Revelational Contest
The summer sun was out in full over the yard of Sweet Apple Acres, a quick breeze all that was between the two ponies occupying it and an otherwise stifling heat. Rainbow Dash stared across the wooden picnic table at Applejack, her purple eyes narrowing under the multi-coloured peak of her forelock. The breeze teased the ends of both mare’s manes and tried to make Rainbow’s notebook flip over. She set her hoof down on it.
“Alright,” she said, her voice a growl. “You’re on.”
“An’ remember the rules!” Applejack chided, adjusting her trademark Stetson. “I don’t want any funny business like last time!”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. No talking, yelling, gasping or whining of any kind. And anyway, it’s not like it’s my fault I sat on that cactus! You should tell Caramel to stop growing those things into weird shapes that look comfortable. Thanks for the warning, by the way.” Rainbow added, sarcastically.
“An’ what, exactly, was I supposed to do? It was a quiet competition!”
“Pfft. Oh, and I still can’t believe you tried to get Twilight to call that one in your favour!”
“For the love a’… I ain’t gettin’ into that again. You ready?”
“When am I not?” Rainbow replied, arrogantly flicking her mane and giving Applejack a smug smile.
“Right then…” the orange mare said, grinning deviously. “Onetwothreego!”
Rainbow opened her mouth to complain at the sudden start, but quickly shut it again, opting for a disgruntled glare at her friend. The farm pony just stuck her tongue out, still grinning, before turning to the small bag of apples sat next to her. She began pulling them out one by one, dropping them into a small basket after a brief inspection.
The pegasus, for her own part, went back to her books. Normally, she wouldn’t be doing anything near so egg-headed, but she wanted to check she had all the right flying terms for the upcoming flight theory test at the Wonderbolt Academy. It was all basic stuff that she knew she knew, but she’d come too far now to be caught out by putting down “Split-S” when she meant “Immelman”.
She’d have much preferred doing this somewhere up in the clouds, but it was far too windy up there today to do anything involving paper. As it was, the breeze down here kept trying to flip over the pages of her books, making what should have been a simple look-up task take twice as long. Not to mention it was playing havoc with her note taking, the paper flipping up and causing the quill to leave ink trails all over.
True, she could have gone somewhere else, like Twilight’s library, but there was always the chance a certain purple dragon could belch fire at any moment, ruining her hard work. If she’d gone to Pinkie’s, the two of them would have ended up playing games all day, goofing off instead of doing anything constructive. Fluttershy’s cottage was out of the way, but with all those animals around, something was bound to get in the way or spook her. She suppressed a shudder at the thought of eight hairy legs creeping up her back. As for Rarity’s place, all that pink gave her a headache if she stayed for too long, not to mention that the place just really wasn’t her scene.
That left Applejack’s farm. Of course, the earth pony had immediately taken the opportunity to call a rematch on their last game, a “who can keep quiet the longest” competition. Rainbow had been sure to win that one, and it would have been an uncontested win, too, if it hadn’t been for that stupid, couch-shaped cactus.
As time passed, Rainbow became more and more frustrated with the breeze blowing her books about, stamping her hoof down on the paper on several occasions to get it to sit down again. Her mood wasn’t helped by the occasional smirk she caught Applejack giving her. She scowled as the wind flipped the paper again. Nearly growling at it, she caught herself before she lost the game. Looking up, she saw the other mare was holding a hoof up to her mouth, clearly trying not to laugh. Rainbow shot her a warning look and, after a moment, Applejack got herself under control and buried her head back in her paperwork, blonde mane obscuring her face partially.
Disgruntled that she almost made herself lose, Rainbow got stuck into the last of her own work. After fighting with the pages for another ten minutes, she finally finished, closing the book with a thump that would have been more satisfying had she been able to sigh.
Looking around, Rainbow realised that, not for the first time in her life, her lack of planning ahead had left her in a less than desirable situation. With her studying done, and Applejack busy with some sort of boring paperwork, there was nothing left to do around Sweet Apple Acres. Normally, she’d say her farewells and head off to practice flying somewhere, or find a comfortable tree to nap in, but with the competition on between her and Applejack, she couldn’t leave the farm until one of them lost. Not that she was going to lose, anyway.
Rainbow craned her head to see what Applejack was doing, but couldn’t read any of the paperwork, what with it being upside down and mostly obscured by Applejack’s head, the orange mare’s forelegs holding down the paper as she used her mouth to manipulate the pen. As the pegasus cocked her head to one side, trying to make out the header of the page, Applejack suddenly looked up, pen in mouth and a semi-serious glare on her face, her piercing green eyes framed by white freckles.
Rainbow sheepishly sat back on her bench, idly kicking her forehooves in the dust under the table. Applejack went back to her paperwork, switching out the sheet she’d been working on with another one crammed full of small writing. Rainbow looked down at the trails she was making in the dirt, watching as they extended further and further under the table, getting farther and farther away from her, until her hoof hit something on the other side.
A sudden movement at the table made her look up at Applejack, who was really glaring at her this time. A sudden pain in her leg made her jump and look down again, an orange hoof just retreating out of view. Rainbow looked back up at her glaring friend and offered up an apologetic face, shrugging as she did so. The farmer just continued glaring for a few seconds before dropping her gaze to her paperwork again.
Rainbow cast her eyes around the farm, looking for something, anything to occupy her mind. Her eyes stopped on the table. Or, more accurately, what was on the table. Her notepad; mostly empty except for the first few pages. Rainbow’s mind came up with a plan.
She wanted to end the contest so she could leave in order to find something more fun to do, right? So the best way to win, was to make Applejack lose. All she needed was a suitable shock, but she would have to do it carefully, or she’d arouse suspicion. She didn’t want hurt her friend, so any more “accidental” kicks were out, but the pad on the other hoof… It was a bit of an egg-headed way to win, but if it allowed her to get out of here and find something fun, then no harm, no foul? Right?
Rainbow scooped the pad towards her with a wing and grabbed her quill in her mouth once more. Doing her best to keep the thing from blowing around, she wrote out:
What are you doing?
She then turned the pad around and pushed it towards Applejack. The earth pony was looking back and forth between two pieces of paper, studying them intently, concentration written all over her face. As she looked towards the paper on her right, Rainbow dropped the pad in front of the other pony. When Applejack looked back, the farmer’s face briefly screwed up in confusion when the expected writing wasn’t present, and in its stead was a small pad.
After a moment, the confusion went away and was replaced by a small measure of suspicion. Applejack looked back up at Rainbow, eyebrow raised, before picking up her own pen and quickly scrawling something down and pushing the pad back, going back to her papers.
What are you doing, and why are you asking?
Rainbow blinked. For some reason, she’d expected Applejack to write as she spoke. The script was by no means as flowing as something Twilight, Rarity or even Fluttershy might write, but it was neat and clean. She wasn’t exactly a paragon of hoof-writing herself, mouth-writing, whatever... But proper spelling? From Applejack? For whatever reason, it just didn’t gel.
Rainbow felt a small measure of guilt for thinking that. There was no reason Applejack should be illiterate, she’d gone to school like any other filly, after all. The pegasus pushed aside her slightly judgemental thoughts and wrote:
Bored.
She pushed the pad back, watching as Applejack rolled her eyes and scribbled her response, returning the pad. Rainbow noticed that Applejack’s pen was in fact, a pen, rather than a quill like her own. The metal of the body clicked against the farmer’s teeth slightly as she manipulated it.
You can just go, you know?
Rainbow shot a competitive glare at her friend and scrawled her reply quickly.
And forfit the game to you? No way!
Back to Applejack and another scribble. The pad returned.
“Forfeit”. So that’s why you kicked me?
Another scratching of the pen and battling with the breeze. Shove.
Whatever. No, that was an accident. And you didn’t answer my question.
Another raised eyebrow. A slight click of metal against teeth. Another scrape of paper on wood.
If you must know, the basket is for Twilight. She ordered it and is coming by to pick it up later. The papers are the farm’s expenses and taxes. I’m trying to get them organised ahead of next week’s collections.
Rainbow hadn’t even thought of that. She grabbed her quill once more.
Sounds boring. Haven’t you got anything better to do?
Applejack’s face deadpanned.
Sure, but I don’t fancy getting thrown in prison for tax evasion. Now hurry up and lose the game, I’ve got apples to buck after this and I’m guessing you don’t want to get roped into that.
Rainbow scowled, her wings reflexively twitching against her sides. So farm-girl thought it was going to be that easy, did she? Boy, was she in for a surprise! Today, Applejack was going to learn that Rainbow Dash was not afraid of a little hard work, especially if it meant not losing a competition to her! Her quill scratched on paper again.
You think you’re going to win that easy? You’re not going to beat me by threatening me with a little applebucking! I’ll do the work and still beat you!
The pad once again found itself under Applejack’s scrutiny. A smirk lit up her face as she eyed up Rainbow, before writing her reply and passing it back.
We’ll see.
The cyan pegasus nearly growled at the arrogant reply, but caught herself. The farmer knew just how to push her buttons and was already using it to great effect.
She was very much going to enjoy making Applejack lose.
Folding her hooves in front of her, Rainbow huffed through her nose and waited as Applejack finished her taxes. After a few minutes, she stacked her papers together and stuffed them into her hat. She pointed at Rainbow with her hoof, then pointed at the ground.
Wait here.
Rainbow watched as the other mare disappeared into her house, re-emerged very shortly after, entered the large barn and came back out hitched to a cart. Some empty baskets were stacked inside, waiting to transfer the bounty grown in the orchards from the trees to the cart. Applejack signalled for the pegasus to follow.
Rainbow got up and moved towards her, but quickly looped back and picked up her pad and quill. She still hadn’t enacted her plan. Eyeing something on the table, she stopped. Next to the basket of apples was Applejack’s pen, clearly forgotten. It would certainly be more useful than a quill that needed constant dipping…
Sticking the quill under the basket so it wouldn’t blow away, Rainbow grabbed the pen and tucked both it and her pad under one of her wings. She broke into a trot to catch up with Applejack, who was already on her way into the orchards. The farmer looked over at her briefly as she drew alongside.
The pair walked in silence for a few minutes, the rows of trees passing by seemingly endlessly, the only audible noises that of the cart creaking, the birds, the wind in the trees and their own hooves clopping on the dirt paths.
Uncharacteristically, Rainbow took the time to plan her method of attack. She’d watched Applejack and her brother, Big Mac, working in the orchards together on the odd occasion the two had disturbed her by straying near whichever tree the pegasus had chosen to nap in that day. When they were working like that, she’d noticed the two used the cart they were filling as a sort of meeting point, exchanging brief snippets of conversation and notes on the state of the trees. This would be perfect for their own conversation in the notepad. Rainbow could start a seemingly innocent “conversation”, then, while Applejack was away filling her baskets, she could write something shocking enough to startle the farmer into making a noise, winning her the competition! If nothing else, that would get Miss “let’s not warn our friend about the cactus” back for the incident in Appleloosa.
Presently, Applejack stopped at a row of trees that was noticeably different from the others they’d been walking past, namely for the fact that they still had apples on their branches. The earth pony unhitched herself from the cart and walked around to the back, where she pulled the baskets out. She then handed four to Rainbow, who placed them on her back, before picking up one of her own and miming emptying it into the cart. She pointed at the pegasus and then the row of trees to the right of the cart.
Rainbow nodded and dropped the pad and pen into the cart, then headed over to the first tree as Applejack did the same on the other side of the cart. She placed the baskets around the base of the tree in the same way she’d seen the farmer do on many occasions. Turning away from the tree, Rainbow tensed, kicked, and was rewarded with the sound of hooves clapping on wood, followed by the rumbling of apples landing in wicker and piling up. Almost immediately, she heard the same noise from the other side of the cart.
Turning back around, Rainbow saw, with no small measure of satisfaction, all of the tree’s apples piled in the baskets. It always amazed her how the apples fell perfectly into the baskets, never missing. If she didn’t know better, she’d suspect the Apple family of using magic or something. Discarding that thought, Rainbow hooked a wing each under two of the baskets, grabbed a third in her mouth, wrapped her tail around the fourth… and nearly face-planted, the weight of the baskets on her wings almost pivoting her into the ground.
Applying more force, she just managed to lift all four in the air and staggered back to the cart, barely staying on her hooves. Applejack was already at the cart unloading a basket, the apples rolling away towards the front. When she caught sight of Rainbow laden down with all four baskets, she clapped a hoof over her mouth, desperately trying not to laugh. Rainbow just glared at her and began to place the baskets on the end of the cart, watching as her orange friend reached behind the baskets and pulled something over to herself. She leaned over the object for a moment, before dropping back to the ground and shoving whatever it was towards Rainbow, who looked at it in turn. It was the pad. And Applejack had written something on it.
You don’t have to carry all the baskets at once, you know.
She eyed the other mare as she walked back to her other baskets. Of course she’d wait until now to tell her that. Rainbow tipped her baskets out, then grabbed the pen in her mouth, immediately spitting it back out. Blech! Metal tasted awful! She wished she’d taste-tested the pen now, before bringing it out. Constant ink dipping was preferable to the horrible, blood-like taste left behind by the pen. Steeling herself against the taste, she once again picked up the pen and began to write her reply.
Now you tell me. How do you stand the taist of this pen? It’s nasty!
With that, Rainbow spat out the pen once more, picked up her baskets and headed to the next tree. Repeating her setup from the first tree, she soon had all four baskets filled again and made her way back to the cart, though only carrying two baskets this time; one in her mouth and her tail holding the other aloft.
When she got there, Applejack was already walking away. The pegasus set her baskets down and looked over the pad as she emptied them.
I stand it a lot better when it isn’t covered in your spit, Rainbow Dash. Clean my pen off if you’re going to use it. Also, it’s “taste”.
Heh, whoops. Used to handling only her own writing implements, Rainbow had forgotten the unspoken rule of pen sharing between earth ponies and pegasi; to clean said implement between each use. Manipulation required use of the tongue, which brought its own messiness to the whole equation. Getting a mouthful of another’s spit wasn’t pleasant. Might as well apologise.
Sorry, I didn’t think. And no it isn’t.
Taking the time to wipe the pen with her lips, Rainbow set it down and took her empty baskets back, returning with the other pair. Applejack was stood writing upon her return, this time. Rainbow emptied the baskets as she waited for her friend to finish writing. She immediately looked at the pad as the orange mare returned to the row of trees.
Just make sure it doesn’t happen again. Yes it is. Look it up, or ask Twilight. Girl’s practically a walking dictionary, anyway.
That wasn’t right, Rainbow was sure of it! How could it be “taste”? That just didn’t look right. She jotted down her reply.
Wanna bet? That doesn’t look right. Twenty bits say Twilight says I’m right.
Dropping the pen again, the cyan mare grabbed her baskets and flew to the next tree, grabbing the other empty pair on the way there. Another placement, another kick, another four baskets full of juicy fruit. As she returned with the first pair of baskets, she saw Applejack was waiting for her, pad held in her mouth. Rainbow peered at it. Only two new words had been written.
You’re on.
The earth pony stuck her hoof out. After a moment, in which Rainbow set her baskets down, the pegasus grasped it and the two shook. If Applejack wanted to waste her money, that was on her. Rainbow was confident she would win this bet.
The pair continued in metaphorical silence for awhile. Neither wrote any notes during their trips to the cart, the two of them drifting farther apart down their respective rows, the wooden “thocks” and rumble of apples tumbling taking longer and longer to ring out across the orchard.
After a while, Rainbow began to feel the work taking its toll; her mouth was starting to get dry and the heat plus the exercise was making her sweat. Stopping to stretch her back, neck and wings, she realised she’d reached the end of her row. Grabbing her first pair of baskets, she made her way back to the cart. Once there, she could see Applejack also preparing for the last buck of her row in the distance.
Realising that she still hadn’t made Applejack lose yet, Rainbow decided to take action. She swept up the pad and pen. First, an innocent enquiry.
Getting thirsty. Anything to drink around here?
Leaving her baskets next to the cart, she took her time flying back to fetch the other pair. She returned just as Applejack arrived back at the cart herself. The two of them emptied their baskets together, the now familiar rumble of apples filling their ears. Rainbow judged the cart to be about half-full; another row and they’d have to head back. She noticed Applejack scribbling on the pad.
There’s a well three rows down on the right. Get yourself a drink, then help me out with the next row of trees.
The farmer grabbed her baskets and moved onto the row. Rainbow grabbed the pen. It was now or never, and she’d just come up with the perfect idea. Applejack would never see this coming.
Thanks. Say, you wanna go out sometime?
Quickly putting the pen back down, the pegasus hopped into the air and sped off to find her drink. She almost cackled to herself as she flew, but remembered to hold it in. There was no way Applejack would be able to keep any sort of exclamation from escaping when she read that! No way at all!
Landing next to the well, she pushed the empty bucket from the edge, allowing it to dangle from its rope. Grabbing the crank with her forehooves, she spaced out her hind legs for balance. Keeping her ears trained back in the direction of the cart, she began to turn the handle, listening for the inevitable sound of Applejack’s shock over the squeaking of the crank.
By the time Rainbow had gotten the bucket down to the water and back again, there had been no noise. Odd. Maybe Applejack was sat under a tree taking a break and hadn’t seen the pad yet? Yeah, that must be it. Rainbow proceeded to take her drink, grabbing the ladle hanging from the well’s cover and taking a few mouthfuls from the bucket with it. Once done, she splashed some water on her face, then tipped the bucket’s contents onto the ground.
Still nothing. For crying out loud! She must have seen it by now! Irritated, the pegasus started trotting back the cart. Upon her approach, she saw Applejack was already a few trees down her side of the row, peering up at the branches, presumably inspecting their fruit. Rounding the rear of the cart, Rainbow picked up her baskets and glanced at the pad. Perhaps the farmer had simply been too busy to… oh.
Rainbow’s wings popped open in surprise.
What.
No, really… What?
Added to the pad’s already impressive amount of writing was one simple word. Just one.
Sure.
Rainbow Dash was frozen in place and Rainbow Dash was never frozen in place. Rainbow Dash was action, she was motion, flexibility and grace. Rainbow Dash was never lost for words and she most certainly was never stunned by anything. Even by the fact that her best friend was, apparently, gay and considered her attractive enough to date. No, Rainbow Dash was most certainly not taken aback by the suggestion that one single word offered up. Not at all.
Her offer had been meant as a joke, to get a reaction, to tease; it hadn’t been meant seriously. But Applejack thought- wait- but she- how- What?!
Rainbow Dash had completely misjudged her friend and was now facing the embarrassing, and likely hurtful, prospect of extricating herself from this situation. Once again, her lack of forethought had landed her in a heap, and now her friend was caught up in it, too. The only way out of this was to bite the bullet.
Sighing through her nose, Rainbow closed her wings again and scooped the pen into her mouth.
AJ, I wasn’t being serious, I was just trying to get a reaction. I actually didn’t know you swung that way. Sorry.
Looking over in the farmer’s direction, Rainbow saw she was on her way back, so quickly scooped up her baskets and head over to her side of the tree row. She placed the baskets down and bucked the tree, watching Applejack as the earth pony emptied her own load of apples into the cart. When she caught sight of the pad, she gave Rainbow an odd sidelong glance, then wrote something down.
Swallowing hard, Rainbow picked up two of her baskets and walked back over to the cart. As she emptied them, she read the pad’s new contents.
Seriously, Rainbow? That was how you planned to win? You’re going to have to try harder than that to get a rise out of me. And really? What do you mean you didn’t know? In all the time you’ve known me, Rainbow Dash, when have you ever seen me with a stallion? You think I rejected Trenderhoof just because he was a weirdo?
Rainbow blinked. That particular escapade suddenly made even more sense than before. How had she not seen that before? It was so obvious, now that she thought about it. So that time a few weeks ago, she’d turned up at the farm and seen Blossomforth leaving, that… oh. That was… huh. Wow. Rainbow wondered if she’d been wearing blinkers that day. For the umpteenth time today, Applejack’s pen found its way into Rainbow’s mouth.
I never really thought about it. None of us have coltfriends, after all, though I think Rarity might be seeing somepony. I just didn’t realise you liked mares, I guess.
As an afterthought, the pegasus added:
Kinda flattered you said yes, though. Should I be worried? Haha.
Rainbow flew off to fetch her other pair of baskets. Maybe she’d gotten away with it. Applejack didn’t seem too ruffled, at least. But fancy that; Applejack liked mares. The pegasus snagged the full baskets waiting under the tree and headed back to the cart.
Rainbow was now thinking back on certain events with her friend, all the little touches, gestures and looks she’d given both her, and her other friends. Had the apple farmer been subtly hitting on them? Gauging their reactions? Or had that simply been friendship all along?
The pony in question was busy writing in the pad by the time Rainbow had made it back to the cart. As she set her baskets down, Applejack looked up at her with that odd look again, like she wasn’t sure of something; like Rainbow had uttered some nonsense she couldn’t quite understand.
As the orange mare went back to her work, Rainbow looked at the pad.
Well, now you know. Rarity’s seeing somepony? How do you know that? She never said anything to me. No, you don’t have to be worried. I think you’re cute and all, but I won’t push the issue if you’re not interested.
Rainbow Dash did not blush easily. But today, Rainbow Dash did exactly that. Nopony had ever called her “cute” before. Plenty of other things, some of which would probably send Rarity into a fit in polite company, but never “cute”. Cheeks burning, Rainbow rubbed one of her forelegs with the other. That was… kinda nice, actually. She shook her head suddenly. Oh, come on! Was that all it took to get Rainbow Dash to turn into mush? Applejack was another mare, for crying out loud!
Not that Rainbow was opposed to the idea. After all, she’d done… stuff when she was younger, like anypony else, but actually going out with another mare? That was a whole different ball game. That involved things like feelings. Feelings that Rainbow wasn’t sure she actually wanted to deal with just yet.
After emptying her baskets, Rainbow leant over the pad once more, pen in her mouth.
She didn’t say anything to me, either, but she’s got that glow about her. You know what I mean. Practically skipping everywhere she goes. I’m not really interested, no. Sorry AJ. I mean, I like you and all, but not like that, you know?
The breeze in the orchard gusted particularly strongly, blowing Rainbow’s multi-hued mane into her eyes. Brushing it away irritably, she saw the breeze had also flipped the pad. She took a second to find the right page, then weighted the pad down with the pen. She was was about to take off for her next tree, when something made her pick up the pen and add:
I think. I don’t know. I’m not… I don’t know how I feel.
What?! Why did she write that? She just told herself she wasn’t ready to deal with those kinds of feelings yet, but here was her mind betraying her thoughts on a piece of paper! If Applejack saw that, she’d never live it down! For the second time that day, Rainbow froze, and this proved to be the lynchpin for the following series of events.
Without warning, Applejack returned with a fresh load of apples. Rainbow realised she must have taken more time than she thought over reading Applejack’s note, and her own subsequent reply to it. Two pairs of eyes met. Magenta irises darted away from green ones, to the pad, and back. Green ones mirrored the action. Operating on instinct, Rainbow lunged for the pad so she could remove that last, damning line.
For most ponies, attempting to beat Rainbow Dash to anything, regardless of how close they were to it, was an impossible feat. Applejack, however, was not most ponies, and regularly competed with the athletic pegasus. She was also stood right next to the pad.
Sensing both that something was not right, and the potential for some friendly blackmail further down the line, the freckled mare simply swept her hat off her head and over the pad. A pair of blue hooves crashed down on it a second later. Thwarted, Rainbow Dash looked up at Applejack, her eyes pleading.
Please don’t do this.
Applejack almost relented. Almost. Instead, she tugged her hat from under Rainbow’s hooves, and caught the pad as it fell from the back of the cart. Holding the pad in one hoof, she turned and used one of her back hooves to fend off the struggling pegasus, simply pushing back with enough force to hold her in place. In her panic, Rainbow had forgotten she could simply fly over her and take it back.
After a second, the cyan mare’s struggles ceased. It was obviously too late now. Applejack had seen everything. She dropped back on all fours, staring at the ground dejectedly. She remained that way until she felt a hoof poke at her shoulder. Rainbow looked up to see Applejack looking back, her expression unreadable. Her friend simply pointed at her, then the pad, before emptying her baskets and walking off.
Rainbow just stared at the space her friend had occupied for a moment. That wasn’t quite the reaction she’d been expecting. She’d expected Applejack to laugh, or rib the hay out of her, not simply point and walk off. She wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad sign. Cautiously, she approached the pad and read the reply waiting for her.
It doesn’t sound like you’re not interested. It sounds like you are, and you’re confused as all get out. You take every opportunity you can get to hang out with me, you “joke” about asking me out, but act like you’re not interested when I accept and then you claim you don’t know how you feel. I’d say you should stop toying with other ponies feelings, Rainbow, but I know you better than that. Talk to me, sugarcube.
Rainbow’s back legs suddenly decided they’d rather be in a sitting position, and promptly dumped her backside on the ground. Her head swam, making her feel like she’d just collided with a thunderhead. She rubbed her temple with a hoof. This was not how she’d envisioned today going. All she’d wanted to do was get her homework done, then maybe catch a nap in a tree somewhere. Instead, she’d been battling with wind, roped into a rematch with Applejack, bucking apples and now she’d inadvertently implied she kinda, maybe, sorta fancied Applejack too. A bit.
Stomping her hoof back to the ground, Rainbow stood up again. To hay with it. It wasn’t like things could get any worse, and Applejack had said to talk to her, after all. And she was her friend, which had to count for something, right? She picked up the pen again.
Look, I don’t like to talk about it, but I did some stuff when I was younger. Stuff with mares. It was a long time ago, but the thing is, I still like stallions. I don’t know what to do, or what to think, and I’m a wreck whenever I try, so I just bury it. I like stallions, but I like mares. I think. But how can I like stallions if I still think of mares that way? I’m going in circles.
Rainbow looked at the pad. She knew it wasn’t perfect, but it was the best way she could express herself. What she wouldn’t give for an ounce of A. K. Yearling’s skill with words, right now. On impulse, she added:
Please don’t tell the others. This is already hard for me.
Finally picking up her empty baskets, she walked, rather than flew, over to the next tree waiting to be picked. She felt strangely calm but, at the same time, she could feel barely suppressed jitters roaming under her skin. The slightest push, the tiniest bit of stress, and Rainbow would be shaking like that time she’d accidentally flown through a snow cloud. Only this time, no amount of warm blankets and time spent by a fireplace was going to make them go away.
One buck and a rumble later, and she started back with two of the now full baskets. At the cart, she found Applejack stood over the back of it, clearly writing. Something about her posture told the pegasus she would be a few minutes, so after dumping the contents of her baskets, she simply turned and flew back for the other pair.
Rainbow’s mind raced unbidden with the possibilities of what Applejack could be writing. Ridicule? Condemnation? To tell her she was sick and needed help? No, come on. She knew Applejack better than that. There was no way she’d treat one of her friends like that. But still, that little irrational part of her mind refused to shut up, pecking away at her confidence.
By the time she returned to the cart, Rainbow was almost sure she was going to face some sort of accusation, or hostile reprimand, or… or something. Her rational mind fought valiantly against this, it was a stupid notion, after all. Applejack had already admitted to being gay, why would she condemn her friend for liking mares, too? Not that that mattered to the little voice of terror in her head, spewing forth its needles of fear.
Glancing around nervously, Rainbow realised that Applejack was nowhere to be found. She must be tending to her next tree. This was confirmed a moment later by a semi-distant “thock” from the farmer’s side of the row. Tipping her baskets into the cart, the Wonderbolt trainee swallowed her nervousness and looked at the pad. There was a lot of crossed out words, but in amongst all the ink, there was a reply.
Oh, is that all? Liking both mares and stallions isn’t any kind of big deal. Simply put: You’re bi, that’s all. Lots of ponies like both sides of the coin, if you get my meaning. It’s just who you are, sugarcube, ain’t nothing to worry about. I know a few ponies like you who went through the same thing you are, you’re not the first to feel this way, and you won’t be the last. Just don’t ever think you can’t talk to anypony about how you’re feeling. At the very least, I’m here to listen, regardless of whether we’re just friends or something more. If you are interested in that, after all.
Rainbow suddenly felt very small and vulnerable. Her wings reflexively tightened against her, and she realised her face felt wet. Raising a hoof to her eyes, she stared unbelieving at the damp fur on her leg, before her vision blurred and everything just became a mess of colour. She felt the tears roll down her cheeks, but she refused to acknowledge them. No, she would not cry! Not over this, not here, that was not cool! Cool ponies did not start bawling their eyes out on their friend’s farm, even if they had just left them a note that completely validated feelings they’d been struggling with for the past few years. Especially not then.
But Rainbow’s “cool” had fled, or at the very least, was not listening to her right at this moment. Her tears streamed down her face and her breath came in hitching, uneven intakes. Not quite sobs, but not far off, either. Resting her front legs on the cart, the crying pegasus buried her face in them, wanting only to hide both her tears and herself from the world. It didn’t matter that the tears were ones of relief, even in her distressed state, Rainbow wanted to try and maintain her persona as much as possible.
Was it really that simple? That she liked both stallions and mares, and had been torturing herself over this for years, all for nothing? It couldn’t be that easy, could it? Just a note of approval, a “you’re normal, nothing to worry about”, and it all went away? She guessed it must be, if Applejack said so, but… She’d had friends! Why hadn’t she talked about it before now?
Angry at herself, Rainbow thumped the cart with a hoof. Stupid! She knew the magic of friendship would have helped her, and she had ignored it! Not because she was afraid of how her friends would react, but because she didn’t want to face herself. Instead, she’d condemned herself to years of worry, stress and lying awake at night. Her friends were the Elements of Harmony, for sun’s sake, and she’d never sat down with anypony and just talked!
It was almost too much. Applejack’s almost off-the-cuff acceptance of her, combined with her own foolishness, left her incapable of anything but shedding more tears. She pressed her eyes harder into her crossed legs, trying to deny the tears by pressure alone, but they spilled nonetheless.
Suddenly, she felt a hoof on her shoulder. Her wings “poofed” open in surprise and she looked up. Only a blur presented itself to her vision, until she wiped her eyes. Applejack was stood next to her, looking at her with a deeply concerned expression. Rainbow’s own face crumpled upon seeing her friend’s worried look. Without thinking, she grabbed the earth pony and buried her face in the farmer’s shoulder. Loud sobs wracked her body as her final defences crumbled, clutching at the earth pony as if her life depended on it. Applejack just wrapped her hooves around her and sat down, holding the distraught pegasus as she vented several years of pent up stress.
Eventually, Rainbow calmed down and simply sat holding onto Applejack. Every time she breathed, she could smell her. The earth pony’s natural scent, the apple-scented shampoo she’d used in her mane that morning, the indefinable yet unmistakable smell of farm, hay and hard work. It was oddly calming, like a mother’s smell to her child. Rainbow found herself wishing she could stay like this forever, or at least do it more often.
Oh.
She guessed she did like Applejack after all.
When her breathing evened out once more, Rainbow sat up and glanced guiltily at the wet patch she’d left on Applejack’s shoulder and neck. Not cool.
“Sorry,” she sniffed, indicating the offending area.
“Don’t worry about it, I’ve had worse,” replied Applejack, waving it off. “Ya want ta tell me what that was all about, sugarcube?”
Rainbow sniffed again and wiped her face dry with a leg. She tried not to think about what Applejack defined as “worse”.
“I’ve just been so stupid,” she answered, looking at the ground. She raised her eyes to meet her friend’s. “I should’ve just talked to one of you, but instead I spent years scaring myself, wondering if I was some sort of freak. Nopony told me about this stuff when I was growing up, you know?”
“You mean bein’ bi, don’tcha?”
“Yeah. It just… I didn’t know it was a thing. I thought everypony only liked one or the other, but here I am, liking both and wondering if I’m messed in the head, or something. I couldn’t figure it out and so I just tried to bury it. I’ve had several er, ‘partners’, bring it up, but I just didn’t want to talk about it.”
“So why’d ya bring it up with me?”
“I… I don’t know. I didn’t mean to, it just sort of… wrote itself. I was about to get rid of it when you showed up and took the pad.”
Applejack was silent a moment, contemplation etched on her face. When she replied, she picked her words carefully.
“Ya know I ain’t exactly big on science like Twilight is, but I reckon that maybe, buried deep inside you somewhere, ya really wanted to tell someone. I’ve heard her goin’ on about the “sub-conscious mind” before now, which is like thoughts you can’t control and don’t really know about, but it’s s’posed to make you think and do some crazy things, sometimes. Maybe that happened today?”
“But why? Why now? And why you?” Rainbow asked, almost immediately blushing as a possible answer suddenly sprung to mind.
“Well,” answered Applejack, coyly. “I reckon only you know the answer to that. And judgin’ by that cute little blush that’s appeared on your face, you know what it is.”
Rainbow’s blush deepened. She spluttered, trying to find the right words, and failing.
“Well- I wouldn’t- That is- I- You-”
“Relax, Dash, I’m only teasin’. You don’t actually have to tell me.”
“I… I want to.”
The pair sat quietly for a moment. One, gathering her courage, and the other simply waiting for her friend to say her piece.
“I think,” began Rainbow, gathering the sentence together in her head. “I think I probably told you because you’re my best friend. You feel safe to me, and… well…”
Rainbow’s pause merely elicited a raised eyebrow from Applejack. The pegasus swallowed her nerves.
“I think I really do like you, after all.”
“You think you do? Or you know you do?” Applejack teased, smiling warmly as she did.
“Ugh, don’t make this harder than it already is for me!”
Applejack just laughed softly and embraced her. Rainbow was surprised, but returned the affectionate gesture, sans tears this time. She smiled as the other mare’s mane softly caressed her face, the faint smell of apples once again surrounding her nose. The hug lasted far too shortly for Rainbow’s taste, and the two were apart once again after a few moments. Applejack spoke first.
“I like you too, Rainbow. That’s why I said “yes” to that date in the first place. Ya want to actually try that?”
Rainbow thought a moment. She still wasn’t sure of herself, really, but she was a whole lot surer than she had been yesterday, and that had to count for something, right? Sure, she could try one date with her best friend, where was the harm? She nodded.
“Sure. You think it might help?”
“Help?” asked Applejack, looking confused.
“Yeah,” Rainbow replied. “Help me accept… me.”
The farmer just smiled. “It couldn’t hurt,” she said. She suddenly leaned forward and pecked Rainbow’s cheek. The pegasus’ cheeks lit up like traffic lights in Manehatten.
“Wha… what was that for?” she asked.
“No reason,” came the answer from her smiling would-be marefriend. “Now come on, what’s say you help me finish buckin’ these trees?”
After a moment in which she made sure her cheeks weren’t going to burn off, Rainbow nodded and stood up.
“Yeah, ok.”
With no more distractions, the pair managed to finish off the row of trees in decent time, the sun only an hour or so past its zenith. As Rainbow emptied her last basket into the cart, she took a small measure of pride in the work they’d done, the cart now brimming with freshly picked apples waiting to be sold or made into other things. Her mouth watered at the prospect of next year’s batch of cider. If this year’s was anything to go by, then the next lot was going to be awesome.
Applejack hitched herself to the cart once more and the pair started their journey back, Rainbow walking alongside and carrying the empty baskets on her back. After a few moments silence, a thought occurred to the pegasus.
“So uh, I guess I lost that game,” she said, dejectedly. She looked over in surprise at her companion when the other mare suddenly burst into laughter. Her expression deadpanned when Applejack’s mirth showed no signs of letting up.
“What?” she demanded of the earth pony. It took a moment before Applejack calmed down enough to answer.
“I’m sorry, Dash,” she started, the occasional giggle still making itself known. “It’s just funny that after all that back there, yer first thought is about whether or not you lost some silly game.”
“You know I don’t like to lose.”
“I know. I also know that’s one’a the things I like about you. Yer driven to get the best outta yerself.”
Rainbow started to blush when an idea hit her.
“Is that all?” she asked. “Isn’t there anything else you like?” She started to strut a little alongside the cart, showing off for Applejack, who just giggled in return.
“Oh, I can think of a few things, for sure,” she replied, eyeing the prancing pegasus next to her. “Normally, I’d say no, you lost and I won. But I reckon that, just this once, I can give you a do-over on this game.”
“You can?” Rainbow said, blinking in surprise. “Oh yeah! Of course you can! I’m Rainbow Dash, Element Bearer and Hero of Equestria! I mean, I should get do-over’s all the time, even though I don’t really need ‘em, on account of being so awesome.” She took a moment to puff her chest out proudly, a smug grin adorning her face.
Applejack just rolled her eyes at her friend, grinning back.
“Well, Miss Awesome,” she began in a sultry tone, still grinning. “The only reason you’re gettin’ this do over is because I liked the way “Rainbow Dash, Element Bearer and Hero of Equestria” looked when she was blushin’ hard enough to put a newlywed bride to shame. Yeah, just like that,” she added, as Rainbow stopped in her tracks, her blush returning almost as bad as before.
The farmer turned to face her current direction of travel once more, laughing softly to herself, leaving a very flustered pegasus behind her.
Oh, that was so not fair.
Rainbow turned and trotted after the earth pony, giving her a sidelong glare. Catching the look, Applejack snorted.
“Dash, ya’ll aren’t really pullin’ off the “angry” look with yer cheeks glowin’ like hot coals,” she continued to tease. The other mare just huffed in response. “I can tell that you ain’t really angry, Rainbow, the twitchin’ in yer wings ain’t right.”
The pegasus found herself surprised by her friend once again. Knowledge of wing language was almost unheard of in the other pony races. To a pegasi, it came as second nature, but was often lost on unicorns and earth ponies. This occasionally lead to misunderstandings and general untruths about pegasi wings, but apparently not for Applejack.
“Wha…? You know about wing-speak?” she asked, genuine surprise creeping into her voice. Applejack nodded.
“Yup. And I know that that shimmery thing ya’ll were doin’ with yer wings a moment ago wasn’t anger. It was somethin’, alright, but it was about as far from anger as anypony could get.” The farmer gave Rainbow a knowing look. Rainbow’s blush refused to leave her face.
“How do you know about that?” the pegasus dared to enquire.
“Twilight,” the earth pony answered simply. Seeing Rainbow’s confused look, she elaborated. “There’s a book in her library about it, explainin’ them fancy appendages of yours and how ya’ll use ‘em to talk.”
“There’s a book about our wings?”
“Mhm. Pretty interestin’ read, especially the more, uh… mature section.”
“There’s a section about-”
“Yeah.”
“Oh. Wow.”
“Uh huh.”
The pair continued in silence for awhile, each lost in their own thoughts. As the farmhouse hove into view, Rainbow suddenly held a hoof out to stop Applejack. The latter mare acquiesced and looked at her curiously, eyebrow raised. Rainbow sighed.
“I just wanna make sure…” she started, nervously rubbing one foreleg with the other. “What happened today, in the orchard-”
“Dash,” Applejack interrupted, reaching over the cart’s harness to touch Rainbow’s chest. “I ain’t gonna breathe one word of it to anypony. Promise.”
Rainbow’s expression relaxed, and she looked into her future marefriend’s eyes. Green, like the fields surrounding Ponyville. No, deeper than that, like the emeralds Rarity kept in her shop. And just as glittering. Framed by those little white freckles in her coat, they looked like deep underwater forests, stretching on for miles.
Rainbow felt her stomach suddenly doing loops, the sensation an odd mix of good and bad, sending jitters up her body and into her limbs. On sudden impulse, she leaned forward.
The kiss wasn’t hard, but it was firm and on the lips. For a second, Applejack did nothing and Rainbow started to think she’d made a terrible mistake, when she felt the other mare lean into her, returning the gesture. The two of them remained like that for a few seconds, before Applejack broke the contact and looked into Rainbow’s eyes. The two of them shared a brief glance, their faces slightly flushed.
“Well now,” began Applejack, her voice a sultry drawl. “I don’t usually do that until after the first date, but I think I can make an exception for you.”
The two of them giggled softly together. Rainbow nuzzled Applejack’s neck, who reciprocated, the two of them taking a moment to simply enjoy the feel and smell of the other.
“Alright, sugarcube,” Applejack started, straightening up again. “I gotta get these apples into storage. You wanna wait at the table in the yard so we can talk after?”
“Ok,” Rainbow nodded. She followed the orange mare back down into the farmyard, taking her place at the table as Applejack disappeared into the barn. The pegasus sat quietly, contemplating everything that had happened so far. Today certainly hadn’t gone as she’d envisioned when she woke up that morning.
From finding out her best friend was gay, to her own admission about her preferences, today had been one giant rollercoaster. Rainbow Dash didn’t often sit just to absorb things, but today she did just that. She closed her eyes and let everything settle in her mind. Taking a deep breath, she opened her wings slightly, allowing the breeze to pass over her feathers, on top of blowing her mane around. The sensation, combined with her slow breathing, calmed her, allowing her to make sense of the day. When she sat like this, eyes closed, wings open, breathing slowly, she felt like the only thing in the world.
She had no idea how long she’d been sitting like that when she heard a set of hooves approach from behind her, accompanied by a familiar voice.
“Hey there, Rainbow.”
Opening her eyes and looking behind her, she saw Equestria’s latest addition to its royalty; Twilight Sparkle. The bookish alicorn was now almost half a head taller than Rainbow Dash, and probably still growing. With her purple coat, violet eyes and a mane and tail that were both deep blue, streaked with both a rose and violet stripe, the princess was quite visually striking.
“Oh, hey Twilight. What are you doing here?” Rainbow asked.
“I just dropped by to pick up a fruit basket I asked Applejack to put together for me. I’ve got a big study session planned for tonight, and her baskets are perfect for when I get the munchies.”
“Right, she mentioned something about that. I think this is it on the table,” added the pegasus, waving a hoof at the basket Applejack had left on the table earlier.
“Is she here?” Twilight queried, rounding to the other side of the table.
“Yeah, she’s in the barn, I think. Putting some apples away.”
Twilight nodded and sat down with a relieved sigh. The alicorn’s wings jittered up and down in response, settling back on her sides after a moment.
“Ohhh, it’s nice to sit down again. I have been rushed off my hooves all day,” Twilight complained, wincing as her sore legs protested at the sudden change in posture. “I’ve been back and forth all over Ponyville, trying to find Pinkie Pie so I can get her to return those books she borrowed six weeks ago! I swear, if she’s stashed them away somewhere “in case of book emergency…” She looked over at Rainbow. “What were you doing when I got here? It almost looked like you were meditating.”
Rainbow reflected briefly on how close to meditating what she had been doing actually was. Twilight wasn’t far off, she supposed. It did help clear her mind, after all, which is about all she’d gathered on the subject of meditation before she’d tuned Rarity out. A good nap was all the meditation Rainbow needed.
“Eh, sorta,” she answered, closing her wings again. “I was mostly just chilling. Been a busy day.”
Twilight nodded. She looked like she knew the concept of “busy day” all too well. The studious mare looked over the table, taking in the books laid out on it.
“Revising for your next test?” she asked Rainbow, looking up at her jokingly. “That’s not like you. Sure you don’t need me to arrange another flash-card flyover? After all, you did sterling work on your Reserves entry test after that. Even your spelling was excellent!” The young princess chuckled. The butt of her joke just glared at her.
“Very funny, Twi,” Rainbow deadpanned. She rolled her eyes and looked away, but then, something Twilight said caused a thought to occur to the pegasus. “Wait, maybe you can help me with something…”
“Really?” Twilight enquired. “What?”
“Well, me and AJ have… wait, there isn’t some weird thing I need to do to ask you for help now that you’re a princess, is there? Like curtseying or something?”
Twilight suddenly burst into laughter, confusing Rainbow, who just looked at her like she was mad.
“I’m- I’m sorry, Rainbow,” the princess managed to choke out, once she’d calmed down enough to speak again. “It’s just the thought of you… you! Curtse- Curtseying!” Rainbow just watched, unimpressed, as her friend devolved into another fit of giggles. After a minute or so, the alicorn calmed down again.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh,” Twilight managed to say around the occasional giggle. “But no, that’s not a thing. It’s alright, Rainbow, you don’t have to curtsey or anything.”
“Got that outta your system now, your highness?” Rainbow asked, only semi-seriously. The thought of herself curtseying was kinda funny, after all. Twilight nodded her affirmation.
“Ok, well, the thing is, me and AJ have a bet going. I was wondering if you could help us settle it. It’s about the spelling of a word. She-” Twilight’s eyes lit up suddenly.
“Ooh! I love spelling problems! You came to the right pony!” Catching the look Rainbow gave her, the alicorn settled down again. “Sorry,” she said. “Go on.”
“She thinks that she’s spelling it right,” Rainbow continued, almost without missing a beat. “But I’m not convinced. I don’t think she’s got it right at all, and it just looks weird.”
“Well, what’s the word?”
“Taste.”
“Pfft, that’s easy!” Twilight responded nonchalantly. “T-A-S-T-E. Taste.”
“What?!” Rainbow exclaimed, practically jumping to her hooves. She’d been so certain!
“Told ya I was spellin’ it right!” Applejack’s voice suddenly cut in. The orange mare was only a few feet away, somehow managing to have approached without either of the other two ponies hearing her. “That’s twenty bits you owe me.”
“Wait, twenty bits?!” asked Twilight, shocked. “Rainbow, you bet twenty bits against that? How in Equestria did you think it was spelled?”
Rainbow just looked away, red faced. She was so sure she had it right! This had to be some sort of mistake! It just had to be!
“She thought it was spelled “t-a-i-s-t”,” Applejack answered for her. “She’s just too mad to admit she was wrong.”
The farmer wasn’t wrong. Rainbow Dash was mad, but not because she was wrong. Well, that was part of it, but not the whole thing. It was also the fact that she hated losing anything, and also that she’d been saving those bits for the next cider season, so she could buy as much as her stomach could hold.
This, along with her stressful day, combined with not only losing the bet, but losing it in front of both Applejack and Twilight, caused Rainbow Dash to let loose a short, violent exclamation.
“DAMN!”
End
Author's Note
This ended up a bit longer than I initially anticipated. I had a rough idea where I was taking it, but about halfway through it took on a life of its own and decided to write itself, rather than be told what kind of story it was going to be. The rebel. I rather like the way it turned out, though I do wonder if I sort of glossed over some of Rainbow's issues with herself.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed my entry into the third AppleDash competition. Blame tchernobog for the horrors I've unleashed upon you all, he's the one that badgered me into writing it. But if you take nothing else away from this fic, then please take this (it's dangerous to go alone):
#SAVETREE
