//------------------------------// // The One-Night Promise // Story: Of Horseshoes, Apples, and Feathers // by Gutovi //------------------------------// Two days have passed; they were going to meet today. It was the day, it was the moment. Rainbow Dash spent all morning combing her hair, just to look casual, even if it didn’t show, she didn’t just wake up like that, it took a lot of time of every morning to get it that way, it wasn’t easy AT ALL to keep every color in individual locks. She cared about her hair almost as much as Rarity, but she would never admit it. The good part was she didn’t need to wear any dress or jacket. It wasn’t her style and taking that Scootaloo would wear her childhood leather jacket, she would not go to the date dressing the same way. If they were two of the same, it wasn’t cool. That afternoon she met with Scootaloo and had lunch. Rainbow used that time to give her little fan the last pieces of advice and offered her some bits, but Scoot wouldn’t take them. “No rainbow I’ve told you, I won’t accept anything from you. I can take care of myself, and I will pay for everything in this date with my savings” Said Scootaloo trying to make Rainbow know she didn’t need her pity. “But-” “No, nothing, I don’t want to hear you saying anything related to this till tomorrow, ‘kay?” The filly asked, while pointing at the rainbow-maned pegasus. “Wow kiddo, okay, I won’t talk about it, just chill” “I’m sorry… I’m nervous, and I just explode with the first mare that talks to me. I’m sorry it won’t happen again” “It’s okay, I know how you feel kiddo, but just let me give you just fif-” Scootaloo started glaring daggers, but didn’t say a word. “Ok, ok, I got it, ‘you want to do it yourself’… Well I should get going, I must go to Sweet Apple Acres, to have a date with Applejack” said winking at the little orange filly. “Yeah, and I gotta look for my scooter and go pick up Applebloom. It’s almost time and she doesn’t know that I’m picking her up, so I must hurry before she leaves” “Good luck pipsqueak” “Yeah, good luck to you too Rainbow” Rainbow Dash was soaring in the sky on her way to her friend’s farm when she realised something. “Oh shoot! I should get her something! A gift or something like that… If I take her some flowers it would be a bit too obvious… I know! Chocolates! Now, which way was to Lyra’s and Bon-Bon’s shop?” As she was getting closer to the shop, she started getting nervous. Finally she landed in front of the entrance; she inhaled deeply, and entered the shop. As she enters the shop, the first thing she sees is a little but cosy room, with pastel yellow walls and pink panelling. There are a few chairs and tables, since the shop is mostly to buy gifts, not to eat there. But there are a lot of counters showing chocolates, shaped cakes, sweets and similar things. Obviously there isn’t as much variety as in Sugercube Corner, but these are not made just to eat. Bon-Bon’s shop sells gifts for apologies, for celebration, for anniversaries and very suiting for Rainbow Dash’s needs, there are some to give to the pony of your dreams. And behind the counter is always Bon-Bon standing there waiting for customers, and most of the time, you can see Lyra besides her, reading something, playing some music or just sitting there looking at her companion. Rainbow spotted the two mares and walked towards them. Luckily there were no customers, so it would be less embarrassing to ask for what she needed. “Oh Rainbow Dash! How’s the fastest girl in town doing?” greeted Lyra, with a military salute and a big grin. “Just in this town? I think you’re being mean to me” said Rainbow, winking and faking being insulted. “Oh you and your humbleness… But you’re right, if you are not the fastest pony alive, you’re the second” “I’m glad to see you too Dash, but why are you here? I don’t think you’re here to buy chocolates for the love of your life” Said Bon-Bon. She and Lyra started laughing at the idea. Rainbow laughed very softly and awkwardly finally said “Actually… That’s exactly why I’m here…” Bon-Bon and Lyra stopped laughing suddenly and then gasped so loud that it could be heard from Canterlot. “Y-You… You’re kidding… right?” “Hey! Is there a reason to be mean? I just came here to buy something for a very special mar… PONY, a very special pony” said Rainbow Dash blushing hard and hoping they haven’t noticed. “Girl, you’re really bad covering up your mistakes. Also, you really thought I wouldn’t hear you? I play in the orchestra, remember? I have a trained ear… I’m glad there are more of ‘us’ in town” Lyra said grinning slightly. “Oh, yeah, you two… Well that’s not important now! I need chocolates or bonbons, or sweets, or something!” Quickly blurted the cyan pegasus with red cheeks. “And you’re in the perfect place! Sugarcube Corner can have the greatest amount of cakes, pies and sweets of Ponyville. But if you need gifts as an apology, to tell somepony something, or if you have to confess your undying love to your super special somepony you have to come to Bon-Bon’s Bonbons Shop “Hey, that’s a catchy name!” “You’ve come here several times to visit us, or to get an apology cake to somepony because you broke their property. And you have never looked at the name that’s in the huge sign in front of the building?” “I’m not exactly the kind of pony that notices details... Uhm... Talking about this kind of things... Would you mind to tell me of how you two... you know... got together?” said Rainbow, rubbing the back of her head. “How did we become filly-friends?” Said Lyra, like it was nothing, there was even a hint of excitement, like she wanted to be asked that, like she loved to tell that story, but never got to tell it. “Yeah” “Well... everything started in a dark and stormy night…” Said Lyra, doing exaggerated gestures to tell the story. “Oh come on Lyra, stop this right now, tell her the real story and stop joking around” said Bon-Bon faking harshness in her voice. But inside, she was trying hard not to laugh. “Ok. Ok. Gosh, Bon-Bon you’re such a killjoy sometimes you know?” “Yeah, but you won’t leave me, no matter how much I ruin your jokes” “You got a point” said Lyra thoughtfully. “You know I love you too much… And that’s why you do it! You’re evil Bon-Bon, you think you can manipulate me with that pretty face of yours? Well you can, but you shouldn’t” Both mares giggled at their absurd discussion while Rainbow Dash was confused, she really thought her friends where having a fight, but when she finally realised what was happening, she joined in the laughter. “Well, heh, that was funny. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, I haven’t even started… Well, as you know, I’ve been in the Ponyville’s Orchestra for… two years now. Well the day I applied for the place I’m in now, they told me that there was a huge concert in a week and if I played it well, then I would be in. I got really nervous and even if I knew I was good at it, it was terrifying to think of failure in front of such a huge crowd. So I asked my best friend Bon-Bon,” Said Lyra pointing at the shop owner “to go to the concert, she wouldn’t cheer for me, she wouldn’t give me nothing, but the mere fact of her being there, relaxed me, and gave me strength. I didn’t know what it was back then, now I know that it was because I know that no matter what happens, she would never hate me, or laugh at me and she will always be with me helping me to face any problem” “Aww… that’s so sweet…” said Dash leaning her head to the side and half-closing her eyes. The three mares opened their eyes in surprise; it looked like their eyes would pop out of their eye socks any moment. “Wow… I don’t know who that mare is, but she reaaaally has you falling in love… I thought the day would never come when I would see you doing other than gagging at a tender love story, but saying it was “sweet”… Girl, you’re head over hooves in love” Said Bon-Bon, still astonished of what she had just heard. “You two, NEVER saw me doing that, nor saying that, understood?” said blushing Rainbow Dash “Yes ma’am, not that I want to keep that memory anyways…” “Please, just forget it and continue your story” “Okay, well… Oh right, I asked her to come, she noticed that I was nervous and accepted, just to help me, not to watch the orchestra. She never liked classical music that much… well the thing is, making long things short, I played very well and I got accepted. After receiving the news, I ran down the stage to tell Bon-Bon about it, I just wanted to show her all of my emotion. Bon-Bon came running too, because she thought the play was beautiful and she saw my face and knew I got accepted, she wanted to show her affection for me.” Lyra changed her expression, it looked like she wasn’t sure how to say what happened next. “What happened next… well, let’s say we got to show our emotion and our affection for each other, but not with a hoof bump or a friendly hug. When we met halfway, I threw my hooves over her shoulders and forcefully and passionately kissed her, she returned the kiss and we stayed like that for some minutes. Then we opened our eyes and believe it or not, we still didn’t realise what we were doing.” Both mares looked at each other in a loving way, remembering that tender moment. “Only when we saw the faces of the people surrounding us, we snapped back to reality. We just muttered and mumbled, and then we ran in different directions.” “I remember that kiss; it was so sweet... and full of passion...” “Yeah, we can talk about best kisses in the history of time later; now let me finish telling Dash what happened” “Can I handle it from here?” said Bon-bon pouting lightly to convince her marefriend. “Well, I guess” “I remember that I was really confused that night when I got home. Nothing seemed right and I didn’t know who to talk to. Since the one that helped me every day to keep my smile, the one that got me up when I was feeling down, the one that would give me an honest answer to any problem, was the one that made me feel like that in the first place.” She said, re-living that moment of anxiety and insecurity. Dash looked at her agape; she was really enthralled by the story. Bon-Bon continued talking “So I decided that I needed to talk to her about what happened, you know, yeah, she kissed me, but I’m sure I would have done it anyways. So obviously there were contained feelings and probably she also needed somebody to hear, but I couldn’t just came out of the blue and talk to her. So I made some super special stuffed chocolates, ones of my own recipes and went out. I bought some flowers from Daisy’s Flower Shop on the way and ran to her house. When I got there I was petrified, but I knew I had to do it. I knocked the door and waited, when she opened I opened my mouth to talk, but I only got a door slammed at my muzzle” “Oh, yeah, I remember I really freaked out when I saw you out in front of my door” “Yeah, I think that was made clear with the door-slam… Anyways, I got up and leaned on the door and whispered, trying to convince her to open the door, because I needed to talk to her. After some minutes I turned and started walking home, but that’s when she opened the door and called my name. She was biting her lower lip and her eyes were darting back and forth, then she beckoned me and left the door open, making clear she wanted me to enter. I remember that when I entered, she was in front of the door, sitting and looking at me, and then she said: - ‘Before you say anything, I’m really, really sorry! I didn’t mean to do that, I... I... I don’t know what happened! It just happened, please don’t hate me.’ ‘Huh? Hate you? I could never hate you! I love you!... I mean’ ‘D-Do... do you... love me, like love me?’ ‘I... I think so... I didn’t even know before... well, before the kiss. You don’t see me that way, do you?’ ‘I... I’m not really sure...’ ‘It- Its okay... here, I brought you these flowers and these special Bon-Bon Chocolates.’ ‘Thanks?’ - You know; there are two types of silence, the good, comforting, tranquil silence, and then there’s the awkward silence. After I gave her the things I had brought her, there was the latter. Then... she talked - ‘You know, I think there ARE some feelings there, cause, you know, we kissed, and it was no accident. We both did it gladly, even if we didn’t know we were doing it, you can’t deny you felt it wasn’t odd, it was totally normal, and wanted’ ‘Yeah, you’re right, also, it didn’t feel wrong, or bad, in fact, it was...’ ‘Perfect? Beautiful? The most amazing thing ever?’ ‘Exactly’ ‘You know, if you’ve heard what we’ve just said, it’s obvious that we feel something for each other, deeper than mere friendship’ ‘Yeah, we... we should... I don’t know... try and see where this gets?’ ‘I think it’s a wonderful idea, you were always the smart one of the two, Bon-Bon’ - Then we share a passionate kiss, and well, here we are…” “That… that was so…” Dash turned away and sniffed, seconds later she turned around again with a brave face and told the two ponies “You’ve not heard nor saw nothing… Right?” “What are you talking about?” said Lyra winking at her. “Perfect… now, may I ask, if you remember… what flowers did you bring Lyra?” “Oh, of course I remember, they were…” “Livin’ Easy Roses, they’re my favourite!” said Lyra. “The wha? I know roses, and that’s it, there are different kinds of roses now?” “Oh Rainbow, you don’t even know. There are a LOT of species and colours. The Livin’ Easy is orange, for you to know” “Just like Applejack! I should totally get her tho… Oh horsefeathers, I’m so stupid” Bon-Bon gasped and Lyra started laughing. “Oh! Rainbow yes, yes you are” said Lyra laughing even harder. “Applejack! Do you love Applejack? Wow… Well I can’t say I didn’t see that coming…” Said Bon-Bon. “What? What do you mean Bon-Bon?” Said Rainbow Dash confused “And please Lyra, stop laughing already” “S-Sorry” “I meant that I somehow expected it, you two… are like… perfect match” “You think so?” “Yeah, of course. So, you haven’t told her about your feelings yet?” “Well I discovered these feelings two days ago, so I haven’t had the chance, and she invited me today to spend a day with her, so I think it was the best chance I could get. But I need to get her something and I remembered your shop and well… you know the rest of the story. By any chance… do you have some of your ‘Special Bon-Bon’s chocolates’?” “Well yeah I have some, because today is our anniversary” said the blue and pink maned pony “But… I guess you need them more than we do. Take them, I’ll give you a heart-shaped box” said Bon-Bon and walked towards the shop’s kitchen. “NO! Wait! Remember she doesn’t know! And I don’t plan on telling her as soon as I see her!” Said the alarmed cyan pegasus. “Oh, yeah you’re right… well, take this one instead” Said Bon-Bon giving her a normal chocolate box. “There are fifty chocolates inside” “Fifty!? That’s too much, don’t you think?” “Don’t worry, they’re really small, that way you can eat a lot of them without guilt” Said Bon-Bon putting a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “I ate all 50 of them myself onetime” Said Lyra looking to the ceiling, remembering that day. “Oh… that’s clever… Oh, and, how were the orange roses called?” “Livin’ Easy Roses” Lyra snapped out of her drooling trance to answer “They’re my favorites you know?” “Y-Yeah… You just told me like… two minutes ago…” “Oh yeah you’re right, Hehe...” “Wait! Do you think its okay to give her flowers? I mean, it’s like... too obvious” “Oh, and what’s your brilliant excuse on the chocolates?” “Uhm… an apology? “And if you can give apology chocolates, why not apology flowers?” “Right… Thanks! Now I should go to Daisy’s shop. I hope it’s still open, Oh! and happy anniversary!” Said Rainbow taking off. “Thank you! And good luck with your farmpony” said Bon-Bon winking at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash turned around and shouted “Wait! I forgot to pay!” “Don’t worry, this one is on the house!” “Thank you!” “Mmmhh… Bonbon…” said Lyra drooling. “Oh Lyra” said Bon-Bon blushing and giggling, but then she looked at her companion’s drool “Oh, you meant my stuffed chocolates… Urghh, why did I expect something else? Chocolate is always before me on your list” said Bon-Bon disappointed about her lover’s greater interest in food than in her. “Huh? No! I didn’t say that! I didn’t say anything as a matter of fact! You know you are always first, my sweetie cutie wootsy heart! And you also know that I love everything you do, specially chocolate. And that I really should stop eating, I’m losing my figure…” “Oh Lyra you always know what to say! And of course you are not losing your figure, you’re still as sexy as the first time I saw you, in fact, your sexier…” “Thanks Bon-Bon…” Said Lyra happily, “ that mare always gets me up when I need it, how could I ever pay her?... Oh… I know” Lyra looked at her filly-friend narrowing her eyes and talked in a low and velvety voice “Oh! Bon-Bon… you DO remember what day it is today?” “Of course, it’s our anniversary” “And what do we do every anniversary” “Oh… Uh! Baby you want me to prepare everything?” “Yes… and get ready, today I feel like we could go for a good amount of rounds…” said winking at her lover “Oh… Lyra” said silkily “I love playing cards with you” said Bon-Bon walking upstairs swinging her hips “Yeah… cards…” Lyra said to herself walking towards the door to turn the “open” sign to “closed”. Rainbow Dash was flying to Sweet Apple Acres to meet with Applejack. “ Ok. Chocolates check. Flowers check. Looking awesome, check. I’m ready for you Applejack! I gotta make a self reminder, not to talk anything around Lyra that you don’t want her to listen, she’ll listen it anyways… Oh I do hope Daisy didn’t found it weird that I went to buy roses… with a box of chocolates in my hooves… Oh well, at least she doesn’t know who she is… or that it is a ‘she’ and not a ‘he’ ” The pegasus was flying slowly so the cutting wind she was generating by flying against the air stream won’t damage the flowers, when suddenly something she had not thought before struck her “ Why do I think she called me to spend a good day with her and that this would be the perfect chance to tell her my new found love? Maybe… Maybe she wants to tell me she hates me for what I did and that she doesn’t want to be my friend anymore! ” And that’s how Rainbow Dash panicked… but she was already over the barn, she couldn’t back down. So she put her bravest face and started descending, she saw Scootaloo approaching the front door, but Applejack had told her to meet her at the hill where they always meet. She saw Applejack waiting by a tree at the top of the hill “Oh! There you are… wait… what’s that… Applejack is… is she wearing… a… DRESS?” Applejack was wearing a short, form-fitting, strapless, red satin dress that hugged her body and followed the flow of her curves; also, the color and the shape accentuated her firm legs and her round, well-toned flank. Her hair was loose but groomed, it fell down her left side, catching the sunlight and reflecting it, looking like a golden cascade flowing elegantly down the earth pony's shoulder. Applejack's emerald eyes looked even more beautiful and deep thanks to the red dress, and Rainbow Dash was enthralled and started staring at her with mouth agape and eyes big as saucers. “Woooow… You look killer Applejack!” Said Rainbow Dash, after looking at Applejack, had lost every self control of her thoughts or words. “Why thank you darling, I do appreciate you like my new look” Said in a soft and seductive voice “Wow, what’s with your voice?” “Oh, I was just trying to recall some habits I’d acquired during my brief time in Manehattan and I was trying to see how well I remember them. Why, don’t you like it, darling?” “It’s just that… the words you use… it’s like I’m talking to Rarity” said Rainbow Dash. Applejack’s face cringed after hearing that, it was the worst thing somepony could tell her. Rainbow Dash noticed that and decided to tell her the truth “I mean, I prefer your southern accent! But you can keep that voice… its killer” “Oh… Y’all mean y’all want me to talk like this?” said Applejack narrowing her eyes and talking with her southern accent, but with a velvety and smooth voice. “Ah think Ah’m getting her... No, don’t think that way; y’all never count yer chickens before they hatch. Let’s take out the big guns then…” “By the way, what do y’all think about mah new dress?” said Applejack while turning around and showing her rear. RD thought that it was as smoking hot as blazing flames burning with the power of a thousand suns, but gladly she was able to restrain herself a little and just said “Hoooot…” Yeah, she restrained herself, but she couldn’t keep herself from talking so stupid. She mentally facehoofed and tried to make it up by saying “I… I… Here! I brought you some chocolates! And flowers!” she took the chance to turn around and take the flowers and chocolates that she was hiding behind her wings. “ Thanks Celestia I was hiding these behind my wings, I didn’t have any excuse to why my wings were stiffening otherwise.” “Oh thank you, they are beautiful! But why?” said Applejack a little confused “To apologize , because of… you know, what happened the other day” suddenly she remembered what she was thinking before getting to the hill, about Applejack hating her “I-isn’t that why you asked me to come here, you’re mad at me and you don’t want to be my friend anymore, isn’t it?” Rainbow Dash eyes were starting to humidify “Oh Please Applejack, don’t hate me for what happened! It wasn’t my fault” Rainbow Dash façade tore apart and her nervousness and fears struck back, she lowered her head assuming the worst. Applejack dropped the box and the flowers and trotted towards her and hugged her friend. “Rainbow, it’s okay, I’m not mad at you” said with a soothing voice, while rubbing her back soothingly, trying to calm her. She felt something wet soaking her mane, and Rainbow was trembling, she realized that she was crying and her mane was being ruined by the tears, but she didn’t care. She only cared about her friend’s well-being. After a minute, she broke the silence, looked at Rainbow Dash’s eyes and said “Now, can y’all tell me what had jes happened? Y’all were complimenting mah hair and mah dress minutes ago, y’all gave me some flowers and chocolates, y’all seemed happy, full of energy, and then, out of the blue, y’all started a waterfall” “I… I was just worried… I thought you hated me! And I didn’t want to lose you as a friend. I was just trying to act cool and not to think about it, but… b-but then I-I… I don’t know what happened to me” “ Maybe a joke may lighten up her mood” “Ah was the one talkin’ like Rarity, and now you’re talkin’ like Pinkie Pie? It’s like poison joke all over again” Both mares shared a quick giggle, but at least Rainbow’s tears stopped “It’s okay Rainbow, now Ah don’t like to see y’all like this. This is not the Rainbow Ah know and love! Cheer up!” “Yeah you’re right, let’s just forget what had just happened” Said regaining her composure, that’s when she looked at Applejack’s mane, it was all messy and wet by Rainbow Dash’s tears “Oh no! I’ve ruined your new hairstyle, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry” “Oh, it’s okay, it was for you anyways…” “For me? What do you mean?” said Rainbow dash, raising her eyebrow. “Uh oh. Ah shouldn’t have said that, think of something quick Applejack think!” “Umm… Y’all know Rainbow, I asked y’all to come here today, ‘cus it’s been a long time since we hang out a full day jes the two of us, without any competition or fight in between. That’s why Ah asked Rarity to groom mah hair, this way Ah wouldn’t be able to run or do something like that, this way we can have a peaceful date, like everypony else” finally blurted Applejack. Luckily, what she was saying was technically true, so there was no problem. “Y-you mean ‘Date’ like… get together, don’t you?” Applejack blushed when she realised what she had just said “O-of c-course? W-what else could Ah have meant?” this time, it wasn’t fully true, so her voice started cracking and her eyes started going back and forth. After some awkward seconds of silence, Rainbow said “Yeah, you’re right, it’s been a while. I’m glad you’ve come up with this idea… Now… where do you want to go?” asked Rainbow Dash looking at the orange-coated pony “Ah have a place in mind, it’s something special Ah want to show y’all, follow me” Said Applejack, then she turned around and started walking through a path between the apple trees. Rainbow Dash just followed her; curious about what was this thing that Applejack wanted to show her. “Oh! Wait! Where are the chocolates and the roses I gave you?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Oh, yeah, y’all are right, Ah left’em on the ground when y’all started cryin’ ” "Oh yeah... could... could you, you know, never tell that to anypony?" "Y'all know Ah'm the element of Honesty, so Ah can't lie, but Ah won't bring it up unless somepony asks... but Ah doubt somepony would ask me if mah best friend ever started crying because she thought Ah hate'er" said while picking up the roses and the box of chocolates. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Oh! Those are Livin Ea-" "Livin' Easy Roses" Said Applejack cutting Rainbow Dash mid-sentence. "Yeah, you know them?" "Yup, Ah saw them in Daisy's shop one day and Ah loved them, so Ah asked her what the species name was and she told me they were Livin' Easy and Ah remember this name till now. How did y'all know Ah like them so much?" "As a matter of fact, I didn't... I guess I was just luck!" "Well you made the right choice Sugarcube, Ah love'em. And these chocolates? Where did y'all take them from? And why are they so small?" "Oh, they're Bonbon's special bonbons and they are small so you can eat a lot of them without guilt!" "Well that's a mighty good name and a mighty good idea! Do y'all want to eat some before we go?" “Yeah, why not?” After eating some of Bonbon’s chocolates and talking about nothing at all, they decided they should start moving; the sun was past halfway, so there wasn’t much daylight left. Applejack started walking, leading the way between the trees. After some minutes they reached a clearing. Rainbow was amazed of what she was seeing. Everything around her, everything inside the clearing, was under a rainbowish glow. It looked like instead of sunlight, there was rainbow-light entering from between the trees leaves. And in the middle of the clearing, there were flowers, but not any kind of flowers, rainbow coloured flowers. They looked like lilies, but with seven petals, each one with one colour of the rainbow and with a dark pink stem. They were quite a view, Rainbow Dash couldn’t deny it. “Wow, what is this place?” “This, is mah favourite part of the orchard, it’s like... ‘mah sanctuary’ ” “Why is everything so... rainbowish?” “Well, if y’all look closely, y’all will notice there’s spider-web all over us” Said Applejack pointing upwards “When Ah was a lil’ filly Ah found this place, and started coming everyday to know why it was all rainbowish like it is. Then Ah noticed the spider web above me, so Ah brought mah rope and threw it and Ah managed to get some web to stick around mah rope. I looked at it to see if the web was rainbow-coloured. It wasn’t. Y’all know, this web is like a crystal, it works like a prism and reflects the light entering from between the leaves and leave the entire clearing under a rainbowish glow” “DID YOU REALISE ALL THAT BY SEEING AT A WEB WHEN YOU WERE JUST A FILLY? I wouldn’t have realized it unless you had told me... and I know how to make rainbows” said Rainbow Dash, looking with eyes as saucers at Applejack. Applejack started laughing and then said “Oh no, no, no. But Ah do realized it was crystal-clear and Ah knew it wasn’t normal spider-web. But Ah looked on every book in the Apple Library; Ah even read every book in the school’s library and even in the town’s library. But there was nothing about rainbow-making spiders or nothing even near of what Ah saw here, but then at school, they taught us about rainbows and how are they made, so Ah realized that was the reason.” Said Applejack to Rainbow Dash, whose mouth had returned to the normal place, and her eyes were small as always again. But she was still impressed by Applejack’s reasoning ability, then she heard Applejack continued with her story and she stopped her train of thoughts to listen to what her friend had to say. “Anyways, not even now, I know why these spiders make this particular web. Ah’ve even asked Twilight, but she didn’t know nothing about it. Then she asked me where did Ah saw such a thing, but Ah had to hide the truth saying Ah was just wondering. I don’t want nopony to know about this place. Well, nopony but y’all. Y’all are mah best friend, and Ah guess y’all have earned mah trust enough to know mah secret” “Wow, that really means a lot to me, but what about the flowers? I don’t think I’ve ever seen them anywhere” “Oh, that’s the most interesting thing of this place and the thing Ah like the most about it. Y’all know, they have three particularities. First, there aren’t flowers of seven petals, it’s impossible that they exist, and yet y’all can see that they have seven petals. Second, the colours, there aren’t rainbow-coloured flowers, nowhere, not in all of Equestria. Also the stem is dark pink, another impossibility. Third, they remind me of y’all, that’s why Ah like this flower so much. The seven colours represent yer mane and yer coat, and the stem is the same colour as yer eyes.” “Yeah, they are!” “And another very special thing about these is that when Ah first entered this clearing, they weren’t here. They grow with our friendship” “What do you mean?” “The first day Ah met y’all, when Ah came here, there were these little rose-coloured sprouts. Then when we became friends, these babies started blooming and they have gotten bigger every day, jes like our friendship.” “Wow, that’s... That’s... how is that even possible?” “Ah don’t know, but Ah don’t want nopony to enter here to figure out why does it happen, Ah’m jes happy that they exist.” Said Applejack looking at the flowers with a smile in her face. Rainbow looked at her, she was touched by Applejack’s story “She really values our friendship… I have an idea!” Thought while she walked towards one of the flowers, she lowered her head and carefully cut one. Then she walked towards Applejack and stood in front of her, looking at her face to face, she then leaned towards her. Both mares were blushing furiously; Rainbow Dash then tucked the flower behind Applejack’s ear. “There. A rainbow-colored, perfect flower, from a rainbow-colored pegasus, for a perfect orange pony” Applejack thought her cheeks were going to burst in flames, she lowered her head, trying to hide her blush and said. “Well thank y’all Rainbow, but Ah think you’re the greatest mare Ah’ve ever seen, also, the one with the greatest mane of them all” “No, that would definitely be you! Your gorgeous golden mane, that’s always perfectly kept, even when you are all day doing hard and rough work. When sunrays hit your mane, a golden aura surrounds you, which make you look awesome, also the smell of sweet apples you always have…” Applejack didn’t know what to say, nor think “maybe Rainbow just said that as a friend, it doesn’t mean anything, anything at all. But Ah must admit, mah heart skipped a lot of beats” Both mares then started looking to each other’s eyes, and they spent minutes like that, without even realizing what they were doing. Rainbow Dash was the first to react; she snapped back to reality and turned her head looking away from Applejack, while rubbing the back of her head. The orange pony also realized what were they doing, and she decided to tell the cyan-pegasus the second part of her plan. “Um… Well, now that you’ve seen this, Ah guess we should move to the second part of mah plan. Ah was thinkin’ about a good walk at Ponyville’s park “Oh! That's so romanti... eeer…” “remember Dash, keep it cool, act like you are not phased “yeah… that’s cool…” finally said with an un-amused face and shrugging lightly. Applejack realized the lack of enthusiasm in her voice and sadly said “I-if y’all don’t want to go we don’t have to…” The speedster pegasus felt very bad about, that didn’t went the way she had planned “No! Sorry, please, forgive me, is not that. I do wanna go! It’s just…”Rainbow sighed, she would have to tell the truth to make it up “I… I wanted to act cool and uninterested, but I just looked stupid, I’d love to walk with you AJ” They exited the clearing and the orchard, and then they started walking towards Ponyville’s park, which was in the other part of town, that would normally inconvenient, since they would have to walk a lot more. But since they were together, they didn’t mind the extra walk. They spent the whole time talking about their time together and all the things they had lived. About how work was going for both of them. When they were near the park they were walking under a path that was surrounded by trees, it was like walking under a natural tunnel of green leaves and chirping birds. By the time they got to the park, the sun was setting. Applejack leaned and rested her head in Rainbow’s shoulder. “Look at the sky, aint it beautiful? All this, the walk, the sunset, everything. Isn’t this a perfect scenario to spend a day with yer special somepony?” Said Applejack, not really aware of what she was doing. Rainbow Dash’s cheeks became red and she was doing an exhaustive self-control work to keep her wings from springing open. “Yeah, I guess you’re right” “Do y’all have a special somepony in yer life Rainbow?” “No, but I have an eye on one pony” Said Rainbow looking at Applejack. Applejack’s ears perked up when she heard that, she stepped away from Dash, embarrassed and disappointed. “Oh… and who’s the lucky stallion?” Asked Applejack, if she was going to lose her beloved to somepony, at least she wanted to know who he was. “Oh it’s not a ‘he’ ” “ Horsefeathers I shouldn’t have said that, what if she doesn’t like fillyfoolers?” “So it is a mare, eh? This means Ah still got a chance.” “And do Ah know this mare?” “Oh yes, you know her, a lot. She is a lot like you in fact.” Said Rainbow grinning, hoping maybe Applejack would take the hint. “So she likes mares, and mah type of mares. She may be thinking on somepony else, but Ah’ll make her think of me. Ah promise y’all be mine. Ah jes need to act quickly; Ah must make her mine by tonight. Think Applejack, Think!” “ She’s not getting the hint… or maybe she has somepony else in her mind… I must make her change that somepony into the greatest mare in all of Equestria… Me! By the end of the night, you shall be mine my sweet farmpony, I promise.” Both mares continued walking around the park, while thinking how they were going to conquer her beloved’s heart. Meanwhile a pastel-yellow coated filly was walking close side-to-side with an orange Pegasus filly. And in the other side of the park, a pink pony was jumping joyfully and carelessly.