Only A Matter of Time

“Dash, Wait up!” Aaron shouted after her.

Rainbow Dash ignored Aarons call and continued to walk towards her beach chair. She wasn’t really mad or anything, but she didn’t like that Aaron had done that to her. She was all about giving a good trick, but she hated it whenever somebody tricked her, it made her feel slow for not seeing it coming.

“Dash, where are you going?” Aaron asked, running up to her as she reached her chair and sat in it.

“I’m staying here, so that you won’t spear me into the water like that again, Douche.”

Aaron laughed at the insult. He was relieved that she wasn’t mad enough to ignore him. He took a seat next to her on the sand and ruffled his damp hair for a while.

“You got to hand it to me though, that was a very good trick.”  He said as he chuckled at the thought of his actions.

“Whatever, just be aware that I’m planning something for you, and you won’t know when it’s coming.” Rainbow Replied as she rolled her eyes and looked at Aaron.

She honestly hated to admit it, but she sort of liked it when he pushed her into the water like that.  She felt a certain way when he wrapped his arms around her body and got close to him, like it cleared her mind from all the thoughts she had, even the ones from the strange dream.

“Oh I’m so scared; Rainbow Dash is planning something for me!” Aaron mocked as he did his best scared impression.

“Oh, shut up.” Rainbow replied as she jabbed him lightly in his ribs.

The two of them continued to talk as they sat next to each other underneath the sun. They talked for hours about what they did when they were small and still didn’t have a clue of the world around them. They talked about what they wanted to do in the future, what jobs they wished to have and where they want to live. Aaron starting talking about of all the places he’s seen back in his home town, While Rainbow Dash continued to listen to his stories.

“So, did your hometown have any lakes like this one?” She asked, just out of curiosity.

“Are you kidding me, where I lived there was a lake in almost every neighborhood you went in. The people would go fishing, boating or swimming in them. I loved going swimming in the lake. It made me relax after a long week’s worth of school and homework.” Aaron smiled as he recalled the memory of where he used to live.

His smile slowly disappeared though, the countless memories he had forgotten about his town slowly began flooding his mind, and a feeling of homesickness began to show on his face.

“I guess all this talk about home got you thinking didn’t it.” Rainbow said, looking at the facial expression on Aarons face.

“Yeah, I really miss those times. I wonder how my family’s doing. I hope their doing fine.” Aaron said as he looked up at the sun, which began to set over the Equestrian sky.

“I bet they are doing just fine.” Rainbow Dash added, trying to comfort her friend.

She looked at him for a bit longer and did something that caught him off guard. She got off her beach chair and walked next to him, wrapped her arms around him, and gave him a hug. To Aaron’s surprise, Rainbow Dash’s coat wasn’t wet anymore, and it was very warm. He felt a sense of comfort from her hug and he couldn’t help but return the hug.

“Thanks Dash, you have no idea how grateful I am to have a friend like you here.” He said

“Hey that’s what friends are for. Anyways, I have something else that might lighten up your mood, you want a drink?”

Aaron nodded his head and looked as Rainbow Dash went over to the cooler she had brought over and pull out two green bottles out.

“What is it?” He asked as he received one of the bottles from Rainbow Dash.

“It’s some of Applejacks homemade apple cider. I paid her extra for her to save me a few bottles of it so that I could drink some any time I would like. I just thought I’d bring some over for the occasion.” She replied as she popped open the bottle and began to drink the cider.

Aaron popped open the bottle as well; hissing at him as he threw the bottle cap next to him. He sniffed the liquid content within the green glass bottle. It had nice sour apple smell to it, mixed with a half strong smell of alcohol. He closed his eyes before finally taking his first swig of cider. He let the tangy solution sit in his mouth.

“So, what do you think? Is it good, or is it good?” Rainbow said as she smiled at Aaron.

“Wow, AJ made this?” He said as he finished his first swig.

It tasted just like a fresh ripped green apple picked right from the tree. The drink was so sweet he hardly noticed the alcohol in the beverage, but it didn’t overpower the alcohol. It was the best drink he had ever tried.

“Yes sir, she did. She’s been making this cider ever since she learned how to buck them off the trees. And the best thing is, she only uses the best of the best apples in the entire apple orchard.” She replied.

Aaron nodded in satisfaction. He took another swig of the cider, this time not even bothering to let it sit down before he swallowed it. He had to give that farm pony her props, she knew what she was doing. He might even ask her one day if she could make him a few bottles.

“So how do I get my hand s on a bottle of this amazing cider, huh Dash?” He asked her, taking yet another swig

“You have to ask her around cider season. She won’t do it if you ask her now; the apples she uses aren’t ready yet.”

Aaron frowned. “Oh, when’s cider season?”

“Next year. She starts making cider around October.”

“Ok, guess I got to wait.” He said as tipped the bottom of his bottle towards the sky.

“Don’t worry; I won’t mind giving you a few bottles here and there.” Rainbow Dash smiled as she too put her bottle up.

“Well, I’m all out of cider in this bottle, you up for round two, Aaron?” Rainbow added as she went for two more bottles inside the cooler.

“You bet I am.” Aaron said as he received the bottle from Rainbow Dash.

Aaron let out very large burp escape from the inside of his body and slammed another empty bottle of cider on the sand.  He tried to count the bottles of cider he had piled next to him but they all seemed to morph together, his vision blurring in and out and his head feeling dizzy. The only thing he could possibly think of was the fact that…

“I’m drunk, Dash. I am fucking (Hic) Drunk.” He laughed as he gave a hiccup midway in his sentence.

He looked at the sky, the sun was long gone and Luna’s moon was shinning way above their heads. The other three ponies had set up a small fire and were roasting snacks over it. Rainbow Dash and Aaron were only a few yards away from them, but far enough for the three not to hear anything stupid escaping their mouths.

“Yeah, I can tell. How many bottles of cider did you drink?” Rainbow asked.

She hadn’t drunk enough cider for her to be in Aaron’s level yet, even though she was considered a heavy drinker by her friends, but she did feel a little buzzed. She looked over at the pile of bottles next to Aaron and counted about four bottles, five including the one he had just finished.

“I (hic) think I drank about four bottles.” He said holding up three fingers in the air, showing it off to her.

She laughed a little to herself and began to walk over to the pile of bottles next to Aaron. She had to admit, she has never had a great time at the pond like this with any of her friends. Aaron was basically the only person she knew that wasn’t afraid to be himself around her and talk to her about virtually anything. He shared a lot of things in common with her; they both loved flying, competitive sports and were loyal towards family and friends.  She picked each bottle up and placed it in a bag she had brought over for trash. They each made a clink sound as they piled up in the bag.

“Ooh, that sounds very (hic) pretty.” Aaron said as he reached over for the bag.

Rainbow looked at Aaron as he took the bag gently from her and slowly shook the bag. He began singing a very drunk version of some classical song.  He would pause and shake the bag every two beats, a huge stupid smile stretching across his face each time he did it. She honestly couldn’t stop herself from laughing as he somehow managed to dance around her, shake the bag and not topple over like a ragdoll.

“Woo, do I feel great!” He yelled as he stopped his dance and fell on his back, letting the bag go and land on the soft sand with the sound of glass shifting inside it. He began to pass his arms and legs over the sand, making a sand angel.

“Aaron, you’re ultimately the most stupid drunk person I have ever met, even worse than Pink…” Rainbow said as she suddenly stopped in mid sentence and a face of worry slowly morphed in place of her smile.

The mere mention of Pinkie Pie’s name brought back the horrid memories of her dream, the dream she still no idea why they kept coming back.

“Who the hell (Hic) is Pink? Why don’t ever show me to your friends, Dash? Am I not awesome enough for them?” He said, hiccupping and slurring his words, lying down in front of her on the sand.

“No, I meant Pinkie Pie, sorry.” Rainbow Dash said as she took the bag from his hands and placed it back in her cooler.

Rainbow looked over to Applejack, Rarity and Twilight who had long finished eating their roasted snacks and were now making their way over to her and Aaron.

“Well girls, I have to admit I enjoyed this time we had together today at the pond.” Twilight sighed in happiness as she reached Rainbow Dash; she had no idea that Aaron was on the floor drunk as hell.

“Yes indeed, it was so great to finally relax from making dresses all day.” Rarity agreed along with Twilight.

“I agree, I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a rest at the pond after working the apple fields. Sure did feel nice!” Apple Jack followed behind Rarity

“Well it’s getting late; I better get going back home, I bet Spike’s already in bed by now, See you girls later!” Twilight said as she said her goodbyes and began to walk back to her home.

“Same here; I reckon Granny Smith is worried sick that I haven’t gone home yet. You should come too Rarity.” Applejack sighed in exhaustion.

“Quite so, see you later Rainbow.” Rarity said as she turned tail and began following Applejack towards their home.

“OK, see you all later.” Rainbow Shouted back as she watched her friends disappear into the darkness of the night.

“Wait, where did (hic) everybody go?” Aaron asked as he slowly sat up.

“They went home, it’s getting late and they have things to do tomorrow.” Rainbow responded as she walked over to him.

“Oh…I guess your (Hic) going to leave too, huh” He said as he looked at Rainbow Dashes face.

“And leave your drunk self here?  That wouldn’t make me much of a good friend now would it?” She smiled at him as she helped him get onto his feet.

He tried to stand straight up, but his body had other plans. Instead of staying standing, he fell over Rainbow’s back. He couldn’t help but laugh as he tried to stand back up, only to fail every time.

“I Bet I look (Hic) Stupid right now.” He said in between his hiccupping and laughing.

“A little, yes.” She laughed.

“Yeah well, we both know it’s the drink.”  He said as he finally managed to stand on his own two feet.

He took a good look at Rainbow Dash’s face and he suddenly remembered the scene he saw when they were both underwater. He looked into the Purple Iris’s that seemed to glow on Rainbow’s face and he felt almost connected to them, although at first, he thought it was just the drink messing with his mind. He remembered how her mane and tail floated swiftly in the water current, how it looked like a rainbow fireball underwater and how much he actually liked how it looked messy like that. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to let her know what he felt for her but he didn’t know what she would think. After all, if he asked her, it would seem a hundred times more awkward because he was human and she was not.

“Fuck it… Rainbow Dash I want to tell you something (Hic).”  He said.