Awkward, But Worth It

by bahatumay

That First Confession

Rainbow Dash took a steadying breath before pushing open the kitchen door. There, amidst a large selection of pie tins, apples, and bags of flour and sugar, stood Applejack, looking just as good as she always did. Even with flour on her face and wearing an apron, Applejack looked good.

Rainbow found it interesting that only now did she smell the apple pies cooking. Of course, that might have also been a spell Twilight put on the kitchen to keep the burnt smells inside. That sounds like something she would do.

No. No. She was going to focus and she was going to do this!

"H- hey, Applejack," she said, mentally cursing herself as she heard her voice shake.

"Rainbow Dash," Applejack greeted her coolly.

"So..." Rainbow subconsciously scratched the back of her neck. "How much of that did you hear?"

Applejack's voice was calm and fairly emotionless as she replied, "Ah heard a lot of yellin' at Twilight, and Ah'm pretty sure Ah heard my name. That's about it."

Oh yeah. Because if Twilight kept a sound-proofing spell on the kitchen, she wouldn't be able to hear Spike calling her no no focus!

"I've got something important to tell you," Rainbow said, taking another step forward.

Applejack nodded.

"It's real important."

Applejack nodded.

"I'm going to tell you now."

Applejack nodded.

Rainbow wilted. "I can't tell you."

She turned and sprinted out, wings flaring and ready to make her escape. Or, she would have escaped, but Applejack was quicker. She grabbed her tail with her mouth and yanked her back, slamming the pegasus down on the ground, leaving her on her back, slightly winded, with hooves and wings splayed out. Before Rainbow could recover, Applejack was straddling her, holding her down.

"Nuh-uh. You don't get to pique my curiosity and then leave like that. You spill, or Ah'll never let you leave."

Rainbow tried to remember what she was going to say, but was having trouble. Currently, Applejack was straddling her. Applejack. The mare she had dreamed about. Straddling her. No, there was no bodily contact. But there could have been. So close to her, to her warm breath, to her mane, to her tail, to what lay underneath her tail no no focus Rainbow!

"G- get off me and I will," Rainbow promised.

Applejack narrowed an eye suspiciously, but finally agreed. She took a step back and let Rainbow sit up.

"It's..." Rainbow became painfully aware of the fact that her wings had not retreated to their normal location on her side. "It's awkward."

"So?"

"It's..." Argh! She was Rainbow Dash! The most awesomest of pegasi! She could pull off a Sonic Rainboom at will! She could fly blind into a storm! She didn't even flinch at flying headfirst through fog! The Everfree Forest couldn't stop her! Why, why, why couldn't she say those four simple words?

"I can't tell you."

Ugh. Her wings clamped against her sides in shame. Totally not the four words she was wanting to say.

Applejack raised an eyebrow.

"Please." Rainbow wasn't even sure what she was asking for.

Applejack tapped her chin. "Well, if'n you can't tell me, maybe you c'n tell something else."

Rainbow looked up in confusion. Applejack walked over to the counter and picked an apple up in her mouth. She then set it on the kitchen table and tapped the seat, inviting Rainbow to sit.

"What's this for?" Rainbow asked, accepting the seat.

"If'n you can't tell me, maybe you can tell the apple."

That was stupid enough that it might actually work. Rainbow looked at the red apple. She then looked at Applejack's flank and saw three identical apples there. She looked back at the apple on the table. Then back at the apples on her flank. Then up at Applejack.

"Yeah... this isn't going to work."

Applejack rolled her eyes.

"Well, maybe it will. But not an apple."

"There ain't nothin' wrong with talkin' to apples," Applejack muttered under her breath, but she retrieved the apple, tossed it up, and caught it with her mouth. Seeing no reason to waste the apple, she took a big bite, spraying apple juice everywhere.

Rainbow Dash tried really hard to ignore the way Applejack's tongue slid around, catching the remains of the apple juice around her mouth. Luckily, Applejack's eyes were closed and she seemed fairly concentrated on eating her apple, and didn't notice Rainbow's awkward shift on her seat or those awkward shoulder rolls a pegasus does when she's trying to make sure her wings stay down.

Having finished the apple, Applejack turned and slid a pitcher of water in front of Rainbow Dash. "Better?"

"Yeah." Rainbow looked at her disfigured reflection and if she tried really hard, she could pretend it was just her, in her room, practicing her confession on her reflection.

"So... hi."

"Hi," Applejack said.

"Could you... not answer, please?"

"Sorry," Applejack said, taking a respectful step back.

"Thanks. Um... yeah." Rainbow Dash set her eyes firmly on the pitcher, not looking up once. "So... there's this mare. She's an amazing mare. She's an earth pony, but that's cool. She works hard at everything she does. She doesn't give up. Like, ever. And it really doesn't help that she looks amazing."

Rainbow Dash didn't see Applejack roll her eyes.

"She's strong, she's fast, she's awesome, she's... she's perfect, ok? But the thing is, she's got a plan. She knows what she's doing with her life. And, I got plans, too. I am going to be a Wonderbolt." She jabbed a hoof at her reflection. "And you know it."

Applejack wasn't entirely sure that the metal pitcher was aware of anything of that nature, but she good-naturedly kept silent.

"The thing is, I lo... I lo-" Rainbow exhaled sharply before blurting, "I love her, ok? But I don't even know if she'd like me back. And even if she did, it might never work out. What happens when I'm on tour and she's at home? She can't come with me. She has apples to tend to, you know? And her family. You can't just walk away from that. I know that."

It was at this point that Applejack realized that she might have had a bigger part in this one-sided conversation than she had previously thought.

Unless, of course, Rainbow Dash was referring to Apple Bloom. In that case, the pegasus would probably never leave this kitchen alive.

Unaware just how close to death she was walking, Rainbow Dash continued blindly. "What I don't know is if she likes me back." She snorted. "Heck, I don't even know if she's into mares. But I hope she is. Because if I get another one of those dreams about those apples on her flanks again, I'm going to need a new sleeping cloud."

Applejack tilted her head. Why would... oh. Oh. Her eyes flew open as she understood. She wasn't certain if she should feel flattered or disgusted. Probably a little bit of both, with a little more of the latter.

"And I really want to tell her. Not the cloud thing; the 'I love her' thing. I want to tell her how good I feel around her. I want to tell her how she makes me a better pony. She makes me push myself harder. But that's not it. I want to feel her body against mine, I want to hold her and be held. I want to make a huge thunderstorm and curl up with her in front of a fire and have it be just us and the rain in the whole world and that's it."

Applejack had never heard such sappiness. The fact that it was coming from Rainbow Dash made it even weirder. All of her logic circuits protested this violently. And yet... why did it sound so right?

"But even if she does like me back, it might never work. But I have to tell her, because if I don't, I'm going to go insane. But if I don't tell her, and she likes me back..." Exhaling sharply, Rainbow Dash slammed her head against the table and left it there. "It's hopeless," she muttered.

Deep in her pit of despair, Rainbow Dash felt two hooves wrap around her body. "It's never hopeless," a voice whispered in her ear.

"Never?" Rainbow asked, looking back up at the pitcher with new hope in her eyes. "But... Applejack..."

"Applejack has had to run the entire farm for years now. Every year, Big Mac crunches the numbers and says it's impossible for the orchard to survive another year. And every year, Ah prove him wrong."

A spark of hope lit in Rainbow's heart. "So..."

"Ah ain't sayin' anything one way or the other. Ah'll be honest here--love ain't somethin' Ah know a lot about. Never had a special somepony, and fer a while, thought Ah never would. But Ah am sayin', Ah've fought stacked odds before, and Ah've always come out on top. So the odds are stacked against us bein' us. So what? That's never stopped me before, and it ain't gonna stop me now."

"You're saying..."

"If you want to be my marefriend, Ah'll gladly try my darndest to make it work out if you will."

Rainbow Dash could breathe again. That ten ton weight removed itself from her shoulders. She felt light and free for the first time in... first time in a long time, actually. "I'm so happy, I could kiss you."

"Ah think that's a wonderful idea." Applejack closed her eyes and tried to slow her heart rate. This would be her first kiss! Various questions flew through her mind. What would it be like? Would it taste like anything? Would it be messy? Would it feel good? What if she wasn't a good kisser? What would happen then?

But everything ground to a halt when she heard the sound of kissing but felt nothing. Opening her eyes, she saw Rainbow Dash kissing the object of her desires: the metal pitcher she had been talking to earlier.

"Oh, come on!" Applejack yelled, shoving Rainbow forward before standing up and moving away.

Rainbow Dash laughed as she set down the pitcher. "Oh, the look on your face was priceless!" she chortled.

Applejack brusquely pulled her hat further down on her head. "That wasn't funny."

"It was a bit funny. Come on, admit it!"

"No." Applejack returned to the counter and began peeling apples again.

Rainbow sidled up to her and rested her head against Applejack's shoulder. Subconsciously, her wingtip reached out and brushed against that delectable trio of apples on the earth pony's flank. "It was a bit funny," she said. "Can we... you know... kiss now?"

"No."

Rainbow was taken aback. "What?"

"Ya ruined th' mood, Rainbow, 'n' Ah ain't feelin' romantic-like in the slightest no more."

Rainbow Dash was no linguist, but she knew that Applejack's accent showed through a lot more strongly when she was upset; and now was obviously one of those times. Her face fell and she withdrew her body a pace. "So... when might you get that feeling back?"

The tiniest hint of red appeared on Applejack's cheeks even as her voice came out rough. "Maybe tonight, under the moonlight, 'round ten thirty in the east meadow. Now go away. Ah got a big load of apple pies t' make and you've already wasted a lotta my time."

"I'll go away," Rainbow grinned, "...for a price." She closed her eyes and puckered her lips. Her eyes quickly widened when she felt the touch of Applejack's mouth; not on her lips, but on her tail.

Rainbow Dash flew through the air, crashing through the kitchen door and landing on the hardwood floor of the library, skidding across the ground and only stopping when she slammed into the exterior wall. She stood up shakily. "You took that better than I was expecting," she commented.

"Go 'way, Rainbow," Applejack called from within the kitchen.

"Tonight, then. Ten thirty. East meadow."

"Go 'way, Rainbow."

"Do we get to do cutie mark play, too, or is that too far for a first kiss?"

This time, Rainbow Dash could almost hear the flush in her cheeks as Applejack shouted again, louder this time, "Go 'way, Rainbow!"

Rainbow chuckled. Oh, yeah. Those apples on her flank were as good as hers.

It wasn't until Rainbow was halfway across town that a new thought occurred to her.

She had no idea how to kiss another pony.

Author's Note:

Poor Rainbow. She really can't plan ahead well, can she?
That's ok. Neither can I.

Comments

[Tchernobog]

Oh, this is even better than I thought it would be!

Unless, of course, Rainbow Dash was referring to Apple Bloom. In that case, the pegasus would probably never leave this kitchen alive.

Just about killed me.

[bahatumay]

2299419
...oh, stoppit, you...
I wrote that line and I still crack up when I read it.

[Avid Reader]

Commence read.

Looks like something to dive into.

[Jackie]

Oh, t'is gonna be good! i.imgur.com/TAf9J.png
i.imgur.com/0zTKq.png And of course, Tcher here regrets nothing, sug.

[Garbo]

This competition just keeps coming back doesn't it. Well, more specifically, Tchernobog keeps coming back with his obsession with AppleDash. Then again, there are a lot more obsessed people on this site (I for example have the quill and sofa guy appear in all of my normal-universe stories). But he hooks me up with good AppleDash, so no complaints. and no complaints on the story either. Perhaps a little more thoroughness/length would've been nice, but a small complaint.

[DbzOrDie]

This fic is not destined to fulfil the 'missing their fifth anniversary' prophecy, right?

[bahatumay]

2299498
Hopefully there are no sharp rocks at the bottom...
2299813
Well, at least, I'd like to think so. And judging by the response (it hasn't even been technically approved yet) quite a few people think so, too. Hope I don't disappoint.
2299947
Thoroughness / length meaning longer chapters, better descriptions, less dialogue, or what?
2300361
Oh, it's no prophecy, if that's what you're asking...

[DbzOrDie]

2300422
What I'm asking is, that I don't hope that it will follow your prompt to the letter since this is an elaboration on it, isn't it?

Sure enough, it described it when Rainbow had to miss their fifth anniversary for Wonderbolt detail.

[Heath of Tragedy]

My good sir, I believe you have peaked my interests.

A fave, you will get.

[Alex Silvermane]

i.chzbgr.com/completestore/2012/1/19/35804e9d-e215-4e40-982d-b9fb61d1d037.jpg

Great Fic.

[NomadicHorse]

Love the misdirect with RD kissing the pitcher. Classic!

[bahatumay]

2300462
Oh, don't worry. I'm not that cruel.
I think.
*cough* that chapter is already halfway written *cough*

2301483
Then I hope I continue to deserve such a gift!

2301590
Even in my sleep Data is watching me... denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw629_130819885463.gif

2302471
Thanks! I try.

2304705
I know, right? I couldn't resist.
They'll kiss for real (and for awkwards) next chapter.

[DbzOrDie]

2304800
Well, we better dispose of the chapter then huh? I demand you write fluffy perfect AppleDash

[bahatumay]

2304819
All right! I'll delete it right away!
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/thumb/mlfw835.gif

[Terrasora]

Mr. Bahatumay, I'm looking forward to your updates and will keep a close eye on you!
... No pressure

[Alex Silvermane]

2304800
gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Star-Trek-Fist-Pump.gif

[BenRG]

"Rainbow, ah have to get these pies ready for the party. If y'all keep on talking like that, ah'm gonna be focused on something OTHER than makin' the pies for hours and ah don't think Pikie would be pleased!"

You bet I won't

Where the hay did she come from?

[Hesitant Brony]

worst part is dash stole the metal pitcher's first kiss and left it heart-broken.

[Whiskey Drops]

2998178 is that why i found a broken metal pitcher? o.o