What If

by elPossenreisser

Equestria, present day

Applejack broke the kiss and looked at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus, surprised by the kiss, didn’t answer at first. Only when the silence dragged on for too long, Applejack said, “Um, yeah. That’s what I was meaning to say.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said, not breaking eye contact. “AJ, I—“

“Ya don’t even have to say anything,” Applejack purred.

“Um, AJ, I don’t think that’s such a great idea,” Rainbow said. An unwelcome image of Firefly’s face, tears streaming down her cheeks, crept up before her mental eye. “We agreed it was a one-time thing, remember?”

“I do,” Applejack said. “Back then we agreed. Now’s now though.”

“But now ain’t better,” Rainbow protested. “I’m—I’m a Wonderbolt now. When the new season starts I’m gonna be away for weeks to end, for shows and practice and all.” Although it was a lame excuse, it was also the truth, she thought—how was she going to date Applejack if she was constantly away?

“I know, sugarcube,” Applejack said with a smile. “And I’m mighty proud of you!” A bit more serious she continued, “So we’ve both got our own lives—you’ve got the Wonderbolts, I’ve got plenty to do on the farm. I wouldn’t want somepony who got nothing else to do but clinging to me. I think you and me, we can handle some time apart.”

“Ya think, huh,” Rainbow repeated. Applejack nodded, and Rainbow sighed. “Look, it’s not like I don’t, um, like you or whatever… but AJ, I’m a mess. A freakin’ featherbrain! I forget things. And sometimes… sometimes I do stupid things. Things that hurt other ponies.”

“What are you sayin’?”

“When you’re dating me… if you were dating me, you’d end up hurt because I’d do something stupid. And I don’t want to do that to you.”

“Then don’t. What the hay are you talking about?”

“I…” Rainbow hung her head. It seemed as if the only way to dissuade Applejack was to spill the beans. She really didn’t want to—what would Applejack think of her? But the one thing she wanted even less was to hurt her. To do to her what she had done to Firefly.

“I had a girlfriend, back in school. Not too long before that day… before you and I met. Her name was Firefly. She was great. And one night, at a stupid party, I ended up making out with some other filly. Everypony saw it, so of course Firefly knew. She dumped me the next day. She was crying the entire time she yelled at me. After that, she didn’t talk to me anymore. Then I failed my year and dropped out of school, and you know the rest.”

Applejack looked at her quizzically. “So what you’re sayin’ is—“

“I cheated on my girlfriend.”

“And because of that you’re gonna cheat on me as well?”

“I don’t wanna!”

“Well then don’t,” Applejack repeated, giving her that special look reserved for when Rainbow did or said something silly. “What else?”

“Um… other than me being an irresponsible featherbrain who hurts the ponies she loves…”

“Dash,” Applejack said, putting her hoof under Rainbow’s chin to force her to look at her. “You are a featherbrain, and you sure as hay can be irresponsible. But whatever you did back then was back then. You’ve changed. You’re not that same silly teenage filly you were back then. I have faith in you that you won’t cheat on somepony you like if’n you don’t want to. I’ve known you long enough to know I can trust you.” She gave her a mischievous grin and booped her nose. “So what do you say we take it to the acres? Unless you insist I buy you dinner first.”

“AJ, I—“ Rainbow tried to stay firm, but she could feel her resistance faltering. Could it be that easy? Applejack seemed to think it was, anyway. Maybe she was right?

Applejack must have seen her wavering determination, and interrupted Rainbow’s half-hearted protest with another kiss. When she broke the contact, she said, “Enough of that already. Come on! Race ya to the farm!” She jumped up and galloped away, followed immediately by Rainbow. Maybe, Rainbow thought, this wasn’t such a bad idea after all.