Something had changed inside her last night. When thought became action, the immaterial became tangible, and it destroyed all previous opinions. No longer was being gay just an idea and a feeling. No longer was sex a future event to ponder about. Both concepts had manifested, taking the form of an orange earth pony winking at her from across the party. And Dash couldn't be happier about it, even if she did accidentally dribble some punch whenever Applejack looked her way.
The music was pumping as loudly as it always did, but Dash didn't mind. Her front legs bounced softly to the beat. There was something so relaxing and easygoing about the party, like all her worries were being washed away in the flow of music and noise.
A hushed conversation from the previous night drifted to the front of her mind. Applejack had been hugging her from behind as they lay together contentedly.
"Hey," Dash had whispered, "So . . . What are we now?" She was nervous, and despite what they had just shared she had been scared of having it torn away.
Applejack had snuggled closer. "Do we need to be somethin'? This just feels nice."
"But... is this just about feeling nice, or is there more?" Dash rolled over to face her then.
"Sugarcube..." The earth pony sighed. "Ah don't have all the answers, alright? Let's just start with this and see how it goes."
"Alright..." replied the disheartened pegasus.
Applejack immediately pulled her close and looked deep into her eyes, green meeting magenta. "Hey now, don't get like that. Ah wouldn't have done what we just did if ah didn't like you. It's just..." She sighed again. "Aw, heck with it. Maybe ah'm a little tired of putting mah farm 'fore everything else. Maybe ah think after workin' hard every day I deserve to have somepony to come home to. And... maybe ah want that 'somepony' to be you."
That was good enough for Dash. Sure, there would still be problems, like what to tell their friends and families, but they would be handled easily by her new philosophy, which Applejack had taken a liking to.
"Take each challenge as it comes, huh? Ah can do that," said the earth pony earlier that day during lunch. Rainbow Dash had just finished telling her about her trip to Cloudsdale (omitting a certain revelation from a certain Wonderbolt, of course).
"I figure if I try to prepare for everything and worry about all the things that could go wrong then I'll stop having fun." Dash had smiled broadly. "And that's just not an option."
"Ah hear that!" Applejack then raised her drink and Dash did the same. The chime that occurred when they tapped their glasses together echoed through the cyan pony's memory.
That single peal resonated as Dash watched the partiers. Rarity and Spike were dancing side by side, one of them giving the other looks of complete adoration. The white unicorn was either completely oblivious or very tactful. Probably the latter. Dash felt her heart go out to the hopeless baby dragon. He reminded her of Fluttershy, who was currently standing in the corner watching a particular purple unicorn from across the room.
She wandered over to the yellow pegasus and was greeted with a gentle smile. But then, everything Fluttershy did was gentle.
"Hi Dash. Are you having fun?" she said, voice barely audible over the music.
"Yeah, this party's pretty cool. Hey, Fluttershy, wanna hear something pretty awesome?" Dash leaned closer, a sudden uncontrollable desire to boast taking over. Fluttershy nodded happily, leaning her ear towards Dash to hear her better.
"Last night, me and Applejack totally did it!" she whispered the last part, her voice cracking from the excitement caused by her recollection of the night.
As expected, Fluttershy turned bright red in a manner of seconds, but didn't turn away. Instead she replied in an extremely low voice, curiosity getting the better of her but still trying to maintain some dignity. "W-What was it like?"
Dash's cheeks ached from grinning so hard. "Un. Freaking. Believable. Also really wet." She realised what she said and rushed to correct it, only to further exacerbate her own embarrassment. "N-Not wet like that – well, yeah wet like that, obviously – but I meant, like, sweat and saliva and oh jeez I'm just gonna shut up."
Fluttershy giggled at her discomfort before stepping forward and hugging Dash for a moment. "I'm glad you're feeling so much better. I was so worried about you."
The cyan pony felt a rush of affection for her childhood friend. "I've got your advice to thank for that. Honestly, without friends like you I would be a total mess."
The Element of Kindness grinned and raised an eyebrow. "Dash, you were a total mess."
"Heh, I guess I was. What I'm trying to say... without being too sappy... is I'm really glad... umm... I'm so grateful for... I... ugh, you know what I mean."
"I do. Now stop being sappy and enjoy the party!" Fluttershy commanded in a friendly yet stern tone.
"Gotcha!"
Dash spread her wings and fluttered over the crowd, dodging some of the pegasi who were doing the same. With the unerring skill that only the Best Young Flier could possess, she dropped into a free space amongst the ponies and landed next to Twilight. The unicorn had her eyes closed and was having some sort of fit. A few moments later, Dash realised she was dancing.
"Hey Twilight! Having... fun?"
The flailing of limbs ceased and she looked at Dash. "Absolutely! I love dancing!"
"I can see that. Hey," a devious thought crept into Rainbow Dash's mind, "Fluttershy told me she wishes she could dance like you. Maybe you could go over to her and teach her how? Who knows, maybe one day she'll be as good as you!" It was lucky the music was so loud so the barely contained laughter in her voice was hidden.
"She said that? I never really took her for the dancing type," replied a confused Twilight.
"Yeah, seriously, she wants to dance so badly. I bet if you took her by the hooves and showed her how to do it she would be really grateful."
"I better go do that then. Thanks for the heads-up, Rainbow!" Twilight merrily merged with the crowd.
Dash chuckled to herself. Things were about to get interesting.
A familiar presence made itself known beside her with a nudge and a laugh. "Y'all aren't playing a prank, are ya?"
Dash kept grinning as she turned to Applejack. "Who, me? I would never do anything like that."
"Sure ya wouldn't. Ah gotta say, Rainbow, ahm glad you've got your confidence back. All that moping around just wasn't you."
"Yeah, tell me about it. It helps that I got the mother of all confidence boosters last night." She gave a sly wink. For once, it was Applejack's turn to blush. Finally! Dash had been starting to think the earth pony had no concept of modesty.
"Good to hear you enjoyed yourself." Applejack stepped closer and the rest of the party seemed to dull and darken in comparison. "Though I think all of Ponyville heard that last night." Alright, so the earth pony really didn't have any notion of modesty. Dash cursed herself as her face became very hot all of a sudden. The orange pony took extreme delight in her reaction. "Aw, ain't that cute? The mighty Rainbow Dash turns to butter with just a couple of words."
"S-Stop that! That's not fair!" she spluttered.
Applejack just seemed even more amused. "Since when have you cared about playing fair?" Damn it, she had a point. "You are just too easy to mess with, RD. Ah'll let you cool off for a bit." With another blush-inducing wink, the earth pony strode away into the throng, tail flicking invitingly over her flank. She's with me. The thought made her incredibly happy.
In a blur of cotton candy and sweets, Pinkie Pie bounced past laughing. Dash watched her pass every group that was beginning to look tired, marvelling at how they seemed to recover their energy and continue dancing. The Element of Laughter certainly knew how to keep a party going.
Dash felt the urge to catch up with her somehow so she could offer her thanks once again (and maybe to do a bit of boasting), but she decided against it. There would be time later for that, just like there would be time later to fill in Rarity on everything that had happened. The pegasus felt slightly guilty for not thinking about going to her earlier for advice. She made a mental note to visit Carousel Boutique the next day. In fact, the more she thought about it the more she wanted to see Rarity. If anypony could help her figure out what exactly was going on between Applejack and herself it would be the Element of Generosity. It was a well-known fact that Rarity had most of the colts in Ponyville tripping over each other to speak with her. If recent experience is correct, then there really wouldn't be much difference in their situations. Grudgingly, Rainbow Dash had to admit to herself that she was the one tripping over herself for Applejack. But maybe with Rarity's help, she could even the playing field.
And perhaps with some of Twilight's books she might learn how to make her earth pony melt like butter. A determined smirk formed upon her lips. Rainbow Dash was not going to just be a pushover in this... relationship. That's what it was, wasn't it? She was in an actual relationship. The thought made her giddy and excited like a little filly during Winter Wrap Up. I am in a relationship with Applejack. She resisted the urge to scream it barely.
"Hey Bone, did it just get gayer in here?" said a familiar voice behind her.
Dash groaned as she turned around. "How's your chest feeling?" she said icily.
"You said you were gonna drop it, dude. Let's not do this," Bone muttered to his friend. Rusty wasn't about to just leave, however.
"I think I want an apology from this fillyfooler before I drop it. Besides, none of her fag friends are nearby so chill out."
That was the final straw. Dash flared her wings angrily and took a step forward. There must have been something in her eyes because both colts swallowed and shuffled back. "Listen here. The only reason I haven't busted you and your coltfriend into the ground and stomped your brains out is because of my 'fag' friends. You should be grateful to them." She lowered her voice menacingly and looked into their eyes. "Now get out of here and pray that I don't meet you in an alley again." The unspoken promise of very bad consequences hung in the air like a thundercloud. They left without another word.
Dash watched them go, making sure they left the party. She puffed her chest out and grinned when the door slammed shut behind them. The Rainbow Dash is back!
"Ah saw that," whispered Applejack in her ear. "Ah'm proud of ya, sugarcube." She felt the earth pony nuzzle her neck and plant a trail of little kisses up to her cheek. An idea sparked to life in her mind.
She turned to look at the Element of Honesty. "Hey AJ, wanna dance?"
"Ain't you worried about the other folks seeing?" As a reply, Dash stepped forward and kissed Applejack deeply, holding it for a few seconds. A couple of encouraging whistles resounded from nearby ponies. She was slightly breathless when they parted. "Ah'll take that as a no." She chuckled. "In that case, Ah'd love to dance with you."
They let the rhythm flow through their bodies and moved as one, each twist and turn a mirror of each other. Around them, some ponies watched with wide eyes. It was very clear that this was not a friendly dance. Dash made sure of that purely by giving very suggestive looks to her partner... which were returned with enthusiasm.
Some of the faces around them were frowning, but they were eclipsed by the overwhelming number of smiles. A few other couples had started dancing near them as well. Like a ripple on the surface of a pond, the reaction propagated outwards from them until pairs of every type danced joyously together. Familiar faces, all smiling, moved together to the music. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo partied amongst a group of other fillies, probably completely unaware of what was going on. Fluttershy was dancing nervously beside a very enthusiastic Twilight on the far side of the room, making Dash's chest fill with a warm feeling. Spike had somehow managed to get Rarity to dance with him alone, leaving a wall of suitors looking disappointed.
When Rainbow Dash looked around the room, she saw something beautiful. Because of this party, nopony would have to cry like she did. Nopony would have to suffer. The residents of Ponyville were making it abundantly clear in a huge show of understanding that everypony was accepted in their town.
The biggest grin she had ever worn adorned her lips as she looked back at Applejack, staring into the eyes of her marefriend.
And together they danced.
And together they were free.