Part 7
Rainbow readied herself for another night of spying. She donned her sneaking suit, and painted her face with camouflage. She threw some tortoise chow in Tank's bowl and set off toward the Carousel boutique. Tonight was the night she'd discover proof that she was being deceived. As she flew over town, she glanced down at the library.
Lights are still on, she thought, Good sign. She narrowed herself against the wind and picked up speed.
She arrived beneath the halo of a streetlamp, wasting no time before nearly beating down Rarity's door.
"For goodness sake, I'm coming!" she called from inside. She opened the door to find Rainbow dressed in her sneaking gear with a heavy sack of equipment slung over her shoulder. She blinked in surprise. "Was that tonight?"
"Yeah!" Dash replied, surprised she had forgotten.
Rarity groaned. "Rainbow, are you sure you still want to do this? I've been thinking a lot about this whole situation and I don't believe any of it is any of our business in the first place."
"Friends keeping secrets from other friends isn't our business?" Dash asked. "Since when?"
"Since always!" Rarity snapped. "Even if they have found something in each other, we should be happy for them, not spying on them as though they were suspected criminals!"
Dash took pause. Perhaps Rarity had a point. Maybe it was wrong to spy on a friend to simply prove or disprove your own jealous insecurities. However, insecurity can be a powerful factor in decision making.
"Fine! I don't need you," she shot back, turning around sharply and spreading her wings, preparing for flight.
"Rainbow Dash, stop!" Rarity called. Dash was ready and expecting to ignore anger or venom, but her friend's tone halted her once more. It seemed to be one of... concern.
Dash glanced over her shoulder, sure to keep her expression blank.
"Please, won't you consider forgetting about this?" Rarity said softly, nearly pleading with her. "This isn't how friends treat each other."
Rainbow faced her fully. "Then why did it take you until now to figure this out?"
"I... I was wrong to help you. I let my emotions get the better of me, and I did something I regret." Rarity looked Dash straight in the eye. "Please, Dash, whatever is going on between the two of them, we should let it be. Suppose they did have something special. Would you want to be the one to ruin it by meddling?"
Dash bit her lip for a few tense moments. She exhaled slowly, as if coming to a realization. "No..." Her wings dropped by her sides as she tossed her mane to one side. "I just... we were supposed to be best friends. We're supposed to tell each other everything," she whispered.
Rarity stepped closer to console her, but Dash stepped away.
"You're right. I think I just need to head home..." she mumbled.
As Dash took off into the night, Rarity smiled.
"You won't regret it, darling. I assure you!"
Finally, I managed to get through to her, she thought, satisfied with her efforts.
Go home. Pfft. Not a chance. If AJ and I aren't best friends anymore, I'm gonna make her tell me to my face!
Dash cruised toward Sweet Apple Acres with one thing on her mind. She was nothing if not a convincing actress. The chill of the night air soon carried with it the scent of apple trees as a barn rose over the hilltops. She perched softly atop the barn, waiting patiently for her prey. An unfamiliar feeling filled her chest as she waited, though she couldn't place it. Was it anger? No, rejection? Betrayal, perhaps? Maybe it was a mix of all three. Soon enough, she watched a lantern float out of the farmhouse and begin towards the barn as another appeared from the trail leading to town.
"Right on time..." Dash whispered to herself and held her breath, forcing herself to stay still as the pair she had been waiting on walked into the barn. Dash glided silently into the upper rafters and waited for the two of them to incriminate themselves. Then, and only then, would she confront Applejack.
Applejack had waited nervously in the living room, her bedroll and saddle bags packed for a sleepover in the barn. The rest of her family had already gone to bed, as a single lantern cast its long shadows across her living room. She looked at the picture on the wall of her mother and father. They would have wanted her to take care of the farm, but not at the expense of herself.
"I'm doin' it. I'm gonna make myself a better pony, just like y'all would've wanted me to," she muttered softly to the picture. Though she wasn't just doing this for herself. She was doing it for the farm, and for the family she swore to protect.
AJ glanced outside through the screen door. No Twilight yet. She turned back to the portrait and smiled. Her parents' faces stared back at her, as though they knew their daughter was trying her hardest to pick up where her schooling had left off. "Just wait," she said. "Soon I'll be the one readin' Apple Bloom a bedtime story."
A light from the forest drew her attention. Applejack picked up her bags and headed out the screen door towards the barn.
"Twilight?" she called to the glowing lantern.
"Hello, Applejack!" she replied happily. "Ready to get started?"
"You bet!" The two of them hugged in the yard and set out toward the barn.
"So, have you been practicing?"
"Ah have, but Ah haven't had much time with work and all."
"Well, that's okay." Twilight nodded. "We'll have plenty of time for that!"
The two of them took in the stars as they walked. Twilight always found it enjoyable to visit her friend's country home at night. Though she had a telescope and observation deck, there was something rustic and pleasing about stargazing. She couldn't help but smile as they came to the barn. It had been quite a while since she'd had a sleepover with one of her friends, and she had since learned that some slumber parties can go off without any guidance from a book or prior planning. It went against her natural instincts, but she had come to accept this.
As they entered the barn, Applejack walked ahead and lit a few lanterns hanging on the support columns. Once lit, Twilight noticed the hay had been arranged into one large pile in the center, where Applejack's bedroll was already stretched out. "Ah tried ta make a it a bit more comfortable in here, but Ah know there ain't much you can do about a barn bein' a bit... stuffy."
Twilight waved her hoof. "Nonsense, it looks great!" She strode towards the hay pile and unrolled her bedroll next to Applejack's. Hers was decorated with the sun and moon, while Applejack's had a heavier red flannel. Twilight lay down in the flickering light of the lanterns, both digging into their saddlebags for snacks.
"Twilight... Ah know I say this to ya a lot, but... Ah'm really glad you're here." A slight blush came over Applejack's cheeks as Twilight smiled back.
"I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be," she replied sincerely. Applejack leaned forward and nuzzled her teacher softly.
"Thanks. Ah'm just glad we've managed to keep this a secret for this long. I don't know what I'd do if Rainbow Dash or Apple Bloom found out about this."
"Actually, Rainbow Dash has done more than her share of snooping around." Twilight snorted.
Applejack adjusted her hat. "She can just be a little too... intense sometimes. Ah just needed a break so we could keep goin' without her pesterin' me about where I was and what not."
"Well, intensity aside, why don't we get things started?" Twilight asked, waggling her eyebrows and getting a giggle out of Applejack.
"Sounds good ta me."
Rainbow stalked silently above the floor of the barn, hidden in the shadows and safe from sight. Even as Applejack lit the lanterns, she was still in darkness. Once lit, she could see Applejack had made a single makeshift bed for the two of them.
More proof, she thought as they idly chit-chatted below her. Soon after, they were getting close. From the rafters, she could hear every word they said.
All she could hear was how she wasn't wanted around, how her former best friend wanted to spend more time with Twilight than herself, and, most offensive of all, how she was 'too intense!' Her competitive attitude and in-your-face bravado was her thing! It's what made her and Applejack work! Just as she found her anger at its highest point, she had a fleeting and radical thought.
What if Rarity was right? Friends didn't spy on other friends. She could glide right out of the hay loft and nopony would be the wiser. She could leave here, let Twilight and Applejack do whatever it was they had planned in peace, and pretend she didn't care. Or, she could confront them as planned and let Applejack know how hurt she was that she'd rather hang out with Twilight. Her anger made the decision easy.
She would wait. The timing would have to be perfect for her to strike. She crouched down, waiting for them to kiss, then she'd spring into action with a loud and satisfying 'Ah-ha!'
Dash lay in wait for a minute, then two, then five. Twilight produced a book from her saddlebags and set it in front of Applejack. Rainbow recognized the book.
Goodnight Moon? That's a foal's book! she thought. To her surprise, Applejack started to haltingly read it aloud. It was the very same book Dash's mother used to read to her when she was a filly at bedtime. It never failed to put her to sleep. In fact, Rainbow's eyelids began to sag as Applejack read on. Though she fought to stay awake, her sense of balance betrayed her. With a strangled yelp, she abruptly pitched forward and fell off the rafter, landing in a bale of hay with a soft thump.
"What in tarnation?" Applejack shouted, whirling around as Twilight joined her. Rainbow swam her way to the top of the haystack, spitting out stalks as she went.
"Rainbow, what are you doing here?" Twilight snapped.
"What am I doing here?" Dash repeated. "What are you doing here?"
The color had drained completely from Applejack's face. Her worst nightmare was coming true right before her eyes. Humiliation, embarrassment, shame. None of these words did justice to what she felt at that moment.
"I don't know what kind of weird stuff you two were getting into, but foal's books are freaky, even for you!"
Twilight had never been so angry at a friend before. She glanced to Applejack. She was as pale as the day was long. Twilight tried to extend a hoof and say something to her, but she darted out of the barn, tears falling from her eyes as she went. Twilight went from angry to furious instantly.
"For the last time, we were not seeing each other like that!" Twilight shouted. "You want to know what we were doing? You want to know the big secret, you gigantic busybody?"
"Yeah, a little honesty would be nice!" Dash snapped back. If there was one thing she was good at, it was shouting matches. And she had a pretty solid case, in her mind, at least.
"I was teaching Applejack to read! Are you happy now? She didn't want you to know because she was ashamed and embarrassed, and she was afraid of what you'd think of her!" Twilight was on a roll, and feeling empowered with every shout. "And surprise, surprise, you humiliated her!"
Rainbow attitude deflated completely. "I..." she began, her words fading out uselessly as she tried to comprehend what Twilight had just revealed, but only for an instant. "Well, she shouldn't have been keeping sec—"
"Every detail of Applejack's personal life is not information you are entitled to! I can't believe you would do something like this, Rainbow Dash!"
Dash was out of retorts, so she borrowed a page from Applejack's book. "I don't have to take this!" With that, she flew away faster than she could recall flying in a long time. She was still angry, that much was certain. Only now, her anger was internal. She had been the bad guy all along. She had convinced herself that her exclusive right to hang out with Applejack trumped anything, even Applejack's own wants and needs. She'd made a terrible mistake, and made an ass of herself to boot. Now there was but one thing to do. Blow off steam with a bit of flying and cloud boxing.
Twilight found herself alone in the barn. Her anger evaporated as she let out an exasperated sigh.
So much for a pleasant evening, she thought, levitating a lantern in front of her. She trotted out of the barn and began searching for Applejack. She would deal with Rainbow later. Right now, she had a friend to comfort.
The next morning, Rainbow was still angry. In fact, she was a number of things. Upset at herself, ashamed of how out of control she let her emotions get, and last but not least, exhausted. Rarity's plea from the night before played on endless loop in her head. She was kicking herself for not listening to good advice when it was given to her, and now there was a chance she had irreparably damaged one of her most important friendships.
She reported to work in a sour mood. It was as though she had a scowl on her face that she couldn't wipe away.
Great, clearing thunderstorms again... she thought wearily as she picked up her morning assignment. The clouds tended to gather overnight during this season, and it usually meant they had to be cleared or a thunderstorm would develop. Gathering her team, they set off over the center of town. Rainbow instructed her crew to begin pushing away the clouds while she continued to take her anger out on them. Every kick sent another cloud into a puff of mist. One after another, she threw her hooves into the clouds like a boxer hitting a heavy bag. All of her frustration flowed through her punches.
Stupid Applejack! Stupid Twilight! All they had to do was tell me what was going on! I would have been mature about it!
Left hook, right hook, and then a blinding white flash. A painful jolt traveled up her hoof and spread to her entire body before she passed out.