Applejack frowned as she watched Rainbow and her brother chat across the table. She had invited Rainbow over to hang out once again, but the visit had turned out how it usually does; Big Mac and Rainbow always end up spending time with each other for hours on end.
A few weeks had passed since Rainbow and Big Macintosh had revealed their relationship to the entire high school, which was two weeks after they had revealed their relationship to Applejack and the rest of the girls. At first, people, both men and women, were upset. It turns out that many students had liked Big Macintosh, and a lot of students liked Rainbow Dash.
With prom coming up, many students that had a crush on Big Macintosh had begun to play jokes and even tried to harm Rainbow. It had made her upset for a while, but she eventually picked herself up again. The same had happened to Big Macintosh. Students who had liked Rainbow began to resent him.
Applejack had also took notice of Fluttershy’s behavior around Rainbow lately. When Rainbow revealed her relationship, Fluttershy seemed really hurt and upset. Applejack and the others had tried to talk to her, but she assured them that it was nothing. When Applejack asked Rainbow, she had told Applejack that everything was okay with Fluttershy, and that it's nothing to worry about. Knowing that Rainbow would always make sure Fluttershy was okay, Applejack dropped it.
However, even though Applejack had repeatedly told the couple that she was okay with the relationship, Applejack couldn’t help but feel jealous. She had tried countless times to hang out with Rainbow lately, but in the end, it would seem as if she’d ditch her for Big Macintosh. Applejack loved hanging out with all of her friends, but when it had come to having a bad day, Applejack always turned to Rainbow.
If Applejack was not in a good mood, she knew that Rainbow Dash would somehow take her mind off of what was bothering her. Rainbow annoyed Applejack, challenged her, and encouraged her to let everything out, even if the athlete never took her own advice. The farmwork had become increasingly stressful lately, and Applejack had found herself inviting Rainbow and the others over more often than usual.
Unfortunately, whenever Rainbow did come by, her brother would come to hang out as well, which of course was not a problem. The problem was that Dash and Mac would always be lost with each other. It was annoying, and proving that Applejack’s fears were coming true.
She was afraid that Rainbow would ultimately choose Big Macintosh over everyone else.
“Oh, crap. It’s seven o’clock, I gotta go. I was supposed to meet my grandmother at the airport like half an hour ago.” Rainbow hissed, and stood up immediately.
“Maybe if ya weren’t obsessed with my brother you would have realized.” Applejack grumbled in a small voice.
“What did you say AJ?” Rainbow asked innocently, “I didn’t hear you.”
“Nothin’,” Applejack smiled, “Do ya need a ride there?” she asked hopeful. Maybe if Applejack offered to drive her to the airport, they would be able to at least finish the conversation they were having before Mac walked in.
“Ah’ll take ya.” Big Macintosh suddenly said.
“Sweet! Thanks,” Rainbow smiled, “I’ll see you next time AJ.” Rainbow rushed out of the door.
Applejack felt her eye twitch. She was beginning to lose her patience with the couple. Suddenly, she felt her phone vibrate in the pocket of her jeans. It was a text from Dash.
Just realized we never did our rematch from earlier today. I’m coming over tomorrow and we can finish this once and for all”
Applejack smiled a bit.
Alright, but be prepared to lose. She replied.
Rainbow and Applejack sat in the barn, ready to race. But how could they race with the barn door locked and closed?
“So, I had your sister hide the key to the barn in here. Whoever finds it first has to hurry, unlock the door, open it, and try to race to the apple tree on that little hill.” Rainbow explained to Applejack.
Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash.
“Dash, there are a bunch of apple trees on a bunch of little hills. What do ya mean?”
“Bloomberg, AJ. We are racing to Bloomberg the tree.” Rainbow smiled and laughed a bit as Applejack glared at her.
“Alright, fine. Ready…” Applejack started.
“Set, go!” Rainbow cut her off and went towards the back of the barn, in search of the key.
“Hey!” Applejack yelled and also began to search for the key. After a few moments, the barn door opened slightly.
“Ya found it already?” Applejack asked Rainbow.
“No...I thought you did.” Rainbow said confused, on the other side of the barn.
“Did Ah interrupt somethin’?” A deep voice asked. Rainbow smiled a bit while Applejack immediately frowned.
“We were trying to race before you interrupted us, you big lug.” Rainbow pretended to pout.
“Well, Ah’m sorry Ah needed to work.” Big Macintosh replied.
“How’d you get in? Applebloom locked the door.” Rainbow asked.
“You see, darlin’. It’s called a spare key.” Big Macintosh said as if he were talking to a child.
“Shut it.” Rainbow laughed.
“Oh, Ah got a question to ask ya.” Big Macintosh started. Applejack rolled her eyes and frowned again.
“Yea?” Rainbow pushed.
“Are ya busy tonight?”
“No, not really.”
“Would ya like to come with me to Sugarcube Corner? We haven’t been there for a while.”
“Yeah, sure!” Rainbow smiled.
“So how have ya been?” Big Macintosh asked his girlfriend. Applejack watched Rainbow roll her magenta eyes.
“I just talked to you this morning.”
“Ah know, but a lot of things could happen in five hours. Ya never know.” Mac winked.
Rainbow and Big Macintosh began to talk amongst themselves, and Applejack’s patience was wearing thin. She had this happen to her countless times, and she hated to let it happen again. She tried to convince herself that she was wrong for being angry, but she couldn’t help it. Applejack had told Big Macintosh and Rainbow that she was okay with them dating, and at that time, she was. However, if this is what it was going to be like, Applejack wasn’t so sure. The two had been dating for months prior. Why weren’t they like this before? Was it because they were hiding it? All Applejack knew was that she had to hide her anger, even though that it was getting harder to control.
Besides, Rainbow had planned on coming over today to do a rematch with her. There was no way that she’d ditch her again, not if it was for a competition.
“You wanna come and help with the horses?” Mac asked, “It won’t be long and y’all can get back to your little...escape room?”
“Sure, I’ll be back in a minute, AJ. Okay?” Rainbow started to head for the door.
Applejack grinded her teeth and balled her fists in anger. She could not believe that it was happening again!
“No! It’s not okay!” Applejack yelled.
Both Rainbow’s and Big Mac’s eyes widened at the sudden outburst.
“Y’all heard me..” Applejack stomped over towards where the shocked couple stood.
“AJ, what's wrong?” Rainbow asked, almost concerned for her friend.
“You.” Applejack hissed and watched as Rainbow backed up a bit, hurt. This is where Big Macintosh stepped in.
“Sis, is everything alright?” He asked Applejack softly.
“You are the problem too.”
“What did I do?” Rainbow questioned.
Applejack laughed bitterly.
“Ah am tired of the two of ya. Together.”
“But you said you were okay!”
“That was before y'all started hanging out every minute of the day! Dash...you’ve been skipping Rainboom practices lately. Mac has been leaving his chores undone! Heck, Ah can't even hang out with the two o’ ya for a few hours before y’all run off together.”
“AJ, we do hang out.” Rainbow started.
“Really? When?” Applejack placed her hand on her hips and waited for an answer.
“What are we doing right now?” Rainbow stated, getting irritated.
“Right now, Ah’m watching you leave the barn with my brother so y'all can have fun for the next few hours.”
“I told you that I’d be back in a few minutes!”
“You always say that!”
Big Macintosh bit his lip before speaking.
“Ah’ll just go into the stables myself. Y’all can finish whatever ya were doin’.” he said, preparing to leave. Rainbow then grabbed onto his hand and pulled him back and narrowed her eyes at Applejack.
“No,” she countered, “You shouldn’t have to leave because AJ is jealous.”
Applejack gasped and felt her face become hot.
“Jealous!? Rainbow Dash, how dare ya,” she stepped towards Rainbow Dash, “Ah’m just speakin’ my mind! Ah’m tellin’ ya the honest truth!”
“Well maybe you can tell us ‘the honest truth’ without screaming at us! We didn’t do anything wrong!”
“Ah can’t believe you are the element of loyalty.” Applejack sneered. Rainbow once again had a hurt expression in her face, but covered it up seconds later with anger.
“What does my element have to do with any of this!?” Rainbow shouted, her voice cracking.
“Well, the real element of loyalty wouldn’t ditch her friends for her boyfriend.”
“AJ, are you serious?” The volume of Rainbow’s voice decreased dramatically, and she looked insulted.
“What is your problem? You aren’t normally like this…” Rainbow looked down.
“Ah could say the same to you..” Applejack scowled.
The three teens in the barn fell into silence, the atmosphere filled with tension. Rainbow Dash had her hands balled up into fists and her expression was anything but happy. However, she wasn’t angry, she was upset. This is what she was afraid of. She didn’t want this to happen.
Big Macintosh looked upset and torn. He leaned against the wall of the barn with his arms crossed and bit his tongue, as if he were thinking. Applejack on the other hand was still very angry, and didn’t realize that most of the things she had been saying were driven by her anger.
“So what do you want me to do? You never told me that you were upset, I’m sorry.” Rainbow bit her bottom lip.
“Y’all should have noticed!”
“I don’t see the others complaining!”
“Because they’re too scared to tell ya.”
Rainbow walked back to where Big Macintosh stood. She looked at him and stared into his green eyes before staring into Applejack’s.
“I don’t get it...where is this coming from? What do you want me to do?” Rainbow repeated, her voice cracking even more.
Applejack closed her eyes and thought about everything that had just happened. She had thought about how much her brother and Rainbow had been hanging out and how she noticed that Rainbow had been so quick to defend him a few moments ago.
“Ah want you to think about who is more important to ya, us girls or your relationship? Right now, Ah see that you’re choosing him over people who have been with ya for years.”
As Applejack spoke, tears began welling in Rainbow’s eyes. Her lip quivered as she looked back and forth between her boyfriend and Applejack.
“Are you really making me choose?” Rainbow croaked.
Applejack said nothing as she stared at Rainbow, as if she were expecting an answer. Rainbow laughed bitterly before leaving the barn, Big Macintosh following her.
Rainbow Dash stomped her way to the middle of the apple orchard, knowing full well that Big Macintosh was behind her.
“That wasn’t Applejack, Mac. I don’t know what happened to her, but that’s not her.” she ranted.
“Ah agree..” Big Macintosh put in.
Rainbow sat down against one of the many apple trees around her.
“This is what I didn’t want,” she croaked, “I don’t want her to be mad at me forever, Mac.”
Big Macintosh sighed deeply and avoided looking at his girlfriend.
“Ah know, darlin’. That’s why we need to talk..” he said, his voice shaking.
Rainbow looked up at him with fear in her eyes. With her heart pounding, Rainbow spoke.
“W-what?”
Fluttershy sat in the middle of her living room, petting a familiar white rabbit. She smiled as the rabbit began beating his foot in pleasure.
“Oh, Angel.” she giggled.
Suddenly, there was a rapid knock at the door, causing Fluttershy to stop petting Angel.
“I’m sorry, Angel..I think that’s Rainbow. It’s eight o’ clock.. I thought that she would have been home by now.” Fluttershy said after looking outside of her window. Angel crossed his paws and growled.
“Is that an attitude, Mister?” Fluttershy questioned, raising her eyebrow. The white rabbit rolled his eyes before jumping off of the green couch angrily.
Fluttershy had walked towards the door and opened it, revealing a distressed Rainbow Dash. Her magenta eyes were filled with tears and her lip quivered.
“Oh my goodness! Dashie, what’s wrong?!” Fluttershy gasped at the state of her closest friend.
Fluttershy held her arms out and watched as Rainbow collapsed into them, sobbing. She bent to her knees as she held Rainbow close, her body shaking as she cried. The shy girl found herself crying as well after a few moments. The confident rainbow haired girl would come to her nearly every time she needed a good cry, but this had been the first time Fluttershy had seen her so hurt. It shocked her, but also tore her heart into two.
“Rainbow...what’s wrong.” Fluttershy sniffled. She watched as Rainbow opened her mouth to speak, but only began sobbing again. Fluttershy only held her tighter and closed her eyes.
“It’s going to be okay, Dashie...I’m here.”
Let me explain my issue with this chapter. While yes rainbow and Big Mac have been spending more time together it's clear they need to find a balance between their important things like choirs and band practice. Applejack had reason to be mad if she was completely his choirs because big Mac blew them off. I do not think breaking up was the right answer and I think that some time apart would be good for them to find the balance I said earlier
9454054
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! And I'm glad to see that you understand completely where I am going with this. The point of this chapter was to see that almost everyone had made a bad decision, and breaking up was one of them. You seem to know what I'm thinking and where my thoughts were when writing!
9454132
Your welcome and maybe add the chores bit so it gives aj a bit more bite then what she has
9454149
You make a good point with that!! I'll add it in as soon as I can
I also agree with Viper+Pit here on this one, I think Rainbow and Mac just needs some time to think and find a balance between them and they're important things of choirs and band practice so I say Rainbow Dash is right! But I am also truly disappointed in Applejack for this mess up, I understand her reason to be mad at them for it but she didn't have to force her friend to choose who is more important that's just pointless and I do not think that breaking up was the right answer to everything at all. So I say Applejack is wrong.but I do agree that some time apart is a good for them to fond the balance to it all.
So that is my answer and agreement to Viper+Pit.
That's the thing about Loyalty, it's by far (to me at least) the hardest Element of Harmony to weld. It's so hard to find that balance between yourself, your friends and any serious relationships you have. Also, not cool AJ, not cool, loyalty is NOT expecting your friend to devote all their time to one group of people ESPECIALLY when you know your friend is in a healthy relationship!
Stupid Applejack!!!!!!
9454211
Thanks for sharing!
9454231
I actually agree with you. I feel like with loyalty, people can call you out on things easily and there does seem to be pressure put on you if you branch out into new relationships.
9454761
Yeah that's what I've been on about. And its true that loyalty is one of the most hard and devoted part of an Element of Harmony.🤔 For loyalty can be really hard when choosing who to be loyal with friendship or relationship problems but that's something Rainbow Dash needs. (and also maybe add in the Apple choir's or other kinds of choir's for Applejack in it so that she could think about what she said and has done to both her friend and her brother and I'm pretty sure Apple jacks friends are going to be really mad at her for what she has done to them) and I totally understand what you are and what you mean on going with and talking about in that chapter.
Don't try to beat yourself around schedules, take your time to enjoy your writing and you'll see how that pressure goes away, nice chapters 👍
9455618
Thanks
9455676
Sure thing bob 👍
If I may ask that rainbow doesn't date fluttershy I think that would be counterproductive since you established that rainbow is straight
9458861
Personally, I think that these two as a couple wouldn't fit right in my story line. (Rainbow being straight also counts with this, but it's not the main reason as to why Dash and Fluttershy don't date) This story is set in the same universe as my other stories, and I've kind of painted an image of where the two have a sisterly bond. I think that the girls are super super close with eachother, and even though Shy does have feelings for Dash, I feel like a relationship wouldn't work out correctly. I'd say that the two are so close with one another, people may have thought that they were dating, but they weren't.
9459193
That's fair
Okay AJ I get it, Rainbow is spending more time with your brother than you. But seriously, making her have to choose.
BEEF, BEEF, BEEF, BEEF-
Seem like a déjà vue. I'm wonder whyyyyyy...
PEAR BUTTER REFERENCE OMGGG
I feel like crying ;-;
9675282
I'm months late but I'm super happy you got the reference!