Welcome to my Lifeby WhiskersChaptersPrologue Chapter 1: The Meeting of FateChapter 2: RealizationChapter 3: Friendship is MagicChapter 4: The Welcome PartyPrologue Prologue PROLOGUE Applejack looked at her in surprise. “uuh.. come agin?” Rainbow looked AJ straight in the eyes and repeated herself. “i saaiiiiid, I think I'm starting to fall for you. You know... I think I love you..” Rainbow blushed and went slightly quieter towards the end of her statement as she help the orange mares gaze. Applejack, blushing deeply, smiled and took a step towards Rainbow. Whispering in the cyan pony's ear, she said, “ya know... Ah never thought this here day would come.” Rainbow looked up into the deep green eyes and felt her heart start thumping harder than ever before. “W-what do ya mean AJ?” “Ah think Ah've been in love with you for a long time, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow, having just confessed her one hearts desire (besides the obvious one of joining the Wonderbolts) and finding out the one pony she loved had the same feelings for her, jumped up into the air screaming, “OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!!!!!” Applejack started chuckling at the sight as a tear slid down her orange cheek. Looking down at her hooves, she started to think about what her family would say. Would they accept that the rainbow pony made her happy and welcome her into the family? Or would they call Applejack a fillyfooler and banish her from the Sweet Apple Acres? After a few minutes flying in circles, triangles and squares in her excitement, Rainbow started to calm down enough to notice that Applejack didn't seem as happy as she was. Landing next to her, the cyan mare nuzzled the orange pony's neck. “What's wrong Applejack? …..Aren't you happy?” Realizing she was making Rainbow worry, she put her smile back on and laughed. It was a genuine laughter, not forced like Rainbow was expecting. Applejack was truly happy at this moment, and worrying about what her family would say would have to wait till later. “It's nothing Sugarcube, Ah'm just curious about the future is all.” Rainbow just stood there looking into the green eyes of her partner until Applejack waved a hoof in front of her face. “Y'all alrigh' Rainbow?” Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Rainbow perked up and grinned at Applejack. “Soo... Now what? Are we marefriend and marefriend? Are we just gonna keep it a secret, or tell the group? What would Twilight say? Or Fluttershy? Pinkie probably wouldn't care, but I know Rarity would, but OHMYGOSH what about your family?! What about Applebloom? Would they accept us, or-” Applejack stuffed her hoof into the feathered pony's mouth to shut her up. “CALM DOWN Rainbow... Y'ur actin' like Pinkie Pie now. No matter what, Ah know my feelings for you, and if your tellin' me the truth, you feel the exact same as me. No matter what happens...” Applejack paused to sigh. “No matter what happens... Ah'm ready to take the consequences as long as it means Ah could be with you.” Unable to contain her happiness, Rainbow Dash grabbed Applejack in the closest hug she could muster as she whispered, “I swear on everything that I am, I will not let you down. I promise.” Chapter 1: The Meeting of FateChapter 1: The Meeting of Fate Applejack woke with a start, having just heard a loud crash come from downstairs. Praying to Celestia that nothing bad had happened, she leaped out of bed and rushed down the hallway as quickly and quietly as she could, hoping that Applebloom, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith were all still asleep. After what seemed like ages, she finally stood in the livingroom. “What in tarnation...?” she whispered to herself as she looked down at a light blue pegasus pony with a rainbow colored mane asleep on her floor, right behind the couch facing the wall in the middle of the room. Nudging the strange pony with a forehoof, Applejack wondered what the hay is going on. Shuddering at a slight breeze, she looked around. “Oh... Oh no..” The entire window looking out on the Sweet Apple Acres from the livingroom was destroyed. Tiny bits of glass littered the floor, giving it a slightly sparkly appearance, while bigger shards stabbed into the worn hard-wood floor. Applejack noticed a piece of the window-frame laying next to her favorite chair. After staring at what had happened for a good few minutes, she heard some rustling. Looking down at the pegasus pony, Applejack noticed a few twitches from the stranger, letting her know that the blue mare was coming to. Nudging the intruder softly with a forehoof, Applejack tried to wake her slowly, assuming she's the one who broke her window while flying and hit her head hard enough to render her unconscious. Slowly opening her eyes, her vision pulsing as her head pounded, the rainbow-maned pony looked up at a strange orange pony that she had never seen before. After taking a few deep breaths, the blue pony slowly stood up and, after shaking violently, collapsed back onto her knees. Applejack slowly knelt down beside her and whispered, “you jus' relax now sugarcube, y'all are safe here.” The blue pony didn't understand her, but the words and tone of her voice comforted her much the same as a mothers voice soothes a foal. Relaxing immensely, the newcomer leaned on Applejack and quickly fell asleep. Applejack chuckled softly and let the cyan mare sleep lying against her and pulled the blanket off of the back of the couch to shield them from the cool summer breeze. When Rainbow Dash came to, she noticed straight off that something wasn't right. This was NOT her home up in the clouds. She noticed that something was covering her. Trying not to panic, she stood up and tripped on the cloth blanket, causing her to stumble into a wall. The sound of collision woke the sleeping orange pony with a start. Rainbow started to hyperventilate, not knowing where she was or who this orange mare was, or why she was sleeping on this stranger. Applejack slowly stood up and said softly, “Ah'm not gonna harm ya.. calm down Nelly, everythin' is gonna be fine.” Rainbow nodded and breathed deeply, but didn't take her eyes off the orange pony. “I-I'm Rainbow Dash. Who are you?” “Mah name is Applejack.” Smiling as warmly as she could, Applejack took a step toward the cyan pegasus as if they were the oldest of pals. Not knowing how to react to this, Rainbow just stood there watching her. When Applejack started to shake her hoof vigorously though, her mind immediately unfroze as she jumped back a good ways. “What are you doing?! Your gonna tear my hoof off!” “Ssshhhh! Yur gonna wake the family!” Applejack hissed, looking tentatively back at the stairs. “Sorry- wait, who are you to boss me around? I don't even know you!” Rainbow hissed back. “Well, seein' as how you smashed the window in mah house, Ah have a lil more room to be bossy than you do.” All of Rainbow's annoyance disappeared as she remembered the events from the night before. Noticing the sudden change in the cyan pony's appearance (and slightly paler complexion) Applejack tilted her head, wondering what was going through the strangers head. Mumbling an apology, Rainbow ran past Applejack. Taking off through the destroyed window before the orange Earth pony could stop her, she flew away as fast as she could, her tears making a rainbow streak appear in her wake. Around mid-afernoon, the Apple family had almost finished repairing the livingroom window when Applejack decided to take a walk to Ponyville under the pretense of “wanting to sell sum apples to make up fer the lost money spent on a new window.” Taking her sweet, leisurely time like she always does, Applejack now had time to think. Who was that blue mare? What had possessed her to crash into the window? Why did she fly off crying? Before Applejack could think of any more questions, she heard yelling coming from in front of her. Looking up she was surprised to see Rainbow Dash coming straight at her, screaming, “WAAATCH OOUUUUT!!!!” Applejack jumped aside as fast as she could, but it wasn't fast enough as Rainbow clipped her hind leg and sent them both spinning into a giant apple tree. Dazed, Applejack looked over at Rainbow Dash. “What in tarnation were you doin'? Ya coulda killed me!” Rainbow chuckled a bit. “Hehe yeah.. sorry about that.” “SORRY?! Whaddaya mean, SORRY?” Rainbow stood up and held her ground. “I. Said. Sorry. Take it or leave it, but I have to keep practicing. See ya!” She took off as fast as she could, but Applejack managed to grab her tail before she could escape. “Mmfh! You shtay here!” Applejack pulled the struggling pegasus to the ground and pinned her. “You got some explainin' to do.” Rainbow blushed slightly as she gets pinned and smiles sheepishly. “Fine. Let me up and I'll talk.” Applejack eyed the blue pony suspiciously but let her up. Rainbow stood up and brushed the dust off her feathers and shook to straighten them. Looking back at Applejack, she smiled sheepishly again. “Sooo... What do you wanna know?” “First off, why you destroyed mah window. We ain't exactly the richest family ya know, we can't afford to replace things like that often.” “Oh... That. W-well, you see... I ran away from home. My parents wanted too much from me, like straight A's in flight school, they tried to control what my interests were, and just... they wouldn't let me be... well, ME. So I left, along with my friend Fluttershy. Then I-” “Wait wait wait... Theres another one of you here?” “Nononono! She's nothing like me, she was getting bullied too much so I took her with me. We left Cloudsdale together. But anyway, me and her were talking and I decided I want to join the Wonderbolts. They've been my heroes since I was just a little filly, so I decided I need practice and sneaked out while Fluttershy was sleeping and accidentally crashed into your house. You have so much land, no tall buildings besides your barn to get in my way, I thought it was the perfect place to practice.” Applejack listened and smiled when Rainbow finished. “Ah see now... but would it hurt ya to help fix the things you crash into? Namely, the window?” “Well... I suppose I could help. Since, you know, its my fault anyways.” Applejack smiled and held up a hoof. “Put 'er there, partner.” Rainbow smiled back and shook her hoof. “Friends?” Applejack grinned. “Friends.” Friendship can come from the strangest of places, whether from someone you think you have othing in common with, a weird pony you just met, or from someone who destroys your property. But as long as you give it a try, friendship is almost always the result. Chapter 2: RealizationChapter 2: Realization Applejack woke to the sun in her eyes. Wondering what the hay she was doing asleep so late, she sat up and heard a soft thump behind her. Looking back, she saw Rainbow Dash laying there, snoring and rubbing her belly with a forehoof. Applejack didn't know what to think. Did she honestly just sleep with her new friend? What was wrong with her? Annoyed, she stood up and mentally kicked herself for being so stupid. What if Rainbow was one of them fillyfooler types? She didn't know otherwise yet. Looking around, she realized they were in the barn. “Hehe... At least we finished the applebuckin' a bit early this season..” And it was true. Thanks to Rainbow Dash helping out as much as she was, they finished repairing their livingroom window and finished bucking every last tree in the Sweet Apple Acres a week ahead of schedule. Looking back at her new friend asleep in the hay behind her, Applejack smiled. Rainbow actually looked.... girlish.. when she sleeps. The way her mane caressed her cheeks, her soft feathers, and how she smiled softly as she dreamed gave her a relaxed appearance, which Applejack had yet to see before this. Sitting back down and watching Rainbow at peace helped calm Applejack down a bit about the sleeping with her. Applejack thought to herself: “Shoo'.. Even if ah am a fillyfooler- WHICH AH AM NOT! ….ah think Rainbow Dash would make a good partner.” Almost on cue, Rainbow breathed deeply, stretched, then opened one lazy eye and peered up at Applejack. “Mhn... Mornin' AJ” she said with another stretch as she sat up. “what kinda chores do we have to do today?” “None, thanks to you. We're done a week ahead of schedule this year. All that needs to be done is tidy up the barn and we can relax for the day.” “Thanks to me huh? Well I know I'm awesome and all, but your welcome.” Laughing out loud, Applejack pushed Rainbow back down into the hay. “Don't be TOO modest now, Rainbow.” Later that afternoon, the two ponies were laying on a hillside under the largest appletree in the Sweet Apple Acres along with Winona. All day, the thought of having slept together with Rainbow Dash has been bugging Applejack. She never thought she would have to deal with these thoughts, or the possible embarrassment of her family finding out. What if she is a fillyfooler after all? Rainbow sighed. “So are you going to tell me what's bothering you or am I gonna have to beat it out of you?” Smiling, Applejack looked over at her rainbow-maned friend. “Well ah don't think you could beat it outta me if ya tried.” Rainbow stood up. “Wanna bet?” Applejack tackled her before she was ready and pinned her by the wings. “Yes. Ah think Ah DO wanna bet.” Grinning, Applejack let Rainbow up. Looking away, the cyan mare grumbled, “I wasn't ready...” Smiling with a little bit of a blush, the orange earth pony walked back up to Rainbow and hugged her. “Ah'm sure you weren't Sugarcube.” Rainbow let Applejack hug her for a few seconds then backed away. “Okay, okay, thats enough sappiness for one day. I'm gonna go take a nap now.” Both ponies laid back down onto the grass. Not even a few minutes later, Applejack heard Rainbow snoring. Smiling to herself, she thought: “Ah think if ah do turn out to be a fillyfooler, Rainbow is the one for me.” Loyalty and honesty are two main components to the best of friendships. They allow for closer bonding and more intimate moments that would otherwise not exist. Wouldn't YOU like to have loyal and honest friends? I can think of two ponies who do. Chapter 3: Friendship is MagicChapter 3: Friendship is Magic “So.. Why am I helping you do this?” Rainbow never seemed to stop complaining about work when she wanted to nap. “Because, if we don't, we won't have any flour or sugar. Don't you like Granny Smith's apple pie? “Well yeah, but-” “Then we need to go to town and get supplies.” Rainbow sighed and followed Applejack a little way down the well-beaten path before she realized she was staring at the orange mares flank. Blushing profusely, she quickly looked away and noticed a flock of birds heading east. “Huh” she thought to herself. “Wonder where they're going?” Applejack looked up as well and smiled grimly. “Just swell... Crows here to eat our crop.” “Waitwaitwait... Crows eat apples? I thought they eat corn and that kinda stuff?” “Well they do! But here in Ponyville and around these parts, they also have a fondness for apples.” “Ooohhh... Well it looks like I'm out of bucking trees for a while.” Applejack looked back at her friend. “And what makes you say that?” “Well who else is going to shoo them away?” To emphasize her point, Rainbow raised her wings. Or she would have, but something held them down. Looking back, she saw something pink on her back. Yelling in surprise, the cyan mare jumped and threw the pink object- er.... pony off. Giggling loudly, the pink pony landed gracefully next to Applejack, who chuckled and turned around to watch Rainbow meet Pinkie Pie. “HI I'm Pinkie Pie who are you I don't think I know you I know everypony in ponyville, what's your name?” Staring at Pinkie, Rainbow couldn't even keep up with anything she said and just sat down with her jaw hanging open. Answering for her, Applejack tapped Pinkie on the shoulder and said: “Her name is Rainbow Dash, she's new here. She's from Cloudsdale and brought a friend with her, but she mostly stays at my farm. Speakin' of, hey Rainbow! When am ah gonna meet this friend of yours?” Shaking her head to get her thought process restarted, Rainbow looked back at Applejack. “I didn't know you wanted to! We can go see her later today if you want.” Pinkie looked about ready to burst in excitement. “Another new pony in town?! What's his name? Or is he a her? Is he her colorful like you Rainbow Dash?” Tackling the newcomer and covering her mouth so she had time to talk, Rainbow answered: “Her name is Fluttershy, and no she's not colorful like me-” Pinkie seemed to explode with excitement, throwing Rainbow a good distance away. “You know Fluttershy? Oh my goodness! This is gonna be FUNTACULAR!” Laughing at Rainbows expression at Pinkie running away, Applejack nudged the cyan mare to get her attention. “C'mon now Rainbow, we gotta get the supplies before they run out at the market.” Shaking her head incredulously, Rainbow trotted after Applejack. About a skip hop and a jump later, they arrived at the outskirts of Ponyville. Looking over at Rainbow, Applejack noticed how good the pegasus looked in the afternoon sun. Blushing as she looked back ahead of her, she mentally kicked herself for the millionth time that day about looking at her friend that way. Even if Rainbow was a fillyfooler, Applejack didn't think she stood a chance with her. Rainbow loved to fly, feel free and had her own ambitions, so why should she want to be with a pony who couldn't fly, and whose life goals were working an apple farm? Breathing deeply, AJ looked around to distract herself from her negative thoughts. Remembering that she had a few extra bits than she really needed, she wondered if she should ask Rainbow to go do something with her. Deciding against it, Applejack sighed deeply as she walked over to the bakery supply store. Staying outside like she normally did, Rainbow wondered what was wrong with her friend. They had only known each other about eight or nine months, but she felt she knew her orange friend better than she could know anybody else. Lately though, Applejack has seemed a bit down. Rainbow wanted nothing more than to kiss and comfort her earth pony friend, but was afraid of rejection. Applejack's family is a country, old-fashioned one, and Rainbow thought they would hate her if they knew she preferred mares over colts. She was scared of losing the one pony she ever cared this much about. Applejack called Rainbow into the shop to help lug out the bags of sugar and flour onto their cart. After about ten trips into the shop and out to the cart apiece, the two ponies decided that was enough for one visit to town. Applejack decided to buy them both some lemonade from the nearby outdoor cafe before their long walk home. Sitting across from eachother, the mares were both trying to avoid the others gaze. It wasn't long before Rainbow heard shouting from around the block. Flying up over the building to see what was happening, she saw her friend Fluttershy crying and being yelled at by some random pony for apparently “being in his way”. Instantly filled with anger, Rainbow dived down and tackled the stranger, causing his ribs to crack. Not caring that he couldn't even breathe right, the cyan pegasus slammed her hoof into his face again and again before a strong set of teeth grabbed the scruff of her neck pulling her away from him. Realizing that she couldn't see, Rainbow wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at the pony who stopped her. Applejack hugged her tightly and whispered: “That was mighty brave of you Rainbow... But you need to calm down now Sugarcube.. Please..” Backing away from Aplejack, Rainbow Dash said: “I don't care if he dies. NOPONY messes with my friends!” Before she broke down any more, Rainbow took off into the sky to hide from the world. Heart aching for the cyan mare, Applejack walked over to Fluttershy and helped her up as an emergency team rounded the corner with a cart behind them. Carefully lifting the mess of a colt into the cart, the paramedics started a few checks to make sure he was still alive before taking off towards the hospital. “Oh.. Thank you for helping me up.. Was that Rainbow Dash just now?” Asked the yellow pegasus. “Yeah... it was.” Three days later and still no sign of Rainbow Dash. Her heart physically aching, Applejack spent most of the past three days on the barn roof looking for any sign of her hearts desire. As dusk started to settle in making it hard to see more than a hundred yards out, Applejack carefully made her way down the ladder leaning on the barn wall when she heard a loud “SMACK” from a ways away. Hurrying the rest of the way down, Applejack ran as fast as she could in the direction of the sound, wishing that it was her rainbow maned friend, but at the same time hoping not, knowing that if it was Rainbow that made that sound, she would be in a lot of pain or worse, dead. After about five minutes of running, Applejack noticed one of her favorite apple trees split in half. Praying that nopony was hurt, she ran over to the tree to see a long deep gash in the ground a small ways away from it. At the end of the miniature gorge was a small blue ball of feathers with a rainbow colored stripe across it. Slowly walking over, she realized it was Rainbow all curled up in a ball to block as much pain as she possibly could. Nudging her softly, Applejack tried to get a response from the cyan mare, praying to Celestia that she was still alive. Seeing Rainbow's side slowly heave up and down, Applejack relaxed, knowing her best friend was still alive. Laying close by the pegasus, Applejack thought to herself: “If Rainbow makes it through this.. Ah think Ah'm gonna tell her that I love her. Ah can't stand seeing her hurt like this, and even if she hates me for a while after, I believe she is a loyal friend who will at least stay my friend no matter what.” Laying her head on her forehooves, Applejack relaxed, making sure the mare she loved will be alright. Secretly wishing Rainbow loves her as much in return, she silently vowed: “No matter what, from this day on, Ah will do mah best to support and protect you Rainbow Dash..... Mah love.” No matter what your true feelings are, once you know them you should tell anypony that matters about it. If they are true friends, they will stay. If not they will go, and eventually you will realize you are better off without them. Secrets never bear fruit. Always go for broke, and you will be surprised at how many times you come out a success. (Sorry if this chapter seemed a bit... undescriptive. i was very tired when i wrote this, and i was VERY distracted. please bear with me and i promise the next chapter will be better) Chapter 4: The Welcome PartyChapter 4: The Welcome Party When Applejack learned that the Apple family was to prepare the food for the Summer Sun Celebration, she was so happy she jumped up and yelled for everypony to hear her excitement. On the flip side however, when Rainbow learned she was to clear the skies for the Princess, she groaned and slumped onto the warm, hard-packed dirt. Laughing at her friend, Applejack picked her up and smiled. “Don't be so down, Rainbow. Y'all are always welcome to come help me when ya finish.” “But I was going to practice my flying some more today!” “Whine all ya want, but if the Princess sees that you didn't keep the skies clear like she said, who knows what she'll do?” “W-whaddaya mean?” Chuckling, the orange mare shook her head. “Ah'm just teasin' ya silly filly.” “Silly filly huh? I'll show you silly filly when I clear those skies in ten seconds flat!” “Oh yeah? Well how about ya prove it by clearin' the sky here first.” “Fine!” Taking off, Rainbow flew as fast as she could to the outer edges of the farm, then circled the entire perimeter, herding all of the stray clouds into one big mess of evaporated water and dived through the center, getting soaked in the process. Laughing in exhilaration, the cyan pegasus landed by Applejack, she said smugly: “Ten. Seconds. Fl-” Applejack tackled the soaked mare to the hard, dusty earth beneath them. “Hey! What gives!” “Ah jus' felt like it.” Rainbow looked up at Applejack, loving the feeling of being forced to submission by Applejack but hating it in the same moment. Looking into her eyes however, she felt a deep happiness as she saw the burning desire in Applejack's eyes. At least that's what it seemed like to the cyan pegasus anyway... It didn't last long enough for her however, because Applejack grinned and let Rainbow get up to shake off the wet dirt. Applejack loved randomly tackling Rainbow because she just never learns to pay attention. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but Applejack was thinking that Rainbow might be enjoying it. She knew SHE was loving it anyways.... Both shaking their heads at the same time to clear the same thoughts, the mares just laughed it off as if it was just another friendly jab at the other. Suddenly remembering what her job was, Applejack gasped and ran off yelling: “Ah still need to finish buckin' mah apples! Rainbow, go to town and clear the skies for the celebration!” Shocked for a second, Rainbow took off towards town before remembering who she was: Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in all of Equestria. She didn't need to hurry, she could take as long as she wanted to get there and still have time to spare..... Until she remembered that she still wanted time to practice for the Wonderbolts as well. Speeding off towards Ponyville, she reached town within minutes and was still going to fast to avoid a certain purple pony. After laying in a heap for a few seconds to catch her breath and organize her thoughts, Rainbow stood up and looked back at the new pony, realizing they had landed in a nice, big mud puddle. “Hehehe.. Uh? 'Scuse me? Hahahe.” Grumbling to herself quietly, the purple unicorn looked up at Rainbow seeming annoyed. “Hahaha! Lemme help you.” Flying away for a second, she came hurrying back with a waterlogged cloud. Positioning it over the unicorn, Rainbow proceeded to jump on it until all of the water had dumped onto the newcomer leaving her drenched, but mud free. “Hehehe!! Oops! I guess I overdid it. Um.. Uh.. How about this?” Flying around the stranger in a tight, multicolored circle, Rainbow said, “My very own patented Rain Blow Dry! Nono, don't thank me, your quite welcome.” Pausing to look at the result of her work, Rainbow noticed that the unicorns once-straight hair was now large and poofy, almost like Pinkie Pie's hair is usually styled. Busting up laughing, Rainbow fell on her back with tears streaming out of her eyes. A second later, the unicorns companion, a small purple and green dragon, did the same, laughing just as hard as her. Sighing, the victim of the accident said, “Lemme guess. Your Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow immediately stopped laughing at the mention of her name. “Theee one and only! Why? Ya heard of me?” At the last bit of her talking, Rainbow started hovering and got into the newcomers face. Cringing back a bit, the purple mare said: “I Heard your supposed to be keeping the sky clear.” Taking a moment to sigh, She said, “I'm Twilight Sparkle, and the Princess sent me to check on the weather.” From up on the cloud she used to drench Twilight, Rainbow seemed to be relaxing as she said: Yeah yeah, that'll be a snap. I'll have it done in a jiffy, just as soon as I'm done practicing.” “Practicing for what?” Pointing at a poster on a nearby wall, she exclaimed: “The Wonderbolts! They're gonna perform at the celebration tomorrow, and I'm gonna show 'em my stuff.” “The Wonderbolts?” Twilight asked slyly. “Yup!” “The most talented flyer's in aallll of Equestria?” “That's them!” “Pfft! Please, They'd never accept a pegasus who couldn't even keep the skies clear for one measly day!” Sitting up on her cloud, Rainbow seemed annoyed as she gestured to the sky around her. “HEY! I could clear the sky in ten seconds flat.” “Prove it.” Rearing back for a second, Rainbow took off and zoomed across the sky, kicking some clouds and flying straight through others. The entire time, Rainbow and her companion stared in open-mouthed awe as rainbow held her word. Landing on the bridge right by where twilight was standing, she smugly said: “What'd I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat. I'd never leave Ponyville hangin'. Haha! You should see the look on your face.” Twilights eyes were huge as her mouth seemed to have lost all muscle tension. “Haha! Your a laugh Twilight Sparkle! I can't wait to hang out some more!” Doing a flip and flying off, Rainbow heard the small dragon say: “Woowww... She's amazing!” As Applejack was nearing the end of her chore of bucking apples, she noticed only one tree left. Running towards it eagerly, she yelled, “Yeehaw!” as she spun around and bucked the tree just hard enough to send all of the large, juicy apples down into the baskets below. Standing there for a second looking pleased, Applejack heard a voice behind her. “Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” Spinning around and grabbing the newcomers hoof in both of her forehooves, she vigorously shook it up and down. “Well howdy do miss Twilight! A pleasure to meet your acquaintance! I'm Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do love makin' new friends.” The assaulted mare seemed shocked that somepony would shake her like that as she blurted: “Frie-e-e-ends?? Actually-y-y-y I uh..” Letting go of Twilights hoof, Applejack stood back. “So, What can Ah do ya for?” Applejack winked. Seeing that Twilights leg was still shaking up and down of it's own accord due to Applejack's hoofshake, the little dragon grabbed her leg to stop it and chuckled as twilight glared at him. Clearing her throat, Twilight said: “Well, I am in fact here to supervise preparations for the summer Sun Celebration. And your in charge of the food?” “We sure as sugar are! Would ya care to sample some?” “Well, as long as it doesn't take TOO long.” Rushing away, Applejack rang a metal triangle and yelled: “SOUP'S ON EVERYPONY!” A small stampede of running ponies pushed Twilight and her dragon to a small outdoor table. “Now.” Applejack had popped up next to her. “Why don't Ah introduce ya to the Apple family?” “Ah hah, thanks, but I really need to hurry-” Silenced by a plate shoved in her face, Twilight sat still and listened as Applejack said: “This here's Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Galen, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Schooner, Apple Tart, Baked Apple, Apple Frioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp-” Sucking in a huge lungful of air, Applejack continued on to her closer family. “Big Macintosh, Applebloom aaaand!” Pausing to shove a green apple in Twilights mouth, Applejack pointed to a sleeping ancient green mare. “Granny. Smith. Up and at'm Granny Smith! We got guests.” Granny Smith woke up and looked around mumbling about soup being on and a little more as she walked towards the huge pile of food that had stacked up on the table as applejack introduced her whole family. Applejack smiled over at Twilight and set a hoof on her shoulder. “Well, I'd say your already part o' the family!” Spitting out her apple seemingly disgusted at the thought, Twilight said: “Ah haha.. Okay well! I can see the food situation is handled, so we'll be on our way.” She looked pleased with herself until Applebloom walked up to her with big watery eyes saying: “Aren'tcha gonna stay for brunch?” “Sorry.. But we have an awful lot to do.” Twilight heard a collective sound of disappointment from the Apple family. “.....Fine.” Immediately, everypony cheered. Later that evening, as Applejack was putting the finishing touches on her last apple Cupcake, Rainbow rushed into the room. “Applejack! Didja hear? There's a new pony in town named Twilight Sparkle! Shes super funny, ad Pinkie is throwing her a surprise party.. and I was uhmm.. I was wondering if you wanted to go... like, with me.” Blushing deeply, Rainbow looked away, trying to seem occupied cleaning but Applejack saw through it immediately. Trying to calm her racing heart, she said: “Of course Ah'll go with you Sugar. Why wouldn't Ah?” “Well, I dunno. Maybe you would think it's weird or something?” “....No, it isn't wierd. Ah would have asked you to go with me as well Rainbow.” “R-really?” “Yes'm. But it's well after noon, we had better hurry if we want to make it to Pinkies party early enough to surprise Twilight!” “Hehaha! Yeah your right!” Just on the outskirts of town, Rainbow stopped walking. Noticing a few seconds later, Applejack turned around to look at the pegasus. “Rainbow.... Are you okay?” “.....yeah. It's just.... I wanna tell you something AJ.” “You can tell me anything Rainbow. You know that.” “Yeah well.... okay. I think.. I think iluvyou...” She could have given Fluttershy a run for her money at how her voice died at the last second but Applejack understood it completely, but couldn't believe her ears. “uuh.. come agin?” Rainbow took a deep breath and looked AJ straight in the eyes and repeated herself. “i saaiiiiid, I think I love you.” Rainbow blushed and went slightly quieter towards the end of her statement as she held the orange mares gaze. Applejack, blushing deeply, smiled and took a step towards Rainbow. Whispering in the cyan pony's ear, she said, “Ya know... Ah never thought this here day would come.” Rainbow looked up into the deep green eyes and felt her heart start thumping harder than ever before. “W-what do ya mean AJ?” “Ah think Ah've been in love with you for a long time, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow, having just confessed her one hearts desire (besides the obvious one of joining the Wonderbolts) and finding out the one pony she loved had the same feelings for her, jumped up into the air screaming, “OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!!!!!” Applejack started chuckling at the sight as a tear slid down her orange cheek. Looking down at her hooves, she thought about what her family would say. Would they accept that the rainbow pony made her happy and welcome her into the family? Or would they call Applejack a fillyfooler and banish her from the Sweet Apple Acres? After a few minutes flying in circles, triangles and squares in her excitement, Rainbow started to calm down enough to notice that Applejack didn't seem as happy as she was. Landing next to her, the cyan mare nuzzled the orange pony's neck. “What's wrong Applejack? …..Aren't you happy?” Realizing she was making Rainbow worry, she put her smile back on and laughed. It was a genuine laughter, not forced like Rainbow was expecting. Applejack was truly happy at this moment, and worrying about what her family would say would have to wait till later. “It's nothing Sugarcube, Ah'm just curious about the future is all.” Rainbow just stood there looking into the green eyes of her partner until Applejack waved a hoof in front of her face. “Y'all alrigh' Rainbow?” Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Rainbow perked up and grinned at Applejack. “Soo... Now what? Are we marefriend and marefriend? Are we just gonna keep it a secret, or tell the group? What would Twilight say? Or Fluttershy? Pinkie probably wouldn't care, but I know Rarity would, but OHMYGOSH what about your family?! What about Applebloom? Would they accept us, or-” Applejack stuffed her hoof into the feathered pony's mouth to shut her up. “CALM DOWN Rainbow... Y'ur actin' like Pinkie Pie now. No matter what, Ah know my feelings for you, and if your tellin' me the truth, you feel the exact same as me. No matter what happens...” Applejack paused to sigh. “No matter what happens... Ah'm ready to take the consequences as long as it means Ah could be with you.” Unable to contain her happiness, Rainbow Dash grabbed Applejack in the closest hug she could muster as she whispered, “I swear on everything that I am, I will not let you down. I promise.” After a few minutes of holding each other in the closest hug the two had yet to share, they let go of the mare of their hearts and walked side by side to the welcoming surprise party for the unicorn Twilight Sparkle. If your heart is open to friendship, and anything it brings, you will find wonders appearing before your eyes. If you fall in love with your best friend, you may find that friend also in love with you. If you become a couple, make each other happy before anypony else. This concludes this story, but I hope to have all of my readers around still for the next one. Ideas anypony?
Prologue Prologue PROLOGUE Applejack looked at her in surprise. “uuh.. come agin?” Rainbow looked AJ straight in the eyes and repeated herself. “i saaiiiiid, I think I'm starting to fall for you. You know... I think I love you..” Rainbow blushed and went slightly quieter towards the end of her statement as she help the orange mares gaze. Applejack, blushing deeply, smiled and took a step towards Rainbow. Whispering in the cyan pony's ear, she said, “ya know... Ah never thought this here day would come.” Rainbow looked up into the deep green eyes and felt her heart start thumping harder than ever before. “W-what do ya mean AJ?” “Ah think Ah've been in love with you for a long time, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow, having just confessed her one hearts desire (besides the obvious one of joining the Wonderbolts) and finding out the one pony she loved had the same feelings for her, jumped up into the air screaming, “OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!!!!!” Applejack started chuckling at the sight as a tear slid down her orange cheek. Looking down at her hooves, she started to think about what her family would say. Would they accept that the rainbow pony made her happy and welcome her into the family? Or would they call Applejack a fillyfooler and banish her from the Sweet Apple Acres? After a few minutes flying in circles, triangles and squares in her excitement, Rainbow started to calm down enough to notice that Applejack didn't seem as happy as she was. Landing next to her, the cyan mare nuzzled the orange pony's neck. “What's wrong Applejack? …..Aren't you happy?” Realizing she was making Rainbow worry, she put her smile back on and laughed. It was a genuine laughter, not forced like Rainbow was expecting. Applejack was truly happy at this moment, and worrying about what her family would say would have to wait till later. “It's nothing Sugarcube, Ah'm just curious about the future is all.” Rainbow just stood there looking into the green eyes of her partner until Applejack waved a hoof in front of her face. “Y'all alrigh' Rainbow?” Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Rainbow perked up and grinned at Applejack. “Soo... Now what? Are we marefriend and marefriend? Are we just gonna keep it a secret, or tell the group? What would Twilight say? Or Fluttershy? Pinkie probably wouldn't care, but I know Rarity would, but OHMYGOSH what about your family?! What about Applebloom? Would they accept us, or-” Applejack stuffed her hoof into the feathered pony's mouth to shut her up. “CALM DOWN Rainbow... Y'ur actin' like Pinkie Pie now. No matter what, Ah know my feelings for you, and if your tellin' me the truth, you feel the exact same as me. No matter what happens...” Applejack paused to sigh. “No matter what happens... Ah'm ready to take the consequences as long as it means Ah could be with you.” Unable to contain her happiness, Rainbow Dash grabbed Applejack in the closest hug she could muster as she whispered, “I swear on everything that I am, I will not let you down. I promise.”
Chapter 1: The Meeting of FateChapter 1: The Meeting of Fate Applejack woke with a start, having just heard a loud crash come from downstairs. Praying to Celestia that nothing bad had happened, she leaped out of bed and rushed down the hallway as quickly and quietly as she could, hoping that Applebloom, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith were all still asleep. After what seemed like ages, she finally stood in the livingroom. “What in tarnation...?” she whispered to herself as she looked down at a light blue pegasus pony with a rainbow colored mane asleep on her floor, right behind the couch facing the wall in the middle of the room. Nudging the strange pony with a forehoof, Applejack wondered what the hay is going on. Shuddering at a slight breeze, she looked around. “Oh... Oh no..” The entire window looking out on the Sweet Apple Acres from the livingroom was destroyed. Tiny bits of glass littered the floor, giving it a slightly sparkly appearance, while bigger shards stabbed into the worn hard-wood floor. Applejack noticed a piece of the window-frame laying next to her favorite chair. After staring at what had happened for a good few minutes, she heard some rustling. Looking down at the pegasus pony, Applejack noticed a few twitches from the stranger, letting her know that the blue mare was coming to. Nudging the intruder softly with a forehoof, Applejack tried to wake her slowly, assuming she's the one who broke her window while flying and hit her head hard enough to render her unconscious. Slowly opening her eyes, her vision pulsing as her head pounded, the rainbow-maned pony looked up at a strange orange pony that she had never seen before. After taking a few deep breaths, the blue pony slowly stood up and, after shaking violently, collapsed back onto her knees. Applejack slowly knelt down beside her and whispered, “you jus' relax now sugarcube, y'all are safe here.” The blue pony didn't understand her, but the words and tone of her voice comforted her much the same as a mothers voice soothes a foal. Relaxing immensely, the newcomer leaned on Applejack and quickly fell asleep. Applejack chuckled softly and let the cyan mare sleep lying against her and pulled the blanket off of the back of the couch to shield them from the cool summer breeze. When Rainbow Dash came to, she noticed straight off that something wasn't right. This was NOT her home up in the clouds. She noticed that something was covering her. Trying not to panic, she stood up and tripped on the cloth blanket, causing her to stumble into a wall. The sound of collision woke the sleeping orange pony with a start. Rainbow started to hyperventilate, not knowing where she was or who this orange mare was, or why she was sleeping on this stranger. Applejack slowly stood up and said softly, “Ah'm not gonna harm ya.. calm down Nelly, everythin' is gonna be fine.” Rainbow nodded and breathed deeply, but didn't take her eyes off the orange pony. “I-I'm Rainbow Dash. Who are you?” “Mah name is Applejack.” Smiling as warmly as she could, Applejack took a step toward the cyan pegasus as if they were the oldest of pals. Not knowing how to react to this, Rainbow just stood there watching her. When Applejack started to shake her hoof vigorously though, her mind immediately unfroze as she jumped back a good ways. “What are you doing?! Your gonna tear my hoof off!” “Ssshhhh! Yur gonna wake the family!” Applejack hissed, looking tentatively back at the stairs. “Sorry- wait, who are you to boss me around? I don't even know you!” Rainbow hissed back. “Well, seein' as how you smashed the window in mah house, Ah have a lil more room to be bossy than you do.” All of Rainbow's annoyance disappeared as she remembered the events from the night before. Noticing the sudden change in the cyan pony's appearance (and slightly paler complexion) Applejack tilted her head, wondering what was going through the strangers head. Mumbling an apology, Rainbow ran past Applejack. Taking off through the destroyed window before the orange Earth pony could stop her, she flew away as fast as she could, her tears making a rainbow streak appear in her wake. Around mid-afernoon, the Apple family had almost finished repairing the livingroom window when Applejack decided to take a walk to Ponyville under the pretense of “wanting to sell sum apples to make up fer the lost money spent on a new window.” Taking her sweet, leisurely time like she always does, Applejack now had time to think. Who was that blue mare? What had possessed her to crash into the window? Why did she fly off crying? Before Applejack could think of any more questions, she heard yelling coming from in front of her. Looking up she was surprised to see Rainbow Dash coming straight at her, screaming, “WAAATCH OOUUUUT!!!!” Applejack jumped aside as fast as she could, but it wasn't fast enough as Rainbow clipped her hind leg and sent them both spinning into a giant apple tree. Dazed, Applejack looked over at Rainbow Dash. “What in tarnation were you doin'? Ya coulda killed me!” Rainbow chuckled a bit. “Hehe yeah.. sorry about that.” “SORRY?! Whaddaya mean, SORRY?” Rainbow stood up and held her ground. “I. Said. Sorry. Take it or leave it, but I have to keep practicing. See ya!” She took off as fast as she could, but Applejack managed to grab her tail before she could escape. “Mmfh! You shtay here!” Applejack pulled the struggling pegasus to the ground and pinned her. “You got some explainin' to do.” Rainbow blushed slightly as she gets pinned and smiles sheepishly. “Fine. Let me up and I'll talk.” Applejack eyed the blue pony suspiciously but let her up. Rainbow stood up and brushed the dust off her feathers and shook to straighten them. Looking back at Applejack, she smiled sheepishly again. “Sooo... What do you wanna know?” “First off, why you destroyed mah window. We ain't exactly the richest family ya know, we can't afford to replace things like that often.” “Oh... That. W-well, you see... I ran away from home. My parents wanted too much from me, like straight A's in flight school, they tried to control what my interests were, and just... they wouldn't let me be... well, ME. So I left, along with my friend Fluttershy. Then I-” “Wait wait wait... Theres another one of you here?” “Nononono! She's nothing like me, she was getting bullied too much so I took her with me. We left Cloudsdale together. But anyway, me and her were talking and I decided I want to join the Wonderbolts. They've been my heroes since I was just a little filly, so I decided I need practice and sneaked out while Fluttershy was sleeping and accidentally crashed into your house. You have so much land, no tall buildings besides your barn to get in my way, I thought it was the perfect place to practice.” Applejack listened and smiled when Rainbow finished. “Ah see now... but would it hurt ya to help fix the things you crash into? Namely, the window?” “Well... I suppose I could help. Since, you know, its my fault anyways.” Applejack smiled and held up a hoof. “Put 'er there, partner.” Rainbow smiled back and shook her hoof. “Friends?” Applejack grinned. “Friends.” Friendship can come from the strangest of places, whether from someone you think you have othing in common with, a weird pony you just met, or from someone who destroys your property. But as long as you give it a try, friendship is almost always the result.
Chapter 2: RealizationChapter 2: Realization Applejack woke to the sun in her eyes. Wondering what the hay she was doing asleep so late, she sat up and heard a soft thump behind her. Looking back, she saw Rainbow Dash laying there, snoring and rubbing her belly with a forehoof. Applejack didn't know what to think. Did she honestly just sleep with her new friend? What was wrong with her? Annoyed, she stood up and mentally kicked herself for being so stupid. What if Rainbow was one of them fillyfooler types? She didn't know otherwise yet. Looking around, she realized they were in the barn. “Hehe... At least we finished the applebuckin' a bit early this season..” And it was true. Thanks to Rainbow Dash helping out as much as she was, they finished repairing their livingroom window and finished bucking every last tree in the Sweet Apple Acres a week ahead of schedule. Looking back at her new friend asleep in the hay behind her, Applejack smiled. Rainbow actually looked.... girlish.. when she sleeps. The way her mane caressed her cheeks, her soft feathers, and how she smiled softly as she dreamed gave her a relaxed appearance, which Applejack had yet to see before this. Sitting back down and watching Rainbow at peace helped calm Applejack down a bit about the sleeping with her. Applejack thought to herself: “Shoo'.. Even if ah am a fillyfooler- WHICH AH AM NOT! ….ah think Rainbow Dash would make a good partner.” Almost on cue, Rainbow breathed deeply, stretched, then opened one lazy eye and peered up at Applejack. “Mhn... Mornin' AJ” she said with another stretch as she sat up. “what kinda chores do we have to do today?” “None, thanks to you. We're done a week ahead of schedule this year. All that needs to be done is tidy up the barn and we can relax for the day.” “Thanks to me huh? Well I know I'm awesome and all, but your welcome.” Laughing out loud, Applejack pushed Rainbow back down into the hay. “Don't be TOO modest now, Rainbow.” Later that afternoon, the two ponies were laying on a hillside under the largest appletree in the Sweet Apple Acres along with Winona. All day, the thought of having slept together with Rainbow Dash has been bugging Applejack. She never thought she would have to deal with these thoughts, or the possible embarrassment of her family finding out. What if she is a fillyfooler after all? Rainbow sighed. “So are you going to tell me what's bothering you or am I gonna have to beat it out of you?” Smiling, Applejack looked over at her rainbow-maned friend. “Well ah don't think you could beat it outta me if ya tried.” Rainbow stood up. “Wanna bet?” Applejack tackled her before she was ready and pinned her by the wings. “Yes. Ah think Ah DO wanna bet.” Grinning, Applejack let Rainbow up. Looking away, the cyan mare grumbled, “I wasn't ready...” Smiling with a little bit of a blush, the orange earth pony walked back up to Rainbow and hugged her. “Ah'm sure you weren't Sugarcube.” Rainbow let Applejack hug her for a few seconds then backed away. “Okay, okay, thats enough sappiness for one day. I'm gonna go take a nap now.” Both ponies laid back down onto the grass. Not even a few minutes later, Applejack heard Rainbow snoring. Smiling to herself, she thought: “Ah think if ah do turn out to be a fillyfooler, Rainbow is the one for me.” Loyalty and honesty are two main components to the best of friendships. They allow for closer bonding and more intimate moments that would otherwise not exist. Wouldn't YOU like to have loyal and honest friends? I can think of two ponies who do.
Chapter 3: Friendship is MagicChapter 3: Friendship is Magic “So.. Why am I helping you do this?” Rainbow never seemed to stop complaining about work when she wanted to nap. “Because, if we don't, we won't have any flour or sugar. Don't you like Granny Smith's apple pie? “Well yeah, but-” “Then we need to go to town and get supplies.” Rainbow sighed and followed Applejack a little way down the well-beaten path before she realized she was staring at the orange mares flank. Blushing profusely, she quickly looked away and noticed a flock of birds heading east. “Huh” she thought to herself. “Wonder where they're going?” Applejack looked up as well and smiled grimly. “Just swell... Crows here to eat our crop.” “Waitwaitwait... Crows eat apples? I thought they eat corn and that kinda stuff?” “Well they do! But here in Ponyville and around these parts, they also have a fondness for apples.” “Ooohhh... Well it looks like I'm out of bucking trees for a while.” Applejack looked back at her friend. “And what makes you say that?” “Well who else is going to shoo them away?” To emphasize her point, Rainbow raised her wings. Or she would have, but something held them down. Looking back, she saw something pink on her back. Yelling in surprise, the cyan mare jumped and threw the pink object- er.... pony off. Giggling loudly, the pink pony landed gracefully next to Applejack, who chuckled and turned around to watch Rainbow meet Pinkie Pie. “HI I'm Pinkie Pie who are you I don't think I know you I know everypony in ponyville, what's your name?” Staring at Pinkie, Rainbow couldn't even keep up with anything she said and just sat down with her jaw hanging open. Answering for her, Applejack tapped Pinkie on the shoulder and said: “Her name is Rainbow Dash, she's new here. She's from Cloudsdale and brought a friend with her, but she mostly stays at my farm. Speakin' of, hey Rainbow! When am ah gonna meet this friend of yours?” Shaking her head to get her thought process restarted, Rainbow looked back at Applejack. “I didn't know you wanted to! We can go see her later today if you want.” Pinkie looked about ready to burst in excitement. “Another new pony in town?! What's his name? Or is he a her? Is he her colorful like you Rainbow Dash?” Tackling the newcomer and covering her mouth so she had time to talk, Rainbow answered: “Her name is Fluttershy, and no she's not colorful like me-” Pinkie seemed to explode with excitement, throwing Rainbow a good distance away. “You know Fluttershy? Oh my goodness! This is gonna be FUNTACULAR!” Laughing at Rainbows expression at Pinkie running away, Applejack nudged the cyan mare to get her attention. “C'mon now Rainbow, we gotta get the supplies before they run out at the market.” Shaking her head incredulously, Rainbow trotted after Applejack. About a skip hop and a jump later, they arrived at the outskirts of Ponyville. Looking over at Rainbow, Applejack noticed how good the pegasus looked in the afternoon sun. Blushing as she looked back ahead of her, she mentally kicked herself for the millionth time that day about looking at her friend that way. Even if Rainbow was a fillyfooler, Applejack didn't think she stood a chance with her. Rainbow loved to fly, feel free and had her own ambitions, so why should she want to be with a pony who couldn't fly, and whose life goals were working an apple farm? Breathing deeply, AJ looked around to distract herself from her negative thoughts. Remembering that she had a few extra bits than she really needed, she wondered if she should ask Rainbow to go do something with her. Deciding against it, Applejack sighed deeply as she walked over to the bakery supply store. Staying outside like she normally did, Rainbow wondered what was wrong with her friend. They had only known each other about eight or nine months, but she felt she knew her orange friend better than she could know anybody else. Lately though, Applejack has seemed a bit down. Rainbow wanted nothing more than to kiss and comfort her earth pony friend, but was afraid of rejection. Applejack's family is a country, old-fashioned one, and Rainbow thought they would hate her if they knew she preferred mares over colts. She was scared of losing the one pony she ever cared this much about. Applejack called Rainbow into the shop to help lug out the bags of sugar and flour onto their cart. After about ten trips into the shop and out to the cart apiece, the two ponies decided that was enough for one visit to town. Applejack decided to buy them both some lemonade from the nearby outdoor cafe before their long walk home. Sitting across from eachother, the mares were both trying to avoid the others gaze. It wasn't long before Rainbow heard shouting from around the block. Flying up over the building to see what was happening, she saw her friend Fluttershy crying and being yelled at by some random pony for apparently “being in his way”. Instantly filled with anger, Rainbow dived down and tackled the stranger, causing his ribs to crack. Not caring that he couldn't even breathe right, the cyan pegasus slammed her hoof into his face again and again before a strong set of teeth grabbed the scruff of her neck pulling her away from him. Realizing that she couldn't see, Rainbow wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at the pony who stopped her. Applejack hugged her tightly and whispered: “That was mighty brave of you Rainbow... But you need to calm down now Sugarcube.. Please..” Backing away from Aplejack, Rainbow Dash said: “I don't care if he dies. NOPONY messes with my friends!” Before she broke down any more, Rainbow took off into the sky to hide from the world. Heart aching for the cyan mare, Applejack walked over to Fluttershy and helped her up as an emergency team rounded the corner with a cart behind them. Carefully lifting the mess of a colt into the cart, the paramedics started a few checks to make sure he was still alive before taking off towards the hospital. “Oh.. Thank you for helping me up.. Was that Rainbow Dash just now?” Asked the yellow pegasus. “Yeah... it was.” Three days later and still no sign of Rainbow Dash. Her heart physically aching, Applejack spent most of the past three days on the barn roof looking for any sign of her hearts desire. As dusk started to settle in making it hard to see more than a hundred yards out, Applejack carefully made her way down the ladder leaning on the barn wall when she heard a loud “SMACK” from a ways away. Hurrying the rest of the way down, Applejack ran as fast as she could in the direction of the sound, wishing that it was her rainbow maned friend, but at the same time hoping not, knowing that if it was Rainbow that made that sound, she would be in a lot of pain or worse, dead. After about five minutes of running, Applejack noticed one of her favorite apple trees split in half. Praying that nopony was hurt, she ran over to the tree to see a long deep gash in the ground a small ways away from it. At the end of the miniature gorge was a small blue ball of feathers with a rainbow colored stripe across it. Slowly walking over, she realized it was Rainbow all curled up in a ball to block as much pain as she possibly could. Nudging her softly, Applejack tried to get a response from the cyan mare, praying to Celestia that she was still alive. Seeing Rainbow's side slowly heave up and down, Applejack relaxed, knowing her best friend was still alive. Laying close by the pegasus, Applejack thought to herself: “If Rainbow makes it through this.. Ah think Ah'm gonna tell her that I love her. Ah can't stand seeing her hurt like this, and even if she hates me for a while after, I believe she is a loyal friend who will at least stay my friend no matter what.” Laying her head on her forehooves, Applejack relaxed, making sure the mare she loved will be alright. Secretly wishing Rainbow loves her as much in return, she silently vowed: “No matter what, from this day on, Ah will do mah best to support and protect you Rainbow Dash..... Mah love.” No matter what your true feelings are, once you know them you should tell anypony that matters about it. If they are true friends, they will stay. If not they will go, and eventually you will realize you are better off without them. Secrets never bear fruit. Always go for broke, and you will be surprised at how many times you come out a success. (Sorry if this chapter seemed a bit... undescriptive. i was very tired when i wrote this, and i was VERY distracted. please bear with me and i promise the next chapter will be better)
Chapter 4: The Welcome PartyChapter 4: The Welcome Party When Applejack learned that the Apple family was to prepare the food for the Summer Sun Celebration, she was so happy she jumped up and yelled for everypony to hear her excitement. On the flip side however, when Rainbow learned she was to clear the skies for the Princess, she groaned and slumped onto the warm, hard-packed dirt. Laughing at her friend, Applejack picked her up and smiled. “Don't be so down, Rainbow. Y'all are always welcome to come help me when ya finish.” “But I was going to practice my flying some more today!” “Whine all ya want, but if the Princess sees that you didn't keep the skies clear like she said, who knows what she'll do?” “W-whaddaya mean?” Chuckling, the orange mare shook her head. “Ah'm just teasin' ya silly filly.” “Silly filly huh? I'll show you silly filly when I clear those skies in ten seconds flat!” “Oh yeah? Well how about ya prove it by clearin' the sky here first.” “Fine!” Taking off, Rainbow flew as fast as she could to the outer edges of the farm, then circled the entire perimeter, herding all of the stray clouds into one big mess of evaporated water and dived through the center, getting soaked in the process. Laughing in exhilaration, the cyan pegasus landed by Applejack, she said smugly: “Ten. Seconds. Fl-” Applejack tackled the soaked mare to the hard, dusty earth beneath them. “Hey! What gives!” “Ah jus' felt like it.” Rainbow looked up at Applejack, loving the feeling of being forced to submission by Applejack but hating it in the same moment. Looking into her eyes however, she felt a deep happiness as she saw the burning desire in Applejack's eyes. At least that's what it seemed like to the cyan pegasus anyway... It didn't last long enough for her however, because Applejack grinned and let Rainbow get up to shake off the wet dirt. Applejack loved randomly tackling Rainbow because she just never learns to pay attention. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but Applejack was thinking that Rainbow might be enjoying it. She knew SHE was loving it anyways.... Both shaking their heads at the same time to clear the same thoughts, the mares just laughed it off as if it was just another friendly jab at the other. Suddenly remembering what her job was, Applejack gasped and ran off yelling: “Ah still need to finish buckin' mah apples! Rainbow, go to town and clear the skies for the celebration!” Shocked for a second, Rainbow took off towards town before remembering who she was: Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in all of Equestria. She didn't need to hurry, she could take as long as she wanted to get there and still have time to spare..... Until she remembered that she still wanted time to practice for the Wonderbolts as well. Speeding off towards Ponyville, she reached town within minutes and was still going to fast to avoid a certain purple pony. After laying in a heap for a few seconds to catch her breath and organize her thoughts, Rainbow stood up and looked back at the new pony, realizing they had landed in a nice, big mud puddle. “Hehehe.. Uh? 'Scuse me? Hahahe.” Grumbling to herself quietly, the purple unicorn looked up at Rainbow seeming annoyed. “Hahaha! Lemme help you.” Flying away for a second, she came hurrying back with a waterlogged cloud. Positioning it over the unicorn, Rainbow proceeded to jump on it until all of the water had dumped onto the newcomer leaving her drenched, but mud free. “Hehehe!! Oops! I guess I overdid it. Um.. Uh.. How about this?” Flying around the stranger in a tight, multicolored circle, Rainbow said, “My very own patented Rain Blow Dry! Nono, don't thank me, your quite welcome.” Pausing to look at the result of her work, Rainbow noticed that the unicorns once-straight hair was now large and poofy, almost like Pinkie Pie's hair is usually styled. Busting up laughing, Rainbow fell on her back with tears streaming out of her eyes. A second later, the unicorns companion, a small purple and green dragon, did the same, laughing just as hard as her. Sighing, the victim of the accident said, “Lemme guess. Your Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow immediately stopped laughing at the mention of her name. “Theee one and only! Why? Ya heard of me?” At the last bit of her talking, Rainbow started hovering and got into the newcomers face. Cringing back a bit, the purple mare said: “I Heard your supposed to be keeping the sky clear.” Taking a moment to sigh, She said, “I'm Twilight Sparkle, and the Princess sent me to check on the weather.” From up on the cloud she used to drench Twilight, Rainbow seemed to be relaxing as she said: Yeah yeah, that'll be a snap. I'll have it done in a jiffy, just as soon as I'm done practicing.” “Practicing for what?” Pointing at a poster on a nearby wall, she exclaimed: “The Wonderbolts! They're gonna perform at the celebration tomorrow, and I'm gonna show 'em my stuff.” “The Wonderbolts?” Twilight asked slyly. “Yup!” “The most talented flyer's in aallll of Equestria?” “That's them!” “Pfft! Please, They'd never accept a pegasus who couldn't even keep the skies clear for one measly day!” Sitting up on her cloud, Rainbow seemed annoyed as she gestured to the sky around her. “HEY! I could clear the sky in ten seconds flat.” “Prove it.” Rearing back for a second, Rainbow took off and zoomed across the sky, kicking some clouds and flying straight through others. The entire time, Rainbow and her companion stared in open-mouthed awe as rainbow held her word. Landing on the bridge right by where twilight was standing, she smugly said: “What'd I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat. I'd never leave Ponyville hangin'. Haha! You should see the look on your face.” Twilights eyes were huge as her mouth seemed to have lost all muscle tension. “Haha! Your a laugh Twilight Sparkle! I can't wait to hang out some more!” Doing a flip and flying off, Rainbow heard the small dragon say: “Woowww... She's amazing!” As Applejack was nearing the end of her chore of bucking apples, she noticed only one tree left. Running towards it eagerly, she yelled, “Yeehaw!” as she spun around and bucked the tree just hard enough to send all of the large, juicy apples down into the baskets below. Standing there for a second looking pleased, Applejack heard a voice behind her. “Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” Spinning around and grabbing the newcomers hoof in both of her forehooves, she vigorously shook it up and down. “Well howdy do miss Twilight! A pleasure to meet your acquaintance! I'm Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do love makin' new friends.” The assaulted mare seemed shocked that somepony would shake her like that as she blurted: “Frie-e-e-ends?? Actually-y-y-y I uh..” Letting go of Twilights hoof, Applejack stood back. “So, What can Ah do ya for?” Applejack winked. Seeing that Twilights leg was still shaking up and down of it's own accord due to Applejack's hoofshake, the little dragon grabbed her leg to stop it and chuckled as twilight glared at him. Clearing her throat, Twilight said: “Well, I am in fact here to supervise preparations for the summer Sun Celebration. And your in charge of the food?” “We sure as sugar are! Would ya care to sample some?” “Well, as long as it doesn't take TOO long.” Rushing away, Applejack rang a metal triangle and yelled: “SOUP'S ON EVERYPONY!” A small stampede of running ponies pushed Twilight and her dragon to a small outdoor table. “Now.” Applejack had popped up next to her. “Why don't Ah introduce ya to the Apple family?” “Ah hah, thanks, but I really need to hurry-” Silenced by a plate shoved in her face, Twilight sat still and listened as Applejack said: “This here's Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Galen, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Schooner, Apple Tart, Baked Apple, Apple Frioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp-” Sucking in a huge lungful of air, Applejack continued on to her closer family. “Big Macintosh, Applebloom aaaand!” Pausing to shove a green apple in Twilights mouth, Applejack pointed to a sleeping ancient green mare. “Granny. Smith. Up and at'm Granny Smith! We got guests.” Granny Smith woke up and looked around mumbling about soup being on and a little more as she walked towards the huge pile of food that had stacked up on the table as applejack introduced her whole family. Applejack smiled over at Twilight and set a hoof on her shoulder. “Well, I'd say your already part o' the family!” Spitting out her apple seemingly disgusted at the thought, Twilight said: “Ah haha.. Okay well! I can see the food situation is handled, so we'll be on our way.” She looked pleased with herself until Applebloom walked up to her with big watery eyes saying: “Aren'tcha gonna stay for brunch?” “Sorry.. But we have an awful lot to do.” Twilight heard a collective sound of disappointment from the Apple family. “.....Fine.” Immediately, everypony cheered. Later that evening, as Applejack was putting the finishing touches on her last apple Cupcake, Rainbow rushed into the room. “Applejack! Didja hear? There's a new pony in town named Twilight Sparkle! Shes super funny, ad Pinkie is throwing her a surprise party.. and I was uhmm.. I was wondering if you wanted to go... like, with me.” Blushing deeply, Rainbow looked away, trying to seem occupied cleaning but Applejack saw through it immediately. Trying to calm her racing heart, she said: “Of course Ah'll go with you Sugar. Why wouldn't Ah?” “Well, I dunno. Maybe you would think it's weird or something?” “....No, it isn't wierd. Ah would have asked you to go with me as well Rainbow.” “R-really?” “Yes'm. But it's well after noon, we had better hurry if we want to make it to Pinkies party early enough to surprise Twilight!” “Hehaha! Yeah your right!” Just on the outskirts of town, Rainbow stopped walking. Noticing a few seconds later, Applejack turned around to look at the pegasus. “Rainbow.... Are you okay?” “.....yeah. It's just.... I wanna tell you something AJ.” “You can tell me anything Rainbow. You know that.” “Yeah well.... okay. I think.. I think iluvyou...” She could have given Fluttershy a run for her money at how her voice died at the last second but Applejack understood it completely, but couldn't believe her ears. “uuh.. come agin?” Rainbow took a deep breath and looked AJ straight in the eyes and repeated herself. “i saaiiiiid, I think I love you.” Rainbow blushed and went slightly quieter towards the end of her statement as she held the orange mares gaze. Applejack, blushing deeply, smiled and took a step towards Rainbow. Whispering in the cyan pony's ear, she said, “Ya know... Ah never thought this here day would come.” Rainbow looked up into the deep green eyes and felt her heart start thumping harder than ever before. “W-what do ya mean AJ?” “Ah think Ah've been in love with you for a long time, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow, having just confessed her one hearts desire (besides the obvious one of joining the Wonderbolts) and finding out the one pony she loved had the same feelings for her, jumped up into the air screaming, “OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!!!!!” Applejack started chuckling at the sight as a tear slid down her orange cheek. Looking down at her hooves, she thought about what her family would say. Would they accept that the rainbow pony made her happy and welcome her into the family? Or would they call Applejack a fillyfooler and banish her from the Sweet Apple Acres? After a few minutes flying in circles, triangles and squares in her excitement, Rainbow started to calm down enough to notice that Applejack didn't seem as happy as she was. Landing next to her, the cyan mare nuzzled the orange pony's neck. “What's wrong Applejack? …..Aren't you happy?” Realizing she was making Rainbow worry, she put her smile back on and laughed. It was a genuine laughter, not forced like Rainbow was expecting. Applejack was truly happy at this moment, and worrying about what her family would say would have to wait till later. “It's nothing Sugarcube, Ah'm just curious about the future is all.” Rainbow just stood there looking into the green eyes of her partner until Applejack waved a hoof in front of her face. “Y'all alrigh' Rainbow?” Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Rainbow perked up and grinned at Applejack. “Soo... Now what? Are we marefriend and marefriend? Are we just gonna keep it a secret, or tell the group? What would Twilight say? Or Fluttershy? Pinkie probably wouldn't care, but I know Rarity would, but OHMYGOSH what about your family?! What about Applebloom? Would they accept us, or-” Applejack stuffed her hoof into the feathered pony's mouth to shut her up. “CALM DOWN Rainbow... Y'ur actin' like Pinkie Pie now. No matter what, Ah know my feelings for you, and if your tellin' me the truth, you feel the exact same as me. No matter what happens...” Applejack paused to sigh. “No matter what happens... Ah'm ready to take the consequences as long as it means Ah could be with you.” Unable to contain her happiness, Rainbow Dash grabbed Applejack in the closest hug she could muster as she whispered, “I swear on everything that I am, I will not let you down. I promise.” After a few minutes of holding each other in the closest hug the two had yet to share, they let go of the mare of their hearts and walked side by side to the welcoming surprise party for the unicorn Twilight Sparkle. If your heart is open to friendship, and anything it brings, you will find wonders appearing before your eyes. If you fall in love with your best friend, you may find that friend also in love with you. If you become a couple, make each other happy before anypony else. This concludes this story, but I hope to have all of my readers around still for the next one. Ideas anypony?
