They’d spent the evening at Fluttershy’s, because anypony else would have felt obliged to put together some kind of raucous celebration and they all knew that none of them were ready for that.
The cottage was a little tightly packed, with all kinds of animals snoozing on the floor around them, but the five friends sat happily around the small table, pressed up close against their neighbours and slowly nibbling their way through the handful of cookies Fluttershy had found in the cupboard to keep them going while she cooked up a batch of stuffed peppers for them all to eat. The train journey from the Crystal Empire had been long and very much lacking in any food service, and they were all starved.
Rainbow Dash’s stomach grumbled, despite the cookie that was crumbling on her lips at that very second. She smiled sheepishly as the ponies around the table laughed, grinning nervously as she caught Twilight’s eye. It had been a long, long day.
“I still say that my greatest disappointment in life is that we didn’t get to keep those fabulous crystal manes, from the very first time we visited the Empire.” Applejack let out a snort as Rarity tossed her own mane with a hoof, the curls of purple hair bouncing softly for a moment after she dropped them. “Miss Harshwhinny would have been sure to have given the Crystal Empire the games at once if we’d looked like that still. I simply cannot believe how delightful we all looked!” she continued as Twilight and Rainbow exchanged a glance of shared tiredness, both with the day and Rarity’s omnipresent care for looks, even when celebrating their success.
“Yeah, Rarity!” Pinkie squealed excitedly, somehow managing to make her voice sound full, rich and loud as it always did without actually raising it, the critters around her slumbering peacefully. “We looked so super amazingtastically awesome! We were all crystally and stuff, and we had all those…” she trailed off, turning to look at Twilight for a moment. Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity all swapped glances—Pinkie Pie being lost for words was almost a miracle in and of itself, but after they day they’d all had nopony would have been surprised to find even Pinkie Pie exhausted. “What’s the word for all those weird flat shapes and angles?”
“Facets?” Twilight suggested, stifling a yawn with her hoof. Pinkie Pie smiled and nodded vigorously.
“Yeah, that’s it. We were so facety. It was really awesome.”
“I don’t know if awesome’s the right word,” Rainbow said slyly. “I mean, the sonic rainboom is awesome, a Wonderbolts show is awesome… hay, Daring Do is awesome. I don’t think getting a bunch of pretty, shiny shapes in our coats and manes is really the same. It was cool, don’t get me wrong, but not awesome.”
“You actually have different meanings for each of those words?” Twilight asked, surprised. Rainbow snorted, and she could see Applejack roll her eyes.
“Of course I do, Twi,” she explained slowly. “That’s how words work. They have meanings. I would’ve thought an egghead like you would know that,” she added, teasingly, shooting Twilight a wink and a warm, affectionate smile. Twilight sighed, her shoulders relaxing with the breath and her lips pushing forward just slightly as air blew between them.
“I know how words work, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said. She sounded only a little bit indignant beneath the rich tone of jest and mirth that filled her voice. “I’m just surprised to find out that you did.”
Pinkie Pie’s sharp intake of breath was loud enough to turn a few heads at the table, although somehow Rarity had managed to avoid the reaction.
“Oh, Twilight, that was mean,” Pinkie said, frowning, before her face almost seemed to spring into its normal, cheerful expression and her voice regained its bouncy, light tone. “That was a good one!”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Pinkie,” Rainbow said with a scowl, not quite hiding her smile as her friends laughed at her disgruntled frown. She caught Twilight’s eye and stopped even trying to hide it, joining in the laughter completely and freely.
And so it was that when Fluttershy entered with a tray of stuffed peppers she found the rest of her friends laughing, and none of them could quite bring themselves to stop laughing long enough to explain. Sighing at their antics, Fluttershy walked carefully around the table, gently laying a plate in front of each of her friends, before walking herself over to the small coffee table and stool she had left in one corner for her. On her way she passed the sleeping form of Spike—Rainbow watched as Fluttershy glanced at Twilight, who was focusing on the cookie held magically before her, before leaving a small gemstone by his side.
“Hey, Fluttershy,” Rainbow called out as her own laughter began to die down, “what are you doing all the way over there?”
“Oh,” Fluttershy replied. “I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash, but there’s just not enough room for me at the table. You girls shouldn’t worry about me. I’ll be fine over here, so long as I know none of you are too squashed up.”
“Oh, darling, really?” Rarity said, clicking her tongue against her teeth in disapproval. “That simply won’t do. Come on, everypony, let’s try to find some way to fit Fluttershy around this table with us.”
“I don’t think, uh, I mean, you don’t have to do that for me.” Fluttershy smiled nervously, sitting herself down on the stool on the other side of the room. “I’m sure I’ll be able to join your conversation from here. We’re not really that far apart.”
“Don’t be a silly filly.” Pinkie rose and picked up her plate in her teeth, stepping carefully out from between Rainbow and Twilight. She stepped around the table and placed her plate precariously on a relatively empty corner, seating herself on the floor and smiling happily. “There, see?” she said. “Room for everypony.”
Fluttershy picked up her plate and walked to the table, though she looked as if she still wanted to protest. Applejack budged into Rainbow’s side, pushing the pegasus into the gap Pinkie had left to make space for Fluttershy on the side of the table she was walking to. Rainbow lifted herself from the bench and hopped along to the empty space beside her, Applejack shoving her plate along the table with her. She stopped inches short of Twilight, and she shot the unicorn a friendly smile which was returned in kind.
It wasn’t until Fluttershy reached the table and Applejack budged into her more that Rainbow closed the small gap between her and Twilight, and she felt herself shiver as their coats came into contact.
Pinkie Pie had already begun to devour her pepper, even as Fluttershy all but whispered for everypony to tuck in and help themselves. Her enthusiasm was hardly justified, Rainbow thought, as it was not a particularly outstanding dinner—despite Fluttershy’s competence in a kitchen, nopony could really make something so bland as stuffed peppers work the wonders that Pinkie’s expression suggested they had.
The most that could be said for stuffed peppers was that they were food, and they were warm, and right then those were the only two things Rainbow and her friends cared about. Rainbow hadn’t felt this tired since the first time she had met Twilight Sparkle, when the six of them had retrieved the Elements of Harmony and defeated Nightmare Moon, restoring Princess Luna to her true self, and saving Princess Celestia and, ultimately, the day from night everlasting; and in defence of her past self, they had been awake for almost twenty-four hours by the time they defeated Nightmare Moon, and the party Pinkie Pie threw afterwards ensured they didn’t get sleep for another ten.
It was, Rainbow decided, a miracle that they didn’t simply fall asleep there and then, leaning on each other for support in a ring that never ended. They’d look like that picture she’d seen in one of Twilight’s art books once, with the staircase that went up and up and up and somehow brought you back to where you started without ever going down.
Rainbow fought hard to keep her eyes open, but the silence around her was making it hard for her to concentrate. She had thought she was hungry, but half a pepper had seemed to stop her stomach growling and now Rainbow wasn’t entirely sure she wanted any more to eat. Maybe it was just the exhaustion speaking, and Rainbow didn’t want to do anything at all.
She wondered for a moment what they were all going to do when they inevitably needed sleep; would they just fall asleep here, in Fluttershy’s cottage? Despite the little thought in the back of her mind that told her she really ought not impose on Fluttershy for so long, Rainbow couldn’t help but look forward to the idea of just falling asleep with her friends. The image of Twilight dozing, her head rested against Rainbow’s shoulder, appeared in her mind and she was too tired to bring herself to shake it. It was a pleasant thought.
Of course, it was just her mind playing tricks on her when she hadn’t had sleep in so long. That was all it was. That and the idea of being close to a pony—anypony—was always comforting, especially after she had gone so long without.
“Well, it’s been a long day,” Applejack said, interrupting the silence, her knife and fork crashing down on her plate before her as she yawned widely, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment in exhaustion. “As much as I’d like t’stay with y’all, there’s a lot of work to be done on the farm this time of year, and I need to be up early to do it.”
“Oh, come on Applejack,” Pinkie said as the farmer rose to leave. “You don’t have to go just yet, do you?”
“Sorry Pinkie,” she replied, “but I do have to be off.”
Applejack squeezed her way out past Rainbow Dash and began to trot slowly towards the door, when something made her stop in her tracks. Rainbow couldn’t quite see what it was, but she was certain it was something important. Rainbow stood up, her coat brushing against Twilight’s as she did so, and, shivering, walked over to stand by Applejack’s side. Everypony else in the room was silent, and Rainbow could feel their eyes on her.
“You okay, AJ?” she asked, quietly. Applejack’s expression was stern and worried, her face seemed almost a little pale. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”
“I’m fine,” Applejack replied, her usually powerful voice little more than a whisper. “I just realised something, is all. Don’t y’all worry about me.” She made as if she were going to step forwards and leave, but Rainbow reached out a hoof and placed it on her shoulder, holding her still more by the light pressure than any real force. Applejack could have brushed her off and left if she wanted, but the gesture itself was enough to stop her.
“Come on, AJ,” Rainbow said, firmly. “I’m not going to let you head home by yourself when you’re so obviously upset about something.”
“I ain’t upset,” Applejack replied, her voice low and seething. Rainbow could see her grit her teeth, and she almost took a step back. Rainbow turned and shot a glance at her friends, crowded around the table, and caught Twilight’s eye—the unicorn nodded, and Rainbow turned around to face Applejack once more.
“At least let me walk back with you,” she offered quietly. Applejack breathed in sharply through her nose and nodded once, lightly, as she exhaled. Rainbow turned to wave goodbye to the others. “I’ll be back in an hour, most likely,” she said.
“See you then, darling,” Rarity called. “And good night, Applejack! Sleep well.”
Applejack muttered something as she walked through the doorway, not once turning back, and Rainbow didn’t quite catch it. Exchanging one final, bemused glance with her friends and shrugging, Rainbow left quickly and trotted to catch up with Applejack on the path down from Fluttershy’s cottage.
“Y’know y’all didn’t have to come with me, right?”
“Of course I did,” Rainbow said. “You need a friend, and I’m your friend. It’s kinda my job to look out for you, y’know?”
Applejack sighed, pushing to walk a little faster than Rainbow and stay ahead. Rainbow let herself fall a little behind, leaving Applejack her own personal space, but not enough to suggest that she was giving up on her.
“You should head back,” Applejack said after a few minutes, turning to face Rainbow. She cut her off before she could object, not quite smiling. “I mean it, Rainbow. You should head back to the others, and spend some time with them. In all honesty, what I need right now ain’t a friend—I need a little bit of space and some time alone. I’ll be fine in the morning—hay, I might even be fine in half an hour or so,” she added, smiling a little more reassuringly. Rainbow squinted, her lips curling up to one side in question.
“Alright,” she said, slowly, making sure Applejack knew she didn’t quite believe her. “But I’m coming to find you in the morning if you don’t come back to Fluttershy’s, alright?”
“Deal,” Applejack said, reaching out a hoof. Rainbow reached forward and, smiling wryly, shook it. She watched Applejack walk away for a minute, until her friend was nothing more than a silhouette on the hill ahead, before she turned and walked back to Fluttershy’s cottage.
She and Applejack had covered quite a distance in their few minutes of travel, and while she felt the speed was possible when she needed to keep up with her friend, Rainbow found herself far too tired to walk back at even half the speed. Instead, she kicked off the ground and flapped powerfully with her wings, sending herself into a gentle glide.
All the while, she couldn’t help but think that what she had done was somehow fundamentally wrong—that no matter what she had said, Applejack still needed her. She tried to shake the thought from her mind, but no matter what she did she just couldn’t will it to leave. She snorted in annoyance, coming to land on the bridge at the end of Fluttershy’s garden, shaking her wings as she folded them to her sides before trotting up the path the short distance to the cottage.
As she pushed her way into the open front door, she felt all the heads in the room turn to face her. She shrugged and made her way back to the table, finding that Fluttershy had reheated her pepper.
“Well?” Rarity asked, impatiently, as Rainbow swallowed a mouthful. “How is she?”
“She said she needed some time alone,” Rainbow replied, spearing another piece of pepper on her fork. “I thought I should let her have it. I’m going to check on her in the morning, if she doesn’t come back here tonight.” She looked up at Rarity, challenge in her eyes. “Why? Shouldn’t I have left her?”
“We’re just worried about her, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said, quietly. “And I know you are, too.” Rainbow looked down at her plate, avoiding Fluttershy’s eye.
“Yeah, maybe,” Rainbow said. “I just wish I knew what was wrong. I don’t like it when my friends are unhappy. It’s pretty much the opposite of cool.” She glanced over at Pinkie, surprised to see the party pony snoring, her head laid against Twilight’s shoulder. For a moment, Rainbow wanted to find out how comfortable that would be.
“Maybe she’s just tired?” Twilight suggested, yawning. She giggled sleepily at herself, and Rainbow found herself joining in the laughter. “It has been a long day, after all.”
“Absolutely,” Rarity said, nodding in agreement with Fluttershy. “But well worth the exhaustion, don’t you think?”
“I’m just glad Miss Harshwhinny wasn’t too upset with us,” Fluttershy added, biting her lip.
Too tired to hold a conversation (and the sound of Pinkie’s snores was not helping in the slightest, the sporadic growling both interrupting anypony before they could start to talk and making all of them want to sleep even more), the four friends sat and ate in silence. It was a peaceful, friendly silence, and Rainbow felt almost like she was ready to fall asleep in it.
She almost did—at one moment, she found herself juddering awake, her head falling sharply to one side, with no recollection of having fallen asleep in the first place. But Rainbow was familiar enough with the sensation (she was, after all, Ponyville’s premier napper) that she knew she hadn’t truly slept, no matter how abrupt and surprising the awakening had been.
She turned her head at the sound of the door creaking, noting as she did so that Rarity had joined Pinkie in sleep, leaning back against the wall behind her with a small smile on her muzzle. Applejack was stepping quietly into the room, careful not to wake anypony; Rainbow smiled as she caught her eye.
“You okay?” she whispered. Applejack nodded, quietly.
“I reckon so,” she replied, trotting over to sit back at the table. Rainbow smiled at that. “Thanks,” she added, “for coming out with me, I mean.”
“No problem,” Rainbow said with a gentle shrug. “I know you’d do the same for me.”
As the thudding of her heart, heightened by the shock of a sudden awakening, calmed to a steady pulse, Rainbow felt her eyelids beginning to droop once more. She saw Rarity still sleeping peacefully, her lips parted and the slightest sliver of drool on her lip; Fluttershy looked not far behind her, though the timid pegasus seemed just a little more dignified hunched on her chair than Rarity did, all spread out against the wall. Rainbow half-heartedly chuckled at the irony, too tired to give it her all.
She felt a light pressure on her shoulder and turned to see Twilight’s mane leaning softly against her. She smiled at the sight, her coat tingling at the contact, as she looked up around the room at her friends. She caught Applejack’s eye again and smiled, a tired, goofy grin; Applejack shook her head slowly, smiling in amusement.
As Rainbow Dash slowly drifted off to sleep, exhaustion overcoming her, she realised that exactly what had upset Applejack didn’t matter, because all five of them would be there for her no matter what was causing her pain, and the same would, of course, be true for any of them. In that moment, as her eyes closed and a gentle smile tugged at her lips, Rainbow knew that so long as she had her friends everything would be alright.