//------------------------------//
// Residence 
// Story: 6 Months, Several Eternities 
// by TheRainbowEffect 
//------------------------------//

She was running. Her hooves pounded against the cold tile floor. She had to escape, that much she knew. Her adrenaline pumped as a sweat came from her body and was absorbed by her cyan coat. She rounded a corner as she ran. They were after her. She had yet to tire, as the adrenaline rush mingled with fear to keep her going. She rounded another corner and there she saw her chance. It was an open window, her chance for escape. She ran toward the opening. She was close to the window and she jumped at it and tried to snap her wings open. Her muscles didn't obey. Instead she crashed into the wall and lay there as the menacing doctors rounded the corner, one with a hacksaw in his mouth. They walked closer and she began to panic.
"Restrain her, boys."
At the word of the hacksaw-armed doctor, the other two went to Dash and picked her up, pinning her, stomach to the wall. The lead doctor walked up and put the hacksaw into the crook of his right foreleg and placed it at the base of Dash's right wing.
"This'll only hurt a little...," the doctor said menacingly as he positioned the saw.

Rainbow Dash sat bolt upright in bed and let out a yell. Sweat was all over her coat and she was shaking really badly. It was the middle of the night. She had had a nightmare. She was scared, even though it had only been a nightmare. It had seemed so real. She looked to her sides. The cast was still there, and would be for a while, but to her relief, so were her wings underneath. 
Applejack came pounding in, looking frantic.
"What is it, Rainbow Dash?"
"I," started Rainbow Dash, realizing how stupid this might sound, "Had a nightmare...."
"A nightmare?"
"Yeah, it sounds kinda stupid..."
"Naw, Ah know how it is. Ya wanna talk about it? Sometimes nightmares aren't as scary when you explain them to somepony."
"Well, sure... so I was running through the halls of a hospital," Rainbow Dash began, "and I was running to escape. I saw a window, and tried to fly out, but my wings wouldn't work. Then, these doctors came up to me, two pinned me to the wall, stomach to the wall, and the third was going to cut off my wings with a hacksaw, but then I woke up," she finished.
Applejack was stunned for a moment, but then spoke.
"Ah see... that is frightenin'," she admitted.
Rainbow Dash, still shaking, said, "It seemed so real..."
"Ah'm sure."
"I suppose I'll be alright, you can go to bed now."
"Alright, Ah suppose ah will."
Applejack turned to walk towards the door.
The doctor dragged the saw across the base of her wings.
"Applejack!"
Applejack turned abruptly and asked, "What is it?"
"S-Stay here."
"You just said ah could leave."
"I changed my mind."
"Well, which is it? Leave or stay?"
"Stay. Please stay. I'm still scared."
"Look, it's just a nightmare, go back to sleep."
She once more started to walk from the room.
Rainbow Dash struggled, but the doctors kept her in place as blood started to come from the wound.
Rainbow Dash shook once more, forcing the image out.
"It's more than a nightmare. It won't leave me alone."
Applejack turned back to face Dash.
“What do you mean?” 
“Whenever you start to leave, the nightmare returns. The saw’s cutting into my wings, blood coming out, and pain forcing its terrible path through my body.”
As Rainbow Dash said the words, a fear spread through her. A horrified stare crossed her face.
“Rainbow Dash? Are ya alright?”
“No…”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m… still scared. Applejack, can I ask you a favor?”
“What is it?”
“Can you sleep with me tonight?”
“Well, that’d be a little weird, wouldn’t it?”
“Please? I won’t be able to sleep tonight otherwise.”
“Well, I suppose for you I can do that.”
“Well, thanks, Applejack. I can always count on you.”
Applejack gave a chuckle and said, “You’re supposed to be the Element of Loyalty.”
“Maybe I am, but I feel like you’re more loyal than I am.”
“Nah, you just don’t realize that you are.”
Applejack climbed in the bed, in front of Dash so as to not hurt the cyan pony’s wings. The nightmare vanished from Dash’s head as Applejack settled herself. A smile crossed Rainbow Dash’s face as a warm feeling spread throughout her body. Rainbow Dash nuzzled up against Applejack as Applejack drifted off to sleep, still tired. Rainbow Dash had to silently chuckle, Applejack was in bed with her. The two did seem to butt heads a lot, but Rainbow Dash was more than grateful to have Applejack as a friend. Without knowing what possessed her to do so, Rainbow Dash silently wrapped her hooves around the sleeping earth pony. A light blush appeared on her face, and she didn’t quite know why, but she smiled and soon drifted off to sleep.


Applejack woke up the next morning to realize there was warmth pressed against her back that was Rainbow Dash. Applejack didn’t think much about it, passing it off as sleep movement, until she realized there were cyan hooves wrapped around her torso. Applejack looked behind her and there was Dash, nuzzled against Applejack with a smile on her sleeping face. Applejack supposed that even this must have been sleep movement.
Applejack spoke softly, “Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes slowly opened, but right when the slightest look of comprehension started to dawn on her face, she quickly removed her hooves from Applejack’s torso and said, “Sorry… apparently I moved in the night. I mean I wasn’t trying to cuddle you or anything stupid like that. Why would I do-?”
Applejack cut her off, saying, “It’s alright, Dash, I believe ya.”
“Thanks, Applejack.”
“No problem. Now, if ya don’t mind, I have to get up. This is later than ah normally wake, and ah need to get applebucking. Big Mac’s probably already out there. Applebloom’s off at the fillies’ school already, but Granny Smith sleeps for a good long while.”
“That’s good to know.”
“Rainbow Dash, why don’t you get up and go around Ponyville today? You haven’t gone into town in a couple days thanks to the hospital stay and your stay here.”
“You’re right. I’ll get up soon.”
“Alright, ah believe ya.”
With that, Applejack got up from the bed and walked from the room. Rainbow Dash lay there wondering what had possessed her to wrap her hooves around Applejack last night. She thought about how lame it must have looked last night continually saying she was scared. It was totally uncool for sure.  Then, she asked Applejack to SLEEP with her. Applejack must think I’m the biggest wimp in the world, Rainbow Dash thought. How uncool was that? 
She got up from bed and gave a big yawn, stretching her hooves. Applejack was right. She needed to get out, to clear her head. She walked towards the door, a soft clop sounding whenever her hooves touched the floor. She made her way through Applejack’s house with ease and made her way through the trees toward town. She looked over to her right and there was Applejack, bucking apples. She smiled when she saw the country pony, and she watched as Applejack’s strong hooves pounded the trees. 
She walked into town and looked around, thinking of where she should go first. After some though, she decided that she was in need of some spontaneity lately, so Pinkie Pie it was. She walked her way to Sugarcube Corner and knocked on the door with her hoof.
The door burst open, and there was Pinkie, who started firing off questions.
“Hi, Dashie, how are ya? Are your wings okay? You did break your wings, right?”
“No, Pinkie,” Dash replied sarcastically, “I broke some of my hooves.”
“Well how’d you get here?  You’re standing on your hooves right now, silly!”
“YES, I broke my wings, Pinkie.”
“Well which one is it? Make up your mind, silly!”
Rainbow Dash gave a small laugh and said, “Pinkie, I’m just saying ‘hello’ to everypony, to let them know I’m doing fine, so, I’ll be off now.”
“Be off what?”
“I’m going now, Pinkie.”
“Oh, okie dokie lokie! See ya, Dashie!”
Rainbow Dash chuckled to herself as she walked off, in search of my next victim, she joked to herself. Her hooves eventually brought her to Rarity’s house, and she brought a hoof up to the door and knocked. Rarity opened the door a moment later with the air of grace she always carried, and smiled.
“Oh, hello Rainbow Dash. How ever are you, darling?”
“Oh, I’m doing fine, Rarity. How’ve things been going here?”
“They’ve been going splendid, Rainbow Dash. Are your wings doing quite alright?”
“Other than the fact that I can’t use them, they’re fine. They hurt when agitated, but that much is obvious. Anything new in the fashion world?” Rainbow Dash asked the question, not really caring, but asking anyway.
“Oh, not yet, I suppose. I’ve been working on normal customer matters, nothing too massively important.”
“Alright, then, I just came to say ‘hi’ and that I’m doing alright, I’ll be off now.”
“Do take care of yourself, Rainbow Dash.”
“I will, thank you, Rarity.”
With that, Rainbow Dash walked off as Rarity closed the door. The library was the closest to Rarity’s place, so her cyan hooves turned and brought her towards Twilight’s place of dwelling. She walked up to the library door and gave a knock. A crash resounded from inside, and Twilight opened the door, appearing unscathed. 
“What just happened?”
“Oh, that crash? That was nothing. I’m just practicing my ability to levitate multiple things at once. It’s relatively easy with books, considering their small size. You heard the much larger things that take up space in the library crashing to the floor. It takes concentration, and you kind of messed that up when you knocked.”
“Oh, that’s cool.”
“Yeah, I suppose. Anyway, what brings you here? Surely it wasn’t books that brought you here.”
“I’m just here to see everypony, say hi, and show them I’m okay. Where's Spike?"
"He's sleeping. I would be surprised that the crash didn't wake him up, but I know Spike. He sleeps through anything."
"Tell him I said hi. I’m going to Fluttershy’s place now.”
“Take care of yourself!”
Rainbow Dash walked off as Twilight closed the door, heading at last to Fluttershy’s house. Once there, she knocked on Fluttershy's door. Fluttershy opened the door to see her rainbow-maned friend standing there.
"Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash."
"Hey, Fluttershy."
"I was not expecting you, so I have not made arrangements, but please, come in... if that's okay with you..."
"No thanks, Fluttershy. I'm just here to say hey, let you know I'm okay."
"Are you okay?"
"Well yeah, that's what I said, isn't it?"
"Oh, sorry..."
"It's alright, Fluttershy."
"I was just tending to a sick bunny, so I'd like to get back to that.... that is... if you don't mind..."
"Go ahead, Fluttershy."
"Oh, thank you, Rainbow Dash."
A series of coughs resounded from inside the house and Fluttershy glanced over her shoulder.
"That's the bunny."
"Alright, you go tend to the bunny, I'll be going now anyway."
"Goodbye, Rainbow Dash."
"See ya, Fluttershy!"
Rainbow Dash walked away as Fluttershy closed the door to go tend to her bunny. Rainbow Dash headed back towards Applejack's, grateful for the time she had outside. She had been out for about an hour now; including the time it took her to walk places. As a result of the late wake-up time, the sun was high overhead, therefore making it sometime around noon in Ponyville. Soon enough, the apple trees were in sight, the outermost ones still yet to be bucked. As she went closer to the house, the trees closer to the house were empty, she saw, and there were buckets full of apples underneath the empty trees. Rainbow Dash leaned down and snatched a shiny one and ate it. She looked around for Applejack in amongst the trees and smiled when she saw a flash of orange in the distance. She tossed the apple core aside and started over that way. 
"Hey, Applejack," she said as she walked up to the other mare.
"Howdy," Applejack replied, stopping her work for a moment, “How was yer visit into town?"
"It was okay. I just said hi to everypony."
"Ah see. Anyway, since you've surely nothin' else ta do, ya wanna help buck apples?"
Rainbow Dash thought for a moment, then nodded her head.
"Yeah, that'd be cool."
They instantly set off to work. Rainbow Dash found that bucking apples didn't hurt her wings, so she got to it. She soon realized that however strong she was, Applejack's years of bucking had made Applejack the stronger pony in that right. Applejack, Rainbow Dash noticed, was surely stronger than most mares in Equestria, probably even a good lot of colts. Rainbow Dash watched as Applejack's strong hooves pounded tree after tree. A smile crept onto Rainbow Dash's face. She wasn't quite sure why this was.
As the day wore on, their coats moistening with sweat, Rainbow Dash thought about how lucky she was to be keeping residence at Applejack's house. She thought about the night earlier, when she had asked Applejack to sleep with her, chuckling at how that inevitably sounded. It had seemed lame on her part, but when Applejack had climbed into bed, there was something... right about it. She didn't have a clue as to what it was, but she had liked it. No, no, that's stupid. It was just because I couldn't get to sleep otherwise, she thought. Either way, Rainbow Dash had been happy when Applejack had agreed to stay there. 
Don't get her wrong, if there's anything she wasn't, it was a lesbian. She wasn't opposed to the idea of mares with other mares, but she would never in a million years become a lesbian herself. That was absurd. Many of the teasing jocks in Flight School had called her one due to her rainbow mane, tomcolt-ish tendencies, and complete disregard for even trying to get a coltfriend. But to like a mare was completely something else. Applejack was a friend. 
Why am I defending myself? There's only myself from which to defend. I don't have feelings for Applejack, plain and simple.
She dropped the subject and continued to buck apples until dinner was called and Dash's hooves were sore. For dinner, they had some apple-based food; Rainbow Dash didn't pay attention to the name of the food. It tasted good though. Small chat went on at dinner for a little while, when Applejack posed a question.
"So, Rainbow Dash, how're yer wings?"
"They're doing fine, I suppose. It depends on one's definition of fine. They're fine seeing as they don't hurt. On the other hoof, however, I can't use them. Duh. So, in that right it kind of sucks. But my wings are doing fine."
"Good t' know, ah s'pose. Ya want me ta sleep with ya again?" Applejack joked as Rainbow Dash cringed, Big Mac and Granny Smith swiveling their heads to look.
"Um... what?" Big Mac asked.
"She's, uh, joking... right, Applejack?"
"'s'nothin' to be embarrassed about, Dash. You just had a nightmare and it freaked ya out, so ah slept with ya. That last part didn't come out how ah'd intended. Did it sound like ah think it sounded?"
"Eeyup."
"Anyway, there's nothin' wrong with it, Dash. Even if it was somethin' else, there's nothin' to be ashamed about."
"Alright, alright. Can we just drop the subject?"
"Alrighty, if you insist."
They ate in silence, Rainbow Dash thoroughly embarrassed. To get everyone’s mind off of what had just passed everypony’s ears, Rainbow Dash posed a question.
“So, where’s Applebloom?”
Applejack answered, saying, “She’s off at Scootaloo’s house with Sweetie Belle and all that.”
Rainbow Dash, hoping that had at least diverted some of the tension, continued eating. Once they were done they had apple pie for dessert, the small talk coming back to the table. Rainbow Dash ate still in silence, but noting how good the pie was. Soarin, a pegasus on the Wonderbolts with quite the heart for pie, would have loved this. Soon enough, dinner was over and the ponies were cleaning their stuff up. Once they were done clearing the table, Applejack and Big Mac went out to continue bucking apples, but Rainbow Dash wasn't accomodated to that kind of work, so she was tuckered out. It was getting late anyway. She went to her (Applejack's) bed and looked out the window. There was Applejack, bucking apples, working hard. Rainbow Dash smiled and, for some reason, watched Applejack buck apples. It made her happy. Soon enough, it had darkened more and Rainbow Dash was tired. Rainbow Dash climbed into bed and lay there, looking at the ceiling. Her life had taken an interesting turn through the past couple days, that was for sure. She wasn't in love with her friend, she didn't think, but something about Applejack made her happy. She was thinking about Applejack as she drifted off to sleep