Winter’s Howl
Chapter 6: The Slippery Slope
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Rainbow stood silent, absorbing all the information that had been laid to rest on her mind. Snowstorm approached from behind and sat himself next to her, concern in his eyes. He had seen the entire scene unfold in front of his eyes, and could only imagine the confusion Rainbow was feeling.
Snowstorm extended a protective wing and placed it over her shoulder. Rainbow looked up to meet Snowstorms gaze.
“So I guess you saw all that, huh?” Rainbow asked cautiously, unsure of what Snowstorm thought.
“Yeah…are you ok? I can’t imagine what your felling right now…”
“It…It hasn’t really sunk in yet…I mean, I love AJ, I really do. I just don’t love her…like that. I didn’t even know she was like that…” she trailed off, before quickly snapping back “n-not that there’s anything WRONG with that! I mean…she’s still my friend and all. I just…I don’t know what to do.” Tears began to form in Rainbow’s eyes, as she realized what the situation could mean for her friendship, and for her friend.
“Go talk to her.” Snowstorm said calmly, understanding in his eyes.
“Are you sure? I mean, I don’t want to bail on you, we’ve had a great day so far…”
“And we can have another tomorrow. This is important, go.” Snowstorm cut her off.
“But what if she doesn’t want to talk to me? What if she WON’T talk to me?”
Snowstorm smiled. For once, he knew exactly what to say, “If you don’t ask, the answer’s always no.”
Rainbow smiled, wiping tears from her eyes with a foreleg. “Thanks Snowstorm. I’ll talk to you later, ok?”
“Sure thing.”
Rainbow smiled and took off into the sky, searching desperately for her orange friend. She had to set things straight, and she had to do it soon.
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Applejack ran as fast as she could, it was the only thing she could focus on to keep herself from bursting into tears. She hoped she could at least make it back home, where she could let herself cry, alone. She was a strong mare, and she needed to stay that way in the eyes of her friends. Sweet Apple Acres became visible on the horizon, and Applejack sprinted towards her target. Once she arrived she opened the barn doors and stepped inside. She briefly looked around to make certain she was alone before allowing her emotions break her.
How could ah be so STUPID! Applejack thought, allowing tears to flow freely down her still red cheeks, Ah was supposed to keep an eye on her an ended up confessin’ mahself to her! She probably thinks Ah’m some kind of FREAK now! Ah bet she doesn’t even wanna see me again...
Her crying was interrupted by a familiar cry. It sounded concerned and distant, as though coming from far away.
“Applejack!”
Applejack rose from her tears and began to wipe them away. She knew Rainbow’s voice anywhere, and while she was glad she wanted to see her, she didn’t want her to see her in this shape. She needed to look strong. She was supposed to be strong.
“Applejack! I know you’re in there! Come out, I need to talk to you!”
Applejack cautiously stood and walked toward the barn door. She opened it slowly to see Rainbow hovering a few feet off the ground outside of the barn door.
“Whaddya want Rainbow?” Applejack tried to appear angry. It may have seemed rude, but in her mind, anything was better than seeming weak.
“What do you think I want, knucklehead? I want to talk to you about what happened.”
“Ah don’t see what there is ta talk about. I put up mah bit about what I thought of Snowstorm, not much more to it.” Applejack attempted to casually play off what had happened in desperate attempts to avoid the subject that she feared was at hand.
“You know that’s not what I meant AJ.”
“Ah know…” Applejack looked downward, half from embarrassment, half from shame.
“So does this mean what I think it means?” Rainbow asked with concern.
“Rainbow ah…” Applejack felt new tears beginning to form, struggling to push them down “ah’ve always cared for you, ah just…just…oh ah don’t know.”
“So...do you like me? As in…like me like me?”
“Yeah, Ah guess Ah do.”
The two sat in silence. Now that they we’re both on the same page, Rainbow choose her words cautiously. She was treading on thin ice, and wanted to keep her friend more than anything.
“How long?” Rainbow asked flatly.
“Since the runnin’ of the leaves. Just spending time with ya made me so happy, even if we were at each other's throats the whole time. Ah think that's when I realized ah liked you more than just as a friend.”
More silence.
“Applejack, I want you to listen to me very carefully,” Applejack met Rainbow’s eyes. Her tears were beginning to win the struggle. “You are honest, awesome, and a hard worker, but above all, you’re my best friend. I can’t imagine what you’re feeling right now, so I won’t try. But I don’t think I can feel the same way about you. About any filly for that matter. I will always love you, but I can’t be IN love with you. Out there somewhere is the mare just for you, and I know it hurts to hear it isn’t me, but you’ll find her.”
Applejack’s tears finally won, springing from her eyes as Applejack tackled Rainbow in a massive hug. Applejack buried her muzzle into Rainbow’s mane, allowing tears to flow freely. Rainbow stood still for a moment before reaching out and stroking her friends back. As awkward as it was, her friend needed her support then and there, and she was more than happy to give it.
Applejack cried for a few minutes before leaning back on her haunches, facing her friend. Her eyes were swollen and red from her crying, and her lips were still quivering. Finally, she spoke quietly.
“So…*sniffle* does this mean *sniffle* we’re still friends?”
“Of course AJ! You and me, through thick and thin!” Rainbow smiled and gently punched Applejack’s shoulder. Applejack managed a thin smile and a chuckle.
“Ah guess that’s all ah could really ask for…thanks Rainbow. Ah don’t think Ah’m over you just yet, but Ah’m sure ah will be. In time.”
“One more thing though, did you mean any of that stuff you said about Snowstorm?”
“Of course not sugarcube. Ah was just so jealous of him spendin' all his time with you that Ah let mahself get a might jealous. I shouldn’t have interrupted like that.”
“Hey, water under the bridge, right?”
“Ah guess…”
“You guess..?”
“Ah mean, Ah’m still a might jealous. He gets to spend time with you and… you know…stuff.” She gave a meek chuckle
“Stuff like..?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow and smiled. She meant only to instigate friendly gossip like she and Applejack used to share, nothing more.
Whether or not it was the fact that she was not only physically tired, or the fact that she was emotionally spent, Applejack took the comment in an entirely different manner. She dove towards Rainbows muzzle, forcing a quick kiss upon Rainbow’s lips. Rainbow’s eyes shot open and she stood, mortified, completely frozen, and uncertain of what to do. She felt Applejack’s tongue begin to mingle with her own, as she began to kiss more passionately. Rainbow remained frozen in terror.
Suddenly the barn door creaked.
Applejack heard nothing, lost in the sensation she desired for so long. Rainbow was having a considerable panic attack at what was happening, but looked to see who happened opened the barn door.
There stood Snowstorm, frozen, his hoof still on the barn door.
“*ahem* Well, it, uh, looks like you guys got everything sorted out...” Snowstorm fought back tears of his own, “I guess I’ll just…you know…leave now.” Snowstorm turned and shut the barn door, walking away towards nothing in particular.
Rainbow put both of her front hooves against Applejacks shoulders and violently shoved her away.
“NO! Applejack…” Rainbow screamed, turning her head away from Applejack. She turned to see the barn door swing open one more time, offering a brief glimpse of the pegasus flying into the sky, before closing completely.
“But ah…” Applejack started, but quickly realized her mistake.
“We’ll talk later, I’m not mad...just...just wait a while ok? I need to talk to him.” Rainbow quipped, obviously irritated by her friend, regardless of what she said. Rainbow opened the door and called out to the sky
“SNOWSTORM! WAIT!!!”
But it was too late…Snowstorm was already long gone. Rainbow took off in pursuit. Applejack simply stayed in the barn, sobbing in shame for what she had done.