Explaining

Rainbow Dash tiredly rubbed her eyes as she rose from her bed. She dragged her hands down her face, coming to a gentle stop upon her lips. It had been three days since the incident with Macintosh, and the swelling had gone down immensely. A cut remained, and some slight bruising, but that could be easily passed off as the result of an accident that occurred from her trying to help on the farm. There was no way she would tell her dad what actually happened, lest he forbid her from visiting again.

He wasn’t the only one that would want some explaining done when she showed her face. Both her and Applejack had stayed secluded on the farm while they healed up, no parties or tours. The most interaction that they had were some texts here and there from both Rarity and Fluttershy, as well as the daily party invitations from Pinkie. They didn’t like hiding things from their friends for so long, but the topic of how they were beat up by Big Mac for being lesbians wasn’t one they looked forward to telling.

Rainbow took a deep breath and sighed as she looked at the clock mounted on the wall. She wouldn’t be able to avoid the conversation for much longer. She was going home and she had no doubt in her mind that all of her Ponyville friends would see her off. Sure, she could brush off the questions about her wounds if it were her alone, but they were sure to notice Applejacks dual black eyes.

Rainbow sighed again. Applejack had been the one who got it worst. While she walked away with a busted lip and some bruises, Applejack almost suffered a broken nose and facial swelling. Not only that, but her chores on the farm pretty much doubled overnight. But, worst of all, she had lost one of the most important things to her, a family member. When it came to the Apples, family was a huge thing. This went double for Applejack after she lost her parents when Applebloom was a baby. There was a knock on the door to the room.

“Come in.” Rainbow said, not bothering to see who was there, she didn’t need to.

Applejack pushed the door open and gave the look a quick glance. It was empty again, all of Rainbows stuff was packed and it felt… she wasn’t sure, sad? It just felt like something major was going to be missing now. “You all packed and ready?” she asked. It was a question that she didn’t need an answer to, she already knew.

“Yea.” Rainbow said simply as she grabbed her bag and began to make her exit. The hallway felt longer, and the stairs higher, than what she had experienced every day since she’d arrived. She was also pretty sure that her walking speed was that of a snail now. A glance to her side showed she wasn’t the only one suffering from these symptoms, as Applejack stood right by her side. There was something about that fact that comforted her and put that small murmur she felt in her heart to rest.

“Bring Scootaloo next time!” Applebloom all but yelled as she gave Rainbow a hug goodbye.

Granny Smith followed suit. “Yes, and please come again soon. You’re family now.”

Rainbow nodded her head. She wasn’t sure what to say in this situation. Would she be able to come back? She definitely wanted to, that’s for sure.

She would have followed this train of thought had it not been for the hand that clasped itself around her own. She looked to see a smiling Applejack give her a knowing smile.

“It’ll be fine.” Aj said calmly, there was a confidence in the way she said it that put Rainbow at ease.

Rainbow grabbed her bag and strapped it to the back of her bike,rolling the thing by hand as the two walked down the path that led out of the farm and into the town.

“So,any idea what you’re gonna tell the girls?”she asked, not forgetting the next obstacle she’d be facing.

Applejack shrugged her shoulders. “The truth, why lie?” she said nonchalantly.

“Well...not everyone is going to be as accepting as granny Smith. We’ve seen that already.” she said as she absentmindedly put a finger to her damaged lip.

“Yes, but these are our friends we’re talking about here.D’you think they’d do anything but want to celebrate for us?” Applejack answered with a smile.

Rainbow Dash took a second to think about that. How exactly did she expect each of her friends to respond to the news? Well, Rarity would want to make them matching dresses or some sort of couples clothing. Fluttershy? She’d probably just blush and congratulate them. Then there was Pinkie Pie. She’d probably try to hold up Dashs’ departure in order to throw a congratulatory party for them.

“Yea, you’re right. I don’t know what I was so worried about.” Dash said, a large bit of the anxiety she had been feeling this whole time now lifted itself off of her.

“Now c’mon, we can’t keep someone like Pinkie Pie waitin’, can we?” Applejack said as she quickened her pace a bit. Rainbow did the same, their friends were waiting after all.

Turns out, Rainbow wasn’t too far off with her predictions. Rarity did offer to make them some couples clothes, which they tried to refuse as best they could but in the end she got them to agree to at least let her make them a set of matching shirts.

Fluttershy did as expected, blushing a deep red and congratulating them.

The surprising thing was Pinkie, who was willing to wait for Rainbow Dash to visit again before she threw any type of party.

Then came the moment that the two young women were trying to avoid.

“Now Applejack, dear,” Rarity said “care to explain where you got those horrible bruises from?”

All eyes were now on the farm girl, yet she was focused on one set of pink eyes that were filled with guilt and sorrow.

Applejack swallowed. “It’s nothing. I’ll tell you girls later. Deal?” she said. Rarity and Pinkie gave her a look that said ‘What aren’t you telling us?’ but they seemed to drop it for the moment.

One by one the girls lined up to say their goodbyes to Rainbow Dash. Pinkie promised to throw her “the most super-de-duper party that her brain will ever be able to handle.” Rarity said to visit soon so she could give her the shirt she was planning to make for them. Fluttershy gave her a simple goodbye, and Rainbow promised to come see her animals next time.

Lastly was Applejack. “You promise to come back again soon, right?” she asked. Her eyes were more watery than usual.

Rainbow opened her arms to offer a hug. “I promise to come back as fast as I can. This...Ponyville feels like home to me again. It feels right here.” she said, arms still open.

Applejack looked down at Rainbows open gesture and shook her head. The other three girls looked on as Applejack pulled Rainbow Dash into a kiss right in front of them. It didn’t take long for Dash to accept the sudden kiss, and she relished it, noting how Applejack had a taste similar to that of cinnamon.

Aj was the one to break the kiss. “Go on then, ride home to daddy.” she said with a wink.

The girls watched as Rainbow kicked her motorcycle into gear and began blazing her way down the path that led to the nearest highway.

Applejack walked up the path that led to her families home. She smiled as she watched her little sister run to her from the front porch. She loved that little girl so much. The smile soon turned to a frown though, as she saw the look of panic on the girls face.

“Applejack, hurry!” Applebloom shouted to her sister when she finally got to her.

“Applebloom, what’s wrong?” she asked frantically.

“It’s granny! She hurt herself on the field!” Applebloom responded and that was all Applejack needed as she took off to the fields that were supposed to be her responsibility.

‘No, not again.’ was the one thought that echoed throughout her mind.

Author's Note

Boom, another chapter down! Hope you all enjoyed it!

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