Aw Shucks, Sugarcube

by Lack of Tact

An Apple Cider a Day

I laughed heartily as Rainbow finished her punchline. Had to hand it to her, she definitely could spin a good yarn! Could spin a good yarn? A good tale? A yarn-tale?! Shit, it's been so long, I can't even remember basic human euphemisms! Is it spinning a good yarntale? I wonder-

Rainbow smacking her hoof against my back pulls me from the second long surprise. I stare in faux-abated shock, "that's not even the best part!" I lean into the counter a little as she gets on with it, "I told Smokey Trail, 'if I catch ya peepin' on ol' Fluttershy again, you're gonna wanna be a tree, pal!'" Her laughter rings in my ears and I laugh along with her.

Why did she have to have the most gorgeous laugh?

"Damn, Dash! Gave the dude a run for his money, shows him right!" I guffaw a little, raising my arm back to the counter in front of me, Dash shrugs and takes a swig of her brew, "'nother hard sarsaparilla!" I shout to the barkeep. Turning my attention back to the cyan mare, I reply "any dude creep enough t'watch Fluttershy, is creep enough to wanna be a tree," Rainbow laughs again and I send a joking salute to the barkeep as she hands–hoofs? over my favourite drink to me from behind the counter.

Rainbow Dash wipes an invisible tear her eye, "that's exact'y what I said," she starts with a snort, bringing her alcoholic beverage back to her muzzle. Pulling it away after another swill, she frowns inquisitively as she stares at her reflection in the not-so-soft drink. "Dude ended up creeping on me a day later," she gives an awkward shiver and I snort, liquid almost shooting forth from my mouth.

That conniving bitch, she totally knew I'd laugh! Her eyes give a glint of mirthful disappointment as I don't, instead. The look in her eyes hardens as she smirks, "obviously~" she mentions almost sing-song, "he found out real quick not to."

At making a particular, ramming motion with her hooves, my hand finds itself over my mouth as I bust out laughing. Being buzzed, good thing. Being stupid buzzed, not so much. The harsh, biting taste of sarsaparilla doesn't feel all too well shooting out my nostrils. I look over at Rainbow with a silent, shocked expression.

And she busts out laughing even harder than I did.

I join in a moment later, ignoring the smell of hard alcohol overtaking my senses. All in good fun, we understand that. Guess that's why I kinda see her as a little sister-bro. Not like I'd ever tell her, of course. She'd totally think it uncool of me.

"Hey Track," her tone is more serious as her magenta eyes meet mine. The drunken haze in them seemingly replaced with another look altogether. "How're you an' AJ doing?" A familiar look, an all-knowing look.

And I frown. Figured she'd seen right through me, only horse on this planet who could have in the first place. I sigh a little, adjusting my ass on the seat that was just too little to support it. She looks up at me expectantly and I frown even further. "Still goin' strong, relationship issues," her eyebrows wriggle suggestively, "intimacy issues?" She finishes the question with a pop of her tongue and a cheeky grin on her face, "com'on, what?" She laughs out, but I don't return the noise in kind.

Rainbow stops her humorous tirade, noticing my lack of contribution to the matter. "Track, you two are good, right?" Her question echoes again in my head, but I force myself to refrain from answering. She's one of Applejack's best friends. She's loyalty personified, she'll always be one of Applejack's best friends.

Would she still be one of mine, if I told her? I bring the neck of the bottle back to my lips, pleased by the burning sensation running down my throat. Rainbow Dash's eyes flickers between several emotions and I can't decipher any of them. I sigh, "I don't know."

I really couldn't say even if I wanted to.

With that, the questioning drops entirely. Rainbow Dash tilts her drink towards her awaiting muzzle, and the silence that follows is an awkward one. Seeing as how I'm no longer interested in the subject, Dash elbows me gently in my side. I look over, down to her and her eyes almost glisten in challenge as our visual contact meets. She slams the rest of her drink down her gullet, practically letting the tankard roll off of the counter as she drops it back down with an audible clack.

I smirk at her attempt at cheering me up and match her enthusiasm for drink. I quaff the rest of the bitter liquid within my own bottle, even faster than she had. If I was anything in a past life, I was an alcoholic. I knew how to kill a bottle. And yes, I count my human life in the human world as a past life.

Feeling the euphoric, all-too-common rush of drunkenness washing over my body, its warmth raising almost tenfold, I smile. I'd beaten her in her own game. She's fast in the sky, me, I'm fast in the bar! Not that that's a good thing.

My nasally laugh at my own joke slurs out of my mouth in almost slow motion. The boisterous noise draws several eyes over to where we were seated. Yet for some unknown reason, I still laugh. And so does Rainbow as she joins in, her gaze not once leaving mine.

We both quiet down from the experience and I push myself away from the counter. I turn and fully face the cyan pegasus as my hip leans against it once more. Even with her attempt at levying the mood, my blue eyes never sparkle as they match hers. They would have, back in the day, but it was so hard to really be happy, wasn't it? Rainbow Dash saw this, but never said a thing. To her, her friend's joy just wasn't the same. Not like it used to be, not since I'd gotten with Applejack.

Applejack never let me hang out with Rainbow no more. Never told me why, just that I was to stop when we started seeing each other.

My friend's magenta eyes look so sad right now. Probably a fucking psychic and knows I'm thinking about the invisible barrier between us.

Applejack said I couldn't hang out with Rainbow Dash, anymore, said I had to cut back drinking, also. She didn't say I couldn't hang out in a bar, and if by some chance my best friend showed up, I couldn't talk to her then. That, and sarsaparillas ain't all too strong. See, I can be a conniving bitch, too.

I continue to stare into my best friend's eyes as I think of all of the restrictions I'd been put on lately. Unable to hang out with my buddy like this, unable to get absolutely shit-faced–much unlike right now. Maybe sarsaparillas are stronger than I thought? At that, an idea occurs to me; a drunk idea, a bad idea, but it occurs to me nonetheless. An emotion I'd seen before flickers behind magenta colored eyes, a coquettish lowering of lids and it seems Rainbow had the same mindset, as well.

It's slow at first, our faces nearing. It is our lips that collide in a heated battle of will in the bar; patrons ignore our war of tongues as her larger muscle wrestles with my own. I fight back her invading limb, pushing her tongue gently against my teeth as I try to worm my way into her mouth.

The taste of hard apple throws me for a loop and I have to open my eyes to make sure it isn't AJ in disguise. Definitely a harder drink than mine. Damn.

Seems she had me beat in that department.

Her tongue continues to push against mine and in the heat of the moment, as I pull away, words I never thought I'd hear–I hear. From my own mouth.

"I-I think I love ya, RD."

It was moaned between connections, but when the words deliver themselves to her ears, she recoils. Suddenly, as if aware of what was happening, she pushes herself from me. Weakly, feebly. Like she didn't want to.

And I stop myself as well.

I'm not drunk, no—enough alcohol in me to make bad, sober-enough decisions though, yes. I can't do this to her.

Even though I already did.

Didn't I just refer to Rainbow as my sister, where was that?! Am I that starved for love–for lust, that I'd taken it out on her? I didn't want her to think that! That I'm some kinda pervert like in her story!

Her eyes have yet to meet mine again. Her cheeks a dark red, her ears splay against the sides of her noggin. She doesn't say a thing.

"Aw, shucks, sugarcube! Fancy catching you n' RD here!"

And I find out why, real quick.

Author's Note:

We all know that bar scene, we just happened to jump into the ass end of it.

Dramaaaa!

What happens next? Surpsingly enough, cute shit.

as per the norm, i will totally edit this when i remember to.

Comments

[toshibafox]

sorry whoever wrote this, but can't see rainbow dash as anything other than a bro. Thus can't get behind any stories where she's a romantic interests.

Still going to read and leave thumbs up with hopes you can change my mind on that matter.

[Lack of Tact]

10569849

Nah, s'all good dude, no need to apologize! Everyone has their opinion, and in your case, I agree!

RD is definitely more bromance material than romance material, amiright? I just wanted to test the waters with it a bit. Normally don't work with her in stories, y'know, so she might be a tid off either way lol.

Thanks for your opinion, man!