(Flutterdash) The Whole Story

Applejack headed out the next morning, Monday, intending to talk to Rainbow and Fluttershy and her friends. She didn't really know what she was going to say, but she sure was going to say something. She had too.

She saw Rarity walk into Twilight's library, and figured that would be a good place to start.

Inside, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight were hovering together over something on a table. Pinkie heard the door open, and turned around. She looked, faintly, scared.

There was a hush. “Hello, Applejack,” Rarity said coolly.

“Hi Rarity,” Applejack said just as cold.

Twilight looked up, “Applejack, I have something I want you to read.” She levitated a scroll over to her, and unfurled it in her magic grip.

It was a letter. Applejack read, standing a few yards away from the rest of the group.

It said:

Dear Twilight,

I recognize your concern with your friends and their romantic pursuits. It can be unnerving to see something like what you're describing for the first time. (Ask me for that story later, it's a good one.) It feels wrong, I know, but I assure you that love is blind.

My dearest Twilight, you are well versed now in friendship but I might need to set you up to start studying love. (That is a joke, Twilight. It is okay to laugh.)

Love is something more beautiful and more magnificent than anything, stronger than my day and more all-consuming than Luna's night. If two ponies love each other, if they really truly love each other, then what should stand in their way? In the end, what could? You have read the stories of love crossing boundaries of social class, race, and nationality, and it is no different for gender.

In short, love is lovely, no luck for logistics (in this case).

I wish your friends good luck in their relationship; contact me again if there are any major problems with their being who they are.

Love Ya, Good Morning, Luna Says Hi, Happy Days, and All That Jazz,

Celestia.

Applejack looked up, unmoved. “So she's on y'alls little boat too now. I came around here to tell ya that this unnatural!”

“No, Appley-Jack,” Pinkie bounced up, “It's not! It's cute and you should be happy for your friends!”

“I'm not happy, I'm concerned! We need to talk them out of it, and get them back on the right track.”

Rarity spoke, “Applejack do you think this is a choice? They love each other, and they can't change that just because you think it's—“

“Just because I know it's wrong. I don't want to, to not be friends anymore but they—“

“Are beautiful together, and it's a shame that you can't see that!”

They were getting closer, Rarity taking tiny angry steps. Applejack taking a little leap each time she started up again, “No, it's a shame you can't realize this kind of crap is gonna reach out to us all!”

Rarity was boiling over now, her face red and her teeth grinding up; she just managed to choke out in rage-soaked breaths, “THEY. LOVE. EACH. OTHER.”

“THEY SHOULDN'T.”

A shouting match, “THIS ISN'T A CHOICE DAMNIT, YOU CAN'T CHOOSE TO BE GAY AND YOU CAN'T CHOOSE TO FALL IN LOVE!”

“YOU—woah!” Twilight held them apart in the air; they had gotten so close she was afraid they would start to hit each other.

“Can we please,” Twilight said coldly, letting them down gently on opposite sides of a table, “talk this over rationally?” Applejack and Rarity stared daggers into each other's face, and Twilight came up and took a seat next to them both.

Just then the door opened and in came Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, appearing by coincidence.

“Applejack,” Rainbow said with venom dripping from the words. If Fluttershy didn't have her foreleg around her shoulders, she would have jumped forward and hit her right then. But she had to shake off Fluttershy, and that gave Twilight just enough forewarning to catch her in midair jump.

“Now Rainbow,” Twilight said as she lowered her into another seat at the table, “we are not going to assault Applejack, okay?”

Rainbow snorted, “Fine.” She looked like she was only waiting for Twilight to look away. Twilight stared at her, and motioned for Fluttershy to sit next to her.

Fluttershy did so, and whispered, “Dash, please don't be violent.”

Rainbow sighed and looked into her teal eyes, and slowly her anger melted a little.

“Please?”

Rainbow sighed, “Only for you.” She leaned in and kissed her, and at this Applejack lost it.

“How dare you! That's disgusting and wrong and I can't believe you can stand to do that!”

“Do what? Show that I love her?”

“Girls!” Twilight said, “This isn't gonna get us anywhere, okay? We need to be rational and talk this out.”

“Yeah,” Applejack said, “Here, I'll talk, I think y'all need to realize how unnatural an' foul what you're doin' is.”

“And I think you need to realize,” Rainbow said, leaning up in her seat, "that what we're doing is called love and it's completely fine!”

“Appljackie,” Pinkie said, “I don't think you've ever been in love.” There was something sad in the way she said it, not entirely like pity.

Applejack scowled, “That's completely beside the point. You know what?” She stood up and started walking away, “When you realize how much of an abomination what you're doin' is, I'll be here. But for now you can just keep out of my way.” She walked out and left them there, everyone fuming at her. Except Fluttershy, who was only sad.

“Maybe.... Maybe she just needs some time to get used to it,” Rarity said. “If we just let her have some space, some time to calm down.”

They sat in silence until Rainbow stood up and said, “Well that sucked.”

Everypony nodded rather quietly. “I had her read the letter,” Twilight said, “I can't believe that didn't help things. It helped me.”

Rarity was looking at Pinkie rather weird, but she said, “I think maybe it'll come back to her later.”

“Come on, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said, “I'm going back up to the skies on cloud kicking duty.”

“Okay Rainbow,” Fluttershy walked up to Rainbow and kissed her. But she soon had her head against Rainbow's chest and whispered, “I'm sorry Rainbow, if it wasn't for me, Applejack wouldn't—“

“Fluttershy, stop,” Rainbow pulled her away and held her at foreleg's length, resting on her haunches, “It's not your fault and you know it. AJ's a jerk and that would've come out sometime or another.”

Fluttershy held back her tears and nodded, “I-I'm sorry.”

“Stop saying that,” Rainbow said, making her stop by kissing her lips. “Come on, I'll walk you home first.”

“Okay.”

The group left behind could just hear Rainbow say as she left, “We'll get through this, I promise. And your birds will sing at our wedding, and....”

Applejack watched them come out and caught a few words of this. Somewhere, deep in her heart, she knew it was awful to see Fluttershy like this.

Back in the tree-house-library, Twilight ran off to get Spike to send a letter she wrote to Princess Celestia. She had kept Spike upstairs while they talked.

The day dissolved into a worn-out order as Rarity and Pinkie left to rejoin the world. Twilight got back to studying and resarching, Fluttershy returned to her animals, and Rainbow to the skies. They tried, by busying themselves with everyday tasks and routines, to forget about Applejack. They tried to distract the wondering thoughts about how horrible she had been and how much they wanted her back.

By the time the sun set, they were dying inside.