The Rainbow Spiral

by TheRainbowDashShow

Chapter 4

Rainbow Dash pushed the golden key into the lock of the door and twisted it. She stepped inside and brushed Raven Flame and Scootaloo off her back. Flipping the switch next to the door she peered around the hotel room just on the corner of the same street as Ice Ember's apartment.

A single bed covered in a thick diamond patterned maroon blanket. Next to it was a wooden nightstand with an alarm clock and a fresh newspaper placed squarely in the center. Trotting over to the bed Rainbow Dash picked up the paper. The front page titled in bold black letters, "Five days, five ponies missing." She flipped through the pages and read another heading, "Manehatten reaches lowest temperature in 10 years."

Rainbow Dash tossed the paper aside with disinterest. She couldn't get her mind off of Applejack and Ice Ember. The scene of them holding one another, it just kept playing over again inside her head. She started to have her doubts, "What if Applejack is happy here?" she thought to herself.

Raven Flame sat down on the bed in front of Rainbow Dash, "Dashie, what happened?" she asked. "You look kind of down."

"Applejack…" Rainbow Dash sighed, "Applejack doesn't remember who I am." She rubbed her hoof against her temple in small circular motions to help alleviate the headache that was starting to grow from the stress of everything that she had just discovered.

Raven Flame tilted her head, "What do you mean she doesn't remember you?"

"I don't know…" Rainbow Dash said, "I think she hurt herself at the rodeo. The doctors warned her repeatedly that an increase in blood pressure was dangerous." She lowered her head into her hooves and stared down at the ground, "None of this would have happened if I had insisted we go with her…"

"It isn't your fault, Dashie." Raven Flame hopped off the bed and hugged Rainbow Dash's leg.

"Yeah!" Scootaloo said grabbing at the other leg, "You couldn't have known some crazy pony was practically going to ponynap Applejack."

Rainbow Dash blinked at the two fillies clinging at her leg, "Uh, thanks?" she said uncomfortably trying to gently shake them off of her.

"So what are you going to do now?" Raven Flame asked returning to the bed, Scootaloo following suit.

Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed and she grinned almost mischievously, "I'm gonna do what I always do. I'm gonna win."

"Uh, win what?" Scootaloo and Raven Flame asked in unison.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "I'm going to win Applejack back of course."

"Oooh!" the two fillies said with their voices joined again.

A light bulb lit up in Rainbow Dash's mind, "I have something I need to go do…" she trotted towards the door and turned to them, "STAY HERE!" she said firmly. "The last thing I need is to come back here and find you two missing."

"Relax, we won't go anywhere Dashie!" Raven Flame said in a sweet and innocent voice.

As Rainbow Dash turned back to the door, she could have sworn she had seen some pony's face. Staring hard into the mirror a black blur quickly rushed through it. She checked on Raven Flame who was still sitting on the bed across the room. She returned her sight onto the mirror, blinked and rubbed her eyes but saw nothing. With a shrug she pulled open the door and closed it.

"Well great, what do we do now?" Scootaloo asked.

"No idea." Raven Flame looked around and spotted the newspaper. She picked it up and looked through it but nothing interesting jumped out and grabbed her attention.

"Wanna play 'Go Fish'?"

Raven lowered the news paper and looked at the orange filly that was now clutching a deck of cards in between her two hooves, "Where in the hay did you get those?"

"I got them from…" Scootaloo looked down and thought, "Actually that's a good question, I have no clue."

Raven Flame squinted one eye and widened the other studying Scootaloo suspiciously, "You suddenly have a deck of cards and you don't even know where you got them?"

"Yeah…" Scootaloo said evasively, she then started waving the cards around, "You want to play or not?"

"Sure, why not." Raven Flame said dismissing the strange behavior.

The two sat for hours awkwardly fumbling the cards as they played. They slowly grew more and more tired as time went on. Just as their exhaustion grew, so did Raven Flame's pile of cards as the day faded into night.

Raven Flame stared at her hoof of cards, "Have any three's?"

"Oh the hay with this!" Scootaloo cried out in frustration. She tossed her cards last four remaining cards into the air and trotted over to the bed and lay down on her back.

"What's wrong?" Raven Flame giggled.

"It was a stupid game anyway." Scootaloo said waving a hoof to dismiss Raven's question.

Raven Flame hopped up onto the bed next to Scootaloo, "You just don't like losing." She teased.

Scootaloo turned to Raven Flame, she had wanted nothing more than to hold her close for the past day but had felt uncomfortable expressing herself while Rainbow Dash was around, "I don't mind losing to you." She said softly with a grin.

Raven Flame blushed and stared into the amethyst eyes in front of her, "Better get used to it then." She joked.

Scootaloo grabbed at Raven Flame and pressed her lips onto her cheek, "Not a chance."

The two started wrestling around on the bed laughing loudly while they did. As they were playing the room suddenly grew icy cold. The lights began to dim and then a loud banging came from the floor beneath them. They stopped immediately and looked around, "What was that?" Raven asked fearfully, holding onto Scootaloo.

"We were probably just being too loud and the ponies downstairs got annoyed." Scootaloo said.

"Scootaloo…" Raven Flame said, her breathing growing quieter, "We're on the bottom floor…" she whispered.

"I'm sure it was nothing." Scootaloo said looking around nervously, her grip tightening around Raven.

"Rainbow Dash has been gone for a long time now…" Raven Flame said beneath her breath.

The two continued glancing around the room scarcely even blinking. Raven Flame stared wide eyed, and for a brief second she thought she had seen a pair of black eyes in the corner of the room. The strange chill vanished from the room and the lights returned to normal.Then there was another bang, this time from across the room. The banging became more rapid and it grew louder and louder. The two ponies squeezed each other tightly,

"What the hay guys! Are you ever going to let me in?" Rainbow Dash called out from behind the door.

The two fillies separated and chuckled at themselves for having not realized the knocking was coming from the door, "Sorry!" Raven Flame called out as she rushed over to the door to unlock it.

"Geez, what took you so long?" Rainbow Dash asked. She took notice of the ruffled bed covers, "Am I interrupting something?" she said jokingly with a laugh.

"Huh?" Raven Flame asked looking confused.

"I don't get it either…" Scootaloo said staring at the laughing Pegasus.

Rainbow Dash waved a hoof, "Oh nevermind!"

"Hey, where did you go anyway?" Raven Flame asked deciding that Rainbow Dash might have gone just a bit loopy.

"I went to get supplies!" Rainbow Dash said, pulling a bag off of her back.

Scootaloo tried to make out what was inside the bag, "Supplies for what?"

"For tomorrow!" Rainbow Dash said, emptying out the single item from the bag onto the bed.

"Binoculars?" Scootaloo asked placing them against her eyes and looking around the room, "What do we need these for?

"Reconnaissance!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly.

Raven Flame blinked, "I don't follow…"

Rainbow Dash placed her hoof on her face, "We're going to watch Ice Ember's apartment until one of them leaves alone."

"Oh, okay…" Raven Flame took the binoculars from Scootaloo, "Where did you get these anyway."

"Found them." Rainbow Dash smiled unconvincingly.

"You found them?" Scootaloo asked noticing Rainbow's sudden inability to keep a straight face.

"Yeah, I found them…" Rainbow Dash repeated but caved in when the two fillies' raised their eyebrows, "on another pony's balcony." She finished with a grin.

"You stole them?"

"Of course not!" Rainbow Dash cried out defensively, "I'm just borrowing them; I'll give them back when we're done!"

Raven Flame giggled, "Dashie!"

"Anyway…" Rainbow Dash waved a hoof, "Tomorrow we'll all take shifts watching the apartment. I'll take the first shift, Raven you'll get the second and Scootaloo…" she paused, "Scootaloo, you can get the donuts."

"Why do I have to get the donuts?" Scootaloo cried out. Raven Flame was laughing next to her.

Rainbow Dash smiled, "Because Raven would eat them all before she got back."

"HEY!" Raven shouted, now Scootaloo was laughing at her.

Rainbow Dash ignored her, "Get some sleep every pony; we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." She trotted over the clock on the nightstand and set it. The fillies crawled into a bed and shut their tired eyes. Rainbow Dash climbed into her own bed and said in the most dramatic voice she could muster, "Tomorrow morning at six a.m., we strike!"

Rainbow Dash found herself in a barren field of dust and sand that stretched on for miles seeming endless. Though the blazing heat beamed down on her she could still feel an uneasy chill run down her spine. There was absolutely nothing with the exception of two ponies that stood nearby. The orange pony looked at her; there was a certain kind of sadness in her emerald eyes. They appeared distant and merely looking at the Pegasus caused them pain.

"Ah'm sorry…" Applejack whispered, trotting over towards the red unicorn. The two locked lips and there was a sudden brilliant pale blue smoke. When the fog faded they were nowhere in sight, leaving Rainbow Dash alone in the vast empty wasteland.

"Applejack!" She called out, looking around in every direction. But Applejack was gone, and only the sound of her sobbing voice echoing through the valley could be heard. There was nothing, the loneliness pierced at her as she aimlessly trotted across the cracked earth.

She kept on walking for miles but it seemed to her she was getting nowhere. Her hooves ached with as they impacted heavily onto the dirt, the soft breeze erasing the hoof prints she left behind after every step. Finally she could take no more of the maddening and endless walk towards nothing and she collapsed onto the hot dirt beneath her hooves.

Weeping into her own arms she lay there defeated, hopeless and abandoned. The hot sun beat down on her causing her body to dehydrate at a much quicker rate. Her muscles weakened, the heat sapping away what little energy she still had left. As she lay there she couldn't help but feel something was watching her, something she couldn't see. The sound of hoofsteps approached her. The sound didn't feel to her that it was coming from the right direction to clear her of such thoughts.

Slowly turning her head, her eyes met with the soft smile of an orange pony and no red unicorn. "Why didn't you come for me?" Applejack asked, her smile quickly fading.

"I couldn't." Rainbow Dash said weakly, "I had to bury… Raven Flame."

"Liar!" Applejack hissed, "She isn't even dead. What kind of an excuse is that?"

"But-"

"Hush it!" Applejack commanded, "The most loyal of ponies in all of Equestria and yah abandoned me."

"I didn't abandon you Applejack!" Rainbow Dash cried.

"Yah knew just how dangerous it was for me tah go tah that rodeo." Applejack kicked at the dirt, a small cloud of dust spraying into the Pegasus's eyes. "And yah let me go anyway." She said in a disgusted voice.

"I tried to stop you!" Rainbow Dash coughed scraping the dirt from her face.

"Yah hardly tried at all. Deep down ah know yah wanted me tah go."

"No!" Rainbow Dash cried, "I love you Applejack!"

Applejack knelt down, "Ah don't love yah. Ah've moved on." She stood back up and trotted away.

Rainbow Dash returned her gaze back to her arms and watched as the tears pattered onto the crackling dirt below. She felt as if a wedge had been driven into her heart, splitting it in two. "I love you…" she whispered for the second time. An unknown black pony trotted towards Rainbow Dash. Suddenly the earth beneath her began to crumble and it broke away completely and she started to fall into a black abyss. Rainbow Dash extended her wings and began to flap vigorously but it did nothing, she kept falling and falling and then she felt impact for a split second.

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to find she had flown straight into the roof of the hotel room. She let herself drop back onto her bed and let out a relieved sigh. The room was cold and dark and the same scratching in her mind that something was watching her from the shadows remained in her head. She cast aside the thought and focused on other things. Another fear still lingered, what if Applejack had moved on and would no longer care for her.

Trotting around the room in deep thought she paused at the mirror and looked at herself through the darkness. She had been changed so much in the years since the fire back in the forest. Never before then would she have doubted herself. Everything that night had changed her though, though the memories had mostly left her she still could feel the ashen air filling her lungs. It had made her grow more and more cautious about anything she did.

Then there was the night when she followed Applejack to that bar. Watching as she locked lips with another pony, their hooves wrapped around one another as they embraced one another with deep passion. After that night she felt as if would never be enough for Applejack, and that she was always going to be second best.

Now again she found her lover in another pony's arms. This time she wouldn't be as strong as she was before. Everything that happened to her was finally taking its toll on her now. She was frightened. Scared that perhaps now, she wasn't the pony Applejack had fallen in love with all those years ago. Maybe Ice Ember was the right pony for Applejack after all.

Rainbow Dash stared at herself in the mirror with disdain. A memory of the day on the cliff came to her. The two of them falling, the freezing ice below creeping ever closer. Her love burned for Applejack giving her the courage to sacrifice everything just for one pony. With all that she had been through, she felt tired.

"Dashie?" Raven Flame whispered, trotting up to the Pegasus the moonlight reflecting on the stream of tears that slid down her blue cheeks, "What's wrong?"

"I just…" Rainbow Dash dropped herself to the floor, "I don't know anymore…" Turning her eyes away from the filly, "What if I'm not meant for Applejack…" she said sorrowfully.

"Don't talk like that Dashie!" Raven Flame lifted Rainbow Dash's chin and cast the damp magenta eyes back at the mirror, "Look at yourself and ask what you are willing to do for Applejack."

Rainbow Dash stared at. She knew the answer. She always knew the answer and would always know it because it would never change. Maybe she hadn't changed as much as she thought. "Anything…" she said finally.

"Exactly!" Raven Flame said cheerily, "Now ask yourself this. Just what Ice Ember was willing to give up for her?"

Rainbow Dash thought about this, Ice Ember wasn't willing to sacrifice anything for Applejack. She had taken the pony from her friends, her family and her home without even so much as a second thought, "Nothing…"

"Precisely!" Raven Flame said in her still enthusiastic voice, "Dashie, Scootaloo was right; you are one of the strongest ponies. You lost everything only in a few weeks but you didn't give up."

"But I'm not strong…" Rainbow Dash said, "If I were strong none of this would have happened. I can't protect any pony."

Raven Flame grabbed at Rainbow Dash's hoof and hugged it as she had earlier that day, "Protecting isn't the same thing, Dashie. You are brave and you are strong."

Rainbow Dash continued to stare at her own reflection in the mirror. Raven Flame was right, she was still strong and Applejack had always made her even more so. As had Applejack also always given her the courage to keep going. Now wasn't a time to give up and pity herself, not after how far she had come. Applejack would never have allowed her to stoop so low.

Rainbow Dash had promised herself that day on the cliff that she wouldn't waste her days and she had let that promise slip away from her. When she had been staring her last moments all she had wanted was more time with Applejack. The cold that seemed to sweep across the room vanished as did the feeling of watching eyes. The alarm clock began to beep loudly in a dull drone; Rainbow Dash turned to it and smiled. It was time for her to stop being afraid of what might be and start fighting for what she truly wanted.

Scootaloo returned from the hotel lobby with a box balanced on her back, "I can't believe you guys get to scope out for Applejack and you're making me get donuts." She grumbled.

Rainbow Dash handed the binoculars to Raven Flame, "This isn't really as exciting as you think it is Scootaloo, we've been staring at the apartment for hours now." She opened a box and stuffed her face with a pink frosted donut, "You should be glad, we might be stuck here all day!" she said, not even bothering to finish her bite first.

Raven Flame peered outside the window and stared at the sixth floor of the red bricked building, "Are you sure either of them is even going to leave?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged, "I'm pretty sure Ice Ember has some lame job she'll have to go to soon..." she said withdrawing another donut from the box before heading back to the window and taking the binoculars from Raven again.

Looking through the lenses she took a bite of the donut she held in her other hoof. A red unicorn emerged and began to trot down the stairs. In surprise to see movement she swallowed a large bit of the donut and choked on it for a few seconds before forcing it the rest of the way down, "It's show time!" she said excitedly.

Rainbow Dash lifted up the window and flew out of sight and then returned, "Don't leave!" she ordered.

Raven Flame waved a hoof, "Yeah yeah, we'll stay put, now go and get Applejack back!"

"Sir yes ma'am!" Rainbow Dash said with a salute before flying away again. She waited for Ice Ember to reach the bottom of the stairs before she landed at the top. She headed to the door down the hall and gave it a knock.

Applejack stared at the door wondering who would show up this early in the day. She tightened the dark green scarf around her neck and secured her saddlebag then pulled open the door. She stared at the multicolored Pegasus she had seen the previous day, "Well howdy!" she said in a friendly manner.

Rainbow Dash looked at the attire Applejack was in, a clear sign she was already leaving the apartment making her plans far easier. "Hey, is uh Ice Ember here?" She asked trying to sound casual though she could hardly contain the giddiness in her voice.

"Aw shucks, yah just missed her. She just went to work." Applejack frowned, "She'll be back at around 5' if you want to stop by later."

"Nah. That's okay." Rainbow Dash turned around and trotted away, stopping at the stairs, "Hey are you going somewhere?"

"Oh, ah'm going to the bookstore." Applejack said stepping out the doorway and closing it behind her, "Got nothin' tah do most of the time cept fill mah head with books."

Rainbow Dash grinned, "I'm a big Daring-Do fan myself." She said, scraping her hoof at the floor bashfully.

"Yer kiddin'! Applejack gasped, "Ah'm going tah get the next book right now."

"No way!" Rainbow Dash squeaked, "Well, I guess I should let you get going then."

Applejack nodded politely and started down the stairs but she paused, "Hey… Yah wanna come with me?" she asked.

"Sure, why not." Rainbow Dash said trying to keep her cool on the outside. She began walking down the steps with Applejack, her heart pounding faster and faster, "So are you and Ice Ember… uh… you know?" she asked delicately hoping to gain some insight on the two's relationship.

"Ah guess." Applejack said not really thinking her answer through.

"You 'guess?" Rainbow Dash asked feeling a new flare of hope inside her, "What does that mean?"

Applejack chuckled nervously, "Did ah say guess, ah meant to say yes." She said quickly, her snout crinkling and her eyes shifting all over the place.

"Uh-huh." Rainbow Dash said in disbelief. She was all too familiar with Applejack's terrible poker face. Rainbow Dash trotted by the orange pony's side silently, plotting her next words carefully but came up with nothing. Things were starting to feel like they were going downhill as they arrived at the bookstore in absolute silence.

"So what were yah and Ice Ember talking 'bout yesterday?" Applejack asked finally breaking the silence as she browsed through the shelves.

"Oh, you know, just… stuff." Rainbow Dash smacked herself, she never had been good at making things up on the spot.

"Oh, what kind of stuff?" Applejack asked.

"Found it!" Rainbow Dash shouted from across the bookstore, in hopes Applejack would forget the question or at the very least delayed it until she came up with a story.

Applejack trotted over and pulled out the book with a silver binding, "Guess ah'll be back off tah the apartment." She said sounding a little disappointed as she started to walk away from the shelf towards the cashier.

"You don't really want to spend the rest of your life inside that place, do you?" Rainbow Dash asked blocking the orange pony's path.

"Well ah…" Applejack tried to maneuver herself around the Pegasus, "No… not really."

"Perfect!" Rainbow Dash cheered, "You can come with me!"

Applejack paid for the book and turned to the Pegasus, "And where would that be?"

Rainbow Dash smiled, "If I told you that'd just spoil the fun!" she said patting Applejack on the head.

"Ah 'spose it would." Applejack said, her heart making a sudden leap at the mere touch from the Pegasus. She thought about the offer for a moment, it seemed a little strange to her that a pony she had only just met was asking her to go somewhere with her and not even know where that place was. However, she didn't want to go home and she decided the pony was trustworthy enough, "Alright then, let's go!"

"Awesome!" Rainbow Dash squeaked again, trotting outside the door and holding it open for Applejack, "Want to get something to eat first?"

Applejack smiled, "Ah don't see why not."

"Great." Rainbow Dash hopped excitedly down the street, "I found this nice little restaurant just down the block."

Stopping at a pale white building, a faded wooden sign hanging above it's doorway, "This is it?" Applejack asked a little concerned at the sight.

"Trust me!" Rainbow Dash said brightly, "I know it doesn't look like much, but I promise you it will be worth your time."

Applejack trotted inside slowly, "Alright..."

Not wanting Applejack to know she planned the whole event, Rainbow Dash scurried ahead out of sight briefly to inform the host pony of her reservation. "Right this way." The pony said politely once Applejack had caught up. Leading through the dimly lit rooms they were seated at a dark booth in the far corner, away from any other ponies that might come. "I'll be back momentarily to take your orders." The pony said as he placed two menus on the table.

Applejack picked up the menu and scanned over it, "Sure are a lotta choices." she said casually.

"The caramelized apples and whipped cream is pretty good." Rainbow Dash replied.

The suggestion sounded perfect and out of all the things on the menu, only one of them used apples as an ingredient. The waft of earth and apples drafted down from the brim of her cowboy hat and made her desire for the suggestion all the more unbearable. "Ah think ah'll try that."

"I knew you would." Rainbow Dash mumbled quietly.

Applejack's ears perked up, "What was that?"

"I said I will too." Rainbow Dash lied.

The host pony soon returned and took their orders and vanished once again. Applejack glanced around the dim room. The entirety of the restaurant was lit by candles. On their own table was a single candle molded in the shape of a heart placed in the center. "This is... a very nice place." Applejack said feeling a little uncomfortable with the romantic setting.

Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement, "So, what do you do around here for fun?" She asked trying to get a conversation started.

Applejack shrugged, "Not much. I'm mostly inside all day just reading."

"Yeah, I guess it isn't very nice outside."

With a heavy sigh Applejack glanced down at the table, "Ah can't stand the smoke, the smell. Everything here is just so...

"Unnatural?" Rainbow Dash finished for her.

"Yeah, ah literally don't even remember the last time ah saw the sun."

"Why don't you just leave?"

"Ah couldn't do that tah Ice Ember..." Applejack frowned, "She's done so much fer me."

"Oh." Rainbow Dash said shaking off a cringe. Plucking out one of the light-pink flowers from vase on the table, she slid it's stem through the red mane tie that bound Applejack's hair, "There, now you can have a bit of nature wherever you go." She said with a grin.

Applejack held back a blush that tried seeping into her cheeks, "Heh, thanks."

"So where'd you get that scar?" Rainbow Dash asked a few minutes later trying to break the silence.

Applejack's eyes looked upward, "Oh that? That's from a surgery ah had a few weeks ago." She ran her hoof across her forehead, "Ah had a blood clot. The doctor got rid of it and fixed the damaged vein. Told me ah had tah take it easy for a few days but ah wouldn't have to worry about anything like that happening again."

The host pony returned with two trays of golden fried fruit covered with whipped cream. "Enjoy." He said placing them down and left. Quickly Rainbow Dash snatched away Applejack's tray before she could get to it.

Applejack stared wide-eyed at the steaming food, "Hey! Give that back!" Rainbow Dash giggled and took a scoopful of the food and held it out to Applejack. "Yer joking right?"

"Aw, come on!"

"Ah'm not having you spoon feed me!" Applejack cried.

"Fine!" Rainbow Dash put down the tray and slid it back over, "You could spoon feed me if you wanted." she said flirtatiously.

Applejack's cheeks turned bright red at the comment, "Uh, that's okay..."

"Could be fun." Rainbow Dash winked. Growing more bold she lightly nudged Applejack's hooves beneath the table.

In an effort to hide her reddening face, Applejack quickly turned her focus to her food. Whilst eating she couldn't notice her own hooves slowly travel back towards Rainbow Dash's. "So are yah gonna tell me where we're going after we finish eating?" Applejack asked still not realizing the physical contact the two were making.

"Nope!" Rainbow Dash said feeling the soft brushing of Applejack's hoof caressing up and down her leg.

"Ah'm sorry!" Applejack said sounding embarrassed. Pulling her legs back suddenly, "Ah didn't mean tah do that." she said quickly.

"Aw, that's okay!" Rainbow Dash said waving her hoof.

The two finished their meal quietly. Applejack giving the occasional unintended stare of infatuation as it went on. After Rainbow Dash paid for the meal, the two trotted back out the building, "Well that was, uh, nice." Applejack said.

"You're still coming right?" Rainbow Dash asked, it sounded as if the orange pony were ready to go home.

"Of course!" Applejack answered. Though she felt a little uncomfortable she couldn't remember the last time she had been having this much fun.

"Wait…" Rainbow Dash grinned, "So is it okay for you to run then?" she asked pointing at the scar.

Applejack smiled and nodded, "Yeah, ah guess it is."

"Well in that case…" Rainbow Dash lowered her head and prepared to run, "Let's have a race!" she called out as she took off.

"Hey!" Applejack shouted chasing after her, "Ah don't even know where we're going!" she said quickly catching up with the Pegasus.

"Guess you better move that flank of yours then!" Rainbow Dash said mischievously.

Applejack smirked, "Ah think yer the one who needs to move yers!" she said, pushing herself a few feet ahead. The two had galloped past the city roads of Manehatten and onto the dirt roads that lead out into the snowy fields.

"This way!" Rainbow Dash shouted taking a sudden turn into a cluster of trees. Applejack followed without a second thought, she weaved in between the trees with much greater ease than the Pegasus passing her she could see the clearing.

Rainbow Dash flew up into the sky and cleared away the clouds allowing the warm sun to shine down. She had spent most of the previous day searching for a spot just like this one. Once she had found it she spent the rest of her time bargaining with a florist unicorn trying to convince her to make the place seem alive with her magic.

Applejack stopped and stared at the sight. A small pond of crystal blue water lay in the center of a field of snowless green grass that was surrounded by white capped trees. Trotting slowly onto the green grass, she savored the sensation as the blades gently scraped against her legs. She stopped just a few feet away from the pond and lay down on the grass, basking in the sunlight. She inhaled the humid air, the faint smell of apples wafting into her nostrils.

Rainbow Dash landed next to her and looked around as well, though the only scenery she was really interested in at the moment was laying just a few feet away. "So…" she said scraping her hoof at the grass, "What do you think?"

"It's amazing…" Applejack said turning her head towards Rainbow Dash, "How did yah find this place?"

"Oh pfft." Rainbow Dash waved a hoof trying to act as if it weren't anything important, "Just sorta flew into it." She said.

Applejack let out a laugh, "Figures. Yah probably always have yer head stuck in the clouds." She said plucking out a piece of grass and placed it in between her teeth.

Rainbow Dash snatched the cowboy hat off of Applejack's head, "Yeah, well now I have my head stuck in your hat!" she teased as she tossed it onto her head.

"Oh no yah don't!" Applejack shouted tackling Rainbow Dash and pinning her to the grass. Her gaze suddenly became lost in the magenta eyes that stared back at her. She began to lower her head towards the brim of her hat, her eyes still locked with the Pegasus's.

Applejack's heart started to rush, her eyes unable to stray from the pinned pony. Her mouth slowly began to drift away from the hat and closer towards Rainbow Dash. Her breathing stopped as her head hovered just inches away from the Pegasus. A spark suddenly ignited inside her heart and without thinking she pushed her lips down onto Rainbow Dash's and kissed her with a passion she never had experienced before.

Rainbow Dash wrapped her forelegs around Applejack, their lips parting for just a moment to recover their breath. Her mind went completely blank as she lost herself in the embrace of the Pegasus. She wanted to stay lost in the moment, not ruining it with thoughts or words, just the warmth and comfort being given to her.

The feeling of cold metal brushed against Applejack's shoulder as they kissed, taking her out of the trance. She pulled away and grabbed at Rainbow Dash's foreleg and stared at the glimmering piece of jewelry, "Yer MARRIED?" she asked angrily climbing to her hooves.

"Yes- I mean no!" Rainbow Dash stammered, never in a million years had she thought she would be trying to explain to her own wife that she was married to her.

Applejack trotted in circles rubbing a hoof on her forehead, her eyes filled with worry and guilt, "Ah… what have ah done… Ah have to go…" she turned away and started running towards the tree clearing.

"Wait! I can explain!" Rainbow Dash called out chasing after her.

"Get away from me!" Applejack screamed though now she was far angrier at herself for what she had done than the Pegasus.

"Just let me explain!" Rainbow Dash said flying up and landing in front of her.

"Ah don't want tah hear it!" Applejack shouted, pushing Rainbow Dash aside and running off again.

Rainbow Dash got back to her feet and caught up once more, "What about what just happened back there?" she asked blocking Applejack's path again.

"It was a mistake!" Applejack shouted her voice growing even shakier.

Rainbow Dash sighed, the words hurt her far more than she had expected, "Do you honestly think that was a mistake? Didn't you feel something?"

"Ah don't know!" Applejack's eyes filled with tears, her mind and heart flooded with conflicting emotions. She had felt something; the Pegasus had made her feel safe, cared for and happy. But she hardly knew the pony and she already had a pony back at her apartment, one that she knew and felt she could trust. "Just leave me alone!" she shouted as she galloped away.

Rainbow Dash's heart sunk, everything had gone so perfectly and then it fell apart so quickly. This was nowhere near in any way how she thought this would end. At the very least she expected that Applejack simply wouldn't be interested, not have a complete meltdown over their wedding ring. "Fine then!" Rainbow Dash shouted back flying towards the city.

Applejack reached the concrete streets of Manehatten and slowed her pace. She didn't understand what she had just done; this is exactly what she had wanted, to feel a spark. But she had expected that in time she would feel the spark with Ice Ember, not a complete stranger after a few hours together.

"Ice Ember has been taking care of me since ah woke up in the hospital and this is how ah repay her?" Applejack muttered furiously at herself. She paused at the base of her apartment stairs. She looked around and spotted the blue Pegasus flying down near the hotel on the street corner.

Applejack turned away and marched up the stairs trying to push the thoughts of Rainbow Dash out of her mind. Pushing open the apartment door she walked inside and returned to the cushion she sat in whenever she read. Reaching in the saddlebag she pulled out the silver book and tilted open the cover staring at the first page.

Her mind and eyes couldn't focus on the words, the anger and disgust she directed at herself still lingered, forcing her attention on the events that had just occurred. She slammed the book shut and tossed it at the wall trotting towards her bedroom. She stared at the bed, all the nights she had spent in it with Ice Ember as the pony tried to comfort and make her feel loved.

Applejack brushed her hoof against the gloomy white painted wall trying to trigger even one memory of when she truly had felt happy in this place, but nothing came to her. With a heavy sigh she trotted over to the dresser and picked up the picture frame of her and the Red Unicorn standing together. She had forced a smile for the photo when it had been taken.

Setting down the frame gently she looked at the drawer that was slightly askew. She pulled it open and looked down at the neatly folded winter coats and scarves that lined its base. However, in the left back corner of the drawer, one of the scarves was wrinkled and the corners thrown back slightly.

Applejack pushed aside the scarf revealing a small outline in the dark brown wood. She nudged it and the tile of wood popped up. Moving the piece out of the way she found a silver anklet lying neatly in the hidden compartment. She removed the jewelry and looked at it; her first assumption was that Ice Ember was going to give it to her.

She quickly discarded the thought though when she examined the familiar shape of a diamond cut lightning bolt embedded into the metal. The image of Rainbow Dash's cutie mark flashed through her head and the anklet that wrapped around the Pegasus's hoof. She turned towards her own cutie mark, "Apples…" she whispered as her mind put the pieces together.

Applejack dropped the ring and turned around running for the door which she heard shut from down the hallway. Ice Ember smiled and trotted toward her, "Hey!" she said excitedly.

Applejack stared grotesquely at the unicorn for a few seconds but wiped the look from her face. "Hey sugarcube!" she said acting as if nothing was bothering her at all. "Ah was just about tah go get that book." She lied and for the first time she held a straight face, "Ah'll see you later, kay?"

"Oh, alright." Ice Ember said, giving Applejack a quick kiss on the cheek before the pony vanished outside the door.

Ice Ember unraveled the scarf from her neck, her eyes catching glimpse of the silver colored book by the wall. She shrugged it off and headed towards the room to put away her scarf. She flipped on the room's light switch and a sudden flood of panic filled her when she saw the open drawer. The rays of light reflected off of the shining anklet that sat on the floor. "No!" Ice Ember said quietly, turning around and running down the hallway out the door chasing after Applejack.

Comments

[Dash32]

Relax, we won't go anywhere Dashie!" Raven Flame said in a sweet and innocent voice.

In the words of Ron “Tater Salad” White: “Bullshiiiiiit.”

[BroBpony]

7052843
Ya guessed it! LOL

[BroBpony]

Cringe-i-est work yet that I have read.