Chocolate Covered Grapes

by Callisto

Chapter 4

It had not been a long night after Applejack sent off the lanterns. The sun was beginning the lighten the sky by the time Applejack and Rainbow Dash had found a tent to sleep in. Rainbow Dash had done her best to be comforting after that - trying to make her laugh, or offering comforting words. But she knew she was bad at the whole 'comfort' thing, so she finally had to resort to the only thing she could safely manage - listening. Of course, she had no idea what she was doing. But Applejack seemed to calm down for the most part.

In the privacy of their tent, Applejack reached out and touched Rainbow Dash's hooves, sending a prickly feeling up her rainbow mane. "It's getting so hard to remember them," she admitted. "Sure, we got pictures, and Granny's always tellin' stories like the one last night, and that makes me remember them. But it's gettin' hard to remember what their voices sounded like. Or how they look when Ah'm not lookin' at a picture of them. Or just those little things that make them mah parents. Ah don't know. Ah feel horrible, forgettin' mah parents like that."

"But it's natural, right?" Rainbow Dash asked, scooting a little closer, touching her forehead to Applejack's. "I mean, you were just a filly when you last saw them. You can't remember everything."

"Ah know," she said. wiping newly formed tears from the corners of her eyes. "Like Ah said, it's silly."

Rainbow Dash sighed. This was frustrating. "Oh, come on, AJ!" She said, pulling her head back to look the mare in the eyes. "So you're sad because you're forgetting your parents. Why does that make you feel silly?"

Applejack cringed. She had no answer to that.

Applejack closed her eyes. She was so tired from lack of sleep, traveling and crying - she didn't know how she was keeping her eyes open any longer. Rather than fight it any longer, she put her head down on Rainbow Dash's hooves. She thought vaguely about how warm Rainbow felt before she fell asleep.

Rainbow Dash looked down at the mare. Her feelings started to shift from concern and sympathy to longing. She was tempted to kiss Applejack on the top of her forehead, but she knew she couldn't. Instead, she watched her fall deeper into sleep, and waited for her to shift so she could reclaim her hooves. When it became obvious Applejack planned to use Rainbow's hooves as her pillow for the night, Rainbow Dash carefully withdrew them before gently setting Applejack's head down.

'It would be creepy to watch her sleep,' she thought. But she found herself doing that, anyways.

Applejack was so strong, but that night she had seemed so fragile and soft. Rainbow Dash was dying to hug her, bring her close to her, bury her face in her mane, and fall asleep like that. It was completely possible to do so, too, especially with how Applejack had just fallen asleep on her. She was only offering some comfort, after all.

Rainbow Dash repositioned herself next to Applejack. She laid down next to her, extended a wing over her.

So far, so good.

Applejack felt so warm. She was so still. Her chest rose and fell as she slept. She took few quick intakes of breath, residual from her crying.

Rainbow Dash drew back her wing and got up. No, she wasn't going to use her best friend's crying as an excuse to be closer than she needed to be. With a sigh, she sat down.

Applejack probably wouldn't have minded, either. It would have been innocent, right? At least, in Applejack's eyes, it would have.

The orange mare stretched in her sleep, and Rainbow Dash watched as she rolled onto her back, exposing her belly in an unbecoming fashion. It made the pegasus laugh. She wanted to poke her in the belly with her hoof, but didn't want to wake her up.

Instead, she fluffed her wings, laid down on the other side of the tent, and started to think.

She couldn't quiet her thoughts enough to get much sleep that night.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Applejack woke up in the tent alone. The light of the day was deadened by the dark tent material, but she knew it was some time in the middle of the day. She hoisted herself to her hooves, a blanket falling off of her, before rubbing her eyes. They were puffy from crying the night before. She ambled out of the tent.

The sun shined bright in her eyes. There were the two saddlebags loaded with food, supplies, and canteens. She took a canteen filled with water and lifted it to her lips.
Then the water started dripping to the ground. She had caught sight of the blue and rainbow maned pegasus flying through the sky with ease.

At first, Applejack was sure it was a repeat of what happened the day they had kissed. She watched her carefully for a few moments to see if she could recognize Rainbow Dash working too hard, or for that look on her face that she is so familiar with.

Applejack sighed with relief to see the contented look on Rainbow Dash's face. Her eyes were closed, letting the wind blow in her mane and tail. Her wings were spread long and still as she caught a thermal and rose up with little effort.

Rainbow Dash was really amazing in the air. It wasn't uncommon for her friends to gather around on the ground and just watch her perform. Sure, Applejack chided her many times on being the center of attention, but there were times she really earned it. She didn't fail to entertain, even if it meant a few crash landings in the process.

Applejack admired the precision with which Rainbow Dash flew, the concentration on her face combined with her carefree smile. In fact, just watching Rainbow made Applejack feel like she was having trouble catching her breath.

Applejack's ears folded back against her head. When did her heart start pounding? She hadn't even done anything to make it beat so fast. Actually, it was the first time she had felt this way at all - a funny feeling as though the earth beneath her hooves had dropped out and she was falling fast.

It was intense. It wasn't fleeting. It caused her to flush as she watched the mare flying above her.

Then Applejack's eyes widened. Oh, she was in trouble, and she knew it. It was one thing enjoying the kiss she received from her best friend, who just happened to be female. That in itself was terrifying for Applejack. The idea that she was so different from everypony else she knew, everypony else in her family, was to intimidating for her to take the thought process farther. But that moment, staring up at the care free mare, she realized that she didn't just want to keep kissing Rainbow Dash that day. It was that she only wanted to kiss Rainbow Dash every day.

Applejack dropped the canteen completely, spilling what was left of the water onto the ground. She tried to catch her breath. 'Okay,' she thought, rattled by the realization. 'You can't handle this. Ain't no reason this has to be a thing. This trip ain't about me and Rainbow, it's about me and mah parents. Just finish this trip, and maybe you can figure things out later...'

Applejack's looked back up to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow was looking at her, and their eyes locked. Applejack felt the panic rise up in her as the pegasus waved, then flew down to her. She landed on the grass, before folding her perfectly conditioned wings on her well toned back. Applejack's mouth hung ajar, appreciating Rainbow Dash's beauty in a way she never had before. Suddenly, kissing Rainbow Dash's wings took on a whole new meaning, and she understood why the pegasus had made a big deal about it even when she considered it a somewhat innocent gesture.

She really wanted to touch them. She had already kissed them, how bad would it be if she just stroked them?

"Hey, Applejack," Rainbow Dash said, her face red from the exertion of flying. She shook out her wings once before replacing them back on her back. "You didn't worry cause I wasn't there when you woke up, were you? I figured you'd know where to look for me. Man, I can't believe how sore my hooves are! How do you earth and unicorn ponies walk on them all day? I was just aching to fly! So, I decided to stretch my wings before you woke up. Been up there a few hours, now."

Applejack stared at Rainbow Dash's mane, tossled about from all of her flying. The blue pony was panting, wiping some sweat from her brow. It wasn't that Applejack meant to stare - more that she didn't know how to stop. "Uhh....yeah," she managed to answer.

Rainbow Dash looked at Applejack, who shook her head and looked away. The Pegasus narrowed her eyes. "You look flushed. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Applejack said quickly, staring at a spot on the ground.

"You're...acting a little funny," Rainbow Dash said, sitting on her haunches and tilting her head to the side. "It's not like I kissed you again last night."

Applejack guffawed all too loudly. "Oh, that's funny, Dash! Really!" She took a step back.

Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment. "Well," she said, eyeing Applejack with suspicion, "at least we can kid about it, now..." She took a step forward. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, Ah'm fine!" Applejack said, turning sideways away from Rainbow.

"Cause you look like something is wrong."

"Ah told you, Ah'm fine!"

"Then why can't you look at me?"

"Ah can look at you just fine!"

"Then look at me," Rainbow Dash said, frowning at the mare.

Applejack kept her head low, turned her head to the side, and settled her eyesight on Rainbow Dash's hooves. All she could remember was how Rainbow let her lay her head on her hooves. She wondered momentarily if it bothered the blue mare to have somepony touching her hooves. If it did, she didn't give any indication.

"There. Ah'm lookin' at ya."

"How about looking me in the eye?"

"We don't got time for games, Rainbow," Applejack said, turning away from the mare. "We gotta get ready for sundown! Ah'll go pack."

"I've already--" But before Rainbow Dash could finish, Applejack ran into the tent, the tent opening closing behind her. A moment later, Rainbow heard a 'konk", followed by an "Ow!" Then the tent started to tilt sideways. Tilted a little more. Then it completely collapsed on top of the orange pony inside. Once the tent cloth had settled, Rainbow Dash was staring at the shape of an orange pony underneath it.

Rainbow Dash tried hard not to laugh. After a moment of gathering herself, she asked. "You okay?"

Applejack was quiet for a moment, still not moving. "...yeah."

"Good." Then Rainbow Dash began to titter, before it turned into full blown laughter as she fell to her side, clutching her stomach.

-=-=-=-=-

Applejack was fiddling with her bag. Busy work. Again. Rainbow Dash watched her, shaking her head. "You know, you could get more sleep before we leave," she offered. Though, she felt exhausted, herself. She had barely gotten any sleep. "You were pretty tired last night."

"It's okay," she said.

Rainbow Dash frowned. She watched Applejack carefully, but she didn't find any indication to tell her exactly what was wrong. "Okay. I don't know what I did to make you act this way!"

"You..." Applejack said, shaking her head. What was she supposed to say, 'you flew'? "You didn't do anything wrong," she said, finally.

"Okay," Rainbow Dash said, suspicion evident in her voice. "Then why aren't you looking at me?"

Applejack sighed, closing her eyes and tilting her head up to the sky. Again, there were no words adequate for the situation. She tried to come up with some way of explaining it. 'Ah think Ah'm fallin' for you, but Ah'm really confused, and wish you weren't here by mah side right now so Ah can think.' Or 'Ah may or may not want to spend the rest of my life with you, but Ah really don't think mah dead parents would approve, and their opinion matters so much to me.' Just saying it in her head sounded so harsh and stupid, she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud. Applejack opted to take the cowards way out - that didn't involve smacking her head on a load-bearing tent pole. "Can we not talk about this right now?'

"Uh, yeah, we can," Rainbow said. "I thought we were getting along fine! What..." She stopped, eyes wide, as though she were caught red hoofed. "Is this about...last night?"

"No, Rainbow," Applejack said, shaking her head and sighing. "You were real sweet last night." Applejack hoped Rainbow didn't hear the longing in her voice when she said those words.

"Okay..." Rainbow Dash sat down and sighed. "Look. Do you want me to leave?"

Applejack's heart jumped into her throat. As confused as she felt at that moment, the idea of continuing that trip by herself was far too painful an idea to deal with. "No, sugarcube," Applejack said, finally looking to Rainbow Dash. She looked into those sad magenta eyes, and couldn't take her eyes off of them. "Ah'm so glad you're here."

"Okay," Rainbow Dash said, leaning back. Something had shifted between them at that moment. Something was very different. But Rainbow Dash couldn't pin point what.

Applejack's pried her eyes away, and went back to her bag. But she didn't even pretend to be putting things away. She was just deep in thought, staring at nothing, and then to the multicolored sky as the sun was dipping beneath the distant mountains. After a moment of quiet contemplation, she realized all the other ponies getting ready to leave that night. The star was going to be visible soon.

"If we leave now, maybe we won't get swept up in the crowd of ponies," Applejack said.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said. Without another word, the ponies put on their saddle bags and started on their journey for the night.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The two walked so slow. Again, they were quiet. This time, it wasn't peaceful. There may have been no words exchanged between them, but the volume of the silence was too high for either of them to be comfortable.

Rainbow Dash trudged alongside Applejack. Her hooves hurt. Her wings were itching with her desire to fly. And with the small herd of ponies they found themselves surrounded by, she found it hard to just settle into any comfortable pace. If she sped up, she would be blocked by ponies. If she slowed down, somepony would run into her. When she moved away from Applejack, she would get bumped by somepony else. And every time she wanted to get closer to Applejack, maybe ask her to walk somewhere else or on another path, Applejack seemed too distant to even begin to ask her. And to top it all off, she was tired.

Applejack, however, took some time to try and decipher what she was feeling. The last thing she needed was to ruin what they had between them by jumping in too soon. She was certain Rainbow Dash would be interested in her - any doubts of that were wiped away when she thought about that moment right between when they kissed and when she ran away. The way Rainbow Dash looked at her. The way she gently placed her hoof in order to pull Applejack forward. She was almost sorry she gave that moment up.

But until Applejack knew if she was going to be comfortable with bucking her family traditions, shucking everything she believed her parents wanted her to be, and living life so differently than she had envisioned, she didn't want to put their friendship and their feelings at risk. She knew there was no such thing as ever being completely sure. Maybe if she could get to a point where she wasn't thinking what everypony else would think, she would feel she could safely lean in for a kiss, and enjoy Rainbow's gentle lips.

"Watch it!" Rainbow Dash barked. Applejack turned to see a mare jump back from Rainbow. The blue mare looked particularly peeved, and the mare who knocked into her crouched down and walked away slowly.

Applejack frowned. "Y'okay, there, Rainbow?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, lowering her head, frowning. "I hate all these stupid travelers." One of said stupid travelers gave her a dirty look as they passed.

"Are ya hungry?" she asked. "Your actin' sorta crabby."

"Oh, am I?" Rainbow said sarcastically. "Well, you're just going to have to deal."

Applejack sighed. "You're in a mood right now."

"Well, you know what's funny?" Rainbow Dash said. "I was doing just fine this morning until you woke up!"

"W-what?" Applejack asked. Suddenly, any confusion about Rainbow Dash was gone. "You're blamin' your bad mood on me just 'cause Ah woke up?"

"Well, let's see," Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. "Wake up - everything is fine. Go flying - everything is fine. Applejack wakes up - lousy mood. Yup! Pretty sure it was you."

Applejack scoffed, stopping in her tracks, causing Rainbow to stop, and the small trickle of travelers to flow around them. "Rainbow! Where is this comin' from? This morning, you were concerned 'bout me. Last night, you were so considerate!"

"You can't just ignore me and expect me to be happy, Applejack," she said, flaring her wings. Rainbow Dash was a smaller mare than most other ponies. But with her eyes blazing with anger and her wings spread out in a threatening manner, even Applejack had to take a step back.

"Ah'm not ignoring you," the mare said after she recovered from the shock. "Ah just don't feel much like talkin' right now! Less, after all this!"

"Oh, that's just great, Applejack. First you beg me to stay with you, then you make me feel like I've done something wrong, then you tell me you don't want to talk to me?"

"Ah didn't--"

"You're so selfish! You know that?"

Applejack's words got stuck in her throat, leaving her mouth ajar while she tried to understand just which pony was the one saying she was selfish. After a moment, she managed get the words out. "Ah'm selfish? Me? After everything Ah've ever done for you, you can't go for two seconds without talkin'? You gotta go on thinkin' Ah'm ignorin' you? Ah've got a lot on mah mind!"

"Well, so do I! What do you think I was telling you, yesterday? That I'm just cruising over a field of flowers? What makes you so special that you can have a lot on your mind, but I can't?"

Applejack was vaguely aware of how out of control their argument had gotten. But once Applejack and Rainbow Dash got to really shouting it out, and no pony was around to stop them, they just descended deeper and deeper. There was no stopping Applejack, now. "Ah didn't say Ah was special! You, on the other hoof, have to make everything about you! Why can't you just sit back and be quiet and let me deal with this?"

"Sit back?!" Rainbow Dash said, flapping her wings and gaining some height, staring down at the orange pony. "Be quiet?!" Applejack knew Rainbow Dash was about to hammer into her with a barrage of words. Applejack even braced herself for it. She even watched as Rainbow Dash leaned forward, ready to scream at her at the top of her lungs.

Then Rainbow stopped. Her eyes widened as some realization came to her head. Her face went from angry to shocked. She stared past Applejack, as though she had been taken to a different point in time, and watched it unfurl before her eyes. Then, to Applejack's surprise, Rainbow Dash looked deeply hurt.

Applejack's heart jumped into her throat. She messed up, and bad. "Rainbow, Ah'm sorry," she said, not even knowing what she was apologizing for.

Rainbow Dash looked down at Applejack, before looking away, an indiscernable emotion on her face. "Whatever. I'm flying to the next rest station. I'll see you, there." With that, Rainbow Dash flew forward, leaving Applejack behind with passing travelers glancing at her before going on their way.

-=-=-=-=-

Applejack never thought she would see the day. Rainbow Dash just left her while they were on a journey together. Flew off and didn't come back to check on her. After such a huge fight, usually they would each need a few days to cool off, but they couldn't do that now.

And Applejack couldn't help but feel like it was all her fault. She had rarely seen Rainbow look so hurt. But when she put her mind to it, she could remember exactly when she looked that way.

One day, out in the orchard, she saw Rainbow with that look on her face. Her mother had chosen to hang out with her friend rather than spend the time she promised to spend with Rainbow. Another day, Rainbow had that exact look on her face. Her father bought Wonderbolt tickets for two - Rainbow was not one of the recipients. One other time she could remember, Rainbow had to rearrange her plans for her birthday. Her original plans with her parents had fallen through, though she never explained why.

She hadn't given much thought to what those conversations between Rainbow and her parents consisted of. But suddenly, Applejack could hear it so clearly in her head.

"You never listen to me! Why can't you just take two seconds to --"

"Rainbow, just sit down and be quiet."

Applejack had to stop walking at that point. She sank to the ground, put her hooves over her head, and groaned. How could she have messed up so much with a pony she cared about so much? If she could kick herself, she would deserve the bruise her own strong legs would give her.

She took a deep breath, got to her feet. 'Now, stop that, Applejack,' She told herself. 'You just gotta dust yourself off and fix this right quick.' She looked up at the star to make sure she was still going in the right direction. Then she galloped as fast as she could.

-=-=-=

Rainbow Dash waited in a tree near the festival grounds. It was pretty early, and the
ponies were just finishing setting up. She had managed to calm down for the most part, but the words were still burning inside of her. Even just thinking about them made her hooves grip hard onto the tree branch.

She was so angry, she didn't even know what she was angry about anymore. All her fury melted together, and she needed to do something about it.

She never did good with her temper. It was always there, right below the surface. When she was younger, she felt like she could stomp it out if she just moved around and kicked things enough. Growing older, she learned to let it out in small little bursts, and she would be fine. Sometimes her anger came out in unexpected ways.

Rainbow's ear twitched as the kiss came flooding back into her mind.

She shook her head of that memory. No, that was her effort to quell her anger, and it backfired on her.

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and took in a shaky breath. Thinking about Applejack, and the memory of the past few weeks, it was almost unbearable. She was wrong when she told Applejack that life goes on, and the world wouldn't stop for her. Her own world stopped, and she didn't know how to take part in the real world again.

The noise of a slow, somber music started, bringing Rainbow Dash's attention to the festival. They seemed to have set everything up by then.

She flapped her wings and floated to the ground. She would wait for Applejack there, though she wasn't sure if she even wanted to see her, now.

-=-=-=-=-

By the time Applejack arrived at the festival grounds, not much of the night had passed. Hopefully, she could make up with Rainbow Dash, and they could talk about things on the way to the next festival grounds for farther traveled ponies.

She didn't have time to catch her breath - she immediately began looking for Rainbow Dash. For such a colorful mare, she wasn't easy to spot. Applejack searched by the bonfires, by the lantern painting area, by the food - anywhere she could possibly be. She asked many of the ponies if they had seen her. At first, no pony knew who she was talking about. Then, the more ponies she asked, the more they knew who she was talking about. Until finally, somepony pointed her in the right direction.

Applejack followed the clues, until she was at the lantern launching area. There were a few ponies in line, heading up towards a hill where the launching took place. Applejack looked from the end of the line to the front of the line, until she spotted Rainbow Dash at the launch area. Her lantern was lit with a small flickering candle, and some indiscernible cutie mark painted on it. She sat on her haunches, staring at the lantern in her front hooves, wobbling slightly.

Applejack stared at the sight, shaking her head. Those lanterns weren't to be played with, they were supposed to be important!

But as Applejack got a little closer to the hill, she realized Rainbow Dash was talking to her lantern.

Applejack froze.

She couldn't take her eyes off the blue pony, having a one-sided conversation with her lantern. At times she shook it like she was mad at it, threatening to knock the candle inside over, and make the entire lantern catch fire. Finally, Rainbow Dash stopped talking, staring at her lantern again, shaking her head. She said one final thing, before releasing it, flapping her wings to make the lantern take flight faster. She stood up, defiant, though teetering slightly, as she watched the lantern fly off. Her tail flicked, before she turned and walked back down the hill.

Applejack sat down, disbelieving.

She really had been very selfish this trip...

-=-=-=-

Applejack kept her distance from Rainbow Dash, watching her from afar. She could see the pegasus had imbibed some alcohol just by the way she was walking. Not enough to get as bad as she was on the night of the bonfire, but bad enough that her judgment was not the best. The pegasus had taken a seat at the food tables, and was eating straight off the serving, making some ponies sneer at her before walking off.

Applejack decided to act.

She walked up to Rainbow Dash, and caught her attention with a gentle, "Hey, there, Sugarcube."

Rainbow Dash looked up, hoof halfway to her mouth with a treat. Applejack expected anger. Instead, the mare smiled and made a squeaking noise. "APPLEJACK!" she said, flying over the table and tackling the orange mare. She hugged her tight, knocking them both to the ground, while Rainbow Dash descended into giggles. "Where have you been?"

"Uh," Applejack said. "Walkin' here."

"Oh, you're so stupid. You should have flown!" Rainbow Dash got up, before she realized what she said and laughed to herself. "Oh, wait! You don't have wings!"

"Yeah. Ain't that somethin'."

"Oh! Applejack! You HAVE to try these!" She dragged Applejack to her feet, before tugging her over to a plate of food. "Can you believe they ACTUALLY have these?" She lifted up a plate of chocolate covered grapes.

"Oh," Applejack said, looking at Rainbow like she had gone insane. "Well...they're fancy."

"Oh, come on!" Rainbow Dash said, nudging Applejack. "Don't you remember when I was talking about it?" She popped one in her mouth, sucking on it with delight, before biting into the grape and swallowing. Then she reached for another one, and a thought attacked her so viciously, she nearly toppled over. "Oh, wait!" she said. "That wasn't you! That was Twilight. You're not supposed to know about that!"

"Alright..."

"But you HAVE to try one!" Rainbow Dash said, swinging over to Applejack and shoving a grape in her mouth. The rich, bitter taste of the dark chocolate overwhelmed her taste buds before she could chew on the grape. She liked sweets, but these were a little too much. Yet, Rainbow was trying to put another one in Applejack's mouth.

Applejack leaned her head back, turning her mouth. "They ain't mah cup of tea, Rainbow."

Rainbow Dash seemed almost hurt by those words, before she giggled at whatever thought passed her head. "Well, I guess it would be weird for you," she said, popping another into her mouth. "They're sooooo good."

"Sugar, YOU don't even like sweets," Applejack said, taking the tray from Rainbow Dash and placing it back down.

Rainbow Dash frowned. "But I like you!" she said. Then she turned to get the grapes again.

"Why don't you show me what else is here, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked, forcefully taking her away from the food table.

Rainbow Dash giggled. "I like it when you call me Sugarcube. Sugar. Cuuuube. It makes me all tingly."

Applejack was about to say something about that, before she smiled. "Really? Tingly?"

"You HAVE to drink with me," Rainbow Dash said, grabbing two mugs from another table and turning to Applejack. She started to sip hers while she held one out to Applejack. "It's soooo good. It's a hot cider. It's...just try it. I won't spoil it for you."

Applejack looked at the mug in her hooves, smelling the alcohol and feeling the warmth. She could see why Rainbow Dash would be instantaneously drawn to it. While normally, she would have no qualms about drinking with her best friend, now things were different. She looked at Rainbow Dash, trying to drink the cider, some of it dripping down the side of her mouth.

Not the most attractive she had seen her all day...

Still, the way she felt that morning had not gone away. Getting even a little drunk around her now could spell disaster. And flashing forward, with her issues still there, still pestering her, still waiting for some form of answer from some source that could never answer her, she didn't want to regret this moment, right here, where she decided to throw caution to the wind.

Applejack took in a deep breath. The cider smelled really good. Smelled like home. Smelled so comforting. And she had to put it back on the table.

Rainbow Dash, who in that short thought process, managed to polish off her mug, looked at Applejack's mug that she had just set down and picked it back up, sloshing the liquid in the mug and spilling a bit on her hoof. "Come on! What are you afraid of?" She put the mug to Applejack's lips and lifted it up like she was trying to get her to drink it. Instead, the liquid went up her nose and splashed on her coat.

Luckily it was warm and not hot.

Applejack spluttered, backing away from Rainbow Dash, and trying to shake the drink from her nose. "Rainbow!"

"Geesh, Applejack. Learn to drink, will you!" She started on that mug, as well.

"Rainbow!" Applejack said, putting a hoof on the top of the mug and glaring at the confused Pegasus. "This ain't the time or place to get drunk."

Rainbow Dash pulled the mug away from Applejack, and nudged her with her hoof. "Spoiled sport." She held out her hoof to keep Applejack at bay while she chugged down the contents of the mug.

"Ugh, Rainbow," Applejack said, knocking her hoof to the side. Rainbow Dash tossed down the mug.

The rest of the night, Applejack was chasing Rainbow Dash around the festival grounds. Even wobbly and drunk, she managed to be fast. At one point, Applejack had reigned Rainbow Dash in before she crashed into a booth. Then she had to fix the table of food that Rainbow Dash knocked into. When she had fixed that mess, Rainbow was already downing another mug of hard apple cider.

"Rainbow!" Applejack grabbed the mug from her.

"Thas MINE!" Rainbow moaned, reaching out for the mug. "I foun'it firss. Oh...!" She saw something else to catch her interest, and Applejack placed down the mug and ran after her.

She kept having to steer Rainbow away from the food tables. It was one thing when she was all over the food, but now she was just knocking into ponies trying to eat. While tugging onto one end of Rainbow's tail, Applejack's mouth salivated at the smells of the delicious foods available. She wished she had allowed Rainbow to keep shoving food into her mouth, as the way the night was going, she didn't think she would have any time to eat. Her stomach was already growling.

Rainbow was absolutely incoherent by the time she thought she should take over other ponies' bonfire stories with her own nonsense. "Tha' was when Ah said to da gator, 'Ahunoh whatchu mean. Chocolate'sa good as vanilla.' Then he was goin' ta be...are you gunna drink that?" She reached over to a mug a young mare was drinking. Applejack came by just in time to pull her away.

"Ah'm so sorry 'bout that," she said, dragging Rainbow Dash away.

By the time Rainbow Dash had gotten to be completely incoherent and yelling supposedly rude comments at any pony wbo just happened to be passing by, Applejack was exhausted. She made the mistake of looking at the food table, wondering if she could sneak a little bit of food before Rainbow Dash could cause any more trouble.

Then she turned around.

Rainbow Dash had disappeared.

Applejack shot up to her feet in panic. She started searching around the festival area in a panic. She caught sight of Rainbow by the lantern making area. She was carrying a lantern in her mouth and brought it up to one of the street lanterns they had set up for lighting. She stuck the lantern in the flame, causing it to catch fire, before tossing it into the air.

Applejack watched in horror as the burning lantern flew high into the air, before the fire began to engulf the rest of the paper. It was slowly coming back down to a vacant tent. For a moment, the lantern disappeared from sight behind the tent. Then the tent began to smolder.

There were screams, panic, ponies yelling, 'Fire!' Applejack raced over to the refreshments table, grabbed a pitcher of punch, and raced over to the fire. She threw the punch over the fire before it got out of control, putting it out.

Applejack panted, hearing the commotion around her. Then she heard somepony yell, "That's her!" Whipping around, Applejack saw two unicorn guard stallions walking up to Rainbow Dash, who was trying to stand up, though her hooves weren't cooperating.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Applejack followed closely, with concern, carrying Rainbow's pack on her back as the guards escorted her out of the grounds, enveloped in magic. "Just, please, don't hurt her!" Applejack said, keeping a watchful eye on Rainbow as she tried to fight weakly against the magic holding her in the air. "She's just really upset tonight! If y'all are so worried 'bout somethin' like this, why d'you even serve alcohol?"

"Most ponies can control themselves in events like these, ma'am," said the guard on the right.

"We can't punish all for the problems of one," said the guard on the left.

"Y'all are just askin' for a heap o' trouble servin' alcohol in events like these, if you ask me..."

With a gentle toss, Rainbow landed on the ground in a tangle of legs and wings, unable to get up in her intoxicated state. Applejack raced to her side, leaning down next to her, and stroking her mane as she moaned in pain. Then Applejack turned, angry, to the guards. "What's the big idea? There was no need to throw her like that!" She looked back to Rainbow, who was anything but present at that moment. "She just lost somepony. Is that some way to treat a pony in mournin'?"

"When they get in the way of other ponies," said one of the guards, "it's out job to protect the citizens who could abide by the rules." The guards turned and walked back to the festivities area.

Applejack glared at them until they were gone, then looked back down to Rainbow. She was breathing hard - she had fallen asleep.

Applejack looked around. She saw a spot near some trees that looked comfortable enough. "Alright, pony girl," Applejack said, trying to hoist Rainbow Dash onto her back. She was dead weight, and managed minor protests in the form of moans as Applejack struggled to lift her. "Time to sleep it off."

Rainbow Dash moaned again when Applejack finally got her onto her back. She breathed a sigh of relief before making her way over to the grassy spot under the trees.
"Af-lack," Rainbow managed to say. "Ahdun...feel...good."

"Don't you dare throw up on me," Applejack said, quickening her pace to the grass. She put Rainbow Dash down. The pegasus looked up at her, her eyes glossed over, her mouth slightly parted as the breath struggled through the small opening. "Rainbow," Applejack said, stroking her hair. "Rainbow, who was it? Your mama? Your papa?"

Rainbow's eyes fell heavy and she was snoring a moment later.

Applejack sighed. She carefully placed Rainbow on her side, did her best to fold her wings against her body instead of just splayed around in her drunken state. She wished she could go back to the festival and grab a blanket. But she didn't dare leave Rainbow alone the way she was. Instead, she laid down next to her to keep her warm, lay her head on the ground, thought about all the terrible thoughts that must have been going through Rainbow's head through the entire trip.

Applejack fell asleep feeling shameful for how little she knew about her friend's suffering, as the lanterns passed overhead.

Author's Note:

This. Chapter. Gave. Me. SOO. Many. Problems.
Anyways! enjoy.

Comments

[Taliesin of the Forest]

[Kail]

That was an interesting development.

[Desol]

Poor Rainbow.

Also, drunk Rainbow. She holds her liquor about as well as a sieve.

[DbzOrDie]

I want moar

Really nice chapter :)

[Yakurenazea]

Ohhh my heart aches seeing those sad parts! Some of those parts kinda got to me And yet I can't wait to see what comes next!! Update whenever possible! (Preferably sooner rather than later(I know your busy, take your time))

[RoughSketch2]

Wow. This story keeps getting better and better

[canius]

applause owch
Rainbow drunk
Gosh thats sad

[Jackie]

Consarn it, this story has surpassed all the awesomeness so far; it only gets better and better!
Damn it, I shouldn't be crying...

[BronyNeumo]

I think those two needed that. They'll have to confront their problems one by one before they can solve them. Great chapter as always!

[Hesitant Brony]

Booze.

That is all.

[JosephRascon1789]

Wow that was a great chapter........ Hell of an idea to serve drinks at a place where people are supose to be sad. That is something i can actully see happening. All in all i really like the story so far.

[Shadowflare15]

I think it's good that the story rises and falls from good to bad moments. It keeps me wanting to find out what happens next!

[TwilightUCrazy]

I think with this chapter, you missed an opportunity. With Applejack isolated and alone in the forest, predators would likely come out and take advantage of her tired state. Timber wolves, for example. Would have been a nice bit of chase suspense there, especially if it involved going back into the muddy bog from before.

th00.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2011/085/e/6/protecting_the_ones_you_love_by_johnjoseco-d3cj9by.jpg

... or similar. Just a thought.

[arancaytar]

"Can you believe they ACTUALLY have these?" She lifted up a plate of chocolate covered grapes.

Her lantern was lit with a small flickering candle, and some indiscernible cutie mark painted on it. She sat on her haunches, staring at the lantern in her front hooves, wobbling slightly.