The house was quiet. The wind blew softly outside and gently rattled the windows, and the clock ticked. The fading sunlight seeped onto the wooden floor of the kitchen, and lit up the room in a warm, lazy yellow glow.
Applejack got up silently and turned on a lamp. White florescent light drowned out the sunlight, but she needed to see what she was doing. She sat back down at the kitchen table.
Papers scattered the wood surface of the table. There was an assortment of different things: greeting cards, advertisements, letters from family members, unpaid expenses, and party invitations. The mail was an overwhelming amount, but it had to be gone through before it got worse. Applejack was normally more on top of her mail, but things changed a little after moving in with Rainbow Dash.
The home the two shared was in the far north orchard, on the border between Ponyville and Cloudsdale. It was a cozy little thing with a warm fire place that Applejack had built herself. But despite it being a nice place, living together still had its problems.
For Rainbow, the main problem was that the house was on the ground. No cloud materials were used on the home, and that made it feel less like home. There had been some adjustments to help with that, but sometimes Rainbow would comment on it from time to time.
For Applejack, the home was fine. The problem for her was Rainbow’s lifestyle. Learning the importance of hard work and order from a young age, Applejack kept a relatively clean space. Rainbow was nearly the opposite. She set things down on counters until they were cramped, she would occasionally forget to throw away trash, all laundry went onto the floor, and things never had a constant place. It drove Applejack crazy when she had to pick up after her, and would often scold her when she had enough of it.
The mail was a similar problem. At first, Applejack and Rainbow split the mail and did their half each week. But with Rainbow busy at her job in the Wonderbolts Reserves, and Applejack with her hooves full with the farm work, the unread mail began to build up. To avoid the pile of envelopes from getting larger, today they planned to go through it together.
Since Applejack had finished the chores early that day, she decided to take out a chunk before Rainbow got home. It was tedious and boring, and all she could think was how much she didn’t want to be going through old Flim and Flam ads, but she did it anyway.
The clock continued to fill the air with its repetitive tick as Applejack scribbled out this and signed that and threw those in the trash. It was frustrating doing it alone, and it made slow progress. She took a second to glance at the clock. Five o’clock. Rainbow would be home any minute.
She started on a nasty list of expenses. It was horrible trying to remember the price of something they had bought a full week ago, and then do the math on how much they owed that one company. Plus tax, and don’t forget interest. Applejack lifted her hat and wiped her head. She had never liked math.
The familiar click of a key in a doorknob sounded behind her. She tried to focus on the financial arithmetic in front of her as the front door opened.
“I’m home!” Rainbow announced in a puff of air.
In the middle of a thought, Applejack let out a grunt to acknowledge her partner. She then continued to work on the bill.
Dash stood behind her, wearing her Wonderbolts Reserves half uniform. She pushed her goggles onto her forehead, and panted. It had been a long, hard day of training, and Dash was relieved to be home. She smiled as she saw Applejack at the table as she shut the door.
“Honey I’m home!” She said in a tired, but playful tone.
“Mm-hmm,” Applejack replied, trying to balance numbers in her head.
Rainbow blinked. She stood there, waiting for a “hey there” or a “hello sugarcube” or even a “welcome home”. But there was nothing.
Rainbow’s ear drooped and she scowled. Nothing like coming home exhausted to a stiff, but she’d have to move on.
“I’m gonna take a shower,” She grumbled between her teeth.
Applejack came to a pause in her math, and set down the pencil in her mouth onto the table.
“Hurry,” she said flatly, “you promised you’d help me with this.”
There was no reply, save the firm sound of the bathroom door shutting.
Applejack continued with the paperwork, going through it at the pace of the pet tortoise. The only sounds in the room were the pencil on the paper, the ticking of the clock, and the water running. She worked hard to focus, and get through it all.
After what seemed like hours, she pulled the final envelope in front of her. A letter from Pinkie, she could only guess, by the telltale pink paper and its bulging size. She had a feeling once she opened the thing it would explode, and was a little hesitant to open it. She looked at the clock nervously, then back at the envelope.
Then quickly back at the clock.
Seven o’clock?! It really had been hours. She glanced down at the neat pile of read letters and the waste bin full of everything else. She was almost pleased, until her ear pricked up.
The water was still running.
Fury bubbled in Applejack’s veins as she realized what had just happened. Rainbow had decided to slack off and take a shower, leaving Applejack to do all the mail on her own. It had taken her a lot longer than she expected, and now dinner was not started and time had been wasted. Applejack stood up from the table and marched towards the bathroom door.
Rainbow Dash was not getting away with this!
As she started down the hallway, Applejack prepared to give Rainbow a good scolding for tricking her like that. She hated feeling cheated, and this is exactly how she felt. She approached the bathroom door, and opened it a crack. Applejack peered in with a scrutinizing eye, searching out her partner.
Immediately she noticed all the careless things Rainbow had done: the mirror and walls were fogged up and surely beginning to collect mildew, the curtains to the shower had been left open (Rainbow hated closing them, she said there was never enough room for her wings that way), and water had begun to puddle on the floor. These little annoyances fueled Applejack’s anger, and she was ready to teach Rainbow a lesson.
She looked up at Rainbow and blinked.
One of the adjustments to the house for Rainbow was the installment of a Rainbow Shower System. Very popular in many pegasus homes, the showers installed with this system used pure rainbow instead of water. Applejack had found it a bit strange at first, until she found out why. Apparently, the rainbow water actually helped pegasi fly better, and recover faster after strenuous flights. It had similar effects on unicorn and earth ponies too, but pegasi got the greatest amount of benefits.
Rainbow had just gotten the system installed a few days prior. Applejack had tried it once herself, but this was the first time she had seen Rainbow trying it.
In that moment, as Applejack peered into the bathroom through the small gap the door made as it was not-quite closed, all of the anger rushed from her body. The burning passion in her cheeks turned into a gentle tingly feeling, and her scrunched muzzle relaxed. Her eyes widened, and her mouth turned from a thin line into a gentle “O” shape.
Inside the shower, with the curtain open, and her Wonderbolts uniform carelessly draped over it, sat Rainbow Dash. She sat directly under the rainbow stream, her face upturned, letting the colors run down her face. Clouds of rainbow steam surrounded her, and her wings were half-open, allowing the beautiful liquid to run off them onto the floor.
Warmth started in Applejack’s chest, and immediately she recognized it. She hadn’t felt this way since the first time she went storm flying. It was unmistakably love.
Instead of noticing all the annoyances in the room, Applejack’s perspective changed. She saw the gorgeous colors bouncing off the walls and the misty mirror. She marveled at the colorful puddles on the floor. She was thankful for the curtain being open, so she could see Rainbow.
Dash shifted, standing from her sitting position and walking to the other end of the tub. She reached blindly with her wing and snatched a towel from the rack on the wall. She then turned, and held the towel out of the rainbow stream with her right wing, while dipping her head back into it. It was as if she knew it was time to get out, but wasn’t ready to leave the warmth of her rainbow haven.
As Dash dipped her head in a final time, Applejack took in a sharp breath. Time stopped as her eyes widened in astonished wonder. The whole view was… beautiful.
The rainbow poured from the showerhead, Dash’s wet mane guiding it down her figure with its own matching hues. The beautifully colored steam floated about everything, covering her with its magical glow as the bathroom light hit it. A light ray bounced off the fogged mirror, and hit the rainbow water just above Dash’s head. Like a hallo, an arched rainbow hovered above her head. A small, warm smirk showed on the Dash’s face.
In the past few months, the couple had been very busy with their own separate responsibilities. Because of crazy work schedules and late-night fatigue they hadn’t been eating together, or going to bed together. When one came to bed, the other was already asleep. When one awoke, the other was already gone. They hadn’t really talked either, and whatever kisses they had shared recently were short and quick out-the-door goodbye kisses. Their relationship had been more of a truce than a giving, loving, romance.
For just a short while, Applejack had forgotten why she loved Rainbow.
She loved her smile. She loved her playful attitude, yet her determination. She loved her affection, her sweet kisses, and her warm embraces. She loved the flying they did together. She loved her soft, untamed mane. She loved her big, magenta eyes. She loved those wings! She loved how sensitive she was about showing sentiment. She loved how fiery her temper got. She loved how silly she could be. She loved that adorable blush. She loved her fierce protection. She loved her supportiveness. She loved her undying devotion, and her continuing honesty.
She loved her for who she was.
All of these things had been slightly forgotten in the rush of life, but this simple, precious moment of Rainbow getting colors dumped over her head was all it took to remind Applejack.
Before Rainbow could shut off the shower and dry off, Applejack had disappeared from the door, heading swiftly back into the kitchen.
Rainbow stepped out of the bathroom, taking a deep breath of the cool, steam-free air. Feeling relaxed and refreshed, she planned on heading to the bedroom to lie down. Her mind was swiftly changed for her as a delicious scent wafted her way from the kitchen.
As Dash stepped into the room, she saw Applejack smiling widely. On the clean kitchen table was a freshly baked apple pie. Rainbow’s eyes sparked with excitement as she saw and smelled the tasty treat, and had no time to react as Applejack ran across the room and wrapped herself around her.
Applejack cupped Rainbow’s face in her hooves and gave her a kiss. Not a quick peck, but a long, savory kiss. Rainbow made a sound of surprised delight, and began to return the embrace. Applejack tasted of flour and love, which was a taste Rainbow realized she missed. A tingly feeling, which she thought had died moons ago, lit up in her chest, and flew to her cheeks and filled them with blush.
The two stood there for a moment longer, until Applejack finally pulled away.
Rainbow gasped for air in awe.
“What was that for?” She breathed.
Applejack shrugged with a smile.
“Ah just remembered why Ah love you.” She said simply. “You want some pie?”
Rainbow blinked, her eyes still sparkling from the kiss.
“Yeah, sure! Dish me up a slice.” She smiled brightly.
“Alright, and while Ah get you a piece, Ah need you to do something.”
“Sure! Anything!”
Applejack smiled a little more slyly, her original intent not completely forgotten.
“Ah need you to open that envelope over there.”
Author's Note
This story was inspired by the beautiful piece Rainbow Showers by Tsitra360. Along with it being my celebratory short for 1000 views on my previous story, it is a small thank you to him for all his beautiful work and a sign of my support through this pickle with DeviantArt.
The Rainbow Shower System concept is all his, I take no credit for it.
Thank you all for the views on I Want To Take You Flyin', and I hope you enjoyed this piece as well!
