Of Horseshoes, Apples, and Feathers

Chapters

Preparing For Romancing
The One-Night Promise
Gifts, Sacrifices and Young Love
Closing Distances
Blooming Romance and Flying Emotions
Love Rises As Sun Sets
Three is a Crowd
Remembering The Old Times
Revelations
'The Best Night of Your Life'
These New Feelings
An Ending and a New Beggining

Preparing For Romancing

Walking through the streets of Ponyville, were Applejack and Applebloom. They were heading to Rarity’s Carrousel Boutique.

“So, lemme get it straight, we’re gonna have a date with the girls we love, but we won’t tell’em it’s a date” Said Applebloom, still trying to get what were they doing.

“Eeyup”

“Y’all are going to teach me everything y’all remember from yer stay in Manehattan, about bein’ all fancy n’ girly, to try to impress’em”

“Exactly”

“But the only thing y’all can’t do, it’s to make a dress”

“Or correctly wear make-up, that’s why we’re going to see Rarity”

“Are y’all sure y'all wanna tell Rarity ‘bout this?”

“No, that’s why Ah’m not telling her nuthin’ except we need dresses. Speaking of dresses, why don’t y’all ask Sweetie Belle to make yers?”

“NO! Ah mean she’s a very good friend but… How do Ah tell this without bein’ mean… Sweetie Belle, as a fashionista, it’s a very good singer. If y’all understand me”

Applejack laughed at her sister’s joke.

“Y’all know, that was mean anyways, but funny”

“So, Ah should tell Sweetie Belle, that she needs to tell Scootaloo, to meet me at Sugarcube Corner in two days?”

“Yeah”

“But what if she suspects sumthin’? Or if she asks me to come along?”

“Ah don’t know, tell’er the truth”

“The truth? But Ah thought we shouldn’t tell anybody it’s a date.”

“Don’t tell’er that, silly, tell’er that’s sumthin’ only y’all can give to Scootaloo n' only to Scootaloo”

“If y’all think she’ll believe that... By the way, don’t y’all think Ah should ask Sweetie Belle to keep Rarity from making our dresses too… too Rarity-like”

“Good idea, Ah won’t impress Rainbow with a big light blue n' white dress, with pink hearts with a pointy and poofy hat...”

“Why would she make such a thing to y’all? Where did y’all get that idea?”

“She already did… don’t ask…”

“Ooookay… If y’all say so…”

“The point is, we should keep an eye on’em, so ask Sweetie Belle that favour, could y’all?”

“Ok sis, Ah’ll do it”

By the time the two sisters finished their little chat, they were in front of the Boutique’s Door. Applejack extended her hoof and roughly knocked the door. Suddenly, a light-blue aura of magic surrounded the door knob and the entrance opened for the ponies to enter.

“Come on in Applejack, my dear!” A voice called from inside, it seemed to come from the white unicorn’s studio.

Both earth ponies entered the house, closed the door and walked towards the studio. When they crossed the door, they saw a relaxed Rarity sitting in her couch, which was almost always unseen because of the various fabrics that were above it. At her side was sitting Sweetie Belle, they were having another of their “sisters day”, it had become sort of a tradition since Sisterhooves Social.

“Well hello my dears! What is that brings you here?”

“How did y’all know it was me?”

“Nopony knocks the door with such lack of delicacy and finesse as you my dear. And since I do not work today it was either one of our friends or one of the crusaders.”

“Sorry ‘bout the door.”

“It’s absolutely okay my dear, I know you do not do it on purpose. Now, why are you here on this day? Do you need something?”

“Actually, yeah, Ah do. Can Ah talk with y’all in private?” Said Applejack looking a little uneasy, then she turned to her little sister “Sugarcube, wouldn’t y’all wanna talk with Sweetie Belle for a minute? Ah’ll take care of ‘that’, don’t y’all worry ‘bout it” After saying that, she turned to Rarity, and then pointed to the door that lead to the kitchen.

Applebloom went towards Sweetie Belle and sat with her. Sweetie Belle was happy to see her friend, but she didn’t understand what was happening.

“Soooo… Applebloom, what was ‘that’ thing your sister was talking about?”

“Umm… nuthin’ important, we jes need two dresses and well, since yer sis is a fashionista, it was the best option. How’s everythin’ going for y’all in yer ‘sisters day’?”

“It’s funny like always, thanks to you and Applejack, we are closer than ever! But, why do you need a dress?”

“Umm… Applejack n' Ah… need to go to… this very important… meetin’… n’, well, y’all know me, Ah don’t have any fancy clothes, n’ neither does Applejack, so we needed new ones, n’ well, y’all know the rest”

“Oh, ok, that explains it. So, how are you? Is everything going okay at the farm? Does your sister give you a lot of work?”

“Eenope, everythin’ jes dandy… Now, Ah’m sorry to be rude n' shush y'all Sweetie Belle, but can Ah ask y'al two favors?”

“Of course Applebloom! What do you need?”

“First, Ah need y’all to ‘protect’ our dresses from yer sis, Ah mean, don’t let her make them too… too…”

“Too much like my sister will want to make them.”

“Yeah, y’all know we don’t like to wear that kind of things.”

“Relax my fellow crusader! This is a mission I can handle and will do it with pleasure!”

“Thanks Sweetie Belle, y'all are such a great friend! Talking of friends, mah second request is that y’all need to find Scootaloo, and tell’er exactly what Ah’m gonna tell y’all”

“And that is…”

“ ‘Applebloom wanna see y’all in two days at Sugarcube Corner, and she need y’all to be free all day’ ”

“Okay! Now, may I ask why do you need to talk to her?”

“It’s sumthin’ Ah need to tell’er”

"And why don't you tell her yourself?"

"It's jes that... Uhm... Ah'm... busy, yeah. Ah'm here talkin' to y'all jes cause we had to come here, but Ah'm gonna be busy these two days n' it would be late by then. Please, could jes tell'er?"

“Yeah, I'll tell her. Oh! Oh! Can I come with you?”

“NO! A-Ah mean… Y’all can’t, its sumthin’ Ah can only tell her, n' its sumthin’ only Ah can tell’er. Y’all understand?”

“Oh… I see” Said Sweetie Belle giggling and half-closing her eyes, something that made Applebloom a little uncomfortable, and made her wonder why was she doing that, but glad she didn’t ask anything more. “Don’t worry, I’ll find Scoots and tell her about the date”

Applebloom went pale and blushed at the same time, something she thought was impossible, as soon as she heard that word “I-it’s not a date Sweetie Belle, don’t y'all get wrong ideas”

“Oh, I just said ‘date’ as I could’ve said appointment or meeting. It was just a word…” said Sweetie Belle, with the same face as before.

Applebloom thought that there was a something strange in the way she had said that and it scared her a little bit.

Meanwhile on the other room, Applejack and Rarity were standing there, Applejack didn’t seem like she was willing to talk first, so Rarity made the obvious question.

“Are you okay sweetheart? You don’t seem to be at your best.”

“Oh, no, Ah’m jes dandy, don’t y’all worry ‘bout that, it’s just… what Ah’m asking y’all… it’s…”

“What is it Applejack? Come on, you can ask me everything”

“Rarity, Ah need y'all to make two dresses. Fer me n' fer Applebloom” Applejack blurted fast, hoping Rarity won’t laugh or anything like that.

“Are you serious?” Asked unbelieving.

“Of course Ah’m serious, y’all know Ah can’t lie!”

Rarity’s face changed into a huge smile, and exploded from happiness, and with a high-pitched voice and a lot of excitement

“Oh my dear this is amazing! And may I ask what it’s the occasion?”

“I-It’s… a date…” said Applejack, very quietly, she knew what was going to happen next, and she was trying to avoid it.

“Oh Celestia. You, coming here to ask me, a dress for a date. This must be THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!” She started giggling at her joke, but clearly, Applejack didn’t thought it was funny.

“Rarity, Ah swear Ah won’t let y’all go away jes like that ” She groaned and said “Yeah, yeah, very funny Rarity”

“Oh! I am sorry darling, it is just so… so unlike you. But I must simply know WHO the lucky stallion you will date is?”

“Oh horse-apples, Ah can’t tell’er it’s with Rainbow! Rarity doesn’t look like somebody that would be comprehensive ‘bout filly-foolers n’ that kinda things. Oh… Ah know EXACTLY what to do; also, it would be a little but perfect revenge for her joke”

“Oh, he’s wonderful, he’s big, strong, hard, y'all could even say he’s like a rock, he’s bluish grey, n'… n'… well Ah don’t know how to describe him, it’s like, a diamond in rough y’all know? And y'all know what? He told me he knew you, that you used to be great friends” said Applejack

“Really? I can not remember nopony that colour, or description… What was his name? Maybe that way I will recall him” Said a little bit confused Rarity.

“Tom” said Applejack mischievously, grinning slyly. And grinning even more when she saw her friend’s pupils contract, and she could swear that if Rarity’s coat wouldn’t be white, she would probably be pale right now. Then Rarity’s gaze changed into one that was not glaring daggers at Applejack, but it was glaring two-handed swords.

“I thought we agreed on never to speak of that again. EVER again” said the white pony harshly.

Applejack just started laughing to the royal purple maned unicorn’s reaction. But then she composed herself and said.

“Ah’m sorry Rarity, n' about yer question… how ‘bout this? If everythin’ goes alright, then Ah’ll tell y'all first of all of our friends. Deal?”

“I approve your motion; it is a deal my friend. Ok, I will make your dresses, fear not”

“Now listen to me. They gotta be simple, not huge, fru-fruie, not too girly, y’all should know us by now”

“Ok, I will do my best to keep them… simple”

“Oh! And...” Applejack leaned towards Rarity’s ear and whispered “If y’all can make mine… y’all know… a little bit more… suggestive, if y’all know what Ah mean, Ah would really appreciate it”

“Oh” Rarity giggled “I know what you mean… don’t worry, I will make sure to make a dress that will leave his mouth agape” Said Rarity winking at her friend.

“Thanks, now Ah must go. Oh! Ah almost forgot, y’all got sum easy tips about make-up? Not too much, just to emphasize…”

“Of course, come here tomorrow and I will help you with that”

“Thank y’all kindly Rarity, Ah really appreciate this. Ah’ll be sure to save a barrel of mah ‘Special Cider’ for y’all” Said Applejack winking at her friend.

“Oh! That would be… wonderful” said Rarity blushing “And this time I will make sure to hide it from Sweetie Belle, we don’t want to re-live that event…”

“Poor filly, we found’er passed out outside the Crusaders Club-House… Well Ah should be goin’ then. See y’all tomorrow!”

“Okay, I will be anxiously waiting for you dear”

“AAAPPLEBLOOOOOM!! LET’S GOOOOO!” Applejack shouted, calling her sister so they could go.

“Thank you for making me deaf…” Rarity said sarcastically, rubbing her ears, which were still ringing.

“Sorry Rarity”

By that time, Applebloom had finished asking Sweetie Belle the favours, and was ready to go, so she said goodbye to both unicorns, and left the boutique with her sister.

In the other part of Ponyville, a cyan pegasus was being pursued, but she didn’t knew that, while flying directly to Sweet Apple Acres, until she heard something.

“RAAAIINBOOOOWW, STOOOP! PLEEASEE!”

Rainbow Dash didn’t recognize the voice at first, so she turned and looked to the floor and spotted an orange, purple, and blue blur quickly getting closer, leaving a cloud of dust behind. She decided to land so the blur could catch her and recognize who it was. After some seconds she could see clearly, and realized it was Scootaloo, riding her scooter, approaching at full speed. In the last second she stopped flapping her wings and turned them to face the wind, using them as a break, coming to a complete stop just in front of Rainbow “Wow, the kiddo it’s getting good at this ”

“Hello pipsqueak, ‘sup?”

“Hi. Rain. Bow…” Said Scootaloo between pants.

“Catch your breath Scoots, then tell me what’s happening, it’s something wrong?”

Scootaloo breathed deeply and recovered a normal cardiac and pulmonary rate. “Everything is alright Dash, well, not exactly... I mean… Aaarghh! Why is this so… really hard?”

Rainbow giggled and said “What’s wrong kid. Do you have a problem with something?”

“Well, I’ll say this without sugar-coat. Rainbow Dash, have you ever had a coltfriend?”

“WHAT!?”

“Have. You. Ever. Had. A. Coltfriend?” Scootaloo repeated slowly.

“N-No… Why do you ask such a thing?”

“Do you like colts? Or do you like mares?”

“Scootaloo, Why are you asking this kinda things!?” Rainbow Dash was getting a little worried.

“Do you like, or dislike mares?”

“Ok, ok, I think I like mares… Happy? Now tell me what’s wrong with you.”

“Are you in love with a mare?”

“Okay, now stop it right there, this is too personal. What do you think you’re doing asking me this kinda things out of the blue? Are you feeling okay? Don't tell me you're writting for that school newspaper again!”

“Please Dash, can you answer my question? Please? Then I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

“Ok. I trust you pipsqueak, but you can’t tell this to nopony, do you understand?”

“Yes. I wasn’t planning on telling nopony anyways…”

Rainbow Dash signalled her to come closer, “I’m in love with Applejack”.

Scootaloo listened, then her mouth went agape, then she gasped, and finally, she jumped towards Rainbow and tackled her to the ground with a powerful hug.

“Yeaaaahh!! That were the best news I’ve received today!”

“Wait. What?”

“Oh, right, you don’t understand a thing about what’s happening…”

“Umm, no”

“Well, get ready for an unstoppable flow of words” Scootaloo gasped for breath in a very comical way and said “I was asking you about these things because I was insecure about myself, and every time I don’t know what to do I think ‘What would Rainbow Dash do?’ but I’ve never heard about you with any colt, so I thought maybe you were into mares, but I’ve never heard about that neither, so I needed to find you to ask you what I’ve just asked you. Because I’m insecure about my sexuality, I love a filly but I though it was wrong, but if you do it, then it’s awesome, so I can do it too” Scootaloo gasped again for enough air to replenish her lungs.

Rainbow Dash was petrified; she was still processing everything the little orange pegasus had just told her. “Am I really THAT important to her? Am I really her role model? Then… she told me she likes fillies, isn’t she too young for this? I should talk her about this.”

“Y-you said… did you say you liked a filly?”

“Yeah, I guess I do…” Scootaloo said kicking a pebble that suddenly became very interesting with her hoof.

“Aren’t a little bit young to think about your sexuality kiddo?”

“You really think that? Remember where and how I live… I gotta grow fast to survive, so I’m mature enough, even if my body isn’t” said looking at her short wings.

“Oh, yeah, right” Rainbow remembered Scootaloo’s life style, Scootaloo was an orphan, but she escaped the orphanage. She hasn’t told her where she sleeps everyday yet, or how was she able to go to school without any responsible pony to certify her. The kid was good, she had to admit it, and if it wasn’t because her wings were weak and Rainbow was a terrible room-mate, she would have taken her home with her a long time ago.

She loved the kid, but she was too proud to admit it. She always gave her some bits or food now or then, to feel like she was helping her somehow, and to let her know there was somepony by her side. She was amazed of how she could keep this secret from the rest of the crusaders, or Cheerilee. She wanted to tell somepony to adopt her, but Scootaloo made her promise not to tell anypony, or she would escape again, an go to another city, and Dash didn’t want to lose her forever, so she planned on keeping it secret until she raise enough money to a grounded home so she could adopt her, or until Scootaloo’s wings were stronger and able to fly, whatever would happen first.

“Well, I can’t scold you about that, because I’m in the same situation, in fact, I’m glad I’m not the only one. Now tell me, who’s the filly that stole your heart?”

“Um… Applebloom” Scootaloo blurted blushing lightly.

“Really?” Rainbow Dash replied incredulous.

“Yeah… Got a problem with that?”

“Wow, kiddo, don’t kill me! I was just asking. You know? We really are alike pipsqueak, maybe that’s why you are so important to me.”

“I’M IMPORTANT TO YOU?” Scootaloo squealed like a little schoolfilly, but thinking about it, she was a schoolfilly, so let’s say she just squealed in delight of knowing she was dear to her idol.

“Of course you are kiddo” “And someday, I’ll be the one to keep you warm, happy, and safe, just wait, and you will see ” “Now come here and gimme a hug.”

They shared a hug, and Rainbow then noogied her lightly, she couldn’t take a long doze of sweetness, she wasn’t like that, only Scoots could make her do this kind of things, and she had to punish her because of that. Scootaloo just laughed and pretended to fight it and to be hurt.

In that moment, they saw Derpy Hooves flying towards them, and after spotting Rainbow Dash, she stopped and saluted her. Rainbow Dash said

“Hi Derpy, how are you today?”

“Mfphinph!” Said with a letter in her mouth, she gave it to Dash and then, with the mouth empty replied “Fine! They send me to give this to you, it’s from... wait… wait a minute, I’ll remember… OH! It’s from Applejack! Sorry, you know my memory isn’t the best of Ponyville.” said apologetically.

“It’s okay Derpy, you have the will to do everything you’re up to, and that’s something not everypony has, and you should be proud of that”

“Thank you Rainbow Dash! Oh! And you are…” said talking to Scootaloo “Wait; don’t tell me… you’re one of the three kids that do every kind of things to try to get their cutie marks… The… Cutie Mark Paladins! No… no... Crusaders! Am I right?”

“Y-yes…”

“You are… Scooter… no Scoota… Scoota… Scootaloo!”

“Yeah, that’s my name!”

“Woohoo, today must be my lucky day, usually I don’t remember three things in a row! This is 'a visit to Carrot Top'-worthy. See you later girls.”

The girls wave at her, and then looked at each other. Suddenly they heard Derpy in the distance say “Aren’t you Rarity’s sister? Another crusader! Sweetie Pretty! No… Sweetie Belle! Your friend Scootaloo it’s over there! Wow, today certainly IS my lucky day, this calls for a muffin!”

In seconds they could make out the figure of the white unicorn filly running towards them. Scootaloo walked towards her and in they met midway.

“Hey Sweetie, ‘sup?”

“Well hello Scootaloo, I was looking for you”

“What’s the mater? Something’s wrong?”

“Oh, no, no, my dear, there is nothing wrong.”

“Sweetie Belle, you should stop being too much time around Rarity, calling me ‘dear’ every two seconds it’s really getting on my nerves”

“Sorry. Like I was saying, I was looking for you, because I have something to tell you. Well it’s Applebloom the one that has to tell you, but she couldn’t come here so she asked me to tell you instead”

“Okay, what is it?”

“I’ll quote her exact words” Sweetie Belle cleared her throat and said “Ah wanna see y’all in two days at Sugarcube Corner, Ah need y’all to be free all day.” Sweetie Belle said, imitating her fellow crusader's accent.

“Ooookay… Did she tell you what are we going to do?”

“Oh, I’m not going, it’s just you and Applebloom, for a whole day, alone, together… And no, she didn’t tell me what are you going to do in that date”

“What did you say?”

“She didn’t tell me what are you going to do in that day…”

“Oh, I guess I misheard. Well thank you for telling me, but now, I need to talk with Rainbow, so…”

“It’s okay, I should leave anyways. Rarity will kill me if I’m late for our tea-party”

“See ya!”

“Goodbye”

Scootaloo then returned at Rainbow’s side and just sat down thinking. Rainbow was reading the letter for the fifth time now.

“So… what’s the letter about?”

“She. Asked. Me. To. A. Day. With. Her. A full day! Oh Celestia this is so awesome!”

“Yeah, Applebloom asked me to a day with her too, in two days I have to meet her at Sugarcube Corner”

“In two days? That’s the same day I meet with Applejack… This is perfect!”

“Why?”

“Don’t you realise? A full day with our beloved earth farm-ponies, a full day to show them how awesome we are, and to win their hearts!”

“But I got nothing to impress her…”

“Yes you do! Your scooter abilities! I’ll help you improve them. Also I’ll help you to be cool, because let’s realise this. We aren’t beautiful, nor pretty, but we are awesome! And maybe, I can find some of my old clothes and gave them to you, not that I fit in them anyways…”

“Wow, would you really give me some of your clothes?”

“Of course pipsqueak, and if they don’t fit you, I’ll buy you a new one.”

“Oh no, no, no. You know I like to take care of myself without any help, if you gave me your old cloth it’s okay, but I won’t accept you buying me anything.”

“Okay, okay, I won’t.”

“So… We’ll practice today all y’all remember about manners n’ etiquette. Right?”

“Eeexactly”

“N' tomorrow we are goin’ to see Rarity, to help us with the dressin’ and make-up thing?”

“Eyup”

“Are y’all sure they’ll like this?”

“First of all my dear sister. You will have to learn to speak with propriety, remember, what we are going to do, is to show our beloveds the other part of us, show them we are not ‘one trick ponies’ do you understand?” Said Applejack changing her normal southern accent and voice tone, for a one that sounded pretty much like her aunt Orange.

“Wow… How can Ah talk like that!” said Applebloom, mouth agape.

“First, you need to modulate the ‘ah’s in ‘I’s. You see? I. My. Also, you should start using ‘Yes’ instead of ‘eyup’, ‘yeah’ or other word of that nature, try it”

The two earth ponies spent the evening trying to get used talking that way.

Meanwhile, two pegasus ponies were trying to polish some skills. The younger orange pegasus was on her scooter, she was told to act as a drawing doll, and just stay still and let herself be moved by the older one.

“So, with a slight change in your gravity point, and a little practice, you will be able to take somepony on a ride with you, without that cart you use with the crusaders. Which means you could go to Sweet Apple Acres to pick Applebloom up, and then go to Sugarcube Corner” She looked at Scootaloo and putted her hooves on the little pegasus’s shoulders, implying she needed to pay attention “Trust me, it seems to be something silly and easy to you, but it will give you a serious quantity of ‘points’. If you know what I mean… Also, you can tell Applebloom that she needs to stay veeeery close to you and hug you “for security”, oh! And that she must be really close to you, so she doesn’t bother your wings when you are flapping them”

“But Dash, we both know that isn’t necessary, our wings can stretch a little to the sides so she’ll know what I’m thinking!” Scootaloo groaned at her, a little annoyed because of such a silly advice.

“Exactly, WE both know, but she doesn’t” RD said grinning.

“Oooohhh… oh, you’re such a sly pony…”Scoots joked and pointed her hoof at Dash.

“Me! Oh no, no, no, of course not!” Said Rainbow Dash putting an angelical and good-girly face, while a ray of sunlight descends from between the clouds giving her a golden aura.

“How is she even capable of doing that? I know pegasus can control the weather, but not from down here, and not like that ”

“Ok so, as I said, you got to…” Said Rainbow Dash, trying to make her little apprentice capable of doing stunts and other things that she didn’t knew she was capable of.

So the four ponies practiced for two days, so they could impress their beloveds in the date. Each one in their own way. Will the day come when everything goes as they want? Or will the strings of destiny tangle again and mess with their plans?

The One-Night Promise

Two days have passed; they were going to meet today. It was the day, it was the moment.

Rainbow Dash spent all morning combing her hair, just to look casual, even if it didn’t show, she didn’t just wake up like that, it took a lot of time of every morning to get it that way, it wasn’t easy AT ALL to keep every color in individual locks. She cared about her hair almost as much as Rarity, but she would never admit it. The good part was she didn’t need to wear any dress or jacket. It wasn’t her style and taking that Scootaloo would wear her childhood leather jacket, she would not go to the date dressing the same way. If they were two of the same, it wasn’t cool.

That afternoon she met with Scootaloo and had lunch. Rainbow used that time to give her little fan the last pieces of advice and offered her some bits, but Scoot wouldn’t take them.

“No rainbow I’ve told you, I won’t accept anything from you. I can take care of myself, and I will pay for everything in this date with my savings” Said Scootaloo trying to make Rainbow know she didn’t need her pity.

“But-”

“No, nothing, I don’t want to hear you saying anything related to this till tomorrow, ‘kay?” The filly asked, while pointing at the rainbow-maned pegasus.

“Wow kiddo, okay, I won’t talk about it, just chill”

“I’m sorry… I’m nervous, and I just explode with the first mare that talks to me. I’m sorry it won’t happen again”

“It’s okay, I know how you feel kiddo, but just let me give you just fif-”

Scootaloo started glaring daggers, but didn’t say a word.

“Ok, ok, I got it, ‘you want to do it yourself’… Well I should get going, I must go to Sweet Apple Acres, to have a date with Applejack” said winking at the little orange filly.

“Yeah, and I gotta look for my scooter and go pick up Applebloom. It’s almost time and she doesn’t know that I’m picking her up, so I must hurry before she leaves”

“Good luck pipsqueak”

“Yeah, good luck to you too Rainbow”

Rainbow Dash was soaring in the sky on her way to her friend’s farm when she realised something. “Oh shoot! I should get her something! A gift or something like that… If I take her some flowers it would be a bit too obvious… I know! Chocolates! Now, which way was to Lyra’s and Bon-Bon’s shop?”

As she was getting closer to the shop, she started getting nervous. Finally she landed in front of the entrance; she inhaled deeply, and entered the shop. As she enters the shop, the first thing she sees is a little but cosy room, with pastel yellow walls and pink panelling. There are a few chairs and tables, since the shop is mostly to buy gifts, not to eat there. But there are a lot of counters showing chocolates, shaped cakes, sweets and similar things. Obviously there isn’t as much variety as in Sugercube Corner, but these are not made just to eat. Bon-Bon’s shop sells gifts for apologies, for celebration, for anniversaries and very suiting for Rainbow Dash’s needs, there are some to give to the pony of your dreams. And behind the counter is always Bon-Bon standing there waiting for customers, and most of the time, you can see Lyra besides her, reading something, playing some music or just sitting there looking at her companion.

Rainbow spotted the two mares and walked towards them. Luckily there were no customers, so it would be less embarrassing to ask for what she needed.

“Oh Rainbow Dash! How’s the fastest girl in town doing?” greeted Lyra, with a military salute and a big grin.

“Just in this town? I think you’re being mean to me” said Rainbow, winking and faking being insulted.

“Oh you and your humbleness… But you’re right, if you are not the fastest pony alive, you’re the second”

“I’m glad to see you too Dash, but why are you here? I don’t think you’re here to buy chocolates for the love of your life” Said Bon-Bon. She and Lyra started laughing at the idea.

Rainbow laughed very softly and awkwardly finally said “Actually… That’s exactly why I’m here…”

Bon-Bon and Lyra stopped laughing suddenly and then gasped so loud that it could be heard from Canterlot.

“Y-You… You’re kidding… right?”

“Hey! Is there a reason to be mean? I just came here to buy something for a very special mar… PONY, a very special pony” said Rainbow Dash blushing hard and hoping they haven’t noticed.

“Girl, you’re really bad covering up your mistakes. Also, you really thought I wouldn’t hear you? I play in the orchestra, remember? I have a trained ear… I’m glad there are more of ‘us’ in town” Lyra said grinning slightly.

“Oh, yeah, you two… Well that’s not important now! I need chocolates or bonbons, or sweets, or something!” Quickly blurted the cyan pegasus with red cheeks.

“And you’re in the perfect place! Sugarcube Corner can have the greatest amount of cakes, pies and sweets of Ponyville. But if you need gifts as an apology, to tell somepony something, or if you have to confess your undying love to your super special somepony you have to come to Bon-Bon’s Bonbons Shop

“Hey, that’s a catchy name!”

“You’ve come here several times to visit us, or to get an apology cake to somepony because you broke their property. And you have never looked at the name that’s in the huge sign in front of the building?”

“I’m not exactly the kind of pony that notices details... Uhm... Talking about this kind of things... Would you mind to tell me of how you two... you know... got together?” said Rainbow, rubbing the back of her head.

“How did we become filly-friends?” Said Lyra, like it was nothing, there was even a hint of excitement, like she wanted to be asked that, like she loved to tell that story, but never got to tell it.

“Yeah”

“Well... everything started in a dark and stormy night…” Said Lyra, doing exaggerated gestures to tell the story.

“Oh come on Lyra, stop this right now, tell her the real story and stop joking around” said Bon-Bon faking harshness in her voice. But inside, she was trying hard not to laugh.

“Ok. Ok. Gosh, Bon-Bon you’re such a killjoy sometimes you know?”

“Yeah, but you won’t leave me, no matter how much I ruin your jokes”

“You got a point” said Lyra thoughtfully. “You know I love you too much… And that’s why you do it! You’re evil Bon-Bon, you think you can manipulate me with that pretty face of yours? Well you can, but you shouldn’t”

Both mares giggled at their absurd discussion while Rainbow Dash was confused, she really thought her friends where having a fight, but when she finally realised what was happening, she joined in the laughter.

“Well, heh, that was funny. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, I haven’t even started… Well, as you know, I’ve been in the Ponyville’s Orchestra for… two years now. Well the day I applied for the place I’m in now, they told me that there was a huge concert in a week and if I played it well, then I would be in. I got really nervous and even if I knew I was good at it, it was terrifying to think of failure in front of such a huge crowd. So I asked my best friend Bon-Bon,” Said Lyra pointing at the shop owner “to go to the concert, she wouldn’t cheer for me, she wouldn’t give me nothing, but the mere fact of her being there, relaxed me, and gave me strength. I didn’t know what it was back then, now I know that it was because I know that no matter what happens, she would never hate me, or laugh at me and she will always be with me helping me to face any problem”

“Aww… that’s so sweet…” said Dash leaning her head to the side and half-closing her eyes.

The three mares opened their eyes in surprise; it looked like their eyes would pop out of their eye socks any moment.

“Wow… I don’t know who that mare is, but she reaaaally has you falling in love… I thought the day would never come when I would see you doing other than gagging at a tender love story, but saying it was “sweet”… Girl, you’re head over hooves in love” Said Bon-Bon, still astonished of what she had just heard.

“You two, NEVER saw me doing that, nor saying that, understood?” said blushing Rainbow Dash

“Yes ma’am, not that I want to keep that memory anyways…”

“Please, just forget it and continue your story”

“Okay, well… Oh right, I asked her to come, she noticed that I was nervous and accepted, just to help me, not to watch the orchestra. She never liked classical music that much… well the thing is, making long things short, I played very well and I got accepted. After receiving the news, I ran down the stage to tell Bon-Bon about it, I just wanted to show her all of my emotion. Bon-Bon came running too, because she thought the play was beautiful and she saw my face and knew I got accepted, she wanted to show her affection for me.” Lyra changed her expression, it looked like she wasn’t sure how to say what happened next. “What happened next… well, let’s say we got to show our emotion and our affection for each other, but not with a hoof bump or a friendly hug. When we met halfway, I threw my hooves over her shoulders and forcefully and passionately kissed her, she returned the kiss and we stayed like that for some minutes. Then we opened our eyes and believe it or not, we still didn’t realise what we were doing.” Both mares looked at each other in a loving way, remembering that tender moment. “Only when we saw the faces of the people surrounding us, we snapped back to reality. We just muttered and mumbled, and then we ran in different directions.”

“I remember that kiss; it was so sweet... and full of passion...”

“Yeah, we can talk about best kisses in the history of time later; now let me finish telling Dash what happened”

“Can I handle it from here?” said Bon-bon pouting lightly to convince her marefriend.

“Well, I guess”

“I remember that I was really confused that night when I got home. Nothing seemed right and I didn’t know who to talk to. Since the one that helped me every day to keep my smile, the one that got me up when I was feeling down, the one that would give me an honest answer to any problem, was the one that made me feel like that in the first place.” She said, re-living that moment of anxiety and insecurity. Dash looked at her agape; she was really enthralled by the story. Bon-Bon continued talking “So I decided that I needed to talk to her about what happened, you know, yeah, she kissed me, but I’m sure I would have done it anyways. So obviously there were contained feelings and probably she also needed somebody to hear, but I couldn’t just came out of the blue and talk to her. So I made some super special stuffed chocolates, ones of my own recipes and went out. I bought some flowers from Daisy’s Flower Shop on the way and ran to her house. When I got there I was petrified, but I knew I had to do it. I knocked the door and waited, when she opened I opened my mouth to talk, but I only got a door slammed at my muzzle”

“Oh, yeah, I remember I really freaked out when I saw you out in front of my door”

“Yeah, I think that was made clear with the door-slam… Anyways, I got up and leaned on the door and whispered, trying to convince her to open the door, because I needed to talk to her. After some minutes I turned and started walking home, but that’s when she opened the door and called my name. She was biting her lower lip and her eyes were darting back and forth, then she beckoned me and left the door open, making clear she wanted me to enter. I remember that when I entered, she was in front of the door, sitting and looking at me, and then she said:

‘Before you say anything, I’m really, really sorry! I didn’t mean to do that, I... I... I don’t know what happened! It just happened, please don’t hate me.’

‘Huh? Hate you? I could never hate you! I love you!... I mean’

‘D-Do... do you... love me, like love me?’

‘I... I think so... I didn’t even know before... well, before the kiss. You don’t see me that way, do you?’

‘I... I’m not really sure...’

‘It- Its okay... here, I brought you these flowers and these special Bon-Bon Chocolates.’

‘Thanks?’

You know; there are two types of silence, the good, comforting, tranquil silence, and then there’s the awkward silence. After I gave her the things I had brought her, there was the latter. Then... she talked

‘You know, I think there ARE some feelings there, cause, you know, we kissed, and it was no accident. We both did it gladly, even if we didn’t know we were doing it, you can’t deny you felt it wasn’t odd, it was totally normal, and wanted’

‘Yeah, you’re right, also, it didn’t feel wrong, or bad, in fact, it was...’

‘Perfect? Beautiful? The most amazing thing ever?’

‘Exactly’

‘You know, if you’ve heard what we’ve just said, it’s obvious that we feel something for each other, deeper than mere friendship’

‘Yeah, we... we should... I don’t know... try and see where this gets?’

‘I think it’s a wonderful idea, you were always the smart one of the two, Bon-Bon’

Then we share a passionate kiss, and well, here we are…”

“That… that was so…” Dash turned away and sniffed, seconds later she turned around again with a brave face and told the two ponies “You’ve not heard nor saw nothing… Right?”

“What are you talking about?” said Lyra winking at her.

“Perfect… now, may I ask, if you remember… what flowers did you bring Lyra?”

“Oh, of course I remember, they were…”

“Livin’ Easy Roses, they’re my favourite!” said Lyra.

“The wha? I know roses, and that’s it, there are different kinds of roses now?”

“Oh Rainbow, you don’t even know. There are a LOT of species and colours. The Livin’ Easy is orange, for you to know”

“Just like Applejack! I should totally get her tho… Oh horsefeathers, I’m so stupid”

Bon-Bon gasped and Lyra started laughing.

“Oh! Rainbow yes, yes you are” said Lyra laughing even harder.

“Applejack! Do you love Applejack? Wow… Well I can’t say I didn’t see that coming…” Said Bon-Bon.

“What? What do you mean Bon-Bon?” Said Rainbow Dash confused “And please Lyra, stop laughing already”

“S-Sorry”

“I meant that I somehow expected it, you two… are like… perfect match”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, of course. So, you haven’t told her about your feelings yet?”

“Well I discovered these feelings two days ago, so I haven’t had the chance, and she invited me today to spend a day with her, so I think it was the best chance I could get. But I need to get her something and I remembered your shop and well… you know the rest of the story. By any chance… do you have some of your ‘Special Bon-Bon’s chocolates’?”

“Well yeah I have some, because today is our anniversary” said the blue and pink maned pony “But… I guess you need them more than we do. Take them, I’ll give you a heart-shaped box” said Bon-Bon and walked towards the shop’s kitchen.

“NO! Wait! Remember she doesn’t know! And I don’t plan on telling her as soon as I see her!” Said the alarmed cyan pegasus.

“Oh, yeah you’re right… well, take this one instead” Said Bon-Bon giving her a normal chocolate box. “There are fifty chocolates inside”

“Fifty!? That’s too much, don’t you think?”

“Don’t worry, they’re really small, that way you can eat a lot of them without guilt” Said Bon-Bon putting a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder.

“I ate all 50 of them myself onetime” Said Lyra looking to the ceiling, remembering that day.

“Oh… that’s clever… Oh, and, how were the orange roses called?”

“Livin’ Easy Roses” Lyra snapped out of her drooling trance to answer “They’re my favorites you know?”

“Y-Yeah… You just told me like… two minutes ago…”

“Oh yeah you’re right, Hehe...”

“Wait! Do you think its okay to give her flowers? I mean, it’s like... too obvious”

“Oh, and what’s your brilliant excuse on the chocolates?”

“Uhm… an apology?

“And if you can give apology chocolates, why not apology flowers?”

“Right… Thanks! Now I should go to Daisy’s shop. I hope it’s still open, Oh! and happy anniversary!” Said Rainbow taking off.

“Thank you! And good luck with your farmpony” said Bon-Bon winking at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash turned around and shouted “Wait! I forgot to pay!”

“Don’t worry, this one is on the house!”

“Thank you!”

“Mmmhh… Bonbon…” said Lyra drooling.

“Oh Lyra” said Bon-Bon blushing and giggling, but then she looked at her companion’s drool “Oh, you meant my stuffed chocolates… Urghh, why did I expect something else? Chocolate is always before me on your list” said Bon-Bon disappointed about her lover’s greater interest in food than in her.

“Huh? No! I didn’t say that! I didn’t say anything as a matter of fact! You know you are always first, my sweetie cutie wootsy heart! And you also know that I love everything you do, specially chocolate. And that I really should stop eating, I’m losing my figure…”

“Oh Lyra you always know what to say! And of course you are not losing your figure, you’re still as sexy as the first time I saw you, in fact, your sexier…”

“Thanks Bon-Bon…” Said Lyra happily, “ that mare always gets me up when I need it, how could I ever pay her?... Oh… I know” Lyra looked at her filly-friend narrowing her eyes and talked in a low and velvety voice “Oh! Bon-Bon… you DO remember what day it is today?”

“Of course, it’s our anniversary”

“And what do we do every anniversary”

“Oh… Uh! Baby you want me to prepare everything?”

“Yes… and get ready, today I feel like we could go for a good amount of rounds…” said winking at her lover

“Oh… Lyra” said silkily “I love playing cards with you” said Bon-Bon walking upstairs swinging her hips

“Yeah… cards…” Lyra said to herself walking towards the door to turn the “open” sign to “closed”.

Rainbow Dash was flying to Sweet Apple Acres to meet with Applejack. “ Ok. Chocolates check. Flowers check. Looking awesome, check. I’m ready for you Applejack! I gotta make a self reminder, not to talk anything around Lyra that you don’t want her to listen, she’ll listen it anyways… Oh I do hope Daisy didn’t found it weird that I went to buy roses… with a box of chocolates in my hooves… Oh well, at least she doesn’t know who she is… or that it is a ‘she’ and not a ‘he’ ”

The pegasus was flying slowly so the cutting wind she was generating by flying against the air stream won’t damage the flowers, when suddenly something she had not thought before struck her

“ Why do I think she called me to spend a good day with her and that this would be the perfect chance to tell her my new found love? Maybe… Maybe she wants to tell me she hates me for what I did and that she doesn’t want to be my friend anymore! ”

And that’s how Rainbow Dash panicked… but she was already over the barn, she couldn’t back down. So she put her bravest face and started descending, she saw Scootaloo approaching the front door, but Applejack had told her to meet her at the hill where they always meet.

She saw Applejack waiting by a tree at the top of the hill “Oh! There you are… wait… what’s that… Applejack is… is she wearing… a… DRESS?”

Applejack was wearing a short, form-fitting, strapless, red satin dress that hugged her body and followed the flow of her curves; also, the color and the shape accentuated her firm legs and her round, well-toned flank.

Her hair was loose but groomed, it fell down her left side, catching the sunlight and reflecting it, looking like a golden cascade flowing elegantly down the earth pony's shoulder.

Applejack's emerald eyes looked even more beautiful and deep thanks to the red dress, and Rainbow Dash was enthralled and started staring at her with mouth agape and eyes big as saucers.

“Woooow… You look killer Applejack!” Said Rainbow Dash, after looking at Applejack, had lost every self control of her thoughts or words.

“Why thank you darling, I do appreciate you like my new look” Said in a soft and seductive voice

“Wow, what’s with your voice?”

“Oh, I was just trying to recall some habits I’d acquired during my brief time in Manehattan and I was trying to see how well I remember them. Why, don’t you like it, darling?”

“It’s just that… the words you use… it’s like I’m talking to Rarity” said Rainbow Dash. Applejack’s face cringed after hearing that, it was the worst thing somepony could tell her. Rainbow Dash noticed that and decided to tell her the truth “I mean, I prefer your southern accent! But you can keep that voice… its killer”

“Oh… Y’all mean y’all want me to talk like this?” said Applejack narrowing her eyes and talking with her southern accent, but with a velvety and smooth voice. “Ah think Ah’m getting her... No, don’t think that way; y’all never count yer chickens before they hatch. Let’s take out the big guns then…” “By the way, what do y’all think about mah new dress?” said Applejack while turning around and showing her rear.

RD thought that it was as smoking hot as blazing flames burning with the power of a thousand suns, but gladly she was able to restrain herself a little and just said “Hoooot…” Yeah, she restrained herself, but she couldn’t keep herself from talking so stupid. She mentally facehoofed and tried to make it up by saying

“I… I… Here! I brought you some chocolates! And flowers!” she took the chance to turn around and take the flowers and chocolates that she was hiding behind her wings. “ Thanks Celestia I was hiding these behind my wings, I didn’t have any excuse to why my wings were stiffening otherwise.”

“Oh thank you, they are beautiful! But why?” said Applejack a little confused

“To apologize , because of… you know, what happened the other day” suddenly she remembered what she was thinking before getting to the hill, about Applejack hating her “I-isn’t that why you asked me to come here, you’re mad at me and you don’t want to be my friend anymore, isn’t it?” Rainbow Dash eyes were starting to humidify “Oh Please Applejack, don’t hate me for what happened! It wasn’t my fault” Rainbow Dash façade tore apart and her nervousness and fears struck back, she lowered her head assuming the worst.

Applejack dropped the box and the flowers and trotted towards her and hugged her friend. “Rainbow, it’s okay, I’m not mad at you” said with a soothing voice, while rubbing her back soothingly, trying to calm her. She felt something wet soaking her mane, and Rainbow was trembling, she realized that she was crying and her mane was being ruined by the tears, but she didn’t care. She only cared about her friend’s well-being. After a minute, she broke the silence, looked at Rainbow Dash’s eyes and said “Now, can y’all tell me what had jes happened? Y’all were complimenting mah hair and mah dress minutes ago, y’all gave me some flowers and chocolates, y’all seemed happy, full of energy, and then, out of the blue, y’all started a waterfall”

“I… I was just worried… I thought you hated me! And I didn’t want to lose you as a friend. I was just trying to act cool and not to think about it, but… b-but then I-I… I don’t know what happened to me”

“ Maybe a joke may lighten up her mood” “Ah was the one talkin’ like Rarity, and now you’re talkin’ like Pinkie Pie? It’s like poison joke all over again”

Both mares shared a quick giggle, but at least Rainbow’s tears stopped

“It’s okay Rainbow, now Ah don’t like to see y’all like this. This is not the Rainbow Ah know and love! Cheer up!”

“Yeah you’re right, let’s just forget what had just happened” Said regaining her composure, that’s when she looked at Applejack’s mane, it was all messy and wet by Rainbow Dash’s tears “Oh no! I’ve ruined your new hairstyle, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry”

“Oh, it’s okay, it was for you anyways…”

“For me? What do you mean?” said Rainbow dash, raising her eyebrow.

“Uh oh. Ah shouldn’t have said that, think of something quick Applejack think!” “Umm… Y’all know Rainbow, I asked y’all to come here today, ‘cus it’s been a long time since we hang out a full day jes the two of us, without any competition or fight in between. That’s why Ah asked Rarity to groom mah hair, this way Ah wouldn’t be able to run or do something like that, this way we can have a peaceful date, like everypony else” finally blurted Applejack. Luckily, what she was saying was technically true, so there was no problem.

“Y-you mean ‘Date’ like… get together, don’t you?”

Applejack blushed when she realised what she had just said “O-of c-course? W-what else could Ah have meant?” this time, it wasn’t fully true, so her voice started cracking and her eyes started going back and forth.

After some awkward seconds of silence, Rainbow said “Yeah, you’re right, it’s been a while. I’m glad you’ve come up with this idea… Now… where do you want to go?” asked Rainbow Dash looking at the orange-coated pony

“Ah have a place in mind, it’s something special Ah want to show y’all, follow me” Said Applejack, then she turned around and started walking through a path between the apple trees. Rainbow Dash just followed her; curious about what was this thing that Applejack wanted to show her.

“Oh! Wait! Where are the chocolates and the roses I gave you?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, yeah, y’all are right, Ah left’em on the ground when y’all started cryin’ ”

"Oh yeah... could... could you, you know, never tell that to anypony?"

"Y'all know Ah'm the element of Honesty, so Ah can't lie, but Ah won't bring it up unless somepony asks... but Ah doubt somepony would ask me if mah best friend ever started crying because she thought Ah hate'er" said while picking up the roses and the box of chocolates.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Oh! Those are Livin Ea-"

"Livin' Easy Roses" Said Applejack cutting Rainbow Dash mid-sentence.

"Yeah, you know them?"

"Yup, Ah saw them in Daisy's shop one day and Ah loved them, so Ah asked her what the species name was and she told me they were Livin' Easy and Ah remember this name till now. How did y'all know Ah like them so much?"

"As a matter of fact, I didn't... I guess I was just luck!"

"Well you made the right choice Sugarcube, Ah love'em. And these chocolates? Where did y'all take them from? And why are they so small?"

"Oh, they're Bonbon's special bonbons and they are small so you can eat a lot of them without guilt!"

"Well that's a mighty good name and a mighty good idea! Do y'all want to eat some before we go?"

“Yeah, why not?”

After eating some of Bonbon’s chocolates and talking about nothing at all, they decided they should start moving; the sun was past halfway, so there wasn’t much daylight left. Applejack started walking, leading the way between the trees.

After some minutes they reached a clearing. Rainbow was amazed of what she was seeing. Everything around her, everything inside the clearing, was under a rainbowish glow. It looked like instead of sunlight, there was rainbow-light entering from between the trees leaves. And in the middle of the clearing, there were flowers, but not any kind of flowers, rainbow coloured flowers. They looked like lilies, but with seven petals, each one with one colour of the rainbow and with a dark pink stem. They were quite a view, Rainbow Dash couldn’t deny it.

“Wow, what is this place?”

“This, is mah favourite part of the orchard, it’s like... ‘mah sanctuary’ ”

“Why is everything so... rainbowish?”

“Well, if y’all look closely, y’all will notice there’s spider-web all over us” Said Applejack pointing upwards “When Ah was a lil’ filly Ah found this place, and started coming everyday to know why it was all rainbowish like it is. Then Ah noticed the spider web above me, so Ah brought mah rope and threw it and Ah managed to get some web to stick around mah rope. I looked at it to see if the web was rainbow-coloured. It wasn’t. Y’all know, this web is like a crystal, it works like a prism and reflects the light entering from between the leaves and leave the entire clearing under a rainbowish glow”

“DID YOU REALISE ALL THAT BY SEEING AT A WEB WHEN YOU WERE JUST A FILLY? I wouldn’t have realized it unless you had told me... and I know how to make rainbows” said Rainbow Dash, looking with eyes as saucers at Applejack.

Applejack started laughing and then said “Oh no, no, no. But Ah do realized it was crystal-clear and Ah knew it wasn’t normal spider-web. But Ah looked on every book in the Apple Library; Ah even read every book in the school’s library and even in the town’s library. But there was nothing about rainbow-making spiders or nothing even near of what Ah saw here, but then at school, they taught us about rainbows and how are they made, so Ah realized that was the reason.” Said Applejack to Rainbow Dash, whose mouth had returned to the normal place, and her eyes were small as always again. But she was still impressed by Applejack’s reasoning ability, then she heard Applejack continued with her story and she stopped her train of thoughts to listen to what her friend had to say.

“Anyways, not even now, I know why these spiders make this particular web. Ah’ve even asked Twilight, but she didn’t know nothing about it. Then she asked me where did Ah saw such a thing, but Ah had to hide the truth saying Ah was just wondering. I don’t want nopony to know about this place. Well, nopony but y’all. Y’all are mah best friend, and Ah guess y’all have earned mah trust enough to know mah secret”

“Wow, that really means a lot to me, but what about the flowers? I don’t think I’ve ever seen them anywhere”

“Oh, that’s the most interesting thing of this place and the thing Ah like the most about it. Y’all know, they have three particularities. First, there aren’t flowers of seven petals, it’s impossible that they exist, and yet y’all can see that they have seven petals. Second, the colours, there aren’t rainbow-coloured flowers, nowhere, not in all of Equestria. Also the stem is dark pink, another impossibility. Third, they remind me of y’all, that’s why Ah like this flower so much. The seven colours represent yer mane and yer coat, and the stem is the same colour as yer eyes.”

“Yeah, they are!”

“And another very special thing about these is that when Ah first entered this clearing, they weren’t here. They grow with our friendship”

“What do you mean?”

“The first day Ah met y’all, when Ah came here, there were these little rose-coloured sprouts. Then when we became friends, these babies started blooming and they have gotten bigger every day, jes like our friendship.”

“Wow, that’s... That’s... how is that even possible?”

“Ah don’t know, but Ah don’t want nopony to enter here to figure out why does it happen, Ah’m jes happy that they exist.” Said Applejack looking at the flowers with a smile in her face.

Rainbow looked at her, she was touched by Applejack’s story “She really values our friendship… I have an idea!” Thought while she walked towards one of the flowers, she lowered her head and carefully cut one. Then she walked towards Applejack and stood in front of her, looking at her face to face, she then leaned towards her. Both mares were blushing furiously; Rainbow Dash then tucked the flower behind Applejack’s ear.

“There. A rainbow-colored, perfect flower, from a rainbow-colored pegasus, for a perfect orange pony”

Applejack thought her cheeks were going to burst in flames, she lowered her head, trying to hide her blush and said.

“Well thank y’all Rainbow, but Ah think you’re the greatest mare Ah’ve ever seen, also, the one with the greatest mane of them all”

“No, that would definitely be you! Your gorgeous golden mane, that’s always perfectly kept, even when you are all day doing hard and rough work. When sunrays hit your mane, a golden aura surrounds you, which make you look awesome, also the smell of sweet apples you always have…”

Applejack didn’t know what to say, nor think “maybe Rainbow just said that as a friend, it doesn’t mean anything, anything at all. But Ah must admit, mah heart skipped a lot of beats”

Both mares then started looking to each other’s eyes, and they spent minutes like that, without even realizing what they were doing. Rainbow Dash was the first to react; she snapped back to reality and turned her head looking away from Applejack, while rubbing the back of her head. The orange pony also realized what were they doing, and she decided to tell the cyan-pegasus the second part of her plan.

“Um… Well, now that you’ve seen this, Ah guess we should move to the second part of mah plan. Ah was thinkin’ about a good walk at Ponyville’s park

“Oh! That's so romanti... eeer…” “remember Dash, keep it cool, act like you are not phased “yeah… that’s cool…” finally said with an un-amused face and shrugging lightly.

Applejack realized the lack of enthusiasm in her voice and sadly said “I-if y’all don’t want to go we don’t have to…”

The speedster pegasus felt very bad about, that didn’t went the way she had planned “No! Sorry, please, forgive me, is not that. I do wanna go! It’s just…”Rainbow sighed, she would have to tell the truth to make it up “I… I wanted to act cool and uninterested, but I just looked stupid, I’d love to walk with you AJ”

They exited the clearing and the orchard, and then they started walking towards Ponyville’s park, which was in the other part of town, that would normally inconvenient, since they would have to walk a lot more. But since they were together, they didn’t mind the extra walk. They spent the whole time talking about their time together and all the things they had lived. About how work was going for both of them. When they were near the park they were walking under a path that was surrounded by trees, it was like walking under a natural tunnel of green leaves and chirping birds. By the time they got to the park, the sun was setting. Applejack leaned and rested her head in Rainbow’s shoulder.

“Look at the sky, aint it beautiful? All this, the walk, the sunset, everything. Isn’t this a perfect scenario to spend a day with yer special somepony?” Said Applejack, not really aware of what she was doing.

Rainbow Dash’s cheeks became red and she was doing an exhaustive self-control work to keep her wings from springing open. “Yeah, I guess you’re right”

“Do y’all have a special somepony in yer life Rainbow?”

“No, but I have an eye on one pony” Said Rainbow looking at Applejack.

Applejack’s ears perked up when she heard that, she stepped away from Dash, embarrassed and disappointed.

“Oh… and who’s the lucky stallion?” Asked Applejack, if she was going to lose her beloved to somepony, at least she wanted to know who he was.

“Oh it’s not a ‘he’ ” “ Horsefeathers I shouldn’t have said that, what if she doesn’t like fillyfoolers?”

“So it is a mare, eh? This means Ah still got a chance.” “And do Ah know this mare?”

“Oh yes, you know her, a lot. She is a lot like you in fact.” Said Rainbow grinning, hoping maybe Applejack would take the hint.

“So she likes mares, and mah type of mares. She may be thinking on somepony else, but Ah’ll make her think of me. Ah promise y’all be mine. Ah jes need to act quickly; Ah must make her mine by tonight. Think Applejack, Think!”

“ She’s not getting the hint… or maybe she has somepony else in her mind… I must make her change that somepony into the greatest mare in all of Equestria… Me! By the end of the night, you shall be mine my sweet farmpony, I promise.”

Both mares continued walking around the park, while thinking how they were going to conquer her beloved’s heart. Meanwhile a pastel-yellow coated filly was walking close side-to-side with an orange Pegasus filly. And in the other side of the park, a pink pony was jumping joyfully and carelessly.

Gifts, Sacrifices and Young Love

“ Today is the day Scootaloo. Today, you’re going to make her your marefriend and buy that supercool new scooter. But the most important thing is that you’ll confess your feelings for Applebloom today, and they ARE going to be corresponded. She will love you, you two will live a great life, and you’re going to learn to fly, beat Rainbow Dash in a race and become a Wonderbolt! But wait, that’s too far away in the future. But now you think for today, and by tonight she will be yours. Understood? Of course I understand, I was the one that told me that. What do you think I am? Stupid? Why am I talking and arguing to myself? Why do I keep doing it? Urggh... I hate my own mind when it does this, oh there’s Rainbow Dash!”

The speedster pegasus landed in front of her with a bow, while her fan cheered and clapped her hooves. After that they started walking, heading towards the restaurant they were going to eat lunch at.

“Hey there pipsqueak. ‘Sup?”

“Hi Rainbow Dash! I’m fine, I woke up extra early to prepare, so that I look extra awesome for my ‘trick’ ” said Scootaloo winking at her idol.

“Oh yeah, codenames so we don’t raise suspicions. Where did you get such a great idea?” Interrogated the cyan pegasus

“The Crusaders, we give everypony and everything codenames, so nopony will tell us ‘No’. You know our ideas sometimes are… a bit… risky… for us. Not to mention other pony’s property” said Scootaloo giggling awkwardly while circling a pebble with her hoof.

“He-he yeah, you girls are a little destructive sometimes… especially you… that’s my girl!” Rainbow said, changing her tone. “So how’s that crusading going by the way?”

“Well… we still don’t have a cutie mark… so it’s going great!” said the filly who suddenly smiled widely.

“What?” Dash said in confusion. “Wasn’t your goal to get your cutie marks?”

“Well yeah, hence our name… but… well, sometimes I fear that if one of us gets her cutie mark, we won’t hang out together anymore! So that’s why every failed plan is a relief for me”

“You really think that would happen?”

“Yeah, don’t you think that way?”

“So if you get yours first, you will abandon your best friends and your trick just like that?”

“Of course not, I could never do such a thing!” said Scootaloo, a little bit angry that the rainbow-maned pony thought she could be such a bad friend.

“So… why do you think your friends would do that?”

“I-I… I never thought it that way…” said Scootaloo thoughtfully.

“That’s why I’m here kiddo, to help you realize even the simplest things.”

“I really hope you’re not insinuating I’m stupid…”

“Now don’t get me wrong pipsqueak, I didn’t mean that. So tell me Scoots, does the jacket I lent you fit you?” asked Rainbow while she opened the restaurant’s door.

“Oh yeah, it’s really awesome, thanks for that. Speaking of which, aren’t you going to wear anything?”

“Nah, I don’t like wearing clothes, only leather jackets, and since you’re using it, I’ll go like this. I’m awesome anyways, so it’s no big deal”

“B-but if you want, you can use the jacket! I wou-”

“No kiddo, I want you to use it. I want you to be with Applebloom more than I want to be with Applejack. Also, I’m radical just like this, you… you need a little bit of help” teased Rainbow Dash.

She then saw the waiter coming, so she ordered something for her and Scootaloo.

“Y-you really care that much about me?” said Scootaloo, still thinking of what her idol said a minute ago.

“Well… yeah, I really care about you pipsqueak, you really are a great part of my life.” Rainbow said before whispering something to herself. “And one day I'll be the one that will give you a safe warm home, a tasty meal everyday and a loving family member.” “Now let’s stop talking this sentimental stuff and let’s eat! I’m starving”

Scootaloo realized that Dash had said something, but she could only hear “warm”, “meal” and “family”. She didn’t know what Rainbow meant, but she preferred not to ask and she just started eating.

They ate in silence, each one thinking about what they were going to do with their beloveds. When they finished eating, Rainbow left some bits over the table to pay for the meal and then she took out a little bag and handed it to Scootaloo.

“What’s this, some kind of lucky charm?” asked Scootaloo as she inspected the bag.

“No, Bits. I want to give you some for today’s date.”

“No Rainbow, I’ve told you that I won’t accept anything from you. The jacket is one thing, bits is another. I can take care of myself, and I will pay for everything in this date with my savings” said Scootaloo trying to make Rainbow know she didn’t need her pity, she returned the bag to her.

“But-”

“No, nothing, I don’t want to hear you saying anything related to this till tomorrow, ‘kay?” The filly demanded, pointing at the violet eyed pegasus. “ She must think I don’t have money, but I have been saving money for a long time now and I’ve acquired a good quantity”

“Wow kiddo, okay I won’t talk about it, just chill.”

“I’m sorry… I’m nervous, and I just explode with the first mare that talked to me, I’m sorry it won’t happen again.”

“It’s okay, I know how you feel kiddo, but just let me give you just fif-”

Scootaloo started glaring daggers, but didn’t say a word.

“Ok, ok, I got it, ‘you want to do it yourself’… Well, I should get going, I must go to Sweet Apple Acres, to have a date with Applejack” she said winking at the little orange filly.

“Yeah, and I gotta look for my scooter and go pick up Applebloom. It’s almost time, and she doesn’t know that I’m picking her. So I must hurry before she leaves the house”

“Good luck pipsqueak.”

“Yeah, good luck to you too Rainbow.”

Scootaloo started running towards her actual hidden ‘house’. It was not very big, but it was enough for her, and it was very cozy. She was able to somehow furnish it with some things she found on the streets. Someponies threw a lot of things that were still usable, sometimes they were even new, especially the shop-owners. The place was a little spot she found between three houses.

She found it one day because she entered a seemingly-blind alley on one of the first days after arriving to Ponyville, she needed a place to sleep and not to be disturbed. When she reached the end of the alley, she found there was a little space to the left, about the size of a room, and some bricks were scattered in the floor. She entered and blocked the entrance with the bricks so nopony would bother her. She started going there every day, and started decorating it with everything she founded.

When she got there, she put on her ‘new’ leather jacket, grabbed her scooter, which was the only thing she had to remember her family and decided to go. When she suddenly remembered all about her family.

She was an only daughter, and her parents died in a terrible accident in Cloudsdale when they were working in the weather factory. Both of them had worked in the same area, that’s how they met. They were working for a huge blizzard that they needed for next day and everypony else had already gone home, but they stayed because it wasn’t finished and they offered to finish it by themselves. There was a little problem with a cloud that went out of control and triggered a chain reaction that caused the blizzard to start inside the factory. Being in the middle of a terrible concentrated blizzard without clothes warm enough for the situation, and being the door locked by the frost, they died frozen but not suffering.

When the police came after somepony said he saw something happening in the factory, they found both ponies in a frozen embrace with a smile in their faces. There was a note written next to them, it was wet and the handwriting was shaky, probably because of the cold, but they could understand what it said anyways.

“For our daughter, Scootaloo:

We are sorry, but we won’t be coming home. You know what it means, you are a really intelligent filly and very mature. We know that you will be able to surpass this obstacle and to live your life. Relax, we are fine, and we are not in pain. Being with our beloved gives us strength. We know that someday you too will find the pony that will help you get over every obstacle, the one pony that will love you no matter what. We got but one last wish; we want to tell you where your birthday present is. We know it’s a week earlier, but you wouldn’t be able to get it otherwise. Look in the basement, behind the couch.

Please live a long, good life.

Flying Disaster and Gentle Violet, Mom and Dad.”

She never felt bad about what happened to her parents; they died happy and next to each other. Most important of all, they left her a mission, and helped her learn a big life lesson, “Live a long, good life”. It was a mission, a task, a legacy, and the lesson she learned is that “Nothing is bad if you are with the one you love; even death is sweet by its side”. That’s why she never gave up, she kept moving, and no obstacle would stop her, not until she finds that special somepony. But she had already found her, and now she must hurry, or she may not be able to catch her before she leaves the house.

She walked to the exit, re-built her wall-entrance, and hopped on her scooter. She started flapping her wings at great speed and headed towards Sweet Apple Acres. In just these two days, she had learned and practiced a lot with her scooter, she learned how to achieve greater speeds and to handle curved paths with ease. But one of the most amazing things she had learned was to do a backflip. Her wings weren’t strong enough to support her weight for more than a few seconds, that’s why she couldn’t fly yet. But thanks to Dash’s training, she learned to make good use of those seconds. She was able to lift herself some feet off the ground for some seconds, enough time for her to lean backwards and putting her bodyweight in such a way so she could spin around her center of gravity, making a backflip. Then she was taught on how to fall again and keeping the scooter stable, she could keep going after the flip. She decided that she should do it to impress Applebloom. But if she wanted that, then she needed to hurry, or Applebloom would leave and she wouldn’t be able to pick her up. Rainbow said it was really meaningful to be picked up, even if it looks like nothing special. If Dash said it, it had to be true.

When she was just 30 feet away from the barn, and was able to spot Applebloom exiting the house “ Well, this is it, I have to do it now, or never” she flapped her wings harder and started going faster, then she started flapping in upwards so she could lift off the ground, and started leaning backwards to do the backflip. But in the midway she started getting nervous and accidentally started turning to the left. She was terrified but kept control and kept putting her bodyweight on the back and kept turning. When she had hit the floor she realized she had not only performed a backflip in front of her beloved, she had performed a backflip PLUS a three-sixty degrees turn. She tried to keep her cool and kept scooting towards Applebloom. In the last moment she started drifting, coming to a stop five feet away from her.

Scootaloo was amazed by Applebloom’s beauty, she could only think about her and she was lost in her eyes. She talked without asking her mind for advice and said “Wow… you look incredibly beautiful…” that’s when her conscience returned, and she realized what she had just done and tried to make it up. “Umm I mean, you always look extremely gorgeous… I mean...” and she wanted to try again but she got nothing. She decided that she should just shut up and hope for Applebloom not to find it weird.

Applebloom was also amazed by Scootaloo’s looks, she didn’t just look pretty, she looked… astonishing, cool, and she liked it. She was flattered by her friend’s compliment and said with her new voice “Well thank you Scootaloo.”

That struck Scootaloo hard… her voice… was so velvety, so sweet, so seductive… it was amazing. “Wow! What’s up with your voice?”

Applebloom worriedly said to her “Oh… my sister taught me a thing or two about how the people in Manehattan talked, and I guess I just tried to practice it. Don’t you like it my dear?”

”Oh no I love it, believe me I do! But … It’s just that your southern accent is the loveliest sound I’ve ever heard.”

”Oh Scootaloo, y’all say the sweetest things” Applebloom said blushing.

Scootaloo realized how that sounded and tried to fix it “Oh! I mean…” But she had no idea what to say… “Oh Celestia, why am I so stupid. I told Sweetie Belle, coming up with words is like… really hard!” “Did that sounded very awkward?”

”Oh no, Ah like it. I mean…” “Shoot, Ah dunno know what t’say, ah need to change the subject” “S-so… Where did y’all learnt how to do that trick with the scooter? It was truly awesome.”

“Dash helped me to learn how to perform a backflip, and then I just got lucky and I did a three-sixty too! I did it for you, you know?” said Scootaloo boasting herself unaware of what she had said.

“Wha’? Fer me? What do y’all mean?” asked Applebloom.

“I-I mean… that I first showed you, because I trust you and I knew you wouldn’t lie to me if it looked bad.”

“Oh… but relax that was awesome. But ah got jes one question. Y’all were s’pposed to meet me at Sugarcube Corner. What are y’all doin’ here?”

“Oh, yeah, right. I decided to pick you up and take you to Sugarcube Corner. That’s usually what somepony does when they’re going on a date with somepony else isn’t it?”

Applebloom’s cheeks became bright red and Scootaloo realised what she said.

“I-I mean date like get together” said with an awkward smile and eyes darting back and forth. As a getaway response she said “Y-You… umm… do you like my jacket?”

“Eeyup, it looks pretty cool, where did y’all get it?”

“Dash gave it to me, isn’t that awesome? She used to use it when she was younger, but since it doesn’t fit her anymore, she gave it to me”

“Wow! That’s really great; she really cares about y’all, doesn’t she?”

“You think?”

“Eeyup, ah think she sees y’all like a lil’ sister. Ah say it ‘cause she looks the same way that Applejack when she sees me. Bah the way, what do y’all think ‘bout mah new dress and manestyle?”

“What, were you wearing a dress? Sorry, I was looking at your eyes so I hadn’t noticed… I-I mean…. I, umm…” Scootaloo was in blank, again. She decided to look at Applebloom cautiously.

Applebloom was wearing a beautiful amaranth-coloured layered tailed dress and a green bowtie embellishing her gorgeous mane, which was tied back in a low pony-tail, somehow resembling the one her sister used to wear, but more groomed. It also had two apple-shaped earrings that complimented her very well. Scootaloo was speechless, she had her mouth agape and she just stared at her friend. Applebloom looked at her and asked

“Well… what do y’all think ‘bout it?”

“I-it… it’s gorgeous, just like you…” Scootaloo said. She wasn’t able to keep herself from saying what she was thinking, again.

“Thanks Scoots, that’s very sweet of you to say.”

“Umm… umm…” “ I should change the subject, this is not going well, I’m screwing up every two minutes” “So… should we get going then?”

“Well that’s a great idea, but how are y’all goin’ to take me if y’all didn’t bring yer wagon?”

“Oh being you, and only you, I’ll take you with me in my scooter. I’ve learnt how to do it! But don’t tell Sweetie Belle, this will be our little secret, understood?”

“Eeyup.”

“Well then, hop on.”

Applebloom obliged and stood on her hind hooves and asked.

“Are y’all sure Ah won’t fall? Isn’t there sumthin’ Ah can grab to keep balanced?”

“Well, yeah… you…” said Scootaloo, slowly starting to blush. “You will have to get very close to me and… well… hug me, or you will fall.”

Applebloom gulped and got closer to Scootaloo and slowly and timidly put her hooves around her beloved. She had waited for this moment for too long, but now that she was able to do it, she was doubtful. But as Scootaloo said, she would fall otherwise. She put her hooves around the orange filly, but didn’t get very close and she wasn’t touching Scootaloo, thinking her friend would think that would be awkward.

“Applebloom.”

“Y-yeah?”

“You will fall if you don’t hug me tight...”

“Oh… well” she said finally touching Scootaloo, but still keeping her distance.

Scootaloo knew she would have to use the lie Dash taught her, because

Applebloom was still insecure.

“You know Applebloom, you’ll have to get closer to me, like really. really close… B-because… if not, my wings won’t be able to flap correctly and we won’t get anywhere.”

“Oh, well…” “ C’mon Applebloom, y’all can’t waste this opportunity, she’s practically offering y’all the chance y’all have been wishin’ fer, and y’all let it slip? C’mon take the chance, the chance to hug’er tightly, to rest yer head in her shoulder, to be able to enjoy the celestial scent of her mane, and to do everythin’ y’all ever wanted”

She left behind all of her shyness and she hugged her friend with all her strength, and rested her head on her shoulder. Scootaloo’s wings weren’t fully grown, but she still felt a little tingling feeling on her wings, and her heartbeat was going at double speed. But she managed to start flapping and accelerated, going towards Sugarcube Corner.

They were both already halfway there when Scootaloo decided to talk because the silence was turning awkward, and Applebloom was so intoxicated in Scootaloo’s scent that she didn’t bother to talk.

“So... why did you want to see me? I... I-is there something wrong? Was it something I did?” said a little worried the purple-maned pegasus, slowing the wings-flapping a little bit.

Applebloom jolted up in surprise which made Scootaloo lose stability for some seconds, but then she recover it. Applebloom then hurried to answer her friend’s question.

“Oh, no, no, not at all! Ah jes needed to do sumthin’ with y’all, alone, jes the two of us, and nothing more. Ah could never be mad at y’all!”

“ She said she wanted to have a day just the two of us… could that mean… No, don’t think that way, don’t generate false expectations… that never ends well” “Um… okay, so what do you want us to do?” Scootaloo asked.

“Jes spend a day together, have sumthin’ at Sugarcube Corner, then walk around the city, and we could also have a nice walk on the park? If y’all want to, that is”

“Yeah, I’d love to! But… why haven’t you invited Sweetie Belle? Are you mad at her?”

“Oh, no, no, not at all! It’s jes that… Um…” “ I don’t know what to say! I never thought she would ask this… C’mon Applebloom y’all always have a witty response right away! Why can’t y’all answer now?” “Well, Ah wanted to have a day with jes you y’all know, it doesn’t always have to be the three of us all the time.”

“So… have you been with Sweetie Belle before, without inviting me?” said Scootaloo lowering her voice and gulping.

“Oh, no, no! This would be the first time we’re jes two… Y-y’all don’t wanna be with me without Sweetie Belle?” asked Applebloom, her heart had stopped beating until she heard the answer.

“I love being with you without Sweetie Belle!” “Wait, that sounded weird” “I-I mean that… that I like to be with you, either with or without her.” “ well… I think that’s better… no it isn’t, quick think of something else” “Look we’re here!”

When they got there neither of the two wanted to get off. Applebloom was in a blissful trance and Scootaloo was being hugged closely by the love of her life. But she couldn’t stand on the scooter for too long if it was still, so she said

“Umm… Applebloom, we’re here… and we’ve already stopped moving, we can get off…”

“Oh yeah, right”

Both fillies got off and Scootaloo added

“You can also stop holding me; you’re not in danger of falling anymore.”

Applebloom opened her eyes wide and her cheeks flared red. She quickly un-wrapped her arms and looked away.

“What are y’all gonna do with yer scooter? Y’all aren’t gonna take it with y’all all day long are y’all?”

“Nah, I have hiding spots all over town. I have one right here as a matter of fact” she said as she walked around the corner and disappeared behind some bushes, coming back bare-hoofed seconds later. Both fillies approached the door.

“Ladies first” said Scootaloo, stepping aside so Applebloom could enter Sugarcube Corner.

“Yer a lady too Scoots” said Applebloom.

“Fillies first then.”

“Yer a filly too.”

“ Oh yeah, chivalry is supposed to be for colts…”

“Well, YOU go first then. I’m just trying to be polite.”

“Well in that case, thank y’all” said Applebloom nodding lightly as a sign of understanding and appreciation at Scootaloo’s act.

They entered Sugarcube Corner, the legendary sweets shop, known all over Equestria for their treats. Everything was here, if it is sweet, you can find it here. The walls, roof and floor were wooden, with some details resembling sweets, like candy cane looking pillars and chocolate covered arches. The tables and the counters were either chocolate brown or pastel coloured, looking like cakes that contained cakes which, knowing Pinkie Pie, could contain even smaller cakes.

Even if they have entered this shop a thousand times it was always surprising, one could never get used to see all those sweets. Both fillies entered and as soon as they put a hoof in the store, Pinkie Pie jumped out of nowhere.

“Hi girls! How are you today? Everything’s alright? I hope so, cause today is a fantastic day! Where is Sweetie Belle, you three are always together, is she ok? Is she sick? You came here to get her something? I’m sorry but I think that when you’re feeling bad, sweets are not always the best option, cause this time, I had this terrible stomachache-”

“HI PINKIE PIE!” interrupted Scootaloo. She had liked the pink mare, but sometimes it was just too much for her to handle.

“Howdy miss Pinkie Pie” said Applebloom “Eeyup we are fine, thank y’all. No, Sweetie Belle is not with us today, but she’s okay. We are having a date!” answered Applebloom, unaware of her words.

“A GET TOGETHER! That’s what she meant! We came here to drink some shakes... You have some don’t you Pinkie?” Scootaloo said quickly. Applebloom realized what happened and she was unable of looking at Scootaloo to the eyes. Both fillies were blushing like crazy. Pinkie just looked at them, narrowed her eyes and said

“Well of course I have hayshakes… how about the Super Special Red Heart Shake?”

“What in tarnat-… Ah mean, what is that Pinkie Pie?” Applebloom corrected, trying to sound more polite.

“Oh, the Super Special Red Heart Shake is a super-duper delicious strawberry shake with whipped cream, strawberry syrup and two little strawberries on top! It’s mostly asked by couples” Pinkie said with a smile.

Applebloom heard the word “couple” and quickly said.

“Well… Ah don’t like strawberries that much… truth be told, Ah prefer apples… what about y’all Scoots?”

“I love apples… I-I mean I would also prefer an apple-flavored shake…” said Scootaloo while her eyes darted back and forth.

“Well… just for you two lovebirds I’ll make a Super Special Apple Heart Shake, how about that?”

“ Did Pinkie jes call us ‘lovebirds’ or am Ah hallucinatin’?”

“Did I… Did I hear what I think I’ve hear? Nah, it must be just my imagination”

“Well… yeah, Ah would like that” Applebloom said.

“Me too” Scootaloo said as well.

“Okey dokey lokey! take a seat anywhere while I make the shakes.”

Both fillies walked towards an empty table and sat down, while they were waiting for Pinkie to finish their order, silence took over again, so Scootaloo decided to ask Applebloom

“So… do you have something planned after this?”

“Well… Ah have a lil’ surprise prepared fer y’all at the end of the day, in the park. So that we could have a lil’ walk around it before the surprise. That’s if y’all want to, of course.”

“Oh yeah, that would be awesome, but it’s still early and we have plenty of time, don’t we?”

“Well, yeah Ah suppose…”

Before she could ask anything Pinkie came with one big hayshake.

“Umm… Pinkie, where’s mine?” asked Scootaloo.

“Oh silly, this is yours and Applebloom’s! It’s meant for two ponies. That’s why it has two straws” said Pinkie Pie.

“Oh…”

“Well… I must get going… I’ll just leave you two alone” Pinkie said before dashing back to the kitchen.

Both fillies were looking at the shake, then looking at each other, then back to the hayshake again, and so on. They were unsure of it, but slowly both ponies got closer to the straws and started drinking it, slowly. During the whole time they didn’t talk, they just blushed red, and looked at each other’s eyes. Both fillies were lost in the moment, and they wanted it to last forever, so they wouldn’t have to leave. But life’s rarely that kind, after some few minutes, a slurping sound came out of the glass, both fillies looked at it and found it empty. They have drunk the whole hayshake without noticing.

“Oh…” said Scootaloo sighing “ I wanted to keep looking at her eyes a while longer. They are… they are so beautiful… so… they just keep me watching…”

“Oh… well, ah suppose we should pay for it n’ go…” said Applebloom “Darn it, Ah was enjoying this! Why does it gotta end? Well, anyways, Ah s’ppose the walk at the park will make up for this”

“Well, we should call Pinkie so we can pay. Pin-” Scootaloo was cut mid-sentence by the party pony popping out from behind the table.

“What is it girls? Did you like the hayshake? I suppose you did because it’s empty! What do you want; do you want to order another thing? Another hayshake? Ooo! Ooo! Do you want some muffins? Or maybe a piece of cake!”

“Thank y’all Pinkie Pie. But no, Ah jes wanna pay for the shake” Applebloom said.

“What do you mean YOU want to pay for it, I’m going to pay for it” Scootaloo corrected her.

“No, Ah’ll pay fer it!”

“I said I’ll pay for it, and it’s final.”

“Ah invited y’all here today, so Ah’ll pay.”

“But… b-but I want to pay, why won’t you just let me pay!”

“Girls, girls, stop fighting! I’ll pay for it!” Pinkie Pie said, smiling broadly.

“Huh?” Both fillies said at unison.

“For you, and your get together, this one is on the house, even if this is a shop and not a house. But technically since my bedroom is upstairs this IS also a house, so it’s on the house as I’ve said. Now excuse me, I’m going to the park, I sense something is going to happen there and I should be there” said the party pony and then started hopping to the exit. Both fillies looked at each other puzzled, but then both said

“Is just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.”

Since Pinkie said it was on the house, there was nothing keeping them there, so the two fillies exited the shop. Scootaloo had an idea, so she asked Applebloom

“So Applebloom, do we have time before we go to the park?”

“Well… ah guess we have sum time…”

“Perfect, come with me.”

She grabbed Applebloom’s hoof and started running to the shopping area of Ponyville.

Both fillies started walking and giggling joyfully, stopping from time to time in some of the shops to see. Applebloom suddenly stopped in front of Rose’s shop, making Scootaloo fall, she should know that that’s what usually happens when you keep running and your partner stops. She recovered and saw Applebloom was staring at some beautiful purple flowers.

“Do you like’em Bloom?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah, they are beautiful... jes like y’all” Applebloom said, not caring what she said anymore.

Scootaloo tried to think that wasn’t a sign and to get no hopes out of it, but she failed. Her heart started beating faster and then she got an idea.

“Do you want me to ask what's the species called?”

“Nah, Ah don’t wanna bother y’all”

“Too late” said Scootaloo before running towards Rose.

“Hello little filly, how are you today?” The rose colored mane earth pony asked.

“Pretty fine, can I ask you something?” asked the orange filly pegasus.

“NO! You can’t and you won’t use nor get near to any of my flowers to try to get your cutie marks. I know what happens when you say ‘yes’ ” Rose said as she tried to protect her flowers.

“Hey! That was mean; anyways it’s not that, I wanted to know what that flower’s name is.”

“Oh sorry for misjudging you kid, it’s just that… I care a lot about my flowers, and you’ve gotten quite a reputation. These flowers are Purple Carnations.”

“It’s okay. Give me the biggest and the prettiest one you got.”

“For you? Being the same color as your mane, it won’t stand out…”

“Oh no, it’s not for me, it’s for her” Scootaloo said, pointing at Applebloom who was still enthralled by the flowers.

“Ooooh… I understand, then I’ll cut it very carefully and with a lot of love” Rose said, grinning at the little filly.

Scootaloo blushed and answered “No! I-it’s not what y-you are thinking.”

“Oh little girl, don’t try to hide it. I work at a flower shop, I can recognize that look in your eyes.”

Scootaloo was starting to feel embarrassed so she asked

“Well, how much for it?”

“Twelve bits.”

“Twelve!? But regular flowers cost only three.”

“But it’s not a regular flower and I’m the best florist in Ponyville!”

“Ok, here” she took twelve bits out of a pouch she hid beneath her wings and hoofed them to Rose “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, here you go” said the mare giving the flower to Scootaloo.

She walked back to where Applebloom was standing. The pastel yellow-coated filly was still looking at the bouquet at Rose’s shop, she was completely unaware of what happened between Scootaloo and Rose. She snapped back to reality when she saw her fellow crusader come back with a flower in her mouth.

“Wha? Why do y’all have one?” said Applebloom pointing at the Purple Carnation. Scootaloo just got closer to her, and tucked it behind her ear.

“There, perfect. It looks beautiful on you.”

“Why?” she asked as her cheeks began to warm up.

“Oh, well… since you liked it so much, I went there and bought one for you… I-it’s a Purple Carnation” said the purple-maned pegasus.

“F-fer me?” said the earth pony looking at her friend.

“Well, yeah… you liked it, and since you didn’t let me pay back there in Sugarcube Corner…”

“Thank y’all Sugarcube”

“ Sugarcube? Huh, I could get used to hear her calling me like that, I could REALLY get used to that…”

Applebloom resisted the temptation of kissing Scootaloo’s lips, but decided to just hug her instead. That was more than enough payment for Scootaloo, who seriously considered about buying her another flower… or a hundred more, if that meant another hug from her beloved. Even though she desired her lips, this hug was enough, because this wasn’t a friendly Crusader’s group hug or a ‘see you later’ hug; it was a ‘thank you for making me happy’ hug. Maybe, and she hoped so, it meant more than that.

Scootaloo was speechless, and she couldn’t move at all, so she just stayed still and accepted the warm embrace. Applebloom took those two things as signs that the hug was becoming awkward. She attempted to un-wrap her hooves but was stopped by Scootaloo.

“No…” she said “J-just one more minute…” Applebloom happily obliged and kept hugging the orange filly, her heartbeat rate increased and her cheeks burned a scarlet red.

Scootaloo hadn’t stopped liking the hug just because she was close to Applebloom, she just needed a hug. Years had passed since she last hugged somepony this long. After a minute she realised what were they doing, and how close her body was to the one of the filly that drove her crazy. Involuntarily her wings started tingling and the blood rushed through her cheeks, turning the normal orange color into a crimson one. She un-wrapped her hooves and said “H-hey, w-wasn’t there that one time where you tried to sell apples?”

“Yeah, that was the first failed attempt to get mah cutie mark” said giggling weakly “But wait, how do y’all know about that? We didn’t know each other back then, and Ah haven’t told y’all about it” asked Applebloom.

Scootaloo froze for some seconds, and then answered.

“Umm… well… you see, do you remember when we first met? When Nightmare Night appeared? It was just one second, but when I saw you… I… I felt something… I thought that you were special, so I started looking cautiously at you whenever you passed by, and well... one day you were selling apples with such an enthusiasm that I knew you were trying to get your cutie mark. Then, at Diamond Tiara’s Cuteceañera, when I saw you being mocked by those… two” said Scootaloo scornfully. “I told Sweetie Belle that we needed to help you, but Sweetie Belle was afraid, it’s not that she didn’t like you, it’s that… she’s too cautious sometimes. But as I said, I felt something towards you… so I yelled at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and well, you know the rest of the story.”

“S-so… y’all are the reason of why Ah have the best friends a filly could ask fer? And most of mah happy days where when we were crusading, so… y’all are responsible fer that too?” said Applebloom, she was dumbfounded.

“I-it’s not like I gave you the happiest moments of your life” Scootaloo responded.

“But y’all did! The crusaders are one of the best n’ more important things of mah life!”

“You are the most wonderful thing of mine…” said Scootaloo to herself, but Applebloom heard her anyways.

“Ah am?” asked Applebloom.

“I-I mean… you and Sweetie Belle… and Dash, of course!”

“N’ yer family?”

Scootaloo turned pale and gulped. “what can I tell her now? I can’t tell’er what happened to them” “I-it’s not that I don’t l-love them… It’s just that… Hey look over there! See that shop?” asked Scootaloo pointing to a sports shop.

“Which one? Where?” asked Applebloom looking towards where Scootaloo was pointing but unable to find it.

“The one next to the Jeweler’s, Extreme Hooves Sports Shop, come on!” said the orange pony dragging her friend to the shop. “Look at that scooter. Awesome isn’t enough to describe it! Black, fire details, titanium handlebar, super handling grips, and reinforced wheels… fast but with great handle and virtually indestructible, by a filly that is. What do you think Bloom?”

“Lovely…”

Scootaloo thought that the way she said that, and the word she used was weird, so she turned to find Applebloom staring at something the Jeweler’s. She walked and stood beside her beloved and spotted two beautiful golden earrings “Oh, you were talking about them… you probably didn’t listen to what I’ve said… heh, I see you’re not a smart buyer.”

“Hey! What do y’all mean by that!?” Applebloom said, taking a little offence.

“Eye level is buy level, you’re looking at the things on the eye level. It’s almost always where the most expensive stuff is, but it’s not always the best.”

“But Ah’m a filly, mah eye level is lower than those earring’s level.”

“Yeah, but they are at a grown mare level, and you are used to look up there, cause everypony else does it. If you were a smart buyer you would have looked down and saw that!” said the pegasus with a sly smile, pointing at a golden thin necklace with an astonishing apple-shaped ruby with a little leaf-shaped emerald.

“Woooow… that is… is…” stuttered Applebloom.

“Beautiful? Bedazzling? Amazing? Thank you Scootaloo for showing me the most perfect jewel in the universe?”

“Yeah, all those together… and how much does it cost?” she wondered as she looked to the little price tag that stated ‘200 bits’ “Two hundred!? Ah won’t be able to save that much money not now not ever! N’ Applejack won’t buy it fer me neither. Well, it was a stupid idea anyways…” said Applebloom crestfallen.

Scootaloo looked at her and then at the necklace, it WAS way too expensive and the Apple family, even if they were not bad economically, they were using the money to improve the barn and the house, so they couldn’t spend in this kind of things. “ Well… maybe she can find another one, a little bit more ‘accessible’ another day, it’s not the end of the world”

“Well… you haven’t looked at my scooter, which was the reason of why I brought you over her.”

“Oh, sorry, what do y’all wanna show me?”

“Look at that” she said, pointing back at the scooter. “Black scooter, with fire details mostly made of titanium, and with great wheels. Fast but with great handle. What do you think?”

“I-it’s pretty neat, Ah like it, and if y’all like it, then it must be good. Are y’all gonna buy it?”

“Well yeah, that was the idea… I’ll spend all of my savings, but I’ll have it.”

“Is it very expensive?” asked Applebloom.

“Three hundred and sixty bits, but with my bargaining skills and a little luck, I’ll have it for two hundred and eighty, ninety if the guy’s tough…” said Scootaloo smiling slyly and narrowing her eyes, staring at the scooter.

“Wow, how do y’all do that?”

“Oh, I’ve learned a thing or two about negotiating here and there…”

Scootaloo looked at Applebloom, and just stared for some seconds, until Applebloom asked

“Wha? Ah got sumthin’ on mah face?” she said trying to clean a non-existent dirt stain with her hoof.

“Oh, no… I-it’s nothing… Y-you go ahead to the park, I’m going to buy the scooter and I’ll catch up with you in a spell” said Scootaloo, motioning with her hoof for Applebloom to walk towards the park.

“Well if y’all want me to Ah can wait fer y’all here.”

“Oh no, you… you should get going, I don’t have a dress so I can run. You take your time” she said.

Applebloom mentally shrugged and started walking. “Well; Celestia knows what’s gotten into that filly. But Ah guess she’s right, n’ anyways she’ll be here in a spell” She thought as she walked through the peaceful pony town “Well Applebloom, now y’all are gonna have a nice touchy chat while walking in the park n’ then y’all are gonna tell’er how y’all feel. N’ she’s gonna love y’all back!”

Scootaloo appeared from behind panting.

“Told you I was going to catch up with you in a minute.”

“Eyup, y’all are fast on yer scooter n’ with yer hooves. But still, y’all can’t beat me” Applebloom said with a grin.

“Yeah, yeah…”

“N’ why the box?” said Applebloom pointing at a little royal purple box, with golden details on the front and on the sides that Scootaloo hold in between her wings.

“Oh… this? It’s just the receipt of the scooter. I paid it in advance, but I won’t walk around the park with the scooter at my side” Scootaloo said.

“Oh… but why that box?”

“Oh some shop owners like to do it like this; you know all those fancy ponies… Probably Rarity gives them in a bedazzled box” Both fillies laughed at the idea and kept walking.

The two fillies continued to walk side by side while on the other side of the park, two mares were walking in their direction, and a happy-go-lucky pink mare was jumping joyfully and carelessly.

Closing Distances

"So... Now, a nice little walk in the park and then your surprise?" asked the orange filly.

"Eyup, jes wait fer it Scoots. Patience's a virtue y'all know?"

"Yeah maybe, but it's not my strong spot. And yours neither for that matter, Miss 'Ah want mah cutie mark NAAAO' " Scootaloo mocked her friend.

"Hey! Is there any need to be that mean? But Ah guess y'all are right, Ah'm nopony to scold y'all."

Both fillies were walking through the east entrance of the park, this one wasn't like the west one, with lines of trees and chirping birds, but it wasn't less beautiful. The fillies walked, watching Celestia's sun shine, lighting their day and warming their coats. A weak cool breeze blew, carrying the sweet scent of the blooming flowers. The whole atmosphere was screaming romance.

Scootaloo was happy just walking by Applebloom's side, and watching the sun lower and starting to set behind the praire on Ponyville's outskirts, but she wanted to avoid any awkward silence, so she said.

"Hey AB, do you like action movies?" Scootaloo asked, trying to fill the space.

"Eeyup! They are mah favourites!"

"Yeah? Well who's your favourite actor?"

"There's nopony that could beat Buck Norris!"

"What? Of course there is! Bruise Wing, the greatest martial-artist pegasus ever! In fact, he did beat Buck Norris's flank in that film 'The Way of the Dragon' "

"But it was jes a movie Scootaloo" replied the pastel yellow filly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, for your information, when Bruise Wing died, they checked out his body and it was as good as a young stallion half his age!" stated Scootaloo.

"Oh yeah? Well Buck isn't dead yet" raspberryed Applebloom.

Scootaloo muttered something under her breath and said "Anyways, we shouldn't be fighting over something as dumb as this, we are friends, we're mature, and we're on a date, I MEAN A GET TOGETHER, S-so let's just enjoy th-the walk and the sight" Scootaloo said, hoping Applebloom hadn't noticed the mistake.

"Ah approve of that motion" Applebloom giggled and got closer to her friend.

Both fillies continued walking side to side, eventually Applebloom decided to follow her instincts and did what she desired. She leaned and rested her head on Scootaloo's shoulder, Scootaloo's heart started beating hard and her cheeks started looking the same color as Applebloom's mane, but she kept composure and kept walking. To distract herself a little from the situation, she started humming, and then she started singing softly to herself

"I might not be... the right one,

It might not be... the right time...

But there's something about us, I've got to do...

Some kind of secret I'll share with you...

I need you more than anything in my life...

I want you more than anything in my life...

I'll miss you more than anyone in my life...

I love you more than anyone in my life..."

Applebloom listened her singing and asked

"Wha's that? Ah like it"

"Oh, you heard me? It was Daft Pony, don't you know them?"

"Ah don't listen to that much music, so Ah don't know a lot of artists. What kind of music do they play?"

"Electronic and House"

"Kinda what Miss Vinyl Scratch plays?"

"Well... She's a DJ, DJ PON-3. DJ's change somepony else's pieces, but Daft Pony crea

te something and then they change it, you understand?"

"Ah think Ah do" said Applebloom. An idea crossed her mind but she was unaware if it was wise to ask for it. Blood rushed through her cheeks as she asked "Can... can y'all sing a little more?"

Scootaloo opened her eyes wide at the request and said "I'm sorry but the song ends there."

"Don't y'all know another one? Ah don't care 'bout the song, Ah jes like to hear y'all sing" Applebloom said, her head still resting on the orange filly's shoulder.

"Sing? Sweetie Belle is the singer and you know it."

"Yeah, she might have a clearer voice but Ah love yer voice."

"You do? Well, I'll try..."

She cleared her throat and began.

"Last night I had a dream about you

in this dream I'm dancing right beside you

and it looked like everypony was having fun.

the kind of feeling I've waited so long

The time is right, I put my arms around you,

You're feeling right, you put your arms around too..."

"That song is so sweet! Don't y'all think?" the earth pony said, standing straight again and looking at Scootaloo's eyes.

"Yeah, it's one of my favourites, and reminds me of the dream I had last night"

"Really? So... who were y'all dreaming of?" curiously asked Applebloom.

Scootaloo froze as she realized what she had just said, and remembering that she dreamt of Applebloom " Come on Scoots, you need to get out of this, think!" "Hey look, aren't those Rainbow Dash and your sister?" asked Scootaloo pointing towards the path they were walking.

Indeed, the two mares who were walking toward them were Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The orange farm pony seemed to have noticed them too and they sped up a little bit. When the four ponies were in front of each other

"Howdy girls, how are y'all doin'?" Applejack said.

" 'Sup kiddos?" Rainbow spoke in.

" Hi sis, hi miss Rainbow"

"Hello Rainbow Dash, how are you Applejack?"

Then the four ponies said in unison "We're fine, we were just passing by." Everypony started laughing at the coincidence and then Applebloom walked towards Applejack, taking her a little bit aside so they could talk without being heard. Rainbow Dash did the same with Scootaloo.

Applejack was the first to talk

"So... How are y'all doing with the 'cattle'?"

"Pretty fine actually, we had a shake at Sugarcube Corner, then we walked through the shopping area, Oh n' look!" the pastel yellow filly moved her head to the left so her sister could contemplate the purple carnation adorning her mane "She bought this flower fer me! Ain't she sweet? Ah know y'all always tell me not to count the chickens before they hatch, but c'mon! That gotta be a sign sis!" said the excited little filly.

"It sure looks promising Bloom, but Ah'm not so sure, mah 'cow' also gave me a flower, but that doesn't mean anything"

"N' how are y'all so sure?" asked the younger sister.

"Ah know she's thinkin' about sumpony else, Ah jes know it. But mark mah words sis, she'll be mine by tonight"

"Well then, if y'all say Ah 'may not win the rodeo', what can Ah do?"

"Maybe what y'all really need is to close distance, Ah mean really close the distance" stepping closer to her little sister, she whispered "Talk to'er real closely, make'er look yer eyes, n' try to make yer faces to be mere inches away from each other. Move yer lips slowly n' a bit exaggeratedly fer her to look at'em. N' unless y'all are completely desperate n' about to lose'er. Y'all. Wont. Kiss. Scoots. Y'all hear? Let'er do the move. Y'all jes create the situation, leave everythin' prepared but don't kiss'er"

Applebloom nodded at her sister, the older farmpony moved back to the prior position and said

"Well, Ah better be goin', good luck sis."

"Thanks... Ah'll try to do what y'all told me."

By that time, Scootaloo had also ended her talk with Rainbow Dash, the two couples joined again and parted ways, resuming their prior direction.

After some seconds in silence Scootaloo asks her friend

"What were you talking about AB?"

"Umm, nuthin' interesting really. Don't worry 'bout that. N'... Did Ah heard well? Were y'all giving Dash flying trick lessons? Y'all don't even know how to fly."

"Yeah... kinda, it's... complicated. Don't pay attention to it, let's keep going."

The sun was almost completely hidden by now and without it, the air started getting colder.

Applebloom felt the change of temperature and said to herself "It's sure getting chillier here."

Scootaloo heard her complain and analysed what could she do, and she thought about all the movies she had seen and remembered something. She stopped walking and started taking out her jacket. Applebloom noticed that her friend wasn't by her side and started turning around just to find her friend putting her leather jacket around the yellow farmfilly's shoulders, over the dress. Their faces were very close, a few inches away. She stopped feeling cold, in fact, she was starting to feel pleasantly warm, and she suspected it wasn't just because of the jacket.

Applebloom was blushing slightly, her heart was beating fast and she was feeling a little dizzy, it seemed like just a simple token of friendship, but she felt it like it was much more. It was in part a starter of Applebloom's feelings and hopes, which she had been trying to hide, to send back to the deep of her head, so she wouldn't be that obvious. But after the flower and after this, any attempt was in vain. She was dying to kiss those precious lips, to hold her with every ounce of strength in her, to spend the whole eternity by her side.

It was the moment, no more waiting, the plans be damned and the surprise as well. She was going to do it and there was no pony that would stop her, nopony except for herself " Wait Applebloom! What do y'all think y'all are doin'? Ah'm going to kiss her, now, n' nopony will stop me, not even mahself! Ah'm not gonna stop y'all, Ah want it too! Then why are y'all here? Jes to remember y'all what big sis said! Y'all get close to her, but y'all don't kiss'er... unless we're loosin'er. Well... Ah s'ppose she knows best."

Similar thoughts were running through Scootaloo's head at a thousand miles per hour. She couldn't restrict her feelings as well as her friend, and that's why she made all those things for her, she was still feeling all those moments with her. When they were riding the scooter towards Sugarcube Corner, the hug after she gave her the purple carnation, and now the look on her face after she lend her the jacket.

Those eyes... those were hypnotizing her, they were calling her, and they were telling her to kiss Applebloom, to kiss her right now. " This may be the worst mistake of my whole life, or my best decision, I must think this thoroughly. Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her. I should contemplate the pros and cons of this. Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her. If she likes me, then this could be the start of a beautiful relationship. Kiss'er, kiss'er, kiss'er. If she doesn't like me, there are two options, maybe she doesn't love anypony, therefore my kiss may make her think about me and it could end in her loving me back. Kiss'erKiss'erKiss'er. But maybe she doesn't love me and she won't, and this may destroy our friendship forever and the Crusaders as a group as well. Anyways there are 2 positive endings against 1 negative one, so why don't we risk it? KISS HER NOW!

Both fillies stared at each other's eyes, lost in a heavenly trance; they started getting closer and closer. Both fillies started narrowing their eyes, while they were stretching their necks to get closer and closer.

Applebloom stopped halfway, let her mouth barely open, and waited for Scootaloo to do the rest. Her heart was beating at an incredible rate, she felt that it could jump out of her chest at any moment. She had lost sight of everything around her except for Scootaloo's face; her veins were like rivers of lava flowing through her body.

Scootaloo was determined to lock lips with her fellow crusader, she had lost reason, she was in a beast-like state, where she could only desire and go for it, without thinking about the consequences. She continued closing distance, she closed her eyes and...

"Hi girls! How are you doing?" said a pink hyperactive pony that rather inconveniently appeared between the two fillies, putting her hooves around the little ponies' necks making them turn their heads and look towards the horizon.

"Pinkie Pie!?" asked both fillies at unison.

"Yes, the one and only. Well, as far as I know there's no other Pinkie Pie out there, or maybe there is... By the way, you didn't need to talk to me in stereo; I could've listened to you anyways!" said the happy baker pony smiling broadly.

The two fillies didn't know what to do, they were paralyzed as the memories of what were they going to do before Pinkie Pie interrupted them, making them snap back to reality.

"What was I thinking? How could I've thought about kissing Applebloom right out of the blue? How could I've thought about risking everything just for a stupid urge I had? I don't know if I should kill Pinkie Pie for blocking the kiss, or if I should invite her dinner... Anyways, I should contain myself so that won't happen again. Let's follow the plan and wait for Applebloom's surprise, and then, BAM, you declare your feelings towards her."

" Applebloom, Ah wanna ask y'all sumthin'... ARE Y'ALL INSANE? Hey don't blame, y'all wanted to kiss'er too. Well... Ah forgive y'all, y'all win this time. Anyways, we shouldn't try that again. Let's stick to the plan, don' try to kiss'er before nor tell'er yer feelin's"

"Whoa kids, don't talk that much that you're starting to make my ears hurt..." said Pinkie Pie sarcastically.

"Wha? Oh, Ah'm sorry miss Pinkie, Ah... Ah was lost in thoughts. What where y'all sayin'?"

"I was asking you two little crazy fillies how was your date going."

"Oh... I-it's going very well Pinks, after having those shakes at Sugarcube Corner, which were delicious by the way, we went to see some things at the shopping area, and then we decided just to have a nice walk here at the park" said Scootaloo.

"That sounds fun! Ooooh! Where did you get that flower Applebloom? It looks really good on you" said the pink mare inspecting the flower from various angles, turning around the pastel-yellow filly sniffing it, like if that would make her appreciate it better.

"Oh, this? Scootaloo bought it fer me!" said Applebloom, looking at her friend.

Scootaloo blushed slightly "I-it's a Purple Carnation! A-Applebloom seemed to like it very much and well... I went and bought one for her."

"D'awww, that's so sweet!" said the bubbly pony, pressing her hooves against her cheeks. "Don't you think that's very sweet Applebloom?"

"A-Ah... Ah think it is very sweet, yeah" she replied, her cheeks becoming a light pink.

"She's quite a catch, isn't she? I bet she would make a perfect fillyfriend for somepony. Don't you think that way Applebloom?" Pinkie asked again, but there was something hidden behind that smiling face, however Applebloom couldn't put her hoof on it.

"Ah... Ah... Ah guess she is quite a catch..." she said, her cheeks were now burning with a beautiful crimson color.

Scootaloo was feeling dizzy, "Could this be... No, calm down Scootaloo, breathe deeply, don't get all pumped up now, she didn't say she thought I was a good catch for her. She c-could've said that just to be a good friend, or just to agree with Pinkie... Or maybe she does think I'm a good catch, but maybe for somepony else... Oh Luna! Why's this so difficult? Why can't I ask her and finish with my misery? No, don't give up Scoots, think. What would Rainbow say? You're gonna keep going, until the end. Recover composure and keep on, oh and make Pinkie go away, she's making this worse "

"P-Pinkie, we just saw Rainbow Dash and Applejack walking that way!" said the orange filly, her hoof pointing towards the path where they met with the two.

"Ooooh, So they were here too? I knew it wasn't a Double Doozy Decoy! Well, see you later girls! You should come to the shop more often!" Pinkie said before bouncing away.

" I'm sorry Rainbow, but it was necessary... I hope you can handle her more than I could."

"What do y'all think it's a Double Doozy Decoy Scoots?" Applebloom asked.

"Umm... probably has something to do with her 'Pinkie Sense'. But I don't know why the 'Double' and the 'Decoy'."

"Maybe she had two Pinkie Sense's signals and sometimes one is false..."

"Yeah that makes sense, that's why 'Decoy'. Wow Applebloom, you are one smart filly."

"Oh shucks, thank y'all Scootaloo, but y'all are very smart too!"

"Nah, I know I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed. I always sleep in class. What I lack in brain I have it in courage and awesomeness" the purple-maned filly said, winking at her friend.

Applebloom giggled and answered sarcastically "N' also in modesty, as Ah can see. But yer plans to get our cutie marks are really daring, so Ah guess y'all are courageous. Talkin 'bout it, how do come up with those plans?"

"Oh, they always follow three simple steps. First: Try some crazy and a little bit dangerous action. Second: four interrogation points."

"I-interrogation Points?"

" Four interrogation points. And third: Profit"

"Profit?"

"I mean, cutie marks."

"Ah'm not sure what are y'all talking about, but let's say that y'all are right, and talk 'bout sumthin' else..."

"What do you wanna talk about?"

"What about... yer family?" asked Applebloom. "How come y'all never told us 'bout 'em?"

Scootaloo was frozen in place " This again? How do I get away now? There's nothing interesting going on around here, and if I change the subject suddenly it'll be suspicious. Tell her the truth? Nah, that's absolutely out of question. Maybe I can tell her something, but not that part... Let's try that" "Umm... they... they are far away, yeah... they've gone."

"Oh yeah? Where are they?"

"Oh... they are... I'm not sure..."

"Wha? How can y'all don't know?"

"They had sent me one letter saying that they were fine, that's enough for me. As long as they are alright..." Scootaloo answered.

"It wasn't a total lie" she thought to herself.

"Okay, if y'all say so. N' what are their names?"

"They were called-"

"Were?" the earth filly asked.

"ARE, my mom is called Gentle Violet and Flying Disaster is my daddy."

"N' do they travel a lot?"

"Not that much... but when they do, they go away for a long time. I'm used to take care of myself." said Scootaloo with a fake smile, luckily Applebloom was looking away, so she didn't realize.

"Ah never knew mah Ma or mah Pa, sumtimes Ah wish Ah could see them at least once. But well, with Big Mac, Granny Smith n' mah big sis bah mah side, Ah'm alright. Don't y'all have sisters or brothers Scoots?" she asked, hoping for a yes.

"No, I don't have any."

"N' who do y'all turn to when y'all need advice?"

"Usually I look for-"

"Lemme guess, Rainbow Dash?"

"Yeah, he-he- Am I too obvious?"

"Nah, not at all!" Applebloom sarcastically said. Then suddenly stopped, she started looking away and her cheeks started going a little pink. "W-well, y'all know... y-you... you could always come talk with me, if y'all need somepony to listen. Ah'll never judge y'all, Ah can be yer confidant. Ah'll... A-Ah'll always love y'all for who y'all are..." "C'mon take the hint gal! Ah'm almost telling y'all Ah love y'all! Calm down Applebloom. Wait fer it, we still have some time. We aren't even sure if she likes fillies... Should we ask her? Not now, let's ask her later."

Scootaloo blushed lightly too "W-well thank you, I'll keep that in mind. In fact, I'd like to... Nah, forget about it"

"What is it? Tell me Scoots, don't y'all trust me?"

"Oh no, it's not that, it's just... I won't tell you now, but I will tell you, in fact I can only ask you. Now, why don't we go to eat something? It's late, and I'm starting to get hungry." She said, putting a hoof over her belly.

Applebloom sensed her stomach was starting to grumble and nodded in agreement. "But where can we go?"

"We could go to the Café to eat some hay fries and sandwiches"

"Yeah... But Ah was thinkin' 'bout ending this lovely dat-N-NIGHT! This night i-in a more... a more..."

"Where do you wanna go?" asked Scootaloo, guessing what was she thinking. "Lead the way. I'll go wherever you wanna go."

"Why don't we go to that fancy restaurant near the hall?"

"Isn't it a little bit too... expensive?" she said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Well... if y'all don't wan-"

"No! No, sorry, it doesn't matter, you wanna go there? We'll go there then. But first, let's enjoy the last moments of this beautiful sunset" said the orange filly before grabbing her friends hoof and dashing towards a nearby hill.

Blooming Romance and Flying Emotions

After the last ray of light was gone behind the horizon, the bright, beautiful orb in the sky that was Luna’s moon rose up on the other side of the firmament. Both fillies began walking towards town hall.

It was a peaceful silent walk, but this time it wasn’t an awkward silence, so they just walked, looking at each other from time to time and just smiling. After a few minutes they arrived at ‘The Golden Daffodil’, the best and classiest restaurant in Ponyville. When they were a mere few hoofs away from the entrance Scootaloo was struck by a thought “Umm… Bloom… don’t we need… I dunno, reservations or something like that?”

“Actually, we do need reservation to enter” replied Applebloom like it was nothing.

“And… how are we gonna get them? Don’t you need to book a table like one month before?”

“Eeeyup, y’all have to.” said Applebloom before looking to her friends face and giving a slight laugh. “Unless the owner owes yer family a favor and decided to make a reservation fer y’all tonight…”

“Huh?”

“Horte Cuisine, the owner of this restaurant here, owed the Apples a favor, ‘cause once Big Mac helped him with sumthin’ ” explained the little earth filly.

“Oh really? What did your brother do to get him to owe you something?”

“Sum months ago Big Mac was walking through town a few blocks away from here. He saw a pony pulling a heavy cart, in that moment one of the boxes fell over the pony’s hoof and broke it. Big Mac took the pony to the hospital, n’ then he got the cart to ‘The Golden Daffodil’, where they were s’pposed to be sent. Horte Cuisine told him they were sum very fancy mushrooms n’ that he needed them by that night, so technically, without Big Mac’s help it would be ruined, so he told him that anytime he needs sumthin’ to go and ask him.” Applebloom took a break to inhale deeply and continued “But good ol’ Big Mac told him that we were a family, so any member could ask fer the favor. Horte Cuisine had no objection, n’ yesterday, mah sis’ asked him to make us a reservation fer today.”

“Really? Ooooh… that’s why you wanted to come here! That’s awesome! Then let’s go in, I always wanted to enter one of these fancy restaurants that everypony talks about.”

When they got to the door the waiter asked for their names and Applebloom tells him that she is from the Apple family, the waiter jolts up at the name and invites them in, leading them to the best table in the restaurant. Everything was clean, tidy, and perfectly kept. Scootaloo was looking at everything with her mouth wide open while Applebloom couldn’t help but do the same. It was the first time any of the two were in such a fancy place.

When they got to their table Scootaloo stepped ahead and moved the chair for Applebloom to sit. Applebloom nodded at her and sat, Scootaloo then dashed to her seat. Both fillies were just looking at everything, the table, the doors, the walls, the roof, and Scootaloo especially intrigued by the flowers and the two red candles that were in the middle of the table. After a few moments the orange brash filly looked to the sides and noticed some ponies in the other tables looking at them somehow derogatorily, she felt intimidated, like she didn’t belong there, so she started sweating and her eyes darted back and forth. The red-maned farmpony noticed that. “Scoots, are y’all feelin’ okay? What was the problem?”

Scootaloo tried to avoid answering, but it was useless. “I-it… it’s just that I… I’m kinda nervous. I… don’t feel very good here… It seems that I’m just… not in my ground, you understand?” she confessed.

“Stay calm gal…” reassured Applebloom, then she got an idea, and began to blush. “J-just look at my eyes, and don’t pay attention to anypony else. Just look in my eyes and forget that we’re here.”

Scootaloo obliged and looked directly to her beloved’s eyes, each one was more beautiful than the other, and they were extremely hypnotizing. Both fillies got lost in thought.

“ Oh, I just want to kiss her roughly, and not let her gasp for air… No, we have to plan how to seduce her, slowly but steady, not kiss her right out of the blue. Oh come on! Look at those eyes, those inviting eyes, look at those sweet fleshy lips that seem to scream for a kiss..” Scootaloo started biting her lower lip softly “. You don’t plan on me containing my passion, do you? I’m not asking you that, I’m just saying we should be wise and wait some more. I can’t keep going, my heart is going to burst, and my mind just can’t stop thinking about it. Enough is enough! Get a hold on yourself, let’s wait a little more” thought Scootaloo, lost in those penetrating, beautiful red-orange eyes.

“ Do Ah need to tell’er that Ah’m dying to be more than friends? Ah can’t look at her without desiring those lips madly. Ah’m out of excuses to get close to her. Hasn’t she realized that Ah can’t keep being jes her friend? Ah don’t wanna live mah life without her by mah side!”.

Both fillies started getting closer, and closer, when a waiter passed beside them with some dishes in his hoof. Scootaloo wondered and decide to ask her friend “Oh… by the way, shouldn’t we order or something like that?”

“Oh, the food it’s supposed to be already planned, so Ah guess we’ll jes have to hope the chef has good taste” Applebloom said.

“Well... I guess that since is such a fancy place he’ll probably have a very good taste.”

As if planned, a waiter came over with two amazingly decorated dishes. Horte Cuisine himself also came. “Our famous Golden Daffodil Cassolette with Apple Salad for the Apple lady. And a special Gratin de Champignons with a Endive, Watercress and Apple salad for the little pegasus damsel. I will leave you two fillies alone, please enjoy your meal. Oh and I will come back later to see how are you doing.” said Horte Cuisine before walking away.

The two fillies were staring at their dishes, they were so delicately decorated and there was so much effort in them that they felt guilty to eat them. Applebloom decided to take the first bite. From the moment the piece of meal touched her tongue she knew it was the best thing she had ever eaten. “Scoots, y’all need to try it, it’s… it’s… delicious!” said the yellow-coated pony before taking another bite and savoring it.

Scootaloo looked at her dish and tried a little piece. Eating would never be the same again, after that bite, everything else she had eaten before, was next to rubbish. “Whoa... the chef did have good taste!”

Applebloom could just nod; both fillies were lost in flavor heaven. Minutes later the plates were clean, white and shiny, they left nothing.

“Well… that was quite a dinner huh?” said Scootaloo, rubbing her full belly.

“Eeyup…” replied Applebloom as she leaned over the back of the chair, and inhaling deeply.

“I don’t think eating will ever be the same, I hadn’t tried something this tasty in my life! It was delicious.”

“Eeyup…”

“So… why did your sister arranged this dinner?”

“Oh, it’s because Ah told’er that we were gonna have this get together, but Ah hadn’t planned where to eat, so she told me she got what Ah needed, n’ then she told me that it was all done, that Ah had to be here n’ say we’re from the Apple family.”

“Well my little fillies, would you care to tell me how was it?” Horte Cuisine asked as he approached.

“Amazing” said Scootaloo.

“Delicious” said Applebloom.

“Oh… I’m glad to hear that, my dear fillies. Umm… Are you going to pay now? Or do you want me to come here later?”

“Oh, no Ah’ll pay fer it.”

“What? No, I’ll pay for it Applebloom!”

“Not this again Scoots… Y’all paid fer the flower, Ah’ll pay fer the food”

“No, I’ll pay, you got us the reservation, and you’ve done enough, so I’ll pay. And it’s final” stated Scootaloo. “How much is it Horte?”

“Oh, it would be one hundred bits.”

Scootaloo swallowed hard. Applebloom said “No Scoots, Ah won’t make y’all pay fer it. At least lemme pay half of it!”

“No, I’ll pay for it” Scootaloo took his pouch “ Please oh please tell me I have enough.” Luckily, this time the princesses seemed to be in a forgiving mood, and she was able to take one hundred bits out of her pouch and she observed there were just ten bits left in it. “ Well… I guess it will be a while until I have enough for the scooter again… But it doesn’t matter, if everything goes as expected, it will be more than worth it.

Scootaloo hoofed the bits to Horte, who bowed and left the table.

“Well… I guess we have nothing left to do here… Do you want to have another walk at the park? I… I want to tell you something and I found it to be the perfect place” asked the orange filly.

Applebloom got down from her seat and started heading towards the exit “But… isn’t it a lil’ bit dark? Ah mean, the sun’s gone n’ everythin’…”

“Oh, I’m sure tonight Luna’s moon can lead the way, I sense that tonight it will be bright and beautiful. Just like you” said Scootaloo, not really thinking about what she was saying.

Applebloom blushed after hearing that. Scootaloo realized it and tried to make it up “I m-mean that you are very… bright?” “ Great, that sounded amazingly stupid. Now, stick to the plan. Forget about trying to do anything, until you get to the park, and then… The Ultimate Weapon and she’ll be yours. If not… there’s nothing left to do”

“O-okay… if y’all say it, Ah’ll be happy to go with y’all.”

The fillies waved goodbye to Horte Cuisine and left ‘The Golden Daffodil’ and walked back to the park. Again there were just some minutes of pure silence, a good calming silence. They walked under the moonshine looking at each other. When they got to the park, Scootaloo decided to act, so as she walked, she started saying.

“Applebloom, I need to tell you something, and to ask you something very, very important. You can’t tell anypony about what I’m about to say. Do you swear to be dead silent about it?” asked Scootaloo seriously.

Applebloom was excited thinking “ Oh mah stars, Ah can believe it, is she about to ask me out? Tell me she is, please Luna, under your moon make mah wish come true. Well, if she is not telling me that, Ah’ll tell’er then, but first let’s listen to what she’s gonna tell us” “Of course Scootaloo, Ah’ve told y’all that whatever y’all needed to talk, Ah’ll be there for y’all, always by yer side, always…” said the little yellow filly.

“I have something to confess…”

“Yeah?” the little filly was inching closer, eager to hear her.

“I… I-I…”

“Yes!?”

“I’m… I’m a filly fooler…” said Scootaloo quickly.

“Yeah!” yelled Applebloom moving her hoof in sign of victory. Then she noticed Scootaloo’s face. “Ah-Ah mean… it’s just that Ah’m a filly fooler too! Ah’m glad not to be the only one...”

“Really? Perfect! Then this will be so much easier!”

“ YES! She is gonna ask me out, Ah was right!” thought Applebloom, smiling widely.

“I… I need to ask you something”

“Yes!?”

“I’m in love with some filly, could you help me get her?” asked Scootaloo.

Applebloom smile turned upside down and her pastel yellow coat become pale, resembling Sweetie Belle’s. Her eyes contracted and her mind went into complete breakdown “ WHAT!? WHAT IN TARNATION!? WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. BUCK! This wasn’t what Ah was hoping for! Luna, I HATE YOU! Well… Mah love wasn’t corresponded, that’s true… but anyways Ah’m her friend, so Ah’ll help her, even if it’s to get her to be with another filly…” Applebloom steeled herself and replied soullessly, faking a smile “E-eeyup… jes tell me what do y’all need me to do…”

“I was thinking… I could rehearse what I’m gonna tell her with you, and you can tell me if it’s good, or if it’s too much”

“N’ what makes y’all think she’s gonna react the same way Ah will?”

“Because she’s pretty much like you, In fact, everything I’m going to tell you, it’s true for you too.” said Scootaloo.

“O-okay… shoot gal” said with feigned joy.

“Well… let’s skip the greetings and that, I won’t tell her right away. I’ll probably have a nice date, maybe a walk at the park, and then I’ll tell her.”

“ Oh, and now she steals mah idea to get her? Ah’m not letting this one pass by. Ah’m gonna kill this filly, whoever she is.” “Oh, Ah understand, now, what’s you’re gonna tell her, but that it’s also true for me?”

“I… I really like your mane, it’s… so beautiful” said Scootaloo smiling coyly.

Applebloom blushed “ Ah wasn’t expecting that… she likes mah mane? Well... let’s see what she says next, if she keeps it like this Ah’ll try to make mah move now, and expect everything goes right “Y-y’all do?”

“Yes… but not as much as your eyes. Your beautiful eyes, they just keep me looking at them, I’m hypnotized by them and I can’t get away.”

“Y-y’all cant?” “ Oh mah stars, she… she can’t be serious ”

“And don’t get me started on your way of being, you always bring me up when I’m down, you just give the best of you to keep going. And for that, and a LOT more things that I’m afraid I won’t tell you, I want to ask you something.”

“What is it?” Asked Applebloom, she had forgotten about the other filly, she was just thinking about herself.

“Applebloom, I’m asking you” said Scootaloo, taking a step closer and a box from the jacket Applebloom was wearing “Would you like to become my fillyfriend?” she said, opening the box, revealing a golden necklace with an apple-shaped ruby and a leaf-shaped emerald. “Please say yes. My life won’t be the same without you by my side.”

Boom goes the dynamite, the whole world exploded, leaving nothing, not even the stars, the moon, the universe, nothing, just an orange-coated, purple-maned pegasus filly and a pastel yellow-coated, red-maned earth pony. Or that’s how Applebloom saw it. For her, everything else was secondary and trivial. Her brain was working at thousand miles per second, she felt light headed, her knees were about to fail her, and in her head everything Scootaloo had said was being repeated a thousand times. But the only thing that mattered to her back then was ‘Would you like to become my fillyfriend? My life won’t be the same without you by my side’ she couldn’t move. She was frozen in place. Until she realized Scootaloo’s face, which was filled with terror and expectation.

She looks at the necklace and recognizes it.

“D-don’t tell me y’all bought it with the money fer yer scooter…” said Applebloom.

“Well…” replied Scootaloo with a coy smile “It’s true. But that doesn’t matters! You’re way more important than a stupid scooter, no matter how awesome it is. I would do it again if I was given the chance.”

Applebloom’s cheeks became getting red, and she shed a tear, but not because she was heart-broken, she was shedding a tear of happiness. “ Ah’m sorry about what Ah’ve said before, thank y’all Luna, Ah owe y’all big time.”

“A-about yer question… about me being yer fillyf-friend… Ah hope this is good enough fer an answer” said Applebloom, darting forward and locking lips with the filly of her dreams, she wrapped her arms around Scootaloo and held her tightly. Scootaloo was paralyzed; she was still processing the information. When she realized what was happening, she returned the kiss with mad passion. She felt like she was in heaven, she forgot about the scooter, she forgot about her older life, she forgot about her parents, she forgot about Rainbow Dash, she forgot her own name, she could only think of Applebloom’s lips, of those sweet lips that were kissing her, those lips that were driving her out of her mind. Her body was feeling warmer, she forgot about how cold she was without the jacket, her wings sprung to the sides wide open, she felt them all tingly and alive she felt like they were going to break free and fly off.

Applebloom wasn’t less excited, she was kissing the love of her life, the pony of her dreams, the filly she wanted by her side for the rest of time. She was rocking her world, and she intended on rocking Scootaloo’s world as well. Her body was getting hot, and it wasn’t because of the jacket, or the dress. She felt like her veins were filled with liquid fire, rushing through them at incredible speed. The yellow filly felt that her cheeks were going to explode; they were hot on the inside, and cold outside, because of the two twin streams of tears flowing from her eyes from pure happiness. She was the queen of the world and nopony ever before had been as happy as her in that moment.

Scootaloo starts feeling lighter, like the whole burden of gravity wasn’t on her shoulders anymore, she felt like she was being lifted in the air, then she started feeling that Applebloom lips were a little bit lower than before. Seconds later Applebloom broke the kiss. Scootaloo flew up in the air, did a backflip, and hoof pumped while shouting “She said yes! Well, she actually just kissed me, but it’s like a yes! Woohoo!!”

When she looked to her right, she notices that Rainbow Dash was looking at her, hoof pumping as well “So, Applejack said yes too, I guess” after a few seconds she heard her new fillyfriend shouting “Scootaloo!”

“What?” asked excitedly the little filly.

“Y’ALL ARE FLYIN’!” giggled the farmpony.

“What are you talking abo-” and that’s when it struck her, she was mid-air, flying. Her wings were flapping faster than ever and she felt weightless. She felt like she was swimming, no, it was even greater. “YOU ARE RIGHT! Oh Celestia this is great! Two of my dreams came true in just one night! I think that if I get my cutie mark now I could die happy.” She looked at her flank, but it was blank as always “Well, I guess it was asking too much for today ” she got distracted for a second and her wings stopped flapping, she started falling, and flapping again, just two feet off the ground she stopped, and got up again.

Applebloom was looking at her dumbfounded, her best friend, the one who was never able to rise off the ground for more than some seconds, was flying. Flying out of sheer happiness. In part, she felt proud, because she was the reason of Scootaloo being that happy.

Scootaloo descended and gave Applebloom another passionate kiss in mid-air. She landed slowly, without breaking the kiss and hugged her beloved. After a few seconds she broke the kiss, Applebloom’s lips went forward, still hungry, but finding nothing but air. Applebloom opened her eyes to find Scootaloo with a hoof behind her neck, trying to lock the necklace. Applebloom didn’t know what to do; she couldn’t bring herself to say ‘Thanks’ or to just hug her. Then she felt Scootaloo’s hoof wiping the tears of her face, that’s when her heart melted completely. “Oh Scootaloo, Ah can’t tell y’all how much Ah’ve wanted to hear y’all tell me y’all loved me. This... This is more than everything Ah’ve ever dreamed of. Except for that one time where...” She shut herself up, smiled and blushed furiously.

Scootaloo’s wing went straight up “W-what did you dreamed about?”

“About y’all n’ Ah getting’ married.”

Scootaloo’s heart rate went slightly down and laughed. “Well, I think it’s a little bit soon for that, we’ve been together for about a minute and a half.”

Both fillies started laughing, then got closer and hugged for a few minutes. Even if she didn’t want to, Applebloom had to say “Umm... Scoots, Ah think it’s a lil’ bit late, n’ Big Mac, mah sis’ n’ Granny Smith will probably be worried about me. Ah guess Ah have to go home.”

“I would be concerned just about your brother and your grandma” grinned Scootaloo.

“Why do y’all think that?” asked the red/orange eyed filly.

“I have a hunch that she’s pretty busy and happy right now with another pony... But I guess it is late. Let’s get you home... MY Applebloom.”

“Thank y’all, MAH Scootie.”

“Wait! Please, please… we shouldn’t call each other names, like your brother when he was in love with Miss Cheerilee because of our poison.” cringed Scootaloo at the memory of that fatidic day.

“Don’t you like me calling y’all mah Scootie?” pouted Applebloom, giving Scootaloo the best puppy-dog eyes she could muster.

Scootaloo couldn’t resist those eyes. “Okay, okay, you can call me Scootie, or however you want to call me, as long as it’s nothing similar to ‘shmoopy-doopy sweetie-weety pony pie’ or something like that.”

“Oh no, Ah wouldn’t tell y’all sumthin’ like that.”

“Okay my Blooming Beauty, can we go?”

“Oh, so the ‘no-names’ girl calls me names?” giggled Applebloom, while Scootaloo blushed and looked away. Applebloom got close to her friend, and they went walking toward Sweet Apple Acres, flank to flank, with Applebloom’s head resting on Scootaloo’s shoulder and Scootaloo’s wing draped over her.

As soon as they got to Sweet Apple Acres, Scootaloo kissed Applebloom one last time and decided to go back to Sugarcube Corner for her scooter.

Applebloom watched her walk away and entered the house. Her life was complete, but her body was worn out. She went upstairs and entered her room silently, so her grandma wouldn’t wake up from her sleep. She closed the door and walked towards the wardrobe, which was almost empty, she was about to take off her dress when she noticed she was still wearing Scootaloo’s jacket. She took it off and let her over her bed. She took her dress off, hung it in the wardrobe, and walked towards her bed. She rested her head on the pillow for a few seconds, but then she started looking back and forth, unsure of what she was going to do.

Finally she decided, she grabbed the jacket and got back to bed. She drifted off to sleep, with the leather jacket between her hooves with a smile on her face.

Scootaloo took the scooter from her hiding place and arrived back at her ‘home’. She entered, re-made the wall, and collapsed on her bed. She didn’t care about anything. Her day couldn’t have been better.

The next morning Scootaloo woke up smiling; she walked to the ‘door’ and got out. Today she wasn’t going to go on her scooter, today she had plenty energy, so she ran towards Sweet Apple Acres.

When she got there, she knocked on the door really fast. She inhaled deeply to lower her heart rate and waited to be greeted by the pastel yellow filly she loved. But instead, she’s greeted by her big brother.

“Hi Big Mac!”

“Howdy miss Scootaloo.”

“Umm… is Applebloom at home?”

“Well… she is, but she’s still asleep. Y’all can go n’ wake her up; she should be up by now anyways” he said, stepping aside and pointing to the stairs.

Scootaloo entered the house and walked up the stairs, she entered her beloved room, she had been in Applebloom’s room before, but it felt different this time. She walked towards the bed, and saw Applebloom holding the jacket tightly, sleeping and smiling. “ Oh my gosh, she slept with my jacket, that’s so cute!” She got closer and she whispered to her ears as sweetly as she could “Applebloom, wake up, it’s almost midday already.”

Applebloom jolted up in surprise, causing her to bump her forehead with Scootaloo’s. Both fillies let out a groan and then they laughed. After that, Applebloom realized that her new fillyfriend was in her room.

“Scootie? What are y’all doin’ here?”

“Oh, I was thinking… we need to tell Sweetie Belle about us. We won’t be able to fake it when the three of us are together.”

“Yeah. Ah guess y’all are right. So, wanna go now Sugarcube? asked the filly.

“Yeah, let’s go! My Bloom.”

The fillies exited the house and walked towards Carousel Boutique. They knocked on the door to find Sweetie Belle behind it.

“Hi crusaders! Come in, I’m alone since Rarity is in a meet up with the girls.”

“Hi Sweetie Belle... I...” said Scootaloo, walking towards the living room. Applebloom just followed her and stood by her side. “I... WE… we have something to tell you, something... very important” she said, blushing slightly.

“Oh, yeah? What is it?” asked the excited white filly.

“We…” she looked at Applebloom “You tell her.” She pushed her fillyfriend ahead.

“We… Scootie here and Ah… we’re datin’, Sweetie Belle.”

“YES!! I knew it! I knew you two would end up together and that yesterday was really a date! Ha-ha! Feels good to be right.” The unicorn yelled, dancing in a comical fashion.

“What?” asked the two fillies in unison.

“Yes, I declare myself guilty. I already knew about you two, even before you two yourselves found out you liked each other. I noticed the way you looked at each other, and the way you two always stood together. I knew it all along.” bragged the purple and pink maned pony with a smile on her face.

“Really? And you aren’t mad, or find us being together with another filly to be disgusting or anything?” asked Scootaloo.

“Of course not! Love is love, no matter the gender nor the age. Oh girls I’m so happy for you! Crusaders Group Hug!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle before stretching her hooves and hugging her two friends.

“Well… Ah’m really sorry gals, but with that said, Ah must get back to the barn, Ah have to do mah daily chores.” said Applebloom.

“Oh, yeah, well, I’ll walk you home; I have to get my jacket back anyway.” Responded Scootaloo

“Oh, okay girls, I have to wait for Rarity to come back, but then we could hang out or go crusading!”

“That sounds like a great idea Sweetie Belle, see you!” said Scootaloo, walking out the door with Applebloom by her side.

Sweetie Belle was about to close the door when her sister entered the house. She seemed worried and disgusted by something. Sweetie Belle couldn’t figure out what it was, but she knew it was better to wait for her to give up and confess what happened, rather than asking her what the problem is. So since she couldn’t ask her what it was, she decided to just tell her the good news.

“Hi sister, how are you today?”

“Hi Sweetie Belle, it’s… it’s a strange day, to say the least.” She looked like she was about to faint. “How about you?”

“Oh, I have wonderful news Rarity! Scootaloo and Applebloom are dating! Isn’t it wonderful? I can’t say I didn’t see that one coming, but anyways, it’s great news!”

“D-d-dating? Those two little fillies? B-but they’re too young! And to be with another mare… how could they possibly be sure about their sexuality.”

“Sister! What are you saying! You should know better than anypony that love is love, no matter the gender, nor the age, love is beautiful anyways, in any of its forms. The bond between two ponies who love each other is limitless and unbreakable.”

Sweetie Belle got closer to her sister and hugged her “You and I love each other, as sisters, they just love each other more than that, it’s not that difficult” stated the little pony.

Rarity was speechless; she didn’t know what to say. She was thinking, trying to process the information given to her by her little sister. “Oh dear, I see it so clear now! How could I’ve acted like such a ruffian!” she examined, before rushing out the door, closing it behind her with magic.

Love Rises As Sun Sets

Two mares were walking down a lane of Ponyville, surrounded by chirping birds and calming sunrays that seemed to kiss their bodies.

The orange farmpony with golden mane and the cyan pegasus with a distinctive rainbow colored mane. Two best friends who wanted to become more than that, but they were still unaware of the other’s feelings. Both ponies were planning their next move, and the sun was starting to hide from the ponies’ sight, which meant their time was running out.

“Ah promise y’all will be mine by tonight Rainbow Dash…”

“With the two princesses as my witnesses, I swear your love will be mine. Even if my love for you is newfound, I’m completely sure its true and deep.”

The two ponies walked side to side together, looking at each other and smiling happily. They walked down the lane while various ponies walked by their side, looking at them with curious glances, trying to decipher the real motives of their meet-up. Some rumours were spread trough town but they weren’t confirmed. Rainbow Dash and Applejack continued to walk unbothered of the intruders’ glimpses.

“Hey… look at the sun, Ah think it will be gone in a few minutes” Applejack said, trying to create some conversation.

“Yep… in about… ten minutes, the sky will have the same beautiful orange tone as your coat.” Replied Rainbow Dash absentminded, but soon realised what she said and added “And the same as Scootaloo, too!”

“That lil’ filly… she was gonna spend the day with Applebloom today.”

“Yeah I know, that kiddo always tells me everything.”

“Y’all care a lot fer’er don’t y’all? Y’all are always talkin’ ‘bout her, n’ Ah always notice y’all worry fer her when she’s out crusadin’ ”

“How did you notice that?” gasped the rose eyed pony in surprise.

“It was a piece of apple pie fer me, ‘cause y’all have the same face Ah have when Ah think ‘bout Applebloom. Y’all love’er like a lil’ sister don’t y’all?

“Well… yeah, one could say I do care for her like she’s my sister. I dunno… the pipsqueak is able to warm my heart, something not many ponies can do.”

“Heh speakin’ ‘bout the Princess of Canterlot, here they come!”

On the same lane walked two little fillies who seemed to notice them and started to walk towards them.

"Howdy girls, how are y'all doin'?" Applejack asked.

" 'Sup kiddos?" Rainbow added in.

" Hi sis, hi miss Rainbow Dash" the red maned filly said.

"Hello Rainbow Dash, how are you Applejack?" the orange Pegasus asked.

Then all four ponies said in unison "We're fine, we were just passing by." At those words everypony started laughing at the coincidence and then Applebloom walked towards Applejack. Rainbow Dash separated Scootaloo and asked

“So… how’re you doing?”

“I’m fine, I guess, how’re you and your ‘trick’ doing?”

“Not very well; I kinda ‘screwed up my wings’ and I feel like they’re getting away from me…”

“Well you know Dash, you can’t keep your ‘wings stuck in one place’ for long, especially YOUR ‘wings’ they aren’t made for walking, so… keep ‘em active!” said Scootaloo, winking at the grown pegasus.

“Not a bad idea kiddo… Not a bad idea at all”

The two couples joined again, said their goodbyes and parted off.

“So what were y’all talkin’ ‘bout with yer ‘sis’ Sugarcube?” asked Applejack, winking at her cyan pegasus friend.

“Huh? Oh, nothing… nothing you should worry about AJ” replied Rainbow Dash, her eyes blankly staring at the floor. “Besides, she’s not my sister!” before she added under her breath “Yet.”

Applejack heard her, smiled sympathetically and thought “ Ah knew it” She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, opened them up and kept walking.

As the two ponies strolled, Applejack started to notice that the trees, grass; the whole atmosphere was under a pink light.

Rainbow looked at her with half closed eyes and said “Applejack, there’s something I need to tell you.”

The farmpony began blushed and replied “Y-yes?”

The pegasus took a step forward and said “I love you madly and I want, no I need you to be mine. Now!”

Applejack looked at her surprised and asked “A-are y’all fer real?” stuttered the orange farm-pony.

Rainbow Dash grinned then hopped onto her, pinning her to the ground and locking lips forcefully.

Applejack broke the kiss. “Rainbow” she whispered.

Rainbow Dash kissed her again. “What” Applejack recognized Dash’s voice, but she was kissing her. She broke the kiss again to say “what in Tarnation?”

“Applejack you okay?” Dash asked, but her mouth wasn’t moving. “AJ wake up!” yelled Rainbow Dash, shaking her friend’s head. “You were day-dreaming”

“Wha? Oh…” Replied the farmpony, a little bit disappointed

“Were you dreaming of me?” asked the cyan mare, stepping closer to the orange cowpony.

Applejack blushed and asked in surprise “How did y’all know what Ah was dreamin’ ‘bout?”

“Maybe because you kept repeating my name and stuff…”

“Oh mah stars, Ah-Ah’m sorry, Ah… It’s ‘cause Ah didn’t sleep well last night, Ah was too excited n’ Ah couldn’t get a good rest.”

“R-really? You were excited to see me?”

“Yeah… Ah really missed y’all, Ah know they were jes two days, but fer some reason, Ah needed to see y’all” confessed the blonde mare.

“Yeah, me too. I don’t know why neither”

“Well, then we better use this time together wisely.” said Applejack, approaching her beloved.

“Yes… we should…” said Rainbow Dash as well, stepping closer.

Rainbow Dash felt the blood running through her veins, her mind was racing at a million miles per hour, her heart beats were getting faster, and faster, and faster…

Until her heart completely stopped as she felt a loud thud and a body tackling her, throwing her to the ground. When she felt the hard floor, her heart started pumping again. And her mind started to realise what happened as she heard.

“Hiiiiiii Girls! I was looking for you because Scootaloo told me you were here, well, actually I already knew.” Pinkie Pie took a deep breath and spilled “BecausethisafternoonIgotaPinkiePieSenseDoubleDoosybutIthoughtitwasadecoybutitwasn’twhichmeansIwasrightallalong,which reminds me of you Applejack” said the pink mare, pointing a hoof towards the emerald-eyed pony, who was still trying to understand what was happening “By the way, red suits you. Looking good there.”

“P-Pinkie Pie… would you get off me already…” groaned the pegasus on the ground.

“Oopsie Woopsie, sorry Dashie” said the party animal as she got off her friend, standing up in a rather comically and surprisingly speedy way. “I was happy to see you, it’s just that. So how’s your day going girls? What are you doing here? You two, together, alone, walking under this cutesy wootsy romantic scene?”

Applejack blushed and looked away “We were jes having a walk, nothing else”

Rainbow Dash added “Pinks, you know what they say about ‘two is company, threes a’-”

“A bigger and better company!” yelled the pink pony as she excitedly jumped up and threw her hooves in the air “But… since I’m here, it means we’re not 3, we are 3.14, and those 0.14 would be the chocolates Applejack ate today!”

“H-how did you know Ah’ve been eating chocolates?”

“Oh, please, I can clearly notice that, just look at your belly!” she said, poking at it with her hoof.

“Are you saying my girl is fat Pinkie?” answered Rainbow Dash in an angry tone, stepping towards the pink mare and positioning herself in front of the orange pony of her dreams.

“Your girl? And I thought Gilda was the possessive one…”

“D-do you think Ah’m fat?” stuttered Applejack, looking at her belly with wide eyes.

“Of course not! You’re hot. I mean, you’re perfect just like you are now” replied the Rainbow Dash, blushing.

“So Applejack, where did you get that pretty flower? I love it! It’s so… Rainbow-ie! Maybe… maybe it tastes great too, lemme give it a bite!” said Pinkie Pie, walking forward, eyes fixed at the flower, liking her lips.

“Whoa, whoa Pinks! I gave her that flower” lied Rainbow Dash, trying to cover Applejack’s secret “and I’m not going to let you ‘eat it’ just like that.”

“Really, you gave her that flower? Ooh, ooh, then tell me where you got it!”

Rainbow Dash froze in place, trying to figure out what she could say.

“S-she found it on one of’er random flights. S-she doesn’t really remember where, am Ah right Rainbow?” stuttered Applejack, with a nervous smile on her face.

“Oh… yeah, right! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it…”

“Wait! Where did I hear that line before…” pondered the pink pony. “Well it doesn’t matter, thing is we’re together now! Why don’t we do something fun?

Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash with a worried face; the rainbow-maned mare shrugged and made a sign with her hoof, trying to make her understand to follow her plan, to get rid of the pink intruder.

“You see Pinks… we… we are kinda tired right now. Besides, we came here to talk just the two of us, alone”

“Well now we are the three of us alone!”

“B-but we haven’t come here to play, in fact, look at AJ looking all se-pretty, do you think she’ll be running and jumping around?”

“Hmm, you have a point there Dashie.”

“We were thinking about having some dinner, something calm and quiet… more personal and intimate” said Rainbow Dash, looking at her orange friend.

“Ooh, ooh! Why don’t we go to Sugarcube Corner, there we can drink, and eat, and laugh, and eat some more, and have fun, and-”

“Actually Pinkie Pie, we already know where to go, Ah have a reservation at Octavia’s Note. Y’all know, the other restaurant that Horte Cuisine owns and that grey orchestra pony runs. The one where they play fancy music n’ stuff”

“Ooooh! I like that place too”

“But…”

“Hey AJ!” yelled Rainbow Dash, smiling and grabbing her shoulders “Isn’t the reservation just for two!?”

Applejack smiled and answered “Y’all are right! It is jes fer two ponies. Ah am mighty sorry Pinkie, but Ah guess y’all won’t be able to have dinner with us”

“Aww that’s a downer. Well, I’ll see what I can do, see you later girls!”

As soon as the pink mare was out of sight the cyan pegasus and the orange earth-pony exhaled a breath they didn’t knew they were holding.

“Well… with that taken care of… where were we?”

“We were talkin’ ‘bout using our time together wisely, so… what if we watch the sunset together? Ah heard it’s a pretty amazing view that Ah’d love to see by yer side.”

“Well… If you want to, and are willing to wait for me, I have a little something that will make it even more beautiful”

“Well of course Rainbow.”

“I’ll be back in ten seconds flat” said the smiling mare. Suddenly, she took off, leaving a rainbow trail behind her.

Applejack started carefully grooming her mane with her right hoof, then she lowered her hoof at her mouth’s height, she exhaled and smelled to confirm having a fresh breath.

“Good thing Ah have that spearmint behind the barn… it always comes in handy”

Seconds later she started humming a song, to abstain herself from thinking about Rainbow Dash or screwing up the date. The humming became singing and her hooves started tapping, following the beat. Soon enough she started dancing and singing.

“Jes a lil’ town mare under Luna’s night.

Lookin’ fer the fight of’er life.

In the real-time world nopony sees’er at all,

They all say she’s crazy.

Lockin’ Rhythms to the beat of’er heart,

Changin’ pony into life.

She’s has danced into the danger zone,

When the dancer becomes the dance.

It can cut y’all like a knife,

When the gift becomes the fire.

On the wire ‘tween what is n’ what will be!”

Rainbow Dash came back just in time to enjoy the amazing display of talent for the dance her beloved was showing. She was hypnotized by the swinging hips and the golden mane illuminated by the setting sun, enthralled by the moves of the orange cow-pony’s hooves and captivated by the celestial melody that escaped her sweet lips, the ones she longed to taste once again.

“Wow” She exclaimed unintentionally.

Applejack froze in place as soon as she heard the voice behind her, she turned around slowly, blushing to see RD watching at her, mouth agape, and a little pouch rested in the floor, under her hooves.

“Heh… S-so y’all saw me dancin’ and singin’…”

“Wow”

“W-what? Am Ah too ridiculous?” she said, raising her hoof to the top of her head, searching for her beloved Stetson to cover her face but finding nothing but air she decided that her hoof would do just fine.

“Just… Wow… I’m sorry AJ, but that was…”

Applejack’s face cringed

“AMAZING! Where did you learn to sing and dance like that! I never took you for a dancer, really”

“Oh, it’s not like Ah practice or sumthin’ Ah jes feel the beat n’ Ah can’t stop mahself, especially with this song, Ah love it!” she said smiling.

“Well you’re pretty good at it. Really!”

“W-well thank y’all, but now… what’s in the pouch?” she asked pointing at the bag that rested on the floor.

“Oh yeah, I gotta do this fast, sun is almost setting!” she picked up the pouch and raised it for Applejack to see. “This little thing right here, contains a powder I had Twilight make for me, just in case she is far away and I needed her help.”

“Her help fer what?”

“To cast a spell on some non-pegasus pony to make her or him able to walk on clouds, you know like the one you used on the Best Young Flyer Competition” explained Rainbow.

“N’ how does it work?”

“Well.” She cleared her throat and said “the procedure is really simple, you just need to apply a small quantity of this magically imbued powder on the hooves of the volunteer and the aforementioned will be able to sustain himself on the semi-ethereal surface of what you commonly call cloud formations.”

“What in Tarnation?”

“That was how our best friend Miss egghead explained it to me, but in normal pony talk means I put a pinch of this thingy in your hooves, and you can walk on clouds. However, it doesn’t make you lighter, so the problem now it how to get you up to that cloud. I don’t think I have the strength to get you up, Earth ponies have harder and heavier bones.”

“Oh, so yer idea was taking me to a cloud?” asked the orange cowpony

“You told me you wanted to see the sunset with me don’t you? Well there’s no better view than the one up in the clouds.”

Applejack blushed and smiled “Thank y’all Rainbow, y’all are so kind and considerate.” Applejack noticed the light pink color Rainbow Dash’s cheeks were getting and blushed even more. Seconds later she started looking at her surroundings and told her beloved “Now Rainbow, y’all are gonna work today, bring me that cloud and put it over there.” She said signalizing a empty space in the air.

She repeated the process various times with apparently no reason. Rainbow doubted why she was doing that, but she did it anyways. After moving some clouds she decided to ask “Hey AJ, I don’t mind doing this, but why do you want me to move clouds randomly?”

“Stop! It’s enough. Come ‘ere.” Rainbow Dash obliged and got closer. Applejack grabbed her neck and said “Y’all see, they weren’t randomly placed.”

Rainbow Dash looked in front of her and noticed she had created a cloud stair, up to a big flat cloud, perfect for resting and watching the sunset. “Wow Applejack, you’re one smart pony.”

“Thank y’all, thank y’all” she said, bowing at Rainbow Dash. Then she started hopping from cloud to cloud to finally get up to the top.

Rainbow was enthralled, mindlessly looking at Applejack’s flank going up and down with each hop. A moment later she even got a glimpse of under her dress. It’s not like she never saw her without the dress, in fact, the dress was what’s rare. But there was something there… something that made the whole situation more… enticing.

Rainbow Dash shook her head to dismiss those ideas and flew up to the cloud, she did an unnecessary but awesome flip before sitting just besides her beloved. The whole sky was turning orange and the two mares looked at the horizon, watching the sun sink lower and lower. Some clouds where scattered around, and some of them were inside the mares’ eyesight, between them and the sun, they looked like black spots, but the light that was going through the outlines gave them a rather incredible view, the rest of the clouds were around the bright orb, and were tinted with a very amazing orange color.

Applejack rested her head on her friend’s shoulder; Rainbow Dash blushed, but decided to rest her head over the cowpony’s head and sigh happily. She’s seen several sunsets from a cloud before. But this was different, a whole lot different, it was so… calming, relaxing and… warm. Yes, she felt warm; even though the temperature was dropping, she was feeling hotter and hotter. She admired the sun, clouds, the orange sky, and the mare by her side. The way her golden mane flowed down her back and the sweet scent of apples she smelled like.

“It must be all the time she spent on the farm, between the apple trees and the apple treats she and Granny Smith bake. It’s so… sweet, and… so Applejack, it’s driving me crazy. I should say something, this is getting awkward.”

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to talk but the silence was broken by another voice.

“Don’t y’all think the sky’s beautiful?” Asked Applejack, her head still gazing at the sunset, but her eyes kept closed.

“Heh… well yeah, it IS one of the reasons why I fly all day.” replied Rainbow Dash, inhaling deeply, taking in that sweet intoxicating apple perfume she carried. She was lost in apple heaven.

“Don’t you like the color it takes at sunset?”

“Oh, I love to see the sky painted orange.”

“Does it remind y’all of anypony?” Applejack ventured to say, trying to give her beloved a hint. “Its risky ‘cause it’s very obvious, Ah hope she doesn’t suspect anythin’ ”

“Yeah…”

Applejack’s heart raced.

“It kinda reminds me of Scoots…”

“What in the hay?” Thought Applejack as she opened her eyes, she thought about taking her head off her friend’s shoulder, but realized that would be rude and may blow her cover.

Rainbow Dash repeated the last part of the talk in her head and realized the mistake she just made. “ How in the name of the two princesses could you miss the chance to get points by making a compliment about the color you just said you loved, which it’s surprisingly the same as her coat’s, but no, you had to bring the pipsqueak! Why? Now go there and make it up, somehow!”

“A-and also reminds me of you, and your precious coat!” she suddenly got an idea while she was looking at the landscape that was sketched out before her. “T-the sun has the same beautiful golden color of your mane, and the clouds remind me of your cute freckles!” “SAFE!”

Applejack’s cheeks burned a crimson color and she looked down to avoid any possible glance from the cyan pegasus by her side. That’s when she noticed that.

It was impossible, she must have been seeing things, there was no way in Tartarus. The only pony in the whole wide world that couldn't have done that, was Rainbow Dash, but then again... there was it, in front of her.

She moved her head, pulling away from Rainbow Dash, confronted her with a confused face and said

“R-Rainbow… D-did y’all… did y’all went to the hooficurist!?”

The rainbow maned pony had clearly groomed her hooves, and knowing Rainbow Dash, she wouldn’t have done such a good work on hoof care, not her, not that. Neither she would have brushed her coat that neatly, or accentuated her eyelashes, or wear… was… was that perfume? “ Nah… not perfume, luckily she hadn’t got to that. Lookie there, so that’s why Ah thought she was lookin’ sumhow different, Ah hadn’t noticed exactly what, but now that Ah’m lookin’ at’er closely...”

“I… I-I can ex…plain?” The rose-eyed pony sheepishly replied.

“Ah’m listenin’...”

“I-I... had to go because... Uhm… I… spent the day with R...Rarity?”

“Even when y’all go with Rarity y’all never let anypony touch yer hooves.”

“Bu-but the thing is I... hit a wall? Yeah, trying to escape from Pinkie Pie, again. But the thing is, this time I thought it out a little better and put my hooves in front of me, so I hit the wall with them, instead of with my face and well... I broke these beauties, soooo... You underst-”

“Yer hooves look too good to be jes broken. N’ Ah was with Rarity yesterday. Don’t try n’ lie to me Rainbow Dash, y’all know Ah’m a living lie detector, Ah’m not the ‘Element of Honesty' fer nuthin’.” Applejack sternly replied.

“I-I-I… Ok I’m sorry.” She sighed. She inhaled deeply and explained “Yes, I went to the spa, alone. I wanted to look extra pretty for you today. I’m sorry for lying”

“Pretty?”

“I-I mean awesome! Yeah… that’s what I said.”

“Mhm… N’ did y’all spend the whole day at the spa?”

“Nah, I also helped the pipsqueak with some tricks and stuff, she was preparing for today. It was her big day and she wanted to impress Ap-” She stopped mid-sentence, putting a hoof at her mouth to stop saying more than what she already said.

“Don’t y’all tell me she…”

“I SAID NOTHING!”

“She does! Oh gosh this is great!”

“What!? Wait… Does AB…?” inquired the cyan pegasus.

“Eeyup”

“Ha ha! This is so great!”

“Okay now shush! ‘Nuff talkin’. Look at that sunset” Applejack said, taking her friend’s face between her hooves and turning them to look at the setting sun.

“Wow… That’s so awesome!”

The two ponies watched Celestia’s sun go down, disappearing behind the horizon, depriving the world of its wonderful invigorating light. The mares turned around to see the big white lunar orb rising.

It was a beautiful sight really, the power of the two princesses moving the celestial bodies, making life possible to the rest of the ponykind. But Rainbow Dash was enthralled by another sight, one that she judged more impressive, and beautiful.

The rainbow maned pegasus was watching the reflection on the eyes of the mare beside her, those green pools of… of… she didn’t know what it was, or how to describe it, but it was awesome and she didn’t want to waste a single second of looking at it. She want them to be hers, and hers alone. Nopony should be able to look at them, besides her.

“ I wanna fly her away to a place where we could be alone, just her and me. With nopony else that could step between, nopony else that could look at you, nopony else to touch you. Those eyes… I need them to be mine. They need to be mine. They should look just at me and only I should look at them. You need to be mine Applejack”

“Umm… Sugarcube… Do Ah have sumthin’ on mah face?”

“Oh I-I… no, no you look good, too good… Are you real?” She said grinning and poking her friend’s muzzle “Boop!”

Applejack giggled and exclaimed “Stop jokin’ around Rainbow. The sun is gone; the moon is up, what do y’all wanna do now?”

“What about eating something? I think I am starting to feel a little bit-” her stomach started to growl and grumble, something that made the orange mare giggle “Hungry…”

“Ah think Ah may have noticed that already.”

“Well… at least I made you laugh”

“Congratulations, y’all accomplished sumthin’ nearly as difficult as making Rarity escape from a lint of dust.”

“Or making Twilight freak out over the lost time.”

“Or make Fluttershy be scared from a dragon.”

“Or not to be chased by an un-exhaustible Pinkie Pie.”

“It’s not sumthin’ that happens every day.”

“Speak for yourself…”

“Whadda y’all mean?” Inquired the blonde pony

“You never saw me escape from her? She’s a good friend and everything, but sometimes is annoying to go someplace and there’s Pinkie Pie. You go somewhere else and there’s Pinkie Pie, every friggin where, there she is. It’s like a stalker or something.”

“Ah think y’all are exaggeratin’ Rainbow” Applejack answered giggling.

“Oh yeah? How do you explain that she always know where I am, even when I’m far away, so I can relax and be calm, on a cloud in the middle of nowhere. She appears out of nowhere with that friggin annoying high-pitched voice of hers!” Rainbow started getting a bit carried away, and her voice was dyed with a tone of anger “Dashie! Dashie!” she yelled, imitating her friend’s voice with a mocking tone “Lets go here, lets go there, lets do this, lets do that!”

“Sugarcube… y’all are getting a bit carried away here…”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I like her as a friend and everything, and I know she cares about me… But sometimes you just need space for a few days, or hours at least. I’m sorry; I shouldn’t be talking about her if I’m spending a day with you… So, shall we go to Octavia’s Note then?”

The orange mare nodded and started hopping down the cloud stair.

“DAMN GAL! Applebucking REALLY makes wonders to your curves!” thought the rose eyed pegasus, hypnotized once again by her beloved’s swinging rear.

The two ponies walked down the road towards Octavia’s Note, talking about their friends and sharing some laughs, when they spotted a pink blob waving at them.

“Oh Celestia no.”

“Y’all have to be buckin’ kiddin’ me.”

“Girls! I changed the reservation for three!”

Three is a Crowd

Octavia's Note, the second most fancy and beautiful restaurant in all of Ponyville. The walls were painted by a famous artist, and the furniture was all made in Canterlot. The entertainment that night, as usual was the Ponyville Orchestra, since one of them, the cellist, was the one entrusted by Horte Cuisine to run the establishment.

The light was dim, the music was right; a sweet fragrance lingered in the air... Romance was palpable in the atmosphere present, and it showered two mares in love, who were sitting in one of the many tables.

But something was off... A third, pink pony with a bubbly personality and curly hair was sitting close to one of them, rubbing cheeks. An orange earth pony's blood was boiling at the sight.

Applejack planned a very special dinner for two, and now she was stuck here with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, who was acting much mushier than usual with her cyan friend which, though she wasn't showing it, was getting to her nerves.

She inhaled deeply and sighed, for about the eleventh time since they found the party animal waiting for them outside the restaurant, and harshly said "Say Pinkie Pie... Would y'all come again on how y'all got such an intelligent, level-headed and sane mare like Octavia to let y'all change OUR reservation?"

Pinkie Pie stopped hugging Rainbow Dash to reply

"Oh, I know this one!" She leaned to the left, looking at the blank space where she used to be "Of course you know it, you were the one who changed it." She leaned to the right, staring to the place where she was seconds ago "Oh I'm sorry missy, for trying to ease the tension" Back to the left "Tension you say? Oh P-lease, if there's tension in here is your fault!" Right "My fault? It's your fault! You missy, are making them uncomfortable" Left "They are uneasy because her friend is talking to herself! If you haven't noticed, we are the same pony." You know where "YOU DON'T SAY! Oh, come on, we both know no matter what we do now, the tree will end up leaf-less, and there will be a forth one, and there will be a dancing pony, and the cloud will witness something the reader won-"

"Pinkie Pie, fer the love of Luna stop it! What's up with y'all?" Yelled Applejack, making not only Pinkie Pie stop talking and freeze, but also Rainbow Dash and half of the restaurant.

Pinkie Pie moved her mouth to one side and whispered to her prior location "I told you she was uncomfortable..."

Applejack sighed and said "Ah'm mighty sorry Pinkie... Ah've been on mah nerves since..."

"Since I found you two in the park?"

Applejack thought about it for a second and answered "Yes! Right there!" "Please take the hint gal, please take the hint, please take the hint"

Pinkie Pie put a hoof on her chin and looked at Applejack, thoughtful.

"And after y'all left, Ah started feelin' a bit better, that is until y'all-"

"Until you met with me here at the restaurant!"

"Eyup, n' even a bit more after y'all-"

"After I rushed to sit right next to Dashie?"

"Eeexactly"

"Wow... look at all that coincidences! That's a doozy my Pinkie Sense can't predict."

Applejack tried hard not to facehoof, but couldn't help to let a groan.

Rainbow Dash, trying to calm the waters asked "So Pinks, you never got to tell us how you got to change the reservation meant just for me and Applejack."

"Oh yeah, you're right."

"And please, no talking to yourself this time" clarified Rainbow Dash.

"Okie Dokie Lokie! Okay, the thing is this. After I left you two in the park I thought 'Boy, poor AJ, she probably wants to invite me, but the reservations are already done and she won't be able to change them', that's when I remembered, I knew Octavia! And I could ask her to change the reservation as a favor!" She happily said.

Before Applejack could ask her, Pinkie Pie was already answering "So I told her your problem, and that we met, and that we wanted to hang out, and also that you that you were sorry because the reservation was already than, and that-"

"Can't you say all that without saying 'and that' every two words?" groaned Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie was getting both mares on their nerves by now.

"Oopsie Woopsie Dashie, yes I can, of course I can and I will! Soooo.... I told her that maybe she could just change the reservation, but she told me 'First, Pinkie Pie, reservations can not be changed, this is a first-class restaurant, and it was enough trouble to get her the table, changing it would mean a lot more trouble. And second, even if I were... understanding enough to accede to do such a thing, I would only let Miss Applejack change it, not you.' Buuuut" She inhaled to continue

"IrememberedsomethingthatcouldchangehermindandItoldherandIactuallychangeditsoIgotthetablechange!"

"What did you do?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Oh, I remembered next Sunday would be a whole year since her first date with her now super special somepony, so I offered to make the best anniversary date ever for her, for free, taking into account their likes and preferences. She agreed and changed the reservations."

"How did y'all know she has a special somepony? And when was her first date? I never knew she had a coltfriend..."

"Well, I know about her date because it was in Sugarcube Corner! Though it wasn't actually a date, well, it never started as one... but one thing lead to another and... Oh, and she doesn't have a coltfriend..." After a few seconds of thinking, she realized what she just said "Oops, I talked a bit too much... Well the important part is that I could change it! And that's how we're here together now!" She put on a fake smile and a drop of sweat formed on her brow.

"Wait, what do you mean she doesn't have a... Don't tell me she's a..."

"C'mon Rainbow, don't be like that, if she is that's no skin off yer muzzle."

"Oh, no, I'm totally cool with that, I'm just... surprised."

"I knew it, Dashie wouldn't be such a hard skull to be intolerant about that kind of things" Pinkie Pie said hugging Dash.

Applejack frowned at the sight "Easy cowgirl, this is Pinkie Pie yer friend, y'all can't get like this! Relax, and try to ignore her n' talk to Rainbow." She inhaled deeply. "So.... Rainbo-" She was cut mid-sentence by Pinkie Pie, who asked

"Oh Dashie, do you remember that time when you were flying on the fields next to Ponyville, and that I went there to see you, and you flew up, up, high, until you looked like a teensy weensy itty bitty little spot in the sky, and then you plummeted down like whoosh!" Every action described was followed by very amusing hoof movements and special effects, courtesy of the pink maned party animal. " And then you were about to hit the ground but... Swash! You made a ninety degrees turn, flying parallel to the ground, you closed your eyes and, without knowing, you flew directly towards me, and we collided, ending a few hooves away!"

"Pfft... That ain't nuthin'!"

Applejack couldn't stop herself in that moment, she felt something between jealousy and pride, she wasn't going to let Pinkie Pie steal her rainbow mare, nor have the best crash, she would have it and nopony else.

"One time, when we were jes lil' fillies, this crazy daredevil pegasus was flyin' 'round mah orchard at great speed, 'cause she came down from Cloudsdale nosedivin', Ah was jes walkin' out of the barn, after helpin' Big Mac with sum chores. Ah closed mah eyes to take in the sweet fragrance of freshly ripped apples that covered the whole orchard, but instead, Ah got tackled. Ah never saw her, n' she never saw me, out of nowhere, Ah was mid-air, dragged by a small but fast flyin' pony"

"Yeah! Normally, back then, I wouldn't be able to lift her off the ground that easily, but since I had such a momentum that moment, that I took her up in the air without noticing."

"But the strength left'er soon n' Ah started dragging'er down. Unluckily, or luckily, now that Ah think 'bout it, we ended up crashin' into mah bedroom's window, fell on mah bed, sprung n' finally landed on mah bedroom floor. Ah was on top, pinning her to the ground. We spent a whole minute, starin' at each other's eyes, tryin' to understand what jes happened"

"Yeah, great job Rainbow Dash, that was a very good second impression, destroy your new friend's bedroom!" said the cyan pegasus grinning slightly.

"After we put two and two together, we realized what she had jes done n' her eyes started watering n' her mouth started poutin'."

"Yeah... I felt awful, after all the troubles I put you trough the first time we met, I came back just to break your stuff... This crazy cowfilly saw I was about to burst out crying, and even if we had met just once, she hugged me tight and told me everything was going to be alright, that she'll fix it later... She only cared for my wellbeing."

"N' Ah still do Sugarcube, y'all know its always mah first priority."

Rainbow Dash's heart fluttered a bit and doubled it's heartbeats at the comment, her cheeks started turning a bit pink, so she looked at the table while saying "A-after a few minutes I relaxed, and the two of us burst out laughing our flanks off. The whole situation was ridiculous!"

The two ponies started chuckling.

"It still is Sugarcube!" The orange mare looked at Pinkie Pie and asked "Can y'all picture Dash, Equestria's fastest flyer, young daredevil, first pony to ever pull off the Sonic Rainboom, whimperin' n' feelin' all guilty 'bout breaking sumthin? N' me tryin' to comfort a pony Ah jes met?"

Pinkie Pie started giggling "That IS kinda funny! I never knew your story was like that! Dashie, why you never told me how you two met?" she said hugging the cyan mare and pouting at her with puppy eyes.

Applejack's smile faded and she narrowed her eyes.

"Umm... I dunno. There are a lot of things I've never told you. Don't take it personal, mostly is because I never thought you would like to hear it."

"Well I never thought you had adventures and funny stories with Applejack!"

"Oh you don't even have a clue! This crazy cowpony must be the one I have most stories to tell. When we were little fillies, nopony could separate us, we were like just one pony!"

"Ooh, ooh, so you were like... Appledash! Or were you Rainbowjack? When did you two became two different ponies?" Inquired the hyperactive mare.

"Not like that! You're so random sometimes... I meant we did everything together." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"Everything? Even going to the bathroom?"

"Okay Pinkie, y'all are jes being silly now... though we did bathe together frequently, y'all remember Dash?" asked the orange mare.

"Of course I do! Who wouldn't miss your back scrubbing? You were so good at that! Look at me, years have passed since the last bath together, and I still remember how good you were."

"Dash, Ah know y'all are lazy, but being a grown pony n' wanting somepony to scrub yer back is jes plain ridiculous"

"First of all, I CAN be that lazy, second, it's not a matter of being lazy, its because you were awesome at it, not even I can do such a good work on my own wings and back. And for the record, even if you tell me it's ridiculous, I'm not going to miss them less." Rainbow stuck out her tongue.

"Hey, could I ask you two how you ended up bathing together?" asked Pinkie Pie, hugging the cyan pegasus.

"There ain't no need on huggin' her if y'all are jes asking a question..." Applejack was NOT happy about this attitude... was she always like this? Or did she just get a huge crush on Rainbow, right when Applejack realized she loved the crazy pegasus? She wasn't sure, but she would like it if it stopped. Unluckily, the night hasn't ended yet, and no matter how many hints she threw at her, Pinkie Pie was not going anywhere. The question remained unanswered for some seconds, until Rainbow Dash spoke up

"Well... as I told you, we were always together on the orchard playing, and you know us, we are meant to get dirty..." "That sounded way weirder than in my head... Just play it cool, keep talking, and maybe they won't notice." "A-after we first met, I practically lived with AJ. She had this clubhouse, where the crusaders play nowadays, where we spent everyday and night. I barely touched Cloudsdale's clouds anymore..."

"What about Fluttershy?" asked the pink mare "You abandoned her or what?"

"Truth is Pinks, is that we weren't the best of friends back then... Yeah, I stood up for her as soon as she needed me, or I saw somepony was mocking her... I guess I had kind of a sweet spot for her, I couldn't see her suffer..." The cyan mare looked down and a soft smile appeared on her mouth.

"We all do Sugarcube... Ah think is like a second special talent that girl has, even if y'all jes met her, y'all jes GOTTA help her"

"Yeah, I'm her auntie Pinkie Pie, even if I'm a year younger than her"

"May Ah ask why the 'auntie' thing?"

"Because of my aunt Pinkie Pie! She always tried her best to make me smile"

"Your aunt is also called Pinkie Pie?"

"We all are!" stated happily the baker mare "Oh girls, I never told you about the Pinkie Pies?" looking at the expression of bewilderment on her friends' faces, the pink mare guessed she hadn't "Oh silly me! Ok look, once each generation, in our family, one of the Pies is born pink, blue eyed and with a special talent to make other's happy, we are all called differently, but when we discover our talent, we are called Pinkies. I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie, my predecessor was my aunt Pinkaroline Pie, and before her was granny Pinkatherine Pie, you know, the one who taught me the song about laughing at the thing that scare you..."

"Oh... THAT granny Pie..."

"N' why does this happen to y'all, any clue?" inquired the hard-working earth pony.

"Not a single one, but we humbly accept our responsibility on continuing the legacy. Besides, it's tons of fun! Being a Pinkie means I have the Pinkie Sense, I'm not easily tired; I always get ideas... but being a Pinkie also means I can mess with the readers!

like this,

or like this,

,siht ekil ro

'sıɥʇ ǝʞıl ɹo

,またはこのような！”"

The cyan pegasus and the orange mare looked at each other, then back at their friend, who was talking strangely to apparently... the roof. Soon enough they realized that it was silly to even try to comprehend Pinkie Pie, so they decided to resume their chat.

"Hey AJ... I was hoping for us to get some alone time later... I wanna talk to you about something really important."

"Ah know Sugarcube, Ah also gotta tell y'all sumthin', but now let's enjoy a good meal n' have fun." "Oh mah stars... could it be? No, no, she must be talking about something else... maybe she needs a favour or sumthin'."

"Applejack wanna talk with me something important, and she knows? But she wanna have a good meal before, and fun? Why would you... Oh No! She knows I'm in love with her, but she doesn't feel the same way so she's going to ditch me, and she doesn't want to ruin the night this early, so she's going to ruin it after we finish eating!?" her eyes started watering a bit, and she needed to look away, but she regain composure to talk again.

"Hey writer!"

...

"Hey you, writer! Gutovi-kun, answer me for Celestia's sake!"

Oh, so it's not enough to mess with my head, now you have to mess with my stories too?

"Hey, what do you mean by that?"

Pinkamena Diane Pie, you better stay in character missy, or I won't write that story for you.

"Story? What story? What are you talking about?"

The story you... Oh... so it wasn't you in a dress... I must say that your aunt Pinkaroline is awfully similar to you... I kinda knew it, it was hard to believe you would ask me to write a story about you and...

"And who? AND WHO!?"

You are not allowed to know that... Maybe, if you act like a real sweetheart and follow the story, you will get to know.

"Grr... Ok, I'll play your little games for now..."

Applejack and Rainbow Dash had stopped paying attention at her long ago, and soon after Pinkie stopped talking to apparently no one, Applejack was getting impatient and her belly was too.

"This is strange fer a fancy restaurant... we don't have plates nor glasses... we don't even have cutlery! Ain't nopony gonna bring us the menus at least?"

As if summoned by some kind of spell, a waiter came and brought them the menus.

"I am sorry for making you wait ladies, I will be back in a minute to get your orders."

They were about to skim the list of food when they found it to be in a completely strange language, literally.

"Horsefeathers, what is this?"

"French, obviously"

"Fre-what now Sugarcube?"

"What they speak on France."

"Pinkie, there's no such thing as France in Equestria..."

"Oh right, we're on Equestria... I meant this is what they talk in... Prance, that place with the Eiffoal Tower and l'Arc du Triunfilly."

"Ah... That's the city Rarity n' Fluttershy are always talkin' 'bout..."

"Yeah, the place is known for its fashion and fancy food. Fluttershy loves that kind of fashion, Rarity loves all types of fashion, and they both enjoy this kind of food, so it's pretty much a city both would love to visit."

"Well... Ah would love to see if this here food is as good as everypony says, but Ah don't have a clue 'bout what any of this here mean!"

"It's easy peasy lemon squeezy. This one is a daisy and cucumber salad, this is a carnation gratine with apples on one side..."

"You actually understand this?"

"Well duh, I just changed the language option"

"Sugarcube, there's no such thing"

"Of course there is! Look."

She put her hoof in the air and removed it after a few seconds.

"¿Ves? Ahora está en español!"

She repeated the process and started talking normally again

"O-ok... Ah think Ah'll try the daisy salad..."

"I'm going to go with the apple one, I love apples."

"And I think I'll have the... I...I-I..." She started stuttering as soon as the three glasses were served on the table "Y-you're doing it on purpose, aren't you Gutovi-kun?"

You reap what you sow

"As an apology for the delay, three glasses of our finest wine, on the house" the waiter explained

Looking at her friend's expression, Applejack asked "What's the matter Pinkie? Y'all don't like it?"

"Actually... It's quite the opposite" Pinkie corrected swallowing hard. "I-I... I really must go now."

"What's wrong? Pinks are you okay?" Rainbow Dash inquired.

"YES! Finally she's going!" thought Applejack.

"Y-yes... I-I like wine, but I really shouldn't drink it, like... really shouldn't." Her hoof was quivering in front of the glass.

Her friends looked at her concerned, even though they were happy she was finally leaving them alone, the way she was acting was very preoccupying.

Suddenly the pink pony grabbed the glass, drank it and ran away, out of the restaurant.

"What was that?"

"Ah dunno... but at least she's gone..."

"I... suppose she's not going to accompany you two tonight...?" asked the waiter.

"Ah guess not..."

"Anyways, what would you like to order ladies?"

"Ah'm having a daisy salad with-" she was cut mid-sentence by the waiter.

"Cucumber, alright, and you?"

"The carnation gratine with apples on side."

"Alright, I will be right back with your plates."

The waiter walked away, back to the kitchen."

"I always wondered how they remember all the things you order... Yeah, right now we ordered just two things, but what about when you come with your family, or when we come with the rest of the girls, and ask one thing to eat and another to drink, each, and they don't even write it down! I would love to have such a good memory..."

"Yeah, Ah also usually wonder how they do it. Now... while we wait, what do y'all wanna talk 'bout? Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

Rainbow Dash blushed slightly "I can't tell her right now... if it goes wrong, then the whole meal would be ruined, and maybe we would start a scandal in the middle of the restaurant... I'll better tell her after we finish eating..." "Oh, that, umm... Why don't we talk about it later?"

"Alrighty Sugarcube... Hey, y'all remember the first time we met?"

"How could I ever forget it?"

Summer Flight Camp was over, days were quiet, days were calm...

Luckily, she was not going to see the dumbass trio of colts that tormented her for at least three months.

Unluckily, she was not going to see that cute shy pegasus that she had protected for at least three months. It was a shame, she wanted to get to know her better, she looked like somepony she could trust. There was something in that filly that drove her to protect her from every being, pony or monster, that could even think of trying to hurt the fragile pale-yellow filly... Maybe her special talent was mind control.

Summer Flight Camp was over, days were quiet, days were calm...

There was no pony to bother, there was no pony to watch her do amazing things, there was no pony to race.

Summer Flight Camp was over, days were quiet, days were calm... And days were bucking boring as hay.

Having an inherited cloud mansion just for her would be awesome someday, but as a filly, it was just boring... boring and lonely. She might as well fly down to the ground, one of these days she had to find that place she usually dreamt of.

Every night was the same, only varying on how close she got to that strange secret place. Every night, as soon as she rested her head on the pillow, the same vision.

She had surpassed those three dumb colts that messed with the pink maned shy pegasus, whose name escaped her now, and the air was starting to become a physical barrier, but that was not going to stop her, not Rainbow Dash, she was not going to stop, she could break it, she was going to break it... And she broke it.

She suddenly felt lighter, the air wasn't a burden no more and when she looked over her shoulder, she noticed a rainbow trail behind her, a giant rainbow-colored ring that expanded and her cutie mark glowing brightly. After re-living that moment a thousand times, it wasn't really that awesome, but what came next, in her dreams, was what made her look forward to fall asleep every night.

The difference between the dreams and what happened to her weeks ago was that here she could also see an orange and yellow blur far away in the distance, glowing from a grey dull block. She couldn't make out what was it, but she wanted to catch it. She turned towards the blur, but the unknown haze moved as well. Somehow, the orange thing was following her rainbow wake towards a green field with red specks, yet Rainbow Dash was following the blur. But, as everypony knows, dreams don't usually make sense or follow reality's laws, and for Rainbow, there was nothing wrong with it at the time.

As she got closer to the field, a nice smell flooded her nostrils, she wasn't sure what was it, but she liked it, and it was also an indicator that she was near to her prized mysterious haze.

The dream always ended there, she could see it in the distance, waiting for her in that strange green and red paradise, and every day Rainbow Dash woke up to fly down to the ground, searching until the sun was nearly set for that piece of Eden, where the blur was waiting for her. But today was different, she just knew it.

Rainbow Dash inhaled deeply, puffed out her chest and exited through one of her manor's window.

"Today's the day. Finally mah first time applebuckin'! Ah'll get them all down at the first attempt, Ah've trained mahself really hard fer it. Ah'm even sure Ah'll get one of them apples Granny Smith always talks 'bout, mah dream told me so!" a certain orange young farm-filly thought as she walked out of her bedroom, down the stairs towards the kitchen.

"Howdy sis, ready to go?"

"Of course Ah am big brother! Let's go get them apple trees apple...less?"

The humongous-for-his-age young colt couldn't hold it and started laughing at her sister.

"Ok Ah may not that good with words Big Mac, but that ain't a problem since Bucky Mc Gillicutty n' Kicks Mc Gee are gonna do the talkin'." Applejack said raising her hind legs in cue to their names announcement.

"Ah like yer backbone sis, but don't be too hard on them trees, or y'all end up leaving a dent. N' y'all don't wanna hurt'em do y'all?"

"Of course not! Ah care fer every single tree on this here orchard as if were kin, n' y'all know it! Ah could even tell y'all the name of each apple tree right now!"

"Ah know y'all can, but that would take us all afternoon, n' we gotta finish before sunset, so lets get goin'." Big Macintosh stated, walking out the door of the Apple family house.

For the second time since she started making this trips, she decided to go south. Last time she went that way, she flung through Canterlot and got to a little town called Ponyville, but as soon as she got there, it was almost sunset, so she had to go back before night caught her and she couldn't get to her own home. But today, she decided to head south earlier in the day, which meant she could get to the town's outskirts, luckily...

She nosedived to gain speed and flew directly to Ponyville, since she had already searched around last time she headed south, she didn't had to slow down. This, along with the speed burst of the several feet nosedive, she got there in no time.

The wind felt great on her coat, but sadly she had to slow down so she could search the area... "But it feels so good... The sun warming my coat, the wind blowing my mane, and my problems away as well, the sweet, sweet smell of..." her eyes opened wide "That's it! That's the smell of my dreams! I must be nea-"

Before she could finish her sentence, she realized she was flying head first into a tree with some red fruits. "Whoa! That was a close one" she said evading the tree, just to find another one, and another, and a third one after that and an almost interminable row of trees. She did what she knew best, twist and turn between the trees, slowing down until she was almost at a stop.

She decided to turn up and reach for a branch. As soon as she got to the branch, she noticed the red fruit in front of her.

"What is this thing?"

Rainbow Dash inspected it, looking at it from different angles, until she decided it was probably not dangerous. Besides... that sweet smell was calling her, and her tummy was grunting from hunger.

Applejack was following her brother Big Macintosh through the orchard. She has been told minutes ago to walk quietly so she wouldn't disturb the trees. She thought that being trees they couldn't be 'disturbed' but Big Mac told her that they had feelings too, so she did as told and walked quietly. "Ah'll show mah big brother Ah can buck them trees jes like him. Ah'll bring'em all down, Ah know it."

Her brother was taking her to the farthest side of the orchard, there, the trees were pretty young, which meant they were weaker, and it was probably the best to start practicing for a little filly.

After some walking, the red colt found the perfect one. He stopped walking and so did his sister, he faced her and signalized by craning his neck to the side towards the tree. She got the message, nodded and with a determined face walked towards the tree, turned around, lowered her head and...

"Oh my bucking Celestia! This is so sweet and amazing and... Oh gosh this is great..." Rainbow Dash was savouring the red delicious fruit on her hooves. Her eyes were watering, she never tasted something that sweet! But when she was about to bite it again, a loud thud was heard and the whole tree shook.

"Whoa!" the cyan pegasus lost her balance and fell from the branch. All she could see was a big orange blur quickly coming closer. She felt the impact and a crack...

That couldn't be good...

Remembering The Old Times

“BIG MAC!” The filly yelped as she felt something heavy falling on her back. The impact made her legs give up and she ended up on the floor. She turned her head around to see what fell from the apple tree and she noticed something rainbow-colored. She looked at her brother, who had a very surprised expression on his face. Applejack asked, “Brother… are these supposed to fall when applebucking?”

“Eenope,” was the only answer the big red stallion could give his sister.

“Aww…” she exclaimed, crestfallen, and with a pouty mouth she added, “it sure looked like Zap-apples to me…” She did her best to get up without causing any disturbance to whatever was on her back. She then looked at it.

“It looks like a filly… but with rainbow mane.” She then noticed the wings.

“Oh, y’all are a pegasus… N’ what were y’all doin’ on our orchards missy?” Seconds passed without response, which made Applejack become extremely worried. “Why… why ain’t she standin’ up?” She approached the fallen filly and noticed the wing was broken, luckily the fracture wasn’t exposed, but she could see it was a nasty one anyways.

She feared the worst, so she checked her chest.

“Thank the stars… She’s breathin’” she thought, relieved as she felt the stranger’s chest rise up and then lower at a slow but steady rate. Applejack rested her hoof on the light blue pegasus’s head, and felt something wet and warm. “What in..? Why’s mah hoof all crimson…Oh no…”

Rainbow Dash had a big wound on one of the sides of her head. Apparently, after she fell over Applejack, as the young farmpony’s legs gave out, she hit her head against the harsh and unforgiving ground.

“Oh mah stars, brother! She’s bleedin’! Go look fer sum water n’ mah first aid kit, n’ meet me on the clubhouse as soon as you can!” the emerald-eyed filly frantically yelled at her big brother, desperation shown in her eyes.

“Wouldn’t it be easier if Ah-”

“No! Y’all run faster on short distances, so get the things n’ come back. Ah’ll take her to the clubhouse, it’s closer than the house but Ah need y’all to get the kit...” Seconds went by and Big Mac was still glued to the ground. Applejack lowered her head to the filly, when she noticed his brother was not moving “What are y’all waitin’ fer? An invitation? RUN, Y’ALL FOOL!”

The red stallion jumped backwards and starting running towards the Apple Family residence. Applejack tried to analyze how to get the hurt filly to her clubhouse, she thought of different ways, but she ended up realizing the best one would be on her back. She was a pretty strong filly, and taking somepony on her back wasn’t the same as somepony falling from a tree and landing on her back.

“Now the problem here would be… how do Ah get her on mah back?” Instincts kicked in and she ducked, scooped the poor filly with her muzzle, and safely setting her over her back.

“Dang gal, y’all are heavier than those apple barrels Ah have to carry ‘round the farm. This ain’t gonna be easy… but Ah gotta do it.”

She then tried to walk. As soon as she lifted her hoof, she noticed the change of weight just got things more difficult. She would have to take this calmly and slowly and learn how to keep balance with added weight.

“Doesn’t matter, ain’t no obstacle that can stop me that easily. Ah’ll get there, jes wait n’ see. Ah won’t let y’all here.” “Ah don’t know if y’all can hear me Sugarcube, but hang on there, Ah’ll get you fixed real soon, jes wait n’ see.”

With that said, Applejack started walking towards her clubhouse. Pretty soon, she started getting used to the new weight and could even trot. This sped up the things quite a lot.

Some minutes later, she got to the clubhouse just in time for her to lay the rainbow-maned little pony on the bed and head outside, waiting for her brother to come back.

Seconds later, she could see a red blur heading her way.

“Big Mac! Y’all are finally here! Got everything?”

Her brother nodded, and signalized for her to grab the saddlebags he was carrying. As soon as AJ got them, the colt sighed, fell to the floor and started panting.

Applejack would have made fun of him being so tired of a little run, but she was very worried about somepony who was waiting for her in the bed upstairs, inside the clubhouse. That, and the fact she knew her brother wasn’t cut off for running, but was the strongest pony his age in all of Ponyville.

Inside the saddlebags she found a big recipient with water. She noticed only a half of the water was left, probably the rest fell while her brother was running. “Well... At least it’s enough... Ah hope.”. The other important item inside the saddlebags, was a wooden box with a little heart and a red cross on it. Applejack’s first aid kit. It was a gift from the town’s doctor to Granny Smith, Applejack’s grandmother, and she decided to give it to her as her birthday present, given the fact that Applejack always tended the farm animals and helped Big Mac whenever he got hurt.

She had all the essentials to treat any problem a pony could have, from a cold, or a stomach-ache, to big cuts, infections, and broken bones. She just hoped pegasus wings were similar to the other bird wings she had treated before, n’ that the hit on the little pegasus’s head wasn’t as nasty as it looked.

Something was driving her to help this filly, she couldn’t just leave her there, hurt in front of her. Applejack was not fond of helping others out, she always thought it was a waste of time. “Why would Ah help a pony Ah don’t know if it’s not gonna be productive fer me? Ah could spend that time doing something else far more interesting and rewarding” she used to thought.

After the days spent with Uncle and Aunt Orange, she realized nopony cared about what she liked, most of them just talked about themselves and looked over themselves, except for her family. So she would do the same, just care for herself and her family, and nopony else.

But not today. Today, she couldn’t just look away, she had to help this filly, Celestia would know why, but she refused to let anything harmful or bad happen to this unknown filly. She felt like a connection. Maybe... maybe the dreams she had all week weren’t about her bucking a Zap Apple, but of her finding this rainbow pony. The only thing she got to recall about her dreams where that it was her first apple-bucking day, and something rainbow-coloured would fall from the tree and then she would be happy, but everything was quite blurry.

“Maybe... maybe this means that Ah have to help’er, n’ then sumthing good will happen? It doesn’t matter, Ah’m not helping her ‘cause it’s gonna be good fer me later... Why ain’t Ah helping her jes ‘cause it’s gonna be good fer me later? That’s what Ah’m used to do... she ain’t kin”

Applejack’s mind was playing games with her, but she had a very important matter at hoof, so she decided to stop thinking and start healing.

“Ugh... what was that? My EVERYTHING hurts... my head is spinning, my right wing is killing me... but I feel comfy... where am I? What happened?”

Rainbow Dash groaned and winced, trying to open her eyes, only succeeding on open her eyelids a little bit, everything was blurry, and the only thing she could make out of it was a big orange and yellow blur in front of her.

“Orange and yellow blur... Orange and yellow blur? ORANGE AND YELLOW BLUR!” The cyan filly opened her eyes wide, surprised, then closed it as quick as she had opened them because of the unmerciful light that pierced her eyes.

“Gah!”

“Y’all alright, Sugarcube?” a sweet and caring unknown voice said.

“Huh?” Rainbow opened her eyes slowly and realized the voice came from the orange and yellow blur. The second thing she noticed was that the orange and yellow blur was actually an orange earth pony with a yellow mane. A very cute, little orange earth pony with a beautiful yellow mane that reflected the sunlight giving her a golden aura.

“You! You are the pony of my dreams!” Dash excitedly said.

“Wha-?” the orange pony replied dumbfounded.

“Am I...” Rainbow asked and gulped hard. “D-dead?”

The orange filly smiled and tried to cover a giggle and replied, “No Sugarcube, y’all ain’t dead. Ah was not letting y’all die on mah hooves.”

Rainbow Dash realized she was lying on a bed, tuckered up with a warm and cosy blanket, inside a little but comfortable room.

“Where am I? What happened? Who are you? Wh-” The rose eyed filly started asking like a gatling gun.

“Stop right there missy, Ah don’t know ‘bout y’all, but Ah yet have to learn how to answer four questions at the same time,” said Applejack giggling.

Rainbow blushed hard at the comment and couldn’t help but let out a little snicker. “Sorry, hehe, it’s just that... I can’t understand a thing, last thing I remember, I was eating a delicious red thing on top of a tree when it started shaking. I lost balance and fell over something.”

“Well... first things first. Y’all are at mah clubhouse, not many ponies are allowed inside, so feel fluttered. Second, y’all were on the tree Ah was buckin’, n’ y’all fell over me, breakin’ yer wing and hittin’ yer head on the impact,” Applejack started.

“Wait, what? What do you mean I broke my wi- GAH!” Rainbow Dash tried to extend her wings and felt a great pain on the right one.

“Y’all okay Sugarcube!?” the orange pony worriedly asked.

“Gah... yeah... I get it. Don’t move the right wing,” she said, wincing and swallowing hard.

“Well... as Ah was sayin’, y’all fell over me, n’ Ah brought y’all here to get y’all fixed. Oh, n’ ‘bout ‘who Ah am’.” She extended her hoof towards the little filly and said, “The name’s Applejack, of the Apple Family, pleased to meet y’all.”

“Pleased to meet you too Applejack,” replied Rainbow Dash, shaking hooves with her helper.

“N’ how Ah’m Ah supposed to call y’all? Do y’all have a name or…” She looked at the little filly’s mane and continued, “or do Ah jes call you Rainbow?” Applejack said snickering.

“Actually... it would be cool, ‘cause my name is Rainbow...” Dash replied grinning.

Applejack was speechless and she suddenly felt very embarrassed.

“Rainbow Dash from Cloudsdale, at your service. Fastest filly in all of Equestria and the only pony to ever perform a Sonic Rainboom,” the pegasus filly said, puffing out her chest as much as she could and giving her savoir a cocky and boastful smile.

“Well... Ah guess all that speed wasn’t very useful when fallin’ over me was it?”

And all of Rainbow Dash’s pride went spiralling to the ground at the remark, her smile dropped and a blush covered her cheeks.

“Ah’m jes kidding gal, there’s no way y’all could have predicted that... Though is funny to make y’all blush, Ah’ll do it more often.”

Suddenly Rainbow Dash’s stomach started to groan once again making her blush ever harder.

“It seems Ah won’t have to, yer stomach does it quite well,” said Applejack, chuckling at the situation.

Rainbow Dash couldn’t blush more, or she would burn, so she decided to chuckle to ease the embarrassment. “ ‘There’s no better cure than laughing at yourself’ or that’s what I’ve been told...”

“So Ah’ll take that y’all are feelin hungry, huh? Here, have a Sweet Apple Acres apple, best apples around, on the house.” The orange filly tossed one of those red fruits she was eating before the incident.

She started eating, feeling blessed with the most delicious thing she would ever taste. Seconds later, only the seeds were forgiven. Rainbow Dash’s hunger was unmerciful.

Silent minutes passed, and the ponies just stared at each other’s eyes. Rainbow Dash started feeling something building up inside her, she felt something tickle her stomach… it was rather good, but it was getting uncomfortable so she tried to create a diversion.

“How’s that fruit called?” asked the rainbow filly.

“Uhm… an apple?”

“Apple huh? Like your name!”

“Well yeah, we’re called the Apple family fer sumthin’. We buck them apples, n’ then sell’em to the pony folk.” Applejack beamed with pride, but soon, her expression changed, and dumbfounded asked, “Y’all… Y’all never had an apple before?”

“Well, no. The first I ever saw was the one I ate some hours ago in your orchard. And hey, they are amazingly awesome and tasty! Don’t worry, I’ll pay for the one I ate,” Rainbow Dash said waving her hoof.

“Y’all crazy lil’ missy? Ah won’t charge y’all fer that! Besides, y’all could have broken yer neck and split yer head in two!” Applejack said, getting closer to Dash’s side.

“That, was an accident, and I was trespassing, not to mention I fell over you… By the way, are you okay?”

“Eyup, this filly’s tougher than y’all think,” Applejack said puffing out her chest and gently tapping her chest with her right hoof.

The both laughed at the comment, but soon Applejack inquired, “So… y’all don’t get apples up there in Cloudsdale?”

“It’s not like we don’t have them, maybe we do, but pegasus are more accustomed to eat things that are drinkable, like soups, shakes, juices… since our race is used to live on the fast lane, we can’t stop to eat, so we drink something quick yet substantial. So maybe I’ve had it before, but never alone and raw. I never know what I’m eating ‘cause it’s all so mixed together you can’t tell, but this apple… it’s so cool!” The cyan pegasus was daydreaming about food once again, but soon she change her expression to an excited one. “But just wondering… are there any ways to make apples a beverage?”

“Well… There’s cider...”

“That sounds very good! I gotta try it some time… you make it?”

“Yeah, we do, but it’s not the season yet.” explained the orange filly.

“Then I will come here to try it when it is!”

“N’ Ah’ll be happy to offer y’all some.” replied Applejack smiling broadly.

“Yeah… that was quite a first impression, huh? Invade your territory, fall over you, having you tend me…”

“Now, Sugarcube, don’t be so hard on yerself, y’all know Ah’d do it again given the chance. Besides, we had a very nice time together didn’t we?”

“I guess you are right…” Rainbow Dash was taken aback by the memories and smiling, she chuckled, “Hehe.”

“What y’all thinkin’ ‘bout?”

“I was remembering that first awkward touch…”

“Oh yeah… that one.”

“Hey… Applejack, you said I almost broke my head, what happened?” She raised her hoof up to her forehead, trying to check for a wound.

“No, don’t!” Applejack lunged forward to prevent Rainbow from touching the wound, risking it to a re-opening, or an infection, since her hoof wasn’t sterilized.

Luckily, she could stop her. Unluckily, she found herself in one of the most awkward moments in her short yet not adventure-less life.

Her right hoof was pressing Dash’s left, against the wooden headboard of the bed and her left one was pressing Rainbow’s chest. Applejack’s emerald eyes were locked onto those deep rose orbs in front of her. Her muzzle was feeling comfortably warm thanks to the cyan filly’s breath.

Their muzzles were touching, their lips mere inches away… There was something special in the moment, because neither of two fillies wanted it to stop, but as usual, life had other plans and sadly, they involved this moment stopping.

This time life’s little helper was, ironically, the orange mare’s big brother, Big Macintosh.

“Uh… Sis?” the red stallion asked, after admiring the sight in front of him, which startled both fillies.

Applejack reacted, jumping backwards and the pegasus’s instincts in Rainbow kicked in, as she tried to take to the air, and assume an airborne flee stance. What she didn’t thought about in the moment, was that her right wing was useless.

This double manoeuvre ended up with the two fillies on the floor, in a very similar position as the one they had in bed, but with inversed roles. Once again, both fillies froze in place, until, once again the dark blonde maned colt talked.

“Uh… sister… Granny says that soup’s ready…won’t y’all come?”

Applejack, with her eyes still locked on Rainbow’s replied, “Uh… Ah think the lil’ gal here can’t move to the house yet…” She finally could look away, and continued, “Ah’ll go with y’all to get some food fer her n’ Ah’ll eat here…”

Rainbow Dash felt insulted, she hated when somepony said she couldn’t do something, because she was Rainbow Dash, she could do anything. She proved the impossible could become possible by performing the Sonic Rainboom. “Hey!” She stood up and made some steps. “I can wal-” All of a sudden, she felt a big pain in her forehead.

“GAH!”

“Told y’all…” Applejack deadpanned said.

“But why!? I hurt my head, what does walking have to do with anything.”

“First of all… It’s not just fer fun doctors say y’all should stay on bed when y’all get a big hit, second, y’all didn’t jes hit yer head n’ wing… y’all almost broke all over, if it wasn’t fer mah back. It’s no wonder y’all can’t walk normally.”

“I hate being stuck in a place…”

“Well, get used to it lil missy. Can y’all wait fer sum minutes ‘til Ah come back?” asked the freckled filly with a caring smile.

“O-okay…” Rainbow Dash replied blushing slightly and climbing inside the bed and tuckering herself with the covers.

As soon as the orange mare received a somehow positive response, Applejack walked out of the clubhouse following her older brother back to the Apple residence.

The minutes passed and Applejack was still away. Rainbow Dash was not meant to be still without somepony to talk to; this was awful and hurtfully boring.

“Oh Celestia, I’m so BORED!” She decided to stop staring directly at the opened door, hoping for the orange filly to come back, and actually take a look around the place she was partially being held against her will, not by the orange filly but by her right wing.

Though she had to admit, it wasn’t too bad to be tendered and to actually have somepony that cared for her sake... even if it was just because she was hurt by her partial fault. “‘Cause that is the only reason that orange filly is taking care of me... isn’t it?

What am I doing? Thinking too hard on a subject? I don’t do that! I’m Rainbow Dash”

She decided to start by noticing where she was resting. She was lying on a small but surprisingly comfortable wooden bed with an old yet incredibly soft and silky blanket and a comforter that screamed to be hugged.

“Oh Luna, even though is really hot outside, I just NEED to snuggle! This could only be better if I had somepony to snuggle with…”

Memories of her mother flooded her mind but she quickly shook those thoughts away, and concentrated once again, in the room she was currently occupying. The floor was made out of wood, as well as the walls, which were wooden too.

“But hey, at least the ceiling is not…”

Made out of wood.

“Well, well, well, won’t you take a look at that? It is,” she stated, deadpanned.

But the room wasn’t bare. Next to the bed, to Dash’s left, she could see a nightstand with a rustically framed photo of Applejack and her big brother standing next to a little, light blue crib.

“Maybe they have a baby sister or brother.”

Then, she noticed that the bed she was on was located in the corner, diagonally across from the front door, and directly in front of her vision field, there was a table with two chairs and what seemed to be a first aid kit, a very beautiful and detailed wooden first aids kit. She had to ask about it later.

Before she could examine the room any further, Applejack entered the room carrying a wooden tray with her teeth. Rainbow Dash couldn’t make what was on the tray because she was too focused on Applejack’s mane.

“It sure is a very cool mane… and it goes pretty nice with her totally awesome coat…” After thinking that, she shook her head and drove those thoughts away “What am I thinking? I’m Rainbow Dash, I don’t ever give compliments, I only receive them! What’s with this pony? She’s making me act so… un-Rainbow-like and somehow, I don’t feel like blaming her… I just can’t.”

Applejack placed the tray over the table and exclaimed, “Soup’s on everypony! Come here n’ grab a bite, RD.” Dash’s ears perked up at the name. “Y-Y’all don’t mind me callin’ y’all that way, do y’all?”

“It would be the first time somepony calls me that way… but it’s okay. I don’t have a problem with it.”

“Glad to hear that. Now come here, ‘cause Granny spent a lot of time with this one, n’ it looks really promising, y’all will love it as long as it ain’t cold so dig in.”

Rainbow Dash walked as she could toward the table, the delicious fragrance of homemade food was able to ease her pain of walking.

After enjoying a good meal, Dash could feel herself recovering some strength, but still it was difficult to walk. The two ponies remained silent the whole meal, concentrating on their food, now and then stealing glances of the other, and whenever their gazes met they just blushed, smiled and looked away.

By the time they had finished eating, the sun was already exactly above them, stating that the day was slowly but steadily starting to end.

“Oh yeah, I remember that meal… Hay your granma is an awesome cook!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Eyup! Best cook of all Apple family, not jes in Ponyville.”

“Well, I know a girl that could easily take that title,” Rainbow Dash said grinning.

“Now, now, weigh yer words, RD. Y’all know that’s mah Granny Smith y’all are talkin’ ‘bout. Who’s this gal y’all say?” Applejack asked, a hint of a challenge could be noticed in her voice.

“Well, just my favourite farmpony and the best mare I ever got the pleasure to meet…” Later, she added with a somehow bored tone, “Someponies call her ‘The Element of Honesty’ but that’s not her cool name,” she concluded with a sly grin.

Applejack was taken aback. “Rainbow is givin’ me a compliment? Rainbow IS givin’ ME a compliment!” She had to restrain her happiness and keep calm. First her family, then her pride, that was Applejack’s way. “N-now Ah’m mighty glad fer that compliment, n’ to know Ah’m yer favourite farmpony, n’… the other thing too… But it ain’t no way Ah’m better than mah Gran Gran”

“Hey, I’m not kidding, really, there’s no apple pie like the ones you make, not even Granny Smith’s. I swear, your pies just get better and better.”

“Well… that’s ‘cause y’all always eat mah special ‘Rainbow Only Apple Pie,’ so there’s no way y’all could not like it.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Ah have different kinds of apple pies: the ‘Traditional Apple Family Apple Pie’, the ‘Competition Apple Family Apple Pie’, the ‘Applebloom, Go The Hay To Sleep Apple Pie’, n’ the ‘Rainbow Only Apple Pie.’” After looking at Dash’s expression, she explained, “The Traditional one is the one everypony knows n’ love. Since the judges at pie n’ sweets competitions eat a lot of sweet, they actually like to feel the essence more than the sweetness, so Ah put less sugar in the pies Ah do fer those.”

“What about the ‘Applebloom, Go The Hay To Sleep Apple Pie’? I gotta say I’m intrigued.”

“Having to tend to Applebloom like the mother she never got to have, Ah had to put’er to sleep sumtimes, n’ believe me, it’s hard. That’s when Ah discovered than changin’ a bit the recipe, n’ adding a pinch of this n’ a bit of that, she gets sleepy.” Applejack started chuckling. “Funny thing is that she’s the only one who gets like that, nopony else gets sleepy, why that happens? Beats me.”

“And what’s in the-”

“Rainbow Only? Well, that’s the most complex of mah Apple Pies, ‘cause it took years to better, n’ it’s still not perfect. Ever wonder why ‘they keep getting better and better’? It’s cause Ah listen to every word you say, n’ take mental notes of yer likings n’ stuff. Then Ah think of how to use’em without ruining the pie nor changin’ the Apple essence, n’ try them out. Luckily, ‘til now, y’all seem to have liked them all.”

“Wow... You... you really took all that time and effort, just to give me the perfect pie?”

“Uh... well, everything Ah can do to make y’all happy, Ah’ll try it out!”

“DAMN, DAMN, DAMN. RAINBOW DASH’S SELF-CONTROL REACHING CRITICAL LIMIT. I wanna kiss her so freaking bad! But you can’t kiss her just like that now, you have to straighten your thoughts and then try a good confession to win her heart. But I wanna- No, wait.” “That’s... very, very sweet of you.”

“Did Rainbow jes say ‘Sweet’?”

“Did I just say ‘Sweet’?”

“Oh, stop it Dashie, y’all are makin’ me blush.” “Yeah right, that’s totally the only reason y’all are blushin’. Oh shut yer...mah pie hole?”

“Well… that’s the idea, you look really cute when you blush… I MEAN… It’s my repayment for what you did to me that day we met.”

Applejack rolled her eyes and said, “Y’all still with the whole ‘makin y’all blush thing’?”

“Well, of course! Nopony makes The Dash blush and walks out unharmed!” The cyan pegasus said, puffing out her chest.

“N’ what are y’all gonna do ‘bout it? Kiss me again?”

The silence was strangely and painfully overwhelming. No noise could be heard. The smiles the two ponies once had were now replaced by fear and pinprick sized eyes.

“Ah didn’t say what Ah think Ah said… Please tell me Ah didn’t say it!”

“Uhh…” Rainbow Dash muttered

“DANG IT, Ah did!”

“Uhm, Ah’m sorry Rainbow, Ah was…”

“It’s okay AJ…” “This is my chance to pull limits, maybe if I take her close enough to the edge, she’ll get the hint. I’m Rainbow Dash after all! I’m made to push limits!” Her smile became a sly grin and she added “I was going to do it anyways.”

And thanks to Luna, Celestia and every star in the sky, the waiter came bringing their plates.

“Daisy Salad with Cucumber for the lady and… Carnation Gratine with apples on side for you, is that right?” asked the waiter.

The two other ponies could only nod in response, still unable to talk.

“Well then, I will leave you two alone, please let me know if you need anything. Enjoy your meal.”

Both mares took the chance to dig in and not to say a word until the awkwardness had died out.

Luckily the amazing taste of the plates threw them completely off guard as they forgot the whole chat they just had

“Oh mah stars, this is so buckin’ tasty!” exclaimed Applejack.

“Yeah, I hear you. This has to be the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

“Ah gotta tell Octavia she’s doin’ an amazing job, n’ she really knows how to choose chefs.”

Slowly but steadily, the conversation became lighter and livelier.

“Yeah, Tavi is a very good organizer, and a great cellist too! I must admit I’m not a classic music lover, but hearing her playing is really nice,” said Rainbow Dash, taking her eyes aside from her friend since the dinner started to watch the cellist do her thing.

“Ah know. Ah gotta say Ah’d love to hear her make the same music with a fiddle; that would be glorious.”

“Fan of the fiddle huh country gal?”

“Y’all can bet Ah am, ever since the first time Ah heard one,” the orange mare proudly said.

“Yeah, it is a good instrument, though I prefer electronic music or hard rock…”

“Well, Ah can’t hear it at home or Granny will get crazy n’ yell at me, but Ah gotta say when Ah’m with you, and we hear yer collection, Ah don’t mind it at all.”

“Hah! I knew I would make a fan out of you one of these days.”

“Now hold yer horses, Ah jes said Ah don’t mind it, not that Ah love it.”

“I’m just kidding AJ… Talking about yelling, I don’t know about Granny Smith, but I remember the first time I yelled at you.”

The two fillies had finished eating, and the day was running out, but they still had plenty of time.

“This is mah chance, Ah’m gonna ask her sum questions to get to know’er better” “So… Rainbow Dash, nice cutie mark, what does it mean?”

Rainbow Dash didn’t knew what to say, it was a very rare condition, but like other times, the cure was to wing it and hope for the best.

“Well… As you can see there’s… Uh, a three-colored lightning… you know, because I’m fast and… Rainbow colored? Yeah, that’s totally why.”

“N’ what ‘bout the cloud?” the emerald-eyed earth pony asked.

“W-well I don’t really know, but when vacations end, I’ll start having weather control classes… Maybe I’m a natural?”

“Ah’m sure the ‘fastest filly in all of Equestria’ will clear dem skies in ten seconds flat.”

“Yeah… Yeah, of course I will!”

“Care to tell me how y’all got it?”

“NO!” Rainbow Dash snapped, but after watching her new-found friend’s face, she explained. “I’m sorry Applejack, it’s just that… I’ve been having this dream about how I got it every. single. Day, and I’m SICK of it. So please, never ask me about it again.”

“Oh! So that’s why Ah didn’t knew y’all were the one who brought us together… who made us who we are…”

“You know, I usually enjoy praise and being the centre of attention but, as much as I hate loosing, I hate to think ‘what could have been’…” Rainbow Dash took a sip of wine. “Probably alcohol effects don’t kick in this quick, and of course not at this quantity… but even if it’s psychological, I already feel more confident.”

The cyan pony inhaled deeply. “In fact, you know what? To hay with subtlety, I’m gonna start giving her more direct hints” “I’m just glad that you’re who you are, because without you, my life would be a million times worse, I can guarantee you that,” she exclaimed with half-closed lids.

“She didn’t said that, did she? Wait… why don’t Ah want her to say that, if that’s exactly what Ah want? Am Ah afraid of getting’ mah hopes up in vain? Am Ah afraid of it being just a friendly compliment which Ah’m takin’ as… deeper? Y’all know what? Let’s jes counter-attack” She changed her tone into the silky and a bit flirty voice she used when Dash picked her up. “Well Dashie… Mine as well, Sugarcube…” She noticed Dash’s hoof was over the table, so she rested hers over it. “Y’all really don’t know how much y’all mean to me…”

“I didn’t expect that, but I can’t get out of here flying, those words, that hoof over mine…” The blush painted on her cheeks were a proof of her surprise. “No Dash, keep yourself together, she may have just meant it like a friend or… or maybe something more! No, no, get a hold of yourself, let’s not get ourselves worked up for nothing… Maybe she doesn’t think about me that way because she never considered the possibility. If so, then I should keep on hitting on her. Anyways, knowing I’m that important in her life is a good sign.”

“Y’all know sumthin’ Ah always wander, n’ now that we’re remembering the past, Ah still don’t know why Ah was ‘the pony of yer dreams.’”

“Oh, that’s cause the recurrent dream I had, apart from involving me and the Sonic Rainboom thing, it showed an orange and yellow blur. I thought in that moment, that you were that blur.”

“Y’all know what? Ah had a dream about sumthin’ rainbow-ie fallin’ from a tree. Ah thought it was a zap-apple, but thinkin’ about it, Ah may have dreamt of y’all!”

“Ha! Looks like we were kinda meant to meet!”

“Well, y’all gave us the marks, maybe y’all did sumthin’ else by that too. That’s why y’all mean so much to me.”

“Well... you mean a lot to me, too! I mean, even if I’m ‘the one who gave us all our cutie marks’, you, more than anypony, know that you’re the reason I’m Miss Loyalty.”

“Nah, don’t y’all dare to say that, y’all always had it in y’all, Ah jes... help y’all polish it, if y’all want,” the orange mare said, waving her hoof.

“Now don’t be so excessively humble around me. I hate it when you, the most awesome pony I know, apart from me of course, deserve to be praised but reject it. When are you going to accept a compliment?”

“That’d be the day Ah really deserve it, Dashie,” said Applejack

“You know, I hate when Pinkie Pie calls me like that...”

“Oh, Ah’m sorry Sugarcube, Ah-”

“I didn’t say anything about you calling me that way...” Rainbow Dash said with a loving smile.

“Oh... Well thank y’all then, Dashie, Ah’m flattered.”

“Anyways, you do know why I said you made me Miss Loyalty, don’t you?”

“Ah must say Ah don’t have a clue.”

“Well… remember how that day ended?”

“Well… after the whole Cutie Mark chat we had, y’all asked ‘bout mah family n’ Ah told y’all ‘bout Big Mac, lil’ Applebloom, and Granny Smith.”

“Yeah, and then...?”

“Then Ah had to go back to the farm, ‘cause it was getting’ late n’ Ah still had chores to do. Oh… and then night fell…”

“Y’all are not goin’ out this late missy!”

“Ah’m sorry Granny Smith, but Ah ain’t gonna let that poor filly alone out there in the tree house!”

“N’ what can y’all do? She can’t walk, n’ it isn’t that bad there,” Granny Smith replied, trying to dissuade her granddaughter.

“Granny, there’s neither door nor windows, she’ll freeze to death!”

Big Macintosh was silent, trying not to take part, he thought what Applejack was trying to do, was noble, and right, but he knew best than to contradict his grandmother.

“Y’all go out that door missy, y’all won’t be able to enter here.”

Applejack turned around, walked to the door, open it, and looking over her shoulder. “So be it Granny,” she hissed and slammed the door behind her. The night was cold and the winds were moaning when Applejack walked out of the door, and she ran as fast as her filly legs took her. Being a fast runner like she was, she arrived to the clubhouse in no time.

“RD?”

“A-Applejack? W-What are you doing he-here?” Rainbow Dash asked, her voice cracking.

“Oh Sugarcube, y’all are freezin’!”

“I-Its just a bit chilly, n’ the comforter d-doesn’t keep you as w-warm as the clouds I’m used to, b-but I’m alright…”

“Oh, shut yer pie hole. C’mon, y’all are comin’ with me.”

“AJ, I l-love your kindness, b-but I can’t walk.”

“Y’all are comin’ with me one way or the other” She walked until she was next to the bed, positioned herself to be at the same height as the mattress, and said “Roll over n’ land on mah back, Ah’ll carry y’all home like Ah carried y’all here the first time.”

Rainbow Dash obliged because it was for the best, she WAS freezing but her pride took the best of her, and because she would be closer to her new friend. She hated being alone, and now that she finally found somepony who cared for her she was not going to let her go, she was not going to escape and leave them like she did with everypony she knew, she was going to be loyal to her to the end, no matter the consequences.

After safely landing on her back, she hugged Applejack’s neck and breathed in the sweet scent of apples.

“Apples…” she whispered, providing the two ponies with an enjoyable blush.

“So, that’s why I’m now the element of loyalty, thanks to you!”

“Well, y’all have nuthin’ to be humble ‘bout neither. Y’all are the reason Ah’m the most dependable of ponies, n’ the reason Ah have this baby…” she reached for her hat, but once again, she only found her mane. “Well, the one Ah usually have here.”

Rainbow giggled “So, I gave you your Stetson? I don’t remember that…”

“Well, y’all didn’t actually GAVE it to me…”

The orange filly, strengthened by a sense of upcoming danger, hastily trotted outside, and back to the house.

When she was mid-way there, a big storm started, pouring both ponies wet to the bone. The emerald eyed filly could feel the pegasus trembling on her back, trying to lighten the mood, she says

“Scared of a lil’ rain? What kinda pegasus are y’all?”

Rainbow Dash’s proud kicked in and she exclaimed “I usually have my wings to rely on when I’m in the middle of a storm, and what I’m really scared of, is being struck by a lightning, normally, in mid-air, a lightning will leave you a little dizzy, but now I’m here with you, connected to the floor. Believe me, you don’t want that happening.”

Applejack stopped walking and asked her friend “N’ y’all think a lightnin’ will struck nearby?”

A flash covered it all, making Applejack shut her eyes, and a loud boom pierced her ears. Adrenaline pumped through her veins like a roaring river and she ran faster than ever, Rainbow Dash not being a considerable burden anymore.

“Okay, Ah get it alright! Don’t worry Sugarcube, Ah won’t let anythin’ happen to y’all.”

Fear turned into determination and the filly started running at a speed she couldn’t even imagine before, her muscles were screaming in pain, but she kept going. Soon enough, she could recognize the outlines of her house.

“We’re here honey, don’t worry” she said over her shoulder. Despite the heavy rain, Dash was calm and happily hugging her neck with a smile on her face. When Applejack got to the door, she raised her right hoof, trying to keep balance with the other three, and tried to open the door just to find it locked. “HAY, she actually did it…”

“What happened? Who did what?”

“My Granny told me Ah’d be left outside if Ah left the house looking fer y’all”

“And you actually did it… for me?” Asked Rainbow Dash surprised.

“Told y’all Ah wouldn’t let nuthin’ happen to y’all, specially not letting y’all all injured and bed-ridden to freeze to death there.” She then lowered her head in defeat. “Guess Ah’m not cut out to plan things, now Ah have y’all here all wet n’ cold, without a mattress or a roof.”

“Hey Applejack, I’m better here with you than there all alone, so you kinda succeeded. Don’t beat yourself up.” The cyan pegasus was trying to lighten the mood of the brave filly who saved her and also cared for her without even knowing her more than a day.

“Thank y’all Sugarcube, but we can’t stay out here. C’mon, let’s check out the barn, at least is closed, warm n’ dry.”

Applejack walked to the barn next to the house and found the door barely opened and the lights on. When she entered, she was very surprised for what she saw. The mattress of her bed was laying on the floor, with two towels on top, a pillow and some comforters.

“Ah owe y’all big time Macintosh” The emerald eyed earth pony closed the door behind her, walked towards the bed and did her best to lay Rainbow Dash on bed without hurting her.

A soft *pomf=3* left the mattress under the new weight. “Wah! What are we gonna do on the bed?” Asked Rainbow Dash.

“Y’ALL, are going to try n’ get some sleep. AH am gonna try n’ dry y’all up.” Explained Applejack

“Hey, I can dry my-… You know what, you’ll probably do a better work, and be gentler than me anyways, so go on. But… where are YOU going to sleep?”

“Ah’ll take the hay next to the bed, y’all need the mattress, the pillow n’ the comforters much more than me.” She said, drying Rainbow Dash with the towels, carefully so she wouldn’t hurt her or touch her wounds.

“What? No! I won’t let you be all cold and uncomfortable after all you did for me!”

“Shh, sweetheart, y’all are not making the dryin easy moving this much, y’all know?”

“Hey, don’t you shush m-mphh!” A towel covered her mouth and muffled her rant.

Rainbow Dash fought against it, while Applejack laughed. The two fillies started a play-wrestling for a while, trying not to overdo it and hurt themselves. After some minutes they were too tired to continue, but their hearts were filled with careless joy.

“Ah… that was fun! We have to do it again some of these days”

“Ah hear y’all…” Applejack sat up straight and looked at her rainbow-maned friend sternly. “But now y’all need sum rest, so sleep missy.”

Rainbow Dash tried to use the old puppy eyes technique, but it was useless. She learnt that day that Applejack’s determination was stronger than her weaponized cuteness, from that day on she would practice until she was good enough to break her determination. “Rainbow Dash can be awesome, cool, amazing, but never cute… unless she needs to…”

After some seconds, she finally subsided and closed her eyes. Applejack walked to the hay and laid there, trying to find a comfortable position.

Minutes later Rainbow Dash was still awake.

“Hey Applejack… you asleep?”

Something ruffled in the hay “Guess not anymore Sugarcube…”

“Oops, sorry.”

“Don’t y’all worry… sumthin’ on yer mind honey?” asked, turning around to face Rainbow Dash and looked into her eyes

“Uh… you sure you’re okay there?”

“Not the first time Ah have to hit the hay literally Sugarcube, don’t worry.”

“Are you one hundred percent sure?” she asked coyly.

“Y’all tryin’ to get me to sleep there without asking directly, ain’t y’all?”

“Well, you did a lot for me, and you’re sleeping in a bale of hay… and the mattress is big enough for both…”

“Ah ain’t fallin in yer trap missy, get sum sleep” “C’mon! Go n’ lay there with her, y’all know y’all want to!”

“Please Applejack? I’m feeling a bit cold…” Rainbow Dash replied, trying to sound as needy as possible.

“Okay, okay, Ah’m coming.” She got up, shook the hay out of her mane, and rested on the mattress, next to Rainbow Dash. “Y’all weren’t actually feelin’ cold, were y’all?”

“If I say no, will you leave?”

Applejack giggled and shook her head.

“Well, lie or not, y’all succeeded to get me here. Now, wanna talk ‘bout sumthin? Or are y’all gonna sleep like a good gal now?”

“Why don’t we talk a bit more? Then I swear I’m going to sleep without complaining.”

“Okay then, tell me more ‘bout yerself.”

“Uh… What do you wanna know?” inquired the rose eyed filly.

“Dunno… tell me ‘bout yer life, how’s life fer a pegasus filly?”

“Well… I can’t complain, I mean, I had a nice but hard childhood you know, until now at least. I’ve never been bullied, except for the occasional challenge from these three dumbasses from flight campo, but since they always end up loosing I can’t count them as bullies.”

The two fillies shared a chuckle and then Applejack asked, once again “N’ what ‘bout the school?”

“Fine I guess? Thing is I don’t really pay attention to it, I learn and stuff, but I focus more on my flying than on my studies. How about you?”

“Well… Y’all see, mah Granny was an elementary teacher back when mah granddad was the one in charge of the farm, so she taught me all the basics Ah need to know like readin’, writin’, maths, etc.” she looked at the mattress they were laying on and said “N’ mah brother Big Mac, the one who got us this mattress, is really studious, n’ he also teaches me sum other things like biology, history. N’ physics, mah personal favourite n’ mah strong spot. Ah can’t give y’all any accurate numbers without takin’ mah time, but gimme a problem n’ Ah’ll give y’all a close enough result faster than a vermin runnin’ from a dog.”

“And why do you like physics so much? I have to learn it, you know is basic in flying, but I don’t like it that much.”

“ ‘Cause Ah’ve been studyin’ where n’ how strong to buck a tree, to make dem apples fall in dem baskets”

“And is it working?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well actually, today was the first time Ah got to buck a tree n’ everything fell in its designated basket… everything but an unexpected pegasus filly with a very distinctive rainbow mane, maybe y’all know her.” She said with a sly smile.

“Yeah… I think I’ve heard about her.” Rainbow Dash answered with a blush.

“Sum may call her ‘headstrong, dumb, easily teased’-”

“Hey!”

“But Ah jes think she looks cute when she blushes.”

A blush covered Dash’s cheeks “DANG IT! I fell for it again. I swear you’re gonna pay some day Applejack, mark my words.”

“N’ what ‘bout the family?”

“I… I don’t have any sis nor bro, I’m an only filly. And… my mom and dad… they…” She sniffed back a few tears and started stuttering.

Applejack got closer and hold her tight, taking care not to touch any injured part. “They are in a better place now, aren’t they? Maybe they’re with mah Pa and Ma…”

Dash stopped the whimpering and looked at Applejack’s emerald eyes. “Y-you are also-”

“Ah know how y’all feel, yeah. But y’all don’t have to take the burden all alone. Ah have mah family to help me, but y’all don’t have brother nor sis, so Ah volunteer to be yer rock, n’ to lend you a shoulder to cry whenever you need it. What do y’all think?”

“I…” Rainbow Dash sniffed back her last tear and continued with a smile on her lips “I think that’s really cool… thanks.”

“Don’t mention it honey. Now, whadda y’all think if we go to sleep?”

“Okay… but please, don’t…” she hugged Applejack stronger, making her point understandable.

“Okay Sugarcube, Ah won’t let y’all go. Don’t y’all worry.”

The two fillies quickly succumbed to the grasp of sleep.

Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes and yawned, when she tried to stretch, she found her hooves around a certain orange pony’s body.

“Howdy Sugarcube, y’all finally woke up.” Two green orbs looked at her with genuine joy.

“Oh, hi AJ… Thanks for being here all night… were you awake for long?”

“Umm… Ah think half an hour or sumthin’.” She answered after giving it a thought.

“Oh… well, you could have woken me, if you wanted to get up.”

“Nah… if Ah get up, Ah gotta talk to mah Granny… N’ Ah wanted to delay it as much as Ah could.”

Rainbow Dash giggled and nuzzled her, pushing her gently out of the mattress. “Well, too much procrastination, now go and talk to her!”

Applejack was about to complain about the order-giving, but then she sighed and got up “Yeah, Ah guess y’all are right, now or later, it’s the same. Ah’ll be back Rainbow, wish me luck.”

Rainbow smiled and watched her walk out of the barn. Seconds later her smile disappeared and she groaned. “Gah! Now I’m fully awake, happy and full of energy to spend, but I can’t move! Also, I’m alone in here until she comes back… hey, look at that floating lint of dust, let’s see where it goes…”

Applejack walked to the house and knocked the door.

After some seconds it opened to reveal an old pale green mare in front of her.

“So… y’all did exactly what Ah told y’all NOT to do…”

“Eyup.” Applejack answered looking down.

“Even after Ah told y’all it would be dangerous, y’all went n’ save a gal y’all don’t even know.”

“Her name is Rainbow Dash, Granny.” She answered dryly, looking into her grandmother’s eyes this time.

“Y’all risked yer safety fer sumpony else’s well-bein’.”

“Eyup, Ah did, n’ Ah’d do it again.” Determination was impregnated in her words.

Granny Smith’s eyes softened and her frown turned into a loving smile.

“Jes like yer Pa, headstrong but golden-hearted. Guess y’all finally got to pass the test yer brother never could, now this is yers.” She turned around and took a brown Stetson, and rested it over her granddaughter’s mane. “It’s yers now, take care of it, y’all are carrying’ an Apple Family relic.”

Applejack was dumbfounded, her eyes drifting between her granny’s eyes and the hat. She considered for a moment to scream and shout of joy like a schoolfilly, but after thinking hard about it, she realized the best was to stand up, head up high and puff out her chest a little bit. “Ah’m gonna take care of it, don’t y’all worry. Ah’ll carry the Apple legacy n’ make y’all proud. Ah’ll live to be the most dependable of ponies n’ the most honest gal y’all will ever met.”

“So you made me Miss Loyalty, and I made you Applejack, the country gal that’ll always be there no matter what happens.”

“If y’all wanna put it that way…”

“Wow… I never thought about how much we did for the other you know? But there’s a question floating in my mind ever since you mentioned it some seconds ago…”

“N’ what’s that?” Applejack inquired.

“You said that your granny said you passed the test Big Mac couldn’t… that means that in another parallel universe there’s a Big Mac with a Stetson?”

Applejack started guffawing and said “N’ a hatless Applejack, what ‘bout that?”

“Well… she looks good.”

“N’ how do y’all… Oh right, Ah don’t have mah hat on.”

It was Dash’s turn to laugh now.

“Okay, okay, get a laugh, Ah’m jes so used to it, that Ah can’t realize Ah don’t have it… Say… We’ve finished eatin’… why don’t we jes pay n’ go take another walk on the park?” She beckoned to the waiter to come.

Rainbow Dash was about to reach for her pouch when she had an idea. “Heh, you don’t need money when you look like that, do you AJ?”

Applejack blushed, surprised by the sudden compliment, but decided to follow along and said “Well Sugarcube, thanks fer the compliment, but today Ah’m payin’ fer yer pretty flank”

“Oh really? Do you like it?” asked Rainbow looking at her friend.

“Can’t say Ah don’t enjoy watching it from behind…” Replied Applejack chuckling.

“Now, enough joking”

“ Who said Ah was jokin’?”

“Why are going to pay for me?” Rainbow Dash said sternly.

“Because Ah invited y’all, so Ah gotta pay, simple as that.”

“Well I’m not going to let you!”

“Y’all are.”

“Am not.”

“Eyup.”

“No!

“Eyup.”

“No!”

“Nope”

“Yes! Wait… No! How could I fall for such an old trick?”

“Anyways, Ah won’t let y’all pay. Y’all need dem bits.” Applejack stated sternly.

“What do you mean I need them?”

“Ah know what y’all wanna do with Scoots.”

“H-how did you…”

“Ah always hear to every word y’all say, n’ sumtimes y’all mutter sumthin’ ‘bout giving her a home with y’all, that’s why y’all have been savin’ fer a while, isn’t it?”

“Y-yes…” Rainbow Dash admitted.

“Then save it, Ah’ll pay fer this now, n’ Ah won’t take a no fer an answer. Also Ah want y’all to know Ah’ll lend y’all if y’all need it, though Ah think y’all prefer to earn it yerself, don’t y’all?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, then problem solved.”

After paying for the dinner, both mares got up from the table and walked towards the exit.

Before they got there, Applejack let out a snicker.

“What is it?”

“Ah’m jes rememberin’, talkin’ of Granny Smith freakin’ out, y’all recall that time we broke the barn door?”

“That day we raced?”

“Eyup.”

“How could I forget such an awesome day! It was some days after that night…”

“You have no excuse now, I want to test your speed, you always say you’te so good at running.”

“Rainbow, first of all, Ah never said that, Ah jes told y’all Ah like to run a lot, n’ Ah practice now n’ then. N’ second, y’all shouldn’t run yet, y’all jes recovered from yer wounds. Y’all still can’t fly, can y’all?”

“Yes, I can!”

“Then… may Ah ask why are y’all still here n’ not up there?” she said signalizing towards where Cloudsdale was.

“Well… I… uh… I”

“Y’all can’t fly yet, don’t y’all brag if y’all can’t.”

“Well, but I can still run! C’mon AJ, please? I need this.”

“Okay, okay. What do y’all wanna do?”

“We start here, at the barn door, and we end it here, at the barn door. Simple.”

“Okay… Ready.” Both ponies lowered themselves near the ground and flexed their legs.

“Set” Both ponies raised their flanks.

“GO!”

A red stallion watched two blurs followed by a dust cloud. He shrugged and went to close the barn door. “Applejack, when are y’all gonna learn not to let it open, vermins can come in.” He whispered as he walked.

The two runners where almost there, Applejack has been trying not to surpass Rainbow, she knew this was important for her, so she tried not to make her feel bad. When they were in front of the barn, they noticed it was closed.

“Whadda y’all say, we drift n’ change our finish line?”

“We go through it, it opens to the inside, doesn’t it?”

“Y’all crazy!?”

“Maybe…”

Applejack realized the pony was serious, and she would really hurt herself, so she sped up just in time to jump in front of Rainbow Dash, so she took the blow of both the barn door and Rainbow Dash.

The problem was that the barn door didn’t open like they thought it would. The door hinges broke and the whole door fell to the floor with a loud noise, startling everypony in the house.

“Gah!”

“Applejack, are you okay? I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! I’m so stupid.”

“I-its… It’s okay D-Dash.”

A loud and angry “AAAAAAPLEJACK!” was heard.

“Now it’s not okay, Granny’s gonna kill us.”

“Yeah, now I remember… I’m still sorry for it.”

“Forget ‘bout it Dash, it was fun, n’ y’all were safe. Now… about that walk at the park…”

“Later. First, I want to have a good time with you, and show you a place you probably don’t know.” Rainbow Dash took Applejack’s hoof and lead her to some stairs next to the stage were Octavia and the rest of the orchestra were playing. She could spot Lyra in the middle winking at her, and Rainbow winked back at her.

“Where are we goin’ Dashie?” Applejack asked.

“To Vinyl’s Cave.”

Revelations

Applejack was trying to remember the events that transpired in the last minute. It all happened so fast that she couldn’t make muzzle nor tails of it. She was in a pitch black room with colorful strobe lights. She could only make some outlines of some ponies’ bodies when the lights hit them.

There was a loud and electronic sound. No… it was music, music so loud that it made the whole structure of the place tremble. But the most important thing in the room, apparently, was a white unicorn with a wild, cobalt blue and cyan mane and a pair of big electric purple glasses.

Five minutes ago, she was having dinner with a beautiful, rainbow pony she loved, talking about the past. One minute ago, she was about to have a walk at the park… How did she get in this strange place? She had no clue, but intended on asking Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow?” Applejack found her voice lost in the sound she couldn’t even hear herself, so she got closer to the cyan speedster mare, who luckily never let go of her hoof, and shouted, “RAINBOW DASH!”

The pony turned around and asked her, “WHAT’S WRONG?”

“WHERE ARE WE? HOW DID WE GET HERE?”

“IT’S JUST VINYL’S CAVE! GREATEST NIGHTCLUB IN ALL OF PONYVILLE!”

“A NIGHT WHAT NOW?” asked Applejack, dumbfounded.

“GAH! WAIT, FOLLOW ME!” Rainbow Dash said, taking the orange mare by the hoof and walking to the corner of the club, and entering through a strange-looking door, dragging Applejack behind her.

Suddenly the music lowered as they entered the room, and as she closed the door, it came to a stop, letting her ears rest a moment.

“Wow… what happened?”

“Soundproof walls. Pretty neat, huh?”

“Yeah, mah head is welcome…” she replied, raising a hoof to her forehead.

“What’s wrong farmfilly? I thought you listened to electro music, too.”

“Ah do, jes not this loud!”

“Well, it’s a nightclub. What did you expect, a lullaby?” asked the Best Young Flier Champion.

“Ah didn’t know this was a nightclub, Ah don’t even know what that is!”

“You don’t… How can you be a grown-up sociable gal, and not know what a nightclub is? Who are you, Twilight?”

“First of all, apologize to Twi fer that. N’ second, y’all know mah work takes most of mah time, n’ if Ah’m not workin, Ah’m with y’all, or the gals! Ah never had a night-out.”

“Wow… I didn’t know that.”

“Well, now do y’all have anything to say?” she asked, staring at her cyan friend.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Though I still can’t believe you never had a night out… Damn it! I should have made this more special!”

“It’s okay, RD, as long as y’all are here with me, the night is special enough.”

“No, it’s not okay! Come with me, let me try something you may like,” she said, pulling Applejack out of the room and back into the music.

“What are y’all gonna do, Dashie?”

“WAIT HERE, APPLES,” She stated and flew towards the place where the DJ was.

Somehow, in the place where the unicorn was playing, the music was not so loud, making it possible to have a talk in a normal tone.

“Yo, Vinyl!”

“‘Sup, my sis Dash?” Vinyl Scratch answered.

“How’s the DJ PON-3 doing?”

“Awesome night, awesome crowd, and now I have an awesome friend and flyer here by my side… Which makes me wonder, why are you up here and not down there on the dance-floor?”

“Look, I know your job is to make these ponies crazy down there with your amazing mixes, but I was wondering if I could request something,” Rainbow Dash said, brushing her right hoof lightly with the left one.

“Hmm… a request? Depends, tell me what you wanna hear and gimme a reason.”

“Look, I was thinking… Maybe you could put on some old yet cool music, you know? A Classics Revival you may say.”

“Maybe… Tell me the reason,” the wild maned pony asked, never leaving the turntable unattended.

“You see, I’m on a… Something kinda similar to what you would call like a date or something like that…” Rainbow Dash admitted blushing.

“Something kinda similar to what you would call like…? Look Dash, if you’re on a date that’s great. You don’t have to go around being shy, like your other pegasus friend, whose name I couldn’t get ‘cause as soon as I said hello, she went running back to her cottage.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled both in relief of her words, and because of Fluttershy’s behavior.

“Her name’s Fluttershy. Well, I’m on a date, and this pony likes old music and is an amazing dancer, so I wanted you to play some old tunes, so everypony can see it,” Rainbow Dash said, trying not to say the pony’s gender. “Oh, and this is this pony’s first night-out… ever.”

“Hmm… okay, but now let me guess who your date is.”

“I doubt you can guess who the pony is,” The pegasus said, confident on herself.

“It’s Applejack isn’t it?”

And all of Dash’s confidence went down the sink. “H-how did you know that!?”

“Well, that Fluttershy one is too much of a shut-in to be in a nightclub. The same goes for the librarian. The one with the curly, purple hair would think this place is for ‘ruffians’ and if Pinkie Pie was here, I’d have already saw her bouncing up and down the whole place… That, and I saw you two entering the soundproof room.” The white pony laughed and said, “That’s kinky, Dash! Does the possibility of being found turn you on?”

Rainbow Dash blushed madly and quickly corrected her friend. “No, no, no! You got it all wrong, really! We weren’t doing anything you gutter-brain!” She stared at the unicorn and continued, “The music was too loud for her, that’s all.”

“Oh, lemme fix that…” The DJ said while turning down the volume enough to relieve Applejack’s ears yet not as much as to make the ponies angry. “Ok, ok, let’s say I believe you did nothing in there, but you gotta spill the beans… Does she really taste like apples? I swear the doubt’s killing me!”

“Ooookay, this chat is becoming a bit too weird for me. Could you just do me the favor and put Micolt Sembello’s Mane-iac on?”

“Ok, ok… You’re no fun, Rainbow. Oh, and one last thing.” Rainbow turned around to hear her. “If you swear not to tell anypony, I’ll let you know that’s one of my favorite songs. Tell AJ she’s cool for me, would ya?”

“Ok, thanks for everything, now watch her dance!” Rainbow Dash said as she flew back to Applejack’s side.

While the cyan pony was flying back to her date, Vinyl Scratch started turning down the volume and announced, “HOW ARE MY PARTY PONIES DOING!?”

The whole crowd started hollering and whistling.

“WELL I’M HAPPY TO HEAR THAT, BUT I JUST RECEIVED A REQUEST. YOU BETTER LIKE IT ‘CAUSE I’M GONNA DO IT WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!”

The ponies in the dance-floor looked at her dumbfounded.

“IT’S TIME TO BRING SOME CLASSICS BACK FROM THE GRAVE!”

While she looked through the infinity of discs in her collection, Rainbow Dash was already next to Applejack, and before she could say anything, the orange pony asked, “Rainbow Dash, what did y’all ask for?”

“Just wait and see. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

Vinyl Scratch pressed a button, and the dance floor below the now still ponies started flashing with different colors, reminding the older ponies of the old Disco dance floors. Dimmer colorful lights started flashing everywhere re-creating the atmosphere of a discotheque.

Before Applejack could ask Dash what was happening, she heard a sound she knew too well. “Oh no y’all didn’t!”

“Hey, I thought you said you liked this song!” asked the cyan pegasus with a hint of worry in her face.

“Ah do, but Ah don’t like dancin’ in public!” Even saying so, the orange mare’s hooves were moving to the rhythm of her favorite song, “N’ Ah told y’all when I hear it Ah can’t help myself n’ Ah gotta dance!”

“Come on AJ! You’re an amazing dancer, and everypony should know it!” Rainbow Dash tried to make the orange mare lose her fears. “Besides, you always tell me I should also show my other qualities, besides flying. Why don’t you show yours?”

“Ah… Because…” it was useless, she had no good reason to argue and it was difficult to make a point about why not to dance, if her body was following the music.

“No buts nor complaints. Just let your body move to the music… Let yourself go with the flow AJ!”

The emerald-eyed mare decided to do just that, there was no use in fighting.

It was in that moment that she realized all the ponies had stopped dancing just to look at her. Everypony was watching her move with open mouths and awe present in their eyes.

Somepony in the crowd recognized her and said, “Hey… isn’t that Applejack?”

Other ponies seemed to be asking the same thing or recently realizing the member of the Apple family was there. A stallion commented aloud, “She looks really pretty without the hat and the mane bands!” Among other compliments, some of them less classy and more colorful than others.

Even the DJ took off her glasses in being unable to believe her eyes. “Dash said she was a good dancer, but I didn’t expect this! In fact, I thought Dash was lying. Who’d say the farmer had these moves?”

The strong and hard-working country mare was dancing better than any dancer she had ever seen and she wasn’t even trying to show off.

Quite the contrary in fact, even if Dash told her to go with the flow, she was still uneasy about being watched by everypony.

When the song reached its chorus, every single pony in the club was looking at her. Even Berry Punch, who was trying hard to stand up straight, was awed by her skill.

Slowly but steadily, Applejack decided to listen to Dash’s advice and forget all about the ponies around her. Just listening to the rhythm, enhanced by Vinyl’s good quality speakers.

“These nightclub speakers really leave mah ol’ trotpony cassette player in the dust …” the blonde mare thought.

When the music stopped, so did Applejack. Panting and breathing heavily, the orange coated pony dared to open her eyes and lift her head. As she did so, the crowd exploded in cheers and applauses. Even the DJ was whistling at her performance.

Applejack was surprised to see how many eyes were set on her. She was only seen by these many ponies when she was with the other girls, or when she was about to take the train ride to Canterlot, or for the Rodeo Competition, and that was because the Mayor was counting on her bringing home the money to repair the Hall.

She wasn’t used to being the center of attention, and especially not for her dancing skills. So, she just gave a shy smile and tried to go back to the soundproof room, not caring about Rainbow Dash for a minute, she just wanted to stop being in the spotlight.

“LEMME HEAR A BIG YEEHAW FROM THE AMAZING COWPONY DANCER TRYING TO GET AWAY!” Vinyl said as she manipulated the lights to center them all on Applejack.

“Darn it.” Applejack turned around with a very awkward smile just to find everypony on the club once again looking at her, but this time, their faces were full of expectancy. There was no way out of this one.

“GIVE US A YEEHAW, AND I’LL LET YOU CONTINUE YOUR LITTLE DATE! BUT YOU’RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE IF YOU DON’T!” Vinyl threatened.

Her eyes grew wide, her cheeks flushed red, and her throat went dry. Her mouth, along with many other ponies’ on the crowd mouthed voicelessly, “Date?”

Everypony was looking to the sides to find any evidence on who could be the one dating Applejack, and Rainbow was about to take a step forward, not thinking ahead, as usual. The farmpony had no choice, the only way to get out of here before everything became worse was doing it.

“Ye…Y-YEEHAW!” Applejack hollered, letting the adrenaline from the dancing take over side-to-side with her inner cowpony roots.

Everypony in the crowd mimicked it and started hollering in a country way. Even the DJ gave a short yeehaw before playing the next song.

Applejack realized this could be her only chance, so she ran away from the club by the only door she found, not really knowing where the stairs back to the restaurant were.

As she exited the club, her head and ears could finally relax. She was feeling exhausted, though she didn’t do anything really demanding. She decided to breathe deeply, lowering her heartbeat rate.

It was then when she realized where she was. She was in a very dark dead-end alley, which seemed to be connected to one of the streets where the restaurant’s entrance was.

“Huh, who’d believe the fanciest ponies ‘round are jes some hooves away from the drunk wild ‘punks’ they hate so much.”

Applejack looked at herself, and realized her dress had become ragged while she was dancing. Luckily, it was a clean cut, and resembled one of those open thigh dresses.

As soon as she realized this, she heard some hoof steps behind her.

While Applejack escaped the club, Rainbow Dash was once again next to the DJ. “Vinyl, why would you do such a thing? You knew she was terribly embarrassed!”

“Yeah… but she needed to chill out! Geez! I was only teasing, Dash. Don’t go around being the ponyguard to the girl you have the hots for.”

“Hey! First of all, I’m not acting like a ponyguard or anything. I’m standing up for my friends like I always do! Also, I really love her… I do! It’s not a one-night stand I’m looking for or anything. And finally… SHE DIDN’T KNOW IT WAS A DATE!” Dash exclaimed, a bit angry at her friend.

The pair of glasses slipped from the white unicorn’s muzzle and crashed into pieces on the floor, revealing the worried look the DJ had. “Ouch… Sorry, Dash. I hope I didn’t screw up too hard.”

“It’s okay, Vinyl, and I’m sorry for the glasses.”

“Nah, don’t be. I have like… A hundred more at home,” she said smiling and waving a hoof dismissively. “I always break them, so I have plenty in case I need another.”

Dash started chuckling and gave her friend a little punch on the shoulder, making her scratch the vinyl record unexpectedly in a way that made everypony in the crowd look at them confused. Suddenly, Vinyl Scratch made another one, expertly mixing the song getting a big cheer from the ponies in the crowd.

“Hey, talking about it Casanova, shouldn’t you be spending time with your date-that’s-not-actually-your-date?” the blue maned pony said, glancing to the side at Rainbow Dash.

“Oh darn, you’re right! You saw where she went?

“I think she took the back exit, to the alley. Good luck with that, Dash.”

“Thanks, Vi. See you on Sunday?”

“Can’t, I have an anniversary date…”

Rainbow Dash looked at her dumbfounded for some seconds. But some seconds later, she put two and two together and grinned as she exclaimed, “Oh, ok, good luck with that. Tell Tavi she’s awesome for me!”

And before her friend could ask her how she found out, she was already out the door.

As soon as she left the nightclub, she was met by one of her worst nightmares in front of her eyes.

“C’mon, sweet apple-flank, don’t fight it. You’ll enjoy it! Actually… You may not, but I can assure you I will…” A dark red coated pegasus with a dark indigo mane said while swinging a knife between his hooves.

“Hey, dumbflank! Leave her alone!” Dash said as her heart started pumping adrenaline through her veins, and her muscles tensed.

“Oh no! Looks who’s here! Dykemare, every villain’s terror!” sarcastically said the assaulter. “What are you gonna do ‘bout it, sugar?”

Applejack said through her gritted teeth, “Dash, step away.”

“I’m not going to let a stupid pony get his way with you just like this!”

Her words were strong and confident, but she was actually frozen with fear as the other pony got closer, with his knife pointing at her.

“Listen to me, Dash, Ah’m telling y’all to get away.”

“Oh how noble, the farm gal is trying to save her ‘knight in a lesbian armor’,” he said with a twisted laugh. “But you know what? I’m gonna start having my fun with this rainbow one. It’s always funnier to see the noble ones fall… They make the cutest squirms…”

The cyan pegasus’ eyes went wide and she started sweating from fear. As the knife got slowly closer, she started backing up, only finding the wall.

His face was frightening. Dark eyes reflecting the dark and sick mind behind them, a twisted grin and some scars across one of his cheek and the muzzle.

Suddenly, his face contorted and twisted as a pair of orange hind hooves bucked him across the alley.

“Ah ain’t letting y’all have no fun with mah best friend, n’ Ah don’t need no Dykemare nor knight in a lesbian armor. Ah can take good care of mahself, thank y’all. Next time, y’all should choose yer targets better, y’all good-fer-nuthin’ vermin’!” Applejack angrily exclaimed. “N’ jes fer yer information, she might not be Dykemare, but we are part of The Elements of Harmony. We did save yer ass from every villain that hit Equestria recently, y’all useless son of a-”

“Applejack… I think he’s unconscious…”

Applejack looked at her friend and then growled at the blacked out colt. “Lucky devil.”

They took a minute to recover from the shock, and then Applejack asked, “Y’all ‘kay Dash?”

“Y-yeah… I’m fine,” the cyan pony said as she looked back at her friend “How about you?”

“Ah’m fine, though y’all should check yer plans.”

“Huh?”

Applejack chuckled and explained, “Ah dunno ‘bout y’all, but Ah’ve heard the savior has to save the damsel in distress, not the other way ‘round!”

“Heh, yeah… Hey, listen, I’m sorry I brought you here. I didn’t know you’ve never been to a nightclub, or that you were so afraid of dancing in public,” Rainbow Dash said lowering her head and staring at the ground.

“Hey, hey, don’t beat yerself up, Sugarcube. The intention was nice, n’ Ah love y’all fer jes tryin’,” Applejack said as she got closer and nuzzled her friend’s neck.

A soft pomf was heard as Dash’s wings sprung wide open. She decided to flap them a bit and start hovering, to conceal the real reason they opened. “S-so… you said something about a second walk through the park?”

Applejack nodded gently and with a little smile, she led the way through Ponyville’s street, towards the park.

“Judgin’ by the moon’s position, it’s still not even midnight. Ah don’t have much time left. Ah said Ah’d confess today, n’ by mah family’s name Ah will! Besides…” Applejack pondered back to the talk she had with her brother, and all that happened up to this very moment. Her mind was made. “There’s no way ‘round it. Ah know its true n’ Ah’m no longer ashamed or afraid of admitting it. Ah knew it all along, but Ah was tryin’ to lie to Dash… N’ to mahself too.”

Rainbow Dash looked down to her best friend and found her looking forward to a point past the horizon, with a smile on her face and a determined look.

“I wonder what AJ’s thinking.” “A bit for your thoughts, AJ?”

“Huh?”

“Spill the beans, what’s getting you so worked up?”

“Oh, nuthin’ y’all should worry ‘bout. Y’all will find out in a minute.”

Rainbow Dash grinned slightly and thought, “Okay, it’s all settled, you wait until she tells you whatever she’s going to tell you, and then BAM you confess and she obviously says yes, ‘cause awesome ponies like you get awesome confessions like those with awesome results.”

“So… While we get there… What do y’all wanna do? Jes walkin’ is not our style.”

“I guess you’re right. We could… Uh…” Dash pondered. “Compete?”

“That’s no news, Dash. We would compete anyways, the problem is what to do!”

“Well I don’t see you trying to think about something to do! ‘Hard-working’ ponies these days…”

Both mares chuckled at their silly fight and kept thinking about what to do.

“We could run?”

“You do remember you’re wearing a dress right?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yeah, but it’s ruined anyways, Ah seemed to have torn it while dancin’.”

“Still, I don’t want you to lose and excuse yourself saying it’s the dress’ fault.”

“Well… then what can we d-”

Applejack stopped dead on her tracks as she saw a very peculiar scene in front of her eyes. They had turned around the big block where the restaurant and the nightclub were, getting back to the restaurant’s front door.

Every single house in the street leading to the front door, was written with big pink letters.

“Oh. My. Celestia… You think it was…”

“Uh… ‘Pinkie Pie was here,’ ‘Party, Party, Party,’ ‘Cupcakes, so sweet and tasty…,’ ‘Listen to the jingle jangle of my gypsy tambourine’… Ah’m pretty sure it was Pinkie.”

“C’mon, we should follow them to… Uh… check if Pinkie’s okay?”

“Y’all jes wanna read’em, ain’t that right?”

“Heh, kinda,” Rainbow Dash guiltily confessed.

“Okay, let’s see what else she wrote ‘round the place.”

“ Let’s see… ‘Fun Fun Fun,’ ‘Blame Twilight Sparkle’…”

“Oh, read this one ‘Actually, don’t blame Twilie, jes ask her to wake me up n’ make me clean all this.’ This one must take the golden medal!”

“Hey, talking about Twilie, check the library, looks like the door is open!” Rainbow Dash said as she trotted there, followed closely by Applejack.

When they got there, they could see the lights turning on, and they heard somepony talk inside.

“Ungh… P-Pinkie? What are you doing here this late? Why are you on my bed!?”

“I’M SO SORRY, TWILIE!” Pinkie wept.

“Are you crying? What happened?” After some seconds of what the two mares would supposedly call investigation, Twilight continued asking, “Were you drinking again? I thought I told you drinking had strange effects with your rather special mind and body.”

“I’M SORRY FOR EVERYTHING BAD I MAY HAVE DONE TO YOU!”

“Ugh, just shut up and let me sleep…”

“Spike, don’t be so insensitive! Pinkie, stop crying, you never did anything bad nor wrong, and if you ever did, I’m not mad at you. Let me get you a glass of warm milk and walk you to Sugarcube Corner.”

Spike groaned and added, “And don’t forget to buy a new door lock, one that resists Pinkie Catastrophes.”

The cyan pegasus and the orange mare chuckled at the scene and kept walking towards the park.

“We should get out of here. If Twilight sees us, she will blame us and we'll be lectured to death!”

“Yeah, though Ah’m impressed by how calm Twilight was in this situation. If Pinkie just appeared in my bed at night, Ah’d probably not be so sensitive…”

“Judging by her and Spike’s reaction, I’d guess this happened before… More than once. I pity Twi a bit. I mean, Pinkie’s cool and I love spending time with her, but being visited at night by a drunk, crying Pinkie must be awfully exhausting.”

“Probably…”

“So…” Applejack said as soon as they got to the park. “We’re here. Ah was actually thinkin’ ‘bout walking up to that lil’ hill over there, with that nice big tree. Looks like a good place to have a chat.”

“It’s like… On the other side of the park…”

“Well… Ah guess we’ll have to do something to get ourselves busy while we get there, what do y’all say?”

“Sure, we could talk!” After thinking for some seconds she said, “You know what? I wanna ask something I was thinking about right now. When’s the next cider season?”

“Ah’ll leave a whole barrel jes fer y’all in mah barn, y’all can take it fer free.”

“Really!?” The rose eyes went wide as saucers and expectantly look at her friend.

“Eeyup. Ah feel bad fer y’all always losin’ the chance to drink all ‘cause of Pinkie. In fact, Ah’ll have to create a Pinkie Cider Tax, after the fifth mug, Ah’ll start chargin’ her more. We need to give everypony in Ponyville a chance.”

“Are you seriously giving me a whole barrel for free?”

“Eeyup.”

“To me?”

“Ah said yes like four times already!”

Rainbow Dash started flying upwards and hoof pumped, “Awww Yeaaaaah!!!!!”

After seconds of cheering she looked to her side and found Scootaloo doing the same in the other end of the park.

“Hey AJ! Looks like your sis said yes!”

“Huh? How do y’all know?” the orange mare asked at her friend in the skies.

“Because I can see Scootaloo flying and hoof pumping on the other end of the park!”

“Scootaloo is flyin’!?”

Rainbow Dash stopped for some seconds and got her mind working. Scootaloo couldn’t fly before, yet she was flying now. “SCOOTALOO LEARNED TO FLY! THE PIPSQUEAK DID IT! WOHOO! I should go and congratulate her.”

“N’ Ah though we left Pinkie Pie at Twi’s home…”

“Oh… Right… They’re kinda on a date together and I have nothing to do there…” Rainbow said while rubbing the back of her head with one hoof and slowly landing next to the emerald eyed cowpony.

Applejack rested one hoof on her friend’s shoulder and said with a sympathetic smile, “Cheer up, this means y’all can take’er home now!”

“Yeah… You’re right!”

“Seems this is yer lucky night ain’t it Dash? Free barrel of cider, Scoots learnt to fly… Y’all got to see me in a dress, n’ dancin’, which is a rather rare sight…” Then the apple farmer said under her breath, “Ah jes hope Ah’m as lucky tonite…”

“What was that?”

“Ah… Ah jes said Ah wish Ah get lucky too!” “Not a lie!”

“If everything goes smooth tonight, we both will.” “I’m sure you will!” The cyan pegasus flew up once more and looked towards where she found Scootaloo. “Lemme check on the girls once more…” With her enhanced eyesight, she was able to spot the girls kissing. “Aww, they’re kissing now!”

“SCOOTALOO IS DOIN’ WHAT WITH MAH SISTER?” Applejack suddenly growled.

“Hey, hey, AJ. they’re just kissing! Besides I suppose they’re fillyfriends now, what did you expect them to do? Not kiss ‘til getting married?” Rainbow Dash mocked looking down at her friend with a questioning look.

“Ah… Ah know y’all are right, but Ah dunno… Ah guess mah sister instincts are kickin’ somethin’ fierce. That’s all.”

“Okay then, let’s just try to get you back on your good side, and let’s walk to your little hill, and forget all about Scootaloo and Applebloom. I assume she’ll just walk your sister home and then go back to her home, or something.”

They were slowly but steadily getting closer to the hill. Applejack was already thinking how and what exactly she was going to say, while Rainbow Dash was thinking what else they could talk about until they got to the long awaited mysterious surprise Applejack had for her.

“Talking about the girls, no. Talk about our date, it’s not even technically a date, and if I ask her what she thought of our get-together, I would sound awfully silly. I already asked about cider, and got a free barrel…” She was running out of ideas, so she tried to remember the classic conversation starters. “How’s work?... Nah, I already know what she does every single day, and she knows I know. The weather? I kind of create and manipulate it, there’s not much to talk. How’s the family? I already know the answer: ‘Big Mac is fine, studying and working hard. And Granny Smith keeps cooking awesome pies and rant about the old times.’” After thinking hard she said the only thing she could think of.

“So… How’s Winona?”

“Wha-?” was the answer the earth pony gave her after being dragged out of her train of thoughts by a quite unexpected question.

“I Uh… I just wanted to know how’s she doing and… stuff.”

“Umm… She’s fine, she’s a real miracle y’all know? Always lends a very helping hoo… paw ‘round the farm, n’ thanks to that diet Flutter gave us, she’s healthy and fresh as could be.”

“Yeah, I heard that Flutters is taking her for a walk each week.”

“She does! Ah don’t get how Winona, the most active pet Ah’ve ever seen, walks slowly when she’s next to Flutters.”

“Listen to me, I tell you that Flutter’s real talent is mind control! I assure you the butterflies are just a sticker cutie mark she uses to cover her real one.”

“Y’all are jes bein’ silly now. She’s just loveable,” the earth pony said chuckling.

“She is…” Rainbow Dash said while her mind drifted away.

“Bein’ so loveable… Ever got a crush on’er? Ah mean, y’all two have known each other since flight camp…” asked Applejack.

A blush covered Rainbow’s face as she remembered the events two days ago. “Eh… Hehe, it was kinda uh… The other way around…” the pegasus nervously said.

“What do y’all mean?”

“LOOK, WE’RE HERE!” she hastily spurted.

Applejack started taking deep breaths as she mentally prepared for what was going to happen next.

Rainbow Dash looked at her friend and realized what she was doing. “Oh dear Celestia, I know what that deep breath means. Applejack only does that when she’s going to say something life-changing. Whatever it is I… I’m not ready for it! What if she tells me she has to go to Manehattan again? O-or to Appleloosa!” Her mind started racing and each scenario was worse than the prior. “What if she tells me she really enjoyed this night but it’s going to be the last time we see each other because she doesn’t want me as a friend anymore? We’re not in the restaurant anymore so it doesn’t matter if I make a scene. It’s late, so she’ll have an excuse to go away after telling me the bad news! Oh Celestia I can’t let her talk!”

“T-the other day I was working in the weather, and I saw this wild nimbus that was trying to get away and I had to chase it and…”

As they got close to the tree atop the hill, the orange mare realized she had waited for far too long. She had realized from the moment the date started, that she truly loved her polychromatic friend. In fact, she now couldn’t understand how was she able to be so blind and doubt it to begin with.

“... so after kicking that cloud I realised that the big one I-”

“Rainbow...”

“- was moving around had lost the way and-”

“Rainbow Dash!”

“-and I had to-”

Applejack shoved a hoof in Rainbow Dash’s mouth to make her stop talking and took a deep breath.

“Rainbow Dash, Ah’m awfully sorry fer bein’ this rude, but Ah don’t really care what y’all were about to say. Ah have something really, really important to tell y’all, n’ Ah can’t wait any longer.”

Rainbow Dash’s heart stopped for some seconds while Applejack’s was beating madly. Emerald met rose as their eyes locked, one was hoping, the other was dreading. Two were drying, two were getting wet.

Completely determined to take the biggest leap of hope towards a brighter future, leaving behind a perfectly harmonic relationship, Applejack spoke.

“Rainbow Dash, Ah...”

'The Best Night of Your Life'

“Rainbow Dash, Ah... Ah can’t go on like this. Ah can’t bear it any longer.”

“N-no, don’t say it…”

“Ah can’t believe it took me this long to say this, but Ah need y’all to know.”

“Please, please just sh-shut up, stop it right now…” A pair of crystal tears ran down her cheeks, breaking Applejack’s heart in the process.

“Ah knew it, she doesn’t love me back, n… n’ she knows what Ah’m gonna tell’er, b-but she needs to hear it, n’ Ah need to say it.” She started crying too, but her hoof was still on Rainbow Dash’s mouth, her eyes fixed on her friend’s and her resolve still strong. “This whole day, this whole get-together, was sumthin’ Ah made up fer two reasons. First of all, Ah needed to know if Ah’d do it, n’ the second reason was to try n’ prepare y’all for it, with the hope that y’all would like what y’all will hear… B-but Ah guess y’all are not gonna like it…”

“I can’t take it anymore! J-just spit it out!”

“Rainbow Dash, Ah need to confess. Ah gotta tell you that… Ah love y’all.”

The cyan pegasus was stunned, this was not what she expected, and she couldn’t think of a moment when she was so glad to be wrong.

“Rainbow, Ah want y’all to be mine, without y’all Ah’m but a bunch of nuthin’, and that’s not enough to live.” Both ponies could feel their chests’ weight disappearing slowly. “Since that kiss Ah’ve become a soulless body, Ah can’t think straight, Ah jes keep thinkin’ ‘bout yer face, yer lips, yer body…”

As Applejack’s eyes sneaked a glance of Rainbow Dash’s hind legs and flank, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but blush.

“Ah can’t take mah eyes off of you, Ah daydream of hearin’ yer heavenly voice n’ a really hope Luna hasn’t been in any of mah dreams in the last few nights...” The embodiment of Honesty blushed and looked away as she continued. “Ah wanna hold y’all in mah arms so much! A-Ah jes need y’all by mah side to warm me in these cold nights, y’all are all Ah long to have.” Her eyes met once again with Rainbow’s. “Please be mine, ‘cause Ah won’t be able to keep livin’ without y’all. What would be the reason fer livin’ if Ah don’t have yer love?”

She knew that she needed to let her hopefully still best friend talk, but she needed to let it all out off her chest.

“Ah think back to the first time we met, n’ now Ah know what was that feelin’ Ah got back then… It was love at first sight. Ah thought it was jes ‘cause of mah dream, but Ah actually have loved y’all since the first hello. Ah didn’t discover that ‘til the kiss two days ago… The love of mah life was jes in front of me all this time, but Ah guess Ah needed a kiss to realize it.”

Dash’s mind was racing at a million miles per hour, this was more than just a great misunderstanding, this was Applejack confessing her undying love to her. This was all she wanted to hear and far more, this seemed to be the start of the best part of her life.

“But Ah don’t regret not knowin’ that back then ‘cause… ‘cause maybe all those precious moments we shared could have never happened. Ah know y’all said yer eyes were set on another mare, but Ah needed y’all to know how Ah felt. Ah can’t expect y’all to love me back, but y’all deserved to hear me, n’ Ah ask y’all, for all the years we’ve been together, to at least understand me and don’t hate me.”

It was over. It was finally all out of her chest, she was free once again. But her freedom was short-lived as a new burden rested on her back. Silence.

Applejack took her hoof off Rainbow Dash’s mouth, yet it stood open, and no words escaped from it. The daredevil seemed to be painted there, except for the stream of tears flowing from her eyes.

The orange farmpony took a step backwards fearing the worse, already planning to run away from it all. She was already beating herself up, blaming herself for being so rushed and stupid, when something hit her. Literally.

Her chest burned and the air left her lungs as she felt herself being lifted off the ground. As she opened her eyes she could see the tree on the hill, completely leafless getting smaller and smaller with every passing second and she realized that she was flying. Just as she realized this, another thing just dawned on her. It was a familiar feeling, yet it was rare… it was the feeling of Rainbow Dash’s lips kissing hers.

The air had left her lungs, and she was unable to breath because of Rainbow Dash’s kiss, yet Applejack was more than okay with it. Her hooves were soon around Dash’s neck and her tongue was trying to enter her now lover’s mouth.

Rainbow Dash was in total bliss, this was everything she wanted for this day to happen, and more. She was flying at breakneck speed with the mare of her dreams in her hooves, while her tongue waltzed with the orange pony’s in complete harmony.

She started flying higher and higher, finally deciding to turn back in a wide backflip, and then doing another one while still flying backwards, ending the flight with a long curve downward landing in the other side of the park.

As they break the kiss Applejack took a deep breath and smiled, lowering her eyelids and saying “Ah guess y’all were more than okay with what Ah jes said, huh?”

Rainbow Dash kissed her again, surprising her lover. “More than okay it’s not even close to how happy I am right now…” After another kiss she continued, “I can’t believe we didn’t do this since the first day we met, you know we felt that way since back then… This is amazing!”

Applejack was trying to talk in between the continuous kisses the cyan pegasus was stealing from her. “Well. Ah. Don’t. Know. But. Ah.” She pushed her new marefriend away. “Okay, Rainbow, lemme finish this sentence at least!”

“Sorry… I just can’t get enough of you…” the speedster confessed and leaned forward once again, but her lips met Applejack’s hoof.

“That’s real sweet, Sugarcube, but Ah’m trying to…” Her eyes drifted away from Rainbow and she seemed to be looking at something behind her.

“What? What is it?”

“It’s beautiful…”

As Rainbow Dash turned around she realized that her flying had formed a heart with the rainbow trail she left behind. “Wow, looks cool and I didn’t even do it on purpose.”

“Guess y’all are so cool y’all don’t even have to plan it,” Applejack replied grinning.

“C’mere you sexy cowpony…”

“Wait a cotton-pickin’ minute, Dash! Ah’m tryin’ to be all romantic here, n’ y’all can’t take yer lips off mine!”

“Guess you’re that sexy…” the pegasus leaned once again.

“Don’t y’all try to butter me up jes to kiss me!” She blushed and looked away as she added, “Y’all will get plenty of those anyway… B-but y’all only get one true-love confession! So let’s do it right… Ah feel like Ah have so much more to tell y’all, much more to show y’all, fer y’all to see how deep mah love is, yet Ah can’t seem to express it with words.”

“Well then let’s express it wi-”

“Stop it with the kisses!”

Rainbow Dash pouted and sighed. “You’re right, we just have one chance to really make this right, and you just said the most wonderful things I’ve ever heard, and the most beautiful words somepony ever told me, and I’ve done nothing but kiss you. So I guess it’s time for me to tell you how I feel, but sorry if I’m not as good with words as you are…”

As she cleared her throat, Applejack sat and looked at her expectantly.

“I… I’ve been looking forward to this day like I’ve never looked forward to something before, even if I just realized it some days ago, I can’t, and I won’t ever be able to tell you just how much I love you, AJ. You’re… sexy, cool, nice, honest, the best pony I know, sexy, loveable, friendly, intelligent, sexy, strong, fast, skilled and…”

“Sexy?” Applejack inquired grinning.

“Very. And you make me sound silly because you managed to give a heart-melting confession and the best thing I came up with was to say you’re sexy four times. And I love it! I’ll never be able to tell you how much I admire and love you, but I’ll do everything I can to show you. As always, I’ll let my actions talk for me.”

“Ah love y’all, Sugarcube, n’ Ah know y’all do too, even if y’all can’t put it in nice fancy words.” She put one hoof around her mare’s neck and kissed her passionately, trying to seal the moment with a flourish.

When they broke the kiss Applejack realized just how late it was. “Well, Rainbow, Ah don’t want this night to end, Ah really don’t, but we need some rest … But y’all don’t need to go back to yer house y’all know… We could both go back to mine. Mah bed is big enough fer two, y’all know that by first hand, don’t y’all?” Applejack said giggling as she remembered the old days.

“I guess I do… Buuuut I have a better idea than going to your house, sexy girl…” she said, getting closer to the cowpony and grabbing her flank strongly.

“Hey, Rainbow, hooves off the merchandise!” she said, pushing her friend softly. “Y’all may be the fastest gal alive , but with me, y’all follow MAH pace, MAH rules n’ MAH orders, y’all understand?”

“Mmm… you have your ideas well defined I see. I like it… a lot.”

“Y’all haven’t answered, did y’all get it?”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am!” Rainbow Dash said saluting.

“Now, y’all were talkin ‘bout an idea, Sugarcube,” she said, giving her partner a sweet tender kiss.

“Yeah. Remember the powder I gave you this afternoon? Well… the effect last for a bit more than half a day, so we still have ‘til sunrise. The night is still young, and in my cloudhouse, there’s no family to bother, no pony is sleeping so we won’t have to suppress any sound we make…”

“Remember to hold yer horses, Rainbow.”

A fake innocent smile appeared on the daredevil’s face as she said, “I meant noises derived of laughter and joy, nothing else!”

Applejack stared sternly at her, but then she just chuckled and kissed her again. “Y’all gutter-minded filly, y’all are hopeless.” The blonde mare gasped and exclaimed, “But what ‘bout mah family? They’ll be worried sick fer me.”

“Your grandma must have three or four times your age, she’s not naïve, your bro is smart enough and Applebloom… Well I’m sure she and Scootaloo had their share of fun this night already, I really doubt they’ll care about us ‘til at least tomorrow afternoon.” She pouted and nuzzled her marefriend. “C’mon, AJ, we waited far too long to be together. I want to exploit my time with you as much as I can. Please come with me, so we can cuddle all night…”

Applejack nuzzled her back and chuckled. “Jes cuddle?”

“Okay… maybe do something else too, like making out or…” As she looked at the orange mare’s face she cleared her throat and added, “do whatever you think is appropriate to do given the short time we’ve been in this relationship.”

After some moments of pondering, Applejack nods, grins, and kisses her. “Okay, Sugarcube, we’ll have it yer way. Care to take me there?”

“Hold on tight!”

“Well… here we are!” Rainbow slowly descended and put her new marefriend down. She let her get used to walking on clouds for a second before landing next to her. “Welcome to my humble abode! I know it doesn’t look like much, but it’s really cozy.”

Applejack looked up at the massive cloud mansion that was Rainbow Dash’s home. “Yer definition of humble is real strange, Sugarcube. Ah don’t wanna know what y’all think of mah house…”

“That it keeps the most wonderful mare alive safe, comfortable, and warm. It is the most amazing house ever.” Rainbow Dash draped a wing over Applejack’s back and brought her closer, so they could walk side to side.

The earth pony blushed and looked down. “Stop it y’all, y’all already got me, there’s no need to keep sweet-talkin’ me.”

“I mean it, AJ. I really do.” She kissed her cheek and walked to show her the inside.

As Applejack entered the house, she took a look around and realized how big it was, and how… “Lonely…”

“I’m sorry? Did you say anything, honey?”

The blonde filly was startled and realized she said that aloud. “Ah… Ah was thinking that… don’t y’all ever feel lonely here? It’s so…”

“Yeah… I know what you mean… But I usually just spend my nights here, or my afternoons if I’m napping, so I don’t usually notice.”

“Well… Now y’all have a nice marefriend to keep y’all company.”

“And that’s all I could ask for.”

“Y’all sure?”

“Okay, maybe a never-ending barrel of cider would be nice.”

Applejack playfully punched her shoulder and snickered “Y’all are one silly pony.”

“But I’m your silly pony.”

“Heh, yes y’all are.” The cowpony got closer and kissed Rainbow Dash’s cheek, whose wings sprung open wide. Applejack couldn’t help but laugh as her marefriend blushed. “Is that goin’ to happen every time Ah kiss y’all?”

“I hope not, this is too embarrassing!”

“Mah gal gets all excited when Ah kiss’er cheek! Ah wonder…” Applejack started walking faster until she was right in front of the cyan daredevil.

Dash stopped walking and sat down, quizzically looking at her fillyfriend. “What are you going to do?”

Applejack started walking around, exaggerating the sway in her hips and looking at Rainbow with a sly grin on her face and bedroom eyes. “How do y’all like DEM apples, Sugarcube?”

It was inevitable, impossible for Rainbow Dash to resist. She could not control it nor stop it. Her wings sprung open once again as her blush deepened. “S-stop that! Is not fair! I can’t control it.”

“That ain’t gonna stop me from doin’ it…”

“Well then…” Rainbow Dash leapt and tackled Applejack causing both ponies to roll on the cloud floor until they hit the wall.

Applejack couldn’t be happier about cloud’s softness and puffiness. She also couldn’t be happier to end up under Rainbow Dash. “Ah usually would fight it n’ try to push’er, but Ah guess now Ah can do sumthin’ funnier…”. She wrapped her hooves around the rose eyed pony’s neck and pulled closer, locking lips once again.

Soon enough she could feel Dash’s mouth opening, and that was an invitation Applejack wouldn’t refuse. As their tongues danced together a sound was heard, and Applejack silently celebrated her triumph.

“Aw come on! Third time in what… five minutes?”

As her girlfriend groaned, Applejack couldn’t help but laugh her flank off. Then an idea struck her. “After all… she was willin’ to… After all we went through to be together… Ah guess we both deserve it…”

The orange mare caressed the rainbow-maned pony’s back as she slowly and alluringly said, “Y’all know, Dash… yer house is real nice, but y’all haven’t shown me all of it…”

“What do you mean? This is pretty much all I have. You don’t think its large enou-”

“Ah meant that there’s a certain room y’all haven’t shown me yet…”

After some seconds of receiving a dumbfounded look from the love of her life she sighed, facehoofed and tried again, with an even sexier voice, “Ehem… Rainbow Dash… Ah think Ah’m in the mood for y’all to show me yer bedroom…”

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes and said, “You mean…”

Trying very hard to keep on the sexy face, and not to sigh, Applejack nodded.

“RIGHT AWAY!” Rainbow Dash held Applejack and flew as fast as she could to her bedroom.

“Well… though it was kind of a mood killer, it does show y’all are eager…”

Rainbow Dash blushed and said, “Sorry, let me try this again…” She shook her head and tried as hard as she could to put on an inviting face. She started walking around the cowpony and locked eyes. “So… here we are… In my room, with no pony around to bother, no pony to wake up, no pony to hear us, no pony to interrupt us… we could do whatever we want to do…”

“Ooh… that’s better. And what is it what y’all wanna do, sweet-lookin’ gal?”

Rainbow Dash stopped, looked away and tapped her chin with one hoof. “Hmm… what could it be? How about… giving you the best night of your life, you sexy cowpony?”

“Hmm… is that so? Tell me how do y’all plan to do that? What do y’all plan to do to me?”

“Oh… the things I will do to you… What I won’t do to you would be a better question…”

Applejack kissed her passionately and ordered, “Lay on the bed.”

“Ma’am, yes sexy ma’am.”

As Rainbow Dash laid on the bed and waited, Applejack used all the strength on her back legs to stand up and start undressing. “This is much more difficult without a fancy unicorn fashionista’s magic to help me with it. Besides Ah gotta make it while lookin’ nice. Y’all can do this AJ…”

She could see Dash’s wing slowly rising and this gave her the confidence to continue. As the dress hit the ground, so did an iconic Stetson and a pair of ropes.

“What the? Where were you hiding those things? You were wearing a form-fitting dress!” asked Rainbow Dash, dumbfounded.

“Ah’ll have to give it to Rarity, she’s one hay of a fashionista. She’s better than Ah thought,” she said while taking the hat with her right hoof and preparing to throw it to the other side of the room until she was stopped by her lover’s plea.

“No! I mean… y-you can leave your hat on. No… I want you to leave your hat on.”

Applejack was surprised by the request at first, but then she just grinned and did as told.

She got closer to her marefriend, with her hat on top of her head. When she reached the bed, she used one hoof to lower her lover until she was fully laying down. “Kiss me, Sugarcube…”

Rainbow Dash wasted no time on doing what she was told and she felt in complete bliss. “AJ, you’re amazing…”

“Shush honey…” Applejack as she kissed her marefriend.

“But I j-” Another kiss stopped her from talking.

“Why are you stopping me?”

“Enough talking. Now… wasn’t this going to be ‘the best night of mah life, sexy cowpony’?”

“Heh, you said this was my lucky night and oh Luna, were you right...” Applejack thought.

“Oh… Ah forgot sumthin’.” Applejack picked up the rope and walked back to bed.

“Why did you bring the rope?”

“Ah don’t know, mah lasso always comes in handy. Ropes and lassos have many uses… interestin’ uses…” she said that as she lashed her lasso, making a whip crack. “N’ y’all are ‘bout to know one or two of’em…”

These New Feelings

Applejack was quietly sitting under a tree in Sweet Apple Acres, patiently waiting for her best friend Rainbow Dash, who was in her way because Applejack had invited her to a friendly competition of Horseshoes that afternoon. AJ loved having a good day with Dash, because every competition, every race, every fight, every discussion just made her like Rainbow even more. She had become her best friend in no-time, she felt a connexion with Rainbow Dash she had never felt with nopony else, she felt like the two of them, were just one pony, like they were part of the same entity, around Dash she felt safe, confident, happy, complete… and many times, she felt alone when she wasn’t there, even if she was with her family, or the rest of their friends. Yes, she was her best friend, because, what other relation could make her feel that way towards anypony? None… Right?

Nearby, Rainbow Dash was flying, making some tricks and turns, relaxing herself while she was going to meet her orange friend. To Rainbow, Applejack was the sweetest, most reliable, funniest, beautiful, honest southern gal she had ever met.

“Wait, what? Did I just think of Applejack as “beautiful”? Well, she is kinda pretty actually… But what am I thinking; she is a mare for Celestia’s Sake. ”

Dash shook those thoughts away while arriving to a hill in Sweet Apple Acres she knew too well, that place had been their meeting point for ages. When she spotted AJ she thought to herself.

“Well, I could use this moment to show off; I will let her amazed with my moves. ”

And so she started to make barrel rolls, loop-de-loops, and then she nose-dived to the ground at great speed, just to slow down a second before crashing, walk a little and put an emotionless face like nothing had happened.

“Heh… this pony and her fancy flying, she does looks amazing when she’s in the air, it’s spectacular, she’s… she’s like an angel… an angel that came to see me. ”

Applejack realized her own train of thoughts, and she tried to dissipate them, just in time for Dash to greet her:

“Hey AJ! ‘Sup my favourite farmpony?”

“Howdy Dash! Ah’m feelin’ just dandy, how about y’all?”

“I’m fine, I had a great sleep, so I’m ready to destroy you at horseshoes” said the pegasus with a cocky smile.

AJ knew she was doing that on purpose, Rainbow always loved trying to make her angry, the earth pony knew that, and she liked it, it made everything more competitive, she grinned slightly and responded.

“Oh! Y’all sure ‘bout that? Y’all really think y’all can beat the Apple family champion?”

“Yep, the Iron Pony doesn’t lose to nopony. Race to the barn?” asked anxiously Dash.

“Y’all know the answer.” said Applejack, getting in position to start sprinting.

Both mares ran as fast as they could to where the competition would take place, it was next to the new barn, the one that would never been completed if it wasn’t for the help of Rainbow Dash. After helping AJ destroying it, she actually offered to help her built the new one, which was a blessing, since Granny Smith was too old, Applebloom too young, and only two ponies were too few to raise a barn from the dust, even if those two ponies were Applejack and Big Macintosh, the strongest farmponies around, also, they needed somepony who could reach high places, it made everything a lot easier, and Applejack was very grateful that the cyan pony helped, even if at first she couldn’t believe that the lazy, work-hating pegasus would want to help her.

They arrived to the barn at the exact same time, but, as always.

“Hah! I won!” Said Rainbow Dash, bragging and celebrating a victory that was nothing but a tie.

“Now hold yer horses Rainbow, y’all know we get here at the same time” Protested the orange mare.

“No we didn’t!”

“Rainbow…” AJ just stared at her friend for some seconds, until Rainbow’s brave and proud façade fell apart.

“Alright, alright, it was a tie” said disappointed and a little bit angry.

“Oh, Rainbow, y’all know Ah can’t lie, and Ah can’t stand other pony lying neither. And cheer up, it wouldn’t feel right to clean the floor with a depressed pony at horseshoes” said Applejack, mocking, and waiting it would work the way she wanted to.

“I’m not depressed!” said RD angrily.

“But Ah’m gonna mop the floor with y’all anyways?” asked AJ with a sly smile forming in her mouth, “She fell perfectly, jes like Ah had expected… ”

RD just started to mumble unintelligible thing because of her frustration and then just angrily said:

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever… let’s play already!”

“Alright gal, jus’ remember. We have two throws, if the distance between the stake and your 2 horseshoes is closer than mine’s y’all win, and the one who makes a ringer wins anyhow, Ready?”

“I was born ready AJ”

Both mares grabbed a horseshoe in their mouth and toss it near the stake, in the first try Applejack’s horseshoe hit the top of the stake and bounced 1 foot away from the target, while Rainbow’s horseshoe landed 5 inches from the target. Dash smiled and said imitating AJ’s accent:

“And that’s how we do it down here on the farm”

“Don’t get pumped up already, there’s one throw left sugarcube” said green-eyed pony a little bit annoyed by Dash’s mock.

Next throw would decide the winner, and AJ couldn’t let somepony who wasn’t from the Apple family take the title of Champion of Horseshoes. She decided to let her friend make the first throw.

“Y’all go first sugarcube, Ah don’t wanna see y’all throw bad after seeing me do a ringer”

“Oh you are SO confident you’re going to win? Well that’s not happening little farmfilly. Watch this!”

RD threw her last horseshoe, which hit the stake but with the branches looking at them, so the horseshoe just stopped there, touching the stake, but not circling it

“Hah! Beat that Jackie!”

AJ grunted upon hearing that nickname, she hated it, it was... too masculine, and make her feel unfillylike. She knew she was tomcoltish, but still, hearing Rainbow Dash call her like that made her feel strange. She shook those feelings and thoughts for later, she had no time for that now, she needed to win a certain competition.

The farmpony knew there was a lot over the table to lose.

She only had one throw, one opportunity,

to seize everything she ever wanted.

She needed to make sure Rainbow knew

who was the best at horseshoes.

She had just one moment.

Would she capture it, or just let it slip?

Her hooves were sweaty, her knees felt weak, she felt heavy.

she was nervous, but on the surface she looked calm and ready to throw,

The clock was running out, time for worries was up, she needed to throw

She snapped back to reality, she calculated gravity.

" Oh, there goes Fluttershy's rabbit " she got distracted.

STOP, she needed to focus.

She remembered her Grandfather Marshall Apple Mathers's words:

"Y'all have to lose yerself in the game, the moment

Y'all own it, y'all better never let it go

Y'all only get one shot, do not miss yer chance to throw,

It doesn't matter how many tries y'all got,

The opportunity is just one in the game time"

Applejack focused, she was psyched now, this was going to be easy, she had been doing this since she was born, so to speak. She threw the horseshoe, which flew straight to the stake and touched the stake with the inner edge; it started spinning around the stake doing a metallic sound that announced the winner of the game.

AJ felt very happy, and faced Dash preparing to mock her about losing, but after looking at Rainbow’s sad face, she walked to her and putted her hoof on the rainbow maned pegasus’s shoulder and decided to keep it for herself. Her rose-eyed friend wasn’t exactly a good sport. In that moment she noticed that her friend’s face was a mixture of lost pride, anger and sadness, she was about to ask her if she was feeling alright, when Rainbow told her:

“That doesn’t prove anything. The Ironpony won’t lose her title that easy!”

Before Applejack could finish understanding what was happening, she felt something pushing her to the ground and pinning her in the floor. “So, this is how y’all want it? Then it is on Sugarcube” That’s how the wrestling started, but gradually, it was turned in a tickling fight while they’re rolling down the hill they have reached in their friendly fight, suddenly they softly hit a tree, but that little amount of time was sufficient for Applejack to find RD’s weak point. What happened next would change their life in a way neither of them could imagine. Rainbow fell over her friend after her strength escaped her thanks to Applejack’s tickles; when she fell, a little cloud of dust raised and covered their eyes. They couldn’t see, but they could hear, feel, smell… and taste.

“Wha-What happened? Is… is that the smell of… apples? But I smell something else… its sweat, but… it smells good, it’s intoxicating. Yeah, it must be an apple, that taste can’t be mistaken. But how? We were wrestling with AJ ‘till we hit that tree… that must be… but, how come I can taste the apple but I never felt it fell over me? And talking about over, wasn’t I over Appleja…”

“Whoa Nelly, Ah feel like a tree fell over me, wha’ happened? Tarnation! Ah can’t see a thing. Wha’s that smell? It’s like the refreshing breeze after a downpour, and... that taste… is like spicy, yet sweet, Ah don’t recall tasting that before. But what is it anyways? Last thing Ah remember is that Dash fell ov… ”

Both mares opened her eyes hoping that it wasn’t what they thought, but you know life, it’s never that easy. There were they, a rainbow-maned, rose-eyed, cyan pegasus, and a golden-maned, emerald-eyed, orange earth pony, under a tree, by a hill, next to the barn, on Sweet Apple Acres, on the outskirts of Ponyville, in the land of Equestria. There were they, but there was a tiny itty bitty witty little problem, they were linked together by the warm bond that was the kiss. Their eyes went wide as saucers after the realization of what they were doing, and their minds were running at a thousand miles per hour.

“Oh Celestia, I’m kissing Applejack! This can’t be truth. Please Princess let this just be a bad dream. Oh gosh this is embarrassing, weird and immoral. OH NO! What if… What if she thinks I did it on purpose and doesn’t want to be my friend anymore! I don’t wanna lose her! She’s my bestest friend in the whole wide world of Equestria… Ewwgh… That sounded too Pinkie-like…KEEP IT TOGHETER RAINBOW WE ARE DEALING WITH SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT! YOUR WHOLE FRIENDSHIP COULD BE IN TROUBLE FOR CELESTIA’S SAKE! Why does this happen to me! B-but… it feels so sweet… it’s… it feels so good, so relaxing… like… like it was meant to happen… and this feeling running through my body, it’s so… pleasing. ”

“Oh no. Tell me we aren’t… Eyup, we are kissing. Celestia this is so awkward…Ah knew life was too generous lately. Ah should have known better than to expect everything to go jes’ fine, life is rarely like that. If y’all feeling that everything’s right, then sumthin’ must be comin’. Y’all enjoying this Celestia? Ah bet y’all are…Nuthin' can go jes dandy to poor lil’ AJ can it? This was the best relationship Ah ever had with sumpony, and now ruined ‘cus of this! Ah hope Rainbow understands that it was an accident… a very, very enjoyable accident. ”

Both mares just let themselves get lost in the moment, it was more than any of them could take. They both needed this, they both liked this, they both were unconsciously wanting this, but they didn’t knew back then, it would take a little bit more for them to understand that.

That’s were they snapped back to reality and realized what was happening and what they were doing. They immediately broke the kiss and got up quickly both blushing furiously, their eyes refusing to meet. The first to talk was Applejack:

“A-Ah… Ah am mighty sorry with wha’ happened Rainbow, it was an accident, Ah jes’ tickled y’all, and then y’all fell over me, and well…” Said Applejack, staring at the ground, circling a little rock on the floor with her hoof.

“Yeah, no prob AJ, I know you didn’t mean it. It… it was all an accident, just that!” said Rainbow with a cracking voice.

The earth pony raised her head to see Dash to the eyes, their glances met, both blushed again, after a wave of memories of what happened seconds ago hit them. An awkward and disturbing silence was present in the atmosphere. Rainbow decided to break it by saying

“Well… I think I can hear my food calling”

“Eeeyup, n’ Ah remember that Ah left the clothes in the oven”

“So… see you another day Apples!” said the pegasus, while opening her wings, and taking off

“Y-yeah, see you another day Rainbow”

“ ‘Food calling’? Oh My Gosh. That has to be the stupidest excuse ever. ” Rainbow Dash thought, while facehoofing in mid-air. “I really need to find Fluttershy. NOW”

“ ‘Clothes in the oven’? Ah don’t even have more than one or two dresses, and Ah never use them. N’ why would them be in the oven? Ah’m sure Rainbow thinks Ah’m stupid now ” Applejack wondered while heading to her home.

This was a strange and complicated situation for both mares:

First: They had just kissed another mare

Second: That “mare” was their best friend

Third: They both enjoyed it

Forth: It was their first kiss so they didn’t knew what to expect

On her way home, Applejack thought about this whole problem.

” Well, let’s analyze this. It was awkward, but Ah should let that aside, how did Ah feel about it? How do Ah feel about Rainbow? Do Ah really think of her that way? No, Ah can’t, Ah am not into mares! But… how do Ah know? Ah've never been with a colt neither! Thinkin’ about it… Ah’ve never fallen fer nopony, Ah was so immersed in the work at the orchard, the bucking, mah family, raisin’ Applebloom since Ma n’ Pa passed away” She had never thought in nothing related to love, and now here she was, thinking about her best friend, after an accidental kiss, and sincerely, she didn’t know what to do so she decided to separate the problem in hoof in three parts, and tried attacking it part by part.

“First, the kiss: It… It felt good Ah can’t deny it. It sent shivers down mah spine, but… in a good n’ arousing way, it… it filled me with joy, and relief. And that spicy yet sweet taste in mah mouth, Ah loved it, but…No, Ah need to think this only with facts and feelin’s, moral n’ society are out fer some minutes! Since when do Ah talk like that? Keep focused Applejack, to the matter on hoof.

Second, Rainbow Dash: We’ve been friends since she got to Ponyville, Ah can’t deny that Ah always felt sumthin’ fer her, but not like that, it was… like a connection we had…like if we were meant to be together… Now that Ah see it after what happened, it does look like Ah like her a little bit more than as a friend, maybe… Ah-Ah’m not sure. Maybe Ah’ll see it clearly if Ah compare mah feelins fer her, with the rest of the gals, so Ah’ll see if Ah think of her as a friend n’ nothing more. Should Ah compare them one by one? Well, Ah’ll try that first:

Twilight Sparkle: We are very good friends, she would do anything fer us, but she’s like… it’s like she lives somewhere else, somewhere between those books, and though she beat us in the Runnin’ of the Leaves, she isn’t into havin’ rough fun.

Rarity: We’re friends, and she is a great pony but we… we… don’t match, yeah, let’s go with that. Ah mean, y’all could ask her anythin’ n’ she’ll try to help y’all, unless there’s dust, mud, rain, or anything that could stain her coat involved. N’ livin’ in an orchard n’ everything, mah way of livin’ is unmatchable with hers.

Fluttershy: She has to be the most willin’-to-help, loving, n’ caring pony in all of Equestria, but she’s too... scaredy-cat fer me although she’s a great help with those thievin’ vermins. Also, even if we are her best friends, we don’t get to see her that much, except for Rarity who sees her every week for their fru-fru spa girly day, n’ Rainbow, but well, they’ve been friends since they were little fillies.

Pinkie Pie: It’s a really good gal, a sweet friend, but... I can’t always follow her, always talkin’ about strange things, n’ appearing out of seemingly nowhere, or fitting spaces too little for her. Ah don’t know, but she’s... Ah don’t even know how to describe her.

N’ at last, her.

Rainbow Dash: The laziest, slyest, most querulous, headstrong, less working pony Ah have ever seen, but also the most loyal, willing, competitive one, and Ah like that about her, she’ll never decline a race, or fight in the mud, or a game of horseshoes, nah, she’s no fru-fru pony, she’s tough, she’s beautiful... wait, did Ah jus... Eeyup Ah did, so there’s no surprise then, Ah do like her as something more than a friend, but do Ah love her?. When we are together Ah never feel alone, insecure, or lost. N’ the mere fact that she is there beside me gives me strength to do whatever Ah put mah head into, Ah... Ah would do anything for Dash. Is this what they all call “love”? Do Ah love Rainbow Dash? A-Ah don’t know… but Ah do know that Ah appreciate her a lot.

Third: We. Are. Mares. Both of us. Am Ah a fillyfooler? Ah mean, Ah don’t have anything against them, Ah know a lot of fillyfoolers and coltcuddlers, but does mah barn’s door swing that way? N’ more important, does Rainbow’s barn swing that way? Ah mean she’s tomcoltish but, this is different. Wha-What if Rainbow doesn’t like ‘em, what if she hates ‘em? Maybe now she hates me. Oh… Should Ah apologize? But it wasn’t mah fault, Ah didn’t mean for it to happen! A-Ah can’t think ‘bout this alone, Ah need to get somebody else to help me. ”

Now the problem was to find somebody to talk about this delicate problem. This was far too important to treat it with her friends, so the search narrowed to her family, but Applebloom was too young for her to talk her about this kind of things, and Granny Smith was too old, maybe she wouldn’t accept her being in love (if she really was in love with Dash) with another mare. So it was clear, she needed to talk to Big Macintosh, this was perfect for Applejack, because her brother was really intelligent and very understanding, despite what everypony thought. Big Mac was the biggest, strongest, and most laborious pony in Ponyville, but he spent his free time reading big books about philosophy, ancient literature, physics, and natural sciences, yes, Applejack was lucky to have him to ask him about this.

She entered the house and went straight to the Apple family’s lecture room, this room was filled with all sort of books collected by the Apples since they settled in Ponyville, but the only one who had read any of them was Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith’s Dad, who was the one that came up with the idea of collecting them for the family library. Applejack chuckled thinking how would Twilight Sparkle react if she discovers this rooms, she would either faint out of pure emotion, jump in circles saying “YESYESYESYESYESYESYES” or just yell at her for hiding this from her. When she entered the room she saw Big Macintosh, who was sitting in the couch reading a tome about different types of soil and which was the best for an apple orchard.

As soon as she entered the room, Big Mac cought a glimpse of her face by moving his eyes up, away from the book he was reading. When he saw her fake smile and her eyes darting to the sides, avoiding meeting his eyes, he knew she was hiding something and was nervous about it; her sister was such a bad liar, but this made his work easier.

“Y’all need sumthin’ lil’ sis? Y’all look troubled.” said in that soft yet powerful voice he had. Some seconds passed with Applejack not saying a single word, so Macintosh decided to intensify his stare on her.

“Well… to be sincere with y’all, Ah do…” finally said Applejack letting out a sigh, she started blushing lightly, but she couldn’t come with the words nor find the courage to tell her brother what happened. Unluckily, or luckily, she wasn’t very sure; she didn’t need to do it.

“So, it was a kiss” said her brother, calmly, like it was nothing, returning his gaze to the book.

“How did y’all know?” said Applejack surprised about what her brother had just said.

“Well, it was a tad obvious. Y’all are blushin’ lightly, so it was either sumthin’ embarrassing or y’all have been too much under the sunlight, and seeing y’all are wearing yer Stetson, the second option was discarded. Also, yer eyes are darting back and forth, avoiding meeting mah gaze, it must be sumthin’ y’all aren’t sure to tell me, and everypony knows that a big brother doesn’t like so much the idea of sumpony kissin’ his lil’ sis. Oh, and you’re slightly licking yer lips, so it was sweet huh? Who is the lucky mare?” concluded the red stallion.

“He has just deciphered the whole thing, n’ he is saying it like its nuthin, like it is sumthin that happens everyday. How did he do it? Also, am Ah really licking mah lips?”

“H-How… how did y’all know? How did y’all know it was a kiss! And… how did y’all know it was a mare?!” said Applejack with a dumbfounded and somehow terrified face.

“Come on sis! Don’t y’all think Ah would know that kinda things by now? In fact, Ah think Ah know who was the lucky one, but Ah wanna hear it from y’all mouth” said, with a sly and somehow mischievous smile creeping in his face.

“It… It was… ItwasRainbowDashokay!?” said hastily Applejack, hoping maybe that saying it fast would make it least embarrassing. It wasn’t. Her brother started laughing slightly but then he composed himself after seeing the annoyance and hurt in his sister's face.

“Ah’m sorry sis, it’s… it’s just that Ah can’t help it, sorry but... yer face! Okay now, why are y’all telling me this? What happened?” Said the golden-maned colt, as he regained his composure.

“It’s… it’s just that Ah don’t know if Ah really like her, y’all know, like that , Ah’m no filly-fooler, or Ah think so… Oh Ah don’t know!”

“Its okay sis, hold yer horses. Now let’s analyze this carefully. Y’all say yer not sure if y’all like mares? Well let’s answer that first, now think, have y’all ever fallen for any colt? And don’t lie to me, Ah swear Ah won’t get mad or anythin’ like that”

“Uhm… Ah reckon Ah never fallen in love with no colt, but Ah never fell for no mare neither!” Said Applejack talking to her brother but also trying to convince herself of what she was saying.

“Okay, so y’all aren’t sure about yer sexuality? Then lets try this way, what do y’all feel about Rainbow?” said her brother. The big red pony had left his book over the table, paying more attention to the matter in hoof, trying to help her sister in this situation that clearly had her stressed, and he couldn’t let his kin down.

“Well… Ah like her, a lot, more than a friend, but Ah don’t know if THAT way y’all understand?”

“Eeeyup. Well maybe it was just the emotion because this was yer first kiss. Tell me how exactly happened” stated Big Macintosh.

Applejack just told him everything that happened, from when she was sitting under the tree thinking about Rainbow, till she went to the house looking for him.

“Ah know! This is what y’all need to do.” Said Mac, Applejack leaned closer to hear his idea “Invite her to a date”

“WHAT? A DATE? But Ah’ve already told y’all Ah don’t know if Ah’m a filly-fooler! Also Ah don’t know if she’s a filly-fooler. How could y’all think it was a good idea?” said Applejack angrily, pointing at her brother.

“Look, invite her to a date, but don’t tell her it’s a date, try to do it as smooth as possible, it’s just for y’all to realise if y’all feel sumthin for her, n’ also try to see if she feels sumthin’ for y’all, if everythin’ goes right, then y’all like her n’ she’ll like y’all, everypony happy. N’ in the worst of scenarios, even if y’all like her but she doesn’t feel that way ‘bout y’all, at least y’all know which way your barn door swings, also, if y’all fear her to hate you n’ not wanting to be yer friend anymore, y’all know she’s the element of loyalty, she’ll never stop being yer friend, not even in the worst of cases. Y’all see? Y’all aren’t really losing anythin’, n’ you can win a lot! N’ don’t doubt mah plan-making ability again sis” stated, pretending to sound angry, but he couldn’t, he loved her sis too much.

“Well… if y’all put it that way, it does sounds promising… Okay, Ah’ll do it, thank y’all very much Macintosh, Ah really needed somepony to talk to, thanks” Applejack approached to the couch where her brother was sitting and gave him a big hug. Then she said goodbye and went to her room to get some sleep, also, she needed to plan her date with Rainbow Dash.

When she was leaving the library room she bumped into her little sister, Applebloom, who also seemed to notice she was worried about something, because she looked like she was going to ask her something, Applejack knew it was inevitable now, she couldn’t hide it anymore, so she just wait for it, and prepared the answer.

“Sis, Ah know sumthin’s happening. Y’all ‘kay?” asked the red-maned filly, seriously worried about her older sister.

“Eh… Umm… A-Ah…” Applejack stuttered, “Should Ah talk to her ‘bout this kinda things? She’s just a lil’ filly, Ah can’t tell her ‘bout this, but Ah can’t keep it from’er. Ah’m not the best liar, n’ she knows it, Ah must tell her, but what if she hates me? Big Mac it’s old enough to have his own opinion, but she may not be that comprehensive ‘bout this. Aww shoot, Ah can’t escape, Ah’ll just say it n’ accept whatever she wanna tell me later ”

“What y’all don’t wanna me to know? Don’t y’all trust yer sis?” said Applebloom pouting and looking at her with a face that could melt the heart of a Windigoe.

“Ah… Ah can’t lie to y’all Applebloom, Ah’ll just say the truth. Ah’m in love with somepony, Ah think…”

“Oh sis that’s wonderful! Why didn’t y’all tell me such a thing?”

“Well… ‘cause Ah’m not exactly in love with a colt, i-i… it’s a mare Applebloom.” Said somehow sternly, like if that would shield her from a negative answer.

“Yeah, and? That’s just better” Her sister said happily as she started skipping around the orange farmpony “ ‘cause now Ah feel better not being the only po…” She suddenly stopped skipping, and just stared to the horizon with her eyes wide as saucers “Shoot! Ah shouldn’t have said that ” “A-Ah mean… umm… oh who am Ah tryin’ to fool, Ah got nuthin”

“What do y’all mean being the only? Are y’all telllin’ me y’all love a filly?” said Applejack obviously shocked to her very core “B-but aren’t y’all a lil young to be in love? Y’all too young to truly know about yer sexuality dear”

“Ah am not! Ah am a big pony! Y’all know Ah’m the most mature of mah friends, also Ah realize what Ah’m doin’, Ah know it isn’t ‘what the society thinks as normal ’ but Ah don’t care what they say, Ah love her! Y’all know? Ah don’t even know if Ah like all fillies , Ah just feel like that with her y’all know? She makes me feel alive, when Ah’m with her Ah feel like Ah’m invincible, Ah feel that a minute with her is an eternity, a sweet n’ blessed eternity, Ah’m sure Ah could live mah whole life just with her, n’ not feel alone at all. Ah just wanna make her happy, Ah would do anything to see her smile, Ah would exchange a year of mah life fer just one minute with her. ‘cause she’s the only one who can bring me up when Ah’m feeling at my worst, when nopony, not even mah family can make me happy, she can.” Said Applebloom, sighing as she ended the explanation of her deep love for this unknown filly.

Applejack was dumbfounded, astonished, perplexed, paralysed. She hadn’t expected such deep words from such a little filly as her sis, but then again she was the most mature in her class, and very intelligent, she was also one of the most patient ones, except when her cutie mark was involved in the matter, if that was the case, her sister would do anything just to make it appear earlier “Ah swear she’s gonna get really hurt one day if she keep tryin’ those wacky plans”

“Okay lil sis, if y’all are sure of what yer doin’, Ah’m not gonna say anythin’ against it. In fact Ah’m glad Ah’m not alone in this. But now please, Ah’m dyin’ to know who’s the lucky filly? Is it Rarity’s sis?” asked Applejack, trying to guess who was her little sister’s crush “She is such a cute filly, n’ she’s very polite n’ always has her coat n’ mane well kept, like her sister Ah must add”

“Are y’all seriously suggesting ME to fall for a gal like her? Ah mean she is cool n’ all that, but, y’all seriously thought that Ah would like a fru-fru girl like her? Is like thinkin’ about y’all and Rarity” said Applebloom, a little bit annoyed about her sister’s question.

“Oh please Celestia no…” said her sister half seriously, half joking.

Both giggled at the joke, and the Applejack went for the only option left

“Its Scootaloo then, isn’t she?”

“Well…” Applebloom started looking at the floor, blushing a little, with that stupid smile in her face that all ponies in love get, and started drawing circles with her hooves.

“Does she knows about this?” asked Applejack trying to fully know the situation in which her little sister was.

“Uumm… eenope. Ah can’t tell her! What if she doesn’t like me anymore, or think Ah’m weird and doesn’t wants to be mah friend anymore? Ah couldn’t live with that”

Applejack thought for a moment “She’s in the same predicament Ah’m in, maybe she could do the same thing Ah’m gonna do, to conquer her lil friend’s heart ”

“Ah know exactly what we are going to do. Y’all need to invite Scootaloo to a date in two days, but y’all ain’t going to tell her it’s a date. In these two days we’re gonna practice and beautify ourselves to conquer our beloveds in that date. But first, we'll need somepony’s help, n’ Ah know exactly where to go. It will be hard n’ probably a little bit humilliatin’, but Ah gotta do it”

Meanwhile, immediately after the kiss, Rainbow Dash also realised she needed someone to talk to, to clarify her thoughts. She knew exactly which pony she should visit. The pony she had known for the longest time, and the one who have helped her whenever she crash-landed or got a cold working for the weather team in winter without a scarf, the one that always opened her door with that sweet smile and those caring eyes. The only pony that knew all of her secrets, the one she couldn’t lie to. Fluttershy.

She was arriving to her cottage in the Everfree Forest; she landed in front of the door, and thought. “Come on Rainbow, you need to do this, you know you can't do it all on your own, she knows everything about you, you need to do it! Knock That Door Filly! ”… Nothing happened; she just stared to the door, petrified in place. “Come on! You have to do it. You can’t fly away from your problems forever ” She finally got the courage, and knocked the door, slowly, lightly and hesitatingly, but she knocked it, and that’s what counts. Nearly a minute later, the pale yellow pony opened the door, she saw her face and noticed she was uneasy about something; she said nothing and simply entered the house, leaving the door open, and going straight to the kitchen. Rainbow Dash took the hint and entered the house, closing the door with a soft kick, and sat on the couch. Seconds later, Fluttershy came back with two cups of chamomile tea, her favorite “Wow, she knows me better than I know myself… I guess that happens when you live a life with somepony, taking into account that we know each other since we were fillies. I love her so much, she is like the sister I’ve always wanted to have”

“Now, Rainbow, what’s troubling your mind my dear?” said softly the animal-loving pegasus. “Oh my! Where are my manners, do you want something else to drink? Or something to eat? oh… is it too hot in this room? Or maybe it’s too cold? Do you nee-” started rambling the ever-helpful pony.

“I’m okay ‘Shy, I don’t need anything else, thank you anyways” Said Rainbow, before her friend could get a heart-attack of nervousness “Oh Celestia, she’s as insecure about being a good host as always. I can’t deny she is pretty good at making people feel comfortable around her, guess that’s why she’s so good with animals, most of the time they’re scared of ponies, and that’s why it’s hard to get near them ”

“Um… If you say so… Anyways, why are you here Dash? You seem like something’s bothering you” Said Fluttershy, calming down a little bit.

“Well… I… Umm…” “How do I start this conversation? I can’t say it out of the blue, come to her house and tell her ‘Hey, I kissed Applejack accidentally, I liked it and now I don’t know what to do, what do you think?’ that kind of talk would destroy Fluttershy’s fragile tranquility ” “H-How can I tell this…”

“Come on, Rainbow, you know you can tell me anything, I won’t be mad at you, nor judge you. I’ll try to help, if I can, that is… if you don’t feel like I’m bothering your private life. Tell me, i-if you like to, you know”

“It’s not that Fluttershy, it’s not that I don’t trust you, on the contrary, that’s why I’m here. You know me better than anyone, and I always come to you for advice, and right now, I had a problem. And now I need to come to terms with myself, and I need your help to do it. The problem is, that I don’t know how to explain to you what happened, its… Its something that I think you may not be able to handle” said worriedly looking at the pink-maned pegasus.

“Oh, its that it… Well now that you’ve warned me, I will ‘steel’ myself for whatever you have to say. Now tell me, what happened to make you, the greatest, faster, coolest flyer in all of Equestria, uneasy”

“Well…”

Rainbow Dash proceeded to tell everything that had happened with Applejack, to Fluttershy, everything, from the horseshoe competition, to the kiss, to how she felt, she even told her about her thoughts before landing, when she thought that Applejack was beautiful. While the brash pegasus was talking and acting some parts, as she usually told stories, the soft and caring grounded pegasus was just staring at her, listening to every single word, and began scooting towards Dash, slowly but non-stopping.

“And that’s why I’m here! Now do you understand why I was unsure to tell you? What do you think I should do? Worst part is, I don’t know if I’m really a filly-fooler, and even if I’m one, do I love Applejack? And implying those two were correct. Is Applejack a filly-fooler? Aaagh, I don’t know what to do! Flutts, are you even listening? What’s wrong wi-”

She found herself silent, and silence was all around, not a sound could be heard, not her voice, not Fluttershy’s voice, nothing, just one, little, noise. A sound that wasn’t unfamiliar to Dash, not now, but nevertheless it shocked her, she didn’t expect that. They were kissing. Fluttershy had locked lips with her. She had even wrapped her arms around Dash. Rainbow didn’t fight the kiss, but she didn’t kiss back neither, she had so many things in her mind to do anything “Wh-What?!? Why? Fluttershy? Celestia, you’re doing this on purpose aren’t you? But, I must say… this feels good, this... warm, fuzzy feeling flowing through my veins… It’s awesome! But… I also feel this… this burning, hollow sensation in my chest… Is it- is it because of… ”

“Ohmygoodness, Ohmygoodness, Ohmygoodness, what am I doing? She has just confessed that she wasn’t sure about her sexuality, and that she may love Applejack, and I go and kiss her? What was I thinking? Oh come on Fluttershy, you know you wanted this, for many years you’ve wanted to. To kiss her, and make so many other things, since you were fillies, don’t try to hide it, you may be the quiet one, but we know you aren’t the innocent one… Don’t talk to me like I’m some kind of pervert pony. But I guess you are right, I do want to do this. I’ve desired it for too long… Let’s savor this moment together. Wow, her lips are so soft, and her coat it’s so… silky, which you wouldn’t imaging taking into account she’s so athletic and tough. But… there’s no spark, no sweetness…I don’t feel that hot and blissful sensation everypony talks about… this isn’t what I thought… M-maybe…maybe I’m not a filly-fooler? I should take into account that I’ve never liked any mare except for Rainbow Dash. Maybe this isn’t my thing… Maybe all that love towards Rainbow was just because she was my savior and my best friend… and because all of the foals back in school were mean. But not every colt I’ve met since then was bad… Like the town’s vet assistant Coconut Screenwalker, he was very nice with me, and he even asked me out, and I rejected him… maybe I should try talking to him? Maybe that way I can clear my mind, and realize what I want. Oh I don’t know… ”

Seconds later Rainbow Dash broke the kiss shaking her head, the pain in her chest had been growing and she couldn’t bear it anymore. Fluttershy was touching her own lips, and staring into the nothing, absent-minded.

“Would you be so kind to tell me what just happened? Shy… Are you listening to me? What’s wrong now?” Said Rainbow Dash, with a very calm and soothing voice, unexpected taking into account what just happened between the two pegasus.

“I-I… I don’t know” squeaked Fluttershy, worried about Dash’s reaction

“Calm down Fluttershy. I’m not mad, just… let’s start slowly, explain to me why did you kissed me”

“W-Well… I… I’ve had this crush, for so many years, and well… I thought I loved you, and, well I-I couldn’t handle it anymore, I’m sorry...”

“It’s okay, I’m not mad. Now, what happened after the kiss, why were you like you were, you know, absent-minded, and touching your lips”

Fluttershy took a deep breath, and sighed loudly, then she started telling Dash her reasons:

“Well… As I told you, I thought I loved you, since we were fillies, a few months after you save me from the bullies, and after the race where both of us got our cutie mark; I started having these feelings… I was young back then, so I’ve never been in love before, and since you were my savior, and the closest pony to me, I started developing those feelings towards you. After that, I heard about love and filly-foolers, and I thought I was one of them, and that I loved you, and well, I just kept this for myself because I was too shy to confess my love to you. But well, you came to my house, and told me you were insecure about your sexuality, it was the closest I could ask for, also you were insecure about Applejack, and if you end up with her, this was my last opportunity, that’s why I did what I did. But the problem is… When I kissed you… I…I didn’t feel anything, I mean I felt your lips, your coat… but no higher sensation… so I think that maybe I’m NOT a filly-fooler. I’m sorry if I confused you, or make you feel uncomfortable.” Fluttershy finally ended her life story; she closed her eyes afraid of Dash’s reaction and put her hooves in front of her face, shielding her from everything bad that could happen.

Dash reached a hoof and touched her scared friend, Fluttershy jerked in fear assuming the worst. Dash started caressing her hooves and approached slowly. Then, she hugged her.

“It’s okay Fluttershy, I’m not angry, I won’t hurt you, trust me, relax and put down your hooves” Fluttershy did as she was told “Now come here, it’s okay” Rainbow Dash hugged her harder and told her “I just wanted to tell you something… Thank you…” With that said, she let Fluttershy go.

Fluttershy just stared into her cyan friend’s eyes with a stupid look on her face. Rainbow couldn’t resist and started laughing

“Pff… Bwahaha, please change that face, I can’t look at you and remain serious”

Fluttershy relaxed, and started snickering too. Rainbow fell on the floor which made both of them laugh even more. After some seconds of laughing, both friends sat back in the couch, and Fluttershy finally asked:

“Why did you thank me?”

“Well, it’s easy, thanks to you, now I know myself!”

“Huh!? I-I think I’m not following you”

“Look, thanks to that kiss I understood two things about myself, things that will change my future, maybe”

“And what did you found out?”

“I’m a filly-fooler, and even more important than that, I DO love Applejack”

“A-and how are you so sure about that?”

“You see, when you kissed me, first I was feeling good, I liked feeling your lips touching my lips, your arms around me. I was in a heavenly trance. But then, I thought of Applejack and our previous kiss. And something changed, my chest was burning, but not in the good way, it was horrible. I felt like a hole in my heart, like it was hollow,...that’s when I realized that it was because of her. I love her, and even if we are not in a relationship, kissing you, felt like cheating to me, and being the element of Loyalty and everything, I felt a physical pain, bigger than the one a normal pony would suffer”

“So… I-I actually helped you?”

“Yes, unwillingly, you helped me clear my mind, and as a bonus, you cleared YOUR mind! So you see, that’s why I had to thank you. But now, I have something else to do”

“What?”

“I need to see Applejack and tell her how I feel. Oh, and relax, I understand you think of me as a savior, but you’re the one that‘s always taking care of me when I crash or strain a muscle, and stuff, so don’t think that you’re the defenceless pony and that I’m your guard because it’s really the other way around, I owe you half of my life Shy, also, you’re the one that knows all about me, that’s why nopony else will ever replace you. I hope you will always be there for me, just as I will always be there for you. Now I must go, I will see you later, and tell you how everything went” she winked at the pink-maned pony, walked to the door, opened it, and took off.

An Ending and a New Beggining

Celestia’s sun rose, bathing everything under its warm glorious light. Two ponies rolled on a cloud bed, breathing heavily, resting from a very long and exciting night where they did everything but sleep. Rainbow Dash was happily lying on top of her fillyfriend while the two recovered their breaths.

“I… I-I love you… I love you Applejack, with every beat of my heart. I love you so much. Words can’t describe how much I love you. Have I ever told you how much I love you AJ?”

The emerald-eyed farmer earth pony chuckled at her lover’s mindless state. “Ah guess Ah’m not jes good at bucking huh Rainbow?”

“Well… it’s not really called that different …”

Both mares laughed at Rainbow Dash’s comment.

“So, sweetheart, fer how long Ah’ll been walkin’ on these fancy puffy cotton clouds?”

“Uhm… The egghead-”

“Rainbow Dash!” said Applejack, cutting her friend mid-sentence with a gentle hit “She’s our friend!”

“Oh come on! She IS an egghead!” Dash said, exasperated, as she threw her hooves up in the air.

“Y’all won’t be rude by mah side y’all hear?”

“Who are you, my mom?” inquired the speedster pegasus.

“Y’all wanna feel what y’all felt last night again?” Applejack said, lowering her eyelids and caressing her lover’s chest.

“As many times as my body can bear” she answered hastily, leaning forward, trying to kiss her marefriend, but the orange pony moved away, escaping from the incoming kiss.

“Then y’all will be nice with Twilight.”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am!” Rainbow Dash saluted.

“That’s what Ah wanted to hear” she said, lunging forward and locking lips with the cyan pegasus “That’s yer reward fer being such an obedient mare.”

Rainbow Dash pondered for some seconds and asked “Does using a collar and a leash, and sitting down straight mean I’ll get more rewards?”

Applejack blushed and worriedly replied “Oh, Ah’m sorry Rainbow, Ah didn’t meant it that way! Ah… it wa-”

“Because I’m willing to do it!” said the pegasus excitedly, repeatedly nodding. Applejack sighed and chuckled, she kissed the mare of her life once again afterwards.

“Ah’ll give y’all this one fer free.”

“First one is on the house huh? Then I’ll have to ask you to shut up, take my bits, and take me higher than my wings could ever take me” She said, pushing her beloved, pinning her to the other side of the bed and kissing her. Her invading tongue was gladly received by her lover’s one. The two tongues waltzed in harmony, dancing to the music of true love.

Applejack broke the kiss and said “Now, now, hold yer horses. Y’all were talkin’ bout Twilight’s mumbo-jumbo powder effect’s duration”

“Oh, yeah… about that, she said between 12 and 13 hours, more or less…”

Applejack started to think about the day before “We used it yesterday at sunset… so 12 hours later would be… sunrise”

“Well, Celestia’s sun is just rising, that means we still have one more hour to enjoy, stay with me some more.” Said Rainbow Dash, getting closer, muzzles nudging against each other.

“But winter’s comin’, so nights are longer n’ sun rises later, as a reminder from the princess… so…” worriedly replied the orange pony.

“Don’t worry about that babe” she said kissing her marefriend. Applejack decided not to resist it any longer and kissed back, grabbed her lasso, and wrapped it around Dash’s back pulling her closer.

“Come hither, Iron Pony”

Dash locked lips again with the mare of her life, and stretched her neck. Soon she was feeling the fluffiness of the cloud on the sides of her face. Next, her hooves were sinking and her body trespassed through her cloud bed and floor, leaving her floating house behind, and plummeting quickly to the hard, cold, unforgiving floor.

The two broke the kiss as their manes floated upside in an unnatural way, and started screaming and flailing their hooves frantically.

Applejack tried to calm her nerves while her marefriend somehow managed to forget how to fly.

Under terrible pressure, some ponies tend to think better and faster, so Applejack decided to clear her mind and let her survival skills flow. One would say she was not good with anything related with numbers, and it won’t be too far from the truth. She was no good with Big Mac’s fancy ethereal mathematics, but she could easily tell when, where and how something is going to fall, move, accelerate, and other physic-related phenomena.

She looked down, inspecting her surroundings, calculated the speed they were going and how much they were gaining. After some moments, having analyzed the whole situation and the possibilities and the rate of success of each one, she went for the most probable one, the one with more chances of survival and that involved less work.

She grabbed her lasso, threw it around Dash’s body and tied the other end to her waist. “Dash! Fly forward!”

“What!? Are you crazy? With this downward momentum I won’t be able to carry both of us!”

“AH SAID FLY FORWARD!”

“Yes ma’am!” the cyan pegasus replied, saluting and flapping her wings as fast as she could, but she was unable to carry that much weight, and she was soon dragged down by the lasso that was huggin her upper body. “I can’t do it AJ! I’m sorry but I can’t carry you and me upwards!”

“Ah haven’t told y’all to carry me or take me higher. Ah told y’all to fly forward. At mah same height, but as far away from me as mah ol’ rope allows y’all to!”

“What for!?” inquired Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow, Ah swear that if y’all don’t shut up n’ do what Ah tell y’all to do, Ah’ll kill y’all after we die from the fall!” She shouted, glaring at her marefriend.

“I don’t know what do you plan on doing, but I trust you, after all you are the embodiment of honesty itself…”

“Y’all better be sure as sugar Ah’m the Element of Honesty, now move yer cute sexy flank a lil’ bit to the left… now to the right… STOP!”

The two bodies were gaining an incredible speed and the floor was getting closer and closer. Rainbow Dash was sweating, in part from the physical exhaustion and in part for the fear of the inevitable death. She decided to close her eyes and yelled at her newly found fillyfriend “With my last breath. I CURSE YOU APPLEJACK! I could have flown away by myself!”

Seconds later she felt a strong pull to one side. She felt like doing a very big barrel roll around something and then a tug from the rope tied to her midsection. She felt like her body was about to be torn apart in half.

It hurt a lot, but she was alive, and that was all that mattered right then for her. She opened her eyes and looked down just to see the floor a few feet below her, moving from left to right. She checked, no, her wings weren’t flapping. She thought the movement of the floor resembled a pendulum, and that’s when she thought that instead, she was the one moving like a pendulum.

She couldn’t make muzzle or tails of what was happening, but she could hear a long and cheerful

“Yeehaw! N’ that’s how we do it in the farm! Woohoo!” Applejack laughed heartedly out of pure happiness “Y’all alright Sugarcube?”

The cyan pegasus looked to her side and noticed a very happy-to-be-alive orange cowpony looking back at her. She was hanging from the rope, and was moving from left to right, at an inverse rate compared to Rainbow Dash.

“Wha… What the hay just happened Applejack?”

“Physics, a very strong rope, n’ a very strong tree!”

“Huh?” replied Rainbow Dash, looking at her friend like if she were a mad pony.

“Y’all look awfully cute when y’all are confused out of that lil’ pretty head of yers.”

Rainbow Dash started blushing as a frown and a pout appeared on her face.

“Hey, don’t be rude.”

“Ah meant it to be a compliment Sugarcube. Look up.” Applejack said as she pointed up with one of her hooves, holding to the rope with the other.

Rainbow Dash looked above her to find the rope entangled to a very big and strong tree branch.

“So that’s how we’re still alive!

“Pretty much, yeah. Y’all can thank me later Sugarcube.” Applejack said chuckling. “Thinking a bit about it, why don’t y’all thank me now by untying yerself from the rope n’ then helpin’ me.”

After a few minutes, both ponies were safely on the ground, and for the first time in her whole life, Dash felt like kissing it. “Oh yes, ground, I can’t believe I’d ever say this, but I’m glad to have you under my hooves!”

“Heh, Ah can’t say it ain’t a relief to be finally safe n’ sound on the familiar ground…”

“That was awesome AJ! How did you know we’d do that?”

Blushing and scratching her head she replied “Ah… Ah, hehe, y’all wouldn’t believe it but Ah… had no certainty at all we’d be safe… The branch could’ve broke, the rope could’ve cut, the rope could’ve been too long n’ we’d have hit the ground anyways… the force of our fall against the strength of the rope stuck in the tree could’ve cut us in half…”

Dash went pale and raised her head from the ground she was just kissing and asked “Y-you’re kidding… right?”

“Element of Honesty…”

“YOU COULD’VE KILLED US BOTH!?”

“We were gonna die anyways!”

“Not me! I could’ve flown away…”

“N’ let me fall to mah death all alone?” Applejack asked offended.

“Uh… Eh… yeah, I guess I wouldn’t be able to live with that…”

Applejack looks at her newly found marefriend, and can’t help but chuckle “Oh, don’t worry about it, we survived, right? Then stop thinkin’ ‘bout what could’ve happened, ‘cause it didn’t.”

“Heh, I guess you’re right… now come here Apple lady…”

Both ponies met for a long loving kiss that showed all their feelings for each other. Soon after breaking the kiss the two ponies decided to go back to their houses.

“This night was a blast, n’ it brought me more happiness than any other in mah whole life, Dashie… but Ah gotta go home. We can meet later tonight, if y’all want to…”

“I sure do, but at least let me walk you home. I can fly back to mine in ten seconds flat anyways…” She smiles and holds Applejack close.

“Alright… if y’all insist…” Then she smirked as a brilliant plan came to her mind “Ah bet y’all are so weak y’all can’t even hop on mah back n’ hug mah neck all the way there…”

“What are you tal-Oh… Sure I can!” She happily replied as she realized what her marefriend meant “I mean… I am so strong, that I can hug you AND nuzzle you all the way there!”

“We’ll have to see…”

Giggling, Rainbow Dash hop on her marefriend’s back ready to make her best to win the bet.

Applejack carried her lover through Ponyville, both mares with a smile on their faces and warmth in their hearts. They walked by most of the town’s ponies, smiling and greeting them along the way. Some of them seemed surprised, others happy, and some had a face that said ‘It was about time’.

Sadly, they weren’t able to meet any of their friends, to tell them the good news. They knew they had to, but right now their only goal was to get to Sweet Apple Acres and get some rest.

As they were walking through the orchard, they got close to a place Applejack held dear, but something was off.

“Hey… sumthin’s strange here…” she exclaimed as she walked towards where her precious Rainbow Flowers usually were.

Two gasps filled the air as they found out the little flowers had completely covered the clearing, blooming and showing their wonderful colours to the two lovers.

“Oh wow… look at that! We saw them just yesterday, and they weren’t this much! Is this common? I mean, is it seasonal or…”

“Not at all… this is sumthin’ Ah’ve never seen!”

“You think you were right? Like… these grow as we bond? Because we sure as hay bonded last night…” Dash said, chuckling and nuzzling Applejack’s neck.

With a blush quickly taking over her orange face, Applejack replied “W-well… we did…”

“But a magic flower that grows with our relationship is far too wild to be true… I mean not even magic works this way, does it?”

“Do Ah look like Miss Magic Connoisseur to y’all?” Applejack said, craning her neck to glare at the pegasus.

“Nah… you’re not purple and have a dragon assistant… By the way… connoisseur?” Dash said chuckling.

“Word of the day calendars…”

“I can guess who gifted you that!” Dash said, smirking and puffing her chest.

“Same pony who gifted’em to y’all?” Applejack said, raising her eyebrow at her supposedly cunning and detectivesque marefriend.

Looking down as her ego was bombarded by Applejack's cannons of reality, she angrily replied “Yeah…”

“Anyways… this is strange…”

“You think we should ask Twilight about them?”

“No… Ah want this to be our secret place. Why or how do these lil’ things grow is not important… but havin’ a nice place that reminds us of our love… Ah think that’s sumthin’ important.” Applejack said, as she turned to look at her marefriend and planting a soft kiss in her lips.

Blushing and happily accepting the kiss, Rainbow Dash nodded and nuzzled her mare’s neck once more, before resting once again in her comfortable back.

“Let’s go to the farm…” She said as she continued walking towards the household.

The two were peacefully resting on Applejack’s bed as they cuddled and kissed. After checking on her sister’s bedroom and finding her holding Scootaloo’s jacket with a goofy smile on her face some minutes ago, both mares knew they weren’t the only ones who had a great night.

“Oh, AJ…” Dash said between kisses, as her hooves trailed down Applejack’s body “We should…”

“Tell the girls?”

“N-not what I was thinking but… yeah, we also have to do that…”

Applejack broke the kiss, leaving her marefriend wanting and said “Well Ah am mighty worried…think they’ll be okay with it?”

“Of course! It’ll all be okay, now come here you sexy cow-”

“N’ what if it isn’t? Havin’ the girls hate us ain’t a thing Ah can live with…”

Dash groaned in frustration as it seemed she wouldn’t be getting what she had last night right now. “Applejack… AJ… Apples, listen! It’ll all be alright, okay? Don’t go crazy, nothing happened yet, and it probably won’t happen later either! So please, just relax.”

“Can’t. We gotta tell’em now or Ah’ll go nuts.” After hearing an exasperated groan from her marefriend she added. “Get up n’ we do that, if everythin’ goes alright as y’all say, Ah’ll reward you.”

“…Well, you got me with that. Let’s go.”

Encountering Pinkie Pie midway made everything easier, as she managed to gather them all up in Golden Oaks Library. This was the third minute in a row of utter silence as everyone was waiting for the couple to give the apparently good news.

In an attempt to break the ice, and try to see if the problem was as she suspected, Rarity shyly said “Look… darlings, if you two did something bad, I am sure we would forgive you…”

“N-no is not that. We are not here to apologize for anything…”

“I’m too busy to keep record of your ‘Who’s tougher’ competitions so if-” Twilight added.

“Not that either… C’mon AJ… you tell them! You were so eager to do so…” She said pushing her marefriend forward. “Here’s your chance…”

Glaring daggers at her marefriend she cleared her throat and said “Rainbow Dash n’ Ah… we have sumthin’ to tell y’all…”

“We got that, silly-nilly! That’s why we are all here!” Pinkie Pie said beaming as she got closer, as if not to miss any single word.

“Well we… are uh… we are…”

“Just say you two are dating, for Celestia’s sake!” a voice came from a usually shy pegasus, who was looking quite anxious.

“Well, there y’all go! She said it.” Applejack said with a nervous smile as the rest of the ponies looked around, trying to make muzzles or tails of what happened.

The shyest pony they have ever met had almost angrily demanded for one of their best friends to admit they were dating each other. Of course, they were always together and sure, they were tomcoltish, but no pony expected that.

“Wait… what?” Twilight said, looking at her friends.

Rarity’s eyes were big as saucers as she whispered “Do not tell me you…”

Twilight turned to look at the couple and asked “What do you mean you’re dating?”

“Like… we’re datin’? We are together now like… a couple…”

“We go out on dates, kiss and cuddle and… what any other couple does?”

“But uh… You… you can’t do that, do you? You’re both girls! How can that even work?” Twilight said, looking at the rest of her friends, searching for an answer.

“It can not work, Twilight.” Rarity hissed. “It’s sick. I’ve known some… who got that illness before.”

A knife stabbed Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s heart as they heard those harmful words come out of one of their best friend’s mouth.

“I refused to believe it. I suspected it, that you two were…suffering from that kind of… thing. But for the sake of our friendship, and my mental health, I tried not to think about it. But now I see it’s all true.”

“An illness?” Twilight asked, worriedly.

Applejack’s eyes glistened as she held the tears. “R-Rarity… y’all can’t be serious…”

“Shut up, filthy filly fooler.” She replied as she looked at Twilight “We must get them help! We can’t let them… be that way!”

A collective gasp was heard as the words came out of Rarity’s mouth. The most correct, noble and ‘civilized’ pony they knew, had just cursed.

“Rare…” tears were falling from Applejack’s eyes and Dash was fighting not to cry as well. “Y’all… y-y’all can’t really mean that! A-after all these years…”

“Rarity, t-this is not an illness! We’re not having like a cold or something like that! We’re in love!”

“You can’t be! You just can’t. It’s unnatural! And Applejack, that’s exactly how I feel… after all these years… to think I was a friend of an, an… abomination! And to think you used my dresses with her! You have desecrated my art! We must get you some help, before you two get worse.”

“S-stop, stop, stop! C-can’t take it anymore!” Finally breaking into tears, Applejack started running, faster than in any race, escaping from the venom one of her best friends was spitting. Running away from the hate, from the shame.

“Wait, Applejack!” Rainbow Dash said, chasing after her marefriend.

Twilight wasn’t sure what to think of everything that just happened. It was all too much for her to handle. Her two best friends were apparently trying to do something that colts and mares are supposed to do, but they’re two mares, making it rather unpractical, and probably impossible.

Her usually refined and calm friend lashed out rather harshly against them and treated them as victims of some kind of plague. But it felt a bit too excessive to Twilight. Apparently, it was even harder than what she thought, because Applejack, the strongest pony she had ever had the pleasure of meeting, just started crying like a filly, and ran away, being followed by Rainbow Dash shortly after that.

Looking to her side, she could see Pinkie Pie. But she looked strange... “Her mane is straight down and she looks paler… is she sick, maybe? Could it be that she caught whatever got Applejack and Rainbow Dash?” Following her inspection of the surroundings, she noticed Fluttershy in a state of complete shock, as if she had seen the door of Tartarus in front of her. She tried to see what she was looking at, so she turned. Only to see Rarity, nostrils flaring, mouth clenched in anger.

Before she could analyze anything else, she heard a voice behind her. It belonged to the sweetest, most gentle soul. But it was full of pain and anger.

“What in the actual TARTARUS is wrong with you!?” Fluttershy shouted. Her face was not filled with anger, as her words hinted, but rather with an expression of complete desperation and anguish. “R-Rarity! How could even say something as terrible as that to them!?”

“I was speaking nothing but the truth, Fluttershy. What they do is wrong and unnatural! And we, as their friends, need to help them.”

“NO! No it isn’t! Love is not wrong or unnatural! It’s no ab-ab…abomination nor an illness! It’s the most precious, sacred and pure of things, be it between colts and mares, mares and mares or colts and colts. And see you act like that… proved YOU are the only monster here!” She started walking towards the door, walking by her and saying. “Oh… and just so you to know… I’m bi. So I guess I’m infected too… best friend” She said, before wiping her tears and flying away. She was not in pain anymore. She only felt anger.

Rarity gasped and felt something in her chest tighten. Had she just lost three of her best friends? “B-but… they are… one of them. I shouldn’t feel bad about losing some of that kind… s-should I? They have been my friends for years, and they helped me out every single time I needed them… No! Stop pitying them, Rarity! What you did, was the right thing to do!”

Pinkie Pie started unleashing two twin waterfalls of tears as she hugged Twilight and sobbed uncontrollably.

“Even if I don’t rightly understand what happened, or what Applejack and Rainbow Dash have… I do know that what you did was not nice, and you made four of my best friends cry, Rarity.” Twilight said, sombrely, as she looked down to the floor. “So I will ask you to exit my house, and close the door behind you.”

Gasping loudly, Rarity felt both sad and insulted. Raising her nose up, she started walking out the door, closing it with a slam and heading towards her boutique.

“Applejack! Applejack? Where are you!?” Rainbow Dash was frantically flying around Ponyville, trying to find her lover, but getting continuously disappointed. “Where the hay is that mare?”

“ It happened… they hate us. T-they think we’re sum’ kind of m-monster...” “It was jes yer fault… N’… n’ y’all dragged her down” she softly said, as she cried, curled in a ball in one of Ponyville’s dark alleys, behind some houses. “Y’all two could’ve kept bein’ best friends, bein’… n-normal. But no, y’all had to fall in love with her n’ ask her out. Y’all had to pull her into something she will only regret…”

“I can’t believe it! I only do what I should, tell off those… filly foolers, and what do I get in return? Hate and being kicked out! Ugh, this day couldn’t be any worse!” Rarity said to herself as she opened the door of her boutique, spotting a very happy Sweetie Belle.

“Hi sister, how are you today?”

“Hi Sweetie Belle, it’s… it’s a strange day, to say the least… How about you?”

“Oh, I have wonderful news Rarity!”

“So… they just… love each other? That’s it?” Twilight asked, confused.

“Yes, Twilie! That’s all they did, and Rarity just… just…”

“Don’t cry Pinkie, okay? I hate it when you do… but… why would Rarity act like that? I mean, if they are only guilty of loving each other, then they did nothing wrong! Nothing to compare to a… how did she called them? Aberrations of nature.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to say! Rarity was a Meanie McMeanpants! But we are also to blame, Twilight. We didn’t say anything to stop her! Nor we went and told Applejack and Rainbow how happy we are for them…”

“Not doing anything against something wrong, is just as terrible…”

“Exactly!” Pinkie Pie said, wiping her tears, before putting on a serious face and walking towards the door. “No more tears. Time to mend what we did. Come on, Twilight.”

Twilight wasn’t sure what got into Pinkie, but it was a strange, although nice view. “Uh…okay, let’s go!”

“Oh… where could they be? I need to tell them I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have said they were a couple… maybe they would have said it better, and Rarity wouldn’t have said those…. terrible, terrible things! Oh, how could I ever get them to forgive me for what I did?” She said, flying around town, trying to find her friends.

Spotting an orange and yellow spot in a dark alley, Rainbow Dash flew as fast as her wings allowed her. “Applejack, there you are!

“S-stay away Dash…”

“Don’t say that…”

Applejack looked at her lover with a face coated in dry tears “No… Ah mean it. Y’all don’t deserve this. Nopony but Rarity knows ‘bout us. S-so save yerself. Save yer reputation. Ah don’t wanna ruin yer life…”

“Applejack… I don’t give a darn about any of that, if I can’t have you by my side.” She walked towards her lover, laid next to her and gave her a soft short kiss. “Trust me… I have much more right now, alone with you, in this dark, dirty alley, than up there, flying with the Wonderbolts, knowing you’re not with me.” She said, nuzzling lovingly to reassure her marefriend.

Chuckling lightly and kissing Rainbow Dash back, Applejack nodded and got up “Y’all are right, Dashie. We still have each other. N’ that’s sumthin’ nopony can take from us.”

“Exactly! We also have Scoots and Applebloom. We know those won’t care…” she said smirking. “As long as we have each other, and family backing us up, we’ll make it just fine. Oh… and…” Rainbow Dash blushes and looks away “T-there’s somepony else I’m sure its okay with it…”

“Yeah? Who is it, Sugarcube?”

“Fluttershy. She… she’s all for filly foolers. In fact… she kinda is… or not… I guess she goes both ways.”

Applejack blushed slightly at the revelation and asked “N’ how do y’all know that?”

“Well…” she scratched the back of her head. “We… we may have kind of… kissed after I kissed you?”

“Y’all what!?”

“Well, she actually kissed me! She… she thought she loved me, so when I told her I wasn’t sure about my feelings for you, she thought it would be her last chance and… took it. But everything’s fine! Don’t worry. Seems she wasn’t into me that much.”

“Oh… well Ah… Ah don’t really have any reason to be mad at y’all, we weren’t a thing back then…” she said blushing.

“But we are now… so come and gimme a kiss…” She said, leaning forward, only to be met halfway by the orange cowpony’s lips.

As they were happily relishing the loving kiss, they heard a soft “Oh, there you are! I’ve been loo-oh… s-sorry! Didn’t mean to interrupt you…” Fluttershy said, as she landed near them.

“It’s alright, Sugarcube… don’t worry.” She said smiling a bit awkwardly. “S-so…”

“Don’t worry, I don’t hate you, or anything. I’m really happy for you two, and I’m sure the rest will be too… well, except for Rarity, maybe… But I am quite sure Twilight’s just confused, and Pinkie was strangely silent, but she didn’t seem affected by you, I’d say she was worried about Rarity… Can’t say I expected that…” Fluttershy said, looking down and kicking a small pebble in the ground “I can’t believe she said that to you two…”

“Neither of us expected… t-that… I gotta say, I expected somepony not to be totally okay with it but… I never expected such hate…” Dash said, as she looked down and hold Applejack closer.

“And I am sorry for being part of that, even if I wasn’t exactly sure of what was going on.” Twilight said, appearing behind Fluttershy, making everypony turn around and look at her. “I am rea-”

Before she could finish the line, Pinkie Pie ran past her, tackling the two lovers and giving them a strong bear hug as she cried out loud “I am sorry giiiirls!” she said as she continued to cry and hug their friends, giving multiple nuzzles to each of them in turns.

“I-it’s okay Pinks, you’re forgiven!”

“C-can’t breathe S-sugarcube.”

“Oops, sorry.” she said, immediately stopping the flow of tears in her eyes, and sitting straight, smiling at them.

“I have no idea how she can change emotions like that…” Twilight said. “You should have seen her some minutes ago; she had a born leader face that would have made even Celestia follow her.”

“How did y’all find us, anyways? This is the most remote, dark n’ filthy alley in Ponyville.”

“I saw a rainbow streak in this direction, so I flew around the place in a spiral until I found you.” Fluttershy explained.

Twilight pointed to the smiling pink pony and said “Pinkie Pie is apparently half hunting hound, because she started sniffing the place and found you in no time.”

“Well… Ah’m awful relieved y’all came, n’ that y’all accept us… Ah was quite heartbroken, thinkin’ Ah’d lose mah friends.”

“And you don’t have to lose any one of them, unless you want to, darling.”

“How come everypony finds this place so quickly!?” Dash exclaimed.

“Well, not many alleys have the voices of my best friends… o-or ex friends, maybe…” she said, looking down.

“What do you want here, Rarity?” Fluttershy said dryly, as she turned around to face her. “I won’t let you say another foul word to them.”

“No, no I have not come here to mock or insult them. I came to apologize for my stupid behaviour. It was… there are no words to describe what I said, nor are there words for me to mend what I broke. I don’t expect you to befriend me again, but I can only hope that you have enough kindness in your hearts to forgive my foolishness.”

“Please, come closer.” Applejack sombrely said, as she looked to the floor with her Stetson blocking her face.

“Yes, of course” She said, stepping forward until she was a few hooves away from the orange mare.

“Closer.”

Everypony watched curiously as Rarity got closer even, being almost face to face with Applejack.

“She is going to kick me, isn’t she? She will buck me into next week… But I deserve it, so be a proper lady, Rarity, and accept your punishment!” She thought, steeling her resolve, and standing straight in front of her former friend.

“Y’all did sumthin’ that made me feel terrible n’ sick. It hurt a lot n’ was quite uncomfortable.”

“And I am sorry for it. If it means you can forgive me, then I will take any punishment you may have for me.” Rarity said, closing her eyes and accepting her fate.

Raising her hat and smirking slyly, Applejack said “Perfect…”

In a moment… it just happened. And nopony present, except for Applejack would have expected such a punishment. Complete bewilderment was plastered in Fluttershy’s face. Utter confusion filled Twilight, as she hadn’t rightly understand what happened before, and now something even stranger was going on. Pinkie wasn’t sure if she should feel weird, happy, sad or mad. Anger and uncertainty boiled inside Dash’s veins as she saw Applejack give a long, sweet kiss to Rarity.

And just as fast and strange as it had started, it ended. Applejack broke the kiss with a grin that threatened to cut her head in half, enjoying the look in Rarity’s face.

Complete horror, disgust and a bit of guilty joy filled Rarity, though she would deny the latter until the end of her days. “What did you... How did… Why… And you just…” with a wallowing sigh she fainted.

Laughter echoed in the walls of the alley as Applejack was almost crying of happiness. “Oh, that face! The look on’er face! P-priceless! Bahahaha!”

“What the actual hay, AJ!?”

Suddenly, she remembered her actual marefriend was beside her and the laughter subdued rather quickly. “Ehehe…he…”

“Why did you kiss her!? A-are you serious!? I was right beside you! I thought you lo-”

“Stop it right there Sugarcube, don’t y’all ever doubt that. Ah didn’t do that ‘cause Ah have any kind of feelin’ towards Rarity. But if y’all think ‘bout it, it was the best punishment fer one like her!”

“I’m sorry to interrupt but… I’m quite confused myself, and I want to know in what did you base your choice…” Twilight said. “I thought you were mad at her, isn’t a kiss supposed to show happiness and love?”

“Eeeexactly. But she hates filly fo-eh… mares who like other mares. So, imagine what would she hate more, than have a kiss stolen from a mare? ‘Sides, being as careful n’ prude as she is, Ah betcha it was her very first kiss…”

“Oooh yeah, SUCH a great idea! Kiss her in front of your marefriend, that will surely teach her. Yeah, genius!” Dash said, exasperated.

“Oh, stop it, y’all kissed Shy. We’re even.”

The rest of the mares blushed at the comment, especially Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, who retorted “A-Applejack! You weren’t supposed to say that in front of everypony! And I already told you, it was nothing.”

Fluttershy looked at Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie. “She’s right! I-I was just confused, b-but everything’s clear now!”

“Y’all two are so funny when y’all are nervous. N’ Dash… Ah’ll make it up to y’all…” She said, before giving her a long, passionate kiss that made both end up in the ground, as Applejack’s hooves trailed down her side, giving a light rub to her cutie marks, making her lover’s wings to spring up right away.

“Okay, you’re forgiven!”

“Wow, that was fast! You sure know how to convince Dash, Applejack!” Pinkie said, smiling and giggling.

“What can Ah say? Ah know mah mare… Mah one n’ only mare.”

“Alright, I still don’t get what just happened, and I bet I won’t get it soon either. So I will just go home, have something to eat, and take a nap.”

“Oooh, oooh! Can I come with you? We can have a sleepover!”

“It’s barely afternoon, Pinkie.”

“Well, not a sleepover but a… uh… nap get-together!” Pinkie Pie said, smiling widely and hugging Twilight.

“You just wanna come home because Spike made cookies, don’t you?”

“Aaaand because my very good friend lives there, and we can have fun eating cookies and chatting before napping!” She said smiling.

Sighing at her friends antics, she nodded before giving a soft giggle. “Heh, I guess I won’t mind the company. Anypony else wanna come?”

“I have to tend to the animals back in the house, I’m sorry; maybe we can have an actual sleepover tonight?”

“Sure, what do you say Applejack and Rainbow Dash?”

“Well… Ah think we have sum things to do today. Ah gotta make it up fer to mah marefriend fer havin’ kissed Rarity…” Applejack said with a sly smile

“But you already d-” after feeling a soft spank on her lower back she corrected herself “I mean… yeah, I haven’t forgiven you yet, you have lots to do to make up for it!”

“Well… if you two are free tonight, you’re invited. Also… what do we do with Rarity?”

“I’ll take her home, prepare some tea, and tell her why did Applejack do that. I’m sure she’ll be fine by tonight, and I’ll get her to go.” Fluttershy said before putting Rarity on her back “Besides… I guess I must forgive her too, and ask for forgiveness myself, after what I told her. Well, I must get going. I will see you girls tonight!”

“We’ll be waiting Shy! Hope Rarity’s alright!” Pinkie said waving her hoof happily.

“Alright, we better go back to the farm… see y’all girls tonight!” She said, nudging Rainbow Dash to move.”

“Yeah! See you tonight!”

“Goodbye girls! Oh and, if you’re coming, please bring some sweets and snacks, I doubt Pinkie will leave any cookies for you.”

“Hey!... No, you’re right…” Pinkie said, giggling before grabbing Twilight’s hoof and running towards the library “C’mon Twi, I’m hungry!”

Rainbow Dash stood up and started walking towards Sweet Apple Acres, but stopped as she only heard her own hoofsteps. She looked back and noticed Applejack sitting on her haunches, looking to the blue sky. “What is it, AJ? You okay?”

“Ah jes’ can’t believe it… We… we did it, Dashie. It’s done.”

“What’s done? What are you talking about, you silly pony?” Dash said, chuckling.

“Ah dunno if y’all felt the same way… but this whole week was too much fer me. In jes’ two or three days, mah whole life was turned upside down. Ah was a straight farm girl who spent mah nights alone, empty n’ bored. Then, after the kiss, Ah felt like a schoolfilly in love, crazy ‘bout y’all n’ dyin’ to have y’all. Then came the date…” She looked at her lover’s eyes and smiled “Ah gotta admit, yesterday was the longest day of mah life. So many things happened… seemed like it’s been almost two years since it all started, but it was jes’ two days… It’s jes’ so… so…”

“Wonderful. It’s wonderful, isn’t it? Even if we endured a lot, even if we had to wait a long time to know what we felt for each other and a lot more just to let this finish… but we did it, and now we’re here, together. And it couldn’t be better. Could it? The perfect ending, for a perfect new chapter in our lives.”

“Ah wouldn’t agree on that.” Applejack said, walking closer to Rainbow Dash.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Applejack kisses her lover one more time and winks “Ah mean Ah can think of an even more perfect way to finish this… chapter, before we go meet the girls. N’ that means y’all n’ me in the empty barn…”

“Oooh… yeah, that sounds even better… Applebutt.”

“Like y’all don’t like it, Miss Springy Wings.”

“You’re wrong, I don’t like it… I love it.”