//------------------------------// // Amazing Tricks and Daring Moves // Story: An Adventure in Love // by IAreBrony //------------------------------// Groggily, Rainbow Dash gradually slid her eyes open. Having normally slept on a cloud, that is, when she actually slept, she immediately registered that the surface she was laying on was, indeed, not a cloud. Not even close, she noted. Her mind was still trying to catch up as she slowly rose, squinting at the blinding light coming from the end of the dark cavern she appeared to be in. She began to step cautiously toward the light, feeling her left wing slide off of something soft and warm. Turning to look, Rainbow Dash saw Applejack sprawled on the gravel-covered floor. Almost instantaneously, her thoughts hit her like a brick wall. Awestruck, Rainbow circled the mare, inspecting to insure that it was Applejack after all. She recalled so vividly the kiss. The mind-melting, spine-chilling, sense-overloading kiss. They had embraced each other as if they had never before embraced another pony. Their mouths had practically become one. They had been forced together for so long. Rainbow Dash had stared for what felt like an eternity at the earth pony's dazzling emerald green eyes. Applejack had done the same with the pegasus's smooth magenta eyes, which glistened like enormous, shining amethysts. They had finally fallen asleep holding each other, disregarding the small rocks not-so-gently prodding them in the side. It finally happened! You kissed her, and it was amazing! More than amazing, it was the best bucking feeling ever! Dash thought, prancing in circles on her toes, which she would have found abnormally girly of herself, had she not been intoxicated by love. She gasped as she remembered the last tidbit of information. She said she loved me! SHE said it this time! She took off toward the end of the cave and launched herself into the air so incredibly hard that gravel from the mouth of the cave exploded in all directions. The take off had also succeeded in waking Rainbow's new love. Applejack blinked as a small rock hit her on the top of her head. She went through the same cognitive revelations Dash had gone through, only much quicker on account of being woken prematurely. She was still incredibly tired, entirely unused to the idea of naps in the middle of the day. Looking at the end of the cave, Applejack noticed the circular imprint left in the floor. She trotted to the imprint, wondering what in Equestria it could be. Her mind finally registered that, despite the nap in the cave including a certain cyan pegasus, Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found. Looking up, Applejack's Stetson blocked the sun, allowing her to see a cloudless sky and on slightly light speck in that sky getting farther and farther up. Being ever the pessimist, she began to panic. Oh horseapples, Ah scared her off! She musta just been humoring me, an' now she's runnin' off to avoid me. She told herself, wishing the whole while that she was wrong, something she very rarely hoped for. Meanwhile, quite high in the air, Rainbow flew directly upward. A light frost had begun forming on her wings as she crested over ten thousand hooves in the air. Then, just as she looked around at the glorious land of Equestria from the brink of space, she tucked her wings in. One would think this would cause the pegasus's heart to race, but she knew that this was impossible. Her heart was already thumping like a jackhammer as she reveled in the memory of the cave. Dash began to fall at incredible speeds, and the sound barrier began to form in front of her. From Applejack's perspective, it looked as though the cyan pony was on a direct intercept with the clearing before her, worrying her to no end. She began to panic even more at the thought of losing Rainbow Dash after such a revelation for them both. Dash just continued to drop. She quickly snapped her wings out and flapped, a cone of force forming around her. The sound barrier was becoming increasingly forceful, but Rainbow knew that she still had at least five thousand hooves between herself and the ground. After about a second, the sound barrier shattered, leaving Rainbow in control of her own speed. She didn't dare look back at the speed she was flying toward the earth. Applejack, however, had no choice but to watch as the most radiant and colorful Sonic Rainboom she had ever seen spread itself out over the entire orchard. Possibly all of Ponyville, possibly all the way to Canterlot. Rainbow Dash ripped through the air at hypersonic speeds, shredding clouds as she dove through them, occasionally waving to a passing pegasus. They all just gaped at her and her vibrant rainbow contrail. Still, she descended toward the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres, almost at two thousand hooves. Applejack watched in horror, praying that Dash would turn. Of course, she did. When she did in fact reach two thousand hooves, she directed herself nearly parallel with the ground. As her downward force redirected to a sideways force, the power of the transition pressed on her so forcefully that it would have practically wrenched any other pegasus's wings straight off of their body. Rainbow Dash, however, was not any old pegasus. She knew as she flew that she actually was that fastest flier in Equestria, and nopony who had seen her make that hairpin turn would be able to say otherwise. She spiraled around the sky, still picking up speed as she flapped her light wings harder and harder. She had never pushed herself so hard, yet she felt no pain. She felt nothing but joy, reveling in her newfound happiness. Applejack's heart had nearly stopped when Dash made the radical turn. She knew pegasi had their limits and she did not know if her new love could stand to push herself that hard. When Rainbow successfully made the turn, swooping over the orchard, a single tear fell from Applejack's eye. She kicked herself for being so ridiculously worried and finally took the time to be truly astounded by the display of pure talent and determination. Swinging between clouds as much greater than previous speeds, Dash finally ceased pushing herself through the air and gracefully began performing tricks. She knew she was finally out of the view of others, the only possible spectators being herself and anypony who happened to watching the sky at the Apple family farm. Performing high-speed turns, spins, and loops, Dash tore through the sky, continuing to leave a rainbow in her wake. Applejack watched not the moves now, but the pegasus performing them. She could barely spot a large grin and a sparkle in Rainbow's eye and at that moment, Applejack knew the flight had been for her. After her speed decreased to just above supersonic, Dash began to spell out words in the sky with her contrail. After performing many quick turns and loops, her speed dropped to a crawling speed as she reigned herself in and pointed herself toward the cave where she had begun. She found Applejack watching her, no expression on her face. Rainbow began to worry that she was in some form of trouble and landed gracefully next to her friend. Before any words were able to leave her mouth, Applejack forced her own mouth over the pegasus's, halting any words. Or coherent thought, for that matter. When Applejack pulled away, Dash was left smiling dumbly, clearing drinking in the love. Shaking herself out of it, Rainbow Dash formed enough words to ask, "What was that for?" Applejack smiled and replied, "Yah had me so darn worried, gosh darnit! Ah thought you were gonna hurt yerself with that first turn! Care to explain what took yah so long to get back, anyhow?" Dash just grinned knowingly, appreciating that a single pony could care so much for her safety. She wrapped a wing around the orange earth pony, turning her around gently. There, in the sky over the hill, was rainbow-colored writing. The simple message read, "I love you too, Applejack." It was clearly regarding what Applejack had said during the storm, before they had fallen asleep in each other's embrace. The orange earth pony's eyes began to tear up and she forced her head down, her nose pointed to the grass as her hooves. Tears dripped onto the green and then into the soil. Dash was thrown. She put a hoof gently on Applejack's back. Applejack, in turn, threw herself into Dash, wrapping her in a tight hug. Rainbow could still feel the pony's tears dripping onto her mane, confusing her even more. "Ah was so worried. Worried you'd never come back, er that yah'd hurt yerself so yah didn't have to face yer mistake. . ." Applejack sobbed. "Mistake. . . What mistake did I make?" Rainbow asked, still hugging the orange pony strongly. "Ah thought. . . Ah thought you'd be upset with yerself fer what happened in the cave. Ah thought maybe you thought yah'd made a mistake and never wanted to see me again. . ." Applejack said, the tears flowing freely once more. "Applejack, you're the best thing to ever happen to me. If I never saw you again, I don't know what I'd do," Rainbow Dash said, pulling her friend away so that they were able to look into each other's eyes. Dash saw tears as well as relief in Applejack's eyes, while Applejack saw love and worry in her companion's. She began to cry again, yet the tears were different now. They were sweet tears of joy. She pressed her mouth firmly over Dash's. Their tongues were hesitant at first, but quickly began their dance, melting away the fears of both pegasus and earth pony alike. When they separated, Dash's own eyes were brimmed with tears, a sight that Applejack had rarely ever seen. She cocked her head to the side as if to as 'What's wrong?', and Rainbow quickly wiped the tears away. "AJ, do you really love me?" She asked. "Why, o' course Ah do, Dash. More than anythin'." And with that, Rainbow began to sob. Applejack didn't bother asking what was wrong, as she didn't really need to know. All she needed to know was that her best friend and possibly marefriend needed her support at that moment. They sat on the hill, Dash's sobs finally ceasing as the two of them turned to the horizon. The colors blended beautifully, showing them both a million and a half different ones. Yet it was nothing compared to the beauty of the two of them sitting on the crest of the hill, watching as sunset gave way to dusk and eventually night. Even after night fell, the two of them just sat on the hill. But now, they watched each other and not the sky, taking in the other's gorgeous features. Dash broke the precarious silence with a question that, in hindsight, probably didn't need answering. "AJ, does this mean were 'going steady' as Macintosh might put it?" Applejack didn't answer, but instead punched her marefriend lovingly in the shoulder. Rainbow Dash proceeded to tackle Applejack to the ground, pinning her limbs as she had once seen Fluttershy do to Big Mac. Applejack stretched her neck so she was able to plant a kiss right on the end of Dash's nose. Dash's wings shot out as if she had been struck by lightning, causing Dash's face to grow hot. Sensing her chance, Applejack tossed her the stunned pegasus off and down the hill, keeping herself still in the mix. When they arrived at the bottom, Rainbow pinned Applejack once more. Going for the same tactic again, the orange earth pony leaned forward to lick her cyan marefriend's chest. Even at the light touch, Applejack could feel Dash's heart rate taking off. When she looked, Rainbow's wings were standing at attention once more. Applejack giggled as Dash leapt off and buried her head in her hooves in shame. "Sugarcube, yah don't have to be embarrassed. Ah think it's cute. Endearin' even," she said, coming up with the best words she could think of. "You mean it?" Rainbow asked, turning around to face the other pony. "O' course Ah mean it! If Ah'm good enough to turn on the best flier in Equestria, o' course Ah'm gonna take it as a compliment!" Applejack explained. "I guess I'm pretty good. . ." Dash said modestly, scrapping the ground with a hoof. "Celestia strike me down if Ah'm wrong, but did Ah just witness Rainbow Dash, THE Rainbow Dash, being humble?! Are you sure this ain't a dream?" Applejack said, poking Dash in the flank. "What can I say, AJ. You bring out the best in me. Now, I should probably get you back to your house before anypony starts worrying," Rainbow said, beginning to trot in the direction of the barn. Taking off past her marefriend, Applejack shouted back, "Race yah, slowpoke!" The two of them ran with each other back to the farmhouse, laughing the whole time. As Dash began to turn to leave, Applejack caught her arm and spun her around. She placed another heart-stopping kiss on Rainbow's lips, stopping her from moving any further. "Y'know, yah don't have to go just yet. . . Ah've never been with another filly, and Ah can't think o' nopony better to start with than you, Dashie," Applejack said, trying to look as alluring as possible. Dash just stood there, mouth agape. Assuming that was a yes, Applejack took Rainbow's hoof and led her toward her own bedroom. She stopped in the kitchen when she spotted Macintosh looking at them, mouth open, preparing to bite his midnight sandwich. Slowly closing his mouth, Big Mac looked at them both and nodded. "Ah didn't seen nothin'. Just, try to keep it down, alright?" Mac asked. Applejack nodded quickly, running up to her room, hauling Dash behind her. She couldn't remember being this excited since. . . Well, during the storm, but before that, she couldn't remember ever being this excited. Nervously, she tossed Rainbow inside and soon followed, stealthily closing the door, sealing both of the lovers inside until the following morning, leaving them with only each other to enjoy.