//------------------------------// // Interlude: The Night After "Sleepless in Ponyville" // Story: Awkward, But Worth It // by bahatumay //------------------------------// It was a quiet night on Sweet Apple Acres. Although Applejack definitely enjoyed camping, there was just something special about sleeping in your own bed with your own blankets and with your very special somepony laying next to you.  At least, there usually was. But now, Rainbow Dash was still berating herself noisily, and Applejack found it difficult to sleep with the constant stream of words coming from her mouth.  "I can't believe how stupid I was," she repeated. "I mean, what, am I blind or something?" "Rainbow, let it go," Applejack groaned. "You've been through this like four times." "I mean, all this time all she wanted was a sister. I thought she had a creepy crush on me, but no. A sister. Just like you and Apple Bloom. Someone to love her no matter what she does or how many times she shows up at weird times." She paused. "In fact, I bet Apple Bloom is behind me right now!" Rainbow rolled over and pointed accusingly, but saw no little yellow filly. She paused, unsure if she should feel glad or disappointed.  "So you're bad with feelings and knowing what they mean. Ain't nothin' new," Applejack said dismissively.  "Yeah, I know, but... Wow, you know? This is a lot of responsibility." "Ah wouldn't know," Applejack said in a voice laden with sarcasm. She pressed the pillow over her ears, but Rainbow either didn't notice or didn't care, as she continued talking.  "I mean, I gotta teach her how to fly, I gotta be there for all her activities, I gotta buy her ice cream just for fun, I gotta care for her, I gotta be there for her, I gotta protect her, there's a lot I have to do! I don't know how to deal with all of this. I mean, I know I can--I have plenty of awesomeness to spare, after all--but still, it's a lot to focus on." "Too right. And you know what helps me focus? Sleep." "How can I sleep at a time like this?" Rainbow asked incredulously. "I'm getting a new sister!" "You had no trouble at all sleeping when you got a new marefriend," Applejack pointed out.  Rainbow paused. "In my defense, you're very comfortable to sleep with." Applejack paused, waiting for her to finish.  "Also, sex with an earth pony is fairly tiring. You guys have a ton of stamina." Aaaand there it was. Applejack sighed. "Look, Rainbow. The thing you can do to help Scootaloo most is to just be yourself. She doesn't love you because you're famous or because you look good; she loves you because you're you." "That's why you love me too, right?" "Eeyup. So stop worrying so much. Just be yourself and everything will be fine." There was silence for a while, and Applejack had settled a bit deeper into the bed before... "Do you ever think of all the different events you have to be there for?" At this point, Applejack sighed and resigned herself to the fact that she would not be getting much sleep tonight at all, and legitimately thought about this question. "Yeah, sometimes. Do you?" "Well, I do now," Rainbow answered. "Like, I'll have to be there when she graduates, you know? I'll have to be there for her flight test, for her first date..." Applejack had a sudden vision of Rainbow Dash hiding in a cloud and following Scootaloo all throughout town. "Not stalking her, Ah hope?" "Nah. I mean, you trusted Apple Bloom with Pipsqueak, right?" "Yeah, but..." Applejack paused, thinking back to that first date. She blinked. "Yeah, Ah guess Ah did." Rainbow gave her an affectionate nudge to the ribs. "See? You're a cool sister. I'm gonna be a cool sister, too." Applejack blushed, and was grateful that the darkness hid her face.  Rainbow continued, "I'll have to be there for her flight test, for her graduation, ooh! For her prom!" Applejack flinched. Prom... That would mean Apple Bloom would be going to prom, too. That would mean she was all grown up, and that was something she just couldn't comprehend.  Rainbow continued obliviously. "And I'll make sure that I tell the colt she goes with that if she gets hurt in any way, shape, or form, I'll chop his balls off with a rusty hacksaw." "That's... oddly specific," Applejack said hesitantly. "And what if she takes another filly?" Rainbow considered this. "Well, I'd... I'd..." Rainbow frowned. She was stumped. The cruelest thing she could think of doing to another mare was something she definitely didn't feel comfortable doing to anypony, and especially not to a young filly, so she really had no idea what she would do. "I'll think of something," she finally decided.  "Ah'm glad." Applejack managed to keep the sarcasm out of her voice, but just barely.  Rainbow gave Applejack a gentle nudge with her nose. "And she'll need to be there as my best mare." "Not mare of honor?" "Nah, that's only for the bride." There was a pause as Applejack digested this.  "Rainbow?" "What?" "We're both brides, Rainbow." "Yeah, but you know what I mean. That is, assuming we ever get that far," Rainbow grumbled and her voice trailed off.  Both fell silent, remembering the reason for that. The Wonderbolts had a strict policy that they didn't take already taken ponies, so they would have to stay marefriends for the duration, however long that would be.  "Stupid policy," Rainbow grumbled. She reached out, pulled Applejack close to her, and buried her face in Applejack's side.  Applejack stroked her mane gently. "It'll be fine. Once you get in, you can do whatever you want, right?" Rainbow mumbled something about contracts and fine print and places they could be shoved.  Applejack continued, "Heck, you could even bring Scootaloo to your shows, in your dressing room, everything. And Ah'm assuming Ah'd be allowed too, right?" "Can we please not talk about this?" Rainbow Dash pleaded. "Please?" "Why not?" "New topic." Applejack shook her head. "That only works in pillow talk." "This is pillow talk!" "Can you still feel your wings?" Applejack asked.  Rainbow flexed her wings. "...yeah?" "Then it ain't pillow talk. Why are you so defensive?" "Why are you so nosy?" Rainbow retorted.  "It's only been your dream forever, you know, so Ah kindof figured you had a contingency plan." "A what now?" "Planning out what to do when that happens?" Comprehension dawned on Rainbow's face. "Oh, a Twilight plan." Applejack opened her mouth to protest, but then realized that that wasn't an entirely inaccurate translation.  "No, I don't." Applejack looked over and frowned. "Do you even think about it?" "I don't," Rainbow admitted. "I can't." "Why not?" Applejack asked. This was a little bit important to her. After all, the Wonderbolts traveled a lot, and Rainbow would be leaving for months on end and leaving her alone, and she hadn't even thought about how to handle that? Applejack wasn't very happy with this revelation. After all, she had thought about it consistently.  Rainbow fell silent, and when she answered, it was in a tiny, quiet voice. "Because I don't know if I can." "What?" "I don't know if I can take it, ok?" Rainbow shouted. "I don't want to have to choose between what I was born to do and what I love to do! I love being with you and your family and apples and everything but I was meant to fly and fly fast and it's tearing me apart here, Applejack! And I can't think about what will happen when I become a Wonderbolt because I know you'll make me go because you want me to be happy but I still get nightmares about you falling in love with somepony else while I'm gone on tour and me coming home and you leaving me alone!" Applejack froze. "I- is that so?" "Yeah, it's so!" Rainbow snapped. "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me except for my cutie mark, or maybe including my cutie mark, and the thought of losing you kills me, Applejack! I don't think about it--I can't think about it--because I don't know if I could take it if you left me. I really don't." Applejack wanted to crack a joke or two about how Rainbow could probably move on, or find another flyer--maybe she even had a chance with Spitfire--but that was not what Rainbow needed right now. For all her bravado and rough exterior, she was just a lost filly who right now needed an anchor point, needed reassurance, needed somepony to love. So Applejack provided. She pinned one of Rainbow's forelegs down under her own body to use as a ramp, and then rolled over on top of Rainbow, straddling her, pressing as much of her body against Rainbow's as possible to give her every physical reassurance she could. She nuzzled Rainbow's face as tightly as she could and reached up to whisper in her ear, "You have nothing to worry about. I'm right here and I have no intention of leaving." Applejack then reached out with her tongue and brought Rainbow's ear into her mouth and bit it gently, eliciting a quick gasp from the pegasus. "Ever," she finished.  Applejack could almost feel Rainbow relax beneath her. "Ever?" "Ever," Applejack promised. "Ah would do anything for you." "Even wait for me while I'm on tour for months at a time?" That felt just like a long, thin knife going right through her heart. Months... months away from her favorite pegasus... What she wanted to do was to pin her down and not let her go until Rainbow promised that she would never leave her alone. But that would have been akin to Rainbow taking her up to Cloudsdale and away from her apple trees for the rest of her life, and that was something she just couldn't do to the pony she loved. So she went with the next best option. She gamely answered, "You betcha. Ah mean, it's not like you can travel here and back from every stop on your tours, right?" Rainbow was silent underneath Applejack.  Applejack sat up and examined Rainbow's face, and her jaw dropped ever so slightly. "You were planning on that, weren't you?" "Maybe?" Applejack returned to her previous position. As much as she would have enjoyed that, she knew what she had to say. "Ah'm touched. Really, Ah am. But they say true love can overcome anything, and Ah think our love is true. So don't worry. No matter how long you're gone, Ah'll be here waitin' for you with a nice apple pie and a warm bed." "And you're in that bed, right?" Applejack couldn't hold back a giggle snort. That last remark indicated that Rainbow was back to her normal, Rainbowy self. She sat up and grinned. "Ah think that that can be arranged." And, since she was back to normal, she was open for some teasing, and that grin turned mischievous. "Ah dunno. If we do ever separate, Ah think you could have a chance with Spitfire." "Nah. She's straight." "She is?" "Yeah." Rainbow paused. "I think. I'm ninety-seven point three percent sure she's straight." By silent agreement, the two mares shuffled positions again until they were in their chosen positions--Applejack on her back, with one hoof wrapped around Rainbow, who rested her head on Applejack's chest with her body curled up closely. Sure, they usually woke up in completely different positions--sometimes not even on the bed anymore--but this was always where they started their nights.  There was a peaceful silence for a while, until Applejack broke it.  "Only one thing that's botherin' me a bit." "What's that?" "In all your nightmare thingies, why was it always me who left you? Why not the other way around?" Rainbow Dash sat up, and even through the dim moonlight trailing in from the window, the look of confusion etched on her face was readily visible. "But Applejack," Rainbow said, sounding almost insulted at the very prospect, "I could never stop loving you. That'd be ridiculous. I would... I would cut off my wings before I'd stop loving you." "Don't even talk like that," Applejack said sharply even as she flushed with... some intense feeling. It wasn't pride, it wasn't embarrassment... No. She knew this feeling.  This was true love.  The two mares lay in each other's forelegs for a few tender moments.  "Hey, Applejack?" "Yes, Rainbow?" "C- can we invoke the bedroom rule?" "The 'What happens in the bedroom stays in the bedroom' rule?" "Yeah, that rule." Applejack grinned. "Scared for your reputation?" "...maybe?" Applejack laughed. "Sure. But on one condition." "What?" "Give me a bellyrub? At least until Ah fall asleep?" Rainbow Dash grinned and happily obliged.