Chapter 1
Rough Beginnings
The weather captain of Ponyville pressed her hooves down on the farm pony's chest, restraining her to the ground. Whenever they're wrestling, Dash always ended up on top. It was an unwritten tradition, and if she had to guess she'd give all the credit to her wings. A million thoughts rushed through the pegasus' head, especially as her purple eyes travel up and down the dirty and wet orange coat. All anger and aggression was washed away as she realized what just transpired, replaced by an out of place wave of happiness that had Rainbow surprisingly giddy.
There were pieces of wood surrounding them, ranging from harmless splinters to the size of Rainbow's wing. Applejack had two frighteningly large bumps on her head and Dash had a bruise forming on her stomach, and her hindleg was unbelievably stiff. The rain hitting her back felt great on her sore body and greatly diminished her pain.
Those emerald eyes had a look of unrestrained rage, clearly prepared for another round and her hair tie had been broken during the roughhousing, leaving her mane in a messy state.
The pegasus found it cute, a word she had rarely ever used, in fact this was the first time she could truly remember using it to describe anything but a foal or animal. The earth pony continued to struggle, trying to break free from under Rainbow's grip. Eventually she realized that it was absolutely useless, that her squirming was getting her nowhere. She had no leverage on the muddy ground, her hooves constantly slipping when she tried to find any.
"Alright, ya win Rainbow. Now would ya let me up?" Applejack pleaded with watering eyes, shivering from the cold. She’d give anything to have her hat close by to cover herself with. Too bad it had been knocked off in the rumble and laid in the mud a few feet away, allowing all of her mane to get wet. Another hundred thoughts go through Rainbow's head, all of them just as dirty as the ponies themselves. The pegasus slowly leaned closer and closer to her friend.
Applejack, at first, was vexed. Not at Rainbow. No, this was all her fault, after all she threw the first punch. Now she was going to face the consequences of that action, the hatred that her once closest friend no doubt had for her. Still a small amount of hope still burned inside her, believing that a bridge as strong as theirs couldn’t be burned so easily. At most they’d probably avoid each other for a week or two and then pretend it never happened.
Why was Rainbow still holding her down? Did her admittance of defeat fall on deaf ears? A second passed until she recognized the look on Rainbow Dash's face, something more positive than anger or hatred. It's a look of want mixed with fright, noticeable even as rain fell from Dash’s snout into her eyes. Mouth hanging half open, head tilting to the left an inch at a time, and her breath warming the blond mare's face. There's no mistaking it, no other possibility or interpretation, this was exactly how it looked. A mental image played out the next scene, with her feather winged friend inching closer and closer until they're noses were touching, and finally . . .
Endorphins were released into her bloodstream and gave her an amazing surge of excitement, it replaced her adrenaline and left her feeling warm inside despite the shivering her body was doing. She could hear a rapid heartbeat in her ears, feel it beating in her chest so fast that she was a little afraid it’d explode.. Of course it had been there since the fight, but in this amount of silence, with only the patter of rain making a steady noise, it was far more noticeable.
Applejack was torn, not quite willing to believe this was more than a dream. It made sense, these kinds of scenarios made up seventy five percent of her dreams and every time she'd shoot out of her bed in disappointment, awakening to a dark and empty room. She imagined lying in the barn, knocked out over one of the bumps to her head, or perhaps the fall through the now shattered wall of her barn. A small grin formed on her mouth at the image of the turquoise colored pony dreading over the injury she had caused, but it passed as immediately as the thought did. Was this the unreachable moment she never thought she'd deserve in reality?
A series of events had led them to this, all important and contributing to each other in fantastic and mysterious ways. They're replaying in Applejack's mind as she's pushed deeper into the ground. Celestia knows she wanted Rainbow Dash to kiss her, but did it have to be in freezing rain a yard away from her house? What if Applebloom were to stumble upon this? That filly was mighty impressionable, and there were better ways to tell family one was a fillyfooler. Drops of rain fell from the pegasus' soaking, multi-colored mane and splattered on her face, increasingly exasperating the orange pony, who began to doubt this moment would move any further. "Rainbow Dash, if ya'll are gonna do somethin' then do it!" she ordered, hoping it would give Dash a desperately needed push.
And it did.
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The earty pony had made an effort to be around the brash pegasus more often, if only to stare at her when she wasn't looking. Not the greatest reason for hanging out with a friend, but it was a hay of a lot better than the other ones, not to mention cleaner. And either Rainbow Dash was too self-absorbed to notice, or didn't even care that a lesser pony such as Applejack had been burning a hole into her. When she heard the weather team would be busy with the scheduled downpour all day, it was a severe and all-around crushing disappointment. Constant glances at the sky showed dozens of winged ponies bringing out rain clouds, but none of them were as brightly colored or attention grabbing as Rainbow Dash.
Applejack spent the afternoon working the farm with her brother, attempting to get as much of her chores done before the approaching storm came and made the fields unworkable. Among the many tasks there was herding the cattle into the barn, bucking apples from the trees farthest from the house, and moving all the wagons and carts into the shed. She was quite proud of how much she'd accomplished when the warning alarm began to blare. The farm pony winced, aware she had five minutes before the heavy rain would pour, while the thunder and lightning and even some strong winds had already arrived.
Leaves were blown around and a bucket was knocked over, branches were shaken in all directions, but other than that there was a relative calm creeping over the field. Applejack wasted a minute staring up at the sky, looking for her fancy-colored crush among the pure black clouds with large optimism. Her search held no results and the mare was left in the darkness of her usually bright farm. Twilight would have loved to point out the symbolism in this, but the unicorn was tucked safely inside her library, unaware of just how lonely her friend was.
"Sis, ya comin'?" Applebloom had shouted from the safety of the farm house, barely managing to hold the screen door open against the forces of the wind.
"Get back inside Applebloom," she replied, unaware until after it left her mouth of how rude it sounded. "Before the wind snatches ya up!" a perfect twist of sisterly concern kept the filly from taking offense, and saved Applejack from feeling any guilt. Applebloom obeyed and closed the door, poking her head up to the black screen to keep a frightful eye on her stubborn sibling.
The rain had begun, and it wouldn't stop until tomorrow morning. The Weather Team had completed their jobs for the day and were probably safe in their homes, most of which were in the clouds and free from the soaking, freezing rain. Guess she just didn't have the time to stop by, or didn't wanna bother herself with it. Applejack groaned as she sluggishly dragged herself inside, more negative thoughts plaguing her mind. She couldn't stand to be out in this rain a moment longer.
Far away from the mare and her farm was the captain of the town's weather, who had been gazing in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, itching to visit and check on Applejack, the pony she had developed rather unusual feelings for. Unfortunately her job was taking unwanted priority, with several setbacks occurring throughout the day. From on-the-job accidents to a delay in the production of rain clouds, even a near strike from the employees (whose names kept escaping her). Being the captain of Ponyville's weather team was proving extra taxing today. It would be a miracle if this storm remained on schedule anyway, considering the fast and careless effort she'd been putting into her work lately.
Dash breathed a sigh of relief and took one final look at the clouds, inspecting each one with a low level of focus and consideration. "It'll do," she was emanating a large level of anticipation, noticed by every member of her team. She was already a good distance away from the other pegasi when she shouted, "Alright, day's over! Everypony go home!"
The fastest mare in Ponyville had her eyes set on Sweet Apple Acres, mind racing to create a believable excuse for the abrupt visit. It was much easier to think after the alarms were shut off, the blaring horns fading slowly. Rainbow was certain of two things: one, she was whistling some happy-sappy tune, and two if she wasn't using her wings she'd have a skip in her step. Something about seeing Applejack made her oddly ecstatic, a feeling she had started to depend on. The cliché feelings were always present in the blond mare's presence, trouble breathing, increased heart rate that often skipped a beat or two, a desire to show off (more-so, even for Dash), and uncomfortable daydreams that left her wings stiff as a board.
Yada, yada, yada.
All these mushy feelings she's experiencing for the first time, they both scare and excite her. Rainbow Dash could finally see what the big deal about love was, sadly she doubted it would ever progress beyond a silent crush. Clearly Applejack had no interest in her, let alone a preference for mares. What really stung was that all she can hear are those jerks from Flight Academy calling her "Rainbow Dyke" over and over again in her head. Being punished for the fight that led to was the final straw in a vast series of unavoidable occurrences that made dropping out such an easy choice.
Caught up in unhappier times caused her to shoot past the farm. She made a quick U-turn in the air, wings naturally fluxing with the weight of her body, and dived towards the back of the house. Branches on the hundreds of trees in Sweet Apple Acres were shaking violently back and forth, leaves and apples falling onto the ground. They're all feeble little obstacles as she zoomed by, stopping inches before the screen door. Dash took a moment to wipe the large and gleeful smile off her face before knocking. Immediately the door was yanked opened and an eager Rainbow Dash greets, "Hey ya Apple . . . bloom," she looked down in disappointment at the young filly.
"Applejack!" Shouted the equally enthusiastic Applebloom, "Oh, hey Rainbow Dash, is mah big sis' with ya?" the filly asked, leaning her head out the door to look left and right.
"No, why? She's not here?" the turquoise pony looked beyond the door and into the house, seeing nothing but an empty kitchen. She could vaguely make out the creak of Granny Smith's old wooden chair rocking in the living room. A feeling of worry crept over the flyer, and it's moments like this that she regrets such a vivid imagination. A picture of her best friend, confidant, and crush freezing outside in the pouring rain with no sense of direction or means of shelter rose amongst her thoughts. Of course being helpless was not Applejack, so she truly had no reason to worry.
That didn't stop her though.
"No, she went lookin' for Winona a minute ago." Dash slammed her hoof roughly into her face, angered over having missed the orange coated pony by such a small amount of time. Young Applebloom took a startled half-step back, a tad frightened over the odd display. "Could ya stop the rain so Ah can go find her?"
"Sorry kiddo, I'm awesome, but even I can't stop an entire storm for just one pony. Not even one as cute as Applejack." The last part mistakenly slipped out of her thoughts and directly formed into words, it's what she got for not truly caring about what she said in the presence of fillies. Honestly it was a little relieving to speak her mind with such little concern. She'd forgotten how nice and freeing it felt.
"Ugh, pardon?" Applebloom had a clear look of confusion, stuck between whether or not she correctly heard the fancy-colored pony. A silence fell, broken once by the booming thunder from above.
"Not even one as cool as Applejack!" Dash had shouted, absolutely certain she was clever enough to outsmart the young filly.
"Oh, right. That's what Ah thought ya said." The confusion was replaced by acceptance, which allows Rainbow to breathe an ever-sweet sigh of relief. "Well, ya can come inside an' wait if ya'd like." The filly offered, stepping out of the doorway.
"No, I should go find her." And before she could see the smile on Applebloom's face, she was gone, zipping across the field. She wished she'd had a straight path to keep her speed, but instead she had to swerve through the trees and hills to avoid a collision, slowing her down. Dash made an effort of staying low to the ground, looking for any fresh hoof prints in the mud. It was, after all, how Daring-Do tracked Ahuitzotl in "Legends of The Golden Paradise".
Applejack, meanwhile, spent her time moving at a much, much slower speed. "Winona," she called, "Here girl!" Ever since she was a puppy, Winona had a fear of thunder, and usually she'd wait inside and hide under a table. But something was different this night, some unexplainable absence. Perhaps a rabbit or squirrel that her dog had chased after had led her too far from the farm to return. In any case, the earth pony kept an eye out for two different creatures, both of whom meant the entire world to her.
The forest surrounding the back acres of the farm was usually avoided due to its maze like trails, but Applejack had been running and playing through here since she was Applebloom's age. It was just as easy for her to navigate this unkempt area as it was her farm. If Winona had ran back her then it was only a matter of time before the work mare would find her.
Her thoughts trailed to Rainbow Dash, who she assumed was sleeping comfortably in her house above the storms. Would it have really been so inconvenient to stop by and say hello, even for just a second? this made the mare angry, which led to guilt. Why should Rainbow have to come by, it's not like she has to see me every day. A quick burst of thunder reminds her of a buzzer, indicating she had the right answer. She bangs her head on the bark of a tree, luckily a rotten and hollow one, but it still hurts.
"C'mon Winona!" She shouted, attempting to move away from thoughts of Dash. She'd much rather find her dog and get back to the barn than stand outside and freeze over warm daydreams. Quick flashes of lightning followed each other in rapid succession, and a few branches fell to the ground in front of her. She pushes her stetson low over her eyes to shield them from the rain but it really doesn't make that noticeable of a difference. She regrets bolting out of the house without thinking of her own wellbeing, especially when she pictured the cozy yellow slickers hanging in the closet waiting for just-such an emergency.
It felt like she'd been standing out in the rain for hours, calling Winona over and over again, when finally she heard a low level of whimpering coming from within a bush. Brushing some leaves aside she could see a hint of brown and white fur, undoubtedly her loyal and obedient dog quivering violently. "There ya are," she greeted, glad to have gotten at least this far. The pony is positive it'll be a challenge to get the dog moving back to the farm, even if it is such a small distance away. The rain continued to pick up until it began to feel like hail against her back. Maybe Winona had the right idea hiding in a bush, it certainly didn't seem like a bad plan from where she was standing.
Suddenly the rain stopped and Applejack is left confused and speechless, a bright circle of sunlight shining directly on her back. The confusion was increased to baffled when she realized it's just the area surrounding her and Winona. "What in the world?" She looked up into the sky, expecting the rain to suddenly pick up and blind her. Instead she saw Rainbow Dash's smiling face looking down on her, having opened the storm clouds. Sweet Celestia, she looks absolutely amazin'! She mentally screamed, watching Dash dive to the ground and stop gracefully seconds before impact. Applejack smiled gleefully as they glanced at each other. "Hey sugarcube," she greeted, careful not to make it sound too endearing.
Even though it's not her special nickname, Rainbow Dash loved the way it sounded. "Hey Applejack," she made the same effort of not sounding too excited. "I saw you standing out here and thought you could use a little help." She's not sure why she lied, it's not like telling the orange coated mare she had visited the farm was going to out her feelings and preference for the same sex.
Applejack crossed her hooves, which was always a sign of either pride or humility. "Well that'd be mighty nice Rainbow," Dash is left a little dumbfounded, having expected the mare to be just the slightest bit stubborn in receiving help. Hay, she had even thought of how to convince Applejack to accept her help on the flight over. "But wouldn't ya rather bunker down in Cloudsdale until this storm's passed?"
"Nah, you're much more fun than anything in Cloudsdale." The compliment made Applejack blush, which she hid from the pegasus by looking in several different directions. "Just give me a second and I'll have a clear path from here to the farm." Rainbow got into a crouching position on her hooves and shot straight into the sky, tearing through the clouds and opening a narrow, rainless path back to Sweet Apple Acres. The orange coated mare watched in wonder as her feather winged crush swerved through the clouds with a grace she'd never seen before, that rainbow streak showing the slightest of turns the pegasus had taken.
The sunlight running through Rainbow Dash's path shines onto the wet grass, producing a dazzling little glow. Winona poked her head out of the bush, equally as confused as her owner had been. The dog quickly moved along the path, taking advantage of whatever opportunity she had to make it back home fairly dry. The farm mare made a half-hearted attempt to get the dog to return to her side, but she's appreciative of the alone time this'll give her with the returning pony. "See ya back home girl!" she called as Rainbow landed a mere inch in front of her.
Dash tried to act as natural as she could, which wasn't easy considering the wet scent of Applejack had her so excited. "You know you're soaking wet, right?" she snickered.
"Ya don't say, honestly Ah hadn't noticed." Applejack trotted past Rainbow, a little annoyed, though her temper towards the turquoise pony trailing behind her quickly eased until it vanished, as it had been doing for the past few months.
"Sorry," Dash mumbled, uncharacteristically apologizing. "Your mane, it looks nice wet," she complimented, also unlike her. "Not that it looks bad dry! It looks great dry!" Applejack blushed, staring down at the sunlit path her hooves trailed. She spotted Winona's paw prints in the mud, traveling in a near perfect straight line. "I think I'm just going to stop talking now."
"Your mane looks great too." Now it was Dash's turn to blush and look away, embarrassed by just how girly she considered it. From those compliments, the conversation became hard to maintain. Both ponies try to keep the other speaking, and at the same time try to sneak in a glance, immediately looking in the opposite direction if noticed. Ironically this made them appear uninterested in the other, humorous if it wasn't so sad.
There were some exchanges of words, all meaningless and irrelevant babble about weather and, at one point Dash could have sworn, the landscape. They reach the high hill leading straight down to the farm. The clouds Dash had parted were now sealing back up and releasing rain, washing away the hoof prints they'd left behind. Speaking of hooves, theirs were now covered in a variation of equally dry and wet mud, making each step uncomfortable.
At that moment the pegasus was scolding herself internally. Am I some grade school pony, too scared to even talk to her? She'd ram her face into the ground if it wasn't for Applejack's presence. I have to do something, anything to keep this from going downhill any faster. A thought crossed her mind as did a smile on her face. If it was anypony else there would have been second thoughts, but Rainbow never had the time for those.
She pushed her friend down the muddy hill, following close behind with a jump and a shout of joy, wings tucked close to her body. The hill, slippery with mud and very steep, made for the greatest slide this side of Ponyville. Halfway down Applejack's terror and blood-curdling scream turns into laughter. The trees beside them were nothing but blurs of indistinguishable greens and browns, speeding out of their fields of vision within seconds.
On the path they're traveling Dash is aware of an approaching crash into the side of the barn. The winged pony does her best to act as a shield for the farm mare, moving in front and willing to take the brass of the impact, which at this speed will be very unpleasant. The first thing she learned in the academy was how to crash properly and receive the minimum level of pain and injury, but she struggles to remember the method. Either she'd done it correctly or the cold had numbed her, but she can say without a doubt that even after hitting the soaking wood she was still laughing uncontrollably.
Seconds later Applejack slams into her back, clearly enjoying the thrill of the slide. Breathing heavily, sides aching, and laughing subisiding, the pegasus laid on top of the earth pony, a red mark covering one side of her face, received in the impact. Through some miracle the barn wall remains unbroken, as do all of their bones. Applejack's heart beats faster after she's aware Rainbow is lying on top of her, just as warm and cozy as she imagined. It took a large amount of effort to keep from wrapping her forelimbs around the turquoise coated chest, but she managed to survive the desire. It's easy to say this had turned into one of the better days she'd experienced. "Ya okay . . . Rainbow . . . ya smacked into that barn . . . pretty hard?" she asked between breaths.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Cold, covered in mud, but I'm fine."
"Ah know what'cha mean. Ah'm gonna need a shower ta get all this mud out." A mental image forms and it takes a great deal of will-power to keep her wings tucked in. Dash rolled off of Applejack and wiped the mud off her forehead and stomach, followed by spreading her wings and shaking back and forth in a doggish manner of drying off. The arousal disappears quickly in the cold and the wings unstiffen, immediately returning to her side.
"Well, I guess you'd better get inside and dry off." Dash helped the disappointed pony off the ground, giving a smile that revealed just how much she truly cared. Sadly Applejack assumed it was just her imagination.
"Ya can come on in if ya'd like, nice dry place to sleep for the night." She offered, though begged seemed more appropriate, and quite desperately too. Rainbow could burst through the clouds in about seven seconds and be above the rain and thunder, it was absolutely pointless to stay on the cold, soaking ground.
"Thanks, but I'd hate to bring all this mud into the house."
"Ya know Ah'm draggin' in just as much dirt as you are."
It's getting tougher to deny the invitation, but whenever she was with Applejack's family it felt like she was under a spotlight, everypony waiting for her to screw up her lines. It reminded her of a spelling bee she had done in kindergarten, minus the bright lights and microphone. Miss Dash, could you spell 'infatuation'? The same fear could be said about her friends, who she assumed all remained clueless. Twilight sometimes gave a knowing glance or a smile that said she knew exactly what was happening behind the façade, but she never said anything or acted like she did. "I think Granny Smith is still mad at me for crashing through the window," Dash winces at the memory of that less-than-fantastic flight.
Always fly with your eye in the sky, it was a nursing line taught to all kindergarten pegasi before their first takeoffs. Honestly she couldn't say focused when Applejack was around, but that was a given. And for an old pony with such a bad hip Granny Smith could be quite frightening, not much of a runner though.
"Oh, Ah understand." She truly didn't, but she thought she did. "Well it was mighty fun hangin' with ya Rainbow. Ah'll see ya tomorrow, right?" she did her best to not look too disappointed, but let enough slip through that Dash would feel some guilt over ditching her.
"Definitely, I'll help ya buck a few apples and clean the farm!" The offer to help with chores should have been a dead giveaway for Applejack, but her mind was dedicated to the belief that Rainbow only loved her as a friend.
Dash prepared for a hasty takeoff, surprise being the dominant feeling when she gets little over a foot in the air and slams into the ground, falling into, surprise, more mud. She's always been a tomcolt, and getting dirty has never been a fear, but in front of Applejack it's absolutely humiliating. She thinks of possible causes for her graceless tumble.
Too wet of wings make for flightless pegasi, another one of the first things taught to foals, one that she had forgotten. It's so stupidly simple that it adds to her embarrassment, causing her to blush and shiver and wait for Applejack's ridicule, though obviously unlike her. "Are you okay?" she asked with such concern that even Rainbow noticed. The yellow-haired mare helped the mud-covered pegasus to her hooves and guided her into the barn, bucking the door open and moving her friend inside so fast that it seemed to happen in one fluid movement. Applejack brushes most of the mud off of her crush, somewhat aroused as her hooves wiped at the turquoise pony's body. "There, all better sugarcube?"
No, it wasn't better, it was worse. She mistakes the care and affection for pity and it absolutely angers her. I heard little fillyfooler Rainbow Dash has a crush on me. Poor girl, I feel so sorry for her, covered in mud and shivering. I wonder if she really believes I'd even swing that way. And even if I did I would never go for a pony like Dash. So pathetic! It's grating on her nerves, the thoughts she believes are running through Applejack's mind.
"I'm fine, just get away from me!" she shoves the surprised pony back and turns away, biting her lip and fighting back tears of rage. She's never felt comfortable crying in front of anypony, and that unquestionably goes double for Applejack. Vulnerability is synonymous with helpless as love is with torture and if anything screams vulnerable it's crying. Dash speedily fixed her untidy mane and brushed the remaining mud off.
She's angry, not just over that one thought. She may have been hotheaded but even she wasn't that bad. No, this level of fury was the result of the many months she had to meticulously watch and plan what she said when speaking to Applejack, of making sure not to display any deep level of concern or fear for her safety, and the strain this had put on the relationship between them. Dash is unaware that the only other pony in the barn is deafeningly grinding her teeth, the exact same rage reaching its apex as her own sinks.
"Ya know what ya wannabe Wonderbolt, Ah was just tryin' ta help." The earth mare remarked, staring down the equally surprised Dash.
Any thought of apologizing in Rainbow Dash had instantly vanished at the Wonderbolt remark, "You know what you country bumpkin, I didn't ask for your help!" She retorted, leaning forward on her forelimbs like a bull preparing to charge.
"An' ya never will, Ah don't even know why Ah . . ." she was a millisecond away from outing herself, which might've saved them both a few harsh words and bruises. Dash takes advantage of the lull in Applejack's statement.
"You know sometimes I wish I never crashed into your poor excuse for a farm you backwater redneck hick!" Dear Celestia, she hated herself after that one. Even as she quakes with rage, that comment was so horrific and heartless that she immediately snapped out of her blinding anger and into self-blame. Applejack's mouth is wide open, practically hitting the hay covered floor. Her eyes began to water, tears threatening to fall just as much as the rain outside. "AJ, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." Rainbow rushed to the earth pony's side, prepared to comfort her and give another thousand apologies.
And suddenly Applejack swings a hoof into the side of her face, knocking her to the floor in shock. It certainly isn't the hardest the green-eyed beauty had ever hit her, but it was able to take every little ounce of guilt away and revive her trembling anger. "Don't ya'll ever badmouth me or my farm, ya flight school dropout!" Applejack barked it as an order and turned back to the open doors, hoping to get into the rain and use it as a mask for tears. Rainbow jumped at the mare, tackling her to the ground and laying a hoof into her back.
Applejack rose to her feet, Rainbow sitting on top of her, and quickly begins to buck, throwing her body weight around and around. It took a while, but Dash eventually lost her balance and crashed to the ground, incredibly lightheaded. Now it was the farm mare's turn to throw a few blows, which she does through a quick series of punches to the purple-eyed pony's stomach. Dash groans in discomfort and begins to blindly slam her hoof into her crush's head until she had one hell of a migraine and had to back off. Both ponies are holding back, not wanting to seriously harm the other but at the same time try and work out the aggression stored up over the past few months.
This barn was relatively small, restricting them to close quarters and not allowing much breathing room. Any chance to regain one's composure before jumping back in was immediately seized. Rainbow Dash pressed her hoof against her stomach where Applejack had hit her, wincing in pain at the bruise beginning to form there. Her vision grew more stable and she returned to the fight, pushing Applejack against the barn wall and slamming her head into the wingless mare's already aching own. The wall their pressed against quakes from the force. They've went from insults to indistinguishable, animalistic grunts and heavy breathing. Dash can see an imprint of her hoof on the left side of her friend's face. The blond raises her hind-leg to Dash's stomach, hitting her in the same exact place as the bruise she herself had just caused. The pegasus recoils and Applejack takes a moment to rest her sore and spinning head as well as catch her breath.
She feels like throwing up, but that doesn't slow Rainbow down any. Instantly she prepares to rush into the pony, wings spreading open in one of the subtler signs of aggression. She charges at Applejack in the blink of an eye, aware that she'll probably do herself a decent amount of harm in the impact as well but in too much of a rage to really care. While it does hurt, AJ is thankful it wasn't another attack to her head. Her green orbed eyes glaze over and she begins to cough, falling to the ground and onto cushy hay.
Rainbow made the mistake of staying too close to her fallen foe and love, certain that after tonight they will probably never see each other again. She feels like crying, praying to Celestia that this is not the last moment they'll ever have. While distracted, Applejack sweeps her forelimb at the pegasus' legs. "Can't believe ya fell for that," she exclaimed as the mare fell to the ground. For a pony with no poker face, the farm mare played a mean opossum act. A bang of thunder and some lightning come from the pitch black sky outside, that and the weak motion sensitive light being the only source of visibility.
The element of loyalty, willing to do herself harm in taking down Applejack, shoots across the wooden floor, a splinter or two finding its way past her coat and into her skin. Applejack is slammed back into the wall and is horrified to hear a quick snapping sound, Dash is too distracted to notice and rises back to her feet, pressing against the pony and the wall, which continues to snap until finally giving into the weight. They fall through, out into the cold rain, the shock bringing back some common sense to each. Applejack's hat and hair-tie break off and her mane falls apart. Tumbling over each other, Dash wraps her hooves around Applejack and waits for the rolling to cease.
Rainbow pressed her hooves down on Applejack's chest, still in the belief that this fight isn't over, at least until she truly looks at Applejack. Anger turns into passion and she slowly lowers her head, closer and closer to the crush she had just thrown a few punches at. We really did a number on each other, she thought, and it's this that her mind stays fixed on. Every little bruise and scratch make her hesitate and realize how much of a monster she is.
"Alright, ya win Rainbow. Now would ya let me up?" had she truly won? Congrats Rainbow, you just threw your love through a wall after smacking her in the head a few dozen times. What was that supposed to make her feel, pride? That vulnerability she hates to show, the tears and helplessness, it starts. Dash is fairly certain that the rain is covering for her, a nice enough excuse. "Rainbow Dash, if ya'll are gonna do somethin' then do it!" Applejack ordered.
And she did.
She backed off, away from the remains of the barn wall and the bruised mare that would never forgive her. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She said, voice quivering. She closes her eyes as tight as possible and jumps into the air, forgetting yet-again that her wings were way too wet to hold her. She falls back into the mud, crying in shock and frustration. She pounds a hoof into the ground, splattering water in her face. She has no desire to pick herself up, what would the point of that be? Instead Dash just lays her head on the ground, unable to bear looking at anything around her. Applejack rolls to her hooves and slowly eases her way over to the defeated pegasus.
Disappointed? Yes, a little. Sore? Yes, all over. But this was not going to be how everything ended, how a friendship broke apart and how two ponies with so much in common, good and bad, said goodbye.
The earth pony picks Dash off the ground and starts to brush her off, much to the surprise of said pony. "Ah gotta be honest with ya, because it's probably now or never. Ah have a . . . well, Ah'm a fillyfooler." That seemed like a good place to start, "And Ah've kinda fancied you for a while now. An' my mind's ran through a whole bunch of scenarios on how Ah was gonna tell ya. Needless to say this wasn't in the top five." A halfhearted chuckle from Applejack while Rainbow Dash is left speechless, wondering if this was truly happening or if she had been knocked out in the fight.
"Anyway, Ah'd understand if this scared ya away, but Ah don't want this to be the last thing we ever do together." She starts to tear up herself and tilts her head to the barn beside them. "So Ah apologize in advance for this, but . . . " And suddenly she's pressing her lips against Dash, whose eyes widened. She backed away, unprepared for such a wondrous occurrence. This left Applejack humiliated, but she expected as much. "Right, sorry." She mumbled something under her breath. "Well, at least now Ah'll have that to remember ya b – "
Dash had recovered and was now taking her turn, though she was more forward about it, evident by her tongue finding its way into Applejack's mouth. It's not surprising in the least that she tasted like apples, in fact she's glad that part of her fantasy was accurate. The pegasus is also reminded of a CPR class she had taken back in school, thankfully the farm mare is much more contributing than the plastic dummies. Though Applejack was fumbling her way through it, getting better with each try. Clearly this was the first time the mare had somepony else's tongue down her throat. She ran her hooves, dripping wet and covered in mud, down the orange pony's back, producing several small moans. She really hoped it was a pleasurable moan and not one of discomfort or fright.
The kiss ends, and another begins, and another, and another.
"I'm sorry . . . for calling you a hick." She apologized, pressing her head against Applejack own while searching for breath.
"No, Ah'm sorry. Ah shouldn't of thrown the first punch."
"So . . . we're good?" Rainbow asked, violet orbs looking in the direction of the barn with the broken wall. Rain had begun to blow inside, washing away most of the hay. It's so hard to believe that just a moment ago she had went as far as head-butting Applejack, and now they were lying in mud and struggling through each's first kiss.
"If ya'll forgive me,"
"Awesome, because now that we're good I have to say you're a horrible kisser." She teased.
"Please, ya couldn't french the broadside of a barn door."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah," Applejack smiled, glad that the relationship between them had been mended to what it'd once been. Of course it could have gone a little smoother, and she didn't imagine she'd need to be pushed through a barn wall before confessing her love. But it was more tolerable than living another day acting uninterested in Rainbow Dash, and as said pegasus is pressed against her Applejack cannot think of one regret.
Until the next morning of course, when the actions of that night caught up to them.
Rainbow Dash went into a coughing fit while dragging the large piece of wood to the barn, where Applejack sat and impatiently tapped her hooves at the ground. "Do we really have to do this today?" she asked, voice strained. The bruise on her stomach had taken a sickly green and blackish color and even the smallest bit of pressure somewhat stings.
"Yes we do, it's not mah fault ya had to ram me through the wall. So quit yer whinin' and go fetch the other pieces of wood." The earth mare ordered, nose stuffed up as she pressed the board against the massive hole in the wall, reaching for a hammer and nail.
"Aye-aye captain," Dash saluted. "And thanks for the cold!"
Applejack gazed around the farm for any other souls before shouting, "Ya didn't have a fear of catchin' anythin' last night when yah had yer tongue down mah throat!"
Life was good.
