Behind the Wheel
Chapter XIII: Behind the Wheel
The smell of dirt and apples is ever present as Sunset and I walk down the road. Nothing but the trees surround us, reminding me just how far away by foot the Apple Family farm is. We could have taken the motorcycle, but the engine wouldn’t start today. I was willing to just sleep in, but Sunset promised that we could get ice cream on our way back home. It’s funny that she thought that was a bribe. It’s not the ice cream I’m tempted by. It’s the thought of her smile when she gets ice cream…
“If I knew the motorcycle wasn’t going to start, I would have set an alarm for earlier in the morning,” Sunset tells me cheerfully, nudging me with her shoulder.
“I wouldn’t have. I would have just slept on you some more,” I tease her with a roll of my eyes, chuckling at her statement. Honestly, I expect to hear Sunset giggle along with me, but I don’t hear it at all. Did I say a bad joke…? Raising my eyebrow, I look to my right. Within an instant, something is pressed against my lips, making my cheeks flush and my eyes open wider. Sunset pushes her mouth against mine with seemingly no shame at all, making my heart beat faster. My face feels so hot from just one action… Pulling away, Sunset gives me a cheeky smile, owning up to her kiss. I… I… “W-what was that for?” I barely ask, still trying to calm my nerves from the sudden embrace. That was quite the surprise…
“I just wanted to~” she tells me with a wink, grabbing my hand in hers. Honestly, I should have her figured out by now. She and I have been an item for a couple of years, but even now, her mysterious behavior is so hard to predict. She’s so hard to pin down and I can’t help but love that about her. That lively attitude with a new plan every day… It’s that same attitude I will probably rely on the most when it comes to this trip.
“Sunset?” I ask her quietly, looking ahead of us down the empty road. I can see Sunset’s gaze turn to me from my peripheral vision, but I keep my eyes forward. Without me even realizing it, my hand wandered up to my scarf, making me wonder how often that happens. This purple scarf has always been here with me, even when Sunset and I are separated. I guess it makes sense why it means so much to me… “You… don’t have to come with me, you know,” I tell her quietly, only the sounds of birds and our footsteps accompanying my words.
Sunset doesn’t say anything for a moment, looking down the road with a slight shrug. “It’s been a while since I have gone to the Apple Family farm. I don’t really see the harm in it,” she tells me with a chuckle, her hand still holding onto my own. For a second, I can’t help but find her misunderstanding humorous, looking at her with a small smile. However, my smile disappears just as quickly as it appeared.
“No, that’s not what I meant… I meant this whole trip. The whole goal is to find Aria and Sonata so I can finally apologize to them. Now that I know where they roughly are, you… don’t have to come along if you don’t want to.” Her expression slowly turns to a more solemn one as she nods to my statement, seemingly thinking it over. The last thing I want to do is to make her upset or sad. I guess the only reason I was thinking of that is because… I don’t want to inconvenience her. I hope this trip doesn’t inconvenience her in any way…
“Adagio,” She says quietly, looking over to me with a kind yet serious expression. She stops us in the middle of the road, making sure I give her my full attention. “When I said I’m here for you no matter what, I meant it. I will always support you. This is a big step for you, Alligator,” she tells me with an emphasis on the last part, holding my hands up to chest height. “And I will be here to hold your hand in this step and every one after it. So, yes. I want to come with you.” Sunset’s eyes have an overwhelming sense of truth behind them, giving me a beautiful smile of sincerity. When Sunset looks like this, it is hard to ignore her. It is so hard to not let her influence my thoughts.
“Why do you always do that?” I ask her with a small chuckle, staring into her eyes with wonder.
“Do what?” she asks me with a curious look replacing her previous sincere smile.
“Why do you always mean so much to me? Why do you always influence my thoughts?” Chuckling a little more, I can’t help but count myself lucky. Lucky to be here with her and to have her in my life. “Honestly, I sometimes feel like our relationship is unequal due to how much you influence me.” Sunset raises her eyebrow before gently laughing at my statement, pulling my hand along as we continue to walk down the road.
“You are a huge part of my life too, Adagio. Why do you think I get you surprise treats all the time? Or make such a big deal about special days?” Sunset nudges me with a smirk, kissing my cheek without any hint beforehand. My cheeks flush in response and I can’t do anything about it.
“Well, I’m glad I’m a big part of your life too. I love you so much, Sunset~” Pressing my shoulder against hers, I let myself feel vulnerable in her presence, dropping the confident persona and just letting myself be with her.
“I love you too, Alligator~” she gently whispers, a dreamy tone to her voice as our pace slows down. The Apple Family farm is still not in sight, but we will get there eventually. All I want to do is enjoy this moment with the one I lo-
“Well, this ain’t what I was expecting!” a young voice exclaims, making me jump. Sunset and I both look at the fence beside the road, seeing a teenager with yellow skin and a magenta bow laughing at us. Apple Bloom takes a bite of her farm’s signature fruit, giving us a smug look with a raised eyebrow. “Hiya! How are ya doing?” she asks us casually as if she hadn’t just been eavesdropping on us.
“Apple Bloom, why are you here?” I ask her with a slightly annoyed tone. Even though I didn’t want our moment to be interrupted, Sunset gives my hand a small squeeze to tell me it’s alright.
“I was looking for y’all actually. My big sis was wondering if you two would be showing up or not, so I offered to go look for ya.” Taking another bite of her treat, Apple Bloom quickly slides over the fence as if it is nothing. She’s too old to be this childish, but she doesn’t let anyone tell her that. It is one of her inspirational factors.
“Let me guess. Because you were bored?” A pout coming from Apple Bloom only confirms my suspicions, laughing at how predictable she is. Sunset looks at both of us and simply giggles along with me before Apple Bloom rolls her eyes.
“Like I can help it. All my big sis has been doing for a week now is trying to learn how to drive a RV. I don’t even know why.” Apple Bloom looks at me and gives me a small sigh of exhaustion, clearly annoyed. “I would take any excuse to get out of helping her with that. Even picking up all the branches in the orchard. If you know how difficult that is, then you would understand what kind of hell I’m talking about.”
“Thankfully, I don’t live on a farm. I live in a house,” I tease her with a chuckle, only causing Apple Bloom to stick her tongue out at me. The teenager quickly skips from our side to the road in front of us, walking backward to keep her eyes on us.
“I coulda done something else. Instead, I wanted to come see ya. Maybe my presence isn’t appreciated?” Apple Bloom asks me with a raised eyebrow, smirking at me. I have to admit, her question got me. If I say that she was interrupting our moment, then it would look bad on me. She got me and she knows it. It’s humorous, honestly.
“Your presence is usually appreciated,” I fire back with a laugh, making a confused expression come over her. Apple Bloom quickly laughs at my joke as well, taking the last bite of her apple into her mouth.
“Good one. Now fess up. Why is my big sis trying to learn how to drive a RV? All she said was that you would have to tell me.” Apple Bloom’s eyes look at me with a questioning stare, waiting for an answer to her inquiry. Honestly, I didn’t tell Apple Bloom because I had thought Applejack would have told her. Why did she wait for me to tell her…?
“Well, I’m going on a trip with Sunset, Applejack, and our friends. I-”
“So, like a vacation?” she interrupts me, her attitude increasingly inquisitive.
“I wish I could say it is one of pleasure. However, this trip is more of a personal matter.” My mouth stops moving after saying those words. I can’t seem to find the next words to get my point across. Even though Apple Bloom and Sunset are looking at me expectantly, I can’t find the words. Taking a deep breath, I look towards the sky. “Apple Bloom, remember how I’ve pretty much apologized to everyone I could from Canterlot High?” Well, everyone I could… Some people moved away from Canterlot City. Some of them weren’t open to meeting. But I apologized to as many people as I could.
“Yeah. I’m still proud of ya, by the way. What about it?” A cautious look dawns on her face, looking at me with a concerned expression. In no way do I want to worry her, so I do my best to think of my next few words as quickly as I can.
“Well, there are two more people I need to apologize to before I can truly move on and marry this sweetheart here,” I tell her while nodding my head to Sunset, causing my fiancée to roll her eyes with a humorous look on her face. “I need to find Aria and Sonata. I wronged them a lot before and-”
Before I can finish, Apple Bloom holds her hand up, nodding slowly. Her expression doesn’t reflect any solid emotion. Instead, it just looks like she is… thinking. “That’s really honorable of ya, Adagio,” she tells me quietly, staring at me with a prideful smile and a tear sliding down her cheek. “God, I am so proud of ya,” Apple Bloom whispers with a couple more tears falling down her cheeks. Did I do something to make her cry…?
“Apple-” Within a moment, Apple Bloom embraces me in a hug, forcing the air out of my lungs. I’m not sure why she started crying, but I accept her hug regardless, letting go of Sunset’s hand for the moment.
“You’ve changed a lot. Don’t let anyone tell ya what you can and can’t do,” Apple Bloom tells me with a chuckle, seemingly forcing herself to stop crying. Her head rests on my shoulder for a few seconds longer before breaking the hug, stepping back with a big smile. “Come on. We should get to everyone else~” Turning around, Apple Bloom leads the way down the road. Sunset simply chuckles at the situation, making me raise my eyebrow.
“You two are good friends,” Sunset whispers to me, pressing her shoulder against my own. I can’t help but roll my eyes, shaking my head. I can’t exactly help it. Apple Bloom is the one who started this friendship. Still though. I can’t exactly say I hate it. Apple Bloom is a good friend.
“Only by coincidence really.”
==========================================================
Applejack’s flashlight dashes around all of the luggage lined up, the little light reflecting off of her face. The RV is big and green, but I can’t really complain. Fluttershy is the one who bought it after all. For some reason, Applejack decided to park it in front of Rarity’s house and asked for us to meet at night. The moon shines down on us and I can’t help but tap my foot a little, hearing the only sound of crickets filling the night air.
“Rainbow. Where’s your luggage?” Applejack asks our friend with a pretty strict face, causing Rainbow Dash to raise her eyebrow. The suitcase beside her answers her question without any words being said.
“What? I was supposed to put it in that line?” Dash asks her with an annoyed tone, sighing before handing the suitcase to Applejack. Ever since she got here, Rainbow Dash has barely said a word. Again, she’s wearing the least flashy clothing possible and barely has anything more than a small frown on her face. Rarity, on the other hand, is the most flashy person here. Then again, I am a close second with my purple high heeled boots, leather jacket, spiked headband and my glittery belt on my jean shorts. The only part of my outfit that is more modest than everything else is my purple scarf. It doesn’t technically match with the rest of the look, but I wouldn’t go on this trip without it. Sunset gave me most of this outfit, but the scarf… It means a lot to me…
“Rares, ya can’t bring five bags. We’re going to be staying at each hotel for one or two nights at most. You’ll have to cut down your luggage,” Applejack tells her girlfriend with a deep sigh, sounding like she’s done this all before.
“Wha?! You can’t expect me to go on this trip without the essentials, darling! I have to look my best after all,” Rarity responds with surprise, throwing her hair back dramatically. Applejack simply raises her eyebrow without moving her lips an inch from the frown she’s had on her face. “Well, um… Maybe not all of it is absolutely ‘essential.’”
“Rarity, you have five bags. Everyone else has one or two at most. You can’t tell me that you need all of that,” Rainbow Dash cuts in with an annoyed tone before Applejack can say anything. Even though Dash would usually accompany her snide remark with a joke to ease the statement, no such joke comes this time around. Instead, Rarity only receives a stare that simply says that Dash is done with this. Done with the world itself. Whatever is on Dash’s mind is still eating away at me…
Raising my hand, I open my mouth to say something, but Sunset steps in front of me, walking over to Rarity’s bags.
“Could you try to lower the count to three? I think that would really help us,” Sunset asks Rarity with the same kind tone she’s always used. She’s really good at detecting when there’s tension in the air and solving whatever problem there is before it arises. In a way, that trait of hers makes me love her even more.
Rarity slowly nods and finally points at two of the bags that she had brought, much to her own disappointment. Applejack finally seems content with the bag count, looking at each bag for a few seconds. Quickly, she loads the bags into the storage compartment at the bottom of the RV, making sure to not damage anyone’s belongings.
“Before we do anything, let’s make sure we all have our affairs in order,” Applejack tells the group in a leading tone of voice. I can’t help but take the moment to step back from everyone else, knowing that I’ve already done everything I can to prepare for this trip. Still… It wouldn’t hurt to check. Opening my bag, I look throughout the contents, making sure I have everything. Sure enough, my fake I.D. is still there as well as the maps and the energy reader. All of which are gifts from Rich due to the deal that siren made. Was this her plan all along? To make a trip of some kind? And if her plan does involve Aria and Sonata, am I just playing into her hand?
Shaking my head, I dig deeper into my bag. The glass container with those familiar red shards always taunts me whenever I see it. For some reason, they don’t have as big of an impact as the revolver at the bottom of the bag. The shine of the trigger makes my heart beat just a little faster than the red gem ever could… Quickly taking my eyes off it, I make sure that everything else is in place, only serving as an excuse to compose myself.
“Alligator?” a gentle voice whispers in my ear, making me look back at the love of my life. Her caring gaze shows me that she’s worried about me. I don’t know why though… “Are you alright?” Sunset asks me, her hand gently resting on my shoulder. My eyes look towards the others, seeing Pinkie Pie going through her luggage like a wild animal. Bits and pieces of a “lost sock” make it to my ear. It seems that the party machine will keep everyone busy for a little bit…
“To be honest? No. I’m not,” I tell her quietly with a small sigh, pressing my forehead against the palm of my hand. “I’m used to being prepared. I try to have a plan whenever it is possible, but for this? I don’t have a plan. I can’t reliably guess what is going to happen, and you know something? That scares me. Maybe I’m just a control freak, but still. Sometimes, I don’t know how you can do it, Sunny. You know. Deal with the uncertainty.” Shaking my head, my eyes wander towards the ground, trying my best to keep up my confident exterior. Before I can say anything, Sunset wraps her arms around me, holding me in her warm embrace. No matter what happens, Sunset always seems to know exactly what to do. That is just one of the many reasons I admire her…
“Adagio, I know you like being in control. I know you hate uncertainty. You want to seem confident in yourself, but things like this always make that a bit more difficult.” Sunset’s fingers brush through my hair as gently as possible, making me want to melt in her touch. If we weren’t in the presence of our friends, I probably would have. “As much as I may want to tell you that this isn’t as scary as it seems, I would be lying. There is a lot of uncertainty and I can’t get rid of it. But I do want you to remember that I’m here with you. I’ll be with you for this whole journey, no matter what.” Pressing her lips against my cheek, Sunset gives me a smile, reassuring me the best way she can. Looking back at our friends, Sunset and I notice that they’re almost done checking with each other. Rarity makes some dramatic comment that she had to cancel her spa appointment for Friday, and Rainbow Dash looks at her phone before agreeing that she’s gotten everything taken care of in a monotone voice. “Looks like everyone is just about ready,” Sunset tells me quietly, connecting our hands with a nod. “Are you ready to go?”
My heart beats faster as I look at the RV, an anxious feeling rising in my chest. As soon as I step onto that vehicle, it’ll be too late to back down. All we need to do is get on and then we will be on our way to find Sonata and Aria. As nerve wracking as this is, I know I have to do this. I want to find them. Even if they are a part of her plan, I will have to find a way to stop that.
Taking a deep breath, I nod to Sunset’s question, holding her hand a little tighter.
“I’m ready.”
Well... It's been a while since I've updated this story. I figured I would go ahead and update this with the final bit of story right before we go on the main trip~ 
Yes, I used this chapter as an excuse to squeeze in one more scene with Apple Bloom, but can you blame me? It will be a while before we see her again. Actually, I have been thinking about writing a couple of chapters from Apple Bloom's point of view, taking place over this trip's time span. Obviously, this would happen in a different story entry as to not take away from the flow of this one, but yeah. Tell me what you think~ I hope you're all excited to see what Sonata and Aria have been up to~ I'd say in chapter... 18? Chapter 18? Yeah, chapter 18 sounds good.
Stats
Page generated in 0.019 seconds
Total duration
1,062 users online
1,852,541 hits today, 2,244,100 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.®
It's still something to be proud of.
If you say so.
Ya think?
Imo, she really shouldn't have that gun.
I wonder about the uncertainty too. That's been on my mind a lot lately with the fact I might be moving out to attend a college I'm thinking on transferring to.
No turning back now.
If you want to write side stories I’d say go for it. I’d read em’. In the end though it’s all about what you want to do.
11572239
Don't worry, I have a plan for that gun~
Uncertainty is definitely a big part of life. It has been nagging me a lot this finals week. Maybe that's why I decided to write about it. Regardless, the next chapter won't be in Canterlot City, that is for sure~
11572932
I have definitely thought about the idea of multiple Apple Bloom side stories, especially since she is such an integral part of this whole story. (Ikr? Why would Apple Bloom be a big part of a story about Adagio Dazzle and her love for a certain pony?) Regardless, Apple Bloom is a big part and I have some plans to give her more of the spotlight in some cases~
Also, you say you will read them if I make them. Honestly, that surprises me. I can't help but feel surprised at just how long you've stuck with my series, especially since most people get bored by this point. Thanks for that~ I guess it also makes me wonder what about my writing has made you so interested to read everything I post.
11573031
Well you’re talented and I enjoy reading what you write. It’s kind of hard to explain beyond that, honestly.
11573031
Though I wanted to ask, would Diamond Tiara make a return?
11573215
I'm glad you like what I write~
Thank you so much for the compliment~
11573219
See, one plot line I have been setting up is the whole dynamic between Diamond Tiara and Apple Bloom. I haven't gotten to explore it that much, but with the side stories from Apple Bloom's point of view, you can bet we're going to get quite a bit of Diamond Tiara~ 
Of course, there will be some Adagio as well in those stories, but that dynamic with Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara is definitely something I want to explore more.
Would she make a return?