Trials of the Heart
Chapter Three
The Distraction
“Mmm... AJ?” Rainbow Dash rolled over, but threw a foreleg over her eyes to block out the sun streaming through the window after it tried to sear her retinas. “Oh Celestia, my head.” Once she was safely ensconced in darkness again, she flailed around with her free foreleg until she hit the lump lying next to her.
“Watch where yer wavin’ that thing.” Applejack gave her a playful shove back, then nestled in close for some snuggling, reaching up to kiss her marefriend on the cheek. “Mornin’ sugarcube. Ya sleep well last night?”
“Ohhh...” Dash leaned into the contact, burying her face in the farm pony’s neck and mane to escape the evil light. “AJ, I thought you loved me...”
“A-Ah do!” Applejack replied, shocked that Dash would ever doubt her.
“Then why did you let me do this to myself?” Rainbow asked, her voice muffled by the mane covering her face.
“Ah didn’t.” Applejack replied, giving Dash a light punch on the shoulder. “You were the one tossin’ em back like yer mouth was on fire.”
Dash levelled a glare at her. One that lasted for a fraction of a second before she groaned and dropped her head back onto the bed. “Kill me, please.” She muttered. “Just make it quick... or get me coffee. Either one, I don’t really care which right now.” She rolled over onto her back and laid a foreleg across her eyes again.
Applejack sighed and shook her head, then wrapped a comforting foreleg around her marefriend and rubbed her back. “Don’t worry, sugar, Ah’ll make it all better.” She leaned over for one more kiss, then scooted over to the edge of the bed and hopped down to the floor, staring at the cloud walls in surprise for a moment before she remembered where they were. Hmm... how does an earth pony go about gettin’ food in Cloudsdale? After a quick search of the room, she found a room service menu on an end table sitting under a strange box on the wall. The box was plain except for a wire mesh circle and a big red button labelled ‘Push.’ Lacking any other options, she pushed the button.
A crackling noise came from the wire mesh for a second, followed by a voice. “Yeah? What can I get you?”
“Whoa, nelly.” Applejack jumped back, nearly tripping over her own hooves in the process. When the box was silent again, she slowly edged closer, keeping a wary eye on it. “What in tarnation’s goin’ on here?”
“What, you never seen an intercom before?” The voice asked from the box.
“Can’t say Ah have.” Applejack reached up and knocked on the side of the intercom. “How does this doohickey work, anyway?”
“I don’t pretend to know.” The voice responded, growing impatient. “Now, is there anything I can get you?”
“Uh, yeah.” Applejack flipped the menu over to the breakfast side. “Lemme get... two orders of oat pancakes, two sides of eggs, and two sides of soy bacon. Oh, and a pot—” She paused, looking over at Dash doubtfully. “Better make that two pots of coffee, please.”
“Alright, we’ll have that up for you in fifteen minutes.” The box crackled one last time and went silent.
“Thank ya kindly.” Applejack was unsure if the pony on the other end could still hear her, but offered her thanks anyway. Looking back at the bed, she saw that Rainbow had fallen back asleep, her chest rising and falling gently. Opting not to wake her, Applejack trotted into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Briefly, she wondered what happened to the water after it went down the drain, but ultimately decided that worrying about it wasn’t worth the headache it would inevitably cause.
Stepping into the shower, she let the water run over her head and neck, plastering her mane over her eyes. Behind her eyelids, she saw Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust from the night before, swaying together as they sang and examining each other’s wings. Shaking her head and spraying water across the walls, Applejack turned and let the water run down her back while she grabbed a bar of soap and lathered up her forelegs and chest.
They weren’t actin’ like it was a big deal, so why should I? She tried to convince herself, but the words rang hollow. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something might have happened last night between Rainbow and Lightning. She remembered the first time that Dash had wrapped a wing around her to help fight off an early winter chill. The pegasus had tried to play it off as no big deal, but the blush in her cheeks had told Applejack that it was a gesture not to be taken lightly. Her suspicion was later confirmed by Twilight and the lecture that Applejack had gotten when she mentioned it to the unicorn, complete with a reference book titled Mood Wings. Yet, Lightning had draped a wing across Dash’s back like it was nothing.
With a frustrated huff, Applejack put the soap back and ducked into the stream of water to wash off. Once the last of the lather was circling the drain, she turned off the water, reached out of the shower, and grabbed the towel hanging there. She shook off as much of the water clinging to her coat as she could, then stepped out of the shower and draped the towel over her head, rubbing it through her mane to dry it as much as she could. A knock came from the door, and she trotted over to answer it. Pulling the door open allowed a cart full of covered dishes to come barreling into the room, followed by a light grey pegasus stallion.
“Excuse me, ma’am.” He mumbled, wheeling the cart into the room. He looked down at a slip of paper. “We got two oat pancakes, two eggs, two soy bacon, and two pots of coffee. The total comes to thirty-five bits.” He looked up expectantly, stopping just short of holding out a hoof.
Applejack winced internally, remembering that her saddlebags were still in the hot air balloon. “Can ya put it on the bill fer the room?” She asked.
“Of course.” The stallion trotted back to the door, stopping for a moment before leaving. “If you need anything else, just buzz the intercom. Enjoy your breakfast.” Without waiting for a response, he took to the air and disappeared from sight.
Applejack pushed the cart a little closer to the bed before hopping up onto it, causing Rainbow to stir slightly. She poked her marefriend with a hoof, focusing on the ticklish area around her ribs. “Come on, sugarcube. Food’s here.” The pegasus merely rolled away, curling in on herself. “Coffee’s here, too.”
Dash’s ears perked up at the mention of coffee, and she rolled back to face the farm pony, cracking an eye open to look at the cart. When she saw the carafes of coffee, she dragged herself to the edge of the bed, stretching out a hoof for the precious liquid, but coming up a few inches short on her reach. “AJ...” She whined, letting her head flop back down on the bed.
Rolling her eyes, Applejack slid to the edge of the bed and got down, pulling the cart closer. After picking up a carafe and pouring two cups, she dumped half of the sugar cubes into one coffee and moved it into her marefriend’s reach, opting to take hers black.
Rainbow picked up her cup carefully, taking a deep whiff of its aroma. She blew on it a few times to make sure it was a safe temperature to drink, then downed half of the liquid in one large gulp, sighing as the warmth spread down her throat and into her stomach. “What else did you get?” She nodded toward the four covered plates on the cart, immediately regretting it as the movement redoubled the headache pounding at the inside of her skull.
“Oat pancakes, eggs, and soy bacon.” Applejack uncovered the plates and revealed the food, pushing two of them closer to her marefriend. She chuckled as Dash eyed the food hungrily for a moment, then leaned down and took a single bite.
“Oh Celestia, that’s good.” Rainbow sighed before picking up a piece of soy bacon and popping the whole thing in her mouth. “Thanks for the food, AJ. You’re the best.”
“Ah know.” Applejack examined a hoof nonchalanctly for a moment before smiling and eating her own piece of soy bacon. Once she finished it, she poked at an oat pancake and cleared her throat. “Say, sugarcube, Ah need—” Her request broke off in a fit of laughter as her marefriend looked up with half of an oat pancake hanging out of her mouth. “Sorry. Ah need ya to run over to the landin’ pad where we left the balloon and get mah saddlebags.” The pegasus gave her a disbelieving look. “Well, we wanna be able to pay fer the room and food, don’t we?”
“Ehhh... I guess.” Dash wolfed down another piece of bacon, followed by a mouthful of eggs. After draining the second half of her coffee, she licked off a few flecks of egg that had gotten stuck to her muzzle and hopped off of the bed, pressing a hoof to her head. “Alright... I’ll be back in a bit.” She walked over to the door and pulled it open, then stepped out and flopped down on the cloud disc from the previous night, pushing off from the building and flying away with lazy flaps of her wings.
*
“Oooh. My stomach.” Dash wrapped her forelegs around her abdomen and curled up against the edge of the balloon basket. “Food was a bad idea.” Covering her mouth with a hoof, she dry-heaved yet again, pulling herself up so that her head hung over the edge of the basket. A gust of wind rocked the balloon, and she fell back in covering her eyes with a foreleg. “AJ...” She whined. “Make the balloon stop shaking... and it would be nice if you could get the sky to stop spinning too.”
“No can do, sugarcube.” Applejack chuckled as she pulled a rope to open vents along the top of the balloon, causing it to drop abruptly. Her marefriend pressed a hoof against her mouth again, cracking an eye open just long enough to glare at the farm pony. “If’n ya didn’t wanna deal with a hangover, then ya shoulda taken it easy on the cider last night.” She poked the prone pegasus with a hoof. “Maybe then yer mouth wouldn’ta been writin’ checks yer flank couldn’t cash.”
“What are you—” Dash stopped as memories of the flight to the hotel bubbled up past the pounding headache currently trying to split her head open. “Oh man, I’m sorry, AJ. I’ll—” Her eyes shot open and she lunged to the wall of the basket, retching as her stomach emptied itself for the second time that morning. “Sorry.” She mumbled to anyone who might have been under their flight path. Slumping back down against the side of the basket, Rainbow wiped a hoof across her mouth. “I promise I’ll make it up to you... tomorrow.”
“Ah’m sure ya will, sugar.” Applejack looked over the edge of the basket, swallowing as the ground approached a little more quickly than she would have liked. A quick tug on the balloon’s burner slowed their descent, giving her time to warn her marefriend of their imminent landing. “Hold onto somethin’, RD, we’re comin’ in hot.” Just after she finished speaking, the balloon landed hard on the dirt, bouncing once before skidding to a stop a short distance from the library. She hopped out of the basket, happy to once again have solid ground under her hooves. “Here we are, home sweet home.”
“Celestia, AJ, where’d you learn to fly that thing?” Dash half-jumped, half-fell out of the balloon basket, taking a few wobbly steps before sitting down. “Seriously, I’ve flown through thunderstorms that were smoother than that.” After wavering back and forth a few times, she fell onto her side and rolled over onto her back, letting out a pained moan as she covered her eyes with a foreleg again. “Sun’s too bright.” She muttered. “Get Twi to send a letter to the princess asking her to turn it down.”
“Ah don’t think it works like that, sugarcube.” Applejack walked over to her hungover marefriend and sat down. Extending a hoof, she gently started rubbing Dash’s belly in small circular motions. “Besides, us farmers need that sun nice and bright to help our plants grow.” The prone mare offered an unintelligible response, instead opting to settle down and enjoy the belly rub.
“I suppose I should have known it was you careening through the sky like a madmare, Applejack.” Rarity called out as she came out of the library, pulling the door closed behind her with a pulse of magic and stopping next to the basket. “Twilight did instruct you on how to fly this thing, did she not?” The unicorn teased playfully, indulging in the decidedly un-ladylike practice of sticking her tongue out for a moment.
“Well howdy to you too, sugarcube.” Applejack gave Rainbow’s belly one final rub then stood up, clutching her hat against a sudden gust of wind. “Could ya do me a favor and let Twi know her balloon’s back? Oh, and tell her ‘thanks’ again fer lettin’ me borrow it.”
“Well, dear, I would venture to say that everypony in Ponyville knows you’re back after that... landing.” Rarity smiled for a moment. “Unfortunately, dear, Twilight is in Canterlot today, defending her thesis.” She looked wistfully up at the mountain Canterlot was built on, where her marefriend was defending her work of the last four years. “If all goes well, she’ll be coming home as Doctor Twilight Sparkle.”
“Regardless—” With a flick of her horn, Rarity opened the balloon’s vents, allowing the hot air to escape and the fabric to deflate. “—I will put it back in storage before I head over to the Boutique. Thank you for returning it in one piece.” As the balloon deflated, she trotted over next to Dash. “Now, don’t keep me waiting, darling, how did it—” She stopped talking as the pegasus rolled onto her side, dry heaving into the grass. Shifting her gaze to the farm pony, she smirked at Rainbow’s obvious alcohol-induced discomfort. “I assume that means things either went spectacularly well... or very poorly.”
“Eeyup.” Applejack nodded, sitting down again to rub her marefriend’s back. “She put on one heck of a show up there. We ran into Spitfire before we left and she told Dash to keep an eye on the mail. We went out for a few... celebratory drinks afterward. Though, some of us mighta had a bit more to drink than others.”
“Well, she certainly deserves it.” With that, Rarity turned on the spot and walked back over to the basket, lifting it along with the deflated balloon in her magic and floating them toward the library. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get these put away so that I can head over to the Boutique. I’m due to open in less than fifteen minutes.” Pausing at the doorway while she floated the balloon components inside, she called back over her shoulder. “Oh, and Rainbow, dear, you’re more than welcome to take a nap here if you’re not feeling up to returning to your own home.”
“Thanks fer the offer, sugarcube, but Ah think we’ll head back to the farm and she can rest up there.” Applejack tipped her hat to the unicorn.
“If you insist.” Rarity shrugged, gripping the library door in her magic. “Take care, darlings.”
“Ohhh... Th-thanks, Rares.” Dash moaned, gathering her legs under her so that she could stand. After rising a few inches off of the ground, she flopped back down, prompting her marefriend to come over and help her.
“Come on, sug’.” Applejack lowered herself to the ground so that the hungover pegasus could lean on her and they stood together. Rainbow awkwardly slung a wing over the farm pony’s back, using it to pull herself closer. Applejack smiled at the familiar feeling, leaning into the embrace and nuzzling the other mare’s neck as they walked in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. When they reached the bridge at the edge of town, Rainbow started to falter, and eventually Applejack had to wiggle under the pegasus and lift her up on her back to finish the trek out to the farm.
Once they reached the farmhouse, Applejack carried her marefriend up to her room. “Here we are.” She slid Dash off of her back and onto the bed as gently as she could, though it still elicited a pained groan. “Ah, quit yer bellyachin’. Get some rest, and I’ll see you for supper, okay?”
Rainbow pressed a hoof to her mouth. “Please don’t mention food right now.” She rolled over onto her side and pulled the covers up over herself, wincing as the sun streamed in through the window. “Can you get the window, AJ?” She mumbled, pulling a pillow over her head.
“Sure thing, sugarcube.” Applejack replied, trotting over and closing the drapes. Once the room was darker, she walked back over to the bed and kissed her marefriend on the nose, the only part of her head sticking out from under the pillow. “Ah gotta head back now. Ah’ll see ya when yer feelin’ better.”
“‘Kay.” Dash muttered, her voice already sounding sleepy. “Love you.”
“Love ya too, Dashie.” Applejack pulled the door closed and headed downstairs, glancing at the clock to see that is was a few minutes until noon. Stepping out of the door and into the noontime sun, she tugged her hat down to better cover her eyes and headed out to the East Field, checking random trees as she went to determine where the rows of ripe trees started. Once she found them, she started setting out baskets under them.
Two hours later, she was hauling back the apples from the fourth row of trees when a familiar blue streak raced toward her. “Feeling better, sugar?” She asked as it screamed to a halt near her.
“Yeah, lots better, thanks.” Dash trotted over and kissed her marefriend on the cheek. After rolling her neck to elicit a series of cracks, she flapped her wings and rose into the air, hovering. “I’m gonna head out for an afternoon flight. Be back for dinner.” Without waiting for a response, she raced off into the sky, leaving her signature chromatic trail in her wake.
“See ya later, sugarcube.” Applejack said to the empty air her marefriend had occupied a moment ago. She watched the prismatic trail as it arced away, smiling and shaking her head before getting back to work. Occasionally she looked up as Celestia’s sun slowly made its way across the sky. While she worked, her mind wandered back to some of the more interesting times she and Dash had spent together, like the time she had taught Rainbow how to throw a lasso.
That girl’s nothin’ if not stubborn. Took her nearly three days, but she got it. She smiled to herself while she unloaded the cart of apples into the barn and headed back out to to the field. Still can’t figure out how she got herself stuck in that tree, though. Not that I was complainin’. As she went to leave the barn, she nearly tripped when she stepped on a small rock. After kicking it away and cursing under her breath for a minute, it reminded her of the time Dash had convinced her to help play a prank of Twilight.
Ah can’t believe Twi thought that little pebble Rainbow was danglin’ in front of her telescope was a meteor headed fer Equestria. Still, gettin’ Spike to fake a letter from Princess Celestia sayin’ she believed what Twi was sayin’ mighta been a bit much. Poor girl spent the next week lookin’ through that thing, even after we told her it was a prank.
Applejack made her way back out to the last batch of apples and stopped to admire a small bunch of flowers growing on the side of the path. Her smile evaporated as the colors brought to mind another memory, one of when she and Dash had been lured into helping Rarity with a ‘rush order from Canterlot.’ Rarity begged us to come over and help with her ‘order,’ but all we did was model dresses fer her. A shudder ran up her spine as she remembered one dress in particular. It may have been purple, but that was a weddin’ dress, plain and simple. In her mind, she saw the sly smile the unicorn had given them when Applejack was wearing that dress and Rainbow was wearing something that looked suspiciously like a gentlecolt’s tuxedo. Gotta give her credit, though. Dash looked mighty nice in that getup.
Just as she got the last batch of apples into the barn, Applejack heard the ringing of the dinner bell come from the farmhouse. After pulling off her hat and wiping a foreleg across her brow, she walked over to the farmhouse and headed inside, only to be assaulted by a barrage of questions from her little sister.
“Applejack, you’re home! Did Rainbow Dash make it? Is she gonna be a Wonderbolt now? Did she do a Sonic Rainbooom? How many other ponies were trying out? Are ya gonna—” Apple Bloom’s torrent of words was cut off by an orange hoof pressed against her mouth, but she kept talking for a few seconds before she realized all of her words were being muffled.
“It’s nice to see you too, Apple Bloom.” Applejack ruffled her sister’s mane, knocking her bow askew. “We don’t know if she made it yet. Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts have to talk it over and decide who they wanna take.” Looking around as if to see who was listening, she leaned down and whispered to the filly. “Between you and me, though, Spitfire told Dash to keep an eye on the mail.”
“Really?” Apple Bloom bounced into the air. “Ah gotta go tell Scootaloo!” She turned and bolted for the door, but stopped mid-stride as she ran into a large hoof in her path.
“Whoa there, AB.” Big Mac lifted his hoof from her tail and gently guided her toward the table. “ Ah’m sure Scootaloo already tracked Miss Dash down and asked her all ‘bout the trip to Cloudsdale and her tryout. ‘Sides, it’s time fer dinner.” The family sat down at the table, where one seat was noticeably empty. “So, where is Rainbow Dash, AJ?”
“Probably out there practicin’ some new trick.” Applejack replied, smiling and shaking her head. “Ah’m sure her stomach will remind her ‘bout dinner and she’ll be here any second now.” She leaned back in her chair, eliciting a groan from the well-used wood. “Y’all go ahead, Ah’m gonna wait fer her.”
The rest of her family dug into the food on the table. As the minutes ticked away, the plates of apple dumplings, fritters, pancakes, turnovers, and even the apple pie slowly disappeared. Eventually, Applejack piled some food onto her plate and the one next to hers, just to make sure she and Dash would get some, but the chair next to her remained empty. Part of her wanted to keep waiting so that she could eat with Dash, but she decided to go ahead and start eating before the food got cold. She took a momen to get up and put Rainbow’s plate in the stove to keep it warm, then she sat down and ate, glancing at the clock between bites. A few minutes after her family had left the table, the door burst open, allowing Rainbow Dash entry.
“Hey, AJ. Sorry I’m late.” Dash plopped down in the chair next to her marefriend, looking at the table for any leftover scraps of food. When she didn’t see any, she slumped back against the chair, frowning slightly.
“And just where in the hay have you been?” Applejack asked, trying her best to keep calm until she heard the other mare’s explanation.
“Oh, you’ll never guess what happened.” Rainbow turned away from the empty table, beaming at her marefriend. “I ran into Lightning Dust.”
The farm pony arched a skeptical eyebrow. “Ya just ran into her all the way down here in Ponyville?” Getting up from the table, she pulled the stove open and grabbed the plate she had squirreled away there, placing in front of the pegasus.
“Yeah.” Dash nodded, a bit of her mane falling over her eye before she brushed it back with a hoof. “Well, I guess she really ran into me down by the lake while I was practicing some new tricks. She said that she decided to come hang out down here for a few days.” A growl sounded from her stomach, and Rainbow licked her lips as she gazed hungrily at her plate before diving in.
“And did she happen to mention why she’s just all the way down here?” Applejack asked, an uneasy feeling twisting at her stomach. “Seems like an awful long way to come just to ‘hang out.’”
“I guess.” Dash shrugged, taking a bite of apple fritter. “After hearing what Spitfire told us, Lightning said she decided to come hang out down here to see what happened. She even asked to do some training with me while she’s here, help her get used to flying while keeping in position with somepony else. She even asked if I could show her a trick or two for the next time she tries out.”
“That sure is nice of ya.” Applejack mumbled, trying to keep her frustration from bleeding into her voice. Silence filled the room for a few moments, broken only by the crunching of Dash eating her food. Applejack sat up a little straighter as a thought rose in her mind. “Say, sugarcube...” She paused, staring at the wood grains of the table, unsure if she really wanted to know the answer. “Where’s Lightnin’ gonna sleep while she’s here?”
“My place.” Dash replied nonchalantly.
Applejack bit her tongue to keep from letting loose a venomous retort. Images from the previous night flashed through her mind again, but they were mixed with new ones of the two of them in Rainbow’s house, lying on the couch or even the bed. She was about to say something, but before she could, her marefriend kept talking.
“So, I figured—” Dash paused to wolf down a dumpling and leaned against the farm pony. “—that I’d sleep over here with you for a few days while she’s in town.” Shifting a bit, she extended a wing and wrapped it around the other mare.
Applejack opened her mouth, then closed it again, all of her anger and frustration melting away like the last winter snow under the noontime sun. “That sounds mighty nice.” She nestled into the embrace and smiled, then playfully nudged her marefriend with an elbow. “Though, ya mighta asked me first, before just invitin’ yerself over.”
“Come on, like you’d ever turn me away.” Dash teased, sticking her tongue out. After they shared a laugh and a nuzzle, she turned and looked out the window. “But, I suppose I could go if you wanted me to, even though I only have one bed at my place.”
“Don’t joke about that.” Applejack blurted out with more force than she had meant to put into it. In order to avoid her marefriend’s questioning gaze, she looked down at the table, locking her eyes on her empty plate.
“What was that about?” Rainbow pulled her wing away and turned to fully face the farm pony, waiting for a response. When none came, she pressed again. “AJ, what’s wrong?”
Applejack paused for just a second before answering. “Nothin’.” She lied, a quick flick of her eyes and a scrunch of her mouth accompanying her reply.
“Come on, AJ.” Dash prodded the other mare in the shoulder with a hoof. “What’s up?”
“It’s...” Applejack started, preparing to deny the allegation again, but she stopped and let out a sigh. After pulling her hat off, she ran a hoof through her mane, took a deep breath, and looked her marefriend in the eye. “It’s Lightnin’ Dust.” She finally admitted. Afterward, she waited for Rainbow to say something, but the pegasus merely cocked an eyebrow, waiting for a further explanation. Steeling herself, Applejack kept going.
“Ah don’t trust her.” She raised a hoof to stop the other mare from speaking. “Ah know she’s gone and said she’s different now, but Ah ain’t buyin’ it. Just look at last night. She was leanin' in a little too close, lettin' her wing dip a little too low."
“She was being nice, AJ!” Dash responded, clearly upset that her new friend’s intentions were being misunderstood. “Okay, maybe she got a little too friendly. She’s done nothing but try and show that she’s different now. She even picked up the tab last night.”
Applejack slumped back in her chair, stunned at how easily Rainbow had brushed off her concern. After a moment to consider, she realized that maybe Dash was right, this was just a bad case of the green-eyed monster. ”Yer right... of course yer right. Sorry, Sug’. Ah'm just a bit out of sorts after that trip. Probably something to do with feeling like Ah was gonna end up a pony pancake.” She shook her head to dislodge a vision of the ground rushing up to meet her. “Next time Ah'm getting a pair of those danged wings from Twi, Ah don't care how silly they look!" Biting her tongue to cut off any further foolishness on her part, she snatched her hat up off the table and turned to get up.
“Oh man, I would pay good bits to see you with a pair of those butterfly wings.” Dash chuckled to herself for a bit before her expression shifted to concerned confusion. “AJ, are you sure that’s all? I mean, all we did was get drunk and dance a little...” The corners of her mouth flicked up, like she was trying to smile but couldn’t force herself to do it. “It’s not like it meant anything.”
“It ain’t you Ah’m worried about!” Applejack snapped back, her tone softening at the sudden look of hurt on Rainbow’s face. “Ah’m sorry, sugar, Ah’m sorry... It’s just...” She sighed, staring at her hooves. “Ah don’t like the way she was lookin’ at ya last night. You get so danged loopy when you’ve had a few, and I could just see her whisperin’ in yer ear to sneak out the back door with her.” She forced herself to look her marefriend in the eye. “Ah trust you with mah life, Dashie, but Ah don’t trust her half as far as Ah could toss her out on her danged plot!”
“Come on, AJ, you were there the whole time, right?” Dash leaned back, throwing a foreleg over the back of the chair. “Besides, it’s not like I’m gonna go out and get drunk every night. Last night was a special occasion.”
“You wanna settle mah fears?” Applejack looked Rainbow dead in the eyes, her gaze unwavering. “Pinkie promise me, right here right now, that you won’t touch a drop of anything stronger than a juice box until she’s outta town.”
“Fine.” Dash said after a moment of consideration, making the appropriate motions. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Once she was done, she leaned forward and hugged her marefriend. “Happy?”
“Yeah.” Applejack breathed a sigh of relief and held onto Rainbow’s forelegs. “Ah hate bein’ like this, sugarcube, but ya gotta understand... Ah know Ah can trust you when ya got yer wits about ya, and maybe Ah’m dead wrong ‘bout Lightnin’, maybe she has changed. Ah ain’t gonna risk you on that, though.”
“AJ, it’s cool. Hay, if I was with a somepony as hot as me I’d wanna keep her under wraps too.” Rainbow kissed her marefriend, wrapping Applejack in a tight wing hug. “Listen, I got some stuff to do, I’ll be back in a bit. Okay?”
“Alright, just don’t stay out too late. We got work in the mornin’.” Applejack smiled to herself as she felt Dash tense up behind her.
“Whaddya mean ‘we’ got work?” The pegasus asked, worry clear in her voice.
“Exactly what it sounds like, sugar.” Applejack turned and smirked at her marefriend’s wide eyes. “We got work. Me and you.”
“B-b-but...” Dash sputtered for a minute before she managed to voice the question on her mind. “Why do I have to work?”
“Well, if yer gonna be sleepin’ here—and eatin’ here, most likely—then ya gotta pull yer weight. If’n ya don’t, then Ah just might have to make ya sleep on the floor.” Applejack gave the other mare’s legs one last squeeze then let her go, listening as Dash got up and trotted over to the door. “Dashie.” Her voice was full of emotion when she spoke again, looking over to the door to see Rainbow still looking outside. “Ah love you.”
“I love you too, AJ.” Dash looked back over her shoulder, a small smile on her face. With that, she broke into a gallop and took to the air, the sound of her wingbeats fading into the night after a few seconds.
Applejack stared at the open doorway for a minute before walking over to it and closing the door. After putting the last few plates from dinner in the sink, she trudged her way up to her room, flopping down on her bed and looking out the window where Luna’s moon and stars shone. A tiny shape blazed past the moon before disappearing back into the darkness of the night sky.
Ah hope to Celestia that Ah’m wrong ‘bout Lightnin’ Dust. She rolled onto her side and pulled the covers over herself. But if’n she wants a fight, Ah’ll be more'n happy to give her one.
*
Rainbow Dash sped through the air, the low lighting provided by the moon and stars adding an extra level of thrill to her flight. Weaving her way through the sparse clouds leftover from earlier in the day, she made her way back to her house, darting in through a window instead of the front door. “Hey, Lightning, I’m back.” She called as she alighted in the living room, trotting over to the couch and draping her forelegs over the back.
“Cool.” Lightning Dust looked up from the copy of Wonderbolts Illustrated she was reading and rolled onto her back, crossing her forelegs behind her head. “So, what do you wanna do now?”
“It’s gettin’ kinda late, so I’m gonna hit the hay.” To reinforce her statement, Dash yawned, covering her mouth with a hoof. Once it passed, she hopped down from the back of the couch and headed for a hallway across the room. “Come on, bedroom’s this way.”
“Sweet.” Lightning rolled off the couch and followed Rainbow down the hall. When they reached the bedroom, Dust whistled as she walked around the bed, which took up a large majority of the room. “Nice bed, Dash, not sure if it’s big enough, though.” She crawled up on the bed and splayed out on her back with her hind legs crossed, letting her wings unfold and lay flat. “It’ll be a little cramped, but I won’t mind.” She looked at Rainbow with half-lidded eyes, smiling suggestively.
“Alright, bathroom’s through there—” Dash gestured to a doorway with a wing. “—help yourself to anything in the fridge, and I’ll see you in the morning.” With a flap of her wings, she started toward the bedroom window.
“Wait, morning?” Lightning sat up, confusion written on her face. After looking at all the empty space next to her on the bed, she turned back to the other mare. “There’s plenty of room here. Where are you going to sleep? The couch?” She scoffed, rolling her eyes at the idea. “Come on, we’ll bunk together. Get you used to what it’ll be like with the ‘Bolts.”
“I don’t think that’s how ‘bunking’ works... well, except maybe for Spitfire and Soarin’.” Rainbow chuckled, shook her head, and kept moving toward the window. “Anyway, I’m staying with AJ at the farm for a bit.” She reached up and rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. “We had... a bit of a fight, and I wanna try to make it up to her.”
“A fight?” Dust cocked her head to the side. “About what?”
Dash sighed and walked back over to the bed, sitting on the edge. “It was about last night."
“What about last night?” Lightning lay back down on the bed with her forelegs behind her head. “I don’t know about you, but I thought we had a pretty awesome time last night. Does Flapjack have something against fun?”
“Applejack.” Rainbow shot a look over her shoulder, then went back to staring at the floor. “She’s worried about... how I was acting last night.”
“Seriously?” After a moment of rustling, Lightning settled down next to Dash, nudging her with an elbow. “I thought you had some sweet moves out there. Hay, we should hit a club or two while I’m here.”
“I can’t.” Rainbow shook her head, running a hoof through her mane. “I promised AJ that I’d lay off the cider for a bit.”
“What?” Dust leaned back, blinking in surprise. After a second, she huffed, crossing her forelegs. “Doesn’t she trust you?”
“Of course she does!” Dash shot back, her wings ruffling in agitation. “I made her a promise, I’m going to keep it, and that’s the end of it.” Sliding off the bed and onto the floor, she stalked over to the window. Stopping for a moment, she snorted and smiled. “Probably for the best, I woke up with a wicked headache this morning. Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Without waiting for a response, Rainbow broke into a gallop and dove out the window, angling for Sweet Apple Acres. A shiver raced up her spine as she sped through the crisp night air, and she pumped her wings harder as she rushed back to the warm bed she knew was waiting for her. When the farmhouse came into view, she saw that the window to Applejack’s room was open, so she dove toward it. Right before she passed through the frame, she pulled in he wings, flaring them again on the other side to kill her momentum and alight on the floor.
Walking carefully to avoid any of the creaky floorboards, Dash made her way over to the bed and climbed in, snuggling up behind Applejack. She wrapped a foreleg around her marefriend and yawned, the toll of her evening flights catching up to her.
“Land sakes, girl.” Applejack mumbled, curling in on herself. “Ya dip those hooves in ice water before gettin’ in bed?” She leaned back and sleepily nuzzled the other mare, laying her foreleg over the one resting on her barrel. Nestling back down into the pillow, she yawned and started drifting back to sleep. “Mmm... love ya, sug’.”
“I love you too, AJ.”