It had nearly been a week since Applejack had seen Rainbow at the bar. Since then, she had bucked countless apple trees, mended numerous baskets, fixed Mac’s cart, and cleaned the entire barn at least twice.
Oh, yeah. She had worried, too. She’d worried a lot. She hadn’t seen Rainbow since, and it seemed like nopony else had had contact with her, either.
Well, Derpy had; but being told “go away!” wasn’t exactly ‘contact’ with Rainbow Dash.
Applejack slammed her head against the tree and sighed. She needed to do something. Moping around here working really wasn’t going to help Rainbow any. Besides, Applejack couldn’t just abandon her; after all, she still had feelings for Rainbow Dash.
Didn’t she? She’d hid from her, somehow convinced herself that it had been because Rainbow was drunk and not worth confronting… but was it?
She growled and shook her head. She was just going to go see Rainbow Dash, no matter the consequences.
* * *
As it turned out, she wasn’t the only one missing Rainbow Dash. Applejack arrived to see Scootaloo, reclining on her scooter and looking up longingly at Rainbow’s cloudhouse. Hearing Applejack’s arrival, the little pegasus looked up at the earth pony and then looked back down.
“She hasn't come out in a long time,” Scootaloo said sadly. “I don’t know how she’s doing.” She fluttered her tiny wings helplessly.
“Me neither,” Applejack admitted. She brightened as she suddenly realized that both she and Scootaloo would make a good team. As much as she would deny it, Rainbow definitely had a soft spot for the little filly; and she would make for good backup.
“Let’s find a way up and visit her, hey? What do you say?”
“Great!” Scootaloo cheered. “Let’s go right now!”
Well, Scootaloo agreed; but her stomach growled an objection.
Applejack smirked. “You've been waiting here a while, huh?”
“Maybe…?” Scootaloo said sheepishly.
“Tell you what. Let's go get you and her something to eat, and then we’ll come back.”
* * *
Scootaloo’s wings slowed slightly. “This isn't the way to Rainbow's house...” she pointed out.
“Yeah, but Ah can't get up there by myself-”
Applejack saw Scootaloo pause and glare briefly at her little wings before scurrying forward to catch up again.
“-and last time a bunch of us needed to get up there was when Twilight flew us up in her balloon for that party Pinkie threw when Rainbow got back from the academy; and, seein' as how Ah still haven't grown wings and you’re in no condition to give me a ride, Ah figured Ah'd ask t' borrow it again. 'Sides, Ah can't exactly walk on clouds without magic, so Ah'll need to see her anyhow for those fancy sandals.”
Scootaloo exhaled briefly. At least she could walk on clouds. That was something she could do.
* * *
Applejack remembered the last time she had been here, and she entered the library without knocking. “Twilight!” she called… before tripping over a pile of books and landing on her face. Scootaloo giggled briefly at her misfortune. Applejack sat up and looked around. Piles of books littered the floor, many of which had bookmarks.
Twilight stood up from behind yet another pile and stretched, popping her back with an audible crack. “Hey, Applejack. It’s good to see you.”
“Likewise,” Applejack said, pushing herself to her hooves. “Ah came to borrow the sandals and this time your balloon, if’n that’s all right.”
“Of course,” Twilight said. “I’m not using it or anything. Do you know how to fly it?” When Applejack shook her head, she smiled broadly at the prospect of teaching. “It’s pretty easy to fly, too…”
Within minutes, Applejack and Scootaloo were rising through the air. Scootaloo hung her head over the side and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of the wind blowing through her mane.
Too soon for Scootaloo and not soon enough for Applejack, they arrived at Rainbow’s doorstep. Applejack made sure to tie the balloon down securely before lifting out her picnic basket and trotting over to the door, quickly followed by Scootaloo.
Applejack knocked on the door.
No answer.
She knocked again.
No answer.
“Let me try,” Scootaloo said. “I’m a good knocker.” She happily demonstrated, knocking loudly and eagerly.
This brought results, but not welcome ones. “Go away,” Rainbow called angrily from behind the door.
“You don’t even know who it is,” Applejack pointed out.
“I do now, and my answer’s still the same. Go away.”
“We brought you somethin’,” Applejack offered.
“Great. Leave it on the porch. I’ll grab it later.”
Applejack frowned even as she set the basket down. She'd hoped to get a little more out of her. “Rainbow, we're here because we care about you.”
“I'm sure you do. Go away.”
Applejack was taken aback. She knew Rainbow was upset, but she hadn’t been expecting something that caustic.
“That’s no way to treat a marefriend,” Scootaloo whispered behind her hoof.
Apparently it had been loud enough for Rainbow to hear, though, because she slammed a hoof angrily against the closed door. “She’s not my marefriend!” Her voice grew quieter. “Not anymore.”
“Why not?” Scootaloo asked, eyes wide in surprise.
“She thinks I’m hideous and pities me. That’s not something marefriends do.”
Applejack opened her mouth to respond, but luckily, Scootaloo cut her off. “Well, I still like you,” Scootaloo said.
Rainbow opened the door ever so slightly, revealing only the left side of her face. “Yeah? Good for you.” She reached out a hoof, swiped the food inside, and then glared at Applejack. “Nice ballet slippers,” she spat before slamming the door shut.
Scootaloo sank to her haunches, shock written across her face. “Rainbow Dash…” she whispered, unable to comprehend how her adoptive sister had just brushed her off like that.
Applejack opened her mouth to say things she didn’t really know how to say. “Rainbow’s hurtin' right now, hurtin’ somethin’ awful. Ah was wrong. Maybe we’d better give her some space.”
Scootaloo looked over sadly at the door before slowly following Applejack back to Twilight’s balloon.
* * *
It’s better this way, Rainbow reflected as she chewed dolefully on another apple. She hadn’t realized just how hungry she was until she had started eating, whereupon the majority of the food had disappeared almost instantly. She’d probably regret that in a few hours, but hey.
Speaking of regrets… part of her did regret being so harsh, but only a very small part. Both Scootaloo and Applejack were good ponies. Scootaloo was young, with plenty of potential and plenty of time to find an actual hero to idolize; and Applejack was strong and fit and could choose a partner from any mare she wanted.
Their lives would be better if they both just moved on and left her behind.
* * *
“And she turned Garble small and stuck him in her purse!” the dragon wailed to his gathered companions. “Then she went back to her horrible treehouse and fried him up with oregano and ate him for din-din!”
The gathered dragons murmured angrily. That didn't seem right to them.
Not that it was impossible for a pony to do that; but that she had done that to Garble, one of their own. Ponies everywhere cheated with their magic, taking the power away from mighty dragons, and the dragons really didn't like that.
“I hate ponies,” one dragon grumbled, and others soon joined in in agreement.
“We can't let this happen. We're dragons! We take what we want and nothin' but nothin' stands in our way!” Another large dragon got up and roared his challenge to the empty sky. “Let's end this!” He turned and began marching.
“What are you doing?”
He responded with a slap upside the speaker's head. “We're going to Canterlot, moron; and we're going to make that purple pony pay.”
The dragons cheered and began marching, roaring their terrible roars and waving their terrible claws and gnashing their terrible teeth, until…
“Uh, guys?” a smaller dragon spoke up.
“What?”
“I think Canterlot is that way.”
“Oh.” A pause. “I knew that.”