Light

by kani

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Rainbow Dash, Applejack
Length: 4785

Lost as a permanent outsider amidst Manehattan's haughty elite, Applejack finds light in a valiant blue pegasus.

Shackled by her circumstances yet chained to her past, Applejack finds herself a permanent outsider amongst the aloof socialites of Manehattan.
For many years she had thought her future inalterable - until an accidental encounter twists her fate in an unexpected direction.

Set in an alternate timeline in which Applejack didn't return to Ponyville.

Constructive criticism and advice welcome! Tags may be added as story is updated.
Special thanks to sunnypack for editing, and EclipterROME, Regina Wright, Dusk and Moonblast, Dainty Blaze, Sky Breeze, LostThoughts, ScribeScribbles and Scout Charger for pre-reading.

Published 2015-04-28 17:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-04-28 17:20:02 UTC

Prelude

Bam.

“Aunt Orange! Uncle Orange!” the young filly cried, slamming the door open and dashing across the dining room. She skidded to a halt before her uncle and aunt, thrill and revelation glinting in her bright green eyes.

“Whatever is the matter, my dear?” the pale mare asked, frowning slightly as she put down her knife and fork. The stallion beside her crinkled his brows in concern.

“I’m mighty sorry, but I hav'to go home!” the filly declared, waving an excited hoof at the shining rainbow visible outside the window. “I've just found out who I’m supposed t’be! I need t’–”

Her uncle knocked a hoof onto the table suddenly, and she jumped at the noise. “Nonsense!” he exclaimed. “You must stay, Applejack. I have seen a true Manehattanite in you; Manehattan is your destiny, you mark my words. Returning to Ponyville would be absurd!”

Her face fell, and she quickly opened her mouth in protest. “But I–”

“No buts, my dear, you heard your Uncle Orange,” her aunt interrupted, her voice firm. A smile crossed the mare’s delicate features. “I must say, your upbringing may have left you with some… peculiarities, but in the past few weeks I have seen your inner city pony shining through – and what a gem she is! In fact, I am quite sure you will soon gain a cutie mark in city life!”

“You must stay, we insist!”

The filly recoiled slightly at their enthusiastic expressions. She lowered her head, her own determination beginning to cloud with doubt. She felt her aunt put a gentle hoof around her, and looked up to meet the mare’s brilliant sapphire eyes.

“I understand that you’re homesick, Applejack,” Aunt Orange said softly, “but it would be unthinkable to sacrifice your bright, sophisticated future to spend your life on a…FARM.” The last word came out as a malevolent hiss, the mare’s voice uncharacteristically bitter. Her eyes drifted towards her own cutie mark, three brightly painted oranges, and she tightened her grip on the filly.

“We only want the best for you, dear. Surely you understand?”

Applejack looked at the glowing, expectant faces before her, her resolve fading. Her shifting gaze swept over her uncle’s tightened lips, his unusually rigid body; her aunt’s pallid features, eyes wide, almost pleading, begging.

How could she not?

She felt a lump form in her throat. Taking a deep breath and swallowing her words, she lifted the corners of her trembling lips to form an obedient smile.

“I understand, Aunt Orange, Uncle Orange. Thank you.”

The dazzling lights of the city’s skyline glittered, illuminating her vivid magenta eyes.

She pressed her forehead against the cold glass pane, strands of her untamed hair falling loosely across her face as she stared down at the bustling streets of midnight Manehattan. Her breath fogged the glass as she watched carriages carrying late-night passengers dash along the tar roads, glowing neon billboards signposting their paths through the impatient blaring of motor vehicles. Her intrigued eyes followed the ponies that peppered the marble white footpaths, some alone or closely coupled, some clumped together in idly large crowds, clad in all sorts of eccentric fashions.

“Can’t sleep?”

She started, then relaxed as she recognised the voice. As she turned, a pegasus draped in flaming orange stepped out of the shadow of the doorway, a smirk daubed across her pale yellow features.

“Nah, just not tired yet,” Rainbow Dash replied, trying her best to dismiss the remark casually. She cursed inwardly as she heard the tremor in her voice, her facade of coolness instantly crushed.

She sneaked a glance at the yellow pegasus, hoping her momentary display of weakness had gone unnoticed. Yet ever so observant, Spitfire chuckled and rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, right. Trying to play it cool as always, huh?”

Darn it.

“Don’t worry, I was just like you before my first show too.” Spitfire’s expression softened, and she stepped closer to place a reassuring wing on Rainbow. “Seriously, with the amount of time you’ve spent practising, I’m sure you’ll be fine – if you get some sleep, that is. Got that show first thing tomorrow morning, and… well,” she snickered, “crashlanding doesn’t exactly rank high on that awesomeness scale of yours.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Rainbow laughed. A grateful smile formed on her lips. “Thanks, Spitfire.”

“No problem.” Spitfire waved a hoof, then paused as she failed to stifle a yawn. “Oh Celestia, I think I might go hit the hay myself.” Shaking her head, she turned towards the door. “Night, Rainbow Dash.”

“Night, Spitfire.”

She turned back towards the window, hearing Spitfire leave the room and close the door quietly behind her. Sighing, she shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

Get a grip, Rainbow Dash. You won’t mess things up. You won’t. YOU WON’T.

She opened her eyes, watching as the flashing billboards across the street mimicked the rapid beating of her heart. The vibrant colours reminded her vaguely of her friends back home, and she thought of their words of farewell before her departure from Ponyville. The lengthy, yet somewhat comforting pep talk from the lavender alicorn. The confident words of encouragement from the graceful unicorn. The timid squeaks of reassurance from the shy pegasus. The excited screaming of an eccentric and equally lovable earth pony.

They believe in me.

A grin spread across her face, her body suddenly feeling lighter as her heart lifted. She let out a slow breath as fierce determination surged into her.

That’s right; if there was one thing she knew for sure, it was that she wouldn't ever, ever let her friends down. No matter what it took.

Her eyes landed on the distant eastern mountains beyond the skyscrapers. Soon, the sun will rise, and bring with it – she swallowed quickly – her long-awaited coronation. Tomorrow was the day. The day when all those years of training will finally pay off. The day she had been dreaming of for her entire life.

She glanced back at her bedside table, where a newly polished badge shone in the darkness of the room – an avatar of a pegasus sculpted from gold, the lightning shape almost mirroring the outline of her own cutie mark.

No matter how many times she saw or felt or polished that badge, it still felt strange in her hooves. It seemed nearly too good to be true. Sometimes she still couldn't quite process the reality of the situation – the wonderful, amazing truth. Her grin grew wider.

She was Rainbow Dash. Pegasus. Wonderbolt.

The dazzling lights of the city’s skyline glittered, illuminating her dull emerald eyes.

She rested her hooves on the windowsill, gazing down at the familiar scenery below. Her half-shut eyes traced the flowing river of metallic insects, shuffling amongst hasty carriages and indolent clusters of ponies. Giant neon billboards blinked in a rainbow of colours above the noisy crowds, shrouding the city in artificial moonlight. Distantly below her, she heard the harsh screeching of skidding vehicles, the thumping of chaotic music, the jumbled voices of ponies yelling, singing, laughing, wailing.

Tonight was cold, as usual.

Her lips tightened as she thought of the coming day. Her aunt had spoken of an invitation to a Wonderbolts show – one she was obviously expected to attend. While luncheons and dinners were never exactly pleasant, sporting events were downright frightening. She shuddered at the prospect of being trapped for hours in a stadium brimming with crazed fans, her only sane company being arrogant, conceited aristocrats.

Her mind drifted to an especially unlikable stallion she had met at the last function; knowing his connections, he would undoubtedly be present at this event. The thought of seeing his obnoxious snout again sickened her.

That aside, she didn't dislike the Wonderbolts themselves. In fact, she had always appreciated the swift movements of the pegasi, their flight being an artful display of agility and speed. Watching them always brought a small sliver of fantasised hope for her, even for just a fleeting moment. For her, they represented power, liberty, freedom.

Freedom.

She glanced back at her bedside cabinet, upon which elaborate strings of pearls lay, their cloudy sheen glowing in the darkness of the room. Behind them stood a framed photograph, the three smiling faces within it faded, curtained by a blanket of dust. Her lips tightened; sometimes she found herself wondering if she had made the right choice, uncertainty and regret still tugging at her heartstrings after all those years. She always repressed the thought quickly, afraid of what she would discover if she dared to delve into her own buried desires.

There was no point to it, after all. The reality was set in stone; she couldn’t possibly turn back now.

She was Applejack. Earth pony. Socialite.

I. Moonbeam

Horsefeathers.

A million terrified thoughts blurred into one single word as she stood at the entrance to the stadium, the dark brick walls pressing down upon her as she faced the tightly shut doors. The silk azure suit stretched tightly over her skin, and she shuffled uncomfortably, hearing her own breath come in harsh, ragged gasps. Her ears twitched at the muffled roar of the thousands of ponies inside the stadium.

Every cheer sounded increasingly more like a cry for her blood.

Darn it, Rainbow Dash, not again.

Rainbow shook her head vigorously, trying to rid herself of the nervous thoughts. Spitfire lifted a concerned eyebrow beside her; she smiled feebly in return. The Captain pointed a hoof at her legs, and she looked down to see all four of her limbs trembling violently.

For the love of Celestia. Get. A. GRIP.

Forcing her legs to stiffen, she knocked a rough hoof against her forehead and groaned. It would be impossible to go on like this. She would probably fall over her own hooves before even entering the stadium, let alone go through an entire performance.

Flashing images swept through her mind. She saw herself struggling on the ground, a jumbled mess of feathers and limbs; her teammates’ faces twisted in horrified expressions, Spitfire’s eyes brimming with disappointment; the crowds looming above her, pointing and jeering and laughing...

She shuddered, quickly brushing the pictures out of her head. There was absolutely no way she could let that happen. She would be the laughing stock of Equestria! Think, think, think. What she desperately needed right now was confidence, morale, drive —

“I promise you’ll be fine.”

A familiar voice rang in her head, one of faith and reassurance. She paused, then smiled, her body relaxing.

Of course she would never, ever admit it to her friends, but their friendship is what had kept her afloat — kept her from becoming an absolute trainwreck of emotions — in even her darkest hours. In times such as the Young Flyers’ Competition. And the time at the Academy. And Tank’s first winter.

And again, right now.

Closing her eyes, she heard their encouraging voices once again. If she concentrated hard enough, she could almost see their shadows, almost feel their comforting presence beside her.

“Be confident, darling!”

“I’m sure you’ll be amazing… yay.”

“You can do it, Dashie!”

She sighed in relief. The knot in her stomach seemed to loosen a little.

Distantly, she heard the sound of blasting trumpet horns. Her eyes flew open as the crowds roared in response. Beside her, Spitfire and Soaring and Fleetfoot straightened their stance, photogenic smiles forming on their faces.

It was time.

“Miss Applejack!”

Her body tensed violently. Rigidly, she turned her head towards the voice, her eyes widening in horror as she watched a slender brown stallion trot quickly towards her through the small crowd gathered in the box. Her heart plummeted.

Oh no, not again.

Frantically, her eyes darted around in a desperate search for another lone pony — any pony — she could strike up an instant conversation with… but to no avail. Cursing silently, she found herself staring at the walls of the box, wondering whether it was worth the risk of injury to escape by jumping into the arena.

“Hello.”

Horseapples.

She slowly turned back to see the stallion’s long snout mere inches away from hers, a dopey simper painted across his face. Her mouth suddenly felt stiff and leaden as she struggled to open it in greeting.

“Oh, Mister Trenderhoof!” Her voice rang loud and unconvincing as she tried her best to pull her lips upwards into a wooden smile. “What a pleasant surprise!”

He drew back and beamed, his brilliant white teeth flashing in the sunlight. “Please, Miss Applejack, there’s no need to be so formal with me.” He raised a hoof to smooth back his streaked blonde hair, his expression smug. “Feel free to call me, Trend.”

“Of course, Mister… Trend.” Applejack muttered the name, spitting it out with unmasked distaste. The stallion seemed entirely oblivious, however, almost as if he had not heard Applejack, his eyes shining as he spoke on.

“And yes, what a wonderful surprise indeed! I’m only here to see the latest member of the Wonderbolts — for my next article, you know.” Trenderhoof explained proudly, winking at Applejack through his white-rimmed glasses. She cringed and responded with an awkward smile.

“But I suppose fate destined us to meet again today! I simply cannot wait to continue our last conversation.”

“Eurgh… I mean, why, yes, me too.”

Her heart sank as Trenderhoof gave her another joyful beam. This was going to be a long day.

As he launched into yet another boisterous recount of his travels — most of which had been repeated to her four times over at the last function — she found her attentiveness drifting irreversibly away, quickly learning to nod mechanically and make some ambiguous sounds of admiration whenever she heard the stallion pause or take a breath. His chattering voice faded into the distance as her eyes circled aimlessly around the extravagantly decorated box. Her gaze lingered on the small, scattered cliques, each engrossed in their own discussions, plastic smiles pinned to every face. Her lips curled.

Her eyes wandered towards the center of the stadium, where the commentator was now introducing the Wonderbolts onto the stage. Several of the members had already entered to thunderous cheering, and were waving to the crowds with confident, poised smiles.

“And presenting the Wonderbolts’ newest talent! The bold, the daring, the one and only… Rainbow Dash!”

The booming voice of the commentator announced the entrance of the last Wonderbolt — the one Trenderhoof had mentioned, Applejack supposed. She watched the blue pegasus gliding swiftly into the arena, an unusually colourful mane and tail streaming behind her. She winced, her ears jolting in momentary pain as the hundreds of ponies below her let out deafening cheers, wildly flailing flags and banners and chanting the name at the top of their lungs.

“RAINBOW DASH!… RAINBOW DASH!… RAINBOW DASH!… RAINBOW DASH!”

Folding her wings, Rainbow Dash landed lightly on the ground. She raised her head to look up at the crowds with what was evidently meant to be a confident grin plastered onto her face. Even from this distance Applejack could easily see the nervousness engraved into the mare’s magenta eyes.

She couldn’t help a small chuckle. Right now, the Wonderbolt did not look at all bold or daring to her. In fact, the pegasus reminded her faintly of how she felt at her first dinner party in Manehattan — anxious, frightened, trying to conceal her emotions with an entirely unconvincing smile. She felt a surge of empathy as she watched the Wonderbolts trot into their starting formation, Rainbow Dash hurrying behind them.

Applejack shook her head, brushing memories of the dinner party out of her mind. It was a horrible, horrible event that she had never wanted to remember again. The mere thought of the humiliation and embarrassment she had experienced made her shudder, and the disappointment written across her aunt’s face… well, it had given her recurrent nightmares for months afterwards.

That was why she had tried so hard, over all these years, to learn their ‘Manehattanite’ ways. Why she had toiled through all those etiquette lessons, endured the condescending gaze of the instructor for her ‘quaint’ mannerisms. Why she had practised faking that characteristically patronising sneer, as well as smiles and laughs and tears, so that she could wear the right mask at the right time. Why she had learnt to blend in with the elite, to camouflage and protect herself in this city.

This city where she didn’t belong.

“So without further ado, ladies and gentlecolts — let the show begin!”

Forcing the thoughts out of her mind with a jerk of her head, Applejack wrenched her concentration back onto the show. Loud music filled the stadium and the crowds began screaming once more. Surrounded by the cheers of the hordes of ponies, she glued her eyes to the Wonderbolts as they took off into the air, streaks of blue lightning that left silver trails of floating dust behind them. They scattered outwards, then clustered together again, darting through the sky in seamless formations. Amidst the audience’s ogling eyes of wonder, they circled above the stadium, twirling around the clouds skilfully in familiar acrobatic routines.

All but one of them.

There was a collective gasp of surprise as a blazing rainbow sliced through the air, leaving a shower of sparkling dust in its wake. At its lead, Rainbow Dash soared across the sky, her expression no longer a grimace but a wide grin as the audience roared with excitement below her.

With perfect, effortless control, she pierced through the air, spinning around the clouds in a wild yet beautiful dance. The chromatic path of her flight etched shapes in the azure canvas with wide, colourful brushstrokes — stars, diamonds, butterflies, even one that looked suspiciously like a party balloon.

The other Wonderbolts orbited loosely around her, shadowed as mere back-dancers to her breathtaking performance.

All around Applejack, ponies whooped and cheered in amazement. Even the habitually disdainful socialites looked on in awe. Applejack herself simply stared, her mouth agape. The pegasus painted a glowing arced rainbow in the sky as the finishing touch, landing lightly on the other side with a smug smile on her face.

Applejack’s heart tightened again as she remembered a similar rainbow from long, long ago.

“By Celestia, that is impressive indeed! Don’t you agree… Miss Applejack? Miss Applejack, are you listening?”

But no matter how many times Trenderhoof called her name, Applejack’s ears remained deaf to his voice. She watched, seemingly lost in thought, as the Wonderbolts circled and dived in the sky above, her misty emerald eyes never once leaving the blue pegasus for the entire show.

If Rarity knew what Rainbow Dash was thinking right now, she would probably be eternally offended. But fortunately Rainbow had been acquainted with that histrionic unicorn long enough to know exactly what not to tell her.

The fact was that all of the mares Rainbow had met here, every single one of them, looked unnervingly like her friend, albeit with different-coloured manes and coats and without the horn. They wore the same thick make-up, had the same curly hairstyle, talked in the same posh accent — heck, even those frilly saddles looked like they were taken straight off the same shelf in Carousel Boutique.

But then again, Rainbow noted to herself, at least Rarity had more than two facial expressions.

She stood stiffly beside Spitfire, who wore a practised smile of charming confidence. Plastering a grin onto her face, she greeted the next pony that had come to congratulate on her “spectacular display” — that must have been the thousandth time she had heard that phrase today. Didn’t these ponies know any other words?

She thanked another pale olive mare (“amazing performance!”) and a yellow stallion (“absolutely breathtaking!”), before shuffling closer to Spitfire, pressing a hoof into her aching temple.

“Mind if I take a break?” she whispered.

“Sure, just don’t be too long,” Spitfire muttered back, stifling a yawn.

Sighing with relief, she slipped quickly away from her teammates to a quiet corner of the ballroom where she would be — blissfully — alone.

If Rainbow had known earlier that awkward dinner parties with awkward fancy ponies were a staple of the Wonderbolts’ daily lives, then maybe she would have reconsidered her childhood dream. Make no mistake: she did love being the center of attention. In fact, she had practically glowed when she was invited to the celebratory dinner party for her own “magnificent” debut. But the wooden faces of these ponies were downright unnerving. Were they even genuinely interested in her? Or was it simply the fact that she was a Wonderbolt?

She looked around at the clusters of conversation scattered around the ballroom. If she hadn’t known better, she would think these ponies have been visiting the Mirror Pool. The more she looked at them, the more she thought that they all looked ridiculously similar.

All but one of them.

Her eyes landed on an earth pony a few hoofsteps away from her, talking with the mare and stallion she had just greeted.

Even just from a single glance, the pony's incongruity was painfully obvious. She sported a vivid orange coat and golden blonde hair, tied back neatly with strings of pearls, her mane styled in a loose braid. Her face was sprinkled with a handful of white freckles, their plain bareness challenging the other attendees’ plastic, homogenised masks. A long turquoise dress draped off her orange body, the white frills shielding her flank violently contrasting with the stylish saddles worn by every other mare in the room.

Rainbow frowned, her ears twitching as she caught a snippet of the pony’s conversations. Although she had been saying some long, overly sophisticated word that Rainbow couldn’t quite put her hoof on, her voice had a strangely familiar tinge to it, laced with a faintly recognisable accent.

An accent that, for some odd reason, brought back fond memories of a certain, mouth-wateringly delicious cider.

She found herself edging closer curiously.

“Would it be — Miss Rainbow Dash?”

She jumped, startled by the sudden voice behind her. Turning around to face the pony, her nervous eyes met those of a coffee-brown stallion, his brilliant white teeth flashing in a cocky grin.

“If you will excuse me.”

She pushed the glass doors outwards onto the balcony, inhaling deeply as she stepped away from the suffocating atmosphere of the ballroom. The dark gardens below her sprawled out into the distance, the rising moon spilling silver light over the treetops. Her breathing calmed as she heard the doors fall shut behind her, and rested her hooves onto the ivory railing, the night breeze cool against her face. The crickets sang a gentle serenade over the muffled voices floating from the ballroom.

“Hey.”

Applejack started, realising she was not alone; the pony must have been standing behind the doors. She turned around to face her companion, polite surprise written in her expression.

“I-I mean, hi. No, hello! Good evening? Oh, for Celestia’s sake…”

The blue pegasus held her head to her hooves, groaning. Applejack’s eyes lingered on the pony’s prismatic mane and tail, recognising her instantly. She stepped closer, smiling friendlily.

“Simply ‘hello’ will do, miss.”

The pegasus looked up, her face flushed in embarrassment. She blinked, then straightened herself quickly. “Uh, yeah, thought so… I’m Rainbow Dash, by the way,” she blurted, then reddened again as she realised how obvious the statement was. Applejack gave a light chuckle.

“Applejack,” she gestured towards herself. “Lovely to meet you, Miss Rainbow. That show today was amazing.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened, and Applejack wondered for a moment if she had said something rude. “Oh! Uh, yeah, okay… thanks.”

A tense silence fell over the two as they turned their heads in opposite directions.

Applejack gazed at Rainbow out of the corner of her eye, regarding her in mild curiosity. The pegasus’ face was still slightly flushed, her magenta eyes shifty with nervousness. Her body seemed unnaturally rigid, and Applejack could practically hear the gears churning in her head, desperate for words to fill the void of silence between them.

Throughout Applejack’s years in Manehattan, she had discovered that without her aunt and uncle by her side, many of the ponies here chose to downright ignore her, meaning she had rarely shared a private conversation with any of them — although she imagined their status as arrogant glitterati meant that she wouldn’t have any knowledge of their topics of small talk anyway. She had thought the Wonderbolts to be even more so.

But right now, she felt a certain familiarity towards Rainbow Dash. She found herself with a groundless yet firm belief that this pony was different; she felt more genuine, more real, like she was an actual pony, not just some wooden marionette that knew how to smile and make polite conversation. This pony would treat her as an individual, with her own thoughts and emotions, not merely a title or family name to laud in feigned respect.

And even though she knew she was being perfectly irrational — they hardly even knew each other yet, after all — she couldn’t help but warm towards the pegasus.

Perhaps they could actually be friends.

“So what brings you here?”

Applejack blinked at the abrupt question.

“Oh, just getting some fresh air,” she replied with an instinctive smile. “And you?”

“Oh… uh, well, I’m actually in hiding right now.” Rainbow laughed uncomfortably, shifting her legs. “From this stallion; he just wouldn’t stop asking me questions. Said it was for his next article, but you’d think he was going to write my autobiography.”

“You wouldn’t be talking about Trenderhoof, would you?” She pressed her lips together in sympathy. “I’m not quite… fond of him myself.”

“Yeah, I can kind of see why.”

They share a small laugh.

“He gave me this drink, too.” Rainbow raised a wineglass, eyeing it with uncertainty as the dark liquid inside swirled menacingly. “Haven’t had any of it because it looks sort of like poison… any idea what it is?”

Her emerald eyes surveyed the liquid. “Looks like Everberry juice to me. Certainly not poisonous, but definitely not the best-tasting either.”

She smiled as the pegasus made a face.

Another awkward stillness fell over them. Applejack found herself staring at the floor, wishing she had paid attention when her uncle was droning on about his connections with the Wonderbolts. Her mind blanked as she struggled for a conversation topic.

For Pete's sake, Applejack, think. There must be somethin' in common between you two.

“Uh… well, I’d better go now.” Rainbow broke the silence, giving a sheepish grin. “Spitfire’s probably looking for me right now, and I really don’t want her angry.”

Applejack nodded understandingly, though she felt her heart sinking. Perhaps it was for the best. She watched as Rainbow stepped past her gingerly, making towards the balcony doors.

Misplacing a step, the pegasus’ hoof caught between a crack on the marble flooring. She tumbled forward, her limbs flailing.

“ARRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

With a crash, she fell ungracefully onto the hard floor, her glass landing with a crisp tinkle beside her. She made muffled noises as she lay face-down, her wings twitching feebly. Applejack hurried forward to help her up.

“Oh dear… are you alright?”

“Yeah, I think…?”

Rainbow sat up, wincing as she rubbed a reddened nose with her hoof. Her dazed eyes landed on Applejack, who was patting the dust off her cerulean suit. Her pupils dilated in alarm as she noticed a growing dark stain on the earth pony’s dress; a stain that looked suspiciously like —

She looked back at her horribly empty glass.

“Oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh I-I-I’m so sorry!”

Rainbow shot up, her voice rising in panic. Darting back into the ballroom, she grabbed several napkins from the closest table and zoomed back to press them roughly onto the dress, her words a jumbled mess of apologies. Confused at first, Applejack quickly caught on and tried to smile reassuringly, clutching onto Rainbow’s hooves as the pegasus rubbed desperately at the stain.

“Don’t worry, it’s alright —”

“I-I’m sorry I didn’t mean to —”

“Really, sugarcube, it’s fine —”

“I-I-I really didn’t mean to I’m so sorry —”

Rainbow stopped suddenly, her eyes fixed. Applejack’s voice trailed away into nothingness as she followed the pegasus’ gaze, realising that in the commotion her dress had been tugged upwards, the white mass of frills and lace no longer covering her flank. Her heart suddenly felt leaden with dread, sinking slowly as her eyes landed on the focus of Rainbow’s ogling stare.

“…You don’t have a cutie mark.”