The Bubbly Mare

3, 11
"Warm Breeze"

Applejack leaned against the fence looking at her farm house, towards the guest bedroom window. She had slept little and done no work that morning... Big Mac and Apple Bloom were out in the field for her. She would take the day off and she'd owe them both for this, though they'd go easy on her because she was family and it was an emergency.

Doctor Stable had left a bit ago. They nodded at each other as he passed. He looked professional on his way in -- determined and focused -- but on his way out he seemed more relaxed. He even smiled at her, nodding. That probably meant something good had happened.

She turned back to the field, looking off at Apple Bloom and Big Mac, seeming almost as distant as the clouds. She could barely hear their bucking, or maybe watching she was just imagining it. Her mind was elsewhere, she had to admit, but she knew the sounds of her farm by heart. The nearest living things were the cows, and they generally kept quiet and to themselves, save an occasional moo which she had not heard yet. All she could hear was the gentle breeze... and it felt nice. She felt hot for some reason, but it was helping. She also shook slightly... off and on, her left eye twitching whenever she finally felt herself relax.

Rainbow Dash... If she didn't know Rainbow as well as she did, she could have though she was just with her for reasons other than she was. It made sense; Rainbow could come and go as she pleased, and Applejack was stable, but Applejack knew her... and ad to admit she owed her a lot. Rainbow was with her all night, she got Doctor Stable in the morning, and she was out giving her side of the story for Derpy to her bosses in Cloudsdale as she stood there. It was nice to know she was a good pony, even if she could be a bit much at times. It was also nice to know when it really mattered Rainbow wasn't one to call up the tab... no pony there was, actually.

The farm pony thought of trotting down to her little sister, telling her to go off with her friends and play on this non-school day, but the dizziness and queasiness in her stomach reminded her that wasn't a good idea. If she saw some other pony in her state, stomach all in knots and weak in the hooves, she'd call that pony a wreck, so she stayed where she was... leaning against the fence post. She never did well without sleep, and couldn't help an unpleasant feeling in her stomach watching them, one that she couldn't look away for despite Granny Smith's telling her to stay in. Once Rainbow got back, though -- which could take anywhere from an hour or longer from her departure, which when exactly that had happened the farm pony could not remember -- she would take a rest, properly in her own bed. Apple Bloom would get a whole weekend off from chores for this; Big Mac a day or two on her. He needed it as much as any pony... they wouldn't call up the tab, but Applejack knew what she owed them for doing this.

She yawned. Soon it would happen... it was just a matter of when. She needed to know Derpy was going to be okay. Derpy always bounced back, but... Applejack played the conversation she had with Derpy again and again in her head, and what she had to admit to herself about the situation wasn't very pleasant. It was reality, though.

* * *

Contentment... for a while at least. No strain, no tension, no worry. Applejack liked that. This was natural.

A voice echoed from all around:

"Applejack... did you seriously fall asleep waiting for me?"

The farm pony pulled her head up and vision came back to her. She'd been resting against the fence post. She looked back at Rainbow Dash, who was descending from the treeline. Rainbow looked as tired as she felt.

"Guess Ah dosed off," Applejack said, with a yawn. "Prolly don't have good news... do ya?"

Rainbow's hooves touched the ground. She took in a breath, letting it out slowly while looking at Applejack... shaking her head. Applejack turned away.

"Figured as much."

Applejack felt Rainbow approach, standing beside her.

"I'm really sorry, Applejack."

In response, the farm pony just sighed. There was big a release of energy she couldn't describe, but she felt it. It was long anticipated, but left her feeling more sick than she already was.

"Ah know. Ya did the best yer best... right?"

"Hey!"

She looked to her right at Dash and took a breath.

"Ah don't mean it like that, jus'... Ah know Derpy's in the wrong here."

"Yeah. Like... a lot."

Again, the farm pony sighed, looking out into the field.

"Just... just don't tell her today, okay? For me? Wait a couple days 'til she gets on her hooves and stops pukin'?"

"Sure."

There was silence. It wasn't there for a long time, but it felt like it was.

"Rainbow, you know Ah can't just sit here and do this. It ain't right."

"You don't have to do anything... it's all on me."

Applejack looked to her right again.

"And you can just do it? Ah don't think Derpy'll understand."

Rainbow sighed, doing her best to look off and not appear as uncomfortable as she felt.

"I really don't have anything to lose with her, Applejack... I'm not friends with her like you are. She can hate me, if she wants. But... I know it's really going to hurt you."

"Guess it ain't fair for me to put you in this spot, is it?"

"It's my job."

"Well, ain't that cool. Or should Ah say 'cold.'"

"Look, I really don't want to... I don't think what she did was wrong, but it is."

"Ah'd have done the same."

"Me too. He'd have black eyes, a broken nose, and a fat lip by the time I left. Maybe even a few other bruises."

The two looked at each other... Applejack felt her lip quivering. Rainbow looked blurry.

Aww, hey..." Before she knew it, Applejack was in an embrace. The two hugged, tightly, the farmpony not holding back any tears.

"Rainbow, please... Ah don't-"

"Shhhh... It's okay, Applejack. I know. Really, Ido! It's totally okay. Just cry, let it out... I won't tell anypony."

They hugged each other, tighter, for a good while, while Applejack cried silently until she finally felt relief and they broke away. The farm pony could at least see her marefriend was smiling.

Dash giggled at Applejack under her hoof, reaching out and wiping her nose.

"Snot," she said. "It's cute and all, but I really don't like seeing you upset. You know that, right?"

Applejack exhaled, smiling.

"Yeah, Ah know. Got any ideas?"

"No. Do you?"

The farm pony sighed.

"No." She turned back to the field. "Tell me, what's Derpy like to work with? As a boss? Ah gotta think of somethin'."

"Oh, boy..." Applejack could see, out of the corner of her eye, Rainbow Dash putting a hoof to her head and scratching. "To be honest, AJ... I don't really like working with her."

"Doesn't surprise me. Can Ah ask why?"

Applejack looked back to see Rainbow Dash scrunching up her face. Before she knew it, the pegasus had jumped on to a neighboring fence post, and had all hooves together on it looking down at her.

"Well, for one, I have to watch out for her. Like, really carefully. She can't do everything most other Weather Ponies can. She's no good at paper work if you don't tell her exactly what to write and where to write it, in which case I'm better off just doing it myself, and she really can't, well... take a look at everything and decide what's best to do. I have to hold her hoof and guide her if it's one of those days. I don't put her in the factory anymore, either... last time I did that she left a helmet on the conveyor belt and it jammed the fog machine. The thing was down for almost a whole week! Before that she knocked over a bottle of ball lightening and had to go home."

"Ah kinda remember that. Last year... she could barely walk for a day and had to take a shower first thing. I'm surprised she wasn't fired for the machine, though."

"I just wrote her up. It was an honest mistake... it blended right in against a box it was next to, both were white, and no pony else saw it. Not even me."

"Guess you were written up that day, too, then, huh?"

"Yeah. It totally stunk."

"Well, then, ah can see why she wasn't fired." Applejack yawned. "Glad you're not happy to see her go, though. Come back down here and tell me, then, Rainbow... what can she do? Surely she can sweep the floor of some other factory."

Rainbow did as she was asked to, and started talking once again after she touched the ground and nuzzled against her mare friend.

"Well, she can press clouds together. She also drains them pretty well... though sometimes she causes accidental lightening discharges when she jumps too hard. She can cloud buck okay, she can shape them well enough, but she can't go in circles to shape them like most weather ponies can. She has to do it all by hoof, which can take way, way too long. She also can't compress the clouds enough to make hail, only rain, and she can't-"

Applejack pulled away.

"Okay, Ah get it, Rainbow. She can't do a whole lot."

Dash swallowed hard.

"She really can't... but she does what she can do, I guess, she does pretty well. The clouds she hoof-presses look kind of nice."

"Ah know when somepony's trying to make me look on the bright side of things." She chuckled. "Knock it off, Dash."

"Sorry, AJ... I'm trying."

"Well... there ain't much Ah can think of she can do. Tell me, she's at least a hard worker, isn't she?"

"Well, she doesn't take a break unless I tell her to. Even though she does work only -technically- full-time she's busy the whole time once I put her to task. I've never had to yell at her to keep on working if she's got something she can do. I guess she always wants to do something useful, because she comes up to me and asks a lot... which can get pretty annoying."

Applejack looked back at her mare friend, smiling.

"And she's still pretty strong, too, isn't she?"

"Yeah, I guess..."

"Maybe even stronger than you?"

Rainbow couldn't help snorting.

"Yeah, right... Applejack, she can't even open a jar by herself."

"That's a bit different. It takes two hooves, coordination. You'd be surprised by what Ah can remember from fillyhood."

Dash sighed. "Enlighten me sometime."

Applejack smiled back. "Will do."

There was a moment where both ponies froze for a moment, laughed, then went silent. The heat throughout Applejack's body had been replaced by warmth... and the warm breeze merely complimented it. She didn't feel anxious anymore, nor did she shake or twitch, and Dash's occasionally resting against her barrel was pleasant... though it didn't exactly solve the problem of what to do with Derpy, at least it felt nice. Applejack yawned, looking back at Rainbow... who looked at her.

That's how you knew when you found the perfect, pony... the two of you could just be quiet and enjoy each other's company. Never mind anything else... this moment to recharge was just what they both needed.

* * *

"Hey," Dash said, quietly, pulling away from the embrace. "Who's that?"

Looking where Rainbow Dash was pointing, Applejack focused beyond the two ponies down the road, towards the entrance. There was a pony, arctic blue with a light mane, coming up the hill with a saddle bag... too slight of build to be a stallion. She wore a uniform which made her look a mailmare, and she walked at a fairly brisk pace. When she got to the side of the road, on which Big Mac and Apple Bloom were working, she stopped and got their attention... they pointed up the hill, and up the hill she went.

"Well, whoever it is, she's coming our way."

Soon enough the mare made it up the path close enough to the fence to be heard.

"Who're you lookin' for?" Applejack asked, knowing already what was likely the answer. She stopped.

"Doctor Stable sent me!" the mare replied. "I need to deliver something to Derpy Hooves, privately and right away!"

"Well," Applejack broke away from Rainbow Dash, and began her approach. "She's in the guest bedroom, but she's real sick."

"I know!"

"Maybe you could give it to me, or my Granny, and we'll give it to her tomorrow?"

The mare smiled, but continued in a much firmer voice than before:

"She needs it today and I was told to give it to her directly. No pony else!"

"Well," Applejack looked back at Rainbow, who shrugged. "Just knock on the door... Granny gives you any trouble Ah'm right here watchin'. Ah'll make sure you get in."

"Thank you!"

The mare continued on her way.

Applejack looked back at Rainbow Dash.

"Strange. Normally Doctor Stable tells me if he's got a courier coming if anypony here is sick."

"Applejack, Derpy's not part of your family. She's entitled to a little privacy."

"Guess you're right," Applejack replied, watching the courier walk up to her door and knock. "It's hard to believe, Derpy's been a part of ma life almost far back as Ah can remember. Right after we lost ma and dad."

"That's a really long time."

"Yeah." Applejack watched Granny Smith open the door, heard the courier's voice, then saw her point behind herself. Granny smith looked outside, and Applejack waved, mouthing it's okay! Granny Smith narrowed her eyes, but opened the door and let the pony inside. "There, that wasn't so hard. Wonder what she's got for her?"

"Probably medicine."

"Yeah... hopefully it'll get her feeling better soon."

Applejack paused, feeling Rainbow Dash's eyes on her. She heard her breath take a sudden stop.

"Applejack?" the pegasus finally said.

The farm pony turned back.

"Yeah, Rainbow?"

She saw her Special Somepony was smiling.

"I just got a thought... about Derpy."

"Oh?" The farm pony's eyes went wide.

"A couple thoughts, actually."

"Enlighten me."

"I will." Rainbow put a hoof to the back of her head. "But can we, like, maybe sit down first?"

"Sure. Maybe a little Apple hospitality over lunch or brunch, or... whatever the heck time it is now."

"You seriously don't know?"

"No. Do you?"

"Kind of. It's early noon. I think."

Applejack motioned with her head.

"Well, let's head up to the house. Give you a cider and a sandwich fer these thoughts of yers. Deal?"

"You owe me a lot more than that already."

"Ah know, Ah know... Take you to bed tonight?"

"You would anyway."

The two began to walk uphill.

"Yeah... well, thanks for all your help, Rainbow. Even if these thoughts don't amount to a hill-o-beans."

Dash laughed.

"That's all I wanted to hear, Applejack."

"Good, good..."

The two continued their ascent up the hill. Applejack wasn't about to admit it to Dash, but part of her was hoping to overhear the conversation Derpy and the courier pony might be having in the guest bedroom... she'd excuse herself to the restroom to wash her hooves and maybe listen in in the hall if they weren't talking too quietly.

The couple made it to the door and it swung open to find the courier pony was just leaving.

"Efficient," Rainbow Dash said, holding the door for the exiting mare.

Drat, the farm pony thought, as she exited and trotted down the hill. "Thanks for a speedy delivery!"

"It was my pleasure!"

Applejack turned back. At least she had the meal to look forward to with Dash... and whatever Rainbow had to say to hopefully make things better. She doubted any ideas would work, as it was likely Rainbow was going to talk about getting Derpy a delivery pony's job, which she had already tried a year before. She just couldn't move fast enough... too bad Rainbow was too new as her boss to know these sort of things. Applejack also wasn't feeling very hungry, but that could change. So much could change, very fast, she had observed over the past few hours.