XIII: Love Will Tear Us Apart
ADORKABLE LOVE
By: Einhander
CHAPTER 13: LOVE WILL TEAR US APART
Rarity would later (much later) explain it to Cheerilee as Filly Shei, the ancient Neigh-jing art of arranging ponies in different rooms of a house to minimize social awkwardness. No matter the history between the guests or the acts that transpired, any social setting could be saved if you put the right ponies in the right rooms. All it took was a precise understanding of what the issues were, who needed explanations, and where certain ponies needed to be when those words happened. Or not be. It was all very mysterious.
Cheerilee would look at her skeptically, but Rarity would come back with the rejoinder, Can you question the results?
And Cheerilee would say, No, but I can question your methods...
Big Mac stared at Cheerilee. Cheerilee looked at Big Mac. All was quiet.
Rarity’s first thought was for Cheerilee. The poor mare looked like her heart had stopped. Rarity turned back to the stallion at the door, and he didn’t look much better. Big Macintosh stood there with an old suit coat in his hooves and a mortified expression, as if he’d just gone to the little colt’s room all over the floor. Reflected in his eyes-–betrayal wasn't the right word, after all, no promises had been made or broken––was something akin to hurt. Rarity turned back to Cheerilee. The mare was looking at herself in the mirror again, but this time the previous joy at the image of herself in the dress was gone. Now there was a hot blush, and in the look in Cheerilee's eyes...
Rarity recognized her new friend's look. She knew it well, she’d worn it before.
The look of a pony who feels like a fool.
Narrowed eyes met furrowed brow. There was no reason for this. No reason at all. Cheerilee hadn’t done anything wrong. Neither had Big Macintosh, who only came for some clothing repair. Here were two ponies in pain, for no real reason. The fillies… well, they’re weren’t entirely blameless, but they meant well.
On the edge of her consciousness, she heard running water. Oh yes, on top of all of this, apparently her toilet was flooding.
If only she could talk with them, individually, clear things up, fix their gowns, fix the toilet… well, not that she was volunteering for that assignment, no, that was more for a task for a skilled pony who––
Then it hit her: Filly Shei.
Her brain took off like a rocket, putting words together into sentences. She took a giant breath, then the words came out in rapid-fire:
"Mr. Macintosh! I see your coat needs a button and a touch up. Sweetie Belle if you could take the coat to the back room please, I believe we have those buttons in stock. No, Mr. Macintosh, don't move. Not yet."
"Cheerilee, I believe these revisions are done, but I'll need you to take the dress off in order to press it and do a few final touches. It should not take long. Scootaloo, darling, help her upstairs and out of the dress? Be careful, we don't want to lose the pins."
"Apple Bloom, don't worry. Accidents happen. It's okay I promise. But why don't you go to the kitchen and clean up until we can deal with that situation up there. Further flushing isn't going to help."
"Now, Mr. Mac, I'm sorry to impose but I believe we've had a slight plumbing malfunction upstairs. All the equipment you should need is in the closet next to you, and if you'd be so kind to assist up there I promise you all the work on your coat and any other accessories will be gratis."
There was a silence as every pony stared at her, then at one another.
"Uh… beggin’ your pardon, what's ‘gratis’?" Big Mac asked.
"Free.” Cheerilee’s voice was just above a whisper. “It means free."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Rarity stomped a hoof on the ground, and everypony jumped. “Sweetie, take Mr. Mac's coat! Cheerilee, upstairs! Scootaloo, go with her! Mr. Mac, time to be our hero plumber! Chop chop!"
After a few moments of bedlam, everypony scattered to their posts. When she had the main showroom to herself, she remembered to breathe. With a giant gasp, air returned to her lungs and she wilted to the floor.
A perfect storm of awkwardness, disarmed with socially acceptable reasons to move everypony into different rooms. All was calm, for now.
Filly shei.
The game had begun. She knew how many rooms she had, and how many players (six, if she counted herself.) Hearts and future happiness were at stake.
But she was Rarity. She could do it. It would be difficult, but she could see the endgame. As long as the right ponies were in the right place at the right time, everything would be fine. Better than fine. Wonderful. Happy endings all around!
...as long as no pony else showed up.
Rainbow Dash soared through the rain-choked sky, destination anywhere, as long as it was in the opposite direction of Fluttershy's cottage. Her face and muzzle were soaked, partly because of the wind and rain. But the main reason, the reason the hot tears would not stop falling down her cheek, were words.
Words rolled around her head like marbles, angry taunts, reproaches and ultimatums. Her best friend, such anger. She wanted an apology. She wanted to apologize. She wanted...
Good. My turn.
She wanted to unhear the words the damn draconequus had whispered into her ear.
You talk a good game, Dash, but look at you. You're coasting. Your job isn't challenging you, and you know it.
It was a sudden storm, one of the joys of living next to (and flying over) the Everfree Forest. Usually she loved flying in this kind of weather, it made it a test of not just speed but skill. Not today. She grunted and adjusted her goggles, which were still strapped to her head even though she had taken them off of her eyes. There was no point in super cool all-weather night vision goggles if they were full of water, especially it came from your own tears.
You know you should leave to do something more, but you're afraid. Of failure, rejection, call it what you will. You think you’ll let everyone down trying to be great, so you settle for being 'good.'
She shook her head, hoping to get the words out of it. Thunder crashed near her, and she glanced forward. Something was coming towards her. The rain was almost horizontal, but she squinted and could make it out...
A wall of clouds so dark and gray they were almost black. Flashes of bright light in the middle, like teeth in a giant's face. Mouth opening. Inviting her in.
There was thrill seeking, and then there was being suicidal. She banked to her left, hard, and shot down towards the earth like a rocket.
That's why you don't make a move on the pony you clearly care about, right?
She sped away from the clouds, leaving the Everfree fast as her wings would take her. The clouds cleared underneath her, and she found herself flying over Sweet Apple Acres. She turned again to slow down, circled, and stared down at the farm. Here, the rain was still falling but it had downgraded from downpour to shower. The storm was still coming, but it wasn't here. Not yet.
She stared down, strapping her goggles back over her eyes. She searched for her tree. Applejack's tree.
Their tree.
Settling for being woken up in trees?
"Shut up!" she wailed, ripping her goggles off and physically smacking her head with her other hoof, in the hopes that a well placed hard knock would make the voice stop..
Pain was louder than volume, and it worked. Silence. She exhaled, rubbing both sides of her head with her hooves. She'd let Discord into her mind for the last time. Applejack was her friend. You don't drop in on friends unexpectedly to confess confusing feelings because a dracon-whatever dared you to. She just needed to think. She needed to fly. She strapped her goggles back—
Her goggles...
She stared at empty hooves. Then she looked past then. to the air below.
Her like new, just out of the box, gently used pair of XL Goggles were plummeting to earth.
"Buck!" she gasped, and shot downward.
And Discord's voice resumed.
You'll spend the rest of your life waiting to get woken up in her trees...
For the first few seconds, she was trailing the rain. Then she was keeping pace. Finally, she outpaced it. But that was easy. She had raced gravity before and won. The real challenge was when gravity got a head start...
Until the day comes when she's not waking you up...
She was close, she knew. So was the ground, and a scraggly looking tree on top of said ground. But her goggles, her precious second-hoof present, were about to be within her grasp. Just a few more seconds...
Because she's found someone else.
Her eyes narrowed, the velocity pushing back against her lips, so close, so close...
Hooves touched strap.
"Gotcha!" she crowed.
She only had a few moments before she hit the tree.
First there was triumph. Who else could pull of such a rescue? There was no doubt she was the fastest flier in all of Equestria.
Then came shock, as she realized the problem with unstoppable speed was that it meant very little to a tree. Trees don't move for any pony. She'd have to turn. But, of course, that was impossible at her current rate of speed.
As her world became very small, containing only herself and the tree, three little words filled her mind. Discord's words.
Am I lying?
Rarity took a moment, and then decided on her first stop: Sweetie Belle.
She trotted into the back room, a big closet where she kept supplies, extra fabric, failed projects and, yes, the buttons. There she found Macintosh's coat flung onto a chair, and her sister digging through the drawers of buttons, clasps and other clothing acutromon. They magically opened and closed, one by one, as Sweetie Belle's increasingly frantic search continued. "No, no, oh! Maybe this one... shoot, no, wrong color."
"Sweetie Belle?"
Rarity's tone was gentle, but it caused Sweetie to jump with a start. Once the filly landed, she turned and saw Rarity. Her face fell, and she stammered, "Oh Rarity, I haven't found it yet but I will, I promise, don't be mad, I'll keep—"
"Sweetie Belle, ssh, it's alright." She knelt down and hugged her sister. "I know we have a button his size."
"You... do?" Sweetie's voice cracked with confusion. "But then why...?"
"Don't mistake me, I do need the button." Rarity shot a quick glance to her right, and her magic opened a small drawer. A small trove of buttons for stallion coats revealed itself, and she quickly found a potential candidate to fix Macintosh's coat. She turned her attention back to Sweetie Belle. "But I just wanted to make sure you understand exactly what is at stake here, because of you three."
Sweetie's ears drooped. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
"That depends on you, and your friends." She floated the button over to the coat and eyeballed it, making sure the colors complemented each other. "You remember this morning when we discussed the 'game' I was playing with Spike? Trying to get Cheerilee and Twilight together?" Sweetie Belle nodded. "Well this is a critical juncture in that game, now that Mister Macintosh is here. I need you to do something for me."
Sweetie sighed, dragging her hoof across the ground in a small circle. "We gotta go tell Miss Cheerilee what we did, huh."
"What? No! No no no no." Rarity leaned down and looked her in the eyes. "No. You absolutely must not do that." The little unicorn looked up at Rarity, mouth agape. Rarity reached out a hoof and closed her mouth. "Don't gawk, Sweetie. It's unladylike."
"But... I don't understand, you want us to lie?" Sweetie asked.
"Not lie, exactly There may come a time where we can share that little story and all will laugh, but today is not that day." She shook out Macintosh's coat, and gave it a hard look. Drat. There was more work needed, it wasn't just a simple button job. When was the last time he had worn this thing? Sighing, she turned back to Sweetie. "No. You need to just keep pretending you know nothing of the gifts, the flowers or the book. Just be friendly little helpers, and do as I say."
Sweetie's face seemed pained, but she nodded slowly. "So what do you want me to do?"
"You must go to Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, and tell them in no uncertain terms to keep quiet about the game. Cheerilee can't find out, nor Mister Macintosh. And make sure Cheerilee is not in the room when you tell them." She found a loose hanger and hung up the coat, then used her magic to float it next to her to avoid extra wrinkles. "Understood?"
"Uh huh." The uncertainty remained on Sweetie Belle's face.
Rarity sighed. "Is there a problem, dear?"
The little filly took a big breath. "So, Cheerilee and Miss Twilight are... they like mares, right?"
"They may also fancy stallions, but as they are both mares, yes, I think it is fair to say that is true."
Sweetie swallowed. "So it doesn't bother you? You don't think it's wrong, or anything?"
Rarity frowned. "Of course not! Love is love, Sweetie. I myself only fancy stallions, but, who am I to tell somepony who to be with?" She arched an eyebrow. "Why? Do you think there's something wrong with that?"
"No!" The reply came a little too quickly, and she seemed to shrink into herself. "I just... no. I just wondered. What you thought."
What could she...
...oh.
She knelt down next to her sister. "Is there something you want to tell me, Sweetie?"
Her sister paused, then shook her head slowly. "No."
Waiting a few beats, Rarity nodded and said, "That's alright. But if you ever need to tell me something, someday, I'll be happy to hear it."
Sweetie's voice was as slight as paper. "...promise?"
Rarity hugged her sister. "Promise. I love you, no matter what, Sweetie."
There was some light sniffling. "I love you too, sis."
"Now," Rarity disentangled herself from the hug. "You have a mission. Can I count on you?"
"Yep!" Sweetie grinned and saluted. "I'm all over it."
Rarity nodded and led the way out of the room, where they found... no pony. A quick glance in kitchen revealed no trace of Apple Bloom. They returned to the main room of Carousel Boutique in bafflement.
"Big brooooo..." came a whine from upstairs. "Open the dooooor..."
There was a flush. They looked up, and Rarity heard a door open. A familiar drawl rang out...
"Ya ate a Pinkie Surprise Sundae, didn't ya."
"Well, I... Um..."
"Yyyyup. Ya did. We all told ya not to, and ya went and did it anyway."
"Big bro, I really gotta..."
"And then ya couldn't stop truth-tellin, and now ya can't stop goin to the little filly's room."
"Yeah, okay! It's true, it's all true, and now I really gottttaaaa goooooooo—"
There was a door slam, and a loud sigh. The less-than-amused muzzle of Big Macintosh appeared at the top of the railing.
"Miss Rarity, the pipes are working."
Another flush. He rolled his eyes with a snort. "For now."
Rarity turned to her sister, and whispered, "Remember what we talked about." Sweetie nodded, and dashed up the stairs. Then she turned to Macintosh, all smiles, "Good news, Mister Macintosh! We found a suitable button. Please, come down and we'll get to work. I think I may even have some lemonade, if you'd like."
He gave a slight nod and started down the stairs.
Rarity bit her lip, but said nothing as she led him into the kitchen. She hung up the coat on a hat stand and went looking for the lemonade. Filly Shei had gotten her into a room with him, alone; but now what? He just looked so glum.
"I also thought perhaps you'd want to wash up after... well. Thank you again, ever so much."
He shrugged, staring out a window. "It was an Apple mess, it was our duty to clean it up."
She poured out two glasses, and watched him closely. Nothing. Her window was closing. As she offered the glass of lemonade, she summoned up her courage and said, "Everything alright, Mister Macintosh?"
He paused.
She held her breath. It was a yes/no question. He liked those, didn't he? All he had to do was say one word or another, and then perhaps she could—
"I just spent most of mah afternoon being blackmailed into going to a party ah really don't wanna go to, seeing mah ex marefriend all dolled up for somepony else, and then unclogging a toilet clogged by mah sister in somepony else's house." He frowned. "And that last one just cuz' she can't learn her lesson."
It was, by far, the longest sentence he had ever said in her presence. She reached out and put her hoof on his. "Tough day?"
He turned and looked into her eyes. The frown and intensity seemed to drain out of him completely, and he sighed. "Miss Rarity, I'm a patient stallion, but that little filly's really starting to tick me off."
The air was suddenly filled with musical laughter, and Rarity had to put both hooves to her mouth to try to restrain herself. "Why, Mr. Macintosh, I never!"
He blushed, and for some reason, his hooves started to sweat. Which didn’t even make sense.. “You never… what?”
She calmed herself, and cleared her throat. “Never you mind. Now, as for this jacket… forgive me, but, it does seem like it could do with some tender loving care? How old is it?”
He shrugged. “Dunno. Granny Smith found it in the attic one day. Said it was my Granddad’s.”
“Ooh! An Apple famiy heirloom! Does it have any special meaning?”
He looked away. “Said it’d make a fine jacket for my weddin’ day.”
Rarity’s hoof met her face. Excellent work, darling.
Applejack shouted, "Alright then, I will go it alone!" She turned, grabbed her bag and stomped out into the rain.
Granny Smith's voice called out after her, "You come back here, Missy, I ain't-"
A quick flex of her back legs and the door slammed shut. Applejack threw her bag (nothing more than a knapsack, really) onto her back with a snort, took a breath, and started on the path towards town at a brisk pace. Impatient anger ran up and down her body, keeping pace with the rain in terms of where it hit and how often.
She had been prepared to argue her case with her brother, she knew her sister would be upset. But of all ponies to say no to a chance at Apple Family redemption! A fortune of bits at stake; the legacy of Apple Family Cider, restored; the future prosperity of her kin guaranteed... How could she, or anypony, say no?
She broke into a gallop, gritting her teeth against the rain.
Sure, it was a hassle to just pick up and leave, and yeah, they might miss the next Zap Apple deadline and sure, Apple Bloom would have to make new friends but...
But...
Fighting tears and galloping was too much in the moment. She slowed to a trot, then to a stop. She leaned against a tree and sighed.
Face it, Applejack. If Granny Smith ain't understandin’ how important this is, who could?
There was the far off sound of the wind being bent against its will. Her ears perked up, and she turned her eyes to the sky. A rainbow colored streak flew through the air.
It’s her!
Applejack smiled. No matter her mood, it always cheered her to saw Dash flying through the air. Showing off, leaving everypony else in the dust.
Sure, she talks a big game, but after all, she IS the fastest flier in Ponyville! said her heart.
Just not the best at landin’, her brain deadpanned.
Applejack chuckled. She looked up again, to see where Dash was headed…
...just in time to see the rainbow path plummet towards the ground. Right in the direction of the west orchard.
Instinct kicked in. Experience informed what the future would bring. She started running again, but not towards town, or the family home.
Towards where she figured the crash site would be.
Tension filled the air. Sweetie Belle looked to her left, then to her right. The next words out of her mouth could change everything. She focused, took a deep breath and stared at the pony across from her. "Do you have any moons?"
"Sorry, Sweetie." Cheerilee shook her head, staring at the cards in her hooves. "Pony on."
Letting out a theatrical groan, Sweetie threw her head back and called out to the skies, "This game is the wooorst!"
Scootaloo laughed. "That's what you get for trying to win on every turn."
Sweetie frowned. "Hey. Shut up."
Cheerilee cleared her throat, "No need for that, Sweetie. Now, I said ‘pony on.’"
"Okay, okay." Glaring at Scootaloo, Sweetie magically floated a card from the top of the deck into her hooves. She had come in so intent on her mission, only to find Scootaloo and Cheerilee playing this game. She tried to suggest that Scootaloo come out of the room for a moment, only to be defeated by Cheerilee’s infuriatingly kind nature. The cards were re-dealt, the rules explained, and her mission faded from memory as the promise of victory was so close around the corner. And yet...
Her grumbling ceased when she beheld her new cards, and she started giggling in what could only be described, objectively, as an 'adorably evil' way.
The failed attempt at maniacal laughter made Scootaloo blush. She looked away, trying not to smile. Cheerilee caught her, grinned, and said "Scootaloo? Do you have any suns?"
The familiar 'too cool for school' look returned to the filly's eyes. She shrugged and offered up two cards. "Knock yourself out."
Cheerilee shook her head. "You must either say 'keep calm' if you have the cards, or 'pony on' if you don't."
Scootaloo blinked. "Why?"
"Because that's the name of the game!" Sweetie Belle stretched out her arms with a grin. "'Keep Calm and Pony On!' And the first pony to have all matched up cards and say 'keep calm and pony on' wins."
Scootaloo stared at her. "You actually play this? For fun?"
"Because it is fun!" Sweetie stuck her tongue out. "And because Rarity put all my other games on lock down ever since I kinda accidentally destroyed her fall lineup."
"Lame." Scootaloo sighed. "What's taking Apple Bloom so long in the bathroom?"
"Er, girls," Cheerilee coughed, "you may find this interesting, do you know why we call this game 'Keep calm?'" Both fillies shook their heads.
"Years ago, when Luna and Celestia battled Discord, when ponies were trying to stay sane during all the craziness that Discord dreamed up, they invented this game. It helped focus them on what was real and what was not. And so when a pony would ask for something—in this case, Scootaloo, two suns—the pony would say?"
Scootaloo looked skeptical, but played along, holding out her cards. "Keep calm?"
Cheerilee smiled and took the cards. "And they said this as a reminder that ponies would help one another and give when they could. Keep calm, I am here for you. And when a pony had nothing to give, like, say, Sweetie, do you have any wings?"
"Yep!" Sweetie held up the cards. "Three of 'em!"
Scootaloo playfully nudged her. "You're supposed to not have them."
"Oh. Sorry. Pony On?"
Cheerilee nodded. "And that would mean I have nothing to give you but my words, but they are words of strength and harmony. And that's why the winning pony would say- actually, Sweetie, you do have those wing cards, correct? Thank you- the winning pony would lay down their cards and say..." She placed her eight cards down face up: four suns, four wings. "'Keep calm and pony on'. That way even though there was only one winner, everypony was reminded of what was real, what was important."
"Neat!" Sweetie Belle chimed.
"Yeah. Neat." Scootaloo deadpanned. Sarcasm gave way to memory, and a thoughtful look crept over her muzzle. "Gosh, when was that field trip we took? Where we saw Discord's statue like the day before he escaped?"
"Just about a year ago, I think." Sweetie Belle said. "We were sure lucky we didn't visit it the day he did get loose, huh Miss Cheerilee?"
Cheerilee smiled, but in her face there was an edge to her words. "Very lucky. But thanks to the efforts of Ms. Shy, Mr. Discord is no longer anything to fear." Both fillies looked at her with big eyes; Sweetie Belle with an trembling lip and Scootaloo a skeptical smirk.
She sighed. "Well. Most of the time."
Post collision, It was only a matter of minutes before Applejack found the wreckage.
She pounded into the crash site, then came skidding to a halt. There was her tree, smashed. Her apples, scattered and mangled. Rainbow Dash's new goggles, hanging from the one standing branch of the shattered tree, somehow undamaged. And finally, Rainbow Dash herself, bruised, face down in the dirt and unconscious.
Which was, in fact, a very common place to find your friendly, neighborhood Rainbow Dash. It had happened before, it would most likely happen again. Certainly, she had survived worse. She would be fine.
None of this went through Applejack's head. Logic has a way of being found in bed, hungover, when an emergency comes knocking. In the case of Applejack's usually calm and rational inner voice, all she could hear was a constant monotone—
pleasebeokaypleasebeokaypleasepleaseplease
—only broken up by the beat of her heart.
She pulled Dash out of the ground, trying to wipe the muck off her friend's muzzle with her hoof. Dirt was turning to mud in the rapidly escalating storm, and she realized all she was succeeding in doing was spreading the mud around. She ran back to her knapsack, pulled out a canteen with her teeth and darted back to Dash. A quick twist and she was able to wash the mud off.
Applejack held her friend tightly, whispering, "Dash?"
No response. Suddenly, her inner monotone broke from repetition to darker thoughts. shoot, is she even breathing? Her pulse quickened, and she put her left ear to Dash's muzzle, hoping to hear something, anything...
Applejack's answer came in the form of a snore, followed by a tiny, dirty bubble that came out of Dash's nostril and popped right in her ear. And the word, "pancakes..."
The proof of life was welcome but disgusting. Groaning, she used what water was left in the canteen to wash out her ear. Once she was free of all snot and debris, she poked her friend with a smile. "Gave me quite a shock there, Sugarcube."
"Berry pancakes, making berry pancakes," muttered Dash in a sleepy, sing-song tone, "take some berries and I put it in a pancake..."
Applejack arched her eyebrows. "Dash. Wake up, Dash."
"Berry pancakes, that's what it's gonna make-"
"DASH!"
"Zzt- wha?" Her eyes opened and she blinked. "Oh. Hi, Applejack. Is it morning already?"
Same ol' Dash.
"It's about two in the afternoon. You just crashed into a tree on Sweet Apple Acres." She turned her head to survey the damage. "I ain't gonna charge you for the tree, but you do owe me for the apples."
Dash blinked, her voice uncertain. "Sweet Apple Acres?"
"Yep. You know, where I live?"
Looking around slowly, Dash repeated, "Where you live..."
"Not enough info?" Applejack rolled her eyes. "It's, uh, Saturday. I think those are your fancy new goggles-"
"Oh!" Dash jumped up. "My XL's!"
"Easy, Dash. They're fine. At least, I think they're fine." She pointed to the branch. "How they came through better than you or the tree, I don't understand, but—"
There was a blur of movement. Suddenly, there was Dash, tongue between her teeth, thoroughly inspecting her fancy eyewear.
"Power switch works... Zoom's a little shaky but I barely use it anyway..." She strapped them onto her head and over her eyes, continuing the diagnostic. "Night vision's okay... Weatherdata actually seems to be working better, somehow!"
Applejack suddenly felt very tired. Same ol' Dash. "So glad everythin' turned out for you."
"Yep! Everything's a-oka... Hey. What's up with the bag?"
Applejack blinked, looking in the direction of where Dash's hoof was pointing. There was her bag, sinking every so slowly into the mud. Realization made for a hot blush, and she swallowed.
"Yeah... About that..."
"Hold still, Mr. Macintosh."
"Mmpf," Big Mac grunted, staring at the ground.
She glanced at the pin cushion in his mouth and magically pulled a needle out of it. "Again, I appreciate your assistance in this matter."
"Mmmfph," he nodded.
"It may seem silly with my magic and all—" she squinted at a stretch of thread floating in front of her, mentally measuring twice before cutting once with a pair of scissors, "-but I find that unless there's a solid force holding down your pin cushion, magic just makes the pins fly everywhere." She smirked. "And no force is more solid than an Apple Family jaw."
Big Mac shrugged, eyes not leaving the carpeted floor.
She gently threaded the needle and began to patch up the jacket. As she sewed the holes shut, she felt her eyes wandering to the big stallion sitting on her floor. She had never realized before what a striking fellow he was... objectively speaking, of course. Strong, big smile, gentle eyes. Once you looked past the dirt and such. And the monosyllabic vocabulary. And the shallow field of conversation. But still, a very striking fellow.
But just as she believed every pony was beautiful, she also believed that every pony had a sad side that could make that beauty hide itself. So it was with Mister Macintosh ever since he had seen Cheerilee in that dress. His usual easy-going expression was gone, replaced by worry lines and dim, half-lidded eyes. There was a brief flash of life when he was venting about his day, but it had gone away.
"It's a very nice jacket, you know."
He nodded again, with as little energy as it required to move a pony's head. His muzzle reminded her of Sweetie Belle's face the first time she lost a pet, a fish that did not survive a trip home from a carnival. She didn't cry, but a rain cloud settled over her little face and did not rise until another Mr. Twirly was purchased, who was dubbed Mr. Twirly' identical twin, Mr. Twirly 2. The clouds parted and all was well in the land of Sweetie Belle-agascar.
Mr. Twirly 2 later met an undignified fate at the paws of the kitten now known as Opal, and that was a dark day in the Belle household but the point was, Mister Macintosh looked like he had just been reminded of his own personal Mr. Twirly.
It was one thing to see the pony who got away. Quite another to see the pony who got away all dressed up to truly make her escape.
She finished sewing the last hole, and glanced again at Big Mac's big eyes. They remained ground-bound.
Rarity came to a decision. Those unpleasant feelings in Macintosh's heart didn't stand a chance against Rarity.
"Also, I know I had initially wanted my sister to help, but, I thought it would be better to let her be upstairs with the others—"
Not while she had Filly Shei.
"—so we could chat."
The stallion finally stirred to more than the bare minimum of a response, tilting his head up to look at her.
"Mister Macintosh, forgive me for being blunt. You’re a little down about seeing Miss Cheerilee in my gown, correct?”
He visibly wilted, pin cushion sagging in his mouth.
“You don’t have to answer that!" She mentally cursed herself for being so blunt, so soon. "Well… the thing is, and it’s really none of my business, but it arguably might be yours...” She took a deep breath. “The thing is, Miss Cheerilee, she has a date tonight.”
He shrugged.
“With Twilight Sparkle.”
His eyes opened slightly wider, then arched his eyebrows slightly.
“Yes, that Twilight Sparkle. Do you understand?”
"Mmpf?"
Rarity sighed. "Right." She took the pin cushion from his teeth. "Apologies. So, do you understand?”
He rubbed his mouth, spitting out tiny fuzzies. Then he shook his head, “Nnnope.”
She tilted her head. “No? But surely… oh.” She bit her lip. “Have you ever heard the term 'lesbian?'"
He looked up in thought, then nodded his head slowly. “Yyyep?”
Rarity blinked.
Well, he WAS raised in a barn, or at least near one, darling. No reason to hold back…
“Alright. Well.” She took a giant breath, “Cheerilee, you see, prefers—
“Oh.” His jaw dropped. “Oh!” He slowly put it back in place. “Oh?”
“Oh yes,” Rarity said.
He scratched his head. “Twilight too?”
“It would seem so, yes. She did agree to go on the date.”
He paced about the room, brow furrowed. "So she's, um . . . well, Granny used to say 'fillyfooler' but I'm not sure it's a polite term."
Rarity’s eyes narrowed. “It isn’t.”
He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with a small blush. “Good thing I didn’t use it then.”
She tried to keep glaring, but found herself helpless in the face of his honest face. There wasn't any prejudice there, just the good, old fashioned slow burn of somepony figuring things out. “So… I take it this news is not crushing?”
He turned his head up towards the ceiling. She waited, sipping her lemonade quietly.
“I always thought, when things didn’t work out between me and Cheerilee—and I did like, I do like her, she is somethin’ special—but this whole time, it was like I thought I had lost a race. That I wasn’t tryin’ hard enough. That I had, I dunno, like a one time shot and I missed it.” Big Mac stared at his reflection in the mirror, brushing some of the fuzzies off of his shoulder. “Turns out I wasn’t even in the race.”
She put a hoof on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, dear.”
“Actually, Miss Rarity… I feel like I’m free.”
“Free?”
The smile came slowly, but it built, and finally blossomed into a big confident grin. “No sense gettin’ worked up over what was never gonna be.”
Rarity clapped her hooves. “A wonderful way to look at things! Shall we try on the jacket then?”
He shrugged, but this time it radiated good cheer. “Why not? I am goin’ to a party tonight.”
“As am I. As is all of Ponyville, by the sound of it.” She smiled, holding out the first sleeve of the coat.
One pony’s heart saved. One to go.
Applejack exhaled.“So that’s it, really. I’m goin’ away for awhile.”
Dash said nothing. Her heart was somewhere near the bottom of her stomach, and she felt like the floor of a sky chariot.
“Don’t know when I’ll be back again. Depends how the contest goes” Applejack sniffed, adjusting her hat. “Just had a nasty row with Granny about it. She doesn’t want me to go, certainly doesn’t want me to try to take Apple Bloom. Says Big Mac won’t go.”
Dash nodded slowly, face ashen. She looked down at her hoof, and she never realized how weird hooves looked, when you think about it.
“But it’s just a once-in-a-lifetime thing, ya know?” Applejack said, looking at Dash with those big, genuine eyes of hers. “It could change everythin’ around here. Maybe my family won’t have to work so hard. You’ve always said we’ve got the best cider anywhere.”
Closing her eyes, Dash felt the wind and the rain start to pick up. She was trying to find a calm place. Instead, all she saw was a leering Discord mouthing those bucking words…
Am I lying?
"Darn it, Dash.” Applejack’s hoof met her face. “Say somethin’, would ya? I feel like a fool.”
Dash reached out to lean against the tree, trying to find the words.
Thunk.
The branch she leaned against had given way, and Dash was now on the grass, staring up into an angry sky. "What the hay?" Dash stood up, staring at the shattered trunk. "Oh no... What happened?"
"What's the point of tellin' you anything if you just turn around and forget it a minute later?" Applejack snapped. "I told you. You smashed a tree. And you owe me for the apples!"
"No no no no..." Dash kicked into the air and fluttered around the tree, her voice increasingly agitated. "Not this tree! Not my tree!"
Applejack coughed. "Excuse me? 'Your' tree?"
"Our tree!" Dash wailed. “
Am I lying?
Applebloom hugged the sink, wishing she had never even heard the words “Pinkie”, “Sundae” and especially “Surprise.” She couldn’t remember the last time she had ever been so ill, except for perhaps the last time she had one of these...
A burp escaped her mouth, and she moaned. Maybe some water? The faucet was only a few hooves away. She stared at it. Too far. She sunk to the floor, whimpering.
Her whole family had warned her, don’t have the Pinkie Surprise, don’t ever ever order it, don't even look at it. And then Miss Cheerilee, sweet Miss Cheerilee, asked if her family would be okay with her eating it. Desire overwhelmed her better nature, and for a moment, all was delicious.
"Now look at ya," she said out loud. Another burp, a bad one, and Something lurched in her stomach, she moaned and crawled back to the toilet.
There had to be more to this than just admitting there was such a thing as too much ice cream. The punishment was too severe.
And in the midst of things--against all probability and biological fact--still leaving her body. It hit her.
It was the lie.
Are you sure your sister would be okay with us sharing this with you?
Yes Miss Cheerilee!
You're not allergic or anything?
Nope!
She clutched her stomach and closed her eyes. She tried to breathe like Granny had taught her, in through her nose and out through her mouth.
Applejack's words bounced around her head:
A lie is easy, Applebloom. It'll get you out of a tough spot, get you what you want without working for it, spare a pony's feelings in the moment. But you better believe it'll get you in the end. That tough spot will get tougher, that thing you didn't work for will come with a bill, or somethin' worse, and shoot, there ain't an easier way to lose a friend than to lie to'em.
But what if the truth hurts their feelings?
They'll forgive you eventually, Sugarcube. And if they don't, well, maybe you weren't friends to begin with.
She grunted in pain. If she lived through this—and that was by no means a certainty—she was going to start listening. She was going to learn. She was goin' to Shape Up. She was goin' to Go Straight. Most of all, she was going to be like her sister.
So... The truth, no matter what?
It's the only way, Applebloom.
Finally, her body decided to end her misery and give her release. She sagged with relief.
There was a gentle knock at the door. "Applebloom?" It was Cheerilee's voice. "Are you okay?"
She was going to be honest. To the Core.
"I'll be right out, Miss Cheerilee."
Starting with undoing the lies.
Thunder rolled overhead, and the rain started to come in heavy. Applejack adjusted her hat to shelter her eyes, then took a good long look at the shattered tree in relation to the other trees around it. On right was the tree who always bloomed a little late, and on the left the two tall and thin trees she called the twins... And yep, in the middle, there should be a gnarled sickly thing, a tree with a comfortable place for a Pegasus to rest, and yet a place that was disturbingly easy to be kicked out of with a well placed buck...
Dash was flying around in circles, muttering to herself, "I didn't know, I would have turned or stopped or something..."
And now it was firewood. Applejack sighed.
Rainbow Dash landed in front of her, face fallen. "I'm so sorry, AJ.”
Something inside of Applejack died a little. She shrugged, biting her lip. "It’s just a tree.”
Fire flashed in Dash’s eyes. “It was our tree.”
“Still,” Applejack looked away, trying not to cry.“I'm goin' away for awhile, Rainbow."
"Away?" Dash's voice was small, almost inaudible
"And you come and visit me, y'hear?." She reached out and put a hoof on the pegasus's shoulder. "I mean, everypony is welcome to visit, but... You should come. I'd like that."
The storm was building to a crescendo around them. Dash looked at the hoof on her shoulder, then at Applejack. Her expression was blank, but the magenta in her eyes was quivering.
Applejack blinked and looked down, feeling another blush coming on. She tried to pull away, but couldn't. Turning her head back, she saw Dash was holding onto her hoof. The blush was now in full force.
"Gonna... Gonna need that hoof back, dash."
"AJ?" Dash whispered.
"Hmm?"
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
Dash kissed her.
"Is Apple Bloom okay?" Scootaloo frowned. "She's been in there awhile."
Cheerilee gave her a look. “Scootaloo, please. Leave the bathroom talk for the bathroom.”
The rain started coming down heavy outside, pelting against the window. Scootaloo shuffled the cards. “I’m just saying.”
Sweetie shrugged. “If you gotta go, you gotta go…”
“Yeah but for like half an hour?”
Cheerilee paused. Scootaloo had a point. Unpleasant as it may be, perhaps it was time to check up on the filly who had inadvertently crashed her date-that-wasn't-a-date. And was now flooding her new friends’ toilet.
Besides, no matter how grisly the scene, it was part of her job description. A teacher had to be a foal's friend when bathroom accidents happened. Even when the 'accident' was a direct result of eating some kind of magic laxative ice cream. 'Surprise' indeed.
"Stay here, you two. I'll go check on her."
"Take your time!" Sweetie said, smiling sweetly.
Cheerilee glanced at Sweetie. Behind the filly's smile there was a pleading look in her eyes. Cheerilee shook her head with a grin, and walked to the bathroom. She pressed her ear to the door, and hear indistinct moaning.
“Applebloom? Are you okay?”
A pause.
“I’ll be right out, Miss Cheerilee”
Cheerilee frowned. "Okay. Just... Call out if you need somepony."
Nothing. She shrugged and returned to Sweetie's room.... and a closed door. Frantic whispering was going on behind it. Usually, Cheerilee would have turned around, walked down the stairs and protected the filly's privacy. But some small part of her, the part that she had been secretly feeding with this whole insane romantic adventure, wanted to know... Really wanted to know, what they were gossiping about.
She put her ear up to the door. If she closed her eyes and blocked everything else out, she could just barely make out the words.
And that's why you can't say anything! Super secret lockdown!
Okay, okay I get it.
There's something else.
Sweetie, Cheerilee's coming back any minute.
Look, you know how we've been... Well, we're trying to make two mares happy?
...I thought we're on super secret lockdown?
Just listen! You know that stuff that Diamond Tiara said?
Heh. Before or after I cleaned her clock?
The stuff about... Liking other mares being wrong and bad and stuff.
Yeah that was after I decked her.
My sis says... There's nothing wrong with it, that love is love.
Well. Yeah. I mean. If we didn't think that, why would we-
I'm trying to say that, like, it's one thing to accept other ponies, but it's... Harder to accept yourself as yourself?
Sweetie, did you also have the Pinkie Surprise?
Gaaah! Listen to me, you featherbrain! I trying to tell you something!
I'm trying to listen, pointy-head, but you're not making any sense!
I like you!
... Well duh! we're friends. I like you t-
The room next door went very silent, except for a tiny gasp, and Cheerilee held her breath.
What was that for?
I like... Like... Like you, Scootaloo.
...
Please don't be mad.
...
I'm sorry. I won't do it again. I pro-
So. Uh. How does this work?
What?
Are we dating now?
It took all of Cheerilee's willpower to suppress a giggle.
We? I? Maybe? I dunno!
Isn't that what ponies do after they kiss?
Sometimes! Not always!
I'm not sure how it'd be different from what we do now, although Apple Bloom might feel a little weird if we-
“Miss Cheerilee?”
“Apple Bloom!" Cheerilee turned around, face hot, and stammered, "Are you feeling any better?”
“It's less 'better' and more, I don't think there's anythin left in me. I'll never eat ice cream again.”
“I think it wasn't the ice cream. Apple Bloom, so much as how much ice cream you had. She paused. That, and whatever pinkie puts in it.”
Apple Bloom nodded, frowning.
Cheerilee tilted her head. “Is something on your mind, Apple Bloom? Besides your stomach, I mean.”
Apple Bloom swallowed. "You know my brother's gonna be okay, right?"
Cheerilee froze. "Apple Bloom..."
"You gotta believe me, he doesn't have any bad feelin's toward ya. He was sad for a bit, but, he bounces back pretty quick." She looked at the ground, leaning against the hallway rail. "And both Mac and my sis think you're a great teacher and everything..."
Kneeling on the ground, Cheerilee leaned down until she caught Apple Bloom's eye. "That's very kind of you-them- to say."
"And once he finds about ya and Twilight, he's gonna be happy for you, I promise!"
Cheerilee sighed, rubbing the sides of her head. A headache had begun to brew. "Great."
"No! Really!" Apple Bloom tugged at her hoof. "He's always nice to Miss Lyra and Bon Bon, never treats them no different." She paused. "Granny does, but, Granny's weird about stuff like that."
"She's from another generation, Apple Bloom. It's... Complicated."
The filly wrinkled her nose. "Feels like adults always say that when they don't want to tell the fillies the truth."
Cheerilee blinked as the dull pain in her temple blossomed. Survival instinct kicked in: now is not the time to tell this child her kindly old grandmother is a bit of a bigot.
"Life is complicated. Ponies are strange, wonderful creatures. They can hurt each other, sometimes on purpose, often without meaning to. I don't know what's worse." She sighed, eyes wandering around the hallway. She caught her reflection in one of Rarity's vanity mirrors. The purple night flower was somehow still in her mane. A smile found it's way onto her muzzle. "But sometimes we can be incredibly kind. We give gifts, we say kind words, we hug each other. We care for each other."
Apple Bloom hugged her. "I just want everypony to be happy."
Cheerilee smiled and hugged back. "And that's good of you. Just remember, ponies can't be happy all the time. Just like they can't eat only ice cream."
"Ugh!" The filly moaned. "Don't ever say ice cream again, Miss Cheerilee! Please!"
Warm laughter echoed in the hallway. "Okay, deal. Now, let's go find Miss Rarity, hmm?"
“Wait." Apple Bloom took breath. "I gotta tell you somethin’ else, Miss Cheerilee.”
Cheerilee turned. ”Oh?"
Apple Bloom looked away. “You might be a little mad.”
Smiling, Cheerilee adjusted the little filly’s bow. “Whatever it is, we can make it right. I promise.”
“That’s the thing! It is right already! You got your dress and date and everythin’” Apple Bloom bit her lip. “But it started off wrong, I think. We did wrong.”
The smile faded. “Apple Bloom… what are you talking about?”
There was a sigh and a pause. “Those presents you got last night...”
She kissed Applejack.
Applejack froze, but only for a moment. Soon Dash felt a tremor pulse through the farmer, and then she returned the gesture. It was warm. It was sweet. It, yes, tasted like apples.
It was everything she ever hoped for.
Once it was done, Dash pulled away, a goofy smile on her face. She stared adoringly at the mare of her dreams. Applejack stared back.
Dash broke the silence. "So that hap-"
Applejack slapped Dash across the face. Hard.
"Now?!" She roared, "I tell you I'm leavin' and you kiss me now?"
Dash rubbed her cheek. "Jeez, remind me never to get you mad..."
"You wanna see mad?" Applejack shoved her. "Every week, me kickin' you outta this tree, you coulda kissed me! How many years we known each other, you shoulda kissed me!" Another shove, and Dash stumbled backwards. "All those times when we said goodbye, if you felt this way, why didn't you kiss me?!" A final shove and Dash slipped on the grass and fell on her flank with a yelp. Mud splashed them both.
Applejack sighed. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she knelt next to Dash and hugged her fiercely. "All this time, lettin' me feel like a fool, that I was the only one of us who felt this way..." She nuzzled into the other mare's neck, muttering, "damn it, Dash."
As Celestia was her witness, Dash had no idea what to do. But the hug was nice, so she returned that. Applejack was still cursing under her breath, so it was clear more action was required. "I'm sorry," she said, hoping it would lead toward less shoving and more nuzzling.
"Sorry is fine and all, but it ain't gonna get us out of this mess." Applejack pulled back. "You gotta tell me. Why?"
"Because you're awesome," Dash said. Thankfully, this part was easy. "You're awesome and brave and pretty and loyal and honest and strong and pretty and, and, shoot, there was something else..."
Applejack kissed her. This time it was Dash's turn to be frozen, but she caught up quick.
"Oh yeah, and you taste like apples." Dash grinned. "In like, a cool way."
Applejack groaned, "You can't flirt your way out of this. Why now?"
Dash held her breath. "I had a nightmare.”
“Huh?”
Another roll of thunder. The rain seemed to be falling around them in slow motion. Dash looked away, shame clouding her face. “It’s stupid.”
Applejack nudged her with a hoof. “Talk, sugarcube.”
Dash sighed. “I had a dream, like, a nightmare but I was awake. This jerk described it, and it wouldn’t leave me. I dreamed that I let you go because I was too scared to... make a move, I guess? Tell ya how I feel? And you’d just like, move on. And I'd be left alone in this tree, with no one to kick me out of it.” She turned her head toward the wreckage. “And then, I woke up, and I flew as fast as I could to get it out of my head, and, well, look.”
Applejack followed her gaze. On cue, a gust of wind blew over what was left of the trunk.
"Now you're going, and I'm not even gonna have a tree." Dash sighed.
Applejack leaned back. "Just like that? Ya kiss me then let me go?"
Dash snorted. "AJ, give me some credit. Restore the family honor? Maybe make a cartload of bits? Prove your cider is the best, which it is?" She looked Applejack in the eyes, voice choked but defiant. "Only a pony who didn't know you would tell you to give that up. Who didn't love y-"
Two sets of eyes went wide, and there it was. Out in the open, naked for the world to see. The L word.
"Ya love me?"
More thunder.
"Yeah." Dash mumbled.
"Since when?"
Dash shrugged. "Dunno. Only realized it now, but, years? Maybe? I dunno. I just know it's true."
Applejack wanted to scream. Instead, she growled, "Why didn't you say somethin?!"
"I was afraid, okay!" Dash sniffed. "I was afraid."
Blush ran up the farmer's cheeks. The rain continued to fall.
"W-why didn't you say anything?" Dash asked.
"I was too, I guess."
They laid together in silence, hooves wrapped around each other
“I’m still leavin’, Dash. Tonight.”
“I know. You gotta. It’s a huge opportunity.” Dash leaned against her. “I just wish we had… like, more time. Just us.”
Applejack sighed. “You and me both. But I’ve already wasted too much time, tryin’ to get my family to come with me. Now I gotta do this thing alone.”
And because the universe likes puzzles, especially that moment when there are only a few more pieces left before the picture is complete, they turned to face one another.
“You could—”
“What if—”
They stopped.
“Go ahead—”
“Nah, you fir—”
They stopped. Applejack untangled herself and held up a hoof. “You first.”
Dash sat up. “Take me with you.”
Applejack bit her lip. “Really?”
"Don’t get me wrong. You can do this yourself, because you’re awesome like that. But there’s no reason you have to.” She reached for her goggles. “Let me be your scout, your eyes and ears. No pony is faster, and now—” she pulled down her eyewear and flipped the switch, “— I can see at night.”
Applejack took off her hat, brow furrowed in concentration. “I don’t know how long we’d be gone.”
“I have, literally, months of vacation.”
“It’s gonna be dangerous.”
“Last I heard, the frontier is even more dangerous place to go alone.”
Applejack shook her head. “What if it doesn’t work out? What if you’re wrong?”
Dash threw up her hooves. “If I’m wrong, nothing happens! I’ll go away. Peacefully, quietly, without a fight. But if I’m right, and we work...” She Dash off her eyewear, revealing wet eyes. Then she took Applejack’s hoof and held it tight. “I'm... I'm yours, AJ. You’re not getting rid of me without a fight. So don’t fight. Just ask me.”
Applejack took a breath. “You wanna be my marefriend and go on an adventure with me?”
“Absolutely.”
They kissed.
The rain continued, because while the universe loves puzzle solving, the weather doesn't really care whether two ponies kiss or not.
A door slammed outside the room, and Sweetie and Scootaloo jumped.
“What was that?” Sweetie Belle.
“It sounded… angry.” Scootaloo squinted in thought. “Does your sister slam doors?”
Sweetie shook her head. “No. Well, yes, but she does it magically. It sounds different. That was definitely a hoof slamming a door shut.”
“So that means it was either Big Mac…”
“...or Cheerilee.”
They looked at each other, faces mirroring each other in anxiety. Then they ran outside the room.
A shaking Apple Bloom greeted them in the hallway, standing outside Sweetie Belle’s room. The door was closed.
“What happened, Apple Bloom?” Sweetie asked.
Apple Bloom just shook her head, clutching her stomach and wincing.
Then the door opened, and out stepped Cheerilee. Her face was taut, color gone, and her eyes glazed over. Her dress, wrapped up under her arm. She glanced at the fillies quickly, then marched down the steps without a word.
Rarity was waiting. "Darling, I'm finally ready for--"
"It's a beautiful dress, Rarity." She hung it gently back on the rack. "But I think it would be better for a pony with a real date to have it."
"But, surely..." Rarity blinked, "Twilight didn't ask for this to be a practice date or something, did she?"
"I have no idea. I don't know what was Twilight's idea, and what was somepony else's." She took the flower from her hair, hoof shaking, and employed what could only be called her Teacher Voice. "But I do know this isn't from Her. So. Which of you gave me this flower?"
The three fillies looked at each other.
"Miss Cheerilee, please," Rarity said, "This is my fault, let me expl—"
"Don't cover for them." The teacher voice somehow managed to be calm and clear, while at the same time loud and unquestionable. "This is a lesson they need to learn, one I thought they already did." She turned to the foals. "Who. Gave. The. Flowers?"
Sweetie Belle cleared her throat, eyeing her sister. "Those... Those were from Twilight, Miss Cheerilee. She signed the card and everything."
Scootaloo groaned. Sweetie turned in confusion, then horror.
A sad chuckle rung through the air. "I know the card was signed by Twilight. How do you know the card came from Twilight, Sweetie?"
Sweetie whimpered under her teacher's stare. Scootaloo felt something stir. "The flowers came from me."
"Scoots!" hissed Apple Bloom.
Scootaloo shook her head, and the words came out in a rush: "The flowers came from me, Sweetie got the candy, Apple Bloom got the card, but Twilight did sign it; We ran into her on the way over and she was bringing you the book, but after she saw us, she signed the card and left. We left the stuff on the doorstep, I was the one that knocked on the door." She took a huge breath, lungs going from zero to one hundred and added, "but Twilight didn't know, she thought she was giving a gift from all of us."
Cheerilee nodded, slowly. Her eyes were wet, facial muscles straining. "Thank you for being honest, Scootaloo. I just have one more question, and it's an important one." She took a breath, and the word came out choked and wet. "Why? Why would you want to hurt me like that?"
"Hurt??" A storm was raging inside the filly. Shame and stubbornness, sadness and anger. She spat back, "We didn't want to hurt you, we love you, Miss Cheerilee!"
"Love?" She winced, rubbing a hoof to her forehead. "If you love me, why would you put me through this again?"
"This wasn't like last time, not with a pony we just picked-er no offense Mac-but a pony you love, too!" She looked around at her compatriots for support, but found a serious lack of any eyes facing her direction. "We saw the way you look at her, I saw how you looked at her, how sad you were! We..."
The tempest died shortly after it began. Cheerilee's stern and disappointed face was a powerful force. She didn't feel very brave anymore. But she had one string of words left, and she decided to use them.
"We just wanted you to be happy. You deserve to be happy. You're the best teacher I ever had."
A hoof found hers. Scootaloo looked up to find Sweetie standing next to her, looking strangely defiant.
"The best." Sweetie echoed.
"That's true!" Apple Bloom shouted. She then blinked in surprise. "I mean, it must be, since I'm saying it."
Cheerilee turned her head to the ceiling. Her voice sounded very far away. "I know you meant well, my little ponies. But one day, you'll know just how fragile a pony's heart is." She shook her head. "I hope that day, you'll take better care. Now if you will all excuse me, it's my day off, and I've spent far too much of it here."
She started for the door.
Apple Bloom ran for her, "Wait a sec, Miss Cheerilee!" Cheerilee stopped, but did not turn around. Apple Bloom tugged on her teacher's leg. "You can't think Twilight doesn't like ya, I know she does! She kissed you and everythin', and we didn't put her up to that at all! You gotta think-"
The temperature of the room dropped dramatically as Cheerilee snapped her head to her right and stared Apple Bloom down. "I would really, really appreciate it if nopony else told me how to think, or feel." The filly was frozen in place, mouth gaping. She turned and looked at the three foals, the frostiness in her eyes melting into cool pain. "Or whom to love."
Head held high, Cheerilee started for the front door. She paused only to close Apple Bloom's jaw for her, whispering, "You don't want to catch flies," and continued walking.
No pony said a word as she shut the door behind her.
“What do we do now?” Sweetie said.
A tear rolled down Rarity's cheek, "I have no idea."
There was a knock at the door. Rarity looked up, then around at the ponies around her. All she got were blank stares or shrugs. So she trotted to the door, hoping that perhaps, perhaps Cheerilee had…
“Oh my! Hoity Toity? Fancy Pants?” Rarity gasped. “What in Equestria are you doing here?”
Hoity stomped in, mane drenched. “You would not believe-” he grunted, shaking off the water, “what I have been through-” he took off his sunglasses, and sneered at the scratch they had on them, “today! ”
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Ouch. Just. OUCH. Rarity... Rarity had been doing so well... so, so, SO well... but then... just one little element had to ruin it...
Fantastic as always, Ein.
...Love better bring them together or your knees will be getting together w/a sledgehammer!
4507660
"It's always darkest before the dawn... And the dawn is coming!" -Harvey Dent
Meh, too long between updates... sorry, but I'll wait and see if you get this back on track again before I reread it again.
4507682
Believe me, you didn't want to read the stuff I was trying to write for it when I was burned out.
wow, this...
well, I'm far too tipsy to read 11k words right now, so I'll just say this: up to now you've shown a remarkable ability to express emotion through your prose. You're a very deep writer, and I want to say that I have enjoyed everything you have written so far. I'll be back to ramble about the current chapter tomorrow, when I'm sober. I anticipate that it will be very enjoyable.
4507666
It best be soon or one of these dawns you're going to wake up w/me about to bash you kneecap in!
This is why you lie all the time. Lies make everyone happy...kinda
And through all that, love and adventure! Woo!
... fuck.
...
...
... Fuck.
If that doesn't sum it all up right there, I don't know what does.
At this point in the story I believe Cheerilee is seriously overreacting. Twilight not only took part in the kiss, but asked her out on a proper date. It's clear she cares for Cheerilee and the present revelation shouldn't have half so much impact this late in the game. So what if the CMC made Twilight look more involved then she really was? Cheerilee has the foundation to build that love, and she's going to throw it away out of self pity?
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Despite the rest of the stuff happening in the chapter, I don't care about it, because that happened. And I'm squeeing.
Dangit, Apple Bloom
And this, children, is why single rule models of morality don't fucking work.
"She Dash off her eyewear, revealing wet eyes." Think Dash should be took there.
In other new, well why didn't you kiss her Applejack, hmm? Nice to see Dash call her out.
Well, we have two happy endings here, and a few more to go.
I must admit, while I love the story, I am a little disappointed. The story started out with Spike really being a major character and part of what was going on, and now he's been downgraded to sidekick and even lost his character tag. Still, I look forward to seeing everything pan out.
P.S. I will also be hoping that Big Mac and Rarity don't some how become a "item." I can't afford to keep putting head shaped holes in my desk.
Cheerilee, you gonna do that to Twilight?
The lonely quotation mark is either too much, or too little. I'm not sure which.
Shdizzle!
"She Dash off her eyewear, revealing wet eyes."
I believe that this sentence was likely supposed to be worded slightly differently.
A very good chapter. Even if my memory of the previous ones was a little hazy. :)
Time for Pinkie to save the day? Then again this whole thing is driving her up the wall too and she may be the only one not getting a date out of it. Sad face?
4508059 if only I knew what that ment.
that was one hell of a chapter!
Well, that is some cliffhanger.
My question is, are the gifts really that important to Cheerilee? All the stuff that came after is suddenly forgotten? What Twilight told her, the kisses, suddenly unimportant? Not sure how I feel about this...
Yay! Glad to see this updating again! Thought I'd give you a couple handy edits that I noticed while reading through.
^ Extra quote, possible that something got cut off, maybe by Gdocs importer
Pinkie
I would guess "is an even more"
Her should probably be lowercase, unless Twilight is a deity to Cheerilee,
I HATE YOU!!!!
You made me cry so hard with Cheerily!!!
Why~y~y~yyyyyyy Must you do this to us
Um could you post the next chapter soon? I mean, um, if that's okay with you that is. . .
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If/when you go to college, take some philosophy courses. For god's sake, don't major in it, but take a few courses. It'll pay dividends throughout your entire life.
Damn.... Twi we need you! Cheerilee is being depressed, for good reasons mind you, and needs some loving attention and cuddles! Do it now!
Oh this was filled with so much happy then... pain, so much pain... I don't think that she is over reacting, but she does need to think for a moment and see that twi is not one for pranks, and that she Did kiss her!
I think this is the best chapter yet... though sad... and happy... hmm mixed feelings....
That was mandatory.
Anyway, do you thrive on our tears or something? Because if so I believe you just hit the motherload.
Applejack! ... We will save the lives of millions of ... registered voters ...
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BReak apart the phrase and it may give you an idea.
Single Rule Models of morality. By breaking this phrase into parts we can get this. Single being one, Rule so there must be one rule, morality is determing whether an action is right or wrong (well we are going to go with that for simplicity's sake), and think of model as a theory. In this case the single rule is telling the truth.
Applebloom has decided that telling the truth is always ethical. That is the single rule here that she has decided. Due to this being a single rule model it cannot by definition take into account the situation or context so in this model it is never ethical to withhold the truth even if it will lead to hurt. Whether this is actually is bad depends on how you view the world. Some philosophies base ethics on the action itself being ethical (which this particular example does) and others base things being ethical based on outcomes (in one example what creates the most good which is what Rarity in this story unknowingly is trying to do regardless of what actions she may take such as lying).
Dang it Applebloom!
Hmn, mid-chapter I was really expecting Rarity to jump on the big red grenade that is Mac and accompany him to the party, even if just as friends.
And while the Dash/AJ scene wasn't quite the plot resolution involving her that I was hoping for, at least it's a long overdue one. I do hope that the apology that Fluttershy owes her for last chapter doesn't get swept under the rug by the new romance, though.
4507962 This.
Darn you!
Well.
That happened.
4510730 Thank you I would have got it eventually but CCNA class has been eating my brain.
I'm generally bad at compliments, but:
This story is very enjoyable. I think, because it is so carefully constructed, with pieces in motion and dropping into places, so you can see the shape of the story, many possible shapes, actually, and simply want to keep on reading to see it happening. Also, because it has those lovely characters we know facing some schoolfilly-romance-feels-shenanigans, but with maturity mixed in, nothing jarring. And because the pacing is such a tease. Also, love against stupidity, intolerance and plain old being broken inside is such a lovely message.
And I'm being analytical and giving out technical compliments, because I don't want to bare my heart and its feels. Not to be read when emotional.
Of course, I'm looking forward to a Twilight/Cheerilee moment where they really *click* with one another on an emotional level. At the moment I think they still have too much of 'feeling-all-tingly-because-another-pony-likes-me' stuff and the accompanying hurts and insecurities going on to really romance one another.
Also, real life lesson for meddling friends: stop at introductions and/or kick in the butt. Anything beyond that can only hurt.
*Slowly claps*
Now that, that was an AppleDash scene.
You have my loyalty, sir, and my fucking tears.
Jake the Pony?
Fantastic chapter Ein.
Good lord, the adorkability is multiplying out of control!
In any case, there's going to a very impressive collapse of this whole delicate edifice next chapter. I look forward to it. And I sincerely hope Twilight can pull a miracle out of her heart.
Awesome chapter, good to see some resolution finally happen between ponies. Now that Discord basically set up Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack with his powers of perceptive jerkiness, will she forgive him? Will he also help Fluttershy with Blue
BassinetBonnet, or does he not want to share his only real friend? Will he become some sort of anti-hero Cadance; not the matchmaker that ponyville deserves, but the matchmaker ponyville needs? Tune in next time... whenever the author updates.4516860
While I don't expect you to wade through 818 comments, I've said this before:
1) I didn't have one on chapters 1-2,
2) and I got one after, and for every story I've had after.
3) annnnd I haven't had the time/energy to go back and fix 1-2.
Sorry.
Huge update, totally worth the wait. Even though I hate waiting. Lol. This was great, i'm a happy camper.
I love the appledash, the way Mac gets AB to confess (and an explanation about where she was) and now I'm crying for Cheerilee. Good chapter! Worth the wait.
oh wow its been too long. I can't even remember half the sub plots going on. am I going to have to read everything from square one?
I had to go back to chapter 7 to catch up on the apple-dash sub plot.
oy vey. still good chapter with many happy relations budding... and one bursting into flames and watching the ash fall to the ground.
And suddenly, things get even more interesting.
4517019 I don't know why I didn't get a notification for it. Thanks for the comment anyway. To be honest, you probably could have just ignored me and I would have found out the change myself. The only reason I found your comment was that I was about to go and delete my comment about the story being bad. Ironic.
There she found Macintosh's coat flung onto a chair, and her sister digging through the drawers of buttons, clasps and other clothing acutromon.
I believe the word you're looking for was "accoutrements".