Twilight's choice: Of Apples and Rainbows

The dried autumn leaves crackled under Applejack's hooves as she made her way back towards the house.

She tried as hard as she could to keep her mind off Twilight, and she soon succeeded. Looking up at the trees as she walked, she made mental notes on what parts of the east orchard she should take priority on next.

Suddenly, from behind her, there was a quick whoosh that went over her and through the trees.

She swiftly turned around. "Who's there!?"

But there was nothing to be seen.

After several moments of silence, she decided that it must have just been a particularly strong gust wind, and started trotting towards home at a slightly faster pace than before.

She had stepped no more than ten steps before there was another gust of wind, followed by a black blur, that went over her head and disappeared into the trees.

"H-Hello!?"

Nothing answered her call. The orchard was silent, save for the sound of the breeze rustling through the trees.

"Rainbow!?" she called sternly. "If that's you, you better come out now and apologize!"

It was bad enough that the blue pegasus seemed to think of her orchards as her own personal napping grounds, but pranks were something that Applejack simply wouldn’t stand for. She stood still, waiting for a response.

But Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen.

Whatever that thing was, it had gone as quickly as it had appeared.

Turning again towards home, she began another fast pace.

A resounding boom sounded somewhere above the trees.

Applejack didn't turn around to ask questions this time. She ran as fast as her hooves could carry her, swerving this way and that way, dodging trees as she went.

Her lungs were burning in her chest from exertion, but still she kept going, pushing herself to go faster, and faster. Whatever this thing was, it wasn't going to get her without a fight.

But with flight on its side, it had the advantage.

It flew up and over to orange mare, landing some distance in front of her on the ground.

Applejack skidded to a halt by jamming her hooves into the soil and pulling up grass and dirt as she slid along.

It was equine in shape, draped head to hoof in dark fabric that billowed slightly in the breeze.

It walked forward towards her, taking its time in to approach her.

Applejack watched in horror as it raised a clothed hoof slowly. It looked as if it was going to point at her, but instead it swiped it's hoof over it's face, pulling back a mask to reveal a laughing and perfectly harmless Rainbow Dash.

"Applejack— sweet Celestia!” Rainbow took a moment to try and contain her laughter. "You should've seen your face then!”

"Rainbow!" scolded Applejack. "It ain't even close to Nightmare Night! What the hay are ya doin’!?"

"Come on,AJ," Rainbow whined. "You would have been expecting it on Nightmare Night!"

Applejack fumed, and with a beastly growl, turned to aim a buck in Rainbow's direction, but she swiftly avoided her kick by flying into the air.

"Get down here and fight me like a mare!" Applejack called.

"Damn, AJ just ‘cause Twilight roped you into a date doesn't mean you gotta take your... sexual frustrations out on me," Rainbow cooed with a grin.

Applejack's eyes widened in shock. "How in Tartarus do you even know about that!?" asked AJ. "And it ain't no date!"

"I was on top your porch taking a sun nap," she replied, landing in a nearby tree.

"You... why were you on my house?"

"The leaves were blocking my sun. Sleeping in the shade is too cold this time of year," replied Rainbow with a shrug.

"And you think that makes eavesdropping okay!?"

"First of all, AJ. I wasn't eavesdropping. I was just happened to hear what you two were talking about."

Applejack ran a hoof over her tired face. "Rainbow, if y'all overhear something without telling us, that means you're eavesdropping."

"Yeah, I know, It's not my fault you two were talking where I could hear it, but you and Twilight are going on a date! Why do you wanna keep that secret?"

"I said it ain't no date! We're just going on a picnic!" Replied AJ curtly, ignoring Rainbow's first remark.

Applejack was becoming very annoyed about where this conversation was going. She should be giving Rainbow a lecture, not being drilled with these sorts of accusations.

"So what are you going to tell Twilight?"

"What do you mean? Ah don't need ta tell Twilight anythang."

"Are you blind? Cause Twilight seems to think it is going to be a date, even if you don't think so."

Applejack was madder than she had felt in a long time. What right did Rainbow have to to fill her with false hope?

Screaming as loud she could this time, she repeated  "IT AIN'T NO DATE."

Rainbow was unaffected by Applejacks temper. In fact, the disbelieving expression was suddenly replaced with a wide grin. "So, that means that Twi's still on the market, eh? Thanks, AJ!"

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah," continued Rainbow in a casual tone, "I was kinda sad when I heard what I heard this morning. But if you don't plan on going out with Twilight, I guess it means I still have time to make my move."

Applejack was speechless. "Y-You mean that you... th-that you have feelings for Twi?" Applejack stuttered. All the anger had gone from her now;she just sounded hollow.

"Are you sure you don't have feelings for her?" Rainbow asked, her tone changing to one of concern.

AJ felt tears sting the backs of her large emerald eyes. She wanted to be honest—to finally admit her impossible crush to somepony. But all she managed to do was turn around and run off towards the house again. She left Rainbow with one final word on the subject, yelling over her shoulder as she fled.

"Ya don't even know if she likes mares!"

Rainbow watched her go, and raised an eyebrow at the suspicious behavior.

"I'm... going to go find Twilight."

~~*~~

The bell over the door of Sugarcube Corner tinkled cheerfully as Pinkie and Twilight walked in. Though she had things she needed to attend to, she was still relieved as the air of the oven-heated bakery wrapped around her, sapping the chill of the autumn cold from her body and leaving her feeling warm and content. Spike ran past them both, pressing his little face against the glass of a nearby display case and eyeing a gem-encrusted cupcake on the shelf.

Displayed inside were icings of all flavors—coffee, fondant, caramel, candy canes, peppermint, fresh baked breads, warm gooey chocolate. The smells of all these treats permeated the entire building, making Twilight feel light headed and hungry. She couldn't fathom how Pinkie lived in such a place without plumping up like a balloon. She must burn all those calories just by being Pinkie, Twilight thought mildly as she pictured the way the pink pony seemed to bounce from place to place. Pinkie was always running around, she might even need the extra calories to keep it up.

"Hello, girls," Mrs Cake greeted, stepping up to the counter. "Back so soon, Pinkie? You’ve still got another fifteen minutes on your break, dear."

"Oh yeah! I completely forgot to get lunch!" Pinkie shouted, jumping into the air.

"No worries, dear. Just run back into the kitchen and make yourself a sandwich. I don’t think you'll have much time to get anything else."

Pinkie looked back and forth between the kitchen and Twilight for moment.

"Go on, Pinkie," Twilight cooed, "we can always hang out another time."

The pink mare nodded, jerking her head up and down in a fast motion, before running to the back of the store. As she went, she called out over her shoulder, "I won't be long, just gonna grab a quick bite."

Twilight giggled and she knew she wouldn't need to wait for her. Pinkie would probably be back to say goodbye before she even picked out a cake. She called upon her magic, and grabbed five bits out from her saddlebag and floated them over to Spike, who was still eyeing a certain gem-encrusted confection. "Here you go, Spike. Buy yourself a small treat to snack on."

Spike gave her a huge grin. "Thanks, Twilight!" He took the bits and ran over to Mrs. Cake. He didn't even need to tell her what he wanted; the moment she had the bits she cantered over to the the cupcake Spike had been eyeing and got it for him.

Twilight took a moment to survey all of the cakes on display. She wasn't really sure which cake to get. Trotting down the display case, she gave each a critical eye. Twilight wanted it to be just the right one...

"So, what brings you to Sugarcube corner, Twilight?"

Twilight looked up at Mrs. Cake, who was giving her a warm smile. "Oh, I was just doing some shopping in town when I ran into Pinkie. I thought I'd..." Twilight trailed off.

"Let me guess," Mrs Cake sighed, rolling her eyes. "Pinkie tricked you into following her here."

Twilight laughed. "Yeah, kinda. You know what? She said I could buy cheese here. I think she thought I meant creme cheese, now that I think about it."

Mrs Cake became more alert. "What kind of cheese do you need, dear?"

"Mozzarella," Twilight stated in surprise. "Don't tell me you really sel-"

"Well no, dearie. We don't normally sell the cheese by itself. But we do use it sometimes in our breads. Cheese sticks are a popular lunch time order here. I could sell you some if you wanted. We order ours in from Manehatten, you know."

Twilight beamed, happy that she had followed Pinkie here. But she was a little weirded out.

Pinkie sense truly was a force to be reckoned with.

"That would be wonderful."

~~~*~~~

Meanwhile, high in the clouds above Ponyville, Rainbow was flying quickly towards the castle on the other end of the small town. She was filled with happiness. Though she was still not sure whether or not Applejack had feelings for Twilight. She wasn't about to go easy on her just because she, the farm mare, was too shy. No, that didn't fit Applejack at all. If she was anything, it was not shy.

Rainbow honestly couldn't understand why Applejack was so blind to Twilight's obvious feelings.

Maybe she really doesn't have feelings for Twilight.

Well, whether or not Applejack had feelings for Twilight, if she wasn't going to act on them Rainbow would.How long had it been now since she had gotten these feelings for the purple mare? It had been when she had started teaching Twilight how to fly.

Thinking back on those flying lessons, she let herself get lost in the memories.

They were out in a huge field not far from Sweet Apple Acres, and Twilight was flapping her wings like a maniac.

"You're putting too much into your wing strokes," Rainbow called out. "You're gonna tire yourself out before we get any practice done. Try doing longer, slower strokes."

Twilight did as she was told and for a brief moment she began to sink. A panicked look crossed her face,but Rainbow was there and called out for her to keep it up. In another moment her flying had stabilized. "Rainbow! Look, I did it!" Twilight cheered.

The blue Pegasus blushed. Was she really just noticing how cute Twilight was now?

Rainbow flew down  and told Twilight to fly down to her, just the way her own mother had done when she was learning to fly. Her heart swelled like an over-inflated balloon as the memories came to surface. Twilight's own eager expression reminded her of summers past.

Twilight took on a serious expression, her eyes trained on Rainbow Dash. Flapping her wings a little harder, she pushed herself forward. Flying down was always easier than flying up, which was why Rainbow had started from down here, but she hadn't expected Twilight to have trouble with this. She watched as Twilight flew straight over her by mistake. In her own surprise, she lost control and began to fall.

Just as Twilight was about it hit the ground, Rainbow had flown down and caught her. "Don't worry, Twilight, I'll always be there to catch you."

Snapping herself out of her day dream, Rainbow flew down to the castle entrance. What she overheard this morning had made her realize something. She had realized that she might not be able to wait forever. That Twilight, no matter how big of an egghead she was, could end up falling for somepony other than her. And from what she had heard, it seemed that it had been the case here. The only bright side was that Applejack didn't like Twilight back. If she had, Rainbow might have backed off.

After all, Twilight liked Applejack. It was hardly her place to say who Twilight should be with. And it wouldn't be very loyal to if she were to try and steal Twilight from one of her best friends,but Applejack had made it clear that it wasn't a date, so with that piece of information Rainbow had decided to confess her feeling to Twilight now and hope for the best.

Perhaps she could even be a shoulder to cry on when Applejack let Twilight down, but she would make sure Twilight knew her feelings before she went on the picnic.

She half suspected that Applejack had lied to her earlier, well, not so much lied as avoided her questions. If Applejack did have feelings for Twilight, she had turned this into a competition by not being honest about it.

All was fair in love and war after all,and their rivalry hadn't exactly been a secret. The only difference this time was that it was over a mare and not sports or some other pointless thing they did for fun. For once, Rainbow was competing for something that mattered, something more important than even the Wonderbolts.

What was more loyal than than competing for the mare you loved? Rainbow couldn't think of anything.

Trotting up to the door, Rainbow gave it a loud knock with her hoof and waited. After several moments there was no answer. She had never bothered to knock before. Not here, and not back when she had lived in the tree house. She lived in a public library, so most ponies just trotted on in. Though she had to admit  she hadn't seen too many ponies visiting the new library here at the castle.

They must be not be in a part of the castle where they can hear the door.

She face hoofed. She had been so focused on not going through the window that she'd forgotten! Reaching out her hoof, she pushed the great door open and went inside.