No Two Flakes

By Mist

Chapter VI

With their hands clutched around a ticket each, a country girl caught up in the city had her arm wrapped around her overly polite boyfriend. He kept her close for heat as the temperature had finally dropped to freezing as December was being entered. Many were surprised by how quickly the weather seemed to recognize the transition from November to December.

Applejack kept in step with him as she was tall enough to match the strides of his long legs. She wasn’t particularly fond of snow growing up, but she did have a lot of fond memories of her and her sister building igloos which always fell apart long before they could ever finish one, still it never stopped them from trying.

She and Clover had bought tickets in advance to plan this date. He was always one to plan ahead, sometimes a little bit too much so.

“Hey, isn’t that your friend?” Clover pointed off into the distance.

Squinting, Applejack made out the familiar appearance of a very punk rock looking girl wrapped in a parka and scarf. It was rare that she didn’t show off her arm tattoos, so it must have been insanely cold for her. Gripped tightly in a gloved hand, a cane tapping about as she walked.

“Unfortunately…” Applejack sighed.

Clover grinned and tugged her to follow him. “Let’s say hi.”

She really didn’t want to, but she didn’t want to start a conversation about it so she just nodded.

The two darted over and Clover smiled. “Hey, unmm… Cloudchaser right.”

Cloudchaser smirked. “I’ve been known by that name from time to time.”

“What do I owe the pleasure of you two coming to visit little old me?” She asked.

“How’d you know I was here?” Applejack questioned.

“I can smell you. Yes, I’m that good, hold the applause.” Cloudchaser boasted.

“That’s disturbin’…” AJ commented.

Applejack mind quickly went to wondering what other smells she detected. She almost felt herself blushing as it dipped south. Shaking her head, she cleansed her mind of any thought of the sort. The last thing she needed to think about was some of the nights they had spent together.

“Me and AJ are just going to see a movie.” Clover proudly explained as he tugged Applejack closed to himself.

“Sounds like a good time.” She smiled.

“Maybe you should come with us? I mean I can get another ticket, it’d be fun, any friend of AJ’s is a friend of mine.” Clover seemed to be getting excited at the idea.

Applejack nudged his side. “Clover…”

It took him a minute to realize why she was trying to get his attention. When it clicked, he covered his mouth in shock and apologized. “Oh man! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to…”

The girl just gave a dismissive hand gesture. “It’s fine. I actually love movies. I’d be happy to go.”

Applejack blinked. “I didn’t know that… Since when?”

“There’s a lot you don’t know, Applejack. Maybe you should pay closer attention.” Her expression grew serious. Applejack could already tell this was going to be awkward.

“It’s settled then. Come on, we’ll get you a ticket. Do you need us to lead the way?” Clover asked politely.

She trotted over to AJ’s side and took her hand. “I’ll just hold onto Applejack here and I’m sure she can keep me from walking into the street or something.”

Applejack already saw through her ruse. She knew that Cloudchaser hated being treated like she didn’t know how to take care of herself. She only engaged in this kind of behavior when it was beneficial to herself. It was clear she was up to something.

“That’s okay, right sweetheart?” She grinned, knowing that Clover wasn’t privy to the fact that she intended that pet name more affectionately.

“Fine…” AJ grumbled.

Applebloom propping herself up against the lockers offered her friend a stick of gum. He declined which only made her shove another stick into her mouth to add to the giant wad of gum she had been working on for the past hour. She had a bad habit of chewing gum, and was often asked to spit it out in class. She never quite understood what kind of distraction it caused.

Grabbing his bag, Spike and her silently retreated out of the school to enjoy their usual after class activities. He had work off that day, but Applebloom already knew that his mind was heavy with thoughts of how to raise money.

The two had gotten a decent distance away from the school so Spike was sure he wouldn’t get in trouble again. Once he was assured that they would be safe he reached into his pocket and retrieved a red box and a lighter. Drawing a cigarette, he offered one to Applebloom. She shrugged and spit out her gum and took one. The two huddled close and Spike drew a flame between the two cancer sticks lighting them both at once.

Applebloom inhaled and coughed. “Fuck, y’all didn’t get the menthols? These taste like cow pies.” She commented.

Spike similarly coughed before answering. “Wasn’t in my budget. I haven’t replenished my supply, this is from my cheap ass back up stash.”

“Hard times, indeed…” Applebloom commented. “I don’t give a damn what people say, I prefer to smoke my bubblegum shit.” She added.

He nodded.

“So what’s your plan for Rarity?” She changed the subject.

“We’re gonna sell pot.” He replied before taking another drag. He had grown a bit more used to their taste now, so his lungs didn’t reject the cigarettes as much this time around.

She laughed. “C’mon, get serious.”

“I am serious. It’s literally the only thing I can think of…” He said.

Applebloom lowered her cigarette and shook her head. “And where are we gonna get pot?”

“We’re gonna steal it from the principal's office. She confiscates it regularly and turns it into the police regularly. She probably has a good amount stashed that we can get. We take that, flip it for a profit and use the cash to get more.” He had thought this all out in his head repeatedly for the past day or so. It sounded so easy, the hardest part was infiltrating.

“I swear… Y’all are the most pathetic boy I’ve ever known… But I love this idea.” She grinned.

“This stays between us.” Spike instructed.

“Damn skippy, it does. When’d you become such a badass, Spike? I think I might be in love.” She smirked.

Spike merely rolled his eyes.

Rarity struggled to adjust the hoodie she was forced to wear. Rainbow always wore her hoodies a few sizes too big, but the height difference made that almost irrelevant. Because Rarity was that much taller, it ended up looking more like a skinny hoodie than anything. She examined the chest trying to figure out what the logo which read “Nas” meant. She assumed it was some other musician that Rainbow listened to which she wasn’t familiar with.

Her pants she had to get herself from a discount clothing store as per Rainbow’s orders. The shame she felt just stepping foot in there while she was on her way to becoming the next fashion designer that the world would marvel at was almost unbearable. However since Rainbow stated she couldn’t wear her normal ensembles and she didn’t have any pants that fit Rarity very well, it was the only option.

The two had begun their way back to CJ’S home, now with Rarity far more incognito than she was before.

Rainbow had remained silent for some time, she kept her thoughts to herself the entire bus ride over. She was debating in her head which way this should go, and Rarity could sense it, so she kept quiet waiting for Rainbow to decide.

Before they knew it, they were once again sitting in CJ’S living room, Rarity a bit more comfortable this time around.

“So, you’ve decided you’re in then, Dashie?” CJ asked, a beer clutched in his hand.

Rainbow leaned in and rested her hands on her spread out knees. Rarity took note of how she sat more like a man than a lady.

“Alright, listen… Ice has to pay for what he did. I want answers though; why did he kill Light? That’s something that has bugged me for a while. I know who my brother moved around with, and Ice was way too high in the chain for him…” Rainbow stated.

CJ took a long swing of his drink before answering. “You think homeboy and him had a beef?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Dunno, but I want to find out.”

“Perfect, we get the bitch, take turns at him until he talks and then wax the shit stain.” CJ exclaimed.

Rainbow looked to Rarity quickly then back to her old friend. “No, we aren’t gonna kill him. Light wouldn’t want that. He told me not to become a killer like him…” Rainbow looked down for a brief moment as she thought of her promise to her late brother. “I got a better idea anyways… We give him to the pigs.”

CJ laughed. “You think the pigs are gonna help us?”

Rarity’s brow rose. “Pigs?”

“The police.” Rainbow translated. “And I’m sure they will gladly take him. After all, We’re going to help them look good by catching a dangerous thug leader. Once we decorate it the right way, it’ll be an easy press day for the fucks.”

CJ sighed, “I’m not a fan of working with those assholes, but if it’s for Light… I’ll go with it. Let’s just hope they don’t try and bust us for something too.”

“That’s what we got Rarity for, they’ll take her word more than ours.” Rainbow assured.

“True, pretty white girl starts talking, they’ll eat her up.” CJ laughed.

Rarity was confused. “I don’t follow…”

“Basically means the police will believe you more than us.” Rainbow explained.

“I doubt that.” Rarity said.

“Wait a while and see if you change your mind.” CJ commented.

Twilight was out doing some shopping for the upcoming Christmas season while the weather wasn’t too bad. She often tried to avoid driving too far in December and January if she didn’t need to, the last thing she wanted was to ruin her new Mitsubishi that she still had payments on.

She lifted up a few jackets in each hand examining them, trying to determine if they were fitting for her needs. Part of her wished she had brought Rarity with her, but there was a distinct possibility that not even her aid would prove helpful. She was shopping for Rainbow after all, who had a more rugged sense of fashion than Rarity did. Twilight was hoping a nice gift would make it easier to smooth things over with her friend. The only thing on her mind since the last time the two saw each other was what she had said to Rainbow. To say she regretted it was an understatement. Rainbow may have been difficult to get to focus, but Twilight knew she was smart, she knew that she had passion and also that she didn’t want to lose her as a friend.

While Twilight’s tactless nature had made her comments come across as hurtful before, she seldom meant to deliberately. Rainbow usually brushed off any comment that Twilight made, but that one seemed to strike a chord with her. Twilight didn’t fully understand why, but she recognized she was truly hurt due to her anger. Rainbow’s natural response to pain and broken spirits was anger. The girl was probably the quickest to anger person that Twilight knew. This commonly gave Rainbow the reputation of being a brute.

“What would Rainbow like…” She thought out loud.

To her surprise a voice responded. “Certainly not either of those.”

Twilight blinked and before she knew it, she was face to face with Pinkie whom had been browsing behind her. Pinkie had this uncanny ability to appear when no one expected her to.

“Come on, Twilight, does Rainbow seem like the kind of girl who’d wear a peacoat?” Pinkie added.

“What would you suggest then?” Twilight inquired.

“Study some hip hop and find out what artists she likes.” Pinkie giggled.

Twilight nodded. “She is quite a fan of that sort of thing isn’t she…”

“Why the sudden interest in getting Rainbow a gift?” Pinkie asked as she took a jacket out of Twilight’s hand and placed it back on the rack.

Twilight bit her lip in debate of whether she was willing to admit to her rudeness to her close friend. However Pinkie had a strange aura about her that always seemed to make the truth come out. “I kind said some really bad stuff to her the other day… I was hoping a nice present might make it easier to apologize… You know how Rainbow holds grudges…” Twilight explained.

Pinkie nodded. “Yeah, I once saw her not talk to someone for a week over eating a donut.” Pinkie placed a hand upon her chin as she recalled that story. Another shining example of how pig headed their friend could be. “However…” Pinkie added. “A simple “I’m sorry” might be a good place to start.”

Twilight shook her head. She knew it was definitely too late for that. “You didn’t hear what I said… Somehow, just saying “I’m sorry” doesn’t feel like it’ll cut it to me.”

The pink haired woman ran a hand through her wild hair and sighed. “Sheesh, Twilight… You better go with something better than what’s available here.” She advised.

Twilight could definitely agree to that. “You think she’ll ever forgive me?”

Her friend simply grinned. “I’m sure she will in due time.”

The movie that Applejack, Clover and now Cloudchaser had enjoyed went surprisingly (at least to AJ) well. Cloudchaser paid close attention to the dialogue and asked very few questions. Using only her ears she was able to follow along.

Clover walking alongside AJ smiled as he watched his girlfriend hold Cloudchaser hand to guide her as the group walked along the sidewalk. Noble as he was, he admired how AJ assisted her disabled friend, though he was clearly blind to Cloudchaser ulterior motives.

“Hey, I’m gonna get us some food, okay? I’m just gonna run into the shop over there. What do you guys want?” Clover pointed to a nearby sub shop that they had passed many times before.

“Turkey is fine,” Applejack said, knowing he already knew her signature sandwich.

“I’ll just have a soda if that’s alright.” Cloudchaser said. “Any flavor is fine.” She added.

Clover nodded and smiled. “You got it, I’ll be right back.”

He bolted towards the shop, leaving the two of them on the sidewalk. Cloudchaser merely stared ahead as usual, and AJ shifted about uncomfortably. The snow began to fall gently upon the two, AJ feeling a flake touch the tip of her nose.

“He’s pretty nice.” Cloudchaser finally broke the silence.

“Yeah… He is…” AJ admitted.

“When do you plan on telling him we were an item?” Cloudchaser spoke.

AJ grimaced a bit at the suggestion. “’Ah wasn’t…”

“Doesn’t he deserve to know the truth if you’re serious about him?” Cloudchaser responded, clearly trying to pry.

Applejack bit her tongue and thought about it. She had a good point, he deserved to know. “’Ah’ll tell him soon…”

Her former lover nodded. “So that’s it then?”

AJ rose a brow in confusion. “What is it?”

“We’re over for real this time then?”

Applejack sighed and nodded even though Cloudchaser could not see the gesture. “Yeah… ‘Ah think so…”

“I’m gonna miss you, Applejack…” She said.

“’Ah know you will… Y’all deserve better than me anyhoo…” AJ responded.

“I’ll never forget you, AJ…”

With those words she finally released Applejack hand from her own.

Author's Note

The balance between Twilight and Pinkie was tricky to maintain. I wanted Pinkie to come off as wiser than she lets on, but not too much smarter than the logical Twilight. Ultimately this resulted in Pinkie being a good source of advice for social problems, and Twilight a good source for all else. To illustrate this, I purposely had Twilight seeking Pinkie's advice from time to time.