A Fractured Rainbow

by TheRainbowDashShow

Chapter 2

Applejack's wide eyes stared as the Pegasus walked outside into the darkness. The door slammed shut in front of her. The sound of the door triggered stronger tears, she understood now, this was the end. The last time Rainbow Dash had left her, it had been out of fear and a desire to protect her. Then she had a spark of hope, a chance they would come back together.

This time it was different, Rainbow Dash was leaving because she couldn't look her in the eyes without seeing a traitor. In the end, that's all she felt she was, a liar. She crawled weakly off the floor and lay down on the couch, the last words that had been said to her.

The words stabbing at her heart as they bounced around in her mind. The memories of the forest had haunted Rainbow Dash. For her, it had always been that one piece of paper, allowing them to take away Rainbow Dash's livelihood, her hopes, and her love for the sky.

One of her nightmares had finally come true, Rainbow Dash blaming her for the suspension of her wing. Even though she knew now that it was only temporary, at the time she had been told it would never heal, and she had allowed it, and she knew that's what Rainbow had meant.

Applejack glared at the small blue velvet case containing the anklet that rest on the mantle across from the couch. She snatched it up, and opened it, staring at the piece of jewelry. Her tears of sadness left her; instead she began to cry out of anger. Anger at herself for being so weak, the rage building up, and she lost control, throwing the box into the unlit fire.

The orange mare got up and tore through the house, she found herself destroying everything she could get her hooves on. The table, the chairs, and the pictures on the mantle, she crushed them all with her hooves. The faded red apple clock hanging above her, she grabbed it, and prepared to smash it into the ground, but she stopped herself.

The clock calmed her down, its soft ticking, and the slow movement of the one still functioning pointers, they all seemed to soothe her. The antique still represented something to her, even if something appears broken, doesn't mean it is. Even if she didn't have Rainbow Dash, she would manage to carry on.

She gently hung the clock back up and returned to the couch. Her body's muscles relaxed, releasing their grip on the emotions of anger. Hugging one of the throw pillows tightly as she lay on the couch, she wept quietly once more until she exhausted herself, closed her heavy eyelids, and slept.

Applejack woke up late in the afternoon; she called out for Rainbow Dash. There was no answer, her eyes shifted downward as she remembered why. She crawled off the couch, and reached for her cowboy hat, which was nowhere in sight. Tracing back her steps last night, she realized she didn't have it when she left the bar.

Applejack grumbled as she headed out the steel door, she couldn't stay inside there anymore, not with all the memories that hovered about inside. She expected the air to be cold, but to her surprise, it was warm and moist, and the sun was shining brightly, this annoyed her. It felt like even the world itself wanted to mock her.

The cheery world around her, the chirping winter birds, they all frustrated her. She wished something could not be happy just so she wouldn't feel like such an outcast. She hung her head dejectedly, staring at the dirt beneath her as she walked.
"Wait!" A familiar voice called out from behind her. It was a voice that filled her with guilt, a voice she didn't want to hear ever again. Applejack turned around to look at a red unicorn that was wearing her cowboy hat.

"Ah don't wanna talk and give me mah hat back!" Ice Ember frowned and her horn began to glow a red and blue swirling aura. The brown hat lifted off of her head, and landed onto Applejack's. "Thank yah, now if yah don't mind, ah'd like to be left alone.”

Ice Ember grinned, "Oh, well in that case, I do mind!" she trotted closer and nudged the orange pony playfully. Applejack glowered at her, Ember ignored the agitated look. "So what happened last night?"

"Ah told you, ah don't wanna talk!" Applejack barked at her.

"Well, that's okay! We don't have to talk if you don't want to." Ember said coyly, pressing her side against Applejack's.

"Why can't yah just go find some other pony tah bother?"

The unicorn frowned at the hostility. "Well, because they wouldn't be as entertaining to bother as you are!" she answered with a childish tone.

"Fine! But keep yer hooves to yerself." Applejack couldn't help but smile a little bit at the pony's persistence.

"Aww, but where's the fun in that?" Ice Ember pouted. "Besides, you didn't seem to have a problem with it yesterday." She winked.

Applejack stopped walking, and spoke firmly. "Last night was a stupid mistake, so don't yah go reading intah it."

A pained look spread across Ice Ember's face. "Well, I didn't think it was a mistake, I thought it was nice."

Applejack sighed irritably, "That's not what ah meant!"

"Well then what did you mean?" The unicorn prodded Applejack's stomach, pushing for an answer.

"Ah just meant ah shouldn't have let it get as far as it did is all." Applejack started walking again, the unicorn still following her.

"Why? Do you not like me?" Ember sounded a little sad.

"Oh fer Pete's sake, ah didn't say that! Yer a very nice pony."

Ice Ember spoke again, "I think you're a very nice pony too. I like you and last night it seemed like you liked me too."

Applejack sped up and the red pony matched her speed. "Well ah don't like you. Like ah said, last night was a mistake."

Ice Ember hopped in front of her blocking her path, "So, you don't like me then?"

Applejack trotted off to her side, "That's not what ah meant."

The unicorn blocked her again, "Well what did you mean?" The orange pony strode past her a second time,

"It doesn't matter what ah meant!"

Ice Ember gave up this little game, her horn began to glow once again, and Applejack's hooves froze in place. "What you meant matters to me." She said caringly.

Finally, Applejack caved in, "Last night was a mistake because ah should have been with somepony else!"

Ice Ember looked a little confused, "I'm pretty sure you were alone." The orange pony struggled to move her hooves but they didn't budge.

"Ah mean, ah was ENGAGED to somepony else last night." The aura vanished while Applejack was still struggling and she lost balance, crashing into the ground.

Ice Ember cringed, "Sorry… but… you're engaged?" She said in disbelief.

Applejack brushed herself, "Ah said ah WAS engaged. Thanks tah yer fancy smooth talk, an' those big blue eyes of yers, we aren't anymore. Now if yah don't mind ah have places tah be!"

The unicorn grinned again, "So, you two split up then?"

Applejack lost it when the idea had been suggested; she didn't want to admit it to herself, let alone to the pony that helped cause the problem in the first place. She tackled the Unicorn, no longer able to restrain her resentment towards Ember, "Just leave me alone, yah hear?

The sapphire eyes staring into her again as they had the previous night, "You're kind of cute when you're angry." Ember giggled at the orange pony pinning her to the ground. Applejack was taken aback by the comment, and the hypnotizing eyes comforted her. "There isn't any reason for you to beat yourself up over last night. It sounds to me like you weren't getting the attention you needed."

Ice Ember pushed Applejack, now pinning her to the ground. "And you definitely don't have to hold back anymore. The only difference from last night and today is now you have no reason to be restraining yourself." Her voice back in the same warm alluring tone she had used before.

Applejack found her lips quivering, and her heart beating fast again. Either she genuinely was interested, or she just didn't want to be alone, but at this point she didn't care. Applejack just wanted somepony to be close to her and Ice Ember was making it rather difficult to refuse her. "O-okay…" she uttered nervously.

"Okay? Be more specific." Ember requested, toying with the golden mane. Applejack blushed, but she felt too ashamed to answer again. Ice Ember grinned as she stared into the emerald eyes beneath her.

"Ah-hem!" Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat from behind the two. "Look, I don't mean to interrupt but, Applejack, can we talk?"

Applejack leapt off the ground knocking Ice Ember off of her. "Twilight, Ah can explain!"

The purple unicorn placed a hoof on Applejack's mouth stopping her from talking, "Rainbow Dash came by this morning bawling her eyes out, telling me to cancel all the orders she had me place for the wedding supplies… What the hay is going on, and who the hay is she?" Twilight was upset and confused at Applejack.

"Rainbow Dash and ah split up last night…" Applejack said, clanking her hooves together as she talked.

"You did WHAT? Why? And it sure looks like it didn't take you long to move on now did it!" Twilight's voice grew louder.

"Because Rainbow was ignoring me, an' ah was lonely, and ah did something stupid!" Applejack found unwanted tears coming back to her.

Twilight started shouting "Well what did you expect? Rainbow Dash has been trying to do like a hundred things at once. She was trying to plan a secret wedding, one that wouldn't get the two of you murdered. She's been working two jobs since the orchard had been destroyed and you need the money to pay for the wedding!"

Twilight took a deep breath, "And by stupid thing… do you mean?" she pointed her purple hoof over to the red unicorn that sat awkwardly on the ground. Applejack nodded guiltily at Twilight who blinked in disbelief.

"Wow… so you do something stupid, the two of you break up, and your first impulse is to jump to the stupid thing that broke you two up in the first place?" Twilight started pacing back and forth as her mind processed everything.

"Applejack, what in the hay is wrong with you!" Twilight screamed, the tears broke free and dripped down Applejack's eyes. "Applejack… I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Applejack interrupted her, "No Twi, yer right. Ah don't know what ah'm doing! Now that Rainbow's gone, ah just don't know…"
Twilight wrapped her hooves around her blubbering friend. "Applejack, what you need to do is go make things right with Rainbow, show her you aren't giving up, show her how much you still care. Now I pinky promise I won't tell her about all this but please, just go try to fix this."

Twilight Sparkle smiled and poked her own eyeball, completing the ritual of the pinky promise. "Don't worry; I'll occupy her." Twilight said.

Applejack gasped "Wait, Twi, yer a-"

The purple unicorn interrupted her with a laugh. "I meant that I would explain what's going on, geez Applejack! Now go find Rainbow, last I saw she was at Sugarcube Corner."

Applejack nodded, and removed herself from Twilight's arms, then took off. The orange pony ran down the road, ignoring Ice Ember's calls out to her. Twilight was right, if she gave up now, they would be through, forever. However, with a little luck, Rainbow Dash may, or may not forgive her, but there could still be a chance that things wouldn't be over between them.

As she sprinted down the road, she reached just outside of town, and stepped in something sticky and warm. Applejack stopped and looked at her hoof to see what she had stepped in. A layer of damp red mud coated her orange hoof. She looked down at the road; Just in front of her, a trail of fresh carriage tracks leading away. Below her, a small pool of crimson liquid and a clump of multicolored hairs floating on top.

Comments

[The Mirage]

DAMN YOU AJ!!!!!