//------------------------------// // A Morning Together and An Evening Apart // Story: An Adventure in Love // by IAreBrony //------------------------------// Off in Canterlot, Celestia and Luna worked their eternal magic to shatter the night. As the sun rose slowly, the two alicorns walked from their balcony, allowing the sun to rise in it's own gentle arc. Off in the distance, near the quaint town of Ponyville, the appearance of the sun signaled the start of a new day, and with it, many new experiences for all. All around, ponies rose from their rest, and one particular pony, the Element of Magic, decided to finally start her own. Far on the other side of town, at Sweet Apple Acres, the rooster crowed, bringing about a new day of work for the resident farm ponies. Well, most of them, anyway. Even while young Applebloom went to begin her morning meal, her older sister lay on her bed of hay, breathing the even breath of sleep. Beside her, a pegasus's dreams were split by the caw of the bird on the ground below. Raising her head gently, the pegasusyawned and silently observed her surroundings. This was the second time this week the mare had begun her day in this room, and she prayed it would not be the last. Upon looking at her own reflection in the clear glass window, she noted how incredibly disheveled her mane had become. Instead of attempting to adjust it, Rainbow Dash chuckled slightly. Sure hope nopony sees my hair like this, or I'll get some weird looks for sure. Dash thought to herself while cracking her cramped back. The gentle popping noise satisfied Dash, and her muscles relaxed. Celestia knows my neck ought to be sore after last night. She told herself, blushing at the thought of the intimate activities. Last night had been a night of wonder, something of her dreams. She wanted to relive every agonizingly pleasurable moment, and judging by the way Applejack unconsciously nuzzled the pegasus, she figured there was an awful good chance that she'd have her fun again. As much as Rainbow wanted her day with Applejack to begin, she relinquished the thought of waking the earth pony from her deep slumber. She never gets to sleep like this, so why ruin it? Besides, she's even more gorgeous like this. Dash thought, letting her half-open eyes scan over the surface of her marefriend. One hoof under her own head, the other on Rainbow Dash's chest, the orange mare looked like an angel. Well, sort of. Dash told herself. There's no way an angel would do any of what happened last night. She wasn't even willing to say it in her head, so Celestia knows if she'll ever say it out loud. Just thinking of the rush, the carnal instincts and pleasure flowing through her body, Dash's face grew bright red. Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she resumed gazing upon the sleeping figure beside her. Her magnificent blonde mane cascaded over her face, strands of hair scattered all over. A veil of the golden strands blanketed over one side of Applejack's face, leaving only one closed eye exposed. In her sleep, the earth pony twitched an ear which Dash found adorable. She smiled peacefully as she watched the mare's orange-coated chest rise and fall calmly. This was possibly the most serene Rainbow Dash had ever felt in her life. She lay her head back down upon the hay. She knew she would be unable to return to sleep, but she was more than content to quietly observe her marefriend, reveling in every moment their bodies were touching. Dash had no idea how long she had been watching Applejack, and she hardly noticed as the star in the sky gently made an arc across the sky. Later on, Rainbow inferred that she had woken at about noon, yet she had no idea of the time when a knock brought her out of her trance. Slowly pulling herself from Applejack's embrace, Dash silently floated to the door out of the bedroom, opening it ever so slowly. On the other side of the threshold stood a formidable-looking crimson stallion. He did not look overly unhappy, but he definitely did not have a look of enjoyment creasing his chiseled features. In that moment, Rainbow Dash realized how strikingly handsome Applejack's older brother was, and could sort of understand how Fluttershy managed to put up with stallions. Dash noiselessly raised an eyebrow, as if to ask Macintosh 'What seems to be the problem?' The barrel-chested stallion leaned his head as low as he could to whisper an answer. "Miss Dash, Ah appreciate the silent night and how much. . . Joy, you bring mah sis, but Ah'm needin' her fer applebuckin', or else today's work won't get done," Big Macintosh said, his accent heavy in a whisper. "Mac, can't we just rest for a little longer? We had a long ni-" Dash began to say, stopped by a hoof on her shoulder. When she turned her head, Applejack was standing there, a sleepy yet gleeful smile adorning her face. Rainbow felt bad that her talk with Macintosh had woken the sleeping cowpony, but Applejack's still-messy hairstyle and smile wiped all bad feelings from the pegasus's mind. Once again, Dash asked herself how in Equestria Applejack managed to look so spectacular every day. Stepping forward, Applejack looked from Rainbow to her brother, the glow of love fading, but not disappearing, from her eyes. The rainbow-maned mare laid a wing across Applejack's back, warming her as well as reassuring her. "Hay, Mac. Sorry Ah slept in so late, it was a. . . Err, rather rough night. Yeah, rough night," she said, laughing nervously. "Ah know Ah'mprolly like an hour late or so, but Ah could really use a shower." "AJ, the sun came up 'bout five hours ago. But you go an' have yer shower, as long as we have Miss Dash to help us again. . ." Big Mac replied, his voice trailed off as he looked hopefully at the speedy pegasus. Upon realizing the proverbial spotlight was on her, Rainbow quickly answered with, "Yeah, of course. I'll be right out after I get something to eat." Applejack rustled Rainbow's mane with a hoof, and Dash remembered the state she was in. "On second thought, I'll be out after a quick shower." Big Macintosh simply nodded his understanding and began to head back down the staircase. Applejack pulled Rainbow to the bathroom and turned the water on without ever taking her sultry look off her lover. As Applejack stepped behind the curtain, she winked at Dash and pulled her into the hot stream of water. They kissed for a long moment, only breaking for air. AJ had an excited look on her face, while Rainbow Dash's could only be described as devious. Dash deftly spun Applejack around and proceeded to massage her tense muscles. Oh wow, I can't believe she's still so pent up after last night. . . Dash thought to herself, her hooves getting deep into her marefriend's tendons. When Rainbow reached a certain point on Applejack's neck, the earth pony subconsciously let out a small moan. She quickly silenced herself, biting viciously into her lower lip to prevent any noise from escaping her mouth. However, it was no use; Dash rubbed extra hard on that one spot, as if trying to antagonize the cowpony. When Applejack let out what could only be called a squeal of pleasure, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but burst out laughing at the sound. Applejack hung her head, embarrassed at her own overly-girlish sound. When Dash regained her composure, she lifted Applejack's chin to look her dead in the eye. The spark of love behind Dash's magenta eye was so bright, AJ's shame flowed off of her like the steaming water around the pair. Their muzzles pressed together for what felt like the hundredth time, but neither of them could have cared less. They were lost in the other's eyes, the other's scent, and the other's embrace. It was a moment of complete peace, and they were now completely oblivious to the piercing sound of the shower. They both took in the beautiful view of their significant other dripping water, their manes plastered against their bodies. They both smiled and knew that it was going to be a long shower. Roughly forty minutes and several tender moments later, Applejack and Rainbow Dash stepped out of the shower, both much more relaxed than they had been before. After drying each other off, Dash draped her wing over her marefriend as they got a quick bite to eat and continued out the barn doors. Outside, they were greeting by Macintosh, who did not have a particularly happy expression on his face. As he turned, the couple caught a quick view of a light pink tail vanishing into the trees. Out of the corner of their eyes, they shared an understanding glance. After walking up the nearest tree, Dash wrapped her wings around Applejack, pressed said wings and their package up against the tree. They engaged in yet another passionate kiss, keeping their eyes locked, attempting to keep from smiling when they heard a squeal from above them. When they turned, one yellow pegasus was watching them, an adorable smile on her face. "Oh my gosh! You guys! Why didn't you come tell me?" Fluttershy insisted, her voice rose much higher than normal. She was clearly thrilled by the revelation. "Well, sugarcube, we were a tad. . . Preoccupied, at the time," Applejack told her friend as her face grew red. Fluttershy's eyes grew to the size of plates as she realized what was being implied, and she leapt for joy while squealing girlishly once more. Macintosh simply smiled and put a calming hoof on his marefriend's shoulder once she touched the ground. "Oh, I'm sorry fillies, I'm just so happy for you two. I mean, I knew how you guys felt, but I couldn't say anything. That would just be mean, so I let things do what they will," Fluttershy reasoned. Applejack raised one eyebrow, slightly confused by what the yellow pegasus had said. "How'd yah know how Ah felt ferDashie? Ah never told nopony," she said, subconsciously using the nickname for Rainbow she had grown to love. Surprisingly, Dash managed to keep her wings from shooting out stiffly upon hearing the name uttered by the cowpony. "Applejack, anypony with a brain could have seen how you really felt," Fluttershy explained. Immediately, there was an outcry from both Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash. They both felt understandably insulted by the comment. Fluttershy retreated slightly into her mane and turned a shade or two more towards red. "Mac, you were preoccupied, shall we say. . . And you are Applejack's brother, so it was a little harder for you to notice something that had been the same for a while," the pegasus reasoned. Macintosh simply nodded, realizing he had been brash with his outburst. Dash, however, now sat on her flank, hooves crossed. "Dash, you were too wrapped up in your own feelings to see that Applejack was as flustered as you were. I mean, did you ever ask Applejack how she felt about the 'accidental' kiss?" Fluttershy put emphasis on accidental, making sure they understood the implication. "Now you hold it right there, filly. It was an accident, and Ah'll swear by that," Applejack put in. Ah'm not 'bout to be accused of kissin' Dash on purpose. . . Well, Ah've done it at least twenty times since then, so maybe Ah jumped to conclusions too quickly. Applejack thought to herself, attempting to correct her statement as Dash cut her off. "Well, no, I guess I didn't. . . Gee, probably could have saved a lot of time with that one, eh?" Rainbow said, embarrassedly rubbing the back of her neck. "Well, AJ, how did you feel after that?" As an answer, Applejack practically rammed her tongue into Dash's mouth, melting any coherent thought Dash possessed. When she reluctantly pulled away, the orange earth pony stood there, savoring the taste of the cyan pegasus's own tongue. "Well, Dashie, how did Ah feel?" She asked, aware that Rainbow was still attempting to form a complete sentence. "Pretty buckin' awesome," she replied, not even realizing her use of foul language. Fluttershy and Applejack laughed together, and Macintosh just chuckled uncomfortably, having witnessed his first act of intense passion between the couple. It was strange for him to see his younger sister do that with anypony, let alone a mare. Hay, he didn't even have a problem with 'fillyfoolers', for lack of a better term, it was just this one mare. He had known Rainbow Dash almost as long as Applejack had, and there were two things he knew for sure about her. The first was that he did not find her appealing in any way. He practically viewed her as another one of the colts, just a few features away in his mind. The second thing he knew was that he did not like Dash all that much. She was helpful, trustworthy, and confident. When she wanted to be. On top of that, she was boastful, lazy, overconfident, lazy, brash, and lazy. He certainly didn't want her attitude rubbing off on Applejack, but there was nothing he could or would do to pull them apart. If Ah ever decide to try somethin' that stupid, Celestia strike me down now. Ah'd have to be a complete numbskull to do that. Plus, she makes AJ happier than Ah've ever seen her, and who am Ah to take that away from her? When Fluttershy glanced at the overly large stallion, she could tell he was lost in thought again. Truthfully, Macintosh was perfect for her. They both loved nature, she needed somepony strong to rely on, and he was actually just as shy as she. She knew from experience that they could hold a conversation for hours and enjoy every minute of it. He really was quite intelligent and could easily get lost on his train of thought, as he was doing now. Were they alone, she could just sit down and watch him think. She absolutely loved the way his eyebrows scrunched together intensely when he was lost in his thoughts. Unfortunately, they were not alone. Fluttershy turned toward Dash, who was now gazing at her lover. "Rainbow Dash, would you care to join us again?" She joked. Dash snapped out of her haze of passion and fixed her gaze on the sky, blushing brightly. The other two mares laughed, and Applejack nuzzled the side of Dash's neck. Rainbow looked down at Applejack and her color returned to normal. "Well, we have a lot of work to get done fillies, and I plan on making sure Applejack gets a nice workout from this one," Dash said, winking to her partner and taking to the air. She cruised over to a tree, shook the apples down, and moved quickly onto the next. She wasn't moving as quickly as before, but Applejack still had to rush to keep up. Careful not to fly into any branches, Dash shook tree after tree, quickly losing sight of the orange mare. The afternoon sun beat down, preventing even the cross breeze from cooling the pegasus. She began to sweat, the salty liquid forming in her coat and in her mane. Aww, ponyfeathers! I just showered! Rainbow thought as she dodged another enormous branch. Oh well, guess this means I have to get in the shower with AJ again. . . The thought took her mind elsewhere, and she zoomed straight into a large branch. Falling to the ground with a thud, Dash began gently rubbing her nose, checking to be sure it was still in one piece. Thankfully, she was pretty indestructible, and everything seemed to be in place. Behind her, she heard a slight couch, causing her to whip her face in that direction. A purple unicorn stood, bags resting at her sides. She had one eyebrow cocked, a feature expression her confusion. "Hello, Dash. Are you alright?" Twilight Sparkle asked, obviously concerned for her friend's well-being. "Oh, hay, Twilight. Yeah, I'm great! Fantastic, even! How about you?" Rainbow replied, barely blinking back tears of pain. The studious unicorn shrugged slightly. "I stayed up a tad late studying last night, but I needed to come ask Applejack a question. Speaking of which, isn't that Applejack's hat?" Twilight inquired, sharing her observation. Dash pressed a hoof to her head, feeling the rough texture of the Stetson. She hadn't even realized that she'd been wearing it. Oh buck, I must have grabbed it on the way out of the shower! How can I explain this one? She thought, panicking. For some reason, she just couldn't pull herself to tell anypony else, even Twilight. "I, umm, I stole it from her. Yeah, that's what I did!" Dash said, proud of the own quick thinking. Her purple companion just nodded and turned toward the rustling sound coming from the trees behind the pegasus. An orange cowpony came leaping out of the bushes and tackled Rainbow Dash to the ground. Dash quickly tossed Applejack off and dusted herself off. She looked at Twilight, who actually didn't look all that surprised by this turn of events. It wasn't the first time, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Applejack stood and went in for a quick kiss, not realizing their friend stood watching. Rainbow quickly played it off by intercepting the kiss with a headlock, followed by a feverish noogie. Applejack was thrown off by the gesture and caught a glance at the purple pony while in the headlock. When she was released, she looked at Twilight Sparkle confusedly. "Oh, howdy, Twi. Somethin' Ah can help yah with?" The orange mare asked, looking confusedly at her new lover. "Yeah. . . I was wondering if you could help me find a few different types of apples, I was going to take notes on them as they age," Twilight explained, her reasoning sounding as boring as ever to Dash. Applejack simply nodded and began to lead her friend back toward the barn. Once they were past the bushes, AJ looked behind her to see that Dash wasn't following. "Hold on, Twilight, Ah forgot mah hat," she said as she sprinted back behind the bushes. She found Rainbow pacing nervously, and the pegasus jumped when Applejack stepped on a twig. "Dashie, what's gotten into you?" She inquired. Dash shook her head furiously. "AJ, I don't know if I'm ready to tell the others about us. I mean, Shy already knew how we both felt, but what if the others don't take it well?" Dash replied, looking more and more fearful by the second. "Ah can't believe this. After so much time of waitin', yerwillin' to just put it aside 'cause yer afraid?" Applejack asked, provoking Rainbow to hang her head in shame. "AJ, it's more difficult for me than you think. . . I have my reputation to worry about and-" The rainbow-maned mare began to say before she was cut off by the cowpony. "Yer reputation! Oh, why didn't Ah think o' yer reputation! It's always been more important to yah than me, so why should things change now?" Applejack shouted, a fury in her eyes. She swiped the hat from Dash's head and began to walk back toward where she had left Twilight. She stopped before passing the bushes and turned to see her marefriend looking hopefully at her. "Don't bother comin' back to the barn, 'cause Ah'll make sure you don't get let in." Dash was crushed. She had screwed up bad, but she hadn't thought it was this bad. She was mad at Applejack, she was mad at Twilight, but most of all, she was mad at herself. With a rocketing burst of speed, Rainbow Dash took off toward the Everfree Forest. Her anger practically radiated from her as she flew blindly. She zoomed straight over Fluttershy's cottage and continued into the forest, the trees quickly grabbing at her wings. Rainbow slalomed like a pro to dodge the leafy hooves of the trees, and neglected to pay attention to what was in front of her. The low sun had hidden a thick, ropey vine in shadow, and it tore Dash from the sky. She hit the moist ground hard, skipping a few times. She threw her wings out in an attempt to slow her slide, but she careened into an old tree, still moving dangerously fast. On impact, she felt a single hollow bone in her thin wings break. Blinding pain shot throughout her entire body, and Dash struggled to hold back tears. Adrenaline flooded her brain, numbing the pain and clearing her head. When she steadied her thoughts, she realized she was now trapped in the Everfree Forest. She couldn't fly. That hurt, because one can't be the fastest pony alive without wings. But even worse, she was trapped in the Everfree Forest, without wings, and she knew Applejack didn't give two bucks that she was hurt. The full force of what Applejack had said finally hit her. So there she sat, physically broken, as her heart broke as well. In the darkness, only the plants and wildlife heard as Rainbow Dash, the bravest pegasus in all of Equestria, began to sob.