(EQW)
Sunset Shimmer glanced at the picture she held for a split second before looking back over to where Rainbow Dash sat on her borrowed sleeping bag. And the look she was getting from the girl was pure murder. Rainbow’s eyes were practically blazing with fury. Just that look alone made Sunset wonder why she had decided to get on Rainbow’s bad side in the first place back when she had first arrived in this world.
Cautiously, so as not to anger the girl more, she handed the piece of paper back to Rainbow Dash. She even managed to avoid looking at Pinkie Pie as she did so, not wanting to make her feel worse that she probably already was. But even as Rainbow Dash took back her artwork and Sunset noticed the sorrow-filled looks Fluttershy and Twilight were wearing, Sunset Shimmer knew that she would have to prove her innocence on taking the artwork somehow.
She just never expected the opportunity to come from Rainbow Dash’s next words.
“ Why’d you take it?” Rainbow Dash growled, still glaring daggers at Sunset.
“ I didn’t… at least, not from you. I asked Pinkie if I could have a look. We didn’t expect you to wake up when you did… or how you did. We expected that we were going to have to wake you up.” Sunset admitted.
“ Pinkie? What’s she got to do with it?”
“ I’m sorry, Dashie. I didn’t mean to take it from you. I just didn’t want you drooling on it while you were asleep. I kind of figured that you wouldn’t want your amazing picture destroyed. But I guess I kind of forgot to let go of it again.” Pinkie Pie said, looking really sorry that she had made her friend angry. “ If it helps, Twilight tried to stop me, but I didn’t listen.”
“ So you all saw it?”
All eyes went from looking at Rainbow Dash to looking at the ground in shame. They all knew that they shouldn’t have seen the artwork; that they should have followed what their gut instincts had been saying about looking at something so obviously private. But, even without the shading, something that well drawn attracted attention like moths to a flame.
And they were dumb enough to be the moths.
“ It was very good, though, Rainbow Dash. There is no need to be ashamed of such talent.” Rarity exclaimed in an attempt to calm the other girl’s anger and possible embarrassment.
Sadly, it only made things worse.
“ Do I look like I care about that right now?!” Rainbow Dash growled. “ You all went and saw something I didn’t want you to see. Why do you think I was hiding it in the first place? Because I didn’t want you googling at my work like mindless zombies! Especially when I know you like the looks of more… interesting sights, Rarity.”
“ I never…!”
“ Rainbow Dash, that’s enough! What’s yer problem with Rarity anyway?” Applejack growled, finally fed up with how this Rainbow Dash had been treating her friend since she had arrived.
Rainbow Dash fell silent at Applejack’s words. To be honest, her brain had decided it was going to shut down on her. It couldn’t understand why the farm girl was defending the fashionista when she should have known what had happened between the two of them.
Out of the corner of her eye, however, she noticed Sunset, Twilight and Fluttershy urging a silenced Pinkie Pie out of the barn; obviously planning on giving the other three girls some much needed space in order to work things out. The only thing was, Rainbow had no clue as to what had to be figured out... unless it was the fact that Applejack was defending Rarity.
It was only when the barn door clicked shut that it finally dawned on Dash just what it was. Despite the familiar setting and the somewhat familiar people, this wasn’t the place that she called home.
Everything that had happened to her in the past twenty-four hours surged through her mind, instantly helping to catch her up on what was going on. But her silence as all this was happening made both Applejack and Rarity visibly nervous despite what had transpired only moments before.
Finally, someone dared to break that nervous silence.
“ What’s goin’ on with ya, Rainbow Dash?” Applejack asked, a little less aggressive than what she had been previously. “ Ever since ya came here ya’ve been cold ta both me and Rarity. An’ we wanna know why.”
“ We can’t help you if you don’t let us in.” Rarity added gently.
“ Jus’ don’ go givin’ us the silent treatment like ya did yes’erday. We don’ like being shut out like that.”
A sigh managed to escape Rainbow’s lips as she thought about what had happened between her and her world’s Rarity. She just couldn’t tell if she could trust this world’s Rarity with that same, sensitive information. Her gut was saying not to trust her, going off past experience and heartbreak. But her heart was already longing to return to her Applejack, and if being able to see her love again quickly meant that she had to share her past, then her heart was willing to say yes. It was just really confusing, trying to decide which to follow.
Then again, she thought to herself, if I don’t say anything now, then they won’t stop bugging me until they get their answers. And if this Applejack is as stubborn as the one I know, then she won’t give in that easily either.
Finally, just as Applejack was starting to get annoyed at the fact that it seemed Rainbow had ignored her, Rainbow Dash made her mind up.
“ She used to be my girlfriend.” She sighed, looking away from the two that stood in front of her. “ But I caught her in bed with… someone else. Someone I’d hoped never to see again. I mean, I knew she was bi, but I didn’t expect her to go behind my back. That was the day that she lost my trust. And to be doing it with my cousin of all people… that was just… I haven’t talked to her ever since and that was about four – five months ago. It was thanks to Applejack that I didn’t do anything stupid. She managed to stop me from going into the forest that edges her farm about three months ago, and it was a good thing, too. We’ve been together ever since.”
“ Is that why you barely talk to me?” Rarity asked softly.
“ An’ why ya keep givin’ me them weird signals? ‘Cause ya think we’re the folks from yer world?” Applejack added, equally as soft.
“ Well… yeah.” Rainbow admitted.
“ I can assure you, Darling, that I am not one to cheat on anyone. I may not have been the best of friends in the past, but these days, I will fully stand by my friends no matter what form of relationship I have with them. Why, if I met your version of myself, I would most certainly give her some stern words about how she treated you.” Rarity reassured her, noticing the dark look in Rainbow’s eyes despite the girl’s efforts to hide it.
“ You can say that again, Rares. I’m not sure how yer version of mahself acted once she found out ‘bout all this, but Ah know Ah would have had to be held back by Big Mac if’n that Rarity were ta survive a meetin’ with me. An’ there’s a reason fer that.” Applejack agreed, nodding her head.
“ There is?” Rainbow asked.
“ Of course there is.” Rarity said.
“ Yer our friend, Rainbow Dash. Even if ya are from a diff’rent world ta this’un.” Applejack added, kneeling down so that she was eye level with the girl. “ It wouldn’t be the firs’ time we made friends with aliens… so ta speak.”
“ Applejack! I’m sure neither Sunset nor Twilight would appreciate you calling them aliens!”
“ It’s true, ain’t it?”
“ Whaddaya mean? Why are you calling Sunset and Twilight aliens?” Rainbow asked, clearly confused.
Applejack sighed and looked up to Rarity, who had the same kind of look on her face that she would have given Sweetie Belle had the girl asked an awkward question that she clearly wanted an answer to. But Rainbow’s answer didn’t come from them like she had thought. Instead, all eyes were forced to turn towards the barn door where Sunset Shimmer was making her way towards the three.
“ Remember how I told you last night about how I came to this world in search of power and how I was quite a nasty piece of work?” the newcomer asked.
Rainbow Dash had to think for a bit but eventually she managed an uncertain, “ Yeah.”
“ Well, originally, I came from a world of magic and ponies. I used to be a unicorn. But I found myself here instead, transformed into a human. Our friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle, is an alicorn from that same world and she followed me here because I took her crown. That’s what Applejack meant when she said that Twilight and I were aliens. Just like you, we come from a different world.”
“ So the Twilight that is down at the farm house is a princess?”
“ Not exactly. Just like our world has a walking Rainbow Dash and your world has you, this world has a Twilight Sparkle that needs glasses and the pony world – the one where I came from – has a princess Twilight Sparkle. The Twilight you’ve met here is very much human. As for being called an alien… I understand what you mean, Applejack, just don’t go throwing it around where others can hear, okay?”
“ Righ’. Sorry.” Applejack replied.
But it was Rarity who questioned why Sunset had returned to the barn. “ Is everything alright, Sunset?”
“ I actually came to tell you something. Two things, to be honest.” Sunset replied.
“ Then shoot.” Rainbow Dash urged.
“ Okay, the first is that Granny Smith has made an Apple Family breakfast for all of us, so you might want to get over there before Pinkie eats it all on you. The second thing…”
And that’s when Sunset Shimmer fell silent. Nervously, she shifted her feet, refusing to look at Rainbow Dash. She knew that the girl could race; she’d seen just how fast she could go only yesterday afternoon. And something told her that she hadn’t even used her fastest speed. Sunset just wasn’t sure how the other two competitors would react to this Rainbow Dash and the fact that she was in a wheelchair.
Next to that, she didn’t want to make Rainbow feel bad despite the fact that she had ideas piling on top of one another as she tried to search for an answer. Yet, even now, she could not figure out how things were going to work out. But she also knew – and it was probably the only thing that she was sure about – that Rainbow Dash was not going to want to post pone this race. Make another one, yes, but definitely not postpone it.
Finally, with a deep breath, she continued.
“ Rainbow Dash has that race with Lightning Dust and Indigo Zap today in the school carpark.”
“ Wait… did you say carpark?” Rainbow Dash asked, not sure if she had heard correctly.