//------------------------------// // Chapter Nine // Story: Time Doesn't Heal All Wounds // by Caineachu //------------------------------// Dear Celestia, her legs were sore. Applejack was only aware of the pain stuck in her thighs and stomach when the sunlight seemed to concentrate on her sleeping form, the bright rays waking her from slumber. She tried to turn away, to get even a few more minutes of sleep, but something next to her and slightly on top of her prevented her from doing so. Her eyes fluttered open, and she glanced downward, her vision mostly blocked by a mass of rainbow-colored hair. She smiled softly, one of her arms moving so she could brush a hand over the furry back of the pegasus lying on top of her. Rainbow stirred under her touch, nuzzling her head deeper into her chest. Applejack chuckled at the sight, which only caused the blue mare to stir again, her eyes opening halfway as she propped herself up on one of her arms, looking around. She rubbed at her face, not entirely aware of her surroundings. "Mm...Applejack?" "Mornin', Dashie." A few seconds passed before Rainbow Dash blinked, then looked right down at the apple farmer. She noticed an absence of her friend's torso wrappings, and her shirt put back on halfheartedly, barely buttoned up at all. Her own shirt was tossed off to the side, discarded and forgotten during the night. Applejack could see the gears turning as she pieced everything together. "...It wasn't a dream?" "Not unless I had the same exact one." The orange mare kept the smile on her face as Rainbow processed this new tidbit, leaning up to kiss the blushing cheek of the pegasus sitting up over her. "I remember you bein' pretty amazin' last night, sugarcube~" The blush painting Rainbow Dash's cheeks only grew, and she hid her face behind her hands before turning away, forcing a laugh out of the orange mare. She sat up, blowing a loose strand of golden hair out of her face. "Whatcha so embarrassed about, I said y'all were good. Where's that cocky pegasus that I was oh-so taken with last night?" "She's hiding being a wall of disbelief." Rainbow turned around to face her, a small smile on her face. "It's just that...okay, this might sound weird, but I've dreamed about a night like last night before. And it was better than even my wildest dreams, because it was real. I woke up the next day and I was really next to you. I'm still not convinced this is real..." "It was real, I can promise ya that much." Applejack grinned, kissing at Rainbow's jaw from behind her. "An' I don't regret any part of it, trust me." "Really?" Rainbow turned around to face Applejack, a look of slight disbelief painting her face. "Well, I wasn't the Element of Honesty fer nothin', Dash. Y'all know I mean what I say." The orange mare wrapped her arms around the blue pegasus in front of her. "Now come on, we gotta pack up an' hit the road." Rainbow gave a little whine of protest, leaning back into Applejack. "Can't we just stay here a bit longer?" Applejack smiled mischievously, tilting her head just enough to gently nibble on Rainbow's neck. This elicited a small moan from the blue mare, and she tilted her own head to expose more of her neck. But the sensual biting she was expecting never came, replaced with a soft kiss on her jaw. "No." "Nnn, dammit, AJ." Applejack chuckled as she unwrapped her arms from the other mare, slowly standing up and stretching. "Come on, ya lazy bum, we're burnin' daylight." ---------- For the rest of the morning, they continued onward, walking at a rather brisk pace, as if last night's lust-filled adventure gave them both an extra spring in their steps. Rainbow was extra cheerful, Applejack was absolutely content, and they both kept sneaking glances at each other as they walked, occasionally talking about something or other. This continued until the sun started to set, casting an orange glow on everything it's light touched. Applejack looked up at the clouds. "Lookit that, the day's almost over already!" She took her hat off, wiping her brow with her forearm before placing the stetson back on its perch, turning to the pegasus next to her. "Don't feel like we've been walkin' all day, huh?" "Nah, not at all. Went by pretty fast, honestly." Rainbow hopped up into the air, her wings unfolding from her back and stretching out from her back, flapping slowly to keep her suspended above the ground. They were sore from not being used in quite some time, but she kept hovering anyway. Applejack glanced over at her. "I haven't seen ya use them wings the whole time we've been reunited." Rainbow simply turned a bit, exposing part of her wing missing a few feathers and wrapped up slightly, something Applejack didn't notice when they were folded behind her. "Yeah, that's because a big blue flying pegasus is an easy target." The orange mare's smile melted away, replaced with a frown laced with concern. "Rainbow, what the hay? When did this happen?" She moved over, tugging the hovering mare down to the ground and inspecting the wing. "While I was looking for you. It was kinda..." She smiled sheepishly, already expecting to get chewed out for this. "...one of the little details I left out before." Applejack huffed a little, undoing the shoddy gauze wrapping over the injury. "This could've gotten infected, ya know that? Ya could've lost this here wing." The wing flexed and twitched as she took the gauze off of it. She was never really this close to Rainbow's wings before, and never noticed all the little movements that the muscles made. They entranced her, and she found herself lightly touching her fingertips along the rows of feathers, feeling the soft wing lining before moving down to the primaries and secondaries. Rainbow, meanwhile, had been biting her lip the whole time, feeling every single touch and finger brush as her cheeks heated. "Mm...AJ?" Applejack blinked, looking up at the side of Rainbow's head. "Oh, sorry, does it hurt?" "Well, uh, no, it's somethin' else..." The apple farmer tilted her head to the side, not understanding right away. As soon as what it was clicked, however, her cheeks flushed, but she didn't take her hands off of Rainbow's wings right away. She trailed her hands to the injured spot, lightly touching at it before she rewrapped it, much better than it was before. "Uh, there, I fixed it for ya." Her hands slowly trailed down the half-opened wing, moving to lightly press into Rainbow's back through her shirt. Something inside Applejack stirred, something incredibly familiar, but she held it back, biting her lip as her arms fell back to her sides. She moved around the blue mare, not looking back. "C'mon, let's keep goin'."