6 Months, Several Eternities

by TheRainbowEffect

Solace

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to see a certain country pony standing above her on the bed. She looked around for an escape route and tried wiggling out from under the orange mare, but Applejack sat down, pinning and straddling the cyan mare. Applejack smiled in a way that didn’t leave much to the imagination as to what she was planning to do.

“Applejack, what’re you doing?”

“Ah think you know very well what ah’m doin’.”

“But Applejack-“

Applejack pressed a hoof against Rainbow Dash’s mouth, silencing her. Applejack then began to lean forward, cementing Rainbow Dash’s guess as to the earth pony’s plans. Applejack drew closer as the pegasus gave in and parted her lips expectantly.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes actually opened to see the ceiling. She should have felt relieved. Instead, she felt… disappointed. She searched her mind for something with which to rationalize. She finally settled with the explanation that she was disappointed to wake up, seeing as she liked sleep. Additionally, her wings hurt, as if they had been pressing up against her cast. She sat up and rubbed her eyes with her hooves, stretched, and opened her eyes. Applejack was standing there, looking puzzled.

“Applejack… how long have you been standing there?”

“Ya said mah name.”

“What do you mean?”

“While you were dreamin’ ya said mah name. What were ya dreamin’ about?”

“Nothing.”

“It didn’t sound like nothin’. You were movin’ around in yer sleep too.”

“Applejack, it was nothing.”

“Alrighty, if you insist.”

“Good.”

"Now, ah oughta keep workin'. When you'd said mah name, ah came to see what the matter was."

With that, Applejack walked out of the room. Rainbow Dash, for some reason, felt once more disappointed when the orange mare walked out. She liked being in Applejack's company. She didn't want to see Applejack leave, but Applejack had to work. The pegasus sat there, thinking for a moment, then she came up with an idea. She was going to work out there once more with Applejack. It was tiring work, but it meant staying around the earth pony. A sudden thought crossed her mind. What if she really was beginning to fall for Applejack? The thought was shot down as quickly as it came. She wasn't going to fall in love with any mare, let alone one of her best friends. That was crazy. So she felt the need to be around Applejack. That didn't mean anything. So she dreamt about Applejack attempting to kiss her. That didn't mean anything. So she and Applejack slept close together in the same bed. That didn't mean anything. So she wrapped her hooves around Applejack in said bed... Did that mean something?

She shook her head, clearing the thought, and got up. She walked out of the room, and into the kitchen, where she ate an apple as a quick breakfast. She walked out into the orchard and looked around. She didn't see Applejack in the immediate vicinity, so she kept looking. Finally, after walking into the orchard a ways, she found Applejack, working diligently. She walked up to Applejack and greeted her.

"Hey, Applejack."

"Well, howdy. Ya need somethin'? Ya could've just called."

"No, I'm out here to work. I've been getting soft lately."

"Alrighty. Just buck any tree with apples on it."

They set off to work. Rainbow Dash made note to stay at a tree very near Applejack while she worked. She, for some reason, felt a compulsive need to work hard, so as to please Applejack. She knew Applejack would be fine if Rainbow Dash did mediocre work, but she didn't want to do mediocre work. She wanted to gain the approval of Applejack. Does THAT mean something? She shook her head once more and kept working. Her work couldn't be crap. It had to be awesome. Applejack had been doing this for Celestia-knows-how-long, so inevitably would be 20% better than Dash's work.

This was getting weirder. This kind of behavior didn't normally come from Dash. She normally didn't care. She normally would have lay back down and gone to sleep. She normally wouldn't have cared to join Applejack in her tedious work. Then again, normally, she'd be flying. Normally, she'd be laying on a cloud somewhere, or practicing her moves. Instead, she was on the ground, wings broken, taking solace in working with Applejack at the moment. But to make things clear, she wasn't in love with Applejack. Was she? Even if she was, imagine the ramifications of the entire ordeal! Applejack might shoot her down. If they did agree to go out together, what would the group think? What would Ponyville think? Since Ponyville was a pioneer town, many ponies would scorn that behavior. The entire notion was absurd. Still, Rainbow Dash liked Applejack's company. She had liked Applejack sleeping in her bed. She had wrapped her hooves around Applejack. She had dreamt about a kiss between the two. She had been disappointed when she had woken up. She had come out here to buck apples for the sole purpose of staying by Applejack. What did it mean?

She cleared the thoughts from her head, saving them for another time. She had momentarily stopped bucking apples while thinking and Applejack had gotten a couple trees away. She skipped the few trees in between and started bucking a tree adjacent to Applejack. An involuntary smile crossed her face while watching the country pony. If she were to be honest with herself, if there was any mare to go out with, Applejack would be a good choice. Not that she was thinking of dating a mare, but all things considered, Applejack would be a good partner in a relationship. She realized the whole ordeal of trying to stop thinking about this stuff wasn't really working.

Inevitably, she got tired. She notified Applejack that she was indeed done, and went inside. She sat down in the chair in the living room, looking out the window to see Applejack. She had gone far enough since the morning that she could be seen out the window. Applejack wasn't even beginning to show the slightest signs of tiring. Rainbow Dash kept insisting that she wasn't in love with Applejack, but a growing, nagging part of her suggested otherwise. Even though she was tired and resting, she had found a way to watch Applejack. Either her brain had been scrambled during the catalytic crash, or she was well and truly falling for Applejack.

She stopped to think. My name’s Rainbow Dash. I have 5 best friends. Their names are Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, and Applejack. I live in Ponyville. I broke my wings over a week ago. I was in the hospital for a couple of days before coming to live here with Applejack. I’m stuck here for 6 months. That was right. I might be falling in love with Applejack. That was the odd one out. She kept denying it, but new evidence contrary to her denial kept popping up. Her behavior lately fully suggested that she was falling for a mare. The first time, where she had cried about losing her wings, she had only fallen back asleep with Applejack's comfort in mind. The nightmare had only subsided once Applejack was there. She had come to work with Applejack out in the orchard for the sole purpose of being near her twice. She had found herself thinking about Applejack constantly. Even now, she was watching Applejack out the window. She was acting completely unlike herself since the crash. Hell, for all she knew, she could get better and completely lose her alleged feelings for Applejack. But she... hoped that it wouldn't happen. There it was again. For some reason, she hoped that getting better wouldn't mean that her feelings were all a result of possible brain damage. She hoped this wasn't a very minor case of serious brain damage. So that was it. She was admitting that she had feelings for Applejack, something she had been denying ever since the thought popped into her head. She soon realized that this brought up an entirely new set of problems. When would she tell Applejack? How would she tell Applejack? WOULD she tell Applejack? Well, she had to tell Applejack at some point. The problem was the circumstances under which she would tell Applejack. After that, though, when and how would she tell the group?

She sat back in the chair, exasperated. All this thinking was hurting her head. She needed to clear her head. Normally, to clear her head, she'd go fly, but that obviously wasn't an option. Instead, she decided to go for a walk. It was slightly anomalous of Rainbow Dash to be out on a walk, but there was not the airborne alternative that she preferred. She didn’t really care for creating a set path, so she decided to wing it-….improvise. She walked for a little bit when she found herself at the edge of the Everfree forest. She stopped in her tracks. She had been into the forest before, but they hadn’t been pleasant experiences. She looked around herself. The only place else to go was back to the orchard. She couldn’t go back to the orchard, she could run into Applejack, and her mind was too overwhelmed at the moment to talk to Applejack. She steeled herself to go into the forest. It was harmless, right? Zecora was in there; she wasn’t too bad. The forest was really just intimidating, once you were used to the place, it was fine, right? Yeah, that was right. She braced herself and walked into the Everfree forest. She looked around. This wasn't so bad. She didn't see anything that posed any threat. She calmly walked further into the forest. There was nothing scary in here.

She led herself to Zecora's door at long last. She hadn't intended to end up here, but she really hadn't intended to go anywhere, so she raised a hoof and knocked. The tribal looking zebra opened the door and smiled when she saw who her guest was. Rainbow Dash greeted herself, and listened for Zecora's rhyming greeting.

"Rainbow Dash, the cyan mare,

With a rainbow mane of hair,

Come, good Dash, into my home,

Out there it's not safe to roam."

Rainbow Dash followed the words of the greeting and walked into Zecora's home. She looked at the pot in the middle of the room, and in it was some bubbling concoction. Zecora walked in and instantly spotted the cast on Dash's back.

"Upon your back there is a cast,

What has happened in your past?"

Rainbow Dash gave a small chuckle at Zecora's physical need to rhyme, then answered.

Rainbow Dash decided to give her the brief overview, saying, "I broke my wings a little over a week ago. I crashed into a barn at a high height and landed on my back."

"Rainbow Dash, you broke your wings,

How did I not know such things?" Zecora replied in her poetic fashion.

"Maybe it's because you live out in the Everfree forest and nopony bothered to tell you?" Rainbow Dash ventured a wild guess.

"That is true, I do suppose,

Broken wings must bring great woes."

"You got that right... weird things have been happening to me... inside," Rainbow Dash said.

"Strange feelings inside, you say,

What has made you feel this way?"

Rainbow Dash hesitated, unsure if she should tell Zecora or not.

"You can tell me anything, you see,

Not many come to chat with me,

Even then, I wouldn't reveal it ever,

Or else I'd lose your trust, forever."

Rainbow Dash heard Pinkie's FOREVERRRRRRR resound in her head. She knew that as far as trustworthiness went, Zecora could be trusted. But was she ready to tell anyone in the first place? She sat there thinking for a moment, and then decided.

"I'm falling in love with Applejack."

Zecora didn’t show the slightest sign of being taken aback. Instead, she smiled at Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow Dash, you are in love,

A gift from the very stars above,

I will not judge you, I wouldn’t dare,

Even if you are in love with a mare.”

“You’re… fine with it?”

“Rainbow Dash, I do not mind,

A mare, a colt, whatever your kind,

It’s alright, whomever you choose as a mate,

I hope your feelings do not abate. “

Rainbow Dash gave a smile and asked, “So what should I do?”

“Rainbow Dash, it’s not up to me,

Make the future what you want it to be.”

Rainbow Dash smiled at Zecora, thankful to finally tell another living being, getting that out of the way. She did realize that there were still the problems that had come up previously, but at least someone KNEW, for Celestia’s sake. That still didn’t solve what she was going to do about it, but oh well. She thanked Zecora for her time and walked out of the hut and towards Applejack’s place. She still wasn’t anywhere near ready to tell Applejack; that would come in time. She had, however, cleared her head enough to return. She had for sure cemented that she had feelings for Applejack. Her head was no longer swimming with confusion. She was a good liar; she could fool Applejack until she was ready. She soon reached the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, making her way out of Everfree unscathed. There was nothing to be afraid of in the Everfree forest.

She made her way to the house without seeing Applejack. When she got inside, there was Applejack.

“Where’ve ya been?”

It wasn’t a demanding question, rather a curious one.

“I was out on a walk.”

“You were on a walk?”

“I obviously can’t go flying to clear my mind.”

“What were ya clearin’ yer mind of, ah do ask?”

“Oh, I was clearing my mind about fact that I have six months of being grounded, all that kind of stuff, and the complications that will result.”

“Alrighty. Ah was wonderin’ where ya’d gone off ta.”

“Well, now you know.”

“We’re just in for lunch, Big Mac, Granny Smith an’ me.”

“Great, I’m hungry; being so awesome works up an appetite.”

Applejack gave a laugh, which sounded like harmonic angels to Rainbow Dash. That was new. They walked to the table, and sat down to eat. They ate a different apple-related food that Rainbow Dash didn’t know the name of, but it tasted good.

“Oh, by the way,” said Applejack between bites, “Yer doin’ a good job out there, Rainbow Dash.”

Success. Rainbow Dash smiled and felt happiness inside, but had to keep up the Dash.

“Of course I am. I’m so awesome, remember?”

Applejack laughed once again, once more sounding beautiful and heavenly to Dash. “Oh yeah, how could ah have forgotten?”

Rainbow Dash hadn’t before noticed how cute Applejack’s country accent was. It was nice, she liked it. She returned to eating, stealing glances at the orange mare, who had also returned to eating. Applejack was cute even eating. Wow, Rainbow Dash thought, this isn’t me. At least, this wasn’t me until I fell in love with Applejack. She didn’t regret it. She was glad that she had fallen in love with Applejack. She had never been in love before, so a first time with a mare was quite the experiment. She was sure she had fallen in love with the right pony, though, mare or colt.

They were done eating soon afterward, and they proceeded to clean up their lunch. It had been a good lunch. Rainbow Dash was still too sore to go back out and work, so she watched as Applejack and Big Mac went back out there. There wasn’t much of the crop left, and maybe they could get it done today if they worked hard. While Applejack worked, Dash found a window out of which to watch Applejack. She watched the country mare hit the trees, as her mind began to drift. What would a future with Applejack be like? She knew she would get integrated into the bucking tradition, maybe at some point they’d even move in together. One thing she really wondered was: could mares get married to other mares? Was that allowed? She didn’t know, but if they got that far, they’d cross that bridge once there. You know, maybe life with Applejack would be alright. They were great friends already, but that could be a problem. What if Applejack didn’t want to ruin their friendship by going out? What if Applejack refused to even go out with a mare in the first place? These questions ran through Rainbow Dash’s mind, but she pushed them away. Right now, she was just content to watch Applejack. She was in love with Applejack. There were no doubts about it. She was okay with being in love with a mare. It seemed right when it came to Applejack. As Applejack drew out of sight, Rainbow Dash sat there, looking at the trees. She made the same revelation she hade made previously. For the first time in her life, she was in love.

Comments

[OminousBrony]

I feel sorry for anyone that has to write Zecora into their fics.

[taco234]

Excellent chapter im awaiting more.

[Bashfluff]

I love what you've done with Rainbow Dash's inner self and how you used it for the reveal. It was nicely paced and realistic, which is a good change from the "OMG I think I'm in love because her eyes are pretty and now what do I do and oh God what if she doesn't like mares and what if other ponies hate us and--" thing. Those aspects are all there, and it's necessary that they be there, but they're more in-depth and they build up as you go through the chapter. Brilliant.

The rest of this chapter is great, too. Dialogue fits, and the characters are written well, especially Dash. Your Zecora stuck out as being written creatively and excellently, but I sorta wish you did more with her. At the same time, though, I think that you put that scene there for a reason, and I think you might have been foreshadowing with AJ being pushy with Dash, and that's all that felt off, so I officially have no bones to pick with you.

Except the universal one, which is, of course...

KEEP WRITING!

[Magicolt808]

* Announcer Voice* What will happen next? Will Rainbow Dash tell Applejack her true feelings? And if she does will RD find herself where many are stranded to this very day? The FRIEND ZONE? Join us next time to find out!

[MidnightWhisper]

215883
NEXT TIME ON DRAGON BALL-....wait a minute.... blah i want more i wanna know what happens T.T

[YOitzGEEZUS]

Jolly good show!

[T4]

Wait...Applejack was working in the field....and she heard Rainbow say her name FROM THE FIELD.

"..Applejack"

"SOMEPONY SAID MY NAME!" *crashwhewshbewmcat*

"Ya need somethin? "

[Damcclub]

That was the cutest thing ever!!!