'mon. Let's head in. Th' rest o' th' gals'll be here soon."
***
The porch steps creaked as Applejack and Rainbow trod on them, sagging rather alarmingly beneath their feet. A scuffed wooden rocking chair stood on the porch by the front door, swaying slightly in the cool breeze. Two baskets overflowing with spider lilies and begonias hung over the roof of the deck, which curved around two sides of the house. Beyond the porch, fields of rippling green grass stretched into the distance, surrounded by a weathered, rickety fence on three sides and a shaggy forest of pine trees on the fourth. Staring at the faint green haze that marked the beginning of the forest, Rainbow couldn't suppress a wistful grin. She couldn't count the number of times she and Applejack had gone exploring in the woods together as children and come back out with matching smiles and matching outfits covered in mud and tree sap. From her spot on the porch, she could even see the treehouse perched in a tree at the edge of the forest, which had been her and Applejack's special clubhouse. Now, though, Apple Bloom had repurposed it as a headquarters for her and her friends.
Behind the Apples' house, which was a vibrant red with a lavender roof and white trim, there proudly loomed a barn and a low-ceilinged stable of the same color scheme. Rolling fields of farmland stretched away on all sides, where Rainbow knew the Apples grew various crops from carrots to turnips. The Apple family actually owned several acres of land, including at least ten acres of apple orchards that had lent the farm its name. Rainbow could see the edge of one of these orchards now, full of trees whose ruby-red apples oscillated in the faint breeze like pendulums. Rather impressively, the Apples actually grew over twenty different types of apples on their farm.
Turning away from the bucolic scene, Rainbow unobtrusively sidled as close to Applejack as possible, breathing in her heady apples-and-spices-and-earth-and-sweat scent. Rather an odd combination of smells, but Dash knew that there was no one else in the whole world who smelled like that, and that was what made it so special. Applejack was one of those people who smelled like wherever she'd been. Rainbow could tell everywhere she'd been today with just a single sniff: the faint whiff of apples and earth indicated that she'd been working in the orchards and the fields before school; the tang of spices indicated that she had probably baked something with nutmeg in it earlier this morning; the sweat indicated that she had been exercising. There was even a subtle scent of evergreen in there - perhaps she'd gone for a walk in the woods before breakfast. Rarity would probably find the idea of smelling like the places you'd just been appalling, but Rainbow thought that it totally increased her best friend's coolness factor.
"Stupid door," Applejack muttered suddenly, jolting Rainbow Dash out of her reverie as she jiggled the front door futilely. "Dang thing needs a replacement." She was holding a key in her hand, and Rainbow guessed that the lock had gotten stuck. The rest of the door certainly seemed to confirm that assumption - the cordovan paint was peeling and scuffed, revealing flecks of the wood underneath. The door was worn out but well-loved, like the rest of the house and everything else the Apples owned.
Applejack finally got the door to open and let out a huff of pleasure. She pocketed the key and stepped aside, gallantly waving Rainbow through.
Feeling something akin to nervousness pounding in her chest - it had been a very, very long time since she had set foot in this place - Rainbow swallowed tensely and set foot over the threshold.
Well, the place hadn't changed much since the last time she'd been there. As Rainbow's eyes swept over the house, she felt a deep sense of peace ease over her. The battered but cozy sofas, the fire crackling invitingly in the hearth, the pictures hung crookedly on the walls, the rustic dining table, the spacious kitchen bursting with comfort and charisma; everything looked exactly like it had the last time Rainbow had come to the house a year ago. Things here were so different from her own lonely abode. This house looked lived-in - a strong, firm house that required a lot of care to maintain but that gave so much in return: comfort, warmth, and security.
So maybe the house wasn't in the best of conditions. Maybe the walls were scratched and the rugs were fading and the furniture was drooping with age. But there was so much love within these walls that it made Rainbow's heart ache. If only her house could be anything like Sweet Apple Acres. She'd almost forgotten what it felt like to be in a real house. In fact, she felt more at home here than she did in her own house. All of her nervousness vanished in an instant, replaced by a deep-rooted sense of... rightness. This place just felt right. Why, exactly, had she stopped coming here again? Dash was finding it harder to remember the answer to that question by the minute.
Applejack closed the front door behind her and gestured to the sofa immediately in front of the fireplace, simultaneously swinging her backpack off her shoulder and dropping it to the floor. "Dash, why don'tcha make yoreself comfortable while Ah - gah!"
A fluffy, brown-and-white blur had just launched itself across the room at top speed and thrown itself on Applejack, knocking her to the floor and pinning her beneath its weight. It barked happily and proceeded to give her face a nice, shiny coating of slobber, resting its forepaws on her chest and wagging its tail frantically across her legs.
Looking annoyed, Applejack crinkled her nose as a wet tongue swiped over her cheeks, but eventually broke out into laughter. "That's mah girl, Winona," she cooed, wrapping her arms around her dog's scruffy back and kissing her muzzle. "Nice t' see ya too."
Seeming pleased with herself, the border collie lapped at her owner's face, nuzzling her neck. Rainbow stepped closer to admire the spectacle. Last time she'd seen Winona, the dog had still been a puppy, small enough to hold in your arms like a baby. Since then she had developed into a powerful, well-muscled dog. But Winona was still a teenager - you could see it in her long, gangly legs. Still, she would probably be bigger than Applejack herself soon.
Then again, Applejack was tiny, so that wasn't saying much.
Grunting from the effort, Applejack finally managed to roll out from underneath her dog. Undeterred, Winona bounded to her paws and began trying to jump up on Applejack, giving her face a series of sloppy licks. Applejack scooped her dog up into her arms, her muscles rippling, and brushed her forehead against her muzzle. "It's real nice t' be back with ya, Winnie. But ya gotta stop knockin' people t' the floor like that. Alraght?" Winona's jaws gaped open in a mischievous smile, and Applejack sighed, shaking her head. "Yore gonna do it anyway. Alraghty then." She crouched down, allowing the dog to hop to the floor, and gave her a brief belly rub. The dog seemed to vibrate with pleasure. "Go on, ya crazy canine! See if ya can get Mac t' take ya on a walk!"
After pausing to very enthusiastically attempt to climb onto Rainbow's stomach - Winona evidently still remembered Dash's scent, although she hadn't smelled it in a while - the dog skittered off into the dining room, barking happily. Now that her owner was home, her enthusiasm knew no bounds.
Applejack brushed off her shirt, and a rain of brown and white dog hairs drifted to the floor. "Hoooo-eeeey! That dog's got more energy'n Pinkie Pie!"
"Does she always greet you like that?" Rainbow asked.
"Most always. She jus' loves it when Ah get back from school. But don't let all that excitement fool ya. She's a real good guard dog too. And she does all sorts o' work around th' farm - carryin' baskets an' whatnot. Winona's th' best pup Ah ever saw." Her voice was laced with pride. Granny Smith and Big Mac had given Winona to Applejack as a birthday present last year, when she had turned sixteen, and the two had bonded instantly. Although Winona loved everyone else in the Apple family, she obeyed orders from Applejack and Applejack alone, and would only take her daily walk with someone else if Applejack really didn't have any time to take her herself. Sometimes she even curled up on Applejack's bed and slept with her, but she never deigned to bestow the same privilege upon anyone else.
"Dash, ya can sit down, ya know," Applejack said, staring at her curiously. "We got sofas."
Rainbow shook her herself out of her reverie. "Right. Sure." She threw herself down on an armchair and dropped her backpack to the floor in front of her feet. "Um, where's everyone else?"
"Well, Big Mac's prob'ly out in th' orchards workin' so that he don't have t' talk to a big group o' girls," Applejack chuckled. "Ya know how he is. An' Granny Smith's nappin' upstairs, Ah expect." She strode over to the kitchen, giving Rainbow a friendly pat on the back. "Ah'm gonna go get th' cider ready."
Dash's mouth watered. "YES. God, I need cider."
As AJ's curtain of blonde hair disappeared around the corner, Rainbow settled into her chair with a contented sigh and drew her knees up to her chest. Her gaze flicked around the room. There was a cozy window seat in the corner, facing the front porch, several feet away from a circle of couches and armchairs that ringed the fireplace. A mirror hung on the wall next to the hearth; Rainbow stared into it and nodded appreciatively at her reflection. She looked good with windswept hair. Perhaps the most prominent aspect of the room, however, was all of the pictures that hung on the walls - far more than in any normal household. From where she was sitting, Rainbow could just barely make out some of the tiny faces. Applejack and her siblings, Granny Smith, aunts and uncles and cousins, and... Applejack's parents.
Applejack was the perfect mix of both of her parents' best features. Green-eyed and stocky like her dad; small, slim, and blonde-haired like her mom - the only one of the Apple children to have inherited their mother's flaxen hair. Apple Bloom and Big Mac both had a variant of their dad's ginger locks.
Rainbow's heart wrenched for her friend. Rainbow herself had never known her parents. But she thought that it must be a hundred times worse to know your parents and then have them ripped away from you.
Applejack returned before Dash could continue that train of thought. She placed a tray that bore six mugs of steaming sweet apple cider on the coffee table. It was probably from last year's batch, since this year's cider season hadn't begun yet - the Apples usually kept some barrels of cider in their cellar all year round. Rainbow's eyes lit up, and she reached out to grab one before Applejack could stop her. Disregarding the stick of cinnamon that had been stuck in the mug like a straw, she tipped it back and took a long draught.
"AAAGH!" It took all of her willpower not to spit the cider out all over Applejack's face. "Why the heck is it still so hot?!" She hastily swallowed the cider before it could inflict further damage, coughing as the heat prickled her throat. Involuntary tears welled in her eyes as she experimentally swished her tongue around the inside of her mouth. Yep, her tongue was definitely swelling up.
"Cause Ah jus' warmed it up, ya knucklehead!" Applejack answered affectionately, rolling her eyes as Dash dramatically flapped her lips back and forth. "Ah kinda thought that was obvious."
"How was that supposed to be obvious?" Rainbow fired back raspily.
Applejack stared. "Uh, 'cause th' mug was hot on th' outside?"
Rainbow paused. "Oh. Right."
AJ's grass-green eyes sparkled with laughter. "Ya want me t' get ya a glass o' water?" she inquired, taking pity on her friend.
With as much dignity as she could muster, Rainbow haughtily drew herself up in her seat and answered, "No. My mouth can take it."
AJ shrugged. "Suit yoreself. How 'bout ya wait a minute before th' next sip, though. Plus, it ain't polite t' start eatin' an' drinkin' without everyone else. The gals'll be here any time now, anyway."
Right on cue, the doorbell rang, a croaky, obnoxious tintinnabulation that further hinted at the age of the house. Applejack jumped up good-naturedly and went to answer it. "Hey, y'all," she greeted the rest of her friends cheerfully, stepping aside to let everyone in.
A chorus of 'hello's' and one 'Hi, my name's Pinkie Pie! Oh wait, you already knew that' sounded in response as Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie trooped in, all clutching their backpacks. Rarity stared at Applejack's boots, and her eye twitched in that way that suggested that she was suppressing a shudder of disgust. "Applejack, darling, must you wear your shoes on inside the house?"
Applejack pinched the bridge of her nose. "Rarity, we've been over this," she reminded her wearily. "Ya bring this up ev'ry time you come over. Ah've been wearin' shoes inside th' house since Ah was little an' Granny, Mac, an' Bloom have been doin' th' same. Ah don' care if ya take yore shoes off in yore own house or not, but at least let me keep 'em on in mine."
"But it's just so... so... unsanitary," Rarity protested. "I mean, those shoes go everywhere! Can't I just take off my shoes and walk in my bare feet?"
Applejack's eyes twinkled. "An' put yore feet all over th' dirt from our shoes? Be mah guest."
No one could resist a chuckle as Rarity realized that she had been outmaneuvered. Seeming thoroughly repulsed, she gingerly lowered one of her high-heel-clad feet to the floor while everyone around her shook their heads at her hesitation and walked around her.
"Applejack, your hair looks nice when it's down like that," Fluttershy complimented her shyly.
Rarity's head snapped up. Even having to wear shoes inside the house couldn't keep her from admiring someone else's style. "Oh, my. I can't believe I didn't notice it before!" Her eyes dreamy and unfocused, she perched gracefully on the couch, seemingly enthralled by Applejack's mane of gold. "Applejack, your hair looks simply divine! You absolutely can't tie it up again!"
Applejack threw her hands up in the air, annoyed. She'd been about to go upstairs and do just that. "What is it with y'all an' mah hair?" Still, a tiny smile played about her lips as she sat down next to Rarity and threw her arm around her back in a friendly way. Rarity rested her head against Applejack's shoulder after taking pains to make sure that her carefully coiffed curls weren't being crushed. The two of them seemed to fit next to each other perfectly, despite Rarity being several inches taller than Applejack. Or maybe they only fit together perfectly in Rainbow's head.
Rainbow Dash felt an irrational pang of jealousy, and abruptly crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. Maybe it was ridiculous, but she wished that Applejack had put an arm around her instead.
A pile of backpacks quickly built up by the couches as everyone took their positions. Twilight sat on AJ's other side, looking prim and businesslike with her neatly collated stacks of papers. Pinkie Pie, inexplicably, snapped a picture of something with her ever-present camera before plopping into the only remaining armchair, tossing a random rubber duck in the air in a one-person game of catch. Her corkscrew curls bounced around her head like a wobbly halo. Only Fluttershy was left without a seat. Rainbow, feeling slightly guilty, scooted aside to make room for her in the voluminous armchair. Murmuring a soft thanks, Fluttershy delicately sank into the space next to Rainbow, her thin yellow sweater brushing against Rainbow's elbows. She was so thin that there was plenty of room for the both of them.
"Don' forget th' cider, gals," Applejack announced, gesturing to the tray on the table in front of them. "There's more in th' kitchen if ya want it. It should be cool by now," she added, glancing mischievously at Rainbow.
Flushing, Dash reached out for her cider mug and took a cautious sip.
Perfection. Complete and utter perfection.
She couldn't stop herself from emitting a groan of pleasure. How did Applejack manage to make the cider perfect every time? Although the cider was an old Apple family recipe that had been handed down through the ages, Applejack was the one who was responsible for making it each year - something about it being family tradition for the eldest daughter in the family to be in charge of the cider. Well, correction: everyone else helped with the cider, but the eldest daughter was always in charge of operations. Rainbow didn't know how that custom had originated, but she knew that it had applied to Granny Smith, and then Applejack's mother, and then Applejack herself. And probably a bajillion Apples before Granny Smith too.
Closing her eyes in satisfaction, Rainbow Dash took another sip of the cider, allowing its fruity, faintly spicy tang to melt on her tongue. The cinnamon caressed her taste buds, adding some zest to the crisp warmth of the apples. Rainbow could definitely understand how this cider had made the Apples famous throughout the whole city; she loved it more and more every time she had some. Which seemed impossible, considering that she'd been obsessed with cider from the very first time Applejack had given it to her.
The others seemed to be experiencing similar emotions, as they all quickly chimed in with compliments. "Aw, shucks. Yore makin' me blush." Modest as always, Applejack glanced down at her lap, pleased but embarrassed.
"Seriously though," Rainbow interjected. "This stuff is amazing." Not as amazing as you, she thought silently. But that was far too nauseatingly sappy to say out loud. "How much does it cost to buy a barrel?"
"More than you can afford," Twilight giggled.
Everyone others stared at her perplexedly. Had Twilight Sparkle just made a joke? A joke that other people could actually understand?
She blinked back at them from behind her thick glasses. "What?"
"Never mind, dear," Rarity told her, suppressing a grin. "Let's just start our homework, shall we?"
Rainbow made a face and reached into her backpack to pull out some notepaper. Fluttershy's pale hair tickled Dash's cheeks as she, too, bent down and extracted some schoolwork from her backpack, smiling soothingly into the depths of her pack and sticking her hand inside to fondle something lovingly. This would have looked rather strange to someone who didn't know her, but Rainbow and her friends all knew that her backpack contained a special secret compartment that housed anywhere from one to five of her animal friends. She'd even installed special food dispensers and cut air holes into the fabric. Sometimes Rainbow Dash thought that Fluttershy was crazier than Pinkie Pie.
Seriously, what did she do when one of her pets had to use the bathroom in there?
"Alright, let's start with English," Twilight declared, taking charge of the situation as always. "Ahem. We have a test on our Stylistic Elements unit coming up next month. I need someone to quiz me."
"Next month?" Fluttershy repeated. "Isn't that, um, a while from now?"
"Well, yes. But it's always a good idea to start studying early! So who wants to quiz me?"
No one volunteered.
"Ah'll do it," Applejack finally conceded with a sigh of resignation. She was always the first one to cave in when one of her friends needed something done.
Twilight beamed. "Thanks, Applejack." She handed Applejack a sheet of paper. "Can you just read off the list of stylistic elements for me so I can make sure I remember what they are?"
Applejack looked dubious - there was no way that Twilight hadn't already memorized everything on the list - but decided to just comply. "Uh... sure." She held up the paper with the hand that wasn't wrapped around Rarity's shoulder and squinted at it. Her eyes crossed and her mouth dropped open. "Shoot, Ah don' even know how t' pronounce these," she said slowly. "A - asinduhton... Asendaton..."
"Asyndeton," Twilight said patiently. "The act of omitting a conjunction between two parts of a sentence. Miss Oswald asked us that one in class today."
Rainbow smirked a little. Not that she would have been able to pronounce the words any better than Applejack, but it was still entertaining to watch.
"Right..." Applejack licked her lips nervously and pressed onwards, her eyes roving down the list of words. "Uh... let's see... synecdok... sinecdosh..."
"Oh, you mean synecdoche? That's a literary device that uses a part of something to refer to the whole. Or vice versa."
Applejack frowned. "Twi, if ya know 'em all, why do ya need me t' quiz ya? Fer Pete's sake, Ah can use these things in mah writin', but don' make me say 'em out loud!"
"But I have to be quizzed just in case there's something I don't know! Please?" Twilight clasped her hands together pleadingly.
AJ looked torn. "Well... Ah guess Ah could -"
"I could quiz her!" Pinkie chimed in suddenly, shooting up in her seat suddenly. "I know them all. See?" She drew in a huge breath and then launched into a rapid-fire barrage of Stylistic Elements. "Anagram is when the writer jumbles up parts of the word to create a new word, like when you mix up Pinkie Pie into Inkie Epip except that isn't a word so it doesn't really make sense but whatever because it's just an example, and then chiasmus is when you have two phrases that are parallel but inverted to each other, and then anthropomorphism is when you give a human quality, emotion or ambition to a non-human object or being - like if a cake started talking - ooooh, that would be so cool! Except what if a cake does start talking? Then I would feel bad about eating it because -"
"PINKIE!" Rainbow shouted. "I think we get it!"
Twilight's eyes were shining. "Pinkie Pie? Do you really know all the stylistic elements?"
"Absolutely!" Pinkie replied with a wink.
Her friends looked more than a little startled, having all assumed that Pinkie spent all of her class time eating cupcakes and planning parties. Apparently, she could listen to the lessons at the same time. Rainbow Dash wished that she could stare at Applejack and listen to the teacher at the same time... maybe she should ask Pinkie to teach her her ways.
"That's great!" Beaming, Twilight practically ripped the list of Stylistic Elements out of Applejack's hands and shoved it into Pinkie's lap. "So you can quiz me instead of Applejack!"
"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie stared down at the list and began to quiz Twilight, who was leaning forward so rapturously that Rainbow began to wonder how much farther she could lean before she fell off the couch.
Applejack swept off her Stetson and used it to wipe her forehead, looking relieved. "Whew. Least Ah don' have t' do that anymore. Rares, ya think we should git started on our homework too?" She took another sip of cider, cradling the mug in her firm hands.
"Certainly! We have a French test on Friday; why not study for that?"
AJ's face fell. "Oh. French."
"Oh, come now, Applejack," Rarity scolded her. "We've only just started school a few weeks ago. We're still doing a review of the French we learned last year! You simply must master all of it before they start teaching us something new!"
"Ah know, Ah know," Applejack sighed, wearily passing a hand over her face. "Alraght. Let's jus' git this over with."
Rarity twisted her lips thoughtfully. "Not quite as enthusiastic as I was hoping, but I suppose it'll do. Now. I will ask you a question in French, and you will answer it. Comprenez-vous?"
"Uh, yes. I mean, oui."
"Good." The fashionista cleared her throat daintily and then began. "Excusez-moi, je me demande où se trouve la salle de bain la plus proche, ça vous dérangerait de m'aider?" Her accent was flawless.
Applejack blanched. "Uh... Ã quinze milles d'ici?" she suggested hopefully.
Rarity pursed her lips. "Applejack, do you even know what I just said?"
"Heh..." She laughed abashedly. "No, not really. Ah just heard somethin' about 'nearest' an' decided t' hope ya were asking 'bout th' closest gas station or somethin'."
Rainbow snorted. "A gas station. Good one, AJ."
"Darling, I was asking where the closest bathroom was," Rarity said, clearly doing her best to stay patient.
Applejack blushed, twisting her hands around each other. "Oh."
Rarity sighed. "Let's try again... perhaps something a little simpler this time. Pouvez-vous me donner une pomme?"
Applejack's face brightened. 'Pomme' - 'apple' - was a word that she was very much familiar with. "Uh, oui, un moment," she answered, trying and failing to keep her Southern drawl out of her words.
Rarity cringed at her horrible accent but opted not to mention it. "Very good, Applejack. So you understood?"
"Ah sure did," she replied, grinning proudly. "Uh, do ya actually want an apple?"
"No, that's alright. I just thought it would be a nice question to ask. Let's do another, shall we? Combien de cultures faites-vous à la ferme?"
Her smile vanished. Applejack heaved a sigh and leaned back, her eyes narrowed. "Ah think yore askin' how many kinds o' crops we grow on th' farm... Ah think it's, uh... fourteen."
"In French, please," Rarity prompted.
"Oh, right... uh... cat-ors... cath-ores..."
"Quatorze,"Rarity supplied. Clearly, her patience was wearing thin.
"Yeah. That." Applejack smiled sheepishly and glanced over at Rainbow, who wiggled her eyebrows, smirking to let her know that she'd witnessed the entire conversation. Applejack's blush deepened. "Think we could jus' look at th' word lists an' stuff fer a bit instead o' all this talkin'? Please?"
"Very well. But you're not off the hook, Applejack." Rarity handed her a few sheets of paper. "Let's get started."
A gentle hand tugged at Rainbow's shirt. Startled, she glanced over her shoulder. Fluttershy was staring expectantly at her with those big bashful eyes. "Um, Rainbow? Why don't we get started on that paper for English?"
"Sure, 'Shy," Rainbow agreed reluctantly, setting her now-empty cider mug aside and looking at it wistfully.
"Okay. Um, Miss Oswald said we have to partner up, so... what do you want to write about?" Fluttershy tugged at her pale yellow sweater sleeves, stretching them over her hands.
"I dunno. What do you want to write about?"
Fluttershy blinked, looking terrified at being asked for an opinion. "Oh... um... well... we could write about the animals at the pet shelter."
The only reason Rainbow didn't violently reject that suggestion was that Fluttershy was her oldest, and one of her closest, friends. Also, the poor girl probably wouldn't be able to survive the shock of being violently rejected, anyway. "I guess that sounds cool," Rainbow answered casually. "But only if we can write about that one time my tortoise raced that rabbit at the shelter and totally won."
Yeah. Tank was the coolest pet ever.
"Oh, well, I don't know..."
Dash arched an eyebrow. "Do you want to write about the animals at the shelter, or not?"
Fluttershy bit her lip. "Yes," she whispered. "All right. We'll mention Tank." She pulled a sheet of empty notepaper out of her backpack, saw that Rainbow already had a few sheets of notepaper on her lap, and dropped the sheet back in. "Let's start listing ideas..."
Rainbow groaned internally, already bored, and allowed her gaze to wander... to Applejack. Where else? Whenever Applejack was in the room, Rainbow found it hard to look at anything else.
Right now, Applejack's tongue was poking out of her mouth a little as she devoted every fiber of her being to understanding French. And there was a little wrinkle between her eyebrows, that wrinkle that appeared whenever she was forcing herself to focus on something. Her green eyes were alight with a fierce concentration, and her mouth was moving almost imperceptibly as she murmured words to herself.
"Dashie?" Fluttershy was waving a hand in front of her face. "Dashie, I asked you if you were okay with the first idea I'm writing down..."
Rainbow's vision focused on Fluttershy, and she felt a sudden surge of contempt for her own weakness. Her own infatuation with Applejack was causing her to ignore her other friends - even Fluttershy, her first friend, the girl who had been with her for every step of her life since preschool. How long had she been zoning out while Fluttershy tried to talk to her? A minute? Two minutes?
Suddenly, staring into Fluttershy's trusting turquoise eyes, Rainbow made a decision. A split-second decision. A decision that she would probably regret.
She stood up and collected her mug, forcing herself to sound calm and begging her knees not to tremble. "Sure. It's a great idea. I'm gonna go get some more cider. Fluttershy, will you come with me?"
"Oh, thank you, Rainbow, but I don't actually want any more cider right now, so... eeeeepp..." The rest of her sentence was swallowed by a squeak of fear as she saw Rainbow glaring daggers at her. "I mean, um, I would love to..." She got to her feet and followed Rainbow uncertainly, her shoulders trembling.
Once they were out of sight of the rest of the group, Rainbow Dash turned to Fluttershy and grabbed both of her hands, pressing them with her thumbs. "Fluttershy, I didn't call you here for cider. I have to tell you something," she murmured. Her heart was pounding. Right now, standing in a pool of sunlight streaming though the window of Applejack's kitchen, she was more scared than she ever had been in her life.
But she had to do this. She had to. Maybe, just maybe, having someone to talk to would help her. It never had before - when she'd tried to talk to her aunt and uncle, they had laughed at her; sent her away. Except this was Fluttershy. The girl who had always trusted her implicitly from the first day they had met, whom Rainbow had soon found herself unconsciously trusting back. Well, Rainbow would trust all of her friends with her life (okay, maybe not Pinkie Pie, because... Pinkie Pie). She trusted each and every one of her friends, and they'd never failed her before.
Still, in a situation like this... Rainbow just knew that Fluttershy, and no one else, was the right person to talk to. The only person who would listen without throwing a dramatic fit or trying to logically analyze the situation or randomly giving her a cupcake.
How would Fluttershy react, though? For that matter, how would any of her friends react? Would they disapprove? Would they refuse to associate with Rainbow anymore? Rainbow had been too scared to tell any of them her secret before, for that very reason, and none of them had ever really discussed something like this amongst themselves. But now, now that she was finally realizing how her secret was hurting her other friendships - by causing her to ignore her friends; to not even hear them when they spoke - she didn't think she had a choice. If her friends hated her after they knew, if they stopped talking to her and ostracized her, well, at least Rainbow would know that she had tried to do the right thing by telling them. She had tried to be brave.
And if Applejack hated her, then... then...
Then Rainbow would deal with that when it happened. Because the thought was too painful to even consider right now.
Fluttershy's eyes were wide and fearful. She was only an inch or so shorter than Rainbow Dash, but for an instant, she looked so small and scared that Rainbow began to wonder if she should reconsider what she was about to do. Then Fluttershy set her jaw and stood up to her full height. Usually when someone said 'I have to tell you something', it wasn't a good thing. It meant that they were going to tell her something that was going to make her want to hide behind the sofa. But she could tell by the look in Rainbow's eyes that she really had something important to say, and that she wasn't going to tell anyone else but Fluttershy herself. "W - what do you want to tell me?" she whispered shakily, shrinking back as if to protect herself from feeling the fear that lurked in Rainbow's own eyes.
A choking, half-laugh, half-sob noise escaped Rainbow's throat. This was it. Once she opened her mouth, the words could never be retracted.
"Fluttershy," she croaked hoarsely, her eyes shut, her lips trembling. "I..."
"I have a crush on Applejack."
The plot thickens. Well, I did tell you this chapter was going to get the plot going. 
Sorry for the wait. I know it's been a month, I'm sorry, I've had a lot going on... but I tried to give you an extra-long chapter to make up for it! 10,000 words! That's pretty good!
So the next chapter will be Dashie's POV again, then we'll switch to AJ's. Events should start moving a lot faster now (they kinda have to, because this story is supposed to cover a whole year and I've written five chapters that all happen on the same day. So.)
Before I let you go, I have a couple questions. First of all, what do you think about me writing Applejack so small? I feel like a lot of people see her as being the biggest of the group. But I just see her as being small. I don't know why. It just makes her seem a lot.... stronger, I guess. I don't know. Secondly, how many of you have noticed that Pinkie Pie has taken a picture in every chapter so far? ;)
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I love this. Definitely one of the best AppleDash stories I've read so far! :)
8001225 awww thanks! Glad you think so, sugarcube. I'll try to keep it up;)
8001240 I sure hope you do! ;) :P
8001249
Good as always. I seriously can't wait for the next chapter, and to know more about Dash's background life. Well, I always find Applejack is the tallest or, at least, taller than Dash. I think it makes AJ looks like a leader or the most mature girl in their group, or something like that.
So the dam finally breaks.
love this chapter, great progress :)
8003364 yeah, this is a great change of pace isn't it?
8003546 To be honest, I kinda prefer the taller AJ, but like you said trying something new is not that bad.
8003364
Thanks! Yeah... i have some sad stuff planned for Rainbow. What do you think her background story is? I'm curious.
8003533
Yes... the dam has broken. The truth is out! What is Fluttershy going to do? Honestly... I have no idea. I haven't thought that far ahead yet. :P
8003572
8003546
Okay, I have a lot to say on this topic, so apologies in advance for the long essay I am about to write.
So in the second chapter of my story I said "However, AJ looked far taller than she actually was due to her cocky attitude, and despite her shortness, Rainbow, to her chagrin, was still terrified of her when she was angry (you'd be a fool not to be; the girl had a ferocious temper). Applejack was clearly a leader, small or not." (Haha I had to go back and read that chapter to make sure I actually said that). So you said that Applejack being taller kinda makes her look more like a leader, right? I actually sort of agree with that. But I nonetheless picture her as being short. From a writer's perspective, it's more fun for her to be short because then I can do things like have the other characters tease her, or have rainbow dash cuddle her, etc. And I promise that I actually have a lot of scenes planned for this story that actually wouldn't be able to happen at all unless Applejack was short, such as AJ having to stand on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around Rainbow's neck and lean her head on her shoulder. Cute little things like that. The thing is, I think Applejack is a leader no matter what, and I'm doing my best to emphasize that in my writing. In future chapters I will certainly be emphasizing that a bit more, and I'm trying to make it sound like she looks taller than she is thanks to her overall confidence and awesomeness. ;) For example, I'm thinking about having a scene where she leads the rest of the girls into something - she's the gal in charge. And yes, she's short, but no one questions her leadership because she just looks like a leader anyway (plus she's super strong, and you can tell that by looking at her, and I kind of used that to make up for her shortness). I agree that AJ is the most mature of the group though. And I also agree that having her be short kind of takes away from that image of her being the most mature, and I apologize for that. But hey... a writer can't have it all;) so I'm just going to make her attitude seem super mature to compensate.
Last but not least: although I picture her as being small, I am still interested in seeing what it would be like to write her as the tallest one of the gang. I have some equestria girls stories planned for the future, and I am certainly going to make sure that Applejack is the tallest one in them. I think it will be nice to be able to make her seem like a mature and confident leader just because of her height, without having to worry about having to describe her attitude. Also, I can think of a lot of great scenes that I could write about Applejack being tall (holding Dash like a baby against her will, wrestling, having to carry people on her back just so they can reach things on the highest shelf in the kitchen, etc). So tall Applejack is definitely in my future, and hopefully yours too if you choose to stick with my stories.
Whew. Sorry. I got carried away. I could talk about Applejack all day, haha. Anyway, thanks for giving me your opinion!
8005625 In the show they all are the same size, so there's nothing wrong with heights that you want them to be. I admit I felt a bit strange when I firstly knew that Dash is taller, but your writing skill made it understandable. I'm convinced. I don't know how to explain it lol. I'm not that good at English. Just hope you understand what I'm trying to say
Of course, I'm looking forward to your other AppleDash fictions.
Annnnd about your question, Dash might live alone in a hut in scary forest, I guess?
Tank is a FRIGGING TORTOISE!!!!!!
8005625 do you know what I think makes a story good? The authors imagination. It's hard to find story's like this where you are writing what is in your mind and the details you imagine in the story, like rainbow and Applejack's height. That's how you make a story good because your just writing what is in your mind and making your story original, sure sometimes you get criticism,but that helps motivate you to write to your fullest , it also helps that you are writing about something that you love. So what I'm basically saying is that you keep writing what you think should be in the story and you'll love what you have made.
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Ahhh, okay. Don't worry, I totally understand what you're saying! :D
Hmmm, interesting theory. You're not quite right, but sort of close. ;)
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whoops, sorry. I knew that, I swear. I was a bit brain dead when I wrote that. Gonna fixit now.
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I do usually give lots of details, sometimes probably too many, but for this story I have such a clear picture of what AJ and RD look like that i couldn't resist describing them exactly as I picture them;)
Wow, thanks! I feel so flattered
HOLY SWEET BABY JESUS HALLELUJA AMEN THAT WAS AMAZING!
but I'm SO HAPPY that you're back!!
You have no idea how scared I was that you'll stop writhing this story, I know you said that you'd have a lot to so it would be a while before the next chapter but there has been other writers who said the same thing but never came back so you scared me
This chapter was amazing! The details, the emotions, the interactions AH! storys like this is the ones I hope goes on forever! (Well, at least for a long time
), they're just so great!
I'm really looking forward to read more about rainbows backstory because well, you really build it up!
And I love that you made applejack small, I always tend to see her I two different ways, if the writers says she'a tall - then I see her more masculin, which isn't my type. Or as in this case, the writer(you) says she's small - then I'll se her more feminine and sexy in some way (but still hardcore
), she feels more fun but still motherly and kind, well, like I feel about her character.
Anyway, this was a long review (or more like praise
) and I can't wait for the next chapter!
)
(I think I'm more hyped about this story then the season premiere
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Don't worry, I ain't leaving this story behind! It may take me a while to update but goshdarnit, I'm gonna finish this story! I have way too much stuff planned for this story to not finish it;)
I can't tell you how happy your review made me. This is the kind of review that inspires me to keep writing. So thanks for your support of my writing!
And I'm glad you agree about applejack being small. I agreee that she seems kind of masculine when she's big. I just feel like when she's small she's the more 'hot but fierce' type. She can still terrify rainbow when she's angry, despite her height, and there's definitely something of a warm motherly vibe in there. It just seems to fit her whole personality.
Just so you know, I have not started working on the next chapter yet. I am working on two new stories, which I hope to have published before April 1st. But as soon as I have finished those, it's right back to work on this story! I'm excited for you to see what I have planned ;)
Ah... THIS IS SO AWESOME!
I just read this fic today and hoo-boy, I LOVE IT!~ So nice and calm. The atmosphere feels so natural and all those sappy stuffs you can say to a story.
You, my dear, changed my perspective of AJ being short. Now, I'm loving it.
Short, but terrible. 
In this fic, AJ and I have the same height and I do feel short. 
But with AJ totally showing how really awesome she is even though she's a smol cinnamon roll... 
Aye it's a thing
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You mean that Rainbow admitted she likes AJ?
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Plus, Rainbow is totally terrified of her sometimes despite her height, which is insanely fun to write.
Dude, don't feel bad. I'm barely five foot two. You and AJ have an entire inch on me ;) I have never felt shorter in my life than when I was writing this story... of course, that's part of why I wrote her short in the first place. I really do picture her as being short and stocky, it just seems right, but being reminded that you can totally kick butt when you're tiny is helpful for me sometimes. I am intentionally making AJ as badass and small as possible
Also, I'm glad you like the story, so thank you! More will come as soon as I can.
Okay so sunset's in Europe, which explains her absence, but... that means that Europe exists... assuming this fic didn't retcon the events of the movies, Europe (specifically France) exists in the mirror in the world, and considering Fluttershy asked Rarity to make her Gala dress way back in season 1 with French haute couture, pony!Fluttershy- and by extension the rest of the fashion community of Equestria- know about human!France's existence? or, maybe the entire world map of the human world and Equestria are exact copies of each other, and France exists in two different places at once in two alternate separate dimensions? maybe I shouldn't overanalyze this equestria girls business anymore
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I wish I was short. Every time I walk next to someone I have to look down at them, and that never feels good.
I'm sorry I'm kinda spamming your comment section with late comments, I have seriously forgotten how many times I've read this story
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No, you're so lucky!! No one takes you seriously when you're small. :/ and haha no worries, i love comments
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Welp I am hoping AppleJack helps me get over my height complex🤣
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I hope so too! TBH it kinda helped me because I got to focus on the good parts of being so short... and i was reminded that you can still be strong and awesome and taken seriously if you have the right personality for it. Writing AJ helped me a lot. :)
Oh. So THAT'S where Sunset's been. I was wondering why she didn't show up; for a bit, I thought that maybe this was an AU where Sunset never crossed the portal. So this story takes place after the Legend of Everfree?
Mmm thick delicious plot.
I especially loved the French since Im learning French myself
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Same