//------------------------------// // Chapter 26: Promises Kept // Story: Green // by Steel Resolve //------------------------------// It had been a long night for Applejack. Much as she had enjoyed spending the night in Dash’s cloud home, she had decided it was not something she needed to repeat on a regular basis. In addition to being a blanket hog, Dash had a nasty tossing and turning habit she’d never shown in Applejack’s bed. The farmer was beginning to wonder if the problem might be that the cloud bed was too comfortable for the pegasus. It would explain why she seemed to rest so peacefully up in the branch of an apple tree, or in Applejack’s own bed. Applejack did love that bed — it had belonged to her Ma and Pa after all — but the years had not been kind to the mattress and it was now more lumps than softness. Of course, Dash could also be tossing in search of a specific lump. Either way, they would need to come up with a better solution for bedding in the future. So, after a very fitful night of dodging the speedster as she rolled, Applejack finally ended up giving up and going downstairs to make breakfast. Or rather, what passed for breakfast. Cereal, cereal, oatmeal... Poor Dash,I need to cook fer ya more!  She shoveled food into her mouth and eyed the rising sun. There was a lot to get done today, and applebucking was only the start of it. After finishing her breakfast, she snuck back up to Dash’s bedroom and kissed her marefriend goodbye. She'd leave Dash to nap; she had chores to do. It should have been a short flight home, and it would have been if AJ could have brought herself to leave Dash’s cloud. What she hadn’t counted on was just how high up Dash’s home was. Flying up here with her marefriend had been nothing. She always felt like she was flying when she was around the speedster, so doing it literally was no big deal. And when searching for Dash yesterday, she’d been far more focused on finding that telltale rainbow mane and tail than the height she was flying at. But eyeing the ground so far below now, she couldn’t quite work up the courage to do it. It felt too much like jumping off a cliff with nothing to catch her. She backed away from the edge of the cloud platform nervously. Maybe it would be best to wake Dash up, just in case these shimmery magic wings decided to up and poof on her halfway down to the ground. How long do these things last anyway? She thought about it, and realized she had no real idea. She didn’t recall Twilight mentioning how long the spell normally lasted. Rarity’s wings had burned up from catching too much sunlight, not from having worn off, so no help there. These wings seemed sturdy, but trusting her life to them seemed foolish in the cold light of the new day. She curiously reached to her side and ran a hoof along the edge of the wing. She didn’t feel it as a part of herself, but she could feel the feathers tickling her hoof. She would have felt better if they did feel like a part of her, then she might be able to trust them more. For all she knew, they could disappear any second— She galloped upstairs and jumped on top of Dash. Rainbow snorted under her, waking with a start. “Applejack? What are you— If you wanna mess around, that’s cool, but can I wake up first? You’re kinda heavy.” Applejack gingerly stepped down with a blush. “Ah’m sorry, sugarcube. It’s these things on my back. Ah tried to fly on home but... well, Ah don’t know when these things are gonna unravel on me and Ah figured if they disappear if Ah was on top of you at least Ah wouldn’t fall through your floor.” Dash stared at her incredulously, then started laughing her flank off. Applejack snorted in frustration, eyeing the “floor” in trepidation, as if it would give way if she didn’t watch it. “Tain’t funny, Dash! Ah ain’t no pegasus, without these things Ah’d just go right through—” Rainbow finally calmed down enough to talk. “AJ, I am soooo sorry. I should have explained a couple things about my house. You’ll be fine. A cloud home is not quite the same as a regular cloud. I mean, I keep stuff up here, you know? Like the dress Rare made me, and Tank. That propeller thingy gets a little uncomfortable for the poor guy to wear all the time. The floor and the furniture are all crafted with pegasus magic to be solid for anything... or anypony. Heck, I could have brought you up here anytime.” Applejack looked at her in confusion. “Wait... so why did we need that cloudwalking spell in Cloudsdale?” Rainbow grinned. She patted her bed fondly. “Because this stuff is not easy to make. Most of Cloudsdale is just regular clouds; no point in making it all solid, just the buildings and homes have to be. Everypony up there can fly, after all! I mean sure, the foals and old fogeys walk around, but they can walk on clouds, so no big deal, you know? Sorry, I didn’t even think to tell you...” Applejack chuckled slightly, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “All right, so I’ll be fine in here, that’s good to know. But Ah’d still be much obliged if you could help me get back down. Much as Ah loved joining you up here fer a spell, Ah still feel better with some solid ground under mah hooves.” Dash yawned and stretched all six of her limbs. “Sure, we can do that. I think I’m gonna catch a nap once we get to the farm though, I feel like I barely slept...” After finishing the morning chores, Applejack bucked Dash down from the tree she was napping in in order to head to Shy’s cottage with her. She gave a whistle for Winona, figuring the pup could get some playtime in while they tended to the animals’ needs. Rainbow pointed Tank in the direction of the cottage. The tortoise knew the way, as he often made his own way to Shy’s to visit his original caretaker. The cottage was abuzz with activity the moment they arrived, the animals amassing curiously around them. Within seconds Dash acquired a small entourage consisting of a bat, an eagle, a hawk and an owl. She grinned and flew a couple of laps around the yard with them. “Hey, guys, staying awesome?” The bat nuzzled her. Dash may not have chosen them as her pet, but that didn’t mean she didn’t visit whenever she came to see Shy. Applejack followed Dash’s flight in amusement. She could have joined them, but still preferred the comfort of the ground for the moment. Feeling a tap on her hind leg, she looked down to see what it was and discovered Angel looking up at her, motioning furiously. “Oh, hay there, little guy. Shy said she was gonna need to leave town a couple days and asked us to come by and check on y'all to make sure you get fed.” Angel nodded; he motioned for the earth pony to follow him inside, pointing towards his stomach piteously. “No worries, we’ll have you all tended to pretty quick. Lemme just check on these outside ones first.” She went back to pegasus watching. Angel stomped his foot in impatience. Applejack turned back to the rascally rabbit. What, you think that’s a tantrum? You ain’t got a thing on ‘Bloom. “Now look here little guy, Ah know you’re hungry, but we got a whole mess of critters out here who need food, too. Ah promise we won’t forget ya, okay?” Angel shook his head. This was not how it was supposed to go; he got fed first! He pointed to the kitchen again. “Enough of that! Ah know Shy favors ya, and she’ll be back soon enough to spoil ya rotten like she usually does. Ah ain’t her. Ah’ll take care of ya, but don’t expect me to mollycoddle ya. We clear, little guy?” The rabbit looked ready to protest further, but something in the orange mare’s tone and demeanor would not brook further argument. She was very unlike the yellow one and the fussy one. He had not had much occasion to interact with this mare, but she seemed competent, and smelled of hard work. He nodded slowly. This mare could be trusted. She might not cater to him the way the yellow one did, but she would tend to his needs. Applejack smiled, satisfied. She reached down with a forehoof and gently scratched between the rabbit’s ears. “Ah get it, little guy. You miss her. But we’ll get you all tended to. She’ll be back soon, shouldn’t be more than a couple days.” Angel huffed a sigh. He knew where she was going. She’d be back all right, and as usual she’d be traumatized. It happened every time that monster visited the yellow one’s home. “Good hanging with you guys, but I got chores to do.” Dash scuffed a hoof nervously along her scalp. The bat and owl looked forlorn; they were giving up sleep to fly with her. “Hey, don’t do that!” Dash looked around nervously. “Okay, fine!” She held out her hooves and they all crowded in for a group hug. “Shy better not tell me about the other animals calling me mushy though...” As she landed in front of Shy’s cottage, Applejack was just exiting, heading towards the main yard to the feeding shed. “AJ! You got things out here?” Applejack nodded to her in passing, heading for the chicken coop. “Yeah, you check on the ones inside. Shy left her list on the counter, so make sure you look it over.” “Got it!” Dash walked inside, looking for the list of carefully-penned instructions Fluttershy had left for them, only to find it absent. Instead the counter held a white bunny who was, at present, pointing to his mouth and pantomiming making a sandwich. “Yeah, yeah, in a bit, Angel. We have the whole house to tend to. Now where is that—” Dash spotted the poorly concealed list behind one of the birdhouses in the kitchen. She snatched it up and ignored the bunny as she read over the list, much to his annoyance. “Okay, so the mice need feed pellets... the birds have enough seed to last a week. Gotta check on their water, though. Change out the newspaper in the birdcage? Ewwww.” She wrinkled her nose in distaste. Angel fumed at the pegasus. It was bad enough his pony had abandoned him, but this one would be tending to him? The colorful one was ignoring him entirely! He decided it was time to take matters into his own paws. He was not going to be ignored any longer. Looking around, he noted a cup drying near the sink. He filled it with water, and threw it at the colorful one’s head. The cup flew true, miraculously not simply dumping water everywhere, but rather turning in a slow arc to empty itself right on top of her head. Rainbow blinked through her soaking mane, glancing down at the ruined paper in her hooves. The ink was smeared and had become largely unreadable. She turned, not quite sure how to react at first. Finally, the synapses finished connecting. “Angel! What the hay?!” The bunny laughed at her mockingly. Rainbow advanced on him with violent intent. Applejack’s voice came through the nearby window, halting Rainbow’s attack... for now. “Sugarcube? You okay in there? Ah heard a shout.” Rainbow growled at the rabbit maliciously, raising her voice in turn. “Just fine until this little pest dumped water all over me!” Applejack had finished tending to the chickens by this point, and while there were others to care for outside, she decided it would be best to go tend to this little tantrum next, before it escalated. As much as she loved Rainbow, the lack of younger siblings left the pegasus unprepared to handle things like this. Heh, better teach her sometime. What am Ah gonna do when it comes time to have a foal of our own?  That thought gave her pause. She wanted a little foal of their own someday, but how did Rainbow feel? Applejack decided it was a discussion they would need to have in the near future. She arrived to find a bunny and a pegasus glaring almost solid beams of hated at each other. Seeing Applejack, the bunny began furiously miming. Applejack quickly discerned this was, again, about Angel’s insistence on being served before all others. She stepped in between the two before Rainbow actually tried attacking the rabbit. “Angel, Ah told you we’d take care of all of y’all critters. Why are ya causing a fuss? Ah know we’re not going about it the same way Shy does, but we’ll still get it done.” Rainbow glared from behind Applejack. “Yeah, well, I’m gonna have trouble. Thanks to Mr. ‘I want my lunch now,’ Shy’s notes are ruined.” Angel scowled at both of them and leaped from the counter, running out of the door. Applejack followed his progress in bemusement. “Dunno how she puts up with that varmint.” She turned back to Dash, looking at the ruined notes.  “Well shoot, most of it’s just common sense anyhow. Ah do kinda wish we had ‘em now though. Truth is, Ah don’t have much of a clue what to feed a beaver. Do they eat wood?” Rainbow glanced down at the notes, trying to make some sense out of the smearing. “Shy says they eat... ‘bick?’” The farmer scratched the back of her head, squinting at the paper in hopes of getting it to make more sense. “Ah don’t think that’s what it says... Gonna guess that’s fish, then. Well, time to get a rod, Ah suppose. Think you can manage in here?” Rainbow scowled over the notes. As they were drying, it became easier to make out the letters. “Yeah, I should be okay now. Good luck. Try not to be too long.” Applejack gave one last look at the speedster, just a little worried. Was this what raising a foal with her was going to be like? Applejack shook the thoughts from her mind like she would rain from her coat. That’s just stinkin’ thinkin’. She’ll be fine. Even Shy has trouble with Angel... Besides, it’s not like either of our special talents has to be parenting for us to learn how to manage. Ma and Pa did just fine by me. We’ll just have to learn together. She nodded, satisfied for now. Pinkie put the wrench down, eyeing her party cannon with trepidation before moving to her workbench to get a power drill. The work area was strewn with half-finished projects and makeshift prototypes. She would have preferred to work on this particular project in her bedroom, but after having to dump Rocky outside for continually making snide remarks about her marefriend— “Ex-marefriend!” Rocky’s gravelly voice called out to her from the yard. “Shut up, Rocky!” “Sorry...” —she had decided to escape down to her workspace before Madam Leflour, too, weighed in on the breakup. She was trying to focus; she had to throw the best welcome-home party ever. As long as she kept focused, she could keep the bad thoughts at bay. But it was getting harder. She had loaded the streamers into the balloon shell, and filled the streamer shell with cake dough. Upstairs, poor Mrs. Cake was still trying to scrape the melted balloons out of the oven. Mr. Cake, meanwhile, was busy cleaning up the already-expended payload of the Party Cannon Mark II, which was going to have to be redesigned again. The cannon had fired just as intended, but the timing of the blast had been off, Pinkie believed, on the quantum level. A basic mistake. After its apparent failure, Pinkie had walked away, dejected, to double-check the design specs. Mr. Cake had opened the bakery five minutes later, and then it had happened. The entire bakery had been spontaneously covered in decorations, and nopony had had any idea where they had come from. This had caused a bit of a panic at first, until Mr. Cake quickly covered it up by explaining he was having a sale today. So, all in all, Pinkie was not having a good party-day. But she kept at it, because as long as she focused on the party, she didn’t have to think about how Twilight now hated her forever and how parties wouldn’t ever be fun again and why did she have to go and— She stopped and took a deep breath. The bad thoughts were not going to win; not on her watch! …Invitations! She needed to make invitations! The first pony to be invited was Twilight, of course— But what if she won’t come? She’s the guest of honor! You can’t welcome somepony home when they won’t come home! She might decide to stay there and just forget Ponyville. Oh no! I ruined Ponyville for Twilight! I should tell her it’s okay. I-I can go back to the rock farm! She doesn’t have to miss all of her other friends just because she hates me—  She bopped herself on the head, trying to dislodge the offending thoughts. “Stop it! She’ll come back. Rarity promised to bring her back!” Rarity promised to try. But Twilight didn’t promise anything, and Rarity won’t be able to keep her promise if Twilight won’t even talk to her.  Pinkie stomped a hoof in frustration. “She has to! She just has to! If she won’t talk to Rarity, how can I tell her that I’ll do anything to keep her? I’ll keep in character with the costumes if that’s what she needs. It’ll be okay! I just want her to be happy!” It’s too late. She’s gone, and you promised not to follow her. A promise is a promise.  Pinkie sobbed into the side of her cannon. A promise is a promise... “Pinkie?” Mrs. Cakes voice floated down to her from the door at the top of the stairs. “I think we could use your help up here. Be a dear and watch the twins for a while, won’t you?” Pinkie raised her head, wiping the tears from her eyes as best as she could. The twins, right. Not everypony’s life is falling apart. “Coming, Mrs. Cake...” Returning triumphantly with a basket full of fish that she had no earthly clue what she was going to do with, and sans a pair of magic wings which were apparently not waterproof, Applejack stepped into mayhem. The mayhem in question was what appeared to be an animal civil war. On one side was Rainbow, flanked valiantly by Winona, Opalescence and Tank, who served as a first line of defense. In the little airspace available, air support was being provided by the selfsame hawk, eagle, owl and bat that Dash had been flying with earlier. On the other side was every other animal she had ever seen in Fluttershy's cottage, ranging in size from a family of mice and assorted birds, to Angel, to Harry the bear. “What in tarnation?!” All eyes turned to her, and suddenly a chorus of roars, chirps, and other animal noises all created a cacophony of noise in her general direction. "Everypony simmer down right now!" She stamped a hoof, and suddenly silence reigned. “Would somepony care to explain?” “I don’t know! They all just went nuts!” Rainbow paused for a moment, noticing something missing about her marefriend. “Hey, where did the wings go?” Applejack motioned for her to get on with it. “Fell in the river, they melted. Now will you please tell me what this is about?” “I tried to follow the instructions and then he," Dash thrust a hoof in Angels direction, "said something to them and they all went mad!" Dash's wings quivered in agitation as she continued, "I threw him out, but he came back with that bear and started demanding sandwiches—" Harry roared in protest. “Hey, no offense, big guy, but you did come in and start roaring at me.” The bear quieted, looking abashed. “No hard feelings, Harry. We’re still cool.” Applejack sighed heavily. Oh mah dear Celestia... Dashie, what am Ah gonna do with you? The critters around her were beginning to stir discontentedly again, but she stomped a hoof and they quieted once more. “Okay, Harry,” she nodded to the basket at her side, “this here is for you. All Ah ask is that ya keep that there bunny occupied while Ah straighten this out. Sound good?” The bear sniffed the air and found the scent of fresh fish on the wind. He nodded, scooping the struggling bunny up in his paws. “The rest of ya hush up and Ah’ll get ya sorted in due time. Dash, Ah think maybe you might wanna scoot for a bit.” “But AJ—” “‘But’ nothing. Look, this ain’t yer fault; not like you got butterflies on yer flank, nopony expects you to know how to take care of these critters.” She pointed Harry in the direction of the door and walked over to the feeding cabinet. “Ah may not be Shy, but Ah know how to tend to animals on mah farm, at least. Ah can handle things here. Why don’t you head on down to Sugarcube Corner, get us some lunch for after Ah finish here?” Dash nodded, finally dropping her defensive posture when it looked like her marefriend had all the animals following the rules. “All right, AJ...”   “Thanks for trying... But I’m just not feeling very smiley right now,” Pinkie said to the Cake twins as they tried yet again to make her laugh. Pumpkin gave one last halfhearted swing at her brother with the rubber chicken, then dropped it, looking to him for guidance. By mutual consent, they both crowded into her lap and hugged her. Pinkie nuzzled the tops of their heads fondly. “Aww, I love you guys too.” Pound looked up at her, concern showing in his eyes. “No, I’m fine. Just kinda sad.” Pumpkin looked at her doubtfully. She pointed up at her horn, then at Pinkie. “Twilight just left for a little while. She’ll be back soon. You’ll see. She needed to get away from Ponyville for a while.” The twins gave each other a look, and hugged her harder. “T-thanks, but I’m really okay.” “Pinkie?” Mrs. Cake’s voice came from downstairs. Pinkie could hear a curious tone in her voice. It was one she usually reserved for when one of the twins were sick. She’s worried about me. I need to pretend better.  “Yes, Mrs. Cake?” She called down in the most cheerful tone she could manage. “One of your friends is here. Why don’t you let me watch the twins for a bit while you two talk. Would that be okay?” “Hey Pinks! Got a sec?” “Dashie!” She scrambled to her hooves, calling downstairs to answer. “Are you sure you’re okay without me watching them for now?” Pinkie could hear Mrs. Cake climbing the stairs as she replied, “The lunch rush is over, so go ahead and take some time for yourself. We’ll be fine.” Pinkie nodded to nopony in particular and scooped the twins up, passing them to Mrs. Cake. She kissed the twins on their foreheads. “Thanks again, guys!” “Pinks? You okay?” Rainbow looked at her friend in concern. Over the years she had seen many sides of Pinkie. While this was hardly the lowest she had seen Pinkie’s mood dip, there was something off about her friend. The only thing keeping Rainbow from outright panic was that her friend’s hair was still bouncy, as a limp mane was usually the indicator that things had gotten as bad as could be imagined. “Just super, Dashie! Any day is a great day when my friends visit!” Geez, lay it on a little thicker, Pinks. “Okay... then maybe you could explain why that bag of flour has a gag on it?” “Because she needed a timeout,” Pinkie said with a grunt of frustration, her earlier cheerful expression darkening. “Pinks... spill it. Something’s up.” “I-I’m fine. Just a little tired, that’s all.” Pinkie flashed her an unconvincing smile. Pinkie had a wide arsenal of smiles for various occasions; this was not one of the better ones. “Tired,” Dash replied in a deadpan voice. “Pinks, you don’t get tired. Other ponies get tired, hay, I get tired. You’re still bouncing around and singing while everypony else is sitting in the corner half-dead. Try again. We didn’t forget your birthday, did we?” She paused. “Or maybe my birthday? Did I miss an invitation?” Pinkie cracked her smallest real smile at that. “Thanks for caring, Dashie. But I promised. I can’t tell you.” Dash stared at her incredulously. “Okay... not party related. Did somepony hurt your feelings?” Pinkie flinched, but shook her head quickly. “That’s it, isn’t it?” Rainbow cracked her hooves menacingly. “That’s okay, just tell me where I can find them. I’ll make sure they never do it again.” “Dashie!” Pinkie held up her hooves in a placating gesture. “Please, don’t. I’m sure she didn’t mean to.” “So it’s a mare! What did you promise her?” “N-no! It’s not— I mean yes, but no...” “What kind of friend would ask you to keep that kind of secret? Not one worth having.” Pinkie looked on the verge of tears. “Don’t say that! Not you too!” She flung herself at Rainbow and hugged her desperately. “Not you too... Please no.” Dash looked down at Pinkie, her anger ebbing, but her confusion only mounting. She reached a hoof up to Pinkie’s mane and carefully stroked it. “Pinks, p-please let me help. You’re scaring me.” Pinkie buried her face into Dash’s pelt. “Don’t hate her. Please don’t hate her.” “Hate who? Just tell me.” “I can’t! She made me promise I wouldn't tell anypony until she was ready.” “Who? Why would you promise something like that?” Rainbow tilted Pinkie’s head up to look her in the eyes. “Just... can’t you tell me anything? I don’t like seeing you like this.” Pinkie shook her head. “A promise is a promise. I still— She’ll be back. It’ll be okay when she’s back. But I have to have the party ready! She’s the guest of honor!” “When she’s back? Rarity, or Fluttershy?” “Them too!” “Wait, Twilight?!” Dash pried Pinkie away from her midsection and held the earth pony’s face in her hooves. “You’re going to tell me what she did right now!” “She didn’t do anything! It’s just a big misunderstanding. She didn’t do it right! She was supposed to ask me out again, but she ran away instead! I have to wait, and have the party ready, and then everything will be okay again!” Dash was physically restraining herself from shaking her friend. “What party?” “Her welcome-home party!” Rainbow mulled all of this over in her head. “Twilight broke up with you, and ran away...” “No! Nononono, that’s not right! S-she was just confused!” Pinkie slipped through Dash’s grip and clutched Rainbow harder than ever. “I can’t tell you any of this, she made me promise!” Rainbow shook her head. “Pinks, if she made you promise not to say you’re dating... If she broke up with you there’s nothing left to keep secret—” “No! It’s not like that! Please don’t say that...” She wept into her friend’s chest. “I just have to have the party ready. I promised Rarity I would stay here, and she’ll bring her back.” Rainbow just held her for a while. She wasn’t very good with this, but if Pinkie needed somepony’s shoulder to cry on, that was okay. They stayed like that for a while, Pinkie slowly calming down. Rainbow finally dared to try to speak to her again. “Okay, so nopony is supposed to know you were—” “Are.”  “—are dating. But I know now, so can you please talk to me?” Pinkie didn’t answer for some time. “I messed it all up. We were playing pirate captain and peasant girl and I couldn’t—” Rainbow interrupted her before she got too deeply into that description. “She broke up with you over some game?” Pinkie nodded. “It’s a special game. We dress up and act like somepony else. The pirate captain captures the peasant maiden’s ship, and then she’s his—” Rainbow blushed heavily. “Whoa! Um... let’s back that up a couple steps. What’ve you two been up to?” She listened while Pinkie explained, her blush only getting worse by the moment. “Oh, Pinks. I’m so sorry...” Pinkie snuffled into Dash’s mane. She’d gotten to the sad part, and needed another hug. “It’s not your fault, Dashie. I messed up, not you.” “Stop that! Pinks, those games sound fun but there is nothing wrong with wanting to be you for a change. You love her, and you want to be with her, not somepony else.” “I don’t mind, really! I’ll play whatever games she wants if she’ll just come back...” Dash held Pinkie’s shoulders and stared her straight in the eye. “If she loves you, she should understand what you need from her. I dunno what I would do if AJ wouldn’t have me as me. I mean, I would start to wonder if she loved me at all.” Pinkie shook her head. “I know she loves me. It’s not more important than being with her. She never could... She always needed to be somepony else. She got all nervous when we tried without them. It made her so frustrated, and I just wanted her to be happy. And we were happy... until I found out we could be happier. And suddenly what we had wasn’t enough anymore. But we had enough!” She smacked a hoof into the pad of her other hoof for emphasis. “It was enough...” Rainbow looked at her sadly. “Pinks, love doesn’t settle for second best. Love wins. If you love her, really love her, then you should take what you want.” Pinkie had no response at first. “I wanted to be with her as me... but it’s not like I was missing much. I mean, we kissed as us, and we snuggled as us. It was just... that one little thing. It seemed so important then. And now she’s gone. And I don’t care anymore.” Dash had to strain her ears for the rest of the sentence as Pinkie imitated Fluttershy. “I just want her to come back.” Dash enfolded Pinkie in her wings. “She’ll be back. How could she stay away from somepony as awesome as you?” Outwardly, Dash was trying to be comforting, but inwardly she seethed with raw anger. She’d thought Pinkie had seemed unusually happy lately, even for her. Now she knew why. To finally have a special somepony, only to lose them because of something so minor... it was cruel. Pinkie didn’t deserve this. The feathering problem was she couldn’t really be mad at Twilight. From what Pinks had described, Twilight hadn’t left her to hurt her. She’d left because she was convinced she was already hurting her. Full points for loyalty there, that had to be tough to do, but minus several million for lack of common sense. Rainbow didn’t get it; it had been pretty easy for Applejack and her. Sure, they’d had that rough period when Dash hadn’t wanted to come out and say it. Leaving notes had just seemed the best way to express her feelings when she hadn’t yet been able to work up the courage to tell AJ directly. I wonder... was that why Twi suggested that?  She is kind of a nerd. For her to suggest that Pinkie have casual sex with her seems off... Then again, it is always the quiet ones... and the crazy ones...  “Okay, so she’s coming back... what’re you gonna do when she gets here?” “I’m gonna throw her the biggest and bestest party ever. Then I’m gonna tell her I’ll be happy no matter what as long as she stays with me!” The imagined scene seemed to brighten Pinkie’s expression by several degrees. Rainbow facehoofed. “So you’re gonna pretend to be happy?” “Well, yeah. She left because I wasn’t good enough at pretending to be happy, tha—” Rainbow covered Pinkie’s mouth with a hoof. “That’s not why. Pinks, Twi wouldn’t leave you over a s-sexytime argument. From what Shy said, she was convinced you were miserable around her. If you want her back you need to show her what will make you happy! When she gets home you take her face in your hooves,” Rainbow took Pinkie’s face in her own, “you pucker up,” Rainbow puckered her lips, “and you kiss her good and hard like you mean it.” She then pressed her lips firmly to Pinkie’s. Pinkie seemed uncertain at first, then she kissed back with equal pressure. Dash broke the kiss, smiling and panting slightly. “Then you tell her you want her to meet you upstairs.” “B-but we’re already upstairs, Dashie...” came the breathless reply. “Even better—” Dashie stopped her tirade suddenly as the implications hit her, her wings spreading out with an audible fwoomp. Ohmygosh I just...  “Sorry Pinks, I-I got carried away. I really shouldn’t—” “S-so what then? That’s usually when we get dressed up...” “T-then you make love... you know...” “Um... we usually do a lot of giggling and touching and kissing...” What’s that on my— “R-right...” “It makes me happy, and it makes her happy...” She’s touching them! “Pinks?” “Yeah?” “Y-you’re touching my wings.” Pinkie looked down at her hooves, which were indeed caressing Dash’s wings. She dropped them down to the floor and took a couple of steps back. “Sorry! Twilight doesn’t have those, and I was thinking about how soft they must be and how I wanted to... sorry...” Rainbow took a moment to calm down and get her wings under control. “It’s cool. I got wrapped up in the moment too." She looked around nervously; this had very quickly gone too far. I almost... Oh, AJ is gonna kill me.  "I need to go, AJ is expecting me. I-I’ll be back later.” Pinkie nodded, the ghost of a smile she had been wearing a second ago now dropping back into a frown. “Sorry I made you uncomfortable. I didn't mean to— I-I get kinda hoofsy sometimes...” Rainbow stepped forward and hugged her. “No, Pinks. It’s all right. Seriously. But I promised Applejack I would get lunch, she needs my help.” She paused, hesitating, then quickly kissed Pinkie again on the lips. “I'll be back after I talk with AJ, okay?” Pinkie nodded sadly. “You promise? Please promise.” “Pinkie Promise. I will, soon. Don’t beat yourself up, Pinks. Okay?” “Okay.” Dash took her bags from Mrs. Cake with a nod of thanks. She fairly galloped out of the door, and was airborne the moment she hit open sky. The whole flight to Shy’s cottage was plagued with self-recrimination. Why did I do that? I almost did it. Another second and I would have laid her out on the bed and showed her how it was done, just to see her smile again.  That was what hurt the worst. Applejack had not been at the forefront of her mind then. The sight of Pinkie looking sad had crushed her. The idea that her marefriend had only been an afterthought in the wake of nearly cheating on her— But I didn’t! That’s what counts, right?  Suuuuure it does. Cheating is always okay as long as you stop with the wings.  She winced. It’s not like I would have done it for me, it would have been to help Pinkie!  Uhuh; and the way her hooves felt, that didn’t do anything for you, did it?  She arrived at the cottage a few moments later, finding all the animals content and happy. Angel had been let back into the cottage, and was even now enjoying his sandwich. Applejack, meanwhile, was kicking back on Shy’s couch with her hat tilted forward to block the light. She lifted the brim as Dash came in. “Bout time you got back. Was beginning to worry about ya.” The pegasus winced. “Worried? Nah, I was fine.” Applejack chuckled and stood up, walking over to Dash to embrace her. “Ah don’t mean like that. Ah figured you jes’ decided to grab a nap or work on a trick or something.” Dash cringed. That accusation hit pretty close to home, even if she knew Applejack was just picking on her. “AJ... I was talking to Pinkie.” The farmpony raised an eyebrow curiously. “Oh? How’s she doing?” Rainbow’s ears flattened to her skull. “Not good. Apparently she and Twi had a thing going... not quite dating, but a whole lotta playtime, if you get me. But Twi broke it off and left town.” “Wait... Who? Playtime? Where did Twi go?” “Later! I gotta... tell you something.” Applejack clutched the brim of her hat in both hooves and brought it down to her chest. “Sugarcube, you’re looking like you just stole a barrel of cider right out from under mah nose.” Dash bowed her head guiltily. "I bucked up, AJ...” “Bucked up? How?” Applejack scratched her head in increased agitation. “What’s that gotta do with Pinkie and Twi?” Rainbow wrung her hooves together nervously. “I was talking to Pinkie... I never told you, but I saw her in a really bad place once and I couldn't stand seeing her like that again." “Okay, so Pinkie was down; why would Ah be upset with you for trying to cheer her up?” Rainbow took a deep breath, and the words came tumbling out in a rush. “It’s what I did while I was trying to cheer her up... I swear, I never meant for it to happen, AJ!” Applejack gave her a confused look, though it felt like the world grew darker and colder to the farmer.  "What'd you do?" she asked in something approaching her normal no-nonsense manner, but there was a quiver in her voice that would have been missed by anypony that hadn’t been her marefriend for a while. Rainbow let out a choked-sounding laugh. It just slipped out in a moment of hysteria. "Y-you know how I talk with my hooves sometimes? I-I kind of talked with my lips too. And then she had her hooves on my wings—" Applejack sat down heavily, eyes downcast and taking deep breaths. “Yer... lips...” "I'm sorry, AJ! I didn't— I mean, I stopped before it got any further, but..." Dash moved forward and sat down in front of her marefriend. "She was— is so sad, AJ..." Applejack just shook her head. “Ah can’t believe it. Why?” She looked up at Dash, anger and hurt warring in her eyes, accompanied by something a pony didn’t see very often on Applejack’s face: fresh tears. “Was Ah not enough for ya? You gotta go off and be Pinkie’s rebound? If ya wanted to break it off this is a f-feathered up way to tell a girl!” “No! I don’t want that, I just... that’s why I came to tell you. I love you, AJ. It just hurt seeing her like that! I got a little into it when I was trying to tell her how to get Twi back, and then I noticed what she was doing and I asked her to stop!” “At least yer bein’ honest...” She paused, wearily wiping the tears from her eyes. She cocked her head to the side slightly as a thought occured. “Back up a tick. How exactly was this gonna help her get Twi?” Dash cleared her throat and took a deep breath; this was going to take a while. “Well, it’s like this...” “Huh... So they were fooling around, but not datin’? Ugh, cousin Braeburn does that too, leaves a big ol’ string of broken hearts behind ‘im...” “Well, they were trying to make it work, but you know Twi. If it’s not laid out in step-by-step instructions she goes nuts trying to figure it out.” “So what did ya have in mind, then? Wanna give Pinkie a little hooves-on experience?” Applejack asked, a little venom in her tone. Dash looked up as if Applejack had slapped her. “N-no! That’s— I-I mean... that’s what I was trying to stop!” Applejack nodded, pleased with Dash’s response, but it hurt her heart to see Dash flinch like that. “Ah get it, Dash. You were tryin’ to be loyal, you just slipped. Ah forgive ya, sugarcube. If ya really wanna keep feeling guilty ya can make it up to me somehow, Ah’ll let you decide just how guilty ya feel.” She winked, bringing a purple hue to her marefriend’s face. “But Pinkie needs some help, right? She wants to be with Twi for real, no games, no playing around. But she’s not quite sure how to do that without playing at being somepony else, is she?” “She did seem pretty clueless. Didn’t even seem to realize she was stroking my wings.” Dash kept her eyes downcast when mentioning that again, not quite able to face Applejack. Although she wanted to keep Dash on her toes to prevent this from ever happening again, Applejack could easily see how it had happened now. The fact was that both Dash and Pinkie were pretty physical. She appreciated that in her marefriend, but had never expected to have to deal with that from Pinkie. Now she was in a bit of pickle. On the one hoof, Dash had screwed up. She knew it, and Applejack knew it. On the other hoof, Dash hadn’t tried to hide what she’d done.  She’d owned up to her mistake. Hadn’t lied, hadn’t tried to keep it secret. That counted for a lot in Applejack’s eyes. Pinkie sure as hay would have kept that secret if she was asked, but Dash cared enough to tell her, even knowing it would upset her. It didn’t make it okay, but it put their relationship back on solid footing in her mind again, for the most part. The real question now was: what to do about Pinkie? She could forgive Dash her slip, and even Pinkie for reciprocating, but their friend still needed a very special kind of help. Time to put up or shut up. You gonna be a good friend or not?  “Okay.” Dash looked up in surprise. “Okay what?” “Okay, let’s help her.” “What—” Applejack leveled her eyes at her startled and apparently oblivious marefriend. “Sugarcube, do Ah need to spell it out? Little miss Pinkie needs a proper lesson in how take care of her marefriend. Ah ain’t sayin Ah want to have her join us on a permanent basis, but if she needs help, what kind of friends are we not to pitch in?” “I-is that okay? I mean—” “There’s two votes in this relationship that count. Ah vote we help the little missie learn how to win Twi back. What’s your vote?” “I want to help her! But I mean... hooves-on? You sure, AJ?” Despite herself, Dash’s wings rose to the occasion. The farmpony chuckled knowingly. “Don’t go getting your hopes up, lovergirl. Ah just mean we could sit her down and talk her through some things her ma and pa should have gone over. Maybe even have her watch us. We’ll play it by ear.” Dash hugged her suddenly. “I have the most awesome marefriend in the world!” Applejack hugged her back. “Darn right you do, and you better not forget it. But, uh...” She looked really embarrassed for a moment, causing Dash to cock her head curiously. “Dash, Ah gotta take care of something real quick before we talk with Pinkie. Gotta get my head straight again.” “Uh...” “Look, it’s just tit for tat. Ah’ll explain later.” “O-okay.” Pinkie Pie lay on her bed, trying not to be sad. Her friends wouldn’t like seeing her that way. Dashie had left her some time ago; she had said everything was okay, but Pinkie could tell she’d messed up again. She hadn’t meant to do it, but when Dashie kissed her, it was the exact way she’d always wanted to be kissed. She could feel how much Dashie cared about her, how she trembled just a little because she was worried about her. And then Dashie had said they should go upstairs. She was asking Pinkie, not some imaginary knight or peasant girl on a pirate ship. Well, maybe not really, but it had felt so real. So real she’d forgotten it wasn’t supposed to be happening, and then her hooves had just started moving on their own. Twilight had never minded when Pinkie was being grabby— she’d laugh and grab back, then they would kiss and snuggle and go to the costume closet. Rarity had minded. She had acted like Pinkie had done something bad. Dashie had minded too... She sighed heavily. Stupid Pinkie Pie... You’re gonna drive all your friends away. If she hadn’t already. Rarity and Fluttershy were both gone now. Twilight was gone, Dashie had just run away... And if Dashie got in trouble with Applejack then Applejack would hate her, too. There was a quiet knock on her door. “Pinks? Got a sec?” “Dashie!” She leapt up and opened the door. Dashie had come back! But the pony standing next to her gave Pinkie pause. “Applejack!” She got down on her knees and looked up at the farmpony pleadingly. “Pleeease don’t be mad at Dashie, she was talking to me and I got all hoofsy and it wasn’t her fault and—” Her words were cut off by Applejack’s lips. The kiss was gentle, but firm. It was so different from Dashie’s, but it still felt nice. Pinkie leaned into the kiss, unsure of what was going on, but happy nonetheless. She looked up in confusion after the contact was broken. At least Applejack wasn’t mad, but now she wasn’t sure what was happening at all. “Applejack?” Pinkie glanced at Dash and saw she was blushing furiously, looking like she’d just had an argument with a thundercloud. Every pinion was extended to its fullest length. “Dashie?” Pinkie turned back to Applejack. She didn’t say anything more, but her look of confusion and delight made the farmpony laugh lightly. She smiled, trying to show Pinkie she wasn’t upset. “Jes’ retrieving what’s mine, sugarcube.“ “D-does this mean you’re not gonna be mad at Dashie?”   Applejack laid a foreleg around Pinkie’s neck and pulled her close.  “Look, Ah can forgive you and Dash, but there’s a tradition in mah family about theft.” She kissed Pinkie softly on the cheek, then softly nuzzled her neck, making her giggle. ”It dates back longer than any of us can remember.” Pinkie blushed again, feeling Applejack’s hot breath on her neck as the farmer talked. “Before we let bygones be bygones, we gotta get back what’s ours, don't matter what it is.”  She gave Pinkie one last kiss on the lips and helped her to her hooves, leading her to her bed. ”Sit a spell, we wanna talk to you about a couple’a things.” “O-okie dokie...” A few moments later, Applejack barked in irritation. “Dash! Snap out of it, girl!” Rainbow blinked, looked at Pinkie and Applejack snuggled together on the bed, and had to force her wings down. “Sorry, AJ!”