Applejack left Twilight’s room in a daze, making sure to close the door quietly so she did not disturb the mage’s rest. Maybe, she thought, that she was being too accommodating to Twilight Sparkle. The mage had admitted to being a murderer whose actions were sanctioned by the ruler of Equestria! Applejack shook her head.
Twilight was no murderer. She was a victim of her surroundings. Who could say what sort of vile practices happened in the capital? Twilight’s actions could have saved Equestria, gruesome that they were. Applejack looked at the closed door behind her and frowned. Try as she might to justify Twilight’s actions, the ranger knew that she could never be certain without directly confronting her. But was the ranger any better?
Applejack idly rested a hand on the top of her axe. There had been times where she had been forced to take a life of another person. When those times had happened, did she not tell herself that she was not at fault? That the other person had to be dealt with for the greater good? Was there any difference between the rough bandits that she had dispatched and the carriage riding nobles Twilight went after?
The ranger sighed and made her way down the stairs. Why was she even arguing with herself? She had already forgiven Twilight. The tears drying on her shoulder were the only proof she needed.
Rainbow Dash was waiting outside. The fighter’s face was set in a scowl, her arms crossed and fists clenched. When she saw the ranger, she yelled, “It’s about time you came out!”
Applejack’s head shot up in surprise. She looked the fighter over before settling on a scowl. “What do you want now?”
“I’ve got a bone to pick with you!”
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” The ranger drawled.
The fighter stomped across the street, each step loud enough to make her armor clatter. “You got in my way,” Dash hissed.
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Got in your way? All I saw was you yelling your head off.”
“I was trying to save everyone, which is something that you obviously don’t care about.” The fighter emphasized her point by jabbing a finger into Applejack’s shoulder. “Whose side are you on, anyway? Ever since that mage showed up, you’ve been spending a lot of time with her. Did she cast some sort of spell on you? And what’s with your shoulder?”
The ranger rubbed her eye and could not stop herself from groaning. “Rainbow Dash, if I wanted to hear a bunch of questions, I would have found my sister and her friends. Maybe if your head wasn’t thicker than that stupid helmet, you’d notice how dumb you’ve been acting.”
Dash acted as if she had been struck. “Hey, if anyone’s being dumb, it’s you!”
“Fluttershy told me all about your morning visit. You thought Twilight was holding some sort of ‘important’ information from you. You’ve only been looking out for yourself, Dash. Twilight didn’t need an interrogator. She needed a friend.”
Dash blinked. Applejack wondered how much thought the fighter had put into the whole situation before finding a conclusion that suited her. Dash crossed her arms again and asked, “Yeah? A friend for what?”
Applejack breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought she would never see the day where Rainbow Dash would listen to reason. “She’s had some upsetting business to take care of. I see that look in your eye, Dash, but Twi’s already done with it. We aren’t in any danger or anything.”
Dash looked over Applejack’s shoulder. She was quiet for longer than the ranger would have liked. In her irrational state, what could the fighter be planning? Dash took a deep breath and turned her gaze to the ranger.
“Y’know, that’s all fine and dandy,” the fighter said, “but I still have a bone to pick with you.”
Now it was Applejack’s turn to blink. “What do you—”
The ranger was cut-off when Rainbow threw a vicious punch at her face. Applejack jerked her head out of the way, too shocked to feel angry.
“You’ve been getting away with a lot of shit lately, AJ,” Rainbow spat. “You gave me a pretty good hit at the tavern a few weeks ago and now you threw me out of the library. Hell, you should’ve seen this coming a mile away!” Rainbow threw another punch, which Applejack managed to step away from.
“And what is attacking me going to solve?” Applejack shouted.
“Nothing! But it’ll make me feel a hell of a lot better!” Rainbow’s fist flew towards Applejack’s face again, forcing the ranger to block. The black iron gauntlet slammed into leather sleeves. Applejack gritted her teeth and pushed back, leaving the fighter’s torso open to a kick.
The blow sent a shockwave up Applejack’s leg. Rainbow coughed once, but she brushed the kick off. “That all you got?”
“Why don’t you take that armor off and make it a clean fight.” Applejack kept her fists raised. She knew that the fighter wouldn’t take her armor off, but it was worth a shot. She had to do something to turn the tides. Her forearms still hurt and her leg was tingling, but Dash still stood unharmed.
Just as Applejack was about to make her next move, a blue aura encased her hands and feet. The shock and surprise of suddenly being unable to move passed quickly, as she saw that Rainbow was in the same situation. The fighter still had some unspent bloodlust in her eyes.
“I think that is quite enough, don’t you think?” Rarity asked.
“Let me go,” Rainbow slowly said.
Rarity made a show of thinking. “No, that simply won’t do,” she said, getting a groan from the fighter.
“What do you want, Rarity?” Applejack asked.
“I want a lot of things, Applejack,” Rarity said, standing evenly between the two. “But right now, I want you two to stop attacking each other like a couple of churls. Last I heard, you two are friends and there was a little misunderstanding between you. Certainly nothing to come to blows over, I’m sure.”
“You don’t understand!” Rainbow yelled, only to have a blue aura cover her mouth.
“I should do that more often,” Rarity said with a small grin.
“You do know what was going on, right?” Applejack asked.
Rarity looked at the ranger. “Of course I do. Spike came by my shop after he saw you and told me the whole story. Well, not the whole story, of course. I don’t know what was in that letter, but I’m sure it was nothing important.”
Applejack thought back to Twilight’s tear-filled confession and could still feel the dampness on her shoulder. “It actually kind of was,” she said.
Rarity perked up at that. “So Twilight told you what the letter was about?”
“She did.”
“Was it anything as outrageous as what was going through Rainbow Dash’s head?”
Applejack bit her lip and looked between her friends. She couldn’t tell them everything. Twilight would have to do that. Instead, she shook her head and said, “No.”
“Then it’s settled,” Rarity said, letting her magic fall from their limbs.
Rainbow wasted no time in stomping toward Rarity. “What was that all about?” she hollered.
“Don’t make me do it again. You’re already giving me a headache.” Rarity theatrically put a hand against her temple. “Besides, don’t you have something more important to say to someone else?” Rarity asked, turning toward Applejack in a sign so obvious that even Dash would understand.
Dash sighed and followed Rarity’s gaze. Applejack was already walking toward the two.
“Hey,” Applejack said, “no hard feelings.”
“No hard feelings,” Dash repeated. At the same time, the two removed their gloves, spat into their palms, and shook. Neither paid attention to Rarity’s disgusted shriek. “See you at the tavern later?”
Applejack’s eyes flickered to the library’s window. “Sounds like a plan. I’m gonna leave you with Rarity for a while. I got something to check on.” Applejack slapped Rainbow on the shoulder and turned toward the library. Behind her back, she heard Rarity give a sigh.
“Why am I the one being punished? I broke up the fight.”
“Hey, it’s not every day you get to be around me. You should be thankful."