Romantic Ronday-Voo
Rainbow Dash trotted through the fields of flowers, looking left and right. She could see red ones, blue ones, white ones and big ones... But nowhere in the mass of colourful petals and sweet-scented roses was there a guide detailing how to arrange them to look as pretty as possible. Dash groaned. The only thing she knew for sure was that she wasn't going to go back to town with her tail between her legs. No way in Tartarus.
She'd see this through and have a nice, hoofmade bouquet for her 'romantic ronday-voo', or whatever it was Rosethorn had said.
She grit her teeth. It wasn't even that somepony had tried to injure her physically: it was that the older stallion's hard work had been dashed to the ground. What kind of a boneheaded ass would do something like that?
They weren't even just ruining her day, anymore. They were ruining Applejack's day, and Rosethorn's. And that just wasn't fair.
And vandalizing his shop just to get at her. That was Bullit's work, no doubt about it. Only somepony as heartless as him would stoop to such lows.
"It's not fair!" Rainbow exclaimed, kicking a pile of flowers that she could have sworn looked pretty on their own, but just didn't work at all when positioned side by side. Nothing worked: everything she made was terrible. She was useless.
She looked all around her. How was it that when they were spread before her as nature intended, they looked stunning, but whenever she tried to add her own personal touch to it, it failed miserably? She rubbed her nose, her mood worsening. If anypony were to see her, they'd have noticed her flattened ears and depressed, drooping wings that trailed through the beautiful flora.
"They're beautiful just the way they are... why can't they just do what I want them to?" she asked herself. She sat down heavily.
Either she'd figure out a plan B, or she'd have to disappoint Applejack. And as far as she was concerned, that wasn't an option.
"Plan B it is, then... whatever plan B is."
The journey home from school had begun feeling longer and more tiring than ever before. Scootaloo's wings weren't even moving half as fast as they used to. Whenever she felt like gaining speed, she just... couldn't. Like her muscles refused to operate at anything better than half-efficiency.
Not even the thought of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's taunts following her could get her to go any faster.
Had Rainbow teased ponies for being blank-flanks? She knew she had. She had seen the look on her face. There was shame there, and guilt, and hurt. It all amounted to her being a bully, and exactly the sort of pony who made her life miserable every day. In fact, if Rainbow were a filly, who was to say she wouldn't be hanging out with Diamond and Silver? Maybe she'd be worse. Maybe she'd go further than taunts, teasing, and pranks.
From what she was hearing from Snips and Snails, she had been worse. Vandalism and assault, they had said. They had been proud of those words. Scootaloo had wondered if somepony had told it to them, if they had recited it... but it didn't matter.
She didn't matter.
As far as the little filly was concerned, if there was one type of pony that the Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't forgive, it was a pony with a cutie mark who made others feel bad. It just wasn't right, Scootaloo thought. Cutie marks came when the time was right, so why was it fair to hurt ponies because their time was right earlier?
She skidded to a halt outside her house, and unstrapped her helmet.
"Scootsie? That you?" came her mother's voice. Scootaloo sighed.
"Yeah! School's over!"
She parked her scooter in the garage, where her mother was tinkering on some complex looking metal component. Her hooves were having difficulties fitting inside the tight, uncomfortable device, and she had a look of intense concentration on her face. What she was trying to accomplish, Scootaloo could only guess at.
"Good," Greased replied, retracting her hoof after a short, sharp tug. "Then you can get back to working on your maths."
Scootaloo's face fell. "Again?"
"Yup. Until the whole book's done."
Scootaloo groaned, and trotted past her parent on her way to her room. Greased watched her leave. Scootaloo's hooves were dragging just enough for her to notice. She frowned.
"I think it's about time I wrap up this whole 'Rainbow' business," she muttered. "She'll have calmed down by now." Her ears flickered, the hairs on the inside tingling. She eyed the street outside the garage door suspiciously. Nopony was there. "Huh," she grunted, returning to her work. "Probably just the wind."
From high above, hidden in the clouds, two ponies watched her, concealed from the townsponies below.
"Single mother and one stunted filly," Bullit commented. "Looks like we have our target." He grinned. "Who'll be laughing now, I wonder?"
Applejack was waiting on the hill, sitting on the pile of logs she had moved there two days ago. The whole of her orchard seemed to be teasing her. The apples were all hanging on their little twigs, just waiting to be bucked down into their baskets. But all Applejack could think of was Rainbow Dash, and the date she had promised her earlier.
It felt strange and uncomfortable, and it was distracting her from being able to even walk in a straight line. It was as if she had drunk one too many ciders... or four.
At this rate, her chores were several days behind. The things she'd do for a friend...
Her eyes caught the hint of colour on the horizon. She smiled, partaking in a quick experiment. She closed her eyes, just for a second, and held her breath. As soon as she had counted to one, she opened them again.
"H-hey, there," Rainbow said, standing in front of her like she had always been there. Only the ruffled feathers were any clue of her having flown at all. "Actually, could you, uh, keep your eyes closed for me?"
Applejack raised her eyebrow. "What's that?"
"Your eyes. I need them closed," Rainbow repeated. "No funny business, I promise!"
Applejack eyed her friend suspiciously, and obliged. "I'll be holdin' you to th— Whoa!"
Gravity went crazy as soon as she had shut her eyes: up felt like it was down, and down felt like it was sideways. She felt the powerful force of acceleration, stronger than any she had felt previously. Not even when she had been on the Friendship Express had she gone so fast. Not even when she was sprinting at full speed had she accelerated this much.
The only constant was the feeling of Rainbow's hooves wrapped around her waist, keeping her from falling. Applejack used that to finding her bearings. If Rainbow was there, then the ground had to be down there, she thought. Even though Applejack had no idea where they were going, she kept her eyes shut tight.
And then everything ground to a halt. Applejack felt the ground underneath her hooves again, and Rainbow's presence disappeared. She did her best to keep the contents of her stomach where it was. "Are... are we there?"
Rainbow might well have nodded, but Applejack had no way of knowing. "Yeah, we're here. You can open your eyes now."
What Applejack saw took her breath away. They were high up, far above Ponyville, on the slopes of one of the nearby mountains. Which one, Applejack couldn't remember... But what was truly spectacular wasn't the view, or the freshness of the air. It was the flowers. The meadow was a sea of colour, each petal more vibrant than the last. They were crimson, orange, golden... The stalks were all a deep, luscious emerald... And then there were crystal blue flowers and deep, indigo ones. All swaying in the gentle mountain breeze.
"I, uh, well, tried to make a cool bouquet, and I tried to buy one in town, but... Well, it didn't work," Rainbow explained. "So I figured that if I couldn't bring them to you, I'd just bring you to them."
Applejack brought her hoof to her mouth, failing to keep her jaw closed. "I... Rainb—"
"Uh, I'm not quite finished," Rainbow said. "I know I never say this enough, but..." Rainbow slid her hoof back around the back of Applejack's head, pulling the two of them as close as they could be. "Thanks. For dragging me out of the lake, for trying to get me a place to stay, for listening to me whine about my stupid problems, for taking me in, and for making everything better. All the time."
Every detail about Rainbow was magnified tenfold. Her eyes, so very deep and vibrant, bursting with energy. Her fur, short and coarse, designed to keep out the cold. Her snout, which Applejack had only just then noticed sported a small cut on the left side. Even at such a young age, tiny wrinkles were beginning to form under her eyes, accelerated by the wild range of emotions she'd express every day. Coupled with the scent of flowers, the soft voice thanking her just for being her, Applejack decided there was no other choice for her but to fall in love.
"AJ... would you like to be my super-special somepony?"
Applejack closed the already tiny gap between the pair to nuzzle her little pegasus. "Only if you'll be mine."
Rainbow grinned, and held out her hoof. "Deal."
The pair knocked hooves, cementing the agreement. Rainbow gave Applejack a mischievous lick on the nose, causing the farmpony to flinch ever so slightly. Rainbow snickered.
"So, uh... how was your day?"
The train station was far from packed. There were only a dozen or so ponies looking to go anywhere in this small town outside Canterlot, and even less that had the time to do it. It didn't take long for Twilight to locate the pony she was looking for: a stallion waiting by the edge, a small item of luggage by his side.
So this was what a few hours of investigation was worth: one feeble-looking pegasus and a bag of clothes. Twilight walked up to the young stallion. She knew he'd have to be about Rainbow's age, given what she had found out, but he looked older somehow. He gave the impression of having aged before his time. She tapped him on the shoulder.
"Mr. Wallflower?" she asked. The stallion flinched, appraising her as fast as he could. He was quick to notice both the horn and the wings, and it didn't take him more than a few moments to realize who it was had accosted him.
"Princess Twilight!" he exclaimed. "Your highn—"
"Just Twilight will be fine," she replied, glancing at the train times. "You have about ten minutes to wait, right?"
"Y-yes," he answered. "I'm going back home to Canterlot."
"Not Cloudsdale?" Twilight asked, although she already guessed the answer.
"No... no, I'm not going back to Cloudsdale." He tilted his head to the side. "I get the impression you already know who I am."
"I do. Me and the Mayor worked very hard to find you. You've been hiding out in different corners of Ponyville, spreading rumours about Rainbow Dash."
"They're not rumours!" Wallflower retorted. "She is a monster! I saw her!"
Twilight frowned. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. We believe... me and the Mayor... that the ponies you saw Rainbow Dash fight were up to no good." She swallowed. "We believe this is all just a big misunderstanding and ponies have been getting riled up over nothing."
"It's not nothing," Wallflower insisted. "I know what she's like! I even recognized the trick she was going to do to that poor stallion," he said. "Snap his ribs clean off, that would have." He nursed his own sides absent-mindedly. "She's... she's not well, Princess. I don't know why you trust—"
"Because she's not that pony any more..." Twilight hung her head. "I understand you can't see that," she told him, sadness in her voice, "and I'm not about to try to convince you otherwise. I know Rainbow has done some terrible, awful things, and a lot of ponies would argue she doesn't deserve forgiveness."
"She was there the whole time," Wallflower said. "She didn't even try to speak up. She just watched, laughed, and didn't ever care." He stood up to his full height. "No, I won't forgive her. Ever."
"And that's your right," Twilight replied. "I've learned that you can't always fix everything, and that's... a very hard lesson to learn. But there's a pony in hospital because of two vicious criminals, and whatever information you may have might catch them." Twilight sighed. "I really need you to remember as much as you can about the ponies she was fighting. Please."
Wallflower went quiet. His eyes flickered to the side. "Well, they were both pegasi. I didn't get a good look at their faces."
"Do you know where they might be now? We think they're out doing the same thing you were, trying to get back at Rainbow for stopping them."
Wallflower hesitated. "I'm not sure I want them to stop doing that."
"It's not about you and Rainbow," Twilight told him, becoming as regal and stern as she could. "This is about stopping two very bad, very dangerous ponies."
Wallflower frowned, and breathed out. "Fine. For Ponyville," he replied. "But never for her." He tapped his hoof as he thought. "I did see them, briefly, when I stopped for a drink at the Barrel Scraper. They left almost as soon as I arrived."
"Probably to prevent you from recognizing them," Twilight muttered. "Or maybe because they had someplace to be."
"They could be hiding out there, anyway," Wallflower finished. The platform became louder and louder as the train grew closer and closer. Twilight smiled.
"Thank you. You've done the right thing," she said, as the doors of the train opened. The pegasus picked his suitcase up, his unhappiness plain for the world to see.
"I hope so. I really hope so."
Laid out on her stomach, sitting opposite Rainbow, Applejack felt truly relaxed. Her right hoof was over Rainbow's own, and her left was similarly trapped. Rainbow played with it every now and then, rubbing the sides or squeezing it as she talked. It felt like a very small, very amateurish, and very welcome massage.
"...and then I decided I couldn't work anymore, 'cause I was too distracted," Applejack finished. "So I waited up at the hill where you found me. I didn't have to wait too long, neither."
"Heh. Yeah, I am pretty quick," Rainbow replied. "And that was after everything that could have gone wrong went wrong this morning."
Applejack tilted her head. "You mentioned somethin' about flowers, earlier. What was up with that?"
Rainbow shrugged, her expression falling. "I got a rock thrown at me."
Applejack felt her eyes widen as surprise, and shock, took her. "What? Where? When? Who threw it?"
"At the flower store, somepony just... threw a small rock at me," she explained. "I didn't see who, and I dropped the flowers I had bought. It really sucked, too: I don't really go in for girly stuff like that..."
"Well, ya'll were pretty girly before," Applejack retorted, before returning on-topic. "Did you get hurt?"
"Huh? Naw, I just dodged. Even if I didn't it was just a small rock. I was really just angry about dropping all my stuff, y'know?"
"Well, I'm not," Applejack replied. "That just ain't right, if you ask me."
"Figures you'd say that. It's fine, really," Rainbow told her. "I think I'm getting the hang of this 'Ponyville's most wanted' thing. You think I could get one of Pinkie's disguises?"
"Don't worry. This'll all blow over in no time, and everything'll be back to normal," Applejack reassured her. Rainbow Dash frowned.
"Y'know, I don't think it will. I don't think I want it to go back to normal anymore, either." She looked up at Applejack and shrugged. "I mean, look how easy it was: one compromising situation and a few rumours was all it took for ponies to start being scared and angry at me. All of a sudden, every time I'm rude, I'm threatening somepony. Every time I'm lazy, I'm off vandalizing stuff." Her ears flattened against her head. "Why would I want to be friends with those guys? I know I'm not the easiest pony to get along with, but I never threw stones at ponies."
"A lot of ponies were bullied as kids: you can't expect them to get over you bein' one so easily."
"Well... no. I get that. I suppose..." Rainbow sighed. "But now I'm the one getting bullied, and I don't like that. And they're adults. I was just some stupid... stupid kid."
"But Ponyville is where you live. You're gonna' have to go back someday."
"Well... not exactly." Rainbow's expression brightened. "I live about a mile and a half outside of Ponyville now. And I kinda' like that."
Applejack stuttered, unsure of what to say. "Well, yeah, I like it too, but... well..."
"I don't really care what anypony thinks of me anymore. I've got my friends, and I've got you. What more could I want?"
"What about Scootaloo?" Applejack asked. Rainbow froze, indicating that Applejack had hit a very painful nerve.
"She's just a kid," Rainbow replied. "She'll remember the good times we had. I know it."
"She won't ever be given a chance to forgive nopony if you ain't ever there," Applejack told her. "Eventually, you're gonna' have to confront her, and it had better be sooner rather than later. I've had my own spats with Applebloom in the past, and the longer you let these things fester, the worse they get."
"O...kay," Rainbow said, accepting defeat. "I'll go tomorrow. Tomorrow, okay?"
Applejack tightened her hoof around Rainbow's own. "I'll be there with you, if you want."
"Yeah... that'd be great." Rainbow lowered her head down onto the grass. "You getting sleepy?" she asked. Applejack grinned.
"Hungry, more like," she replied. "Think it's time we head back?" She looked at the sun. "We must've been here for hours. Granny might even be wonderin' where I've been."
"Probably. On both counts," Rainbow said, and got to her hooves, painfully reluctant to let go of Applejack's hoof. "Let's get going, then. You want to keep your eyes open for this one?"
Applejack grinned, and wrapped her forelegs around her special somepony's chest, careful not to obstruct her wings. "You bet. Be sure to take me 'round the scenic route."
This time, their take-off was far less sudden. Rainbow was much less intent on getting them to their destination as quickly as possible this time. Hopefully, she'd be more concerned with treating Applejack to a smooth, pleasant flight. Even so, the acceleration was sudden and still managed to knock the breath out of her. The ground dropped away without warning, and Applejack clutched Rainbow tighter out of instinct.
"Air!" Rainbow exclaimed, prompting Applejack to loosen her grip to less suffocating levels.
"Sorry. It's just... awfully high up."
"Yup," Rainbow replied. "I bet this is a bit cooler than a balloon trip, huh?"
Applejack surveyed the landscape below them, taking in the fields, the buildings, and even the Everfree forest to the west. "Yeah," she admitted. "It's faster. I like fast." She lowered her head, careful not to lose her hat to the powerful, torrential winds. "Higher?"
Rainbow angled her wings carefully, and the ground grew even more distant. Applejack couldn't even make out the ponies below any more. Even buildings were almost impossible to identify. This was the height that she had flown at whenever she took a balloon somewhere. Except this time, she didn't have to wait ten minutes to get there: it was an almost instantaneous change.
The air was cold up there. Almost freezing, in fact. Applejack could tell just by touch that Rainbow's thick, short fur was designed to keep the cold out. By comparison, Applejack's coat was very different. Her softer, lighter fur was more suitable towards getting rid of heat, allowing for greater comfort whilst working. "It's pretty chilly," she said.
"Yeah," Rainbow replied. "Refreshing, isn't it?"
"More like freezing."
"Are you kidding? Down in Ponyville, everything is sweltering. I always love it every time winter comes."
Applejack shook her head in disbelief. "Really? I never thought of it like that."
"Why? Don't you get too hot?"
"Not as hot, I reckon," Applejack replied. "I get the feelin' we're built a little differently." The pair passed over some wispy cirrus clouds as they flew back towards Ponyville. "If it's so uncomfortable for you, why'd you stay there?"
"A few reasons," Rainbow replied. "The first one being... well, I'm not all that welcome in Cloudsdale any more. For... you-know-what reasons."
Applejack nodded. "...right."
"Then there's my job. There are a handful of other high-altitude communities around Equestria, but they didn't have as many prospects for me. Mostly just office jobs... not my style. Then there's you guys. I couldn't ever leave you guys behind, now, could I?"
Applejack grinned, and rested her head on Rainbow's own. "I guess not."
Rainbow began to drop, losing altitude. "I think we'd better head back down, huh?" She said, gliding down towards the surface. The rising air almost knocked Applejack's hat clean off, and it was only her quick reflexes that saved it from being lost to the wind. She tucked it under her forelegs, letting the breeze rush through her mane.
The ground was much easier to see now. Applejack could even make out her brother and sister, hanging out around the farm. Probably working, maybe playing in Applebloom's case.
Rainbow seemed to speed up as she approached the ground, before landing heavily, cantering as she slowed down. Applejack's trip went from smooth to uncomfortably jarring, and when Rainbow grunted to a stop, she clambered off, putting her hat back on her head. "Sorry about the landing," Rainbow told her. "You're a bit heavier than I'm used to."
Applejack narrowed her eyes. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that," she said. Both ponies chuckled as they made their way to the house. Rainbow had landed them just outside the orchard: Applejack's home was only a minute or so away on foot. Before they got too close to the house, Applejack pulled Rainbow back, grabbing her by the hoof. She pecked Rainbow's cheek, delivering a tender and caring kiss. "Thanks. This was a perfect afternoon," she said as Rainbow's face became flooded with red.
"I try," she replied, soliciting a hearty chuckle from the farmpony.
As the two continued walking home, they realized that somepony was waiting for them on the porch. Even from that distance, it wasn't hard to make out Twilight's purple coat and carefully maintained mane.
She seemed to be pacing around in circles. It was obvious to all that she was on edge.
"Hullo," Applejack called out once they were within earshot. "What brings you out to our neck o' the woods?"
"Bullit Blaze," Twilight replied, keeping her response short and simple. Both ponies became serious as soon as the name was uttered.
"What about him?" Rainbow asked, her voice reduced to a hiss.
"I talked to Wallflower. He might have seen them in the Barrel Scraper, apparently," Twilight said. "I figured that if I was going to confront them there, I'd better take you guys with me." She looked over at Rainbow. "I'm pretty sure they won't just leave. They sent Thunderlane to hospital: they'll almost certainly put up a fight."
Rainbow nodded. "Bullit will. He'll fight, and then he'll run. That's how we did things."
"Well then," Applejack grunted, "I'll go tell the folks that I won't be there for dinner." She trotted over to the house. "This'll be a long night."
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Oh, no, you didn't, you pathetic jerk.
Welp, that should get his sorry tail to get hoofed to him when this gets out.
You do not mess with Scootaloo, you pathetic loser. Not if you don't want a certain pegasus mare taking you apart for it.
By the time that this is all over with, not you, that's for sure, you cowardly piece of garbage.
Aaaaand here we go. Big confrontation coming up.
Oh, AJ, you are so right about that!
Can't with til the 26th, and the next chapter! I have a feeling that it's gonna be a real barn-burner!
6130167 Here's hoping. Although I'm sure Applejack was fond of that barn.
6130445
.
And I see what you did there.
6130972 I'm not sure I follow.
The mayor has already been notified a few chapters ago, and their solution is to find and catch Bullit and keep Rainbow on a low profile. Twilight is already informed what's going on with RD. I'm not sure what else there is for her to know.
They're currently on their way to find Bullit. As a Princess of Friendship and two Elements, Twilight and her friends are more than capable of taking responsibility for dealing with the immediate situation. Or should be, at least.
If you mean, why are no guards following them, well, I'd have to ask you to point me to any guards you've seen stationed around Ponyville. I've found them to be very scarce. And even then, like I said, Twilight should be able to handle Bullit and Rattle on her own, given her past experience with far more threatening monsters.
6131036
Sorry, I mistakenly skipped that part.
twilight does realize wallflower is breaking the law right? I get the forgiveness aspect but that can only justify so much.
6131052 No problem. I was just confused.
Fucking Fuck this fucking fuck fucker.
FUCK.
I want these two beaten to within an inch of their lives. Killing them would be too easy an end. I want their jaws broken. Their ribs. All four limbs. I want them suffering from arthritis as a result of the latter. I want them cut in ways that would make them useless to the opposite sex.
This ends now!