Chapters Chapter 1-Discovered Feelings
Storm clouds formed in the eastern sky in Ponyville, as the weather pegasi did their best to whip up a storm big enough to compensate for the close to a fortnight without any rain whatsoever. Apparently, the plans for two light showers over the course of that time frame were dropped by a certain gray pegasus with a blonde mane during their transit to the weather HQ of Ponyville. So today, the pegasi worked tirelessly to make up the loss of rain, as it was rather important for the local apple farm on the edge of Ponyville. It was from this apple farm, Sweet Apple Acres, that an orange coated earth pony looked up, as the dark clouds drifted closer. Gust after gust swept through the orchard, causing the leaves on the trees whip around and her mane to dance like wildfire. The fresh air that always came before a rainstorm filled her nostrils, as she closed her eyes and concentrated on the smell. Opening her eyes once again, she looked up longingly into the sky. Applejack loved to look into the sky before the rain started to fall. Her gaze fixed in the east as the dark clouds slowly approached the farm, but it wasn’t the beauty of the clouds or the awe inspired by the power of nature that kept her gaze fixated upon the eastern sky. No, instead it was a hope, deep down in her heart, that she would catch a glimpse of a rainbow as it streaked across the sky. Every time there was a storm she would glance periodically towards the sky all day, just for a chance to see the sign that a certain rainbow-maned pegasus was hard at work.
A sudden memory pulled her away from the billowing clouds. A week ago she had been in Sugarcube Corner with the rest of her friends, and as she was turning to browse one of the store’s many shelves, her sister and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders entered, along with the vibrantly pink pony Applejack and the rest of her friends had been waiting for. As soon as they entered, Scootaloo yelled, “Rainbow Dash, you’re here!” Applejack had been approached by the Cutie Mark Crusaders earlier that day, and they had told her that they were looking for Rainbow Dash in order to hear how she had gotten her cutie mark. She had even told Rainbow that the cutie mark crusaders were looking for her.
Dash immediately turned around and said, “I hear you’re looking for my cutie mark story.”
Scootaloo let out a big sigh, “You have no idea what I’ve been through today to hear that story,” as she hastily flopped onto the floor. That is when Rainbow went into her dramatic retelling of how she got her cutie mark. Applejack realized that she had never heard this story herself, which was surprising considering how long they’d known each other. As Rainbow told her story, Applejack realized something. The rainbow that pointed her home and led her to get her cutie mark was the result of the cyan pegasus’ sonic rainboom. In fact, her friends stated that it was not only true of Applejack, but each and every one of the group had found their cutie mark because of Rainbow Dash. In the days that followed this incident Applejack slowly felt feelings come over her that she had never felt before. Ever since then, Applejack had obsessed over those strange feelings.
Her eyes fell from the sky and onto the dirt path before her. Dust blew past her, covering the orange pony’s legs in the process. Suddenly, a rainbow streak caught her eye and drew her gaze back to the sky as her thoughts immediately drifted away.
‘We’ve had a special connection even before we met,’ AJ thought. ‘Ah mean, Ah liked her since the day Ah met her, but this is more than just friendship.” Applejack paused, as her next thought sent tingles down her spine, ‘Do Ah...love Rainbow Dash?’
Applejack shook her head before continuing her thoughts. ‘Oh snap yourself out of it, Applejack. Rainbow Dash is a mare and so are you. Ah couldn’t possibly love another mare. That’s just plain wrong, isn’t it?’
As these thoughts circulated in Applejack’s head, similar thoughts also made their way into the mind of another pony, who flew carelessly through the air as she finished up her work for the day.
Dash looked down at the ground as the landscape rolled lightly beneath her. She felt cold and tired after all the effort she had put into her work, and her cyan coat was wet from the humid weather she had been working in for hours. Each beat of Rainbow’s wings grew more and more exhausting. She noticed Sweet Apple Acres in the corner of her eyes and she felt new energy emerge from somewhere inside of her. She couldn’t help but smile, as her thoughts drifted to one of the farm ponies that lived there. Her orange coat, her beautiful blonde mane and the well known trademark stetson on her head. She had felt a connection with the earth pony on the day they met. At that thought, streams of memories flooded her mind.
It was a warm summer evening. The sky was the color of pure amber, dotted with red clouds. The first part of Luna’s moon could be seen on the horizon, and the stars started to shine through the fading light of the sun. It was in this peaceful setting that a very distraught pony could be seen flying through the air. It wasn’t visible from the ground if one wasn’t looking for it, but twin streams of tears trailed down her face. Words of sorrow echoed in her ears. It was these words that caused her pain. So much pain, that she was now flying to … to … she didn’t even know where. All she wanted to do was to get away from the pain, and all she could think of was to fly. To fly faster and farther than ever before, and leave everything behind.
Dash was so focused on this mindset, she didn’t even realize that her vision was beginning to blur from the tears in her eyes. Nor did she notice the sudden loss in altitude. The next thing she knew there was a flash of green and the sharp feeling of pain overwhelming her, as a constant stream of blunt objects hit her body. Her head suddenly felt as though it had split open, searing pain shot through her wing, and nothingness overtook her.
Rainbow Dash felt something soft against her coat. She tried to open her eyes, but to no avail. Her eyelids could have been made of lead as far as she could tell. She tried to open her eyes once more and was able to open them a tiny bit. She didn’t quite know how long she was out for, but through a window she could see that the beautiful amber sky had darkened to a deep navy blue, Luna’s moon hanging high in the night sky. Wait...a window? Eyelids becoming lighter, she looked blearily around at her surroundings, as the smell of apples assaulted her nostrils. Sure enough, she was inside. She found herself lying on a soft bed with a wooden frame. The rest of the room consisted of a small desk in the opposite corner and, true to the smell, a distinct theme of apples. Her attention finally focused on one thing, the other filly in the room.
“Well now, it’s about time you woke up!” the filly exclaimed. She had a bright orange coat and a beautiful blonde mane tied back with a hair tie and topped with a brown Stetson. "Ah wasn’t sure if you’d wake up at all tonight, that was quite a nasty run-in ya had with mah' apple tree!”
“Wh-where am I? How did I get here?” Rainbow stammered weakly, “A-and who are you?”
“Why this here is Sweet Apple Acres!” the orange filly said with a smile. “Y’all went and crashed into one of them trees out in the orchard and Ah carried you back to my house to fix ya up. The name is Applejack, pleased to meet ya!”
“Likewise. I’m Rainbow Dash. Sorry about crashing into one of your trees, I guess I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
‘That explains the green blur,’ she thought to herself.
“Ah don’t think that was the reason you crashed,” Applejack stated.
“What? What do you-” Dash began to say but was cut off by Applejack.
“Ah saw the whole thing,” AJ snickered. “You were looking straight ahead when you crashed. Heck, Ah was only 10 feet away from that tree when you hit it. In fact, Ah’m surprised ya didn’t see me.”
AJ paused for a moment, sizing up Rainbow's distant stare before continuing.
“Then, when Ah went to check on ya, Ah noticed that your cheeks were soaked with tears and when Ah opened you eyelids Ah could see that they were all red and bloodshot,” the farm pony said, leaning in towards Rainbow. “It can’t be easy to fly in that condition. What in Equestria happened?”
At this, Rainbow Dash just looked away, tears starting to reform in her eyes.
“Ah’m sorry,” said Applejack, “Ah can see that you don’t want to talk about it, and that’s okay. Ah won’t bring it up again. Fer now you should focus on gettin’ better. After all, you got a pretty darn good bump on yer head.”
This was the first time since Rainbow Dash had woken up that she thought about her condition. Her head felt like it had been split open, and her wing felt as though somepony had taken an axe to it. She raised it to take a look, and found that it was bandaged up just like her head was.
“What happened to my wing?”
“Well, Ah’m no doctor,” replied the farm pony, “but it took a nasty hit from a branch when ya ran into the tree. When Ah took a look at it, it seemed to be in pretty bad shape, so Ah wrapped it up myself. It should be fine for now, but I’d take a trip to the hospital tomorrow morning to see if it’s broken.”
Rainbow Dash nodded and said, “Thanks for all the help.” She smiled looking into Applejack’s emerald eyes. “I needed somepony like you tonight.”
AJ walked over and put her arms around Rainbow. Rainbow hugged her back, feeling comforted for the first time that day. As she inhaled, she giggled lightly. Even the earth pony’s mane smelled like apples.
They released their hug, Rainbow a little more reluctantly, and Applejack headed to the door. “Ah’m really glad to have met ya. Have a good night’s sleep, Rainbow.”
Rainbow gently knocked on the wooden door of the farm house. After a few seconds of waiting she heard hurried footsteps approach, and the door opened to reveal a red colt. “You must be Rainbow Dash,” he said in a low voice, “AJ told me ‘bout what happened last night. She’s out in the barn, if yer lookin’ fer her.”
Rainbow glanced over at the barn. “Thanks, um...”
“Big Macintosh is mah name, but ya can call me Big Mac.”
“Thanks Big Mac,” she said, and then she quickly spun around and trotted toward the barn.
As Rainbow approached the barn, she caught a hint of fresh apples in the air. The source became apparent immediately upon entering the iconic structure. Basket upon basket of every kind of apple imaginable was piled high. Unloading yet another basket of Red Delicious apples was the pony she was looking for. As Rainbow approached, Applejack turned around with a start. “Oh, Rainbow Dash, I didn’t expect you back yet. How’d things go at the hospital? What’d they say?”
“It’s broken, like you thought. Just a fracture though. They said that it will heal fine, but they said no flying for at least two weeks.” Rainbow paused, a million things were flying around in her head and the next thing she said needed to be perfect. “And I wanted to speak with you about that.”
“Of course, sugarcube, what’s on yer mind?”
Rainbow paused for a second to collect the words she wanted to say. “I owe you, Applejack. If it weren’t for you, I might not be here now. I want to help on the farm, to repay your kindness.”
Applejack was taken aback by the overwhelming statement of gratitude. “Rainbow, you don’t need to do that,” she replied, “I just did what anypony would do. You crashed right in front of me, anypony would have done what I did.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that you did it. I owe you, and I can’t fly anyway. I’m not going anywhere, so you might as well accept my offer,” Rainbow said and she stomped her hoof.
Rainbow Dash had a point. Losing the ability to fly extremely limited how far she could go, and she wasn’t 100% sure where exactly she came from, anyway. “Alright, Rainbow, you win. If ya can’t fly, then yer more the welcome to stay here until you heal, and Ah’ll allow you to work on the farm while yer here. But don’t feel obligated to stay here once ya heal.” Applejack quickly thought of what she just said and realized what it sounded like. “Of course ya can stay as long as ya want, but once yer healed ya don’t have to work to repay me anymore.”
“Woohoo! You won’t regret this, Applejack, I promise.”
The next two weeks were the happiest of both Rainbow Dash’s and Applejack’s lives. They both felt it was kind of funny that such a terrible event could create such a wonderful friendship. After the two weeks were up, Rainbow Dash decided to stay in Ponyville. She made herself a home from the clouds and got a job as a weather pony. And although she no longer stayed at the ranch with Applejack, she frequently stopped by for a visit.
Rainbow Dash smiled even wider at the memory. She and Applejack had been the best of friends ever since, and now, with the new information that she had discovered the previous week, she could feel that friendship growing into so much more.
She shook herself out of the thought when something cold hit her coat. Looking around, she discovered that the rain had soaked her. Rainbow Dash immediately retreated to her house as the rain got heavier. She walked in the door and closed it fast behind herself. It was only a matter of time, she knew that she couldn’t stay quiet for long.
‘I’m in love with Applejack,’ she thought. She blushed slightly at this, and started to walk into the kitchen to make herself something to eat before she went to bed.
Then another thought drifted in, ‘I doubt Applejack feels the same though. She doesn’t seem like the type to be into fillyfooling.’ The happiness she had felt earlier disappeared, and her heart sunk at the prospect. It was too much to bear, she couldn’t imagine being without Applejack. She looked up in a mirror with tears in her eyes, and another memory drifted into her head, the Running of the Leaves. There was something about that race, something that pulled her and AJ closer. She felt a spark from the tip of her tail, all the way up her spine, before it reached her head. She couldn’t resist the urge to tell Applejack. Even if there was only the slightest chance that the farm pony could feel the same way, it was worth it to be with her. So, as Rainbow listened to the falling rain outside, she vowed to tell Applejack the next day.
She ate a sandwich and walked toward the stairs leading to her room. Once she entered the room, she threw herself on the bed. She was too tired to care if she lay under the covers or not. Her eyelids became heavy, and she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 2-The Power of Love
Rainbow Dash was up ridiculously early, at least by her standards. The sun wasn’t even at its highest point yet, and it was usually past that point when she woke up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes then got out of bed and trotted the bathroom. The cold water against her coat felt refreshing, finally allowing her to wake up fully. She moved her gaze from the water up to her mirror reflection. Her mane had its usual untidiness, and water droplets dripped from her face and down into the sink. Her eyes were bloodshot and her lids drooped lazily, as she struggled to fully wake up. Today, she was on a mission. Feelings that were dormant for the longest time suddenly came bursting forth. It gave her a vigor that made her feel invincible. She glanced at herself one more time in the mirror with a determined smirk before walking down the stairs and out door. She flew toward Sweet Apple Acres with the utmost speed. As the farm came into view, Rainbow Dash spotted the pony she was searching for near the barn carrying a basket filled with apples. “Hey Applejack,” she yelled as she flew up next to the orange Earth Pony and landed.
“Hey Rainbow! What can Ah do ya fer?”
“Well, you see,” Rainbow stumbled over the words, her gaze fixed on the emerald irises that remained fixated upon her. She was lost in those beautiful green eyes for some time.
“Do Ah have something on mah face, sugarcube?” the workhorse asked, rubbing her cheek with a hoof.
Rainbow shook her head, “Um. No…” She knew what she wanted to say, but it was so much harder to do it in person then she originally thought. “I was wondering if you had some free time today.” A smile formed on AJ’s muzzle.
‘Ah was hopin’ she’d come round today, Ah’d really like to spend some time with her later,’ she thought, not wanting to seem too overeager about hanging out with the mare she had special feelings for.
“Well, Ah do have a lot of work to do, but it shouldn’t take all day. Why don’t you come back round 4 o’clock?”
Rainbow didn’t like the idea of waiting even longer, but concluded that maybe she needed the time to calm her nerves. “Okay, I’ll do that.” And with that, she flew off.
As she flew, the fact that she had trouble expressing her true feelings to Applejack weighed heavily on her. She felt a small clump in her throat and a feeling like she had a weight in her chest. “Oh for Celestia’s sake, Rainbow Dash, get a hold of yourself,” she said to herself, “why is it so hard to tell her how I feel?” She knew the answer, but didn’t want to admit it. Applejack had a sleek, sexy and athletic body that made Rainbow’s legs feel like jelly. Her eyes were like shining emeralds that could look into your very soul, framed by the cutest freckles Rainbow had ever seen. The reason Rainbow had such a hard time talking to AJ was that she was too busy staring into her eyes or at her flank. Not to mention the fact that if Applejack didn’t feel the same way, it could ruin the friendship she cherished more than anything.
She needed to talk to somepony. She thought about it for a long while. Pinkie came to mind first, but after some more thought decided that was impossible. After all, it was Pinkie. Rarity couldn’t hold her mouth shut about such a thing. She would probably be gossiping it all around Ponyville in matter of seconds. Fluttershy was kind, almost to a fault, but did she really know anything about love? Her mind then shifted to Twilight. Of all the ponies, Twilight was the best choice. Rainbow reasoned that love and friendship, while different in magnitude, were essentially the same thing. And as Twilight was studying friendship, she was the most likely to understand. She flew post haste to the Ponyville Library.
It was a rare occurrence for Rainbow Dash to actually use the door of the library rather than crashing into it in one way or another. So when she knocked on the door, Twilight was a little surprised to see her standing there.
“Oh, Rainbow Dash. Uh, hi.”
“Hi Twilight, I got something I want to talk to you about, can I come in?”
She tilted her head a little and looked like she was in deep though. “Of course Rainbow, come on in.”
Twilight moved to the side to let her in, then closed the door behind her. Luckily it seemed that Spike wasn’t around, so she would be able to speak to Twilight in private. “So Rainbow, what did you want to talk about?” She sent her friend a puzzled look, as she almost never got a visit from Rainbow to the library. Well, except when she came to retrieve the next Daring Do book.
Rainbow hesitated a bit and hopped from hoof to hoof several times before she began, “Twilight, have you ever been in love?”
Twilight’s eyes lit up, “Oh Rainbow, did you find a special somepony? Please, tell me who the lucky stallion is!” Twilight was almost bouncing in anticipation.
“Well that’s kind of the problem, it’s not a stallion, it’s Applejack.” She cringed as she said the line. She didn’t say anything, but looked at Twilight, waiting for her response.
Twilight’s expression didn’t change at all. If anything, she got even more excited. “That’s wonderful, Rainbow!”
“Wait, what?” Rainbow looked dumbfounded for a second. She knew that Twilight would understand, but this went far beyond anything she ever imagined. “You’re really okay with this; we are both, umm … you know, mares.”
“Rainbow, you’re my friend. I wouldn’t care if you fell for a tree! So what did Applejack say when you told her?”
Rainbow Dash looked at the floor, “I haven’t told her yet. More precisely, I couldn’t.” Rainbow paused, choking back some tears. “I was right in front of her this morning and couldn’t tell her,” she said in a saddened voice.
Twilight walked over to her friend and used a hoof to lift Rainbow’s head to eye level. “That’s not the confident Rainbow Dash I know. Why couldn’t you tell her?”
Rainbow looked away. “Well, what if she doesn’t like me back? What if she doesn’t want me as a friend anymore when I tell her?” the cyan mare asked as her voice cracked even more frequently than usual.
“Rainbow, I’m surprised at you. You’ve been friends with Applejack longer than any of us. You should know that Applejack would never destroy that friendship. I can’t say for certain what her reaction will be, but I do know that you have nothing to fear. Applejack would be your friend no matter what your feelings are.”
Rainbow felt like a fool. She knew everything that Twilight was telling her, it just took Twilight saying it for her to realize it.
“You are absolutely right, Twi,” she said, puffing out her chest and building up her confidence again, “This afternoon, when Applejack is finished with her work, I am going to tell her.”
Twilight chuckled a bit before looking at her friend with a smile. “That’s the spirit. Hey, why don’t we go have lunch, and you can tell me how these feelings manifested?”
“Okay, I suppose I can do that.” And with that, they walked out of the door and towards their favorite restaurant in Ponyville.
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Rainbow Dash showed up in front of the barn at five minutes to four. Applejack wasn’t there yet, so she found the nearest hay pile and lay down on it. ‘Not as good as a cloud, of course, but this hay pile isn’t that bad,’ she thought to herself. It wasn’t much later that Rainbow Dash could see a brown Stetson appear over the hill in front of her, and before long Applejack appeared under it. By Rainbow’s estimate it must have been exactly 4 o'clock. “That’s just like her to be right on time,” she mumbled to herself.
“Hey there AJ, get all your work done?” She got up from the hay pile and walked over to her approaching friend and crush.
“Yep, sure as sugar did. So what did ya want to do?” Applejack asked, still with a smile.
“Well, you see-”
She was cut off as AJ suddenly said, “Can you just wait a second? Ah need to get this here basket into the barn.”
Dash looked at her for a moment before she nodded, “Sure AJ.” They continued to talk as they entered the barn. Applejack put down the basket from her back, and stretched as the weight was relieved. Beads of sweat started to trickle down Rainbow’s face as she watched Applejack’s sleek, well-toned body stretch. Rainbow began shifting her weight from side to side, and Applejack noticed how nervous the rainbow-maned pegasus was.
“Everything alright there, sugarcube? You look kind of nervous.”
“E-everything’s fine!” Dash said a little louder than she wanted. She could feel her cheeks getting warm, as what felt like all the blood in her body rushed to her face.
Applejack let out a small laugh that caught Rainbow off guard. “Ah didn’t mean nothing by it, but seriously, Rainbow,” she said with a smile, “what did you want to do?”
Rainbow looked into her eyes and remembered just how much she loved hearing Applejack laugh. “Well it’s not so much what I wanted to do, but a little more what I wanted to say.”
“Oh, okay. Go ahead, sugarcube.”
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to start speaking, but was immediately cut off by familiar sounds of yelling coming from the road leading to the Everfree Forest. Rainbow looked over to see the source of the noise and saw Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom running toward them.
“What’s wrong, Apple Bloom?” said Applejack, clearly worried.
“It’s Scootaloo,” yelled Apple Bloom, “We were doin’ some cutie mark crusadin’ in the Everfree Forest and-”
“Apple Bloom! You know darn well you’re not supposed to go into the Everfree Forest alone.”
“Ah know, Ah know, but Scootaloo convinced us that it was the best place to get our cutie marks,” she said with tears in her eyes.
Rainbow Dash shook her head, “That filly is always getting into trouble,” she said, “So what happened, where is Scootaloo?”
“That’s just the thing,” Sweetie Belle jumped into the conversation, “We were trying to get our cutie marks in the forest and we ran into some timberwolves. Me and Apple Bloom got away, but Scootaloo was cornered! You gotta help her!” Sweetie Belle yelled.
Rainbow Dash didn’t hesitate at all at the mention of Scootaloo’s name. She never told anypony this, but she always felt a kind of bond with her filly admirer. Although she acted as though Scootaloo annoyed her, she felt almost like a big sister, if not a mother. Scootaloo was, after all, an orphan. Her parents died when she was very young, and Rainbow Dash took it upon herself to look after the filly. If it weren’t for Scootaloo’s lack of ability to fly, she would have adopted her by now. She just needed to learn how to fly so that she could make it to Rainbow Dash’s cloud home.
So with that in mind she quickly exclaimed, “Come on, Applejack.” Rainbow Dash jumped to the sky and flew off toward the Everfree Forest. Applejack watched her friend for a second before sprinting after her.
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It was dusk as they reached the edge of the forest. Rainbow quickly looked at Applejack, who wasn’t far behind. “Okay, I’m going to fly over the forest to see if I can find Scootaloo, and you just follow me.”
“Sounds good to me partner, let’s do this.”
So Rainbow Dash took off and Applejack ran into the forest after her.
The sky was getting darker and darker as they scoured the forest for Scootaloo. The night became darker and darker and Rainbow Dash was becoming more and more frantic in her search. Finally, screams for help could be heard of the night air, and the two mares followed them directly to Scootaloo. She had managed to climb into a tree and cling to a branch away from the timberwolves, but three of them were still circling the tree every once in a while jumping and snapping at her, missing by mere inches. Rainbow Dash was the first rescuer to get there. She looked up at the shivering filly and felt a sudden need to protect her. There was no time to think, she had to act. She rammed one of the timberwolves on the side and sent it rolling across the ground. The other two saw this and immediately pounced at her. But at that moment Applejack came galloping into the fray, turned 180 degrees and bucked them both in the jaws. The two wolves dropped to the ground, stunned by the powerful and swift kick.
“Scootaloo,” yelled Rainbow Dash, “run!” Scootaloo jumped down from the tree and ran towards the forest entrance. By this time the first timberwolf was getting back to its feet. It growled seeing Scootaloo run away, and began to give chase. “On no you don’t,” snarled Rainbow Dash as she flew towards it trying to ram it again. The timberwolf was ready for her this time, and dodged the attack. However, this did delay the creature long enough that by the time it turned to chase Scootaloo again, she was out of sight. The timberwolf turned its attention to Rainbow Dash, furious that its meal had gotten away. It lunged towards Rainbow Dash. She dodged, but it still managed to scratch her right side with a claw, making a small slice and causing her to lose balance and fall. She felt sharp pain in her right side, and something warm slide down her coat. Rainbow Dash grimaced at the pain, and she involuntarily slammed her eyes shut. She heard a loud growling, her eyes shot open and she looked directly up at the timberwolf, which was now on top of her.
“Rainbow!” yelled Applejack, as she failed to notice the other two timberwolves coming to their senses behind her. Before she could react, one of them hit her from behind and sent her flying into a nearby cliff face. She hit the side of the rock wall with a loud thud and a visceral crack. She fell to the ground, motionless.
Rainbow Dash saw the whole altercation happen. She needed to get to Applejack. She removed the timberwolf on top of her with a swift kick to its belly, it whined and was thrown across the ground. Rainbow flew in front of Applejack’s body to block the remaining two timberwolves from reaching the fallen pony. Tears swelled in her eyes, not only because she felt the pain in her side stronger than ever, but also because she didn’t know the condition of Applejack. What she did know was that her friend needed her protection. She would never leave Applejack. Not even if it meant an early death. The three timberwolves slowly approached the pegasus and her unconscious friend. As they got closer, Rainbow could see the saliva drip from their jaws. One of them snarled at her.
Then something happened that, afterward, Rainbow couldn’t explain. As she stood between the timberwolves and her friend, all she could think was, “No. I refuse to let her die without telling her how I feel.” Suddenly, her fatigue seemed to drain away. She could feel her muscles return to full strength. Reinvigorated, she dove at the timberwolves with blinding speed. Before any of them knew what had happened, two had been knocked back. The third one whirled around to reestablish sight of its target. It saw her coming and opened its jaw in preparation for an attack. Rainbow got closer and the timberwolf closed its jaw around one of her hooves. Rainbow Dash didn’t make a sound. She looked up with so much hate in her eyes that the timberwolf flinched in fear before reasserting its grip. In a matter of seconds, a second hoof hit it in the face. It let go and got a swift kick to the chest once her hoof was free. The timberwolf crumpled to the ground, but Rainbow didn’t stop there. She put a wing underneath the dazed timberwolf and catapulted it several feet, landing it near the other two. The timberwolves quickly came to their senses and got to their feet, but turned and ran back into the forest, figuring that this meal wasn’t worth the effort.
Now that the timberwolves had been dealt with, Rainbow was able to turn her attention to the pony that really needed it, Applejack. She limped over to her friend, expecting the worst. Applejack was still breathing when Rainbow Dash arrived at her side, but she was unconscious, and her right front leg was bent at an odd angle. Rainbow Dash cringed at the sight of it. “I need to get you out of here,” she whispered to her unconscious friend. But the strength she used to fight off the timberwolves had faded away, and she was now even more exhausted than before. It didn’t matter to Rainbow Dash; Applejack needed her help, and one way or another she’d get her friend out of the forest. Rainbow gently nudged her way beneath Applejack’s chest and lifted her onto her back. She winced at the pain in her left front hoof as the effect of the timberwolf’s bite took hold. She lifted it, walking on three legs instead of four. She unfurled her wings to try to stabilize the form on her back, but it was still difficult to do so. Rainbow turned around and began walking toward the edge of the forest. Her wounds felt like they were burning. She could still feel the warmth of her blood down her right side, together with her dripping front hoof. Even so, she couldn’t help but smile a little. She was willing to sacrifice everything for the unconscious mare on her back. And Rainbow Dash didn’t even know if Applejack liked her back yet. She let out a small giggle before it was cut short by another bolt of pain shooting through her side.
Eventually they reached a clearing. Rainbow’s legs were shaking at this point, and she couldn’t go any further. She gently set Applejack on the ground. Applejack stirred slightly as she hit the cold forest floor. “Applejack?” asked Rainbow, but there was no response.
“Applejack, I don’t know if you can hear me or not, but I need to say what I wanted to say before we were interrupted by Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.” She took a deep breath before continuing, “Applejack, I love you.”
At this, an emerald eye opened slightly. Rainbow stared at Applejack as she weakly said, “Ah...Ah love you too.” With that she passed out again. Tears in her eyes, Rainbow walked over to Applejack’s side. She nuzzled her friend lightly before lying next to her. Feeling comfortable, Rainbow Dash placed her head on Applejack’s beautiful straw-colored mane. She breathed deeply as the scent of apples enveloped her. Then, her strength completely sapped, she closed her eyes and fell asleep. The pain from the walk and every trauma she had faced was forgotten as Rainbow Dash lay next to Applejack.
“I love you,” Rainbow muttered in her sleep.
“...jack!”
“...Dash! Applejack!”
“RAINBOW DASH! APPLEJACK!” Rainbow Dash awoke to the sound of somepony calling her name, or more specifically, someponies. She opened her eyes, which took some time to adjust to to her dark surroundings, and she looked around, confused.
“W-was t-that...” she started to say.
“RAINBOW DASH! APPLEJACK!” Raising her head from her straw colored pillow, she looked around to try and locate the source of the sound. It was still dark out, so it couldn’t have been too long since she had passed out. She squinted her eyes, straining to see the source of the calls. Finally, some figures stepped out of the shadows. Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were just on the other side of the clearing, but they hadn’t seen her yet. They trotted to the middle of the clearing before a familiar voice called out.
“Come on Dashie, where are you?!” yelled Pinkie Pie.
Rainbow looked down at the mare by her side, she was still unconscious. Rainbow noticed some strips of blood that ran down her back where her own hoof had rested. Dash herself was weak, she looked in horror as the group started to go in the wrong direction and had to muster all the strength that was left in her, “O...over h-here!” she yelled before collapsing back on to the apple scented mane that she loved, relieved to hear the sound of the frantic clip clop of hooves approaching her position.
The group stopped and looked in horror at the condition of their friends. Applejack with her front hoof bent at an odd angle, and Rainbow Dash, she was still bleeding from her right shoulder to her belly. They couldn’t see how large the wound was due to the blood that covered the cyan mare’s side. Her left front hoof was also covered in blood.
“Rainbow Dash, darling, what in Equestria happened!” exclaimed Rarity.
“Timberwolves...S-cootaloo...t-trouble,” was all Rainbow Dash could manage to gasp out.
“We heard that much from Scootaloo,” said Twilight, “She is shaken but not hurt. What I want to know is how you got in this CONDITION.” She pointed a hoof at her side.
“Twilight!” yelled Pinkie Pie, “Dashie and Applejack are hurt, save the questions for later!” Twilight was caught breathless, she had never seen Pinkie get mad, much less yell at anypony, but it seemed that the sight of one of her best friends injured pushed her over the edge.
“You’re right Pinkie, I’m sorry. Rainbow Dash, can you walk?”
“Not...not on my own.”
“Okay Pinkie Pie, you and Fluttershy help Rainbow Dash. Meanwhile Rarity and I will carry Applejack with our magic. We have to get these guys to the hospital right away.” The rest of the group nodded in agreement. Fluttershy and Pinkie helped Rainbow Dash to her hooves, supporting her on their shoulders while Rarity and Twilight used an interesting mix of magic and brute strength to carry the unconscious form of Applejack. With the two ponies secure, they headed straight to the hospital.
Rainbow Dash managed to stay conscious for this entire trip. Her whole body shook from the sheer exhaustion of her fight, she winched in pain when her left front leg touched the ground. She closed her eyes and tried to force through the pain. She felt so tired, but she couldn’t sleep until she knew Applejack would be alright. When they entered the hospital Nurse Redheart immediately rushed the two into a room to have them looked at. As Rainbow Dash was laid into a bed she gasped out, “Is...is Applejack g-going to be o-okay?” she said through her teeth as the pain flamed up in her side and hoof at the same time.
“Her leg looks to be broken,” stated Nurse Redheart, “But her breathing is stable and she has a steady pulse. She should be fine. It’s you we are worried about however. You have lost a great deal with blood Miss Dash. If you had been out there for another hour you would most likely have died” Rainbow’s face changed through several emotions before it finally got one that showed how relieved she was. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. All the sound in the room vanished. The sound of rushing ponies and the nurse’s voice disappeared. She felt the strong grip of sleep taking her.
The warm sun shone through the window, hitting Rainbow in the face. She groaned and moved a hoof to her eyes to try and get some extra sleep. The warmth of the sun still annoying her face, she moved her hoof and opened her eyes. She slammed them shut as the sun assaulted her retinas. On a second attempt she had a little more luck, but still had to squint to keep them open. As her eye adjusted to the bright room she noticed a figure sitting up in the bed next to hers. Applejack was awake and looking at her.
“Applejack!” screamed Rainbow and shot up to a sitting position, she winced in pain as her side flared up. She closed her eyes and moved a hoof to her right side, but managed to say through a forced smile, “Thank Celestia you’re awake, I was so worried.”
“Relax Rainbow! Take it easy would yah? Ah’m sorry that Ah had yeh worried, sugar cube, but Ah’m back now and Ah ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
“That’s at least some relief,” Rainbow Dash said, still holding her side with her left front hoof. As the pain slowly disappeared she moved her hoof in front of her. She inspected her bandaged hoof for any holes in the bandage to reveal her hoof. She hadn’t really got any time to inspect it before it had gotten bandaged, and was curious of how it would look.
“Yeh know that Ah was mighty worried fer you, when Ah woke and saw yeh in that state.” Tears started to form in her eyes as she spoke, “Just what did yeh get yeh self into?”
Rainbow started to explain everything that had happened. When she came to the part where she carried her and had to stop due to the exhaustion, an awkward silence filled the room.
Applejack looked up at her, the tears that was there just minutes ago dried away, “Every word Rainbow, and Ah remember my response too. Ah meant it all too.” Tears of joy formed in Rainbow Dash’s eyes. “Ah love you Rainbow, it just took an experience like the one last night to show me that, and it made it all stronger when ah looked at yer condition.”
“I love you too, Applejack, I should have told you before, but I was worried about your reaction. I can see that that was foalish of me. And take it easy, I would have done it several times over to save you.”
The next day they were released from the hospital. By this time Rainbow’s front hoof had healed, but she still had a bandage wrapped around her midsection. Applejack, however, still had a cast on and was instructed to use it the least amount possible for at least a week. This was a problem for Applejack, as it meant that she couldn’t buck apples. That meant that it was up to Big Mac to do his and her work all by himself for a week. “Ah don’t know how Big Mac will be able to handle it all. Ya’ll remember what happened to me when Ah tried to do all the work by myself.”
“Yeah, you sent me flying into the Ponyville Library,” joked Rainbow.
“Ah did say sorry for that, right?”
“Several times in fact.” It was at this point that Rainbow had an idea.
“Hey, Applejack.”
“Yeah?”
“Why don’t I come live with you, that way for the next week I could help with the work in your stead.”
“Yeh think we should move that fast, Ah mean Ah love you and all, but what about telling everypony else?”
“Well, I don’t think that it’s much of a secret anymore,” said Rainbow as thoughts filled her head of how Twilight and the others had found them in the Everfree Forest, and a specific slightly embarrassing instance where Rainbow was found in bed with Applejack just a couple hours ago.
“Yeah, maybe our friends know, but not mah family.”
“I’ll leave it up to you, but I love you, and I am not afraid of walking there with you and telling them everything. Beside, working on the farm is a good excuse if we don’t tell them right away,” she said and put on a confident smile.
A strange confidence filled Applejack as Rainbow spoke; it was as if she was absorbing Rainbow’s confidence just by being near her. “Yer absolutely right Rainbow. Ah’m not ashamed to be with yeh, and Ah don’t care if all of Equestria knows it.”
“Then let’s go, together,” Rainbow stated and walked up next to her and draped a wing over Applejack’s shoulders. With that, Applejack leaned against Rainbow and they walked together to Sweet Apple Acres.
They arrived at Sweet Apple Acres a little after noon. Big Mac was over by the barn finishing up his morning chores. Granny Smith was nowhere in sight, but was most likely inside finishing up lunch. As Big Mac set down the last basket of freshly picked apples he looked over at the two mares coming his way. He cocked and eyebrow at how his sister seemed to lean against the other mare and how Rainbow’s wing was draped over her. Regardless, he shrugged it off and only said, “Uh, mornin’ sis, sorry we couldn’t come get you at the hospital today, but with the apple harvest right around the corner...”
“Yeh don’t need to explain it to me Big Mac, Ah know how much work there is to do. In fact, Ah have something to tell you and Granny Smith before lunch, so finish up and come inside would yeh?.”
“Sure thing sis, be right there.”
Rainbow and Applejack continued into the house, releasing their embrace at this point. Granny Smith was indeed in the kitchen as they entered. The smell of fresh apple pie flowed through the farmhouse. Rainbow followed Applejack into the kitchen, and they confronted Granny Smith who was just about to take a newly baked apple pie out of the oven. “Hey Granny,” said Applejack trotting into the kitchen with Rainbow close behind.
“Oh, Applejack, good to see yeh back on yer hooves. Well all but one at least.” She let out a small chuckle at her comment.
Applejack giggled herself before continuing, “Yeah, all but one… Ah got something to tell you in regards to that.”
Granny smith walked over to the farmhouse table and put the fresh apple pie down and turned her attention to her granddaughter, “Okay, just wait out in the living room, and I’ll be there in a bit.” Applejack nodded, and led Rainbow out into the living room.
As they walked into the living room, Big Mac walked through the front door, and made his way over to his sister, “Okay sis, what’s up?”
“Just come over here and sit down, and once Granny Smith gets here, Ah’ll tell you both.” Big Mac did as he was told, and after a minute or so Granny Smith entered the room, and sat down in her rocking chair.
“That’s okay sis, Ah can pick up the slack, no problem.”
“That’s admirable of you Big Mac, but yeh know better than anypony how much work there is to do. It’s too much for even yeh Big Mac. But that’s okay, because Rainbow Dash here was willing to lend us a hoof to help out.”
“That’s great, but we don’t have an extra room for her to stay in. When she stayed here last time, Applebloom was still really little, and was still staying in my room. But now she has her own room,” explained Big Mac.
“Well, that is the other thing Ah would like to mention.” It was an awkward silence, as Applejack had no idea how they would react to this statement. She felt like she was shrinking on the spot. Rainbow seemed to notice, and draped a wing over her side once more. There it was again, the safety and confidence that filled her, she moved closer to Rainbow as if trying to absorb more of it. Applejack looked over at Rainbow and glanced at her, before she turned her attention back to her family.
“Ah’m kinda in love with Rainbow.” She looked down at that moment; she didn’t want to look at their expression. There was no immediate answer to this remark. At first, there was a very confused look on Big Mac and Granny Smith’s faces.
It was Big Mac that broke the silence first. “Well, Ah suppose Ah should have expected it, after Ah saw you walking home together like you were. But Ah can’t say I have a problem with it. Ah’m not going to be the one that is going to tell you who you can or can’t love. If you truly love Miss Rainbow, and are happy with her, then that’s all that matters.” He said, and nodded as to confirm his words.
Applejack eyes lit up and she lifted her gaze from the floor to her brother’s face. “You really mean it, Big Mac?” Applejack had tears forming in her eyes.
“Absolutely, sis.”
All attention then turned to the one pony that hadn’t said anything yet. Granny Smith had a look of intense thought on her face. Only when she realized that everypony was looking at her, did she answer. “Applejack, yer grandfather would strongly disagree with yeh. But, being an old mare like mehself, Ah know that love comes in many forms and shapes. So if you really love Rainbow Dash, I’d say go for it, and to always follow yer heart. Then you can’t go wrong.”
The response was immediate; Applejack ran over to Granny Smith and wrapped her in a big hug. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, “Thank yeh Granny, thank yeh so much.”
This began a series of changes at Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow sold her cloud house to another Pegasus in town. Rainbow didn’t know this, but apparently her house was highly contested among the other Pegasi in town. So she was able to sell it for a fairly high price. After that, she moved in with Applejack. The first week was hard, since Rainbow Dash had to do all of Applejack’s chores. It gave her a new appreciation of exactly how hard Applejack worked every day. After her cast came off, it became a lot easier. Rainbow Dash continued to work on the farm permanently after that. This of course got the work done a lot earlier, and Rainbow Dash and Applejack were able to spend a lot more time together. These days were the happiest days of both mares’ lives.
After another two weeks, Applejack could see Rainbow’s vigor start to diminish. She still worked every day, and spent the evenings with Applejack. But she seemed to be downtrodden, and more and more distanced from her, and it got worse every day. Finally one day Applejack woke up, and Rainbow Dash wasn’t beside her, she was gone. It was strange, because she woke Rainbow Dash up every morning. Rainbow wasn’t exactly an early riser, so it had been Applejack’s job to get her up, so they could work. She moved her hoof to the other mare’s side of the bed. “Not even warm, so she left some time ago then.” Applejack looked around the room, as if she expected Rainbow to be in the room somewhere, but found nothing at all. ‘Maybe she already went out, to get work started,’ she thought. But, as she got up and went outside, there was still no sign of the rainbow maned pegasus.
After about an hour, Applejack noticed a rainbow streak across the sky, heading for the farmhouse. And Applejack watched it, as it entered the open window of the room they shared. Applejack needed to know what was going on, and didn’t hesitate as she galloped as fast as she could to the farmhouse.
As she walked over to the door of the room, she could hear crying coming from inside. Applejack knocked on the door, but didn’t really wait for a response. As she walked in, Rainbow looked up from the bed she was lying on. She had streams of tears running down her face, and tried to hide something as Applejack entered. Applejack walked over to her, “Rainbow, what’s wrong? What happened?”
Rainbow closed her eyes and tried to sniff the tears away. “I didn’t want you to see me like this Applejack, but I suppose it was inevitable. This happens every year, and with the two of us living together, you were bound to find out.”
Applejack thought for a moment, and it seems that she was right; she had never seen Rainbow on this particular day before. She looked back at her lover. “Find out about what?” she said in the warmest voice she could.
Rainbow looked up at Applejack, her tears were triumphant as they kept flowing down her cheeks. “Applejack, do you know what today is?”
Applejack thought really hard, and then it finally hit her. “Rainbow, seven years ago today is the day we met, but why are you crying?”
“Applejack, the day I met you was the best day of my life, but it was also the worst. You remember that you said I was lying about the reason I crashed into your tree, and I didn’t want to talk about it. And you told me that I didn’t need to talk about it if I didn’t want to. For seven years you never once asked me to talk about it again, but now that we are together, I feel like you deserve to know what really happened that day.” Applejack didn’t answer, instead she simply sat down on the bed next to the mare she loved, and snuggled closer to her to let her know that she was there for her. Applejack signaled for her to continue.
With Rainbow crying next to her, Applejack leaned over and kissed her. They had been living together for the past few weeks, but this was their first kiss. Applejack could feel Rainbow’s tears fall on to her nose as she savored the taste of her lover’s tongue. After a moment, she broke off the kiss, and just stared at Rainbow. Almost immediately, Rainbow leaned toward Applejack, and stole another kiss. They pushed together, and as they kissed, both mares wished deep down inside that this moment would last for an eternity.
Eventually the kiss did indeed end, and by this time Rainbow had more or less calmed down. “Do you feel better now Rainbow?” asked Applejack. “Y...yeah, thank you Applejack.” She looked down at the bed, and she shoved something into Applejack’s hoofs. It was a news clipping. “Two Ponies Dead After Freak Factory Accident,” that was the headline that was emblazoned across the top of it. “This came out a few days later, and I kept it with me ever since. Every year on this day, I take it out and look at it. That’s why I’ve been so depressed this past week, I knew this date was coming up. But today I woke up and realized that I left the clipping back at my cloud home. I kind of freaked out and flew there immediately to go and retrieve it. Luckily, the Pegasus that bought my old house hadn’t moved in quite yet. That is where I was this morning.”
“There is something Ah want yeh to remember, Rainbow. Ah love yeh, just as much as Ah know yer parents loved yeh. And Ah know that they knew yeh loved them too. This obsessing, year after year, just makes things worse. What happened was bad, but yeh need to grieve at first, and move on. Yeh have been running away from the past fer seven years. It is time to focus on the future, on us.” Applejack wrapped Rainbow in a warm embrace, and gave her another kiss. “From now on Rainbow, today will not be a day of mourning. Instead, Ah want to think of this day as a happy day, because it is the day Ah met the pony Ah love. We don’t need to do any work today, Rainbow, let’s just take the day off and spend it together.”
Chapter 4: New Beginnings
The small filly sat impatiently on the top of the hill. Her purple mane blew around in the gusting wind. Her gaze shifted to the ground once more, studying the rocks she had looked over so many times before. She looked longingly into the sky for any sign of what she was waiting for. Finally, she got up and began pacing. Her impatience was starting to get the better of her. She looked up at the sky again. She was just about to leave, when she noticed a flash of color streak across the sky. Turning around to face the pony she was waiting for, she watched as Rainbow Dash gracefully landed beside her.
Squeals of delight leapt from Scootaloo’s mouth as Rainbow Dash took off. Rainbow made sure not to fly at top speed, or the little filly might fall off, but she still flew fairly fast. She twisted and turned as she flew through the air, and she couldn’t help but grin when she looked back, and saw the biggest smile she had ever seen on Scootaloo’s face. After a few minutes of this, she made her way back to the hilltop and landed next to Scootaloo’s scooter.
Applejack unloaded the last basket of apples from her back. It had been almost four months since Rainbow Dash had moved in with her, and with her help working full time on the farm she was way ahead of schedule. Therefore, she was done with her work very early today. Just as she was wiping the sweat from her forehead, she noticed a rainbow flying towards her. As she watched it, it zoomed past the barn she was in and landed in the window to the bedroom she and Rainbow Dash shared. “Rainbow must be done with Scootaloo’s first flight lesson,” Applejack said to herself. Applejack thought that it was very kind of Rainbow to teach the filly how to fly. After that incident in the Everfree Forest, she couldn’t really blame her. The whole thing could have been avoided if Scootaloo had known how to fly. But then again, if that incident hadn’t happened, she might not have expressed her true feelings for Rainbow Dash. But all of that aside, her lover had returned home and she couldn’t wait to see her. Applejack looked toward the window and trotted to the farmhouse.
“But it’s not just a filly, it’s Scootaloo. She looks up to me so much, and I just feel that I should show her how much she means to me as well.”
Rainbow was the first one to make it to the hill this time. She had woken up early with Applejack to start their big day. When Applejack left to go to the orphanage, she immediately flew to the hill. Naturally, this meant she was early. However, it wasn’t long before she heard the familiar sound of a scooter drawing nearer and nearer to the hilltop. Less than a minute later Scootaloo was pulling up beside Rainbow Dash. “You ready for another lesson Scoots?” asked Rainbow Dash still excited from yesterday’s decision.
Applejack was waiting for Rainbow when she returned home. She was sitting on the front porch as they arrived, Scootaloo on her scooter and Rainbow Dash majestically flying through the air. The huge smile across Scootaloo’s face was proof that Rainbow had told her the good news. “Ah take it that you heard the news?”
They made their way down the dirt path that led away from Sweet Apple Acres. The sky unfolded its beauty as the the sky was covered in shining stars. The full moon shone bright and cast shadows from the rows of trees.
Applejack shivered a little, the night air wasn’t exactly warm. Rainbow noticed and draped a wing over her and pulled her as close as she could. Applejack leaned on her. Rainbow couldn’t help but blush a little. Rainbow suddenly stopped, so did Applejack. Applejack looked at her “Something wrong, hun?”
“You can open your eyes now” Applejack blinked a couple of times before her eyes adjusted to the dark. She looked at Rainbow Dash, who had a huge smile on her face. Applejack then focused on the surroundings, her eyes widened as the lake in front of her practically glowed, as the moon and stars reflected in the lake. It felt like two heavens on the same place, one on earth and one in the sky. She looked over at Rainbow, who now sat with a red velvet box in her hooves.
THE END
