Chapter 5
Applejack paced. She knew she was in over her head, and needed to bring in the big guns. She needed an unflappable voice of reason, somepony who was solid and would provide exactly the words she needed to hear. Somepony who would be honest, but not judgmental.
“...and so that’s what happened,” she finished.
“Eeyup,” Mac said.
“Ah think Ah still love her. Ah mean, Ah don’t see why Ah wouldn’t.”
“Eeyup,” Mac agreed.
“They say looks aren’t everything. Ah mean, look at me.”
Mac opened his mouth to protest… and then paused. If he said ‘eeyup’, it could be construed as him thinking his sister wasn’t good looking. But if he said ‘nope’, he would be agreeing with previous statement and thus insinuating that she wasn’t good looking; or maybe it would mean he was choosing not to look at her? Mares were so complicated sometimes, and he didn’t want to alienate his sister when she had lowered her defenses and approached him for advice.
Luckily for him, Applejack had already moved on in the conversation. “Then why did Ah hesitate to touch her? It ain’t like Ah’ve never seen or dealt with nasty things before. Remember Mooriela’s calfing four seasons ago?”
Mac shuddered. He remembered.
“Worked through that without even breaking a sweat. But this? Ah don’t know.” She sighed. “Ah… Ah don’t know. What do you think?”
Mac stood and finally spoke. “Ah think you both got issues to work out. Ah think she’s hurtin’, and needs you there t’ help her heal.”
“Yeah, but-”
“The real you,” Mac emphasized. “The one that loves her unconditionally, willin’ to make sacrifices to see her happy.”
“Ah do!”
“Do you?”
Applejack paused, suddenly finding herself unable to speak.
Mac began to walk away. “Ah guess you two better fall back in love or somethin’, ‘cause right now y’all have the chance of success of an apple-pear hybrid.”
“Where are you goin’?” Applejack demanded.
Mac turned back with a goofy grin on his face. “Ah got a date,” he said proudly.
“Really? With who?” Applejack sprinted up and leaned in close, ready to tease him something awful.
Mac pushed her away gently with a huge red hoof. “Nope.”
“Mac!” Applejack protested.
Macintosh didn’t even look back as he answered. “Fix your own relationship, then come mess with mine.”
“Betcha don’t even have a date! You’re just sneaking off to take a nap!” Applejack accused teasingly.
Mac just chuckled and continued walking.
As soon as he was out of sight, Applejack threw herself down under one of the many trees and began to think.
* * *
Twilight Sparkle was no stranger to all-nighters. In fact, she had once stayed up all night just to study the effects of all-nighters on study habits. Her results had been less than promising; though she did have quite the list of symptoms demonstrated by somepony who had stayed up all night. And as she walked through the library and found Spike with his eyes closed and his head resting on a book, she didn’t need her studies to know that he had indeed stayed up all night.
Still, she asked anyway. “Spike, were you up all night?”
Spike jumped and spun around. “No!” he denied far too quickly. Under Twilight’s eyes, he wilted slightly. “Uh... maybe?”
Twilight sighed and walked over to where he sat, and wrapped a foreleg around his shoulders. She wanted to give Spike a lecture on how sleep is vitally important to both physical growth, mental health, and memory development; but somehow she knew that that's not what he needed right now.
“You're really determined to find something, aren't you?” she said instead.
“Kindof. I mean, it's not like it's entirely my fault she can barely walk, you know?”
Twilight didn't say anything.
“Well, it kindof is, though.”
Twilight didn’t say anything.
“I mean, it was me she was rescuing.”
Twilight didn’t say anything.
“And I’m here, alive and well; but Rainbow’s hurt and has nerve damage all over and can barely walk and can’t fly…”
Twilight didn’t say anything, but she did reach out and pull Spike to her chest. He didn’t fight it.
Neither needed to say anything for a long time.
Finally, Twilight broke the silence. “Let’s go get some breakfast, and then we can come back here and keep looking. After a nap, of course.”
Spike fought to suppress a yawn. “But I’m not ti-”
Twilight cut him off. “Spike, I found a sleeping spell doctors used to cast for surgeries before the discovery of anesthesia, don’t make me use it.”
“Fine…”
* * *
Applejack shivered as she stepped up to Rainbow's door. It's not that she was nervous; she just…
Ok, she was nervous. She knew Rainbow was on a hair-trigger, and she didn't want to irrevocably ruin their friendship. She did want to try and get their relationship back, after all.
Didn't she?
Her words were disrupted by the crunch of glass underhoof. Applejack paused and looked down, and saw the mirror that Pinkie had given her the last time she was here. Rainbow had apparently not cared at all for the threat of bad luck, because the glass had been broken and was in small enough pieces that it had apparently been crushed numerous times by an angry hoof, and not even the frame had been spared her wrath.
“Well, at least she’s gettin’ some exercise,” Applejack joked.
Her joke fell flat and sounded hollow, even to her own ears.
Applejack sighed and grit her teeth. It was now or never. She stepped forward and knocked on the door.
“What?” Rainbow called.
“It’s me, Applejack!”
Rainbow snorted. “Go away.”
Applejack dug her hooves in. “No.”
Eventually, the door opened. Applejack flinched as she saw Rainbow’s face in the sunlight. It certainly didn’t look much better. Especially not when it was disfigured by both the damage and the angry glare she wore. “Fine. You're back,” Rainbow observed dispassionately.
“Yeah.”
“Eh, why not? Free admission to the freak show.”
Applejack bit her lower lip again.
Rainbow looked around, and noticed she was alone. “How'd you get up here this time?”
“You'd be surprised what some ponies will do for a free apple or two.”
Finally noticing the shadow on her porch, Rainbow looked up to see a balloon tethered to her house, and Cherry Berry in the basket, happily munching on an apple. Cherry felt eyes on her and she looked down and waved… only to have her jaw drop and the half-chewed bite of apple fall out of her mouth as she took in Rainbow’s new appearance. Rainbow scowled threateningly, pinning her ears and showing her teeth, and Cherry quickly ducked out of view.
Rainbow's eye twitched before she turned back to Applejack. “I’m guessing you want to come in?”
Applejack nodded and followed Rainbow inside.
The first thing she noticed (besides the messy floor) was the empty thermos on the ground. Applejack smiled. This was her first indication that maybe the real Rainbow was still in there somewhere, and could be brought out again.
“So how long until you leave this time?”
...maybe. Somewhere. Deep down, far behind the walls she had erected for herself.
“Ooh, I know,” Rainbow continued bitterly. “Maybe you’ve got another mirror in there for me, just so I can keep seeing just how hideous I’ve become!”
Applejack knew she had to do some quick damage control. “That was Pinkie’s,” she explained. “She thought it’d be good luck, you know? Because a broken mirror is bad luck, so a whole mirror is good luck?”
Rainbow snorted. “Sounds like something she’d do.” She turned and raised her voice. “Pinkie! I don’t want a party! Go away!”
“She’s not here.”
“Well, you never know with Pinkie, do you?”
“Actually, Ah was talkin’ with her earlier. She’s pretty bummed because she knows a party won’t help and she doesn’t know what to do.”
Rainbow paused. “That’s not normal for Pinkie. Has she been to the doctor?”
Applejack cracked a smile, both at Rainbow’s reaction and that she had expressed concern for her friend, much like the old Rainbow Dash would. “She’s fine.”
And just like that, the walls returned. “Well, that makes one of us. Why are you here, anyway?”
“Ah’m here to help, that’s all.”
That was also the wrong thing to say. Rainbow turned around, a too-wide smile on her face. “Oh, right. Poor Rainbow Dash can’t do anything by herself anymore; she needs a big, strong, Applejack to come save her like the helpless little foal she is.”
Applejack held back her retort and bit her lower lip so hard she tasted blood.
If Rainbow noticed, she didn't respond. “So, you’re here to help?”
“Eeyup.”
Rainbow snorted. “Fine, then. I’m hungry. Make me a pie.”
Applejack responded without missing a beat. “If you want a fresh pie, you’re gonna have to come down to Sweet Apple Acres. Ah doubt you’ve got everything Ah need up here.”
Rainbow paused. “I wasn't serious…”
“Well, Ah am.” Applejack walked over and held out a hoof. “Come on.”
Rainbow sat. “I’m not leaving.”
“You will if’n you want your pie.”
Rainbow grumbled for a bit, but her expression softened ever so slightly when her stomach grumbled, too. She looked back. “Whipped cream?” she asked.
“As much as you can eat.” Applejack paused. “Or until we run out, whichever comes first.”
Rainbow might have cracked a smile. “Fine.”
Applejack smiled. “Lemme go tell Cherry.” She quickly turned around and trotted ahead to have a private conversation with their pilot. Upon further reflection, she hadn't told Cherry she might have another passenger upon descent, and wasn't sure how she would respond.
To be honest, it was, unfortunately, something close to what she was expecting.
“No!” Cherry hissed. “I'm not having her in my balloon!”
“Come on, Cherry!” Applejack pleaded. “It’s not like she’s changed.”
“You say that, but you don’t mean it! Look at her! She’s like some kind of monster or something!”
Applejack’s eyes narrowed, and Cherry took a subconscious step back. “Uh… I’ll do it for a bushel of apples?”
Applejack glowered. “Ah have a counteroffer. How’d you like to be thrown overboard?”
Cherry flinched but stayed strong. “Half bushel?”
Applejack snorted. “Fine…” She turned back to Rainbow. “She says it’s ok. Get in.”
Rainbow sat defiantly. “I may be grounded, but I'm still a pegasus, and there's no way I'm going to ride down to the ground in a balloon.”
Cherry tried to hide her look of relief; but Applejack was having none of that.
“Your pie is there or nowhere, so get in the balloon. Unless you want to jump down?” Applejack asked fastidiously.
“I'm considering it,” Rainbow retorted snappily.
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Just get in the balloon.”
The basket was low enough that Rainbow could step down into it. She landed and hissed painfully, prompting Cherry to flinch.
Rainbow noticed and turned to Applejack with a dour expression. She was clearly having second thoughts, and only the incentive of the promised dessert was keeping her in the basket. “Let’s just get this over with,” she grumbled.
* * *
The balloon basket landed gently on the ground in the soft grass of Sweet Apple Acres. Cherry hadn’t looked at Rainbow once, but apparently was still able to pilot the balloon safely. She hopped out and stood by her basket, resolutely not looking back. Rainbow glowered at her but didn’t say anything.
Applejack hopped out of the basket as well. “Come on, Rainbow. The pie is calling your name!”
Rainbow remained in the basket.
“Rainbow?”
Rainbow mumbled something.
“What’d you say?”
Rainbow repeated herself, but only infinitesimally louder.
Applejack trotted back. “Beg your pardon?”
“I can’t get out,” Rainbow muttered. She gestured at the walls of the basket, originally designed to keep ponies in. They were doing their job a bit too well, especially for somepony who could barely lift their hooves above barrel height.
Applejack returned and attempted to help Rainbow over. “Here, come on, just…”
“Ow!”
“Maybe if…”
“Ah! Ouch! Applejack! No!”
Applejack hastily retreated. “Maybe Mac can lift you out. Ah bet he wouldn’t mind… you know… your appearance.”
Rainbow glowered. “He’s Mac. He could see a tornado coming at him and he wouldn’t even flinch!”
Applejack raised a hoof, but then dropped it. That did sound like something Mac would do; especially since he enjoyed thunderstorms. He’d probably take the tornado’s appearance as a challenge and stand out there for the sole purpose of defying it.
Luckily for everypony involved, though, Ponyville was far out of the Equestrian Tornado Belt, and such a confrontation would likely never happen.
This train of thought was brought to a wrecking halt when Rainbow spoke again. “Never mind. This was a bad idea. Applejack, take me home.”
“Are you su-”
“Home, Applejack.”
Silently, Applejack gestured at Cherry that she should get in and get them home. She frowned. “My half bushel…?”
Rainbow gave Applejack a look, but said nothing.
“When she’s home,” Applejack said firmly.
Cherry’s eye twitched, but she obediently got into the basket.
* * *
The ride back to Rainbow’s house was silent. It was silent as Cherry piloted the balloon to a perfect stop on the porch. It was silent as Applejack hopped out and onto the cloud. It was silent as she stretched out a helping hoof that was ignored by Rainbow, and it was silent as Rainbow built a tiny set of stairs out of the cloud and used them to climb out. It was silent as the two mares walked back to Rainbow’s door.
Applejack finally broke the silence. “Ah’m sorry it worked out this way. Maybe next ti-”
Rainbow spun on her and growled. “There will be no next time! You think you can help? If you think you can just waltz back into my life and magically fix everything, you’ve got another thing coming.”
Applejack narrowed her eyes and stood her ground. “You think Ah'm gonna sit here and let you mope around? You’re the one what’s got another thing comin', Rainbow.”
The two mares glared at each other.
“Ah’ve got chores to do,” Applejack finally said, “so Ah’ll be goin’ now. But this ain’t over. Not by a long shot.”
Rainbow snarled. “Do your worst, Apple Butt.”
“Featherhead,” Applejack retorted.
“Mud pony.”
“Wind for brains.”
“Ground pounder.”
“Scruffy cloudpusher.”
“Dirt mane.”
“Nomad.”
Rainbow jerked her head at Cherry. “Don’t you owe her some apples, tree-kicker?”
Applejack snorted and turned away. “Don’t get your feathers in a twist, Sparky. Ah’m leavin’.”
It was silent for the rest of the day, both on the cloud and on the farm.
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I love the story just how it is. Keep it up.
Were they were insulting each other, made me read the ending over again.
3733229
Yep.
It's harder than I thought to think up believable insults for little ponies.