Broken

by DiveBomb

Chapter One-Friends

Broken: Chapter One

Tank groaned in appreciation as his bowl was suddenly filled with his favorite blend of greens and spices. He ate as if he’d been starved for days, which was still mind-bendingly slow. Rainbow Dash smiled as best as she could after placing the bag of her pet tortoise’s food back into the cupboard. She watched Tank eat for a few minutes before giving him an affectionate nuzzle and walking back into her room, closing the cloud door behind her. She walked slowly and unwarily with her rainbow mane held low. Rainbow hadn’t left her room for a full day, only just now to feed her pet tortoise. Never had the boasting, self-proclaimed best flier in Equestria felt so…gray. It was the only word that described her melancholy so perfectly, having a prismatic mane and all. She had even skipped work today, not having it in her to even fly, much less move clouds. She knew that eventually one of Cloudsdale’s messengers would come knocking on her door to see why she never came into work. Rainbow simply lay down across her bed on her stomach, more or less waiting for the messenger to come.

The sun was still rising, casting a brilliant pink and orange light across the cloud layer. Rainbow couldn’t remember the last time she watched the sun rise, for she usually spent her mornings still asleep. It would’ve been a beautiful sight, save for her dull mood. The previous night wasn’t spent sleeping, but lying awake with her eyes wide open. Rainbow Dash had a dream that hadn’t occurred for years now, and she couldn’t quite get over it. It brought up old feelings from when she first moved to Ponyville, feelings that she thought were long gone.

Rainbow Dash was in the middle of the orchards of Sweet Apple Acers. It had been a long day of applebucking with her friend, and it was finally done. Applejack trotted over to the cyan pegasus, pulling the last empty apple cart to her. Rainbow let out a groan of exhaustion as she hoisted the full baskets of fruit into the carriage, thanking Celestia that she was finally done helping her friend. The farmer pony wiped the sweat from her forehead under her blonde mane, finally letting herself relax a little.

“Woo-ee,” Applejack exhaled. “Done fer today. Thank ya’ kindly Rainbow. I know ya’ owed me, but Ah never thought ya’d do it without complain’ even once!”

“Hey, no prob’,” said Rainbow, her hooves screaming at her for having the audacity to continue standing. All her body wanted to do was slowly fly up to her cloud home and sleep for a week. However, there was a very good reason that she never uttered a complaint, and it was standing right in front of her.

Rainbow Dash found it difficult to keep her tired eyes away from her friend. Applejack was completely worn out. Her mane was completely disheveled; strands of blonde were frayed in all directions, and had actually fallen out of its hair tie. Her mane flowed down her front, giving her a feminine look that Rainbow had never seen in her before. She was breathtaking, especially with her fatigued nature.

“Uhm, Rainbow, I know Ah’m not exactly clean, but ya’ don’ have to make me feel self-conscious or nothin’,” said Applejack, bringing Rainbow back to reality. The blue pegasus shook her head violently in shock, but also to erase the embarrassment from her face.

“Oh! No! I’m sorry! I’m just dozing off. Long…long day ya’ know?” Dash said, doing her best to deter her friend. However, it was near impossible to lie to Applejack. The orange pony merely gave her a sly smile, tipping her trademark Stetson back atop her head.

“Now Rainbow, ya’ think Ah don’ get what yer thinkin’?”
Rainbow Dash froze in place, feeling her cheeks warm up.

“I know why ya’ ‘accidentally’ broke one o’ my apple carts. Ya’ll knew Ah would make ya’ work with me to pay fer it. An’ that meant ya’ would hafta spend the day with me. Ah see how ya’ look at me Rainbow, an’ Ah gotta say…the feelin’s mutual.”

The dream ended with Applejack kissing her, forcing Rainbow to wake with a fright. Ever since then she couldn’t fall back to sleep, and her mind was muddled with thoughts that she had previously shoved away. Rainbow Dash had always felt something for the orange earth pony since the day they met four years ago, but never knew what those feelings were until a year later. She had kept her crush to herself, and never spoke a word of it to anypony. She had never thought about another pony like that, mare or colt. Rainbow used to hate herself for thinking like a…like a fillyfooler. She even hated the word, because it was basically her name in flight school. Dash had never really acted like a mare, but like a colt, as other ponies had said, hence the name. Unfortunately that was the nicest name she had been given. However, her past wasn’t the problem; it was the present that bothered her.

Why had this dream come up now? She thought that she had put these feelings away years ago. Why was she reminded of somepony that she couldn’t have all of a sudden? Rainbow Dash snorted out a hot breath of frustration as she fluffed a section of her cloud bed into a pillow for her chin to rest on. Her large magenta eyes sagged and focused merely on her hooves stretched out in front of her. She didn’t bother to flick her prismatic bangs out of her face; it simply seemed like too much energy to waste.

Rainbow Dash had once planned on telling Applejack how she felt, more to ease the clamp on her heart than to see if she’d say yes, for she knew that the earth pony would only reject her. Applejack never seemed the type to even cast a thought towards liking another mare more than just a friend. Two years ago Rainbow had prepared herself to confess to Applejack, but on the day she had planned to do so, Twilight had moved to town. The events that immediately followed were simply more important than her confession. Ever since that day Rainbow and Applejack had become much closer friends. Unfortunately, that was the problem.

They had become too good of friends. The problem was two-fold: for one, their friendship could prevent Applejack from ever thinking about Rainbow in a romantic way, even if she did like mares. And two: Even if the farmer gave the pegasus a chance, what would happen if their relationship failed? How could they be friends again after that? Rainbow could never lose a friend like her, even if it meant suffocating her love for…
Wait, love?

Rainbow Dash’s eyes shot open, and she could almost feel her pupils shrinking into tiny pinpricks. The word “love” had never come across her mind when she thought of her closest friend. Her feelings had never been more than a simple crush or even maybe infatuation. Is that why her heart felt so heavy? Was that why she couldn’t sleep or think about anything else? Was that why the dream infected her mind the night before?

“I…luhhh…” Dash started, not believing what she was admitting to herself. “I…I love her. I love Applejack.”

The thought didn’t seem to make sense until she spoke the words. Now Rainbow Dash was overwhelmed with a heartwarming emotion. It soothed her body and mind, bringing an odd sort of happiness to her soul. However, as soon as she dared to smile, an infinite amount of sorrow overtook her. Before last night, she was able to shake her feelings for the farmer pony, and act as if they never existed. But now…there was no way. This new feeling was far too conspicuous to hide, too powerful to push away. It was a feeling that occupied her entire being, like nothing else mattered.

“Oh no…” she muttered, starting to panic. Her wings fluttered as she held her hooves to her temples. “Oh nononononono…This can’t happen, this just can’t happen.”

Rainbow jumped when she saw something moving across the floor of cloud from her peripheral vision. She exhaled when she saw that it was only Tank, cocking his small, green head at her as if to ask, ‘what’s up with you?’

“Oh hey Tank. Guess you learned to open the door…somehow,” laughed Rainbow in a nervous sort of fashion. She looked out the window again to see that it was already mid-morning. She was supposed to be in Cloudsdale by now, retrieving her weekly weather schedule.

There was a small crack of lightning coming from the other side of her cloud home. A pegasus was knocking on her door. No other type of pony could cause electricity to occur from a cloud. Rainbow Dash suddenly remembered that a messenger was supposed to fly by and see why she hadn’t come to work. The cyan pegasus jumped off her bed and walked over to her mirror, making sure that she indeed looked sick enough to stay home. She wouldn’t have to feign anything except for maybe a cough, for her sorrow had etched a look of pain across her face. For a moment she thought that her rainbow mane had actually darkened a shade or two, but immediately dismissed the ridiculous thought as she walked to her front door. She made sure that she kept her head hung low as she slowly opened the door. With a pang of sorrow she noticed that she couldn’t even exaggerate her pained features any more than what was natural.

The Cloudsdale messenger was a young colt maybe a few years younger than her, garbed in a simple red vest with a cloud symbol stitched into the chest. His coat was a light shade of green, completely clashing against his uniform. Rainbow would normally smile at what Rarity would say about this, but even if she wasn’t feigning sickness, a smile was just impossible right now. His blue mane was a lot longer than what most colts would have it, tied in a greasy tail.

“Miss Rainbow Dash?” he asked in a nasally voice. The saddened pegasus nodded meekly. “Your superiors would like to know why you haven’t reported to Cloudsdale this morning.”

“Really bad stomach flu, had it all weekend,” said Dash, her voice low and haggard. It was the first sickness that she could come up with. It was solid, for it kept her out of work for an unnumbered amount of days. The young colt blinked, a small look of concern flashed across his face.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” he said sincerely. “Well I’ll be sure to inform the Weather Team Miss Dash. I’m sure they’ll wish you well.”

“Thank you, tell them I said I’m sorry I couldn’t make it in,” she said. Rainbow had indeed meant it. She may have been lazy at times, putting off her work until the very last minute, but she had always gone to work and done her job faster than any other pegasus in Cloudsdale or Ponyville. You don’t become the Chief of the Weather Team for nothing.

With that the messenger nodded and took wing back towards Cloudsdale, allowing Rainbow to close her front door. The cyan pegasus sighed and hung her head even lower, her mane obscuring her vision. She fell onto her haunches and watched as Tank finally made it to the living room, still looking concerned. It took a while for him to reach her, but Rainbow was patient. She rubbed the top of his shell with a hoof, appreciative of her caring pet.

“Now what do I do Tank?” she asked the tortoise, whom merely gave her a slow shrug. “Oh. Yeah. I always forget that you can’t talk. Hehe.”

She had forced the laugh, trying her best to find a smile in her pained heart. Rainbow looked out the living room window, wondering if she had the energy to take a quick flight. She hadn’t been outside since yesterday morning. The day before she retired early due to her bruised shoulder from a slight crash into a large oak tree, and she couldn’t find anything else to do, because all of her friends were busy for the last day of the weekend.

Rainbow Dash’s mind returned to Applejack when she plopped back onto the cloud bed in her room, not bothering to close the door.

The next few days were exactly the same, except each passing sunset brought more and more pain. The nights barely held any sleep, for each time she tried it only brought her another dream of her friend. After two nights Rainbow couldn’t bring herself to even try to sleep. And during the day she didn’t have the energy to leave her home. Tank was happy to have so much company, but he could still see the pain his owner was in. Every now and then he would slowly toe over to her, giving the pained pegasus an affectionate nuzzle on the hoof. Her appetite was pretty much shot, for every time she tried to eat something, Dash’s stomach would only reject it.

Dash had started to feel lost, scared even. It only took four days for her personality to wither away. The once fearless, proud and ultimately happy pony had now been a shell filled by only a tangible sorrow. How did this happen? How had she become so defeated and helpless over one measly dream? Rainbow silently berated herself for losing to this mental battle without at least a fight. However, Rainbow Dash at least kept a small part of herself together, a small part of her pride. As hurt as she was, Rainbow never let herself cry over the love that she could never have. One afternoon she heard a voice from the ground below:

“Rainbow Dash! Are ya’ up there or not?”

Rainbow positively panicked at the sound of the voice. She knew instantly who it was. She could feel herself actually trembling, unsure of what to do. After the past few days Dash didn’t know if she could face her. Did she respond to the pony below, or hide and pretend that she wasn’t home? After thinking about it for a few moments, she realized that eventually the farmer would consult Twilight, and sure enough she would cast that darned cloud-walking spell and end up at her front door. Rainbow sighed, defeated. She slowly poked her nauseated head out her bedroom window, and saw the orange earth pony below, her face full of worry. She had a large set of saddlebags strapped to her back, and they looked to be stuffed. Maybe she was on her way to Ponyville Market to sell her fruits.

“H-...” was all that came out of Rainbow’s mouth. She didn’t realize that she hadn’t used her voice for at least three or four days other than the scarce ‘hello’ to Tank. It took her a few tries to find her voice, but eventually she called down to her friend:

“Hey AJ, what’s up?”

“Well you tell me,” Applejack replied with that same concerned look. “Ah haven’t seen ya’ in a week, not even in the sky clearin’ the clouds! Ya’ll been alright Sugarcube?”

Rainbow Dash almost visibly slumped.

“Y-Yeah I’m fine.” Rainbow didn’t even know why she attempted to lie to Applejack, it simply never worked. Especially considering that there was a small crack audible in her answer. As expected, Applejack narrowed her eyes.

“Why don’ ya’ just come on down here Rainbow.”

Rainbow Dash sighed as her head withdrew from the window. She couldn’t hide from Applejack anymore, nor did she have the strength to simply fly away. Twilight had once said something about how a pony at rest tends to stay at rest or something like that. Dash had certainly been a pony at rest, not having even stretched her wings for four days.

She walked out her front door and stumbled to the edge of the cloud that her home rested on. The ground seemed like miles and miles away. How could she be afrai...wary of a simple descent that she had performed daily? Rainbow Dash was not afraid of the ground below, even if the distance was causing her stomach to turn. Rainbow slowly stretched her wings, which ached from the sudden lack of use. She didn’t leap gracefully from the cloud as usual, but simply let herself fall, wings spread. On the way down, her wings slowed her descent until her eyes subconsciously gazed onto the orange earth pony below. Suddenly her cheeks grew very hot, and she didn’t notice her wings lock tight to her sides until the ground was a foot away from her face.

The impact took the breath from Rainbow’s lungs. She only hit the ground at half speed, but that didn’t negate the pain. She knew that she would be alright, just a bruised shoulder and a shaken sense of pride. Dash heard the rapidly approaching hoofsteps of her friend, wincing with every thump.

“Rainbow! Are y’alright?” asked Applejack with an air of panic. Dash simply waved a hoof, slowly standing up and facing her friend.

“Y-Yeah I’m fine,” said Rainbow slower than she intended, unable to hide the exhaustion in her voice. Applejack’s large green eyes darted all around Dash’s tired face, mostly gazing at the heavy bags under the pegasus’ eyes.

“Rainbow…what happened to ya’? Ya’ look like ya’ haven’t slept in a month! Is that why ya’ crashed?”

The worried tone in Applejack’s accented voice was heavenly to Rainbow’s ears. She just wanted to hear her voice even more, and then realized that she needed to reply. What did she say? Dash couldn’t lie to her friend again.

Suddenly that wasn’t her only problem. Rainbow swayed a little, her eyes half-open and unfocused. She attempted to mindlessly count the many red dots in her vision.

“Rainbow!”

“Huh?! Wha…?”

“What is wrong with ya’ girl?” Applejack prodded with volume in her voice. Rainbow shook her head, her mane growing messier than it already was.

“Nothing, I’ve just been really busy,” she replied, subconsciously lying again. “I guess I lost a little bit of sleep ‘cause of it.”

“Rainbow Dash,” started Applejack, placing a heavy amount of emphasis on the name. “You look like yer gonna faint! Have ya’ been eatin’ or sleepin’ or anythin’?”

“A lit…no I guess not,” said Dash, not wanting to lie anymore. She couldn’t look the farmer in the eye, not without her heart threatening to explode out of her chest. Just hearing her voice was painful. Her smooth, farmpony accent wafted through the pegasus’ brain like a lightly-scented breeze, calming her exhausted mind, which had been strained far past capacity in the last four days.

“Well why the hay not?” the orange earth pony asked quietly, her eyes solemn and caring. It made Dash want to melt. She did something similar, however. All she remembered was her vision fading and a slight sense of falling.
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“Dash! Dash!” called a voice on the edge of Rainbow’s consciousness. Her eyes flickered open to find Applejack’s face over hers. The cyan pegasus’ eyes flew open as she found her weight being supported by her friend’s forehooves.

“Woah…AJ what’re you doing?” she asked, feeling her face grow hot again. The orange mare sighed in relief and helped her friend into a sitting position.

“Thank Celestia ya’ woke up so quick,” said Applejack sighed with a smile. “Ya’ took a fall there an’ passed out like Ah said ya’ would.”
Oh. That made sense.

Judging by her friend’s expression and the position of the sun, she had only been out a few minutes at the most. Rainbow shook her head a few times, trying her best to rid her vision of those meddlesome red dots.

“Rainbow, ya’ needta’ get some food, some water and sleep. Come now, I’ll take ya’ll on to the farm an’ get ya' all of that.”

“Huh? No AJ I’m fine I’ll eat later-”
This time anger arose in Applejack’s voice.

“Rainbow Dash! Ya’ just passed out after crashin’ from a fall that you do every day.”
Rainbow felt her pride quiver at those last two words.

“Somethin’s goin’ on that yer not tellin’ me about! Now I respect yer privacy Rainbow, we all got our secrets an’ that’s just fine. But if ya' don’t get some nourishment and rest in ya’ right now yer gonna end up in the hospital again! How many more times can ya’ afford that?”
None in the foreseeable future, thought Dash.

Slowly Rainbow realized that her friend was right. Even if her stomach rejected it again, she desperately needed food and water, now. Tank had that in his bowls. He would be fine for at least a day or two.

“O-Okay,” she said finally, putting her pride aside. “Okay AJ. I’ll go with you.”
Applejack sighed in relief, closing her eyes and smiling.

“Thank ya’ Sugarcube, just let yer ol’ pal AJ take care of you,” said Applejack. ‘Ol’ pal.’ Friend. That tightened the vice on Dash’s heart. The cyan pegasus sighed inaudibly as Applejack turned to lead her back to the farm, which thankfully was only so far away.
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By the time they reached the front porch of Applejack’s barn, Rainbow Dash couldn’t see anymore, her vision blurred from her spinning mind.

“Hey Sugarcube, ya' gonna make it?” asked the farmpony, placing a hoof on the pegasus’ shoulder. Dash’s senses suddenly flashed back to her at the touch, causing her wings to flutter.

“Let’s just…get inside and sit. I can’t stand up much longer,” Dash admitted, ignoring her damaged pride. She’d be the same old Dash once she ate and slept. She’d be…still hopelessly in love with the mare that was taking care of her. This was going to be a heart-wrenching day.

The two friends stepped inside the Apple Family home. The front door led to the dining room, and Dash sighed in relief as she slumped into a chair, laying her forehooves and head across the table. Her wings lay limp at her sides, their tips touching the old wooden floor. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. She ignored whatever the farmpony was doing until the sweet scent of something warm and definitely apple-related wafted into her nose.

“Eat this Rainbow, but slowly,” said Applejack softly. “Ya’ don’t wanna over-do it now.”

Rainbow opened her eyes slower than Tank could walk to find two apple turnovers on a plate next to a tall glass of water. She tried to pick her head and shoulders up, but couldn’t find the strength.

“Come on Dash,” she urged herself. Applejack only gave her a small smile as she placed the straw she had prepared into the glass of water.

“Here ya’ go Sug’. Drink this first,” she said in a warm, almost motherly tone. Rainbow looked up at her with bloodshot eyes. Applejack cringed at the pitiful look upon her normally strong and independent friend. Dash sighed and brought her lips to the straw, sipping the drink down merrily.

“Ya’ don’t have to tell me what’s been goin’ on Rainbow,” said Applejack once the pegasus was almost done with her breakfast. “But Ah wan’ ya’ to know that it’s alright. Ya’ can tell me anythin’ that’s troublin’ ya’.”

Rainbow Dash froze with bits of pastry still in her mouth. The treats and water had helped quite a bit, but they didn’t do much to distract her from the mare sitting across the table, giving her a warm, sincere look of concern. That look made Rainbow shiver visibly.

“I…I can’t,” she said in a little more than a whisper.

“What’s that Fluttershy?” asked Applejack jokingly.

“I-I-I…I just can’t Applejack,” Dash spoke louder this time, her voice cracking at the heightened volume. Applejack shifted oddly. Rainbow almost never called the farmpony by her full name. Whatever was on her mind was seriously troubling her. But Applejack realized that she still kept this secret, even in her current state, so it must have been important to be kept as such. So she simply let the starving pegasus eat until she was done, two pastries and three glasses of water later.

Rainbow Dash finally picked herself up off the table, her shrunken stomach already full, making her eyelids even heavier. Applejack walked over to her side and nosed her in the direction of an open door down the hall. She followed her friend’s lead, only half-awake. Somewhere in front of her was a plush mattress that she fell onto. Somewhere she heard Applejack say:

“Get to bed Rainbow, and sleep as long as ya’ like.”
Nothing more was heard as Rainbow felt herself instantly fall out of consciousness.
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“Is somepony in the guest room AJ?” Applebloom asked that night, her large eyes looking up to her big sister with curiosity.

“Yup,” said Applejack, not seeing why it should be kept a secret. “Found Rainbow Dash in pretty bad o’ shape. She’s resting up somethin’ fierce, so keep yer voice down so ya’ don’t wake ‘er.”

“Rainbow Dash? She isn’t too hurt is she? Did she crash during one o’ her stunts?” asked Applebloom, tugging worriedly at the large bow in her mane.

“Naw, she’ll be fine. You know how fast she can get up after a fall, which she didn’t actually do, by the way.”

“Okay. Good thing Scootaloo isn’t here, she’d have a cow if she saw Dash out of the sky,” said the yellow filly. Applejack chuckled in agreement, knowing how much her sister’s friend idolized Rainbow Dash. The entire Apple family sat down at the table for dinner, Granny Smith and Big Macintosh joining in slowly.

“So what happened ta’ Dash?” asked Applejack’s older brother, brushing the dust from the orchard off his red coat. Applejack respectfully removed her hat, hanging it from the back of her chair.

“Don’t rightly know,” she replied. “Ah went to her house to bring her some o’ our apples, an’ she looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks! She couldn’t even stand without passin’ out.”

“Is there a Wondercolts tryout soon or somethin’?” asked Big Mac.

“Wonderbolts big bro’,” laughed Applejack. “And no, not that Ah’ve heard anyhow. Anyway, I couldn’t very well leave her there, so Ah brought her to the farm, gave the poor mare some breakfast and she fell asleep jus’ like that.”

“D’ya know what was wrong with ‘er?” asked Granny Smith, suddenly intrigued by the conversation. There was an air of concern in her voice, as if Rainbow were part of the family.

“Ah guess that’s her business. She didn’t seem to wanna talk ‘bout it so Ah let it go,” said the orange farmpony. However, Applejack wasn’t satisfied with not knowing what was bothering her friend. Whatever had happened, it seemed to be tearing the poor pegasus apart. She knew that Rainbow Dash was a hard-headed mare, and wouldn’t let anypony know about her problems. But that was the problem: Applejack and her friends had always hit this wall whenever Rainbow had a problem. As much as they wanted to help her, the stubborn pony simply wouldn’t have it. The only help they ever were allowed to be was to cheer her on during her aerial acrobatics. Applejack may have found frustration in this, but also respect and familiarity. She knew how that felt, more than anypony: to feel the urge to handle her problems on her own, not letting anypony else help until it was absolutely necessary. Well, it definitely seemed to be Dash’s time to need help. But still she remained resolute, unwilling to share her problems and let others help.
Why can’t ya’ let me help ya’ Dash? Ah’m just tryin’ to be yer friend.
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Rainbow Dash felt her head lift unintentionally, wincing at the sudden light peering through the curtains hung over the window. It was sunrise; she must’ve slept an entire twenty-four hours. It took her a few minutes to remember where she was or how she got there. She remembered eating for the first time in days and then nothing. Applejack had brought her here, fed her and gave the tired pegasus a bed to sleep in. Dash felt the vice return to her heart, unable to flinch at the familiarity of the pain. Fortunately her hunger and exhaustion and been quelled, and now she was only feeling one sort of pain. Better than more than complete misery.

The cyan pegasus slowly found her strength and got herself to her haunches, flipping her rainbow mane out of her eyes. Suddenly the door to the small guest room opened, and Dash saw a small yellow filly with a red mane and a large bow. She carefully stuck her head into the room, her large amber eyes focusing on the Dash.

“Oh! Good mornin’ Rainbow Dash!” she squeaked in an accent like a younger version of Applejack. “Are ya’ feelin’ any better?”

Rainbow didn’t mind that the filly knew she was here, or if she was in bad shape the day before. It didn’t really matter too much for some reason.

“Morning Applebloom,” Dash yawned, placing a hoof over her mouth politely. “Yeah I’m fine, just needed some rest. Rough week…practicing.”

“Long as yer okay. I don’t know what Scootaloo’d do if you weren’t around,” Applebloom nodded happily before disappearing back into the hallway. Dash smiled at that. Scootaloo had been taking flying lessons from her for the past few months. She had shown potential and plenty of energy, two things that were essential for a good young flier like…Dash. She had enjoyed spending her days with the young filly, because she saw herself in Scootaloo’s determined eyes. She was like the little sister she never had. Maybe she would see if she could find her today.
At least that would take my mind off ApplejaaaaaAAAAAWWWW DARN IT!

Rainbow beat her forehead with her hoof. A full two minutes without thinking about that darned farmpony. What a fantastic record. Dash listened around the old house for any other pony. She heard nothing but the creaking of a rocking chair from the floor above her. Granny Smith must have been crocheting or some other kind of old mare activity. She decided to go and find Applejack, thank her for taking care of her, and fly off to find Scootaloo. If Dash needed anything, it was a distraction.

Instead of awkwardly interacting with Granny Smith and Applebloom again, Rainbow simply slid the old window open and leapt out and on the soft, green grass. Ahead of her was the vast expanse of apple trees that was Sweet Apple Acres. It didn’t take long for her to spot the orange coat amongst the sea of brown tree trunks, green leaves and red apples. Before taking off after her to say goodbye, Rainbow Dash merely sat on her haunches and stared after the object of her affection.

The farmer pony gracefully swung her body around and delivered a swift kick to the tree next to her, being immediately rewarded by a hail of red delicious apples, falling neatly into the baskets around her. Her grace was only matched by her strength. Dash had admired that about Applejack; how she was able to buck apples every day to serve her family, doing so with an undying work ethic, something Dash lacked. Where she was lazy, Applejack was hard-working. She was everything that Rainbow was, but also everything she wasn’t. The farmpony was simply more than her. Applejack was a better pony than her…so much better than her…

“I don’t deserve her,” Dash whispered to herself. “She deserves so much more than me. She needs another hard-working, kind-hearted pony to be with…a colt.”

She thought of turning and flying away, but just knew that Applejack would notice her. She also knew that she needed to thank her for the help and hospitality, even if talking to her tore her heart to pieces. With a shuddering sigh, Rainbow Dash composed herself and strode forward towards Applejack.
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With a well-placed, final kick to a rather defiant apple tree, Applejack sighed with relief as the remaining fruits it bore fell into the two baskets below. It wasn’t even noon yet, but the young mare was already starting to feel fatigued. It had taken her a while to fall asleep the previous night, for she had spent hours racking her brain trying to figure out what had been bothering her friend to the point of malnourishment, dehydration and insomnia. As long as Applejack had known Rainbow Dash, the pegasus had never let any problem or obstacle in her life get the better of her, nor did she seem to dwell on them. But yesterday she found her friend to be doing the exact opposite, and Applejack knew it wasn’t because of work. She hadn’t even seen Dash in the skies for almost a week now, but found twice the amount of pegasi work tirelessly to pick up the slack that her friend had left. It seemed like without Rainbow working, the Weather Team was distraught, confused and overworked. The farmpony had never known or appreciated the amount of work that her friend had actually did in the short time she wasn’t napping or practicing her aerial routine.

So what had happened to Rainbow Dash to put her into such an exhausted state? It worried her friend to the point of considering trapping Dash into a situation in which she could be questioned without flying away.
Now, now, let’s not take any drastic measures or nothin’. Maybe she confided in Fluttershy or some pony, thought Applejack. But then, why couldn’t she tell me?

It just didn’t make any sense. Applejack hadn’t given Dash a reason to not completely trust her, so it wasn’t a matter of who she confided in. The farmer pawed at the ground in confusion.

Suddenly Applejack saw Rainbow Dash walking towards her, her eyes unfocused and looking at the ground in front of her. While she still looked better than she did the day before, the pegasus still had those dark bags under her eyes, although not as heavy-looking. She couldn’t even seem to walk straight, her steps not in any sort of line, but staggered. There was a second that Applejack thought she was going to fall again, but thankfully she was wrong.

“Hey AJ,” she said, not looking her face. Her eyes were only half-open. How could she still be so exhausted? She had slept long enough to be considered comatose.

“Mornin’ Sugarcube. Did ya’ sleep alright? Ya’ still look like ya’ done got hit by a train,” asked Applejack, not worrying if she would take it as an insult. Rainbow wasn’t one to care about vanity.

“Yeah I did,” she replied, even though her voice was still shaky. “Listen, I just wanted to stop by and say thanks for letting me stay here before I flew off.”

“Before ya’ flew-” the farmer started angrily before exhaling. “Rainbow, yer in no condition to be flyin’, yer obviously still in bad shape! Ya’ may have slept for a while, but ya’ can’t just recover from such exhaustion without takin’ a day to replenish yer fluids, eat and rest.”

“AJ I’ll be fine,” said Rainbow, waving a hoof dismissively. Applejack exhaled once more, trying her hardest not to yell at the stubborn pony. Instead, she took on a caring voice in attempt to grab Dash’s attention:

“Look Rainbow, Ah know Ah said that ya’ didn’t have to tell me what’s goin’ on with you, an’ ya’ don’t. But Ah’m not dumb either. You haven’t been to work, so it’s not that yer busy. Somethin’s botherin’ ya' into a right mess, and Ah just wanna let ya’ know that you can tell me anythin’. Ya’ don’t have to hide behind a wall. Ah’m yer friend ain’t Ah?”

The entire time the farmpony had spoken, Rainbow hadn’t even looked at her, but at the ground between her forehooves. Several seconds went by before she finally said:

“Jeeze AJ, I just woke up. It’ll take a few minutes before I’m actually awake. There’s nothing wrong with me, I’m just a bit off this week, that’s all. Anyway, I gotta go thanks again!”

And with that, Rainbow spread her wings and took off, albeit without her usual acceleration. Applejack watched her friend go without another word. Dash’s reply had her same old spunk, but her last sentence was quick and forced. Why was she lying to her? What had really been going on? Applejack kicked the basket next to her in tired frustration, wishing that Rainbow wasn’t as stubborn as she was.

Comments

[Callisto]

I started reading this story because the description sounded EXACTLY like I story I have in mind to write. So far, aside from Dash's insomnia, I think I don't have to worry about the stories being the same. Anyways, I'm intrigued. The writing is not bad and I'm a sucker for AppleDash. Can't read any more at the moment, but I'll track it and read it later ;)

[warden006]

wow, I am fairly surprised how well this got me immersed !
Aj sure is lovely on this fic, I will be looking forward to this story

[Appleloosa2011]

Faved

[Nadake]

Hehe, very nice. I love seeing Dash get the shit beat out of her, mostly for the scene's where <insert> makes everything better.

[Spirit Wind]

AppleDash may be my least favorite Dash paring, but I"m interested enough to see this through. we'll see if it holds up to my expectations.

[ObligedShelf7]

This is interesting so far can't wait to see how there relationship develops.

[happynoname56]

well this rainbow has my stubbornness lol your story has my attention i shall read on

[Raidah]

Well, I can tell I'm going to really like this.