Questions and Concerns
“Well that was embarrassing,” Rainbow Dash grumbled.
“What part?” Applejack asked. She had a small frown on her normally smiling face, and she didn’t spare a glance to the pegasus hovering alongside her as they made their way towards Sugarcube Corner. “The groundskeeper catchin’ us makin’ out, or you tellin’ her that it wasn’t a free show?”
Dash crossed her forehooves and let out a huff. “I was just trying to make a joke so everypony wouldn’t freak out.”
“The poor gal’s face turned redder than my cutie mark.”
“It’s not my fault she thought I was serious!” Dash said with a bit of exasperated hoof flailing.
Applejack gave Rainbow Dash a sidelong glance. “Uh, darlin’, it kinda is.”
Rainbow Dash continued to hover along, silently frowning. She finally let out a defeated sigh. “Alright, I’ll apologize next time I see her.”
Applejack’s frown was replaced by the ghost of a smile. “Good,” she said with a nod. However, that smile quickly faded, and the earth mare let out a sigh of her own. “Too bad she’s probably already started tellin’ folks ‘bout us, the way she galloped off so fast.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged, and began to hover along upside down and recline in comfort. “Eh, not that big a deal. Who cares if everypony knows about us?”
Applejack grumbled. “Well, Ah care.”
Rainbow Dash tilted her head to the side, and she shot her marefriend a curious look. “Why do you care so much? I know you, Applejack, and you’re not the type of pony to usually care what other ponies think.”
Applejack stopped trotting, the empty picnic basket nearly tumbling off her back from the sudden halt. The orange mare looked pensive for a moment, before she closed her eyes and let out another sigh. “It’s complicated.”
When Applejack opened her eyes, she found herself face-to-face with Rainbow Dash. The blue pegasus was hovering just inches from her, and her eyes held a look of genuine concern. “You wanna talk about it?” Dash quietly asked.
Applejack stared in slight surprise for a moment, before her lips formed a faint smirk. “Ah thought you said you weren’t good at talkin’ ‘bout stuff?”
Dash briefly frowned, before pulling back and giving a smug grin. “Hey, I’m not good at talking, but if talking will help you feel better about something that’s bothering you, then I’m willing to try my best to help. That’s what a good marefriend is supposed to do, right?”
Applejack couldn’t help but smile. “Right…” With blinding speed, she darted forward to peck Dash on the cheek with a soft kiss, before stepping back from the slightly blushing pegasus. “And Ah appreciate that. It means a lot to me that you care.”
Slightly caught off guard by the kiss, Dash simply gave a small (slightly goofy) smile. “Heh, don’t mention it.” She quickly shook her head to recover her wits, before fixing Applejack with a scrutinizing look and a confident little smirk. “Now, tell me what’s wrong, alright?”
Applejack smiled back, but only for a moment. A look of apprehension crept onto her face, before she cast a quick look about to ensure they were alone. Seeing nopony else on the street and satisfied that there were no prying ears nearby, the blonde mare let out a small sigh before looking back at Rainbow Dash. “Ah’m just… worried, is all.”
Rainbow Dash stared at her lover with a flat expression. “No, really?” the blue pegasus deadpanned. “I had no idea you were worried.”
“Spare me the sarcasm, darlin’.”
“I’ll spare you the sarcasm when you spare me the runaround. C’mon, AJ, spill it. What exactly are you worried about? That ponies are gonna give us trouble or be mad that we’re dating? Big whoops, mares date mares all the time, and nopony ever raises a fuss. Not a fuss that anybody cares about, at least.”
Applejack gave a shake of her head. “No, it’s not that. Well, not exactly.”
“Well, what is it then?”
Applejack gave a small wave of her hoof at the town around them. “The moment word spreads about you an’ me, ponies are gonna start talkin’. An’ you know it ain’t all gonna be nice. They’re gonna be crackin’ all sorts of jokes, makin’ little remarks about us behind our backs and probably even to our faces. Maybe not to be mean, but still. Some of it'll no doubt be a bit off-color. You know it’s gonna happen.”
Rainbow Dash snorted. “Yeah, so? I mean, yeah they’re gonna talk. Yeah, I’ll probably get ribbed by the other ponies on the Weather Patrol and have them make all sorts of dirty jokes. But one buck to the teeth, and they’ll-“
“That’s mah point!” Applejack suddenly snapped, giving a stomp of her hoof for emphasis. “Yer first instinct is to get aggressive and cause a ruckus.”
“Hey!” Dash huffed, raising a hoof indignantly. “That’s not-” The pegasus paused, and her hoof fell to her side. “Okay, no, you do have a point," she frowned. "I am kinda hotheaded sometimes, and let things get to me when they shouldn’t. Sorry.”
Applejack nodded. “Ah don’t mind it. Ah’m the same way sometimes. But Ah’m just worried that somepony will say the wrong thing to one of us, and we'll get snappish or fussy, an’ then the whole town will really have something to talk about. And even if that doesn’t happen, an’ we’re able to keep our temper’s in check… Ah really don’t wanna have to listen to folks gossipin’ and jokin’ about me an’ my marefriend,” she grumbled. “It’s gonna happen.”
Dash stopped her hovering, and landed to sit on her haunches. She tapped a hoof to her chin thoughtfully, mulling over Applejack’s concerns. “Okay, yeah, I see what you’re saying. It’s not if the ponies around town are going to gossip and joke about us once they find out we’re dating, it’s just a matter of when?”
Applejack couldn’t help but smirk. “That’s pretty ‘astute’ of you, Dash. Have you been hangin’ out with Twi too much? Should I be worried?”
The azure mare scoffed and gave a dismissive wave of her wing. “Oh yeah, lemme tell you about the super-hot affair I’ve been having with our mutual best friend. You know what they say about socially awkward librarians.” Dash gave a playful waggle of her eyebrows. “Rawr!”
Applejack could help but let out a laugh, shaking her head in amusement. “Why do I put up with you?”
“Because I’m-“
“Awesome?” Applejack interrupted with a coy smirk.
Dash frowned. “I wasn’t going to say that.”
“Liar.”
The rainbow-maned pegasus narrowed her eyes. “Okay maybe I was going to say it, but you can't prove it.”
With a small snicker, Applejack resumed her trotting – only for Dash to extend a wing and block her progress. “Hm?”
There was an uncharacteristic frown on Dash’s face. For once, she actually looked rather serious. “What else is worrying you so much?"
"What-"
"There’s totally something else, I can tell.”
Applejack sat down and sighed. “Alright, alright. Ah'm also worrdied that you an’ me ain’t the only ones who might lose our patience over a little gossip, y’know?”
“What, you mean our friends?” Dash asked. She lowered her wing, and tilted her head to the side. “Uh, AJ, I don’t think our friends are going to go smashing ponies through windows over a little gossip about our dating habits. I mean, if anything, that’d be pretty awesome. Could you see Fluttershy doing that?” she asked with a crooked grin. “Seriously, I’d pay good bits to see Shy go all ‘crazily overprotective big sister’ for us.”
Applejack didn’t grin or laugh. If anything, she looked even more worried. “Actually, Dash, Ah’m more worried about a crazily overprotective little sister.”
The grin on Dash’s face slowly evaporated. “You mean Apple Bloom?”
“And Scootaloo. You know them other fillies tease ‘em a good bit already. You know how fillies are. What’s gonna happen when the folks ‘round town start gossipin’ about us? You know them other fillies are gonna start usin’ jokes about us as a way to mess with them. Let’s be real here – what’s gonna happen?”
For a brief moment, Dash had a mental image flicker through her mind of Apple Bloom brutally suplexing Diamond Tiara through a school desk. For a much longer moment, Dash had to try not to grin or cackle at said mental image. Struggling to keep a straight face, she gave a nod. “Okay yeah, I can see your point there. Scoots and Bloom may get more upset than usual since it’s us being insulted and not them, which leads to fights, which leads to schoolhouse drama, which leads to parent-teacher conferences, which leads to-”
“Yer not helping.”
Dash shrugged. “Sorry. Just remembering Flight School. This one time, this colt-”
“This story ain’t gonna help me feel any better, is it?” Applejack deadpanned.
Dash coughed. “So I’ll talk to Scoots and you’ll talk to your sister, and we can have Rarity talk to Sweetie, and…” her voice trailed off.
Applejack raised an eyebrow out of curiosity and slight concern. “And what?”
“Rarity,” Dash suddenly said with a grin.
“Rarity what?”
“We’ll get Rarity handle this.”
Applejack’s brow rose higher. “I don’t think pawnin’ Bloom and ‘Loo on Rare is such a good idea.”
“No no no, not them. Well, actually, that might be a good idea since my advice to Scootaloo would probably be to buck her bullies in the teeth,” the pegasus said with a sheepish smile. Applejack gave her a dirty look. “Hey, I’m just being honest!” Dash said defensively.
“Uh huh,” Applejack said with a roll of her eyes. “So what was yer brilliant plan?”
“Let’s be real here, Rarity’s a gossip-monger,” Dash stated bluntly. “So what if we get her to spread gossip about us?” The stare she got from Applejack was not an impressed one. “Hang on, I’m not done. We get her to spread gossip about us. Good gossip. About how good a couple we are, how cute we are, how sweet we are to each other, blablabla yadda yadda, all that mushy stuff, though not too much mushy stuff about me since I've got a reputation to uphold and whatever, but you get my point,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hoof.
“So… we get Rarity to make everyone sick to their stomach?”
“Noooooo, we get Rarity to make us sound like a super-awesome couple, so ponies wanna say good stuff about us. We’ll be the talk of the town, alright,” Dash grinned. “The most awesome couple in town! Nopony will wanna make jokes and stuff, because then other ponies will get annoyed at them and be like ‘you shouldn’t say mean stuff about them because they’re such a super nice and awesome couple’ and then they’ll feel guilty and won’t say bad stuff. So we won’t get mad and sucker-buck anypony, and those little brats won’t pick on Apple Bloom and Scootaloo without looking like, well, little brats. It’s brilliant, brilliant I say! Mwahahahaha!”
Applejack stared at her marefriend, who was now standing on her hindlegs with her wings spread and a forehoof raised to the sky. “Was the triumphant pose and dramatic laugh really necessary?”
Dash dropped back to all four hooves, and grinned widely. “Totally.”
This, naturally, earned the usual eye roll and smirk from Applejack. “Uh huh, right. Anyhoo, that plan of yours… uh…” She paused to mull it over. “Actually, it sounds pretty good. Why don’t we drop by an’ see Rare after we drop off Pinkie’s basket?”
Dash grinned proudly. “See? My plans are always awesome. Always.”
“What about that time when-”
The pegasus frowned, and turned to begin trotting towards Sugarcube corner. “Oh hush.”
“Or that time when-”
“Okaaaaay, I get it.”
“Or last week, when-”
“Knock it off, AJ.”
Applejack chuckled. “Ah mean, do you even remember the thing with the alpaca?”
“It’s not my fault he looked like a really furry llama!” Dash protested.
“How do you confuse an alpaca and a llama?!”
The blue pegasus gave a dismissive shrug. “Pretty easily, apparently.”
Applejack just shook her head. “Right. Anyhoo, Ah will say that yer plan is actually a pretty good one, this time.”
“What was that?” Dash asked, leaning towards Applejack with a grin.
The orange mare simply trotted past Dash, playfully smacking her in the face with the tip of her tail as she passed. “Ah said This time,” Applejack quipped with a smile. “Now c’mon, let’s go see Pinkie an’ give her back this basket without lookin’ too suspicious.”
“Psh, you worry too much,” Dash said. She gave a dismissive wave of her wing, before hopping up to hover after Applejack. “Seriously, nothing’s gonna look suspicious about us dropping off a picnic basket. Besides, it’s not like there are be a ton of ponies there or-”
Several minutes later, Rainbow Dash and Applejack found themselves standing in the doorway of Sugarcube Corner, with a large crowd of customers in front of them. “Okay, I was wrong,” Dash whispered to Applejack.
Thankfully, most of the several dozen ponies present hadn’t noticed the pair yet, but the few ponies who had noticed were already giving them curious or quizzical glances. Their eyes seemed particularly drawn to the picnic basket on Applejack’s back, and its possible implications. Applejack tried to ignore them, her eyes instead darting around the crowd in search of her vibrantly pink and perky friend. Hopefully Pinkie wouldn’t make a scene, or draw too much attention to them.
“HIYA!!” As if from nowhere, Pinkie somehow suddenly jumped up between Rainbow Dash and Applejack. A few years ago, both mares would have screamed in terror, but a long and fun friendship with Pinkie had desensitized them to being startled by her sudden greetings. Usually.
“Hey Pinkie,” Rainbow and Applejack both replied in unison, flashing friendly smiles at their friend. Before either could say anything else, though, Pinkie suddenly grabbed the basket off of Applejack’s back.
“Oh hey, you found my basket!” the perky pink mare squealed excitedly. “I’ve been looking all over for it! Oh thank you so much for bringing it back!”
Applejack looked confused. “Huh?” Pinkie Pie maintained her super-enthusiastic grin, but her eyes gave Applejack a very sharp look that seemed to translate into a command to play along. “Oh, uh, right. We, uh…”
Thankfully, Rainbow Dash quickly stepped in before Applejack’s horrible lying skills could make this situation any more awkward or weird. “Yup I totally found it and saw AJ on the way over so we decided we’d both come by to drop it off and say hi but you’re super busy so we’ll just be going now alright Pinkie?” the blue pegasus quickly rattled off.
“Okay!” Pinkie chimed, having (unsurprisingly) understood every rapid-fire word. Before either mare could react, Pinkie grabbed both Applejack and Rainbow Dash and (while somehow balancing the picnic basket on her head) gently hurled them out the front door. “Come back later bye bye!”
The door to the bakery slammed shut. While the ponies inside went back to their business, Applejack and Rainbow Dash both just stood outside, slightly dumbstruck. The two exchanged confused looks. “Uh, what just happened?” Applejack finally dared to ask.
Dash gave a shrug of her wings. “Probably best not to question it. We should probably head towards Rarity’s place,” she said, turning to start trotting further into town.
“Right behind ya,” Applejack nodded, adjusting her hat before quickly following after her companion.
The pegasus smirked, and picked up the pace of her trot just slightly. “Heh, as usual," Dash remarked, a bit of smugness in her tone.
“We are not havin’ a race to Rarity’s shop,” Applejack deadpanned, strangling that idea before it had a chance to exist.
“Ugh, spoilsport,” Dash huffed.
Applejack trotted up alongside the pegasus, and gave her a flat look. “Do you remember what happened last time we raced to Rarity’s?”
Rainbow Dash paused her trotting for a moment to ponder…
It was a relatively normal day in Ponyville, aside from the rainstorm. Applejack had closed up her market stall and was heading home, and Rainbow Dash was checking around to make sure nopony was caught off guard by the rain and needed any help. They’d both run across each other, and decided to go visit Rarity for good company and drier environments. What started as a casual trek quickly turned into a competitive trot, which quickly turned into a heated race, which quickly devolved into a frantic galloping duel with no rules or restraints.
Naturally, Rarity wasn’t happy when the two mares burst through her front door covered in mud and rain and promptly slid across her floor, making a huge mess and causing her to make a tiny but "absolutely devastating" error on the dress she was slaving over. Naturally, she had screamed at them. A lot.
A whole lot.
Rainbow Dash shrugged her shoulders and wings. “Nope, don’t remember.”
The expression on Applejack’s face remained flat. She obviously wasn’t convinced. “Uh huh… Right, well, needless ta say, we ain’t racin’ over there again.”
“Fiiiiine,” Dash said with a roll of her eyes. “No race. Besides!” A devious smile suddenly appeared on the pegasus’ face. “I’ve got a better idea for something we could do on the way over there.”
Applejack groaned. “Ah swear, if you try ta suggest we somehow trot and make out at the same time, Ah’m gonna-”
Rainbow Dash never found out what Applejack’s threat was going to be. She interrupted it quite effectively when she extended her right wing out towards her marefriend, and began to tickle her left side, right between her ribs and her flank. She’d expected Applejack to yelp in surprise or growl in annoyance.
She didn’t expect a sharp, remarkably girly giggle.
Both mare froze in their tracks, their eyes going wide. Dash recoiled back slightly, looking confused about the uncharacteristic noise Applejack had made. Applejack, meanwhile, looked utterly mortified, and quickly clamped a hoof over her mouth in shock and embarrassment.
“You… you’re ticklish…” Dash observed, completely stupefied by this revelation. “And… and you giggle…”
For a moment, the two mares stared at other. A certain mischievous look appeared in Dash’s ruby eyes, her lips curling into a devious smirk, while Applejack’s own green eyes betrayed dawning horror and an unfortunate realization.
Before Dash could act, Applejack turned, and with a yell of "NOPE!!" took off galloping as fast as she could towards Rarity's boutique. Dash quickly sped after her in quick pursuit, intending to catch up and tickle her mercilessly. The earth mare let out a colorful stream of insults and threats as she ran, while the pegasus simply cackled with wicked glee.
Applejack had told Dash that they couldn't have a race. Unfortunately, she hadn't said anything about a chase.
Stats
Page generated in 0.024 seconds
Total duration
922 users online
599,819 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Oh wow this updated.
I only thought at first that AJ may be embarrassed over the relationship but seeing that she was more concerned about how her sister would be treated because of rumors was something I didn't consider. Going to Rarity was a good move on their part and might do some damage control as long as this chase doesn't destroy her shop.
Glad to see you back and hopefully feeling better.
I feel bad for the potential damage to Rarity's shop. Plus the damage Rarity's gonna do to AJ and dash.
Sweet Christ, Applejack has been replaced by a really incompetent changeling!
2640452 Nope, she's just being written by an incompetent writer.
Thank you, though, for reminding me of an idea I had...
2640390 Thank you.
Oh, God this was glorious! Another! Seriously, this chapter reminded me of why I started reading this story in the first place. It was hilarious and the dialogue just feels so natural. I have to say thanks for this. This chapter is actually just what I needed today as I was feeling pretty crummy, but now I'm giggling and happy!
Here is a moustache!
Keep the chapters coming!
Hahaha now THAT'S a way to end a chapter. Tickling threats are srs bsns.
The tickle scene was glorious.
Yeah! My favorite fanfiction has updated!
Glorious! But now i have to wait or the chapter :(
Oh god. That end is so adorable.
Please don't make us wait this long again!
This is one of my favourite fics. Loved the story of the race, and AJ's ticklishness, and... Just about all the dialogue, ever. Eagerly awaiting next instalment.
2640452
I lol'd
this story still exists o.o I damn near compl- .... No I did forget about it... All that means is that I got to re-read the awesome.
Loved the new chapter, loved AJ's reaction when she giggled. Keep up the nice work
T'was short, BUT I LOVE YOU FOR UPDATING THIS!
And I might just get a heart attack to hear AJ's giggle while Dash laughs her flank off
Yep Raritys gonna kill them. While AJ giggles her head off.
Oh Rainbow, you silverwinged devil, you.
At this point, this fic is lacking in both conflict and direction.
Something needs to happen to make things interesting again.
2656397
This is a romance/comedy/slice of life fic. What you're looking for is drama, which this isn't. Not really sure you're looking in the right place.
There's plenty of direction and conflict, it simply isn't earth shatteringly huge or mind crushingly important to the ponies.
2658656
Y'know, I have read this whole darn fic. Would I still be here if I needed drama to stay interested? The answer to that is no.
Throughout the story, AJ and Dash have feared what ponies will think of them, that's been the source of the conflict. But that conflict is pretty much over now, leaving them with only the minor concerns they discuss this chapter. I suppose the way I feel is that one part of the story has come to a close and now a new part needs to begin.
This was the fic that made AppleDash my favorite ship. I started reading it almost 10 months ago and it always makes me giggle like a school girl, and squee when it updates.
Its great to hear that your feeling better, you're truly one of the great authors on this site.
Erm.
2923635
I want to see where that mistake is O.O
3211594 You can't, It's been fixed.
Apple Bloom brutally suplexing Diamond Tiara through a school desk
Fanart.... Please?
Also if I can be 'that guy' for a moment, tickling is a serious issue. As a victim of unwanted and often unwarranted tickling, I find that such assault is very disturbing. Unlike other forms of abuse, tickling leaves no marks to show as signs of the abuse and is still used to this day as a form of torture on some people. Worst of all, is how tickling is often portrayed in a good-natured manner. Well I for one am appled... get it? 'Appled' 'Appalled' ... get it?
Wow, I had to reach for that one. Okay, jokes over, go home everybody.
Now that's a mental image worth saving...