The idea of swimming was foreign to Rainbow Dash. Water made her wings all saggy, wet, and droopy, her feathers distorted and out of place; a sight that she did not want to picture. Yet, when Applejack offered her to go for a swim, a swim in that; she couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter and soar into the skies. For weeks and weeks she imagined her and Applejack, swimming in the sea, eyes set forth of the green pastures behind, their trees standing upright and stoic.
The images continued to flash before her, making her all flustered. Flustered in the faces of her friends, her subordinates, and in front of one pony she didn’t want to be flustered in front of at the very moment.
“Sugarcube?”
Her.
“Y-yes?” Rainbow Dash stuttered. Her mind was reeling from those images: Applejack and her blonde mane dripping wet in front of her—
“Dash!” she growled.
Rainbow Dash felt a hoof on her shoulder, causing her to blush a thousand colors. Her eyes darted to the blonde mane, dry as a whistle. “What?”
Applejack sighed. “You’ve been more spaced out than Twi’ this week…”
What’s that supposed to mean? Rainbow Dash frowned. “I’m sorry, AJ, it’s just—” Her eyes darted to that blonde mane. “I’m just distracted.”
She noticed the mane come close, trapped in its red snare. “What’re ya distracted by, Dash?”
Rainbow Dash turned away from its mesmerizing hold. “N-nothing.”
Applejack came closer. “Now ah know that’s a lie,” she said, appearing in Rainbow Dash’s vision. “You look away when you're nervous.”
All Rainbow Dash could do was gaze at the ground, the dirt she walked on for weeks. From her home in the skies, to Sweet Apple Acres—she always had dirt scattered about on her floor when she came home—it bothered her every night, she swept it with her wings. Swept it all. She wished she could sweep that memory of blonde and water too, easy as an apple pie; would be sweet.
Just like her.
She grimaced. “It’s…” She can’t admit it. “I-It’s the heat!” Featherbrain. “The heat is what’s wrong with me, AJ.”
“Heat?” Applejack replied, eyebrow raised. “Ya never complain about the heat…”
Panicking in her mind, Rainbow Dash promptly responded, “First time for everything!”
Applejack watched Rainbow Dash’s legs, how they shivered and quaked in her sight. She knew something must be up with her friend, and it must be something fierce. Her mind was telling her Rainbow had lied again, lied right to her face. Of course Applejack knew her friend was a compulsive liar, yet something within her told her to stop and not confront her about it. There was something there, Applejack knew it. All she had to do was figure it out. Figure it out soon.
She sighed. “Ya wanna go swimmin’?”
“Swimming?” Rainbow Dash perked up.
Applejack smiled. “I remember offerin’ it to ya last time,” she began, “but ya said nothin’ ‘bout it.”
Those sweet images flashed before her magenta eyes again. The possibility of landing in that same pool with a splash of blue and orange; they came true. “Yes!” she said, squealing. “We’ve been out here long enough. Time to do something awesome!” She flashed a smirk at Applejack and shouted, “Race ya!” before taking off into the depths of nature and apples.
Applejack watched as Rainbow Dash rushed into the orchard, her rainbow tail swishing and swashing in the sea of brown and green. Her eyes gravitated towards their tops, the breeze bringing them to that same move, swishing and swashing. Swishing and swashing as much as they should by the gravity of nature.
Applejack knew of a different gravity. A grave thing that must be done. It must be done now. The gravity of racing.
Her eyes widened. “Come back here ya varmint!” she shouted, before bolting after her friend.
For her, it was a race; for Rainbow Dash, it was the possibility of a splash. A splash of water and apples.
Rainbow Dash loved this place. It wasn’t due to just those images, those sweet, sweet images. No. She genuinely loved it here. Here with her, of course. The watering hole was large, large as a lake. It had its own diving board, a board that was above the average. It stood on a platform, one made with the natural, soft hooves of a pegasus. For earth ponies, their dive was more enjoyable; enjoyable for all ages. It was a swing comprised of a large black donut that dangled by a brown rope from her favorite tree: Ol’ Willa. Willa was a beautiful willow tree, a willow that stood above all others near the hole. His branches stretched long and wide, making it impossible to break.
She stood under Willa, providing the shade she needed. Leaning back, Rainbow Dash observed the water, how it moved calmly, swishing and swashing. Her heart was still beating from before, yet it wasn’t because she was tired. No, no, Applejack was coming. Coming for her.
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes. She needed to be calm. If she said one wrong thing, one thing that made her look stupid, Applejack would leave. Leave her be.
She didn’t want that.
“Sugarcube, why are you leanin’ on Ol’ Willa?”
It’s Applejack! The blood in Rainbow Dash’s heart began to pump blood by the carriage load. “H-hi, Applejack.” Stupid stutter! “I was just waiting for you to show up.”
Applejack raised a brow. “Waitin’? How long?”
Rainbow Dash smirked. “A few minutes,” she replied. “That means I won.”
“You’re right,” Applejack replied with a smile. “So what do ya win?”
Even though her heart was pounding, it just felt natural. Natural with her. “A swim with the hottest mare in Equestria.”
What?
Applejack blushed, red as an apple. Her mind registered the thought. Hottest mare? “Ya must be jokin’, RD,” she said as she laughed, laughed hard.
Even though the Freudian slip was accidental, the sting of her laughter stung like no other. Her legs began to shake, and her ears rested against her skull. “Y-you’re right, I was joking,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Let’s get going.”
Applejack sighed after hearing her friend’s dejected tone, dry as a whistle. She was about to open her mouth when she spotted Rainbow Dash taking flight, flying up to the board. Her friend took a stance, defiant and all. Her smirk was gone though, replaced with a slight smile. Of course, that smile was directed to her, and her alone. A light blush still tinged Applejack’s cheeks, she knew it too. The heat that raged within her still sprouts color; the comment creating havoc in her mind. Hottest mare… Did she really mean that?
Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, watched from above as her friend’s blush became visible. Her heart pounded hard, beat after beat after beat; she had never gotten this upset over jumping off the board. If she messed up, just one bit, she’d be laughed at again. Laughed at by her marefriend. Wait, marefriend?!
A blush erupted on her cheeks too. No, no, AJ doesn’t like me like that! Her mind screamed for her to stop, stop those sweet images from making her blue fur turn red. Red as an apple.
Rainbow Dash shook her head and prepared to dive. This dive is for Applejack. She wished she shouted it loudly. So loud, even Twilight, the most oblivious egghead of all time, could hear it while she buried herself in her new book. Even though the tension Rainbow Dash was dealing with seemed novel, she knew it couldn’t be novel; stretching wasn’t new to her. Stretching: the best pre-diving workout, proven to lower stress without much of a test.
One. Stretched them good ol’ hind legs.
Two. Stretched those front ones now, bending them back; just like that.
Three. Neck and shoulders: her favorite shampoo brand.
Four. She released her wings, letting their span stretch wide. Content spread on her face, and her eyes were now wide, wide as saucers. She looked down to see Applejack still staring at her, mouth agape now.
That blush didn’t return, but masked itself in her fur. Rainbow Dash was determined, determined to impress her. Her.
With a spring, the mare jumped off the cloud, spread eagle. She raced towards the water below, diving like a bullet. Yet, as she approached the water, her vision turned to an instant black. All she heard was a splash, and the sounds of a distressed Applejack, paddling towards her.
The lake had swallowed her whole.
“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack shouted as she paddled towards the impact zone. There was no sign of her friend, but she knew where she went. She went under, under the lakewater. Applejack had no time, she has never dived before, always refraining from jumping from the swing whenever Apple Bloom tried to coax her. Swimming was okay, not a problem in sight, except for now, where diving is part of the plight. Down below laid Rainbow Dash, and not a single thought could she spare. In seconds, Applejack held her breath and took the plunge, diving deep within the watering hole.
Down below she saw her friend’s body, resting on the soggy dirt floor. Her eyes were shut, little bubbles were coming out, and her left forehoof was swelling and purple. She acted fast, and bolted to the body. Her pony paddle did its charm, as she was able to grab her unconscious friend and hoist her on her back. With her forelegs around her, Applejack raced to the water above, holding onto her friend. Her best friend.
Hottest mare…
Applejack ripped through the water, carrying her friend on her back. She panted hard and, with Rainbow Dash’s arms wrapped around her neck, carried her friend ashore. She rested her underneath Willa and spread her out wide. Without much thought, she began CPR. One, two, three, four; no response.
Come on RD!
Five, six, seven, eight…
Please, don’t leave me… A tear raced down her cheek.
Nine, ten, eleven, twelve…
I know she’s alive! Come on… “Rainbow Dash,” Applejack murmured, before diving into her mouth again.
Thirteen…
She began to remember her shaky legs, how they quivered in front of her.
Fourteen…
She remembered that smile, how cute it was when she grinned.
Fifteen…
She loved how she could make Rainbow Dash weak.
Applejack saw her magenta eyes open in a flash while her lips were still pressed against her friend’s mouth. She kept her mouth on Rainbow Dash’s, frozen in place. Her eyes were wide too, mirrored of pink and green.
Rainbow Dash was the first to react as she flailed her hooves. Applejack promptly got off her, and watched Rainbow Dash struggle to get up. “Applejack!”
Tears raced down her cheeks. She thought she was dead, gone, a doornail left bent in the ground. “Sugarcube…”
Rainbow Dash didn’t know what caused her to murmur it so quietly, and why Applejack was hugging her right now. She couldn’t remember a thing, the dive was the last thing she saw.
“Sugarcube, sugarcube, sugarcube…” she repeated.
“What, AJ?” Rainbow Dash said as the farmer buried her muzzle into her mane. Rainbow Dash blushed, the feeling of her hot breath tickling her neck sent a sudden pulse down her spine. It warmed her instead of make her shiver, a calm smile resting upon her face.
Applejack squeezed her tight. “You were a goner!”
“A goner?” She couldn’t believe that. “But I’m right here!”
Applejack pulled herself away and facehooved. “No, you were dead, Rainbow Dash!”
The color left her face in an instant. “D-dead?”
“Dead as a doornail,” she replied. “Y-your pulse was all that was left.” She began to sob. “Ah thought I lost ya…”
Rainbow Dash couldn’t even speak. Death, death of the best flyer in all of Equestria, something that would have a huge funeral. She would leave Applejack behind, her favorite pony. Her marefriend. H—
Aw, screw it.
“But you didn’t,” Rainbow Dash replied, grazing her hoof against the orange cheek she knew she loved. “You saved me, Applejack.”
A blush exploded on Applejack’s cheeks. “I-It was nothin’, Dash.”
“Nothing, huh?” Rainbow Dash answered. She brought herself close, leaning towards her friend’s cheek. “It wasn’t nothing to me…”
Applejack sputtered out nonsense, which Rainbow Dash thought was awesome. Like her lips. Applejack’s lips, she felt them on her mouth. They taste like nothing she had ever tasted before. It was… exotic. More than an apple. Those lips, she wanted more of them, but she had to say something. Something important.
“Applejack, you know what you are to me?”
The question caught Applejack off guard. For one, she just finished saving her friend from certain death. Two, she just bawled her eyes out in front of her. There was no time to prepare, no time to even think. She was at a loss of words. So she shook her head, dumbfoundedly.
Rainbow Dash smiled. “You’re awesome. Awesome like an apple.” She saw Applejack raise an eyebrow. “I know it sounds dumb, but let me explain!” Rainbow Dash took in a deep breath. “You know how I’ve been with you for these past few weeks?”
Applejack nodded. She’s been around more often than usual. “Yeah, what’s that got to do with this?”
Rainbow Dash frowned. “Everything, AJ. I’ve only been with you.”
Applejack’s eyes widened. “O-only?”
She nodded. “No one else even could grab my attention longer than you.”
“B-but what about Twilight? Didn’t ya both work on some new fancy thinga-ma-jig?”
“Fancy-ma-what?” Rainbow Dash said with a bemused grin. “That was some test she wanted me to help her with. I was only with her for an hour, long before this whole thing happened.”
A bead of sweat raced down her face. “Fluttershy?”
“Busy with her animal shelter,” Rainbow Dash replied flatly.
“Pinkie Pie?”
“In a sugar coma.”
“Rarity?”
“Gone fishing in Canterlot with some rich stallion,” Rainbow Dash said, her hoof scratching behind her neck. “She’s probably going to come back in tears or something…” She shook her head. “Anypony else you want to mention?”
Applejack shook her head. “I… why?”
Rainbow Dash smirked. “Because you’re the hottest mare in Equestria, remember?”
Applejack’s brain went haywire. She did mean it! What in tarnation? Why… “That isn’t what I meant!” she shouted and stomped a hoof in the dirt. “This whole likin’ business! You got me tangled up in a hay bale here, Dash!” Tears darted down her cheeks. “Leadin’ me on in the beginnin’, almost dyin’ and drowin’ in the waterin’ hole, and now tryin’ to flirt with me while ah ramble about how much of a nobody I—”
Rainbow Dash stopped her. Stopped her in the middle of her sentence. Her lips, snared by the other cyan intruder, her eyes shut tight. This wasn’t how she thought her first kiss would be like: soaking wet, stressed, and burning up like a furnace. Her limbs were on fire and her tie was gone. Now, here she was, lips locked with her best friend. No, not anymore.
She was with her marefriend.
Rainbow Dash knew her kiss would shut her friend up for a second. For one long, desired second. Those lips, she knew how they tasted, but now they were real; real without another motivation. She was locked with her hero, someone that she would die for if need be. Yet, Applejack didn’t repay her back, no return; no nothing.
She pulled away and opened her eyes. She saw that face, the face of horror. Her heart crumpled up in a distinct ball and so did she. “I’m sorry, AJ, I’m…”
“What the hay are ya apologizin’ for?” she swiftly said in reply. She wrapped the pegasus in her hooves. “Don’t you move none.”
Rainbow Dash nodded and snuggled against her chest. “I thought you didn’t like me…”
“Why’s that?” Applejack responded.
A tear grazed down Rainbow’s own. “You didn’t return it.”
Applejack ruffled her marefriend’s mane. “Would you like another?”
Rainbow perked up at this. “Another wha—”
It was her turn to be interrupted with a kiss.
Applejack closed her eyes and dug into her new lover, her eyes closed too. This was all unexpected, something that she wasn’t used to. Yet, here she was, lip-locked and snuggled up against her under Ol’ Willa. Yet, she knew it wouldn’t last long, the sun was beginning to set. She pulled away this time, a saliva trail connected them together. They panted in unison, just like their hearts, which beat together in harmony. They looked in each other’s eyes, and saw something in both respectively.
“Rainbow Dash?”
“Yeah?”
Applejack gulped. “Want to take another splash?”
Rainbow Dash smirked. “If you’re willing,” she said, before pecking her cheek, “to save me again.”
“Every time, sugarcube,” she said with a smile. “Every time.”
The two got up off their hooves before dashing into the water. There was no need for a diving board, or even a swing; they had each other. That’s all they needed to make the perfect splash. A splash that would stay together in their minds forever. A splash…
...of rainbows and apples.
