//------------------------------// // At the Library // Story: A Trip to Remember // by Gallifrey //------------------------------// A Trip to Remember by Gallifrey Chapter Eight At the Library Applejack woke early the next morning feeling very refreshed; Rainbow had rolled over during the night and was now very close to her, with one of her hind legs actually pressed against her orange body- Applejack wasn’t sure why, but she liked the contact in a way. Rainbow twitched in her sleep, and inadvertently kicked Applejack softly. She chuckled and sat up, looking at the pegasus. She seemed to be dreaming about something, her eyes were moving rapidly under the lids. “Appl—jac—” she murmured quietly, smiling in her sleep. Applejack grinned and slowly got out of her bed, so as not to disturb Rainbow Dash from her slumber. She crept across the room, deftly opened the door and slipped out. After she had had a wash she ventured downstairs for some breakfast. Big Macintosh was on a break after already feeding the chickens. He was at the kitchen table with his hind legs propped up on the table’s surface, a sprig of hay in his mouth. “Morning sis,” he said cheerfully, “how’d ya sleep last nigh’?” “Like a log,” she replied as she searched the cupboards. “Good, and Miss Rainbow?” “Still asleep,” said the orange mare as she grabbed a few apples. “She does like her shut-eye doesn’t she?” “She sure does,” said Applejack, biting into her apple. “She’s gonna see Twilight later to suggest we go camping soon.” “So ya takin’ mah advice then and having a little time off?” “Yup.” “Ah’m sure you’ll have a great time,” said the stallion. “O’ course we will.” ------------ Rainbow Dash blearily opened her eyes in the late morning. She reached out a hoof for her friend, searching for her comforting warmth and presence but was disappointed when her hoof met nothing but blanket. She yawned and sat up; looking out the window she could see Applejack working in the fields. Stretching, she rolled out of the bed and walked out of the house. The Sun was warm on her body as she trotted around the back, to tell Applejack she was going to visit Twilight Sparkle. “Hey AJ!” she called once Applejack was within earshot. “Mornin’ sugar cube! How did ya sleep last nigh’?” “Really well, thanks. Hey, I’m gonna head up Ponyville today and see Twilight, I’ll be back sometime after lunch. “Sounds good. Oh Rainbow, could you pick up some custard for me fer dessert this evening please, from the Doctor?” “Doctor Whooves?” “That’s the one!” “Alrighty, see ya later AJ!” “Bye!” --------------- Rainbow was irritated by the time she eventually reached Ponyville. It had taken her much longer than she had anticipated on hoof, and the hot weather did nothing to improve her temper. How do they do it? She thought. This is so boring, I should be flying now! And I’m so hot, I miss the wind so much… She looked over her shoulder as she trotted along. “Stupid wing.” She passed the familiar bustling streets of Ponyville, heading for the library. She would normally just fly through the windows to enter, much to the irritation of the owner, but today, the bell tinkled as the pegasus walked through the door. A purple dragon was sitting on the floor in the entrance hall , with his back against the wall, eating an emerald. “Oh hey Rainbow,” he said lazily, “Twilight’s upstairs if you want her.” “Thanks Spike.” Rainbow walked up the wooden stairs and knocked on Twilight’s door. There was no answer. She knocked a little louder- still nothing. Growing impatient, Rainbow just opened it; the room was empty. Then she noticed the balcony doors were open and walked over to them. Twilight Sparkle was sitting on a cushion before a canvas, with a jug full of cool lemonade next to her. “Oh hey Rainbow!” said Twilight when she noticed the blue mare, “How’s your wing today?” “My wing sucks,” said Rainbow despondently, “it’s like my whole life has been slowed down or something, it took me so long to get here.” “Well maybe slowing down could be a good thing?” said Twilight encouragingly, “You can view things from a whole new perspective.” “Yeah, the boring perspective.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “What brings you up here anyway?” asked the unicorn. “Me and AJ have an idea for this trip thing of yours.” “Ooh, do tell, I don’t want you two to go somewhere you don’t want to after all.” “We thought of camping.” “I’ve never been camping,” mused Twilight, “but it is something I’ve always wanted to do. Did you have anywhere in mind?” “Not really, we can look into that later, I don’t really mind.” Twilight nodded. “Can I get you something to drink?” the unicorn asked, “You look a little thirsty.” “Please, just a little though, I can’t stay too long: I gotta see the Doctor.” “The Doctor?” said Twilight, bemused, “What have you got to see him for?” “AJ wants me to get custard off him.” Twilight looked mystified. “What an odd thing to want from him,” said Twilight, as she poured out a glass. “I don’t understand either, but ah well.” Twilight added a few ice cubes and handed it to Rainbow. “Here you are,” said Twilight. “Thanks Twi,” she said as the unicorn levitated a paint brush and washed it in a beaker of water. “What’cha drawing?” asked Rainbow curiously. “Not much, just thought I’d paint some mountains or something, I have an hour free so I thought I’d do a little painting.” Rainbow walked around behind Twilight to look at the canvas and spat her lemonade out in surprise, luckily to the right of the art. “You’ve done that in less than an hour?” she said, flabbergasted. Twilight blushed and nodded modestly. Rainbow looked at the art, and looked up at the eastern mountains in the distance: they looked exactly the same, in fact the drawing held more detail of the jagged peaks capped with ice and snow. “You’re getting quite good at this whole painting business Twi’,” said Rainbow, impressed. “It’s just a hobby of mine.” “You should totally sell some of these ya know.” “Oh, I don’t think I’m that good.” “Of course you are Twilight! Anyway I gotta go, or I’ll be late back at AJ’s." “Alright, how’s it going at Applejack’s?” Twilight asked as they walked down the stairs. “It’s good, it’s really good…” Rainbow’s voice trailed off vaguely, her head full of a certain orange pony. She started grinning inanely. “Um, Rainbow, you alright?” Rainbow snapped back to reality to see Twilight looking at her with a little concern. “I’m fine, I was just thinking about Applej—Apples! Yup, apples! And how awesome apples are!” “Okaaaaaayyyyy,” said Twilight uncertainly. Was she thinking about what I think she was thinking about? Argh, too many thinkings! She thought. She narrowed her eyes at Rainbow, who put on a nervous grin despite her attempts to look nonchalant. “I gotta dash, I’ll see ya later Twilight!” And with that she opened the door to the library and hurried off. Twilight returned to her room to analyse the conversation that had just taken place. “I may not be the most observant pony in these matters,” she said to herself, “but if I didn’t know better, I’d say Rainbow has a crush on Applejack!” Twilight giggled. “Maybe the Princess noticed this long before I did- that will be why she asked me. This could be interesting, I know they’ve always been really close, but why now? Is AJ like that? Her family is quite conservative...” She suddenly realised she was pacing again. She stopped, chuckled, and went to retrieve her latest artwork from outside.