//------------------------------// // Write It; You'll Like It // Story: Appledashery // by Just Essay //------------------------------// "You could just trot up to her and... you know..." Lancie gestured with his stone talon. "Tell her. Tell her everything." "Yeesh... no..." Rainbow sat up in bed, her ears folding back. "That ain't happening." Lancie frowned, eyebrow arched. "But I thought you said that there wasn't anything to be afraid of anymore." "It's not about me," Rainbow said. "It's about AJ." She sighed. "Can... can you imagine just how friggin' awkward that would be? For her? I mean, one moment, she's doing her chores on the farm... taking care of the family and all... and then suddenly her athletic mare friend drops down from the sky and is all like: 'Hey there, Applejack. I've spent the last half-year fantasizing about us snuggling to death in a big romantic fuzzball of joy and awesomeness. So... whaddya say?'" "Even still," Lancie said, "Princess Frecklestan seems to appreciate the direct approach." "Well, there's being direct and then there's being clumsy." Rainbow's nostrils flared. "I'm pretty sure I... don't have to worry about ruining her life or nothing, but that doesn't mean that I have to ruin her day." "So... set it up, Sparky," Lancie said. "Tell her you wanna hang out someday. Then, when she's good and comfortable, just lay it all out." "Yeah..." Rainbow nodded. "That might work even better." "Set things up for a cool, tranquil evening." "Hmmm... yeah." Lancie smiled. "... ... ...set up a romantic dinner with plenty of candle light and incense." "Mmmmmmmmyeahhhhhhh—NO." Rainbow snapped out of it, then frowned at the statue. "Friggin' no you Celestia-dang garden gnome!" "Hah hah hah hah!" He bellowed. "I'm not gonna expect her to gush all over me!" Rainbow sighed... then sighed again. "That's the last thing I'm gonna expect," she murmured, eyes cast to the side. "Well, it helps to be either realistic or unrealistic," the granite serpent said. "There really isn't any in-between." "I just... d-don't know how to go about this without it coming across as sudden... or startling, y'know?" Rainbow slicked her mane back. "I-I mean... Applejack's a strong girl, and she can totally handle all sorts of tough stuff. But this will... probably hit her in a way that she hasn't experienced before. I want to get it off my chest, sure, but it can't all be about me." "Indeed..." "And I wanna make sure that there's a... y'know..." Rainbow gulped. "A friendship that can be salvaged out of this... if... if n-nothing else." "So... you want to tell her and yet you don't want to tell her." "I want to tell her... but... nnnnngh..." Rainbow Dash covered her face with a pillow, moaning. "I can't bear for it to be face to face." "Uh huh." "I... I-I just know I'll melt in front of her. I'll collapse and be all stupid and gooey and..." She pulled the pillow off and glared at the ceiling of her room. "Goddess help me if I break down crying like a friggin' sap." "Yes. Heaven forebid." "There's gotta be a better way to tell her..." "And to perhaps tell yourself." Rainbow glanced at him. "Huh?" "Think about it," Lancie said with a grin. "If there's anything that mortals enjoy..." "...it's producing records," Epcot remarked. "Concrete manifestos and visual declarations." Rainbow Dash glanced aside from where the two stood in the shadow of a flying castle. "You... you mean like writing something?" "Heeheehee..." Epcot giggled. "I suppose you could paint Applejack a picture, but somehow that doesn't quite seem your forte." "Funny..." Rainbow fidgeted. "My friend Lancie suggested the same thing." She blinked, then her muzzle curved. "Heh... my friend Lancie..." "Hmmm?" Epcot tilted her head curiously. Rainbow cleared her throat and faced the chaperone again. "But... y'know... I suck at writing." "Who could possibly be terrible at writing?!" Epcot grinned. "It's simply a means of translating our thoughts, feelings, and imaginings!" "Yeah, but not everypony can do it well," Rainbow grunted. "Who said you had to do it well?" "Buh?" "The Cider Princess—inside and out—was all about honesty." Epcot smiled. "You're her friend. She obviously trusts and appreciates you. I'd say... write how you feel. Let her read it. If there's need for poetry or mirth, allow her to formulate it in her head. I suspect your honesty is the only instrument required to make music in her heart." "Come to think of it... Applejack isn't much for reading either..." Rainbow sighed, rubbing a hoof over her face. "This is bad on double counts." "Then... perhaps you are looking too much at the potential challenges," Epcot said. "When, instead, you should be looking at the natural benefits." "Mmmm... like what benefits?" "This can be indescribably therapeutic for a mortal such as yourself," Epcot said. "To formulate your thoughts... your feelings... your adorations." She winked. "Think of it as writing to yourself... and to your own heart. And then..." She pointed. "Share that heart with Applejack. Through your words." She stifled another giggle. "Plain and simple." "Doesn't that seem a bit selfish." "You bet." Epcot nodded. "It's love." "... ... ..." "I believe in you, Rainbow Dash," Epcot said. "I know you have what it takes to do this. You simply have to... do it. Write it. Manifest it. And then share that manifestation with Applejack. It will give her time to digest everything from your heart—feelings that are concise and sincere—and then she can respond on her own terms." "Yeah... but... like..." Rainbow gritted her teeth. "Even if I leave this letter thingy at her front door... I-I'll have to wait Celestia-knows-how long for a response! If there even is one! All of that suspense, and for what?" "Will it be any different than the way you've lived the past year of your life?" Epcot asked. Rainbow could only bite her muzzle. "The moment is yours, Rainbow Dash," Epcot said. "Remember what I've always said. Heehee... if you can dream it, then you can do it." She gestured. "And... now... you can share it."