//------------------------------//
// Chapter 22 (AppleDash Arc: Start) 
// Story: War in Equestria: The Tale of Bright Blade 
// by Michael_Ravencroft 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 22: Earth and Sky




*** 2 months later ***


It was January, the middle of winter. Hearth's Warming Eve had already passed, and soon enough Winter Wrap Up would start. Fortunately for some ponies the desert doesn't snow over, more specifically the San Palomino Desert. It was an arid environment, sand would turn into dried out dirt in patches, which offered little to no terrain advantage.

Far off in the distance the wild braying and snarling of the Daemoni was being carried on the wind. Rocks and chunks of earth were sent flying through the air hurled directly at the oncoming hordes. Jagged pillars of solidified earth jetted out of the ground dividing their forces and destroying their lines. A lone earth pony mare, wearing a Stetson hat, and dawned in golden armor trotted through the battlefield. One of ground Daemoni galloped after Applejack, baring its fangs with glee at finding their prey. Applejack swung her foreleg with barely any effort, her armored foreleg smacked against the head of the Daemoni, snapping its neck with a sickening crack before it disappeared. Applejack jumped into the air, flipped twice, and brought down her fore hooves on two more Daemoni. Another two attacked her from behind, which she bucked her hind legs sending them into the air. More Daemoni began to crowd Applejack, sensing this, AJ willed shrapnel shards of earth to rise and fire in all directions. The shards pierced through the demonic ponies like a hot knife through butter. "Whew, this here's some hard work," Applejack then touched the crystal of her Iris Caller, "Hey RD, you doin' alright up there?"

"Better than these guys!" replied Rainbow Dash.

Up in the sky multicolored spectrum beams of light were fired at winged Daemoni. Rainbow Dash zeroed in on three of them and swiftly cut them down with her crescent blades, blasting the third with a dual beam from both of her crystalline wings. As Rainbow Dash flew she got the inkling that she was being followed, Rainbow was right, a squadron of five winged Daemoni were hot on her tail. She scoffed, the winged Daemoni were flying at high speed, wanting to tear into the cyan pegasus with their steel talons. Dash zipped and rolled, performing all manner of tricks, making the creatures work for their meal. Applejack rolled her eyes. Rainbow Dash, you're havin' way too much fun with this whole situation, thought Applejack. "Dash, quick playin' with em and hurry it up, I'm getting hungry down here," said Applejack.

"Alright, then it's time for a super powered Buckaneer Blitz!" AJ watched as Rainbow Dash pulled up higher and higher, almost out of her field of vision. The winged Daemoni followed after her, with many more in pursuit. Applejack averted her gaze as a bright flash of light lit up the sky, the death shrieks of the Daemoni rang out as a result of their demise. Rainbow Dash eventually flew down to meet her earth pony companion, the two of them hoof bumping. "Ten seconds flat, ha!"

"Well better call this in," Applejack tapped her Iris Caller again, "This is Applejack and Rainbow Dash to Shining Armor, Sector 8's clear, and we're movin' to the next."

For the past few months the two mares have been doing well, fighting under the command of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. Even though they were made aware of their rank, both Applejack and Rainbow Dash asked to be put on the frontlines, treated as soldiers, but every now and again they would use their rank to help them in directing other soldiers. During their time at Fort Caliburn they had received letters from the forts where their friends were stationed. They were surprised to find out about what happened at Fort Valor, and according to Rarity and Spike there's been changes in the way things are run. Not to mention the fact that those two are now dating and are a couple now! They were kinda disappointed in themselves when they forgot Bright Blade's birthday on Hearth's Warming Eve, the rush and chaos of the war made special occasions like birthday's a little hard to remember. So they sent the little guy a couple a presents, as well as sending a "special" congrats gift to Rarity and Spike.

"So what's the next Sector of Daes we have to mow down today," asked Rainbow Dash.

"Well, if I'm ah rememberin' correctly, Sector 10," said Applejack.

"Oh yeah, race ya!"

Before Applejack could reply Rainbow had taken off. That girl…Alright then you're on! Applejack galloped in the same direction; thanks to her ability to manipulate the earth beneath her hooves she was able to gain some extra speed. With every step she took, the ground responded by molding to her hooves and pushing back like a spring board. Applejack would never admit it to any pony, least of all Rainbow, but the power she gained from the armor kind of scared her a bit. After their first fight using the Element Armor seeing how easily she could smash through the Daemoni, and control the ground, what scared her wasn't the fact that it was strange to her, it was that it felt almost natural.

Eventually she was able to catch up with Rainbow Dash; she looked down and watched as her earthy pony friend matched her speed even on land. Rainbow Dash pushed forward, increasing her speed. Applejack saw Dash pull ahead, so she willed the ground to push her forward. Their leads went back and forth; one would pull ahead then the other, till finally the two of them were neck and neck. But unbeknownst to them, something was happening. A dust funnel began to form around Applejack, kicking up sediment and rock, mixing in with the howling turbulent cloud around her. Rainbow Dash was having a similar situation, the wind started to form around her, forming a funnel. It was hard to believe, but the two of them seemed to be creating two tornados, one made of wind and the other of earth. Either the two of them weren't aware of it, or they were too wrapped up in the race to notice.

An army of Daemoni saw the tornados of earth and wind, hissing and snarling at the oncoming storms. The horned Daemoni unleashed several magic bolts at them, but the gale force winds, combined with whatever magical power that was mixed in, made the bolts deflect and change directions exploding harmlessly somewhere else. The ground Daemoni started to gallop towards them, the mindless creatures charged at them, with no fear for the own safety. As soon as they made contact with the twin tornados the Daemoni were torn apart by the fierce wind and debris being picked up, thrown in the air, and landing in groups of their own. The winged Daemoni tried to counter attack by diving down from above, but they too met the same fate as their land based brethren.

In the end Applejack and Rainbow Dash stopped, creating a giant whirlwind that whipped out and threw the Daemoni in every direction away from them. The whole time Rainbow Dash was doing a little victory dance in the air next to AJ, "Oh yeah, I won, I won!" said Rainbow Dash.

"You did not, it was a tie Rainbow," retorted Applejack.

Dash landed next to her, and looked AJ in the eye, "No way, I won by – 6 o'clock AJ – at least a nose!"

"A nose!?" One of the Daemoni that survived the attack charged Applejack while her back was turned. "If we're countin' body parts then –" Applejack used her left hind leg to buck one ambushing Daemoni in the chest; the resulting impact sent a focused shockwave through the demonic pony, evaporating it on the spot. "I won by a hoof tip – 3 o'clock there RD!"

"A hoof tip, a hoof tip, c'mon Apple Snack –" A horned Daemoni shot a magic bolt at Rainbow Dash, she quickly swatted the bolt away with her crystalline wing, then fired a spectrum beam at the one who fired it. The beam pierced the horned Daemoni in the head, disappearing in a puff of black smoke. "Then I won by a hair!"

The two of them continued like that, arguing about who won, while at the same time warning each other about Daemoni stragglers who were attacking. The two mares were, unbelievably, able to divide their attention between arguing with each other and watching out while counterattacking. After several minutes Applejack finally noticed a lack of Daemoni snarls and brays, "Um, Rainbow, I reckon we cleared this Sector," said Applejack.

Rainbow Dash took a look around and saw that AJ was right; there were no more Daemoni to be seen. "Wow, that was fast," Rainbow Dash then blew a raspberry, "Soooo I guess we move on then," asked Rainbow Dash.

The two of them giggled at their situation and leisurely strolled off to the next battleground.





"Way to kick flank out there Titan," said an earth pony stallion passing by.

"They should know better than to mess with the Sky Master," said a pegasus mare.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash blushed a little, ever since they arrived at Fort Caliburn the two of them have gained the Noms De Guerre of Titan and Sky Master. It was a bit embarrassing for AJ to be called Titan, sounded more like a stallion's nickname than a mare's, but Rainbow loved her nickname, and Applejack agreed it suited her.

The ponies were all returning to the fort after a long day of battle, the heat of the desert didn't make it any easier, their brows and coats beaded with sweat, and ponies falling from either pure exhaustion or dehydration. But, thankfully, they were able to save many of them. There was no need for a draw bridge for the entrance; instead a giant wrought iron gate greeted them. The stone fortress was smooth with a bit of withering, having been sandblasted by the desert wind and sands for a while now. The whole time, while Applejack and Rainbow were walking into the fort, the other soldiers were either complimenting them or giving them congrats for another job well done.

Once the two of them passed the front gates they were immediately blasted with cool soothing air. The heat of the desert seemed like a distant memory whenever they entered the fort. Thanks to Princess Cadance, the fort had a spell cast over it to keep the inside and perimeter cool all the times.

AJ and RD had recalled their armor and trotted further into the keep, they soon found themselves at the entrance to the War Room and saw that Shining Armor was busy going over the reports of the days resent battle. The two mares saluted, "Reporting in Commander Shining Armor, sir!"

Shining Armor looked up and greeted his two soldier/friends. "Heard you two had some fun out there, blew through two Sectors within a few hours, I'm losing count on how many of those things you've taken out," commented Shining Armor.

"150," said Dash.

"151," said AJ.

Shining Armor looked astonished by the number; he knew they were fighting hard, but not that hard. At the same time that seemed to confirm something for him. "Well then I'd say you two deserve some leave time, don't you?" Rainbow Dash and Applejack seemed surprised by what Shining Armor said. "You two deserve it, from tomorrow and the next three days." They were about to say something but they were quickly cut off by the white unicorn stallion. "And that's an order!" he added.

When they walked out of the War Room Rainbow Dash hoof pumped, "Ah yeah, a little vacation time – Hey we should totally go to Las Pegasus, you and me, what'd you say," asked Rainbow Dash.

"Well, I've never been to a big city like place, except for Canterlot and Manehattan, but guess it could be fun! Alright I'm in," said AJ.

"Cool, now," Rainbow Dash brought her mane close to her nose and sniffed it, "I think we better hit he showers," suggested Rainbow Dash.

Against AJ's better judgment, she agreed to go take a shower, with Rainbow…together. They went to the side-by-side stalls, and then hit the button in front of them to get the water running. The hot water soothed their aching muscles. Rainbow turned around and let the water pour over her sore wings, she let out a relieved sigh, enjoying the relaxation. For Applejack it was less relaxing and more nervousness. She tried to concentrate on washing herself, lather, rinse, repeat, but even that mantra didn't keep Applejack from sneaking glances at her friend. Watching the water rundown the cyan pegasus's coat made the orange earth pony blush slightly, Applejack secretly admired the image of her wings, even before their crystalline transformation with the armor on.

"Applejack…Applejack…APPLEJACK!"

AJ shook her head, snapping out of her trance like state. "Y-y-yeah RD," she stammered.

"You alright, you were kinda spacing out there for a second," said Rainbow.

"W-what, ah shoot, I'm alright! Just, uh, tired I reckon," answered Applejack.

"Oh, anyway, we gotta hit all the amusement parks, then we'll stay late and hit all the night clubs – it'll be sweet!"

"Yeah, sweet…" Ifin' I can manage to keep my wits about me, thought Applejack.

Later that night Applejack was having a hard time sleeping in her bed. Partly because she was excited at being able to take a break from fighting, and because she was going to spend some personal time with Rainbow Dash off the battlefield. She laid there, grabbing the pillow and pushing it on her face in an attempt at muffling her frustrated groaning. Why am I getting so worked up about this, she's mah friend and we're just going into town for a little fun! So why was it that every time she thought about Rainbow Dash her cheeks would start to feel hot? There were many a times when Applejack tried to rationalize her feelings towards her friend, the fact that they were both competitive athletes? No that couldn't be it, maybe part of it, but not all of it. Was it because of her beautiful rainbow mane and rose colored eyes? Again, part of it, but no. In the end, it was the many parts that made the whole, it was all of Rainbow Dash that she liked. But upon accepting that fact, she was admitting something about herself. Am…am I really a fillyfooler? 

No, that couldn't be it, there's nothing wrong with admiring the physique of another mare. And becoming hypnotized by her eyes and the way she…OKAY GETTING OFF TOPIC HERE! 

But ah can't put her through that, I can't tell her how I feel, not after what she told me…






***Before the war – Location: Sweet Apple Acres barn ***


Applejack was about to turn in for the night, she had went out to the barn to do some last minute checks on the wagons for the harvest the next day. She stopped partway through upon hearing rustling above her. I swear, how many times am I supposed to shoo those varmints outta the hay before they get the message!? With an irritated sigh and grunt, Applejack ascended the ladder to the upper level of the barn. It was pretty dark up there, save for the lantern that AJ brought with her. What little light there was shined through the open door from the full moonlight, and even then it only illuminated a straight path to her. Applejack hung the lantern on a nail sticking out from one of the poles and began to search through the hay piles. She poked a few of them with her hoof, trying to stir whatever may be hiding within. It was then that something caught her eye, a reflection of a blue color coming from near the door. Applejack went to investigate, and was fully prepared to get rid of their unwelcome barn guest.

She stopped, all her vigor to vacate the intruder left her in that instant. It was Rainbow Dash, of all ponies. Applejack recalled that neither herself nor her friends had seen the pegasus all day long, now it made sense. You took a nap and ya fell asleep here, ah Dashie, thought AJ. Rainbow Dash was lying there, with her back turned to Applejack, peacefully resting on a pile of hay. The moonlight melting into her coat, her mane and tail shimmering like the day, but something was wrong.

"I'm not…I'm not…leave me alone," whispered Rainbow Dash.

"Dash…?" Applejack gently tugged on Rainbow Dash's shoulder, making her lay on her back and revealing Dash's face, wet with tears. She squirmed and wiggled, whimpering, almost on the verge of full on sobs. Applejack was scared; she'd never seen her friend like this before, the usually strong and overzealous mare that was the Dash she knew, no this Dash looked afraid. "Rainbow wake up," said Applejack as she shook her friend a little.

"Stop it…help…help…!" Rainbow cried weakly.

"Rainbow Dash…c'mon sugarcube wake up," said Applejack, with a little more urgency.

"Somepony…anypony…!?"

"Rainbow WAKE UP!" shouted Applejack, shaking her friend.

Rainbow Dash was finally wrenched from her nightmare as she quickly shot up. Her body shook, coat matted from sweating, and panting hard as the tears streamed down her face. "A-Applejack…? W…What are you doing here!?" she asked.

"Guess y'all had fell asleep here…Listen, sugarcube are ya alright?" Applejack asked.

"What – yeah I'm fine, why do you ask!?" Rainbow's tone was almost aggressive, defensive. Applejack raised a curious eyebrow, wondering why she was acting like this.

"Because you were cryin' and calling fer help in your sleep. I'm not one for pryin into other ponies business, but Dash tell me what's wrong, you really scared me there for minute," asked Applejack.

After some fierce protesting and arguing, as well as Applejack's steely resolve and stubbornness, Rainbow Dash was finally able to calm down long enough to agree to explain. Rainbow Dash and Applejack sat down, with their legs folded comfortably under them. Rainbow stared out the barn door to the clear night sky, and the full moon up above, while Applejack stared at the vulnerable mare beside her. With a heavy sigh Rainbow began her story. "It was back when I was filly in Flight School. I wasn't exactly a rule follower if you catch my drift."

Oh I can believe that. 

"Anyway I was…I was always getting into fights, it started out as name calling then eventually shoving and finally a full on brawl. They just made me so mad, what else was I supposed to do!?"

"Now hold there, what did these other foals say to get ya so worked up," asked Applejack.

"They…They called me a…a…fillyfooler."

Applejack's heart jumped into her throat, with a gulp she pushed it back down, this was something of a sore subject for herself. Especially since she herself was a closet fillyfooler. "R-r-really now, why – why would they say somethin' like that!?

"It was a rumor that got started; to this day I still don't know who started it! But thanks to that one filly or colt I was branded a fillyfooler! I mean – okay I know I act like a tomcolt most of the time – but still that's no reason to go calling me that when they have no proof about it," shouted Rainbow Dash.

Applejack began to scratch the back of her head, "That's awful Rainbow, but there had to be a reason? Think back, did ya ever do somethin' or say somethin' that would've made them think like that," asked Applejack.

Rainbow Dash then began to shuffle nervously where she lay. Trying not meet the gaze of the orange earth pony, she turned her head and mumbled something under her breath.

"Pardon?"

-mumble-

"Come again?"

-mumble!-

"Darn it Rainbow would ya spit it out already!?" scolded Applejack.

"I had a crush on Fluttershy one time only one time I even asked her out at one point but I was a filly I didn't know anything about what fillyfooling meant but Fluttershy rejected me and said 'I'm really sorry Rainbow Dash, but I'm not interested in other fillies, please don't be mad can we still be friends!'" Rainbow Dash spit the entire thing in one breath.

Needless to say that Applejack was speechless, she had suspected there was something between the two of them, but apparently there wasn't. Applejack felt a mixture of emotions inside her, happy that the one mare she thought Dash would like didn't like her back, anger at herself for feeling that way towards one of her friends, sad because Rainbow had to go through all that, and hopeful that she might have a chance.

"But I did that in secret, I guess I should've made sure that no pony was around. In the end I hooked up with some 'friends,' they stood up for me and in the process we got labeled the school bullies. That's why I left the school," with a sigh Rainbow rested her head against Applejack's shoulder. Applejack had to pull down her Stetson hat to make sure her friend couldn't see her blushing face. "The nightmare I had…I dreamt that you and the others were…were ganging up on me, calling me gross and wrong…it – it felt like Flight School all over again, but worse."

Applejack draped her foreleg around Rainbow Dash's neck, trying her hardest not to…well…take advantage of the situation. "Sugarcube none of our friends would ever think that about you, whether you are or aren't a, ahem, fillyfooler," Applejack used her other hoof to lift the chin of her friend, thankfully the blushing had stopped, and she was able to look her in the eye. "No more of this, ya here," said Applejack.

Rainbow, to Applejack's surprise, nuzzled the workhorse's neck, not affectionately, more in a friendly way. "Thanks…"

That was day that Applejack made herself a promise. No matter how much she wanted to, or how much it hurt, she would never reveal her feelings for the cyan pegasus mare. For to do so would be like spitting in her eye, bringing up painful memories better left buried, no this would not happen, Applejack was determined not to hurt her friend mentally or physically. But still that didn't stop her from thinking about Rainbow Dash, imagining what kind of life they would have together – under ideal circumstances of course – and how much she would like to one day wake up to the glowing face of the one she loved beside her. Don't you worry Dash, I'll watch over ya…






*** Present Day – Las Pegasus alleyway***


"What are they talkin bout *hiccup* I hadn't had enough *hiccup* why if anything I *hiccup*!"

The earth pony stallion, Tipsy, was staggering through the alleys of Las Pegasus, having downed several bottles of sparkling cider. Tipsy's exploits within Las Pegasus are near legendary, giving him a status of infamy. Drifting from bar to bar, and getting into many a situation where, in the end, he was either thrown out of the establishments or beaten up. But still, they allowed him to roam around, partly because he provided entertainment for the tourists.

"Hey there…what's a big handsome stallion like you doing all alone," said a sultry voice from the shadows.

"I *hiccup* am handsome aren't I *hiccup*" said Tipsy.

"Wouldn't mind having some company would ya," asked the mysterious voice.

"Not at all *hiccup*!"

"But first why don't you cool off!"

Suddenly a gust of icy wind blew through the alley, frost started to cover the brick walls, the temperature falling by the second. "That's better, heh, heh, heh," chuckled the voice.



Applejack, the Element of Honesty, is in love with Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty, but due to the hardships and trauma Rainbow Dash suffered in the past Applejack is reluctant to reveal her true feelings for fear of opening old wounds. Can she find a way to be with the one she loves, or will the heartache of unrequited love linger. Meanwhile something strange is happening in Las Pegasus, something evil. The war continues on…