The next morning I woke up with my arms still wrapped around Adagio, I didn’t dare stir and risk waking her up. I closed my eyes again and concentrated on the steady sound of her breath, she didn’t take very long to wake up on her own. She first looked up at me then sighed. “I suppose I should get going.” She untangled herself from me and strolled to the other side of the room by the door.
I sat up on the edge of my bed and asked tiredly “You want a ride?”
Adagio shook her head “I’ll be okay to walk.” She said pulling the sunglasses I gave her out of her purse. Before she left, I got up and put on a fresh t shirt, when the fabric had come to rest on my chest and shoulders, Adagio quickly took my hand in both of hers and planted another soft kiss on my cheek. She smiled bashfully and blushed a light red as she waved me goodbye.
After a late breakfast I decided to call AJ to follow up on our plans for the day. Rainbow Dash’s match wouldn’t be until later in the afternoon, so we decided I would go to the farm early to spend time with AJ. She assured me her chores would be done by the time I got there, so we could have the whole day with each other.
When I arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, sure enough Applejack was sitting on her porch waiting for me. We pulled each other into a tight hug, I hadn’t seen her since lunch on Friday, which was only two days ago but it felt like years since then. It’s been even longer since we’d been together like this, since I spent most of last week with the Dazzlings. Neither of us wanted to let go, we held on as though if we let go we might lose each other.
Eventually we were broken apart by Winona, Applejack’s dog. She was jumping up and down around us barking excitedly. “Figured we could take Winona for a walk through the orchard together.” Applejack smiled at me. I nodded and took her hand, she lead me into the orchard.
Under the shade of the apple trees, with Winona frolicking nearby, AJ and I walked hand in hand, for a while we stared into each other’s eyes. It was one of those moments, when nothing else mattered and we just had each other. We both wanted it to last forever, if we hadn’t promised our time to Rainbow Dash, we would have lost ourselves in AJ’s vast apple orchards for the whole day.
Winona had tired herself out when we reached a stream on the farm, AJ and I let Winona take a nap while we sat together under one of her Apple trees. Applejack was nestled under my arm with her head on my chest, ear to my heart. I was sat up against the tree with my free hand behind my head. A warm, gentle breeze rustled the leaves above us, birds were calling to each other from the canopy above us. I was about to fall asleep until Applejack spoke up.
“Y’all made yourself mighty scarce last week…” I opened my eyes and sighed, it was the conversation I was dreading. “…was beginning to wonder if y’all’d forgotten about me.”
“Me too.” I mumbled under my breath.
“Hm?” She looked up at me curiously.
“I missed you.” I blurted, I internally high fived myself for such a nice recovery.
AJ put her head back to my chest and wrapped her arms around me in a strong embrace. “I missed you too Sugarcube, but I have to know, what were y’all doing that kept you from me?”
I sighed, I’d been dreading this conversation since the first night I spent with the Dazzlings. I wanted to tell her everything, what I’d done and why, until the events of last night, when I let Adagio into my bed. My throat became tight as I struggled to articulate the events of the last week. Until the image of Adagio’s pathetic face came to the front of my mind. “They needed my help very much.” I finally answered.
Applejack released her embrace and sat up beside me against the apple tree. “That’s really it? I need more to go on than that Sugarcube.”
I ran a hand through her blonde hair in an effort to reassure her. “Whats important is I think I’m getting through to them. Adagios really warming up to me.”
Applejack sighed and positioned herself back under my arm and sighed “If you say so.” I felt a tension between us, fortunately, it faded as we fell asleep in the cool shade of her apple trees.
We were woken up by Winona barking and climbing over us, she’d got her rest and was ready to head back to the farm house. Applejack stood up and hoisted me to my feet, I was still in the mood for a nap but we had to get going. On the way back to the farm house, AJ and I walked with some distance between us, we would still catch each other’s glance which only slightly reassured me.
Winona ran off back inside once we reached the farm house, Applejack and I climbed into my car, ready to go watch Rainbow Dash play whatever it was she was up to today. I stuck the keys in the ignition but before turning on the engine, AJ and I turned and smiled to each other. She sat back in her seat and pulled down her sun visor, her smile disappeared and gave way to a disappointed frown. “What’s this?” She asked me calmly, I turned to see her showing me a film strip. The happiness drained from my face making room for disappointment and guilt, it was the pictures Adagio had taken with me at the pier last night.
I stammered, in a pointless attempt to explain myself until I could find my words. “AJ, that’s…I just took her to the pier last night.” I tried calmly.
Applejack’s frown turned into scorn. “Is that it now?” I looked down in shame, there was no lying my way out of this one.
“Yeah, she wanted to kick it yesterday, that’s it.” I tried, AJ was fuming.
She yelled at me “Quit lyin to me already!” She waved the pictures at me.
Shame gave way to frustration, I unbuckled my seat belt to turn and face AJ. I roared at her at the top of my lungs “I’m not lying!”
“I know y’all was at those awful races all week!” She screamed in reply.
“What makes you think that?” I asked accusingly. How could she possibly have known?
“I know because Big Mac goes almost every night! He told me you were racing for those girls.” She snapped at me with a powerful glare.
I sighed “Alright, so what, I took them out and made friends, that’s what you told me to do.”
“I didn’t tell you to…what about your pa? What about me?” She sighed and asked me pleadingly “Don’t we matter at all?”
I grew frustrated, only because she was right, what I had done was stupid, but I was only trying to help, she just wouldn’t understand, she was the one in the wrong. “AJ-“
“What if y’all’d got yourself killed?!” She shouted.
“Applejack, they needed scratch, I was just trying to help.” I said desperately.
“You love her don’t you?” She accused with a lowered voice, her emerald glare was almost unbearable, but at least I could confidently look into her eyes, because the next thing I said was the absolute truth as I understood it at the time.
“No, Applejack, I don’t love her. I love you.”
“Liar liar LIAR!” She shouted to me at the top of her lungs, pushing the film strip into my chest. I sat with my mouth agape, I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t believe me, even when I looked closely at the pictures. Adagio looked a little flirty, but that wasn’t what made AJ doubt me.
While I was struggling to understand her disbelief, AJ hastily climbed out of my car and slammed the door behind her. When I turned the film strip over, I saw Adagio had written her own love letter which read Thanks for a great time Handsome sealed with an imprint of her amber lipstick.
I dropped the photos on the floor and scrambled out after Applejack. “AJ wait!” I called to her desperately. She ignored me storming up the steps of her porch and into the farm house. I thought about going in after her, but I saw her brother staring at me through the window so I decided to back off. Frustrated, I returned to my car and dropped myself in the driver’s seat. I clenched my teeth together and punched the steering wheel, sounding off the horn.
With a lot of discipline, I drove back to town, back home. I went inside, only to put away my jacket and change my shirt. From my room, I made straight for the garage, on my way I saw my dad watching TV, I think he tried to ask me something but I was too caught up in the whirlwind of my own emotions to pay too much attention to him. I slammed the door behind me and cast my gaze on the bane of my existence, the single object which my twisted mind traced back all of my misery. This hateful, gun metal grey sports car.
I picked up my torque wrench off the work table and set to work for the whole night. I didn’t eat, I didn’t break. I just perpetually turned my wrench until early morning. I only knew what time it was when my dad finally told me to get ready for school. Having sufficiently worked through my frustration for the time being, I set my wrench back down and obliged.
Lunch started typical, well as typical as typical for me gets, except as I was considering avoiding the cafeteria all together, I felt a grasp around my arm. I sighed and allowed whoever to show me to the Dazzling’s table, except I could see all three of them were already seated there. I turned to see it was Applejack, with spite on her face leading me to their table. “AJ-“
“We’re settlin this. Right now.” She said sternly.
Adagio, Aria and Sonata were all sitting on one side of the table, and AJ and I sat across from them. Sonata was the first to speak up as soon as AJ and I were seated. “Hey you! We were wondering when you’d come back!” She chirped with an eager grin on her face.
I tried to wrap my fingers between Applejack’s but she just yanked her hand away as she addressed the sirens across from us. “I want some answers, now.” She demanded.
“Well we’ll be happy to tell you anything Applejack. We would never lie to you.” Adagio chimed innocently, the sirens on either side of her nodded their heads in agreement.
AJ glared at her “First off, how come my big brothers seen y’all at the races together?”
Adagio leaned in and feigned enthusiasm saying “Well, when you’re friend here saw how desperate we were for help, he so kindly offered to race to earn us some money.” She emphasized the word kindly. “ Just to stay on our feet.”
Applejack turned her unwavering glare to me and demanded “Is this true?”
I clenched my teeth, I could feel the room becoming hotter, I was beginning to sweat. “Well, at her suggestion-“
Applejack cut me off, “Yes or no?” she almost shouted, trying to avoid causing a scene.
I sighed and admitted “Yeah.”
Applejack turned her attention back to the siren in chief, Adagio. “Now whats this I hear from his pa about not bein home all last week.”
Again, Adagio played innocent, “Well, we just invited him in last Monday, we even invited him to stay the night with us and he was happy to do so.” She grinned mischievously. “After that first night, he just about insisted on staying with us every night until Friday.”
Applejack clenched her teeth together and bared them at me expecting her true or false.
“Yeah bu-“ I tried to plead a case for myself but Adagio cut me off.
“Don’t worry Applejack, we didn’t share a bed or anything.” She laughed, Applejacks glare seemed to let up, until Adagio opened up her mouth again. “Until last night at least.” She smiled seductively and winked at me. My jaw dropped, Applejack was more furious than ever.
AJ screamed at the top of her lungs “You did WHAT NOW?” The whole cafeteria was staring at our table, and my face was turning a bright red. I looked at the floor my face flush with guilt.
“Oh yes, his bare chest was so irresistibly warm.” Adagio added, I couldn’t see with my face hidden by my hands but Adagio and her siren friends were smirking at me.
Applejack shouted again. “That tears it.” I heard her stood up, so I got up after her and grabbed her wrist.
“AJ how you goin to believe them like that?” I pleaded with her.
She ripped her wrist free of my grip and replied “How am I supposed to believe YOU after all the lies you told me? How can I believe anything you ever told me?” Her voice was quivering as tears welled up in her eyes. She stormed out of the cafeteria.
I watched her leave with frustration spread across my face and fought to hold back tears. I was about to leave until someone put their hand on my shoulder, I jerked my shoulder away and turned to face whoever was putting hands on me. Unsurprisingly it was Adagio, surprisingly she looked worried. “I’m so sorry, I honestly thought you had already broken up with her.” She whined. I glared at her and she continued, “I just thought, with you spending all that time with us, staying with us, the way you’d taken such an interest in us, taken an interest in me.” She cooed in a seductive tone, “I thought you’d all but given up on her, especially when you took me to the pier. I thought you were free game.” She put on a pouty face.
My glare intensified. “I saw you. You was lovin every second of that.”
She put a hand to her chest feigning shock. “I was just thinking how lucky I was we could be together now.”
I shook my head and left, not just the cafeteria, not just the building. I left school, I had to go somewhere where I could be by myself, somewhere where nothing else mattered, where I could be myself.
Hours later, I was rolling down a lonely coastal road. The whole day I had kept my emotions out of my driving, even though I was fuming, I was driving like I had a hybrid. I pulled over to the side of the road and walked up to a nearby cross on the side of the road. The cross was pink, adorned with mint green ribbons flowing in the breeze. Carefully, I placed a golden poppy into the sand by the cross, and stepped back to admire the scene. Disappointment, anger and shame all had a place on my face, I wiped some tears from my eyes but realized it was useless, and let them roll freely down my cheeks. “I have to come home.” I said to the cross between the tears.
When I calmed down, I strolled back to my car, when I sat down, I looked in my mirror to see my pink eyes and stained cheeks. I looked much like Adagio had the other night. The drive back to Canterlot was contemplative and silent except for the sound of the engine. It took another few hours but I was getting close to home. I was sitting at a light when my phone started to buzz, my dad was calling. I put my phone away and made my way to the Dazzlings house. I hadn’t even bothered to cut the engine, I just stopped by to admire the place, and what had transpired the week before. Thinking about what had happened made my blood boil, I clenched my teeth together and roared away.
At that moment, revving the engine up to the red line, hearing the drive wheels scream for grip, something woke up inside of me. I felt a rush that driving couldn’t provide since I started seeing Applejack. Between all the turmoil and heartache raging inside me, this felt good. Better than good, it felt amazing.
I roared around town a while longer, by now, it looked like I would be spending the night on the road. It was getting close to midnight when I rolled up to a stoplight with a familiar blue coupe with a lightning bolt pattern on my left. To Soarin’s left, there was a black muscle car, and I could barely make out a shield on it’s hood. Soarin sounded off his horn at me and we both rolled our windows down. He shouted between our cars, “That’s exactly a quarter mile between here and the next light.” I looked ahead, it looked about the right distance. When I looked back at Soaring he was talking to the driver in the car next to him, as the other driver pulled away, he turned back to me and shouted, “Flash Sentry is gonna clock it out just to be sure. He’s our finish line.”
I watched as Flash’s tail lights grew smaller until he pulled over to the side of the road, right next to the next stop light. We rolled up our windows and revved our engines. Instead of counting down with our horns, we waited for the lights to change. I switched the car into first gear and gripped the steering wheel with all my might. My teeth were grinding together and my gaze was fixed down the road on the finishing line. Suddenly, we had green.