The Grand Galloping Gala; the most prestigious event on the Canterlot calendar. The glitz, the glamour, the sophistication, it's all at the Gala, but for some of the attendees, it's - quite frankly - boring as hell. Unfortunately, with the increasing status of Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, attendance at the Gala had turned from a fun-filled privilege to a chore. Long gone were the days of being themselves at the Gala, long gone were the days where they could trot around practically unnoticed. The Elements of Harmony had made such a name for themselves now that their presence rang throughout Equestria. For some, the additional attention would be welcomed, but to our friends, it only meant that every single word they said and every action they made would be under heavy scrutiny; setting a hoof wrong at one of these events was no longer an option.
Applejack was particularly nervous about the occasion. She and Rainbow Dash had been in a relationship for a couple of years by this point, but for the past few days, she'd had her doubts over the relationship, and being the Element of Honesty, it's hard to keep that kind of thing hidden. Rainbow Dash understood all too well that she was losing grip on the one mare she loved most, and she'd been intricately planning out in her head the events she hoped would unfold tonight which would help her win back the love and affection of her most beloved Apple.
The rest of the girls were aware of the situation also, and each had their own opinions over what they believed would be best for both the relationship and their circle of friends. That said, they all also understood that they should keep their distance to allow things to play out as they should - well, apart from Rarity, who occasionally got her nose a little too wet for her own good - and if things were meant to be, their issues would sort themselves out in time.
The girls found themselves in one of the Canterlot Castle's bedrooms. The walls were a white marble with deep blue veins stretching throughout. Pillars which were made of the same marble, trimmed with golden rings at the tops and bottoms, stood in each corner of the room. On one side, a large window overlooked Equestria. From this height, even Ponyville would have been visible in the broad daylight. The floor was tiled, and draped on top was a large red rug, lined with golden tassels and tiny roses woven into the fabric.
The girls were almost done sprucing themselves up for the big night. Rarity was perched in front of the mirror, adding the final few touches to her blush, Twilight and Fluttershy were busy helping each other into their respective dresses, and Pinkie Pie had already been ready for ten minutes, spending her time excitedly anticipating the evening as Applejack and Rainbow Dash quietly got dressed at opposite ends of the room equally not anticipating the evening with excitement.
The pink pony dashed up against the outside window of the bedroom. The sun was down, the moon was bright and the stars twinkled with ferocity. Fireworks were flying, making flashes of beautiful colours in the sky, and the attendees were slowly making their way up the courtyard having travelled from all corners of Equestria. "Ooh, I can't wait for the Grand Galloping Gala to start! This is so exciting!"
Air was forcibly let out of Twilight's lungs as Fluttershy tightened the corset underneath the Princess' dress, "Pinkie," the Princess began as she gasped for air, "We've been coming here for years, and it's the same thing every year; how can you still be so excited when you already know exactly what's going to happen?" she questioned.
Pinkie gasped, hurriedly making her way over to Twilight, "How can you not be excited? Every year something fun happens! Like, remember the time when Fluttershy let all those animals loose inside the hall?" she giggled. Fluttershy blushed embarrassingly, "Or the time when Applejack's humongous apple pie splatted all over the floor?" she laughed. Applejack simply cocked her eyebrow in response. "Or what about the time when Rarity and Prince Blueblood fell helplessly in love?" she squee'd, smiling at the memories.
"Pinkie," Twilight interjected, "those all happened in the same year."
"And we did not fall hopelessly in love, Pinkie Pie." Rarity shivered at the memory of the encounter. "He was simply garish!"
Pinkie Pie chuckled, "Oh, oh yeah!"
Meanwhile, in another corner of the room, Rainbow Dash was quietly adding the finishing touches to her ensemble, occasionally she looked through her own mirror to a reflection of Applejack and sighed. The blue pegasus had been in low spirits for a few days now as it was dawning on her that her relationship with Applejack was no longer as simple or as care-free as it once was. They had already fell on tough times between AJ working overtime at the farm and RD spending the majority of her time away with the Wonderbolts. It was difficult to keep the flame burning, but Rainbow Dash was never one to lay down without a fight, and she had originally wanted to spend tonight showing Applejack that the light hadn't faded, but all the clever quips and breath-taking moves she'd thought up in her head had all disappeared after a recent incident that haunted her every thought.
Applejack was also nervous. She'd been rather quiet getting ready and she'd been playing over and over again the lightest and most gentle way of letting Rainbow Dash down. She didn't want to break her heart, but ending a relationship which had been as intense as theirs would never come easy. She wanted to put those thoughts on hold for now and just enjoy the night as best she could - breaking up with Rainbow at the Grand Galloping Gala would put much unneeded stress on the whole group, and Applejack didn't want to be at the centre of a drama, not tonight.
The girls were interrupted in their preparations by a sudden knocking on the door. "Come in!" Rarity sang. The door swung open to briefly reveal the stunningly sharp black tuxedo of the now-growing Spike. Over the years, he'd begun to mature. His greed was kept in check, but nature had quickly taken its course in the past few years. The once baby dragon now stood slightly taller than his other friends. His frame had thinned since losing his baby fat, and his dapper appearance was not lost on Rarity, "Ooh, Spikey-Wikey, you look absolutely fabulous!"
The purple dragon blushed, "Well, I should think so, you designed it, after all."
Twilight glanced at him from across the room for a moment as Fluttershy made some final adjustments to her dress, "Was there something you needed, Spike?"
Suddenly, Spike forgot about his melting heart and sprung back into life, "Oh, uh, yes. Um, the Princess says guests will be entering the halls soon, so she'll need you down there ASAP."
"Not a prob- ooh, ow!" Twilight flinched.
"Oops, sorry!" Fluttershy apologised, having accidentally poked Twilight with the pin end of a brooch she was attempting to affix behind the Princess' ear.
"How long are you going to be?" Spike asked.
Twilight gently rubbed the back of her ear, before leaning back over to Fluttershy to try again, "Tell her I'll be down in five minutes. Thank you, Spike" the Princess smiled. Spike returned the smile and gave a little nod before bowing out of the room to inform Princess Celestia.
"Ow!" Twilight gasped, feeling the prickling of the pin once more.
"Oops, sorry!" Fluttershy apologised.
Rarity's ears twitched as she listened to Twilight's repeated calls for help. She rose up out of her seat, inspecting her magnificent ball gown in the mirror, fluffing it up and brushing down the sides so as to make it look puffy, but not too puffy, and then quickly proceeded to assist Fluttershy in her failing attempts to attach the brooch, "Here, darling, let me assist you." the sparkling white pony insisted. Fluttershy gently backed out of the situation once Rarity took hold of the brooch with her magic, "The fabric in Twilight's hat is tough, you need to really pinch it to get the needle through without hurting her." she explained, magically folding together the fabric and pulling the brooch through first time.
Twilight's dress was based largely on the 'Princess Dress', though this particular one had been reworked with alternative gems to further emphasise its uniqueness to Twilight. The main difference was the head piece which had been designed to accommodate Twilight's crown. It was constructed mainly of felt with a thick layer of padding underneath for rigidity, and was styled almost like a beret. On top of the head piece were a number of petunias, held together in a small mesh which extended across the top of the hat, under the crown and across the top of the Princess' fringe and eyes. It was topped off with a star-shaped crystal brooch which had just been pinned into the felt just behind Twilight's left ear. Miss Sparkle manipulated the head piece until it lay comfortably on her head whilst Rarity helped maintain the intended shape, ensuring the brooch stayed in place.
"Thank you, Rarity." Twilight grinned.
"Oh, no, not at all. A Princess has to look her best at the Grand Galloping Gala!" Rarity observed the small details and making light adjustments around the Princess' dress, "It looks as though you're ready. Now, off you go, you can't keep Celestia waiting."
"Right," Twilight acknowledged, making her way for the door, "See you all later, girls. Enjoy your night!" and without a moment's notice, she was gone.
"Bye, Twilight!" Pinkie bellowed immediately after Twilight closed the door.
The pink pony's attentions turned to Rarity, "That reminds me, I never asked what every pony else is doing tonight! What are you doing tonight, Rarity?" she rested her head in her hooves at the side of the dresser at which Rarity had returned to continue getting ready.
Rarity smiled back, slightly giddy, "Well I heard one of fashion's hottest models - Sally Saddles - is going to be there, and I simply must ask her if I could get her to model my next line of dresses."
Pinkie gasped at the prospect, "Ooh!" she slammed her hooves on the table and lifting herself up in excitement, "Networking! I like it!" Next, the super duper party pony Pinkie pottered over to Fluttershy, "And what are you doing tonight?" she enquired with an unrelenting smile.
Fluttershy blushed, "Oh, well, Discord and I were going to head out to the gardens to enjoy the company of the wildlife, and-"
"Really? Wow, that sounds super nice. Not sure if it's the kind of thing I imagine Discord doing, but I'm sure you'll have fun!" the pink pony wasted no time in trotting over to Applejack who was just adding the finishing touches to her Gala hat, which was exactly like her regular hat, but with an added white ribbon complete with red and green apple trim, and a large red apple brooch on the front right corner. "And what about you?"
"Well, Filthy Rich and Ah were talking a long time 'bout expanding the farm. We were supposed to be makin' some sorta deal tonight, but seems he ain't coming no more, so ah dunno whut Ahm doin'."
"Aww, that's such a shame." Pinkie frowned before immediately perking herself back up, "Well, if I know my Applejack, I'm sure you'll find something fun to do tonight!" the candy-loving pony gave a friendly punch on the arm. Just one pony remained for her inquisitional onslaught: Rainbow Dash. Pinkie's eyes rolled along with the crooked tilt of her head and a Cheshire cat-like smile as she shifted her gaze from AJ to RD, "Dashie?"
Rainbow had been listening to each pony's response, but had been unable to cobble together a good alternative to what she truly desired to happen. "I, uh... Spitfire wanted me to, uh... I mean, she wanted to talk about some big show she has planned for next year sometime, so I'll be hanging out with her and the other Wonderbolts. Yeah." the blue pegasus faked her best smile.
Applejack flinched at the mention of Spitfire.
Pinkie often had moments of social unawareness, and sometimes struggled to uncover the true meaning behind the words of others, but she understood a fake smile. She recognised instantly that Rainbow was lying, though she wasn't sure as to why she'd be lying to Pinkie. "Hmm," she studied Rainbow's expression. Maybe she was lying for the sake of not telling the truth to the others. Maybe it was something she didn't want Fluttershy to know, or Rarity. The pink mare conceded that she wasn't going to find the true intentions of Rainbow in this particular moment, "that sounds great!" she squee'd, bursting with confetti. Rainbow shooed away the colourful pieces of paper which had exploded into her face.
"And what about you?" Rainbow defensively questioned.
Pinkie's grin grew three sizes. "Well, I know that the Grand Galloping Gala isn't a true party like the ones we have back in Ponyville, but I realised that this is the perfect place to practise my second most favourite thing to do: pony watching!"
"Pony watching?" Rarity asked.
"Yep. Pony watching." Pinkie quickly made her way out of the doors before anyone thought to ask for clarification.
The group of ponies left in the room all looked at each other as if to ask one another if they understood what she was meant, and if their interpretation of 'pony watching' was the same as everypony else's. They took turns meeting eyes with each other and gently shaking their heads in confusion before getting back to what they were doing.
Just as Rarity settled down to add the final touches of her make-up, she felt the dressing table quiver. She jumped back in shock. Suddenly, the table was Discord and the accompanying stool had become his tail. Rarity was so startled by the transformation that she fell backwards off the end of Discord's tail and onto the floor, messing up her entire ensemble and dropping blush all over her dress.
"Discord! What have you done?" she panicked at the sight of her messed up dress. The white unicorn quickly galloped into the bathroom, weeping.
Fluttershy turned around with a grin on her face, "Discord!" she noticed his sharp brown suit, "Oh, you look wonderful."
Discord smiled inside, "Why, thank you, Fluttershy," he acknowledged as he floated over to greet her by friendlily rubbing their cheeks together, "and might I say you're looking rather fabulous yourself. Are you ready to go?"
"Oh, yes. Shall we go now?"
Discord held out his elbow for Fluttershy to link into him, "Of course, my dear." he agreed. Fluttershy grabbed him by the elbow and the two exited into the Gala.
"Bye everypony!"
"Bye Fluttershy!" AJ and Rainbow Dash replied.
With Rarity sobbing in the bathroom, and the rest of their friends gone, Applejack and Rainbow Dash found themselves alone in the bedroom. Upon Fluttershy's exit, Rainbow Dash began to feel tense instantly. It had been several days since she and Applejack had been together. Her heart pounded, knowing that at any minute she could pull the chord on the entire relationship. The blue pegasus awkwardly attempted to ignore her Earth-pony lover, unsure of what else to do. She brushed her mane frantically, tunnelling her vision straight into the mirror in front of her. The silence grew more intense between Rarity's outbursts of tears in the bathroom. Rainbow grit her teeth and looked solemnly at AJ. As it happened, Applejack rose up out of her seat and turned to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow attempted to speak, "Applejack, I-"
"Ahm ready. Ah'll catch y'all later." she lowered her hat as she turned to leave.
As the door shut behind Applejack, Rainbow's heart sank. That exchange was so cold, as if their relationship was already over. Rainbow's emotions almost took hold of her. She began to breathe deeply, holding back on the tears, and repressing the memories of the relationship they'd shared together and the events which had led it all to fall apart. She dug her hoof into the side of the mirror and pulled herself closer, resting her head on the mirror. Her thoughts ran wild at the prospect of losing AJ, and she found it increasingly difficult to not cry. She closed her eyes, slamming her head against the mirror, gritting her teeth as she lost the battle against her own mind. She wept.
She attacked herself mentally, verbally abusing herself in her own mind, scorning herself about the mistake she'd made, the events she would change if she could, and dreaming of the way life should have been for the two of them. She understood the mountain she'd have to climb to win back Applejack's trust, and she knew that tonight was the only night she could do it. If she failed tonight, it was over.
A moment passed until Rarity came strutting out of the lavatory, head held high, as if no drama had even occurred. The bad news was Rainbow Dash was so far gone in her despair that it was immediately obvious to Rarity that she was having a crisis and no amount of hiding it would convince her otherwise. She didn't want to have to talk about it, because every time she did, her heartache grew even stronger. Unfortunately, Rarity couldn't not act in response to seeing one of her best friends in tatters.
"Rainbow." she trotted over to the pegasus, "Are you alright?" she pulled RD in for a hug. Dashie simply shook her head into Rarity's shoulder, rubbing mascara over it.
Her sobs muffled by Rarity's dress. "No. I'm not." Rainbow pulled back with tearful eyes. Rarity levitated a couple of tissues from across the room and wiped the tears away.
"Oh, I know. That was a stupid question. I'm sorry. Like I told you before, Rainbow Dash: if she forgives you, she forgives you, if not then you simply have to cut your losses and move on, dear." she explained as she started to carefully rework the make-up around Dash's eyes.
Rainbow looked up as Rarity reapplied the eye liner, "I know, I know. I just feel so lost."
Rarity sighed, "Have you tried the thing we've all been telling you to do, darling? You know... talk to her?" the unicorn licked the end of a tissue to remove the mascara lines from Rainbow's crying, "You've let this whole ordeal spiral way out of control. The way you explained it to me was fine. I mean, if I was AJ, I'd still be quite angry, but it's nothing you can't work around."
Rainbow huffed, "I've tried talking to her, but it doesn't work."
"Well clearly you're not trying hard enough."
Dash's temper flared, "I'm trying my hardest!"
Rarity, however, was having none of it, "If you're trying nearly as hard as you say you are then how come you're still losing her?" the white pony sneered. The question cut Rainbow like a knife. She had no retort, and instead of anger, she only felt sorrow, knowing she hadn't told Rarity the whole truth about what transpired that night. Rarity lifted a hoof and pulled Rainbow's face to look at her, "I know 'Rainbow Dash'. 'Rainbow Dash' doesn't let the things her heart desires slip through her hooves. She doesn't sit and let things happen; she makes them happen. You need to snap out of this silly spate of self-pity and go get the girl of your dreams!"
Rainbow Dash raised herself, straightening her posture and taking in a few breaths, "You're right..." RD attempted a confident smile.
Rarity shook her head, "A genuine smile, please. You're not going to win hearts by faking it." she insisted. RD shook herself down and tried again. "Wider," Rarity demanded. Rainbow's smile spread a little wider, though not enough to convince Rarity, "Wider..." the unicorn raised her voice. Dash's took in a deep breath and forced out an even wider smile, but the results still weren't satisfactory, "Wider!" Rarity yelled. Dash released her breath and gave it one last shot. She called upon every muscle on her face to produce a grin which spanned from ear to ear, but instead she burst into laughter, amused by Rarity's attempts to cheer her up. "That's better. Now get yourself out there and talk things over. You have a heart to win back, and I, for one, believe in you."
"Aren't you coming out, too?"
"Oh dear, no, not yet. I need to ensure my dress looks absolutely perfect for Sally Saddles. You go on ahead." she shooed Rainbow, taking a seat at the other dresser.
RD grabbed the door, took a deep breath, and left with as much confidence as she could muster. The moment she left, she could clearly hear the soothing melody of the orchestral music being performed in the hall, the chatter of a hundred or so ponies and, oddly enough, the loud screeching of Pinkie Pie's gleeful excitement.
The bedroom in which the girls had been getting ready was on the second floor of the castle; the entrance to the hall was a short trot down the hallway and down a flight of stairs to the first floor. Dash clopped slowly down the corridor to the stairs. She observed ponies coming in through the entrance of the castle; countless faces she'd never seen before, mixed in with a couple of unmistakably famous ones, all in the fanciest of dresses and sharpest of tuxedos. Greeting them were Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Twilight. Dash glided down the stairs which hugged the walls of entrance and spiralled down to the entrance of the Gala. Twilight caught a glimpse of her as she entered. The two exchanged a smile before the blue pegasus disappeared through the giant archway and into the Gala.
The venue was the same as ever; crowded with important ponies from every corner of Equestria. Business ponies, fashion models, celebrities, athletes and politicians gathered in groups, mingling with one another and enjoying a grand selection of tasty treats and the finest wines. Familiar and unfamiliar faces alike passed by Dash, but she didn't care for the crowd, she only cared to find Applejack and put the world to rights, or her own world at the very least. Dashie trawled through countless faces, but none belonged to her beloved AJ.
A few minutes into her hopeless search, Rainbow felt a tapping on her back. RD turned around to find Spitfire with a grin on her face and a glass of wine in her hoof. "Hey, Rainbow Dash!" she chuckled, "How are you?" she enquired, exchanging a friendly kiss on the cheek.
Dash brushed Spitfire away, "Hey,"
"What's up? You lost somepony?"
"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. I was actually looking for Applejack. Have you seen her?"
Spitfire sighed, "Her? Dash, I've told you a hundred times; you're better off without."
RD crumpled up her face at the suggestion, "And I've told you a hundred times; no!" she grumbled. "AJ's a nice pony. Good, honest and hard-working."
"Hey! I work hard, too!"
"And of course out of the things I just said, the 'hard-working' part is the first you take issue with - that's why we're not together anymore. I'm not here to argue with you, Spitfire. I'm looking for AJ. Have you seen her or not?" Spitfire simply chortled at Dash and wandered off. Dash watched as she walked away, "Bitch." she mumbled under her breath. Coincidentally, just beyond Spitfire, Rainbow saw AJ walking towards the rear exit. The pegasus pursued the farm pony. "AJ!" Dashie called, but AJ continued on. Unsure whether or not she'd heard her, Dashie galloped through the crowd, patting her partner on the shoulder once she'd caught up.
"Get offa me!" she grabbed Dashie's arm and flung it off of her before picking up the pace towards the exit into the garden.
Rainbow stopped herself in her tracks, "AJ?" she choked. She was momentarily shocked by Applejack's cold response. Dash reminded herself that she couldn't mess up tonight - she had to fix their relationship - and darted after her out into the garden. "AJ, wait!" she cried out in the quiet gardens. This resulted in disgruntled stares from several ponies. Bad move. The observed Dash blushing with embarrassment as she sped after Applejack who had ran off into the gardens away from everypony else.
The garden was dark, lined with shrubbery, tall trees and beautiful flower beds. It twisted and turned almost like a maze. Dash searched high and low for several minutes, but Applejack was nowhere to be seen. Dash sighed in defeat. However, on her way back, she heard quiet whimpering from one corner of the garden. Through the seemingly endless maze of trees, bushes and flowers, Dash had managed to gallop straight by Applejack without noticing her.
She figured Now was her best chance. They were both alone; it was time to try and talk things out.
"Applejack?" Dash slowly approached her.
"Go away, Rainbow, ah don't wanna see you. It's over."
The words pierced Dash's heart like nothing she'd ever felt. The pain was intense. She knew she had to suppress it and fight through it until she could convince Applejack that it wasn't over. "No, AJ, please, listen to me. I want to talk this out. I don't want to lose you."
"There's nuthin' else to talk about, Rainbow!"
"What do you mean? There's plenty to talk about, and I should have spoken to you a long time ago. I'm sorry, AJ. I'm sorry I let it this happen, just please hear me out."
"Ah don't wanna! It don't matter what I ask of you, you just can't keep your hooves away from her, can you?"
"W-what?"
"Spitfire! I told y'all to keep yer distance from her, but there you were fraternising as always."
Dash's heart continued to sink, "I wasn't fraternising at all! She came over to me!"
"Oh, phooey! I saw y'all. You were peckin' her on the cheek an' everything!"
Dash denied it, "No! She kissed me! I didn't do anything!"
"Yer too right you didn't! Why didn't you stop her?"
"I-"
"No, of course you wouldn't stop her. Why would ya? You never stopped her before, why would ya start now?"
"No, that's not how it is."
"A'course that's how it is! That's always how it's been, Rainbow!" she paused, "She's yer boss, an' she's yer lover; that's always how it's been. Ah've just been second choice, always." the usually strong-minded work-horse was now in tears.
Dash knelt down below Applejack, trying to reassure her, "No. She's my ex. I wouldn't go back to her, you know I wouldn't. We've been through this, AJ. Please, believe me."
"An' how am Ah to know y'all ain't turning your back on me when ah'm not around?"
"I-" Dash hung her head.
"Exactly. Ah just can't trust you after what happened the other day. Fact is you work away for days at a time. You're there with her an' Ah ain't got no idea what y'all 'er gettin' up to."
"When we're at work, it's in a professional environment-"
"Yeah, Ah'm sure of it, just like the first time y'all got together. And when you're not working; what then? 'Anything goes', huh?"
RD growled.
Applejack continued, "You got nothing to grumble about, Rainbow! You were the one who got caught!" she stopped as the tears came rushing through, remembering the events of that night.
"You don't understand, Applejack. I-"
"What's there not to understand? Ah caught you buckin' yer boss an' that's all there is to it. You were unfaithful to me..." her lip quivered as she recalled the sight of the two of them in the barn.
"She used me! I was drunk,"
"Oh, Ah could see that!"
"No. I mean I had a drink, but I didn't have that much, it just kinda went to my head. I barely even recall what happened. All I know is that one minute I was out drinking, then the next I was asleep on the hay in the barn."
"It don't matter if y'all remember it or not; fact is you did it, an' Ah don't think ah can forgive you for it." AJ hung her head in sorrow.
"I wouldn't go behind your back, AJ. Come on, I'm the Element of Loyalty; that's gotta stand for something, right? Give me a second chance. I'll show you - I'll prove it to you - I can be the pony you need me to be."
AJ was out of arguments. She just cried. Rainbow Dash attempted to console her. She got up and wrapped her hooves around AJ's neck. The orange pony didn't fight it. She was lost in a war between her head and her heart; she still loved Rainbow Dash - of course she did - but how do you forgive somepony for something like that? Applejack rested her head on RD's shoulder, grabbing her dress in her hoof. RD gave her a peck on the forehead, stroked her mane and thought of something to say as Applejack cried out her frustrations.
Rainbow's heart sank, recalling the events of that night. She vaguely understood what went down, but her mind refused to acknowledge it. "I remember..." she started. Applejack's sobbing quietened as she listened. "I remember after the show, during the after party, I was talking to Spitfire; she was hitting on me, but I remember telling her 'no'. I'd never cheat on you. We started to argue outside the party, and I told her I was going home. I came back to Ponyville, and she followed me, trying to apologise and convince me to come back. I dunno, I don't remember much after that. I remember, I wanted to come see you - you were the only thing on my mind that night. The next thing I remember was you yelling and screaming at me." Dash looked at Applejack with tears in her eyes, "I think I..." she shut her eyes and turned her head away. She couldn't finish the sentence.
It dawned on Applejack what she was trying to say. She gazed at her love, a mixture of concern and disgust in her eyes, and a growing rage inside her heart, "What are you tryin' to say, Rainbow? Yer sayin' that she..."
Rainbow Dash pulled herself away from AJ, covering her face with her hooves, bawling with tears. Applejack looked on as the torrent of emotions overwhelmed her to the point of feeling sick. Her breath quickened and her heart pounded as adrenaline coursed through her veins. She looked towards the castle, knowing Spitfire was inside. She stood up on her hooves, dried her eyes and galloped for the doors.
"Applejack, no!"
AJ ignored Dash's cries, speeding off into the Gala on a mission to track down Spitfire. The Wonderbolts were in their navy and gold event uniforms, making them easy to pick out in the crowd. She spied Sorin. Applejack trotted over to him as swiftly as she could dodge through the crowd of ponies standing between them. "Sorin!" she bellowed above the noise of the party.
"Applejack?"
"Where's Spitfire?"
Sorin sighed, "Applejack, you need to drop this vendetta already; you're gonna end up hurting Rainbow's career with all this bull-"
"Oh, believe me, Ah'll hurt you if y'all don't tell me where Spitfire is right now!"
The disturbance caught the attention of some of the nearby guests, who either stopped and stared or moved clear of AJ and Sorin, "Stop it, you're making a scene. Seriously, just drop it." he explained, trying to walk away.
Applejack grabbed him, not letting him go, "Now you listen here. Rainbow's plenty hurt already and it's all Spitfire's fault. Now tell me where she is or Ah'm a tear your precious wings clean off!"
Sorin noticed the growing number of ponies falling silent to listen to the commotion, "Ugh, she's out front greeting the Crimson Darts from Trottingham. She'll be surrounded by media; doing this now will only end badly..."
"That's all Ah needed to hear. Thanks, Sorin." the farm pony let go of him and brushed down his lapel.
Meanwhile, Dash had dried her eyes and had just made her way back into the Gala. It didn't take long for her to spy AJ as she started to make her way through the crowd of ponies to one of the side doors. Dash followed, trying to make as little fuss as possible.
The side doors led around the perimeter where the guest rooms, lavatories and other miscellaneous rooms were located, and stretched all the way back around to the entrance of the castle. The occasional pony would trot through to the toilets, but apart from that, the corridors were bereft of ponies as most of the VIPs entered the Gala via the main doors directly from the front of the castle. The wings of the castle were reserved for overnight guests.
AJ had started making her way up the corridor - her intent was to spy on Spitfire until she could drag her to one side - but was distracted by Rainbow stumbling through the door, "Applejack, please." she shouted, but the farm pony didn't say a word, she simply turned away and continued her hunt for Spitfire. Rainbow dashed towards her, pulled on her dress and dragged her to the floor. She squeezed AJ's hind leg, still begging, "Don't. Don't. Please! Let's just go back into the Gala and be happy and have a good night. Applejack, please!"
"How? How am Ah supposed to look her in the eye if whut yer tellin' me is true?"
"I'm sorry, just-" the girls were distracted by the opening doors of the Gala.
Applejack spied a nearby door which had been left slightly ajar, "In here." she pulled Dash into the room with her as the ball of enthusiasm known as Pinkie Pie bounced gleefully into the lavatories. AJ closed the door behind her and locked it. The two mares sat in silence; neither of them knew where to go from here.
They both sat on the floor and looked at each other with solemn eyes. Dash's lip began to quiver. It was obvious she was still mulling over what had happened. AJ's empathy shone through as she opened her arms to invite her love in for a comforting embrace. Rainbow silently took up her offer, shuffled over and nuzzled into her.
The scene fell quiet; the quietest it had been since the beginning of the night. AJ stroked Dashie's mane, listening to the quiet orchestral music coming from the hall. Dash wrapped her arms around Applejack, pressing her ear into her chest, listening to AJ's soft heartbeat; it was still racing slightly from the adrenaline and stress. Dash squeezed tighter and rubbed her face on her chest in hopes of helping her calm down.
Applejack stroked Dashie's face with her hoof as she bent down and kissed her gently on her head. Rainbow looked up into her beautifully big green eyes and stretched up for a kiss. AJ smiled, reached down once more and the two exchanged a cute extended peck on the lips which helped relax them both. "Ah'm sorry."
Dash shook her head, "No. I am." she insisted, trying her best to give a sincere smile.
Applejack pulled Rainbow in for another kiss. This time, she insisted upon something slightly more passionate. AJ pressed their lips together with some force. Dash took the hint; both of them opened their mouths simultaneously and begun their intense exchange, occasionally slipping their tongues into each other's mouths. The tension that had built up to this point was quickly dissipating. All that remained were two mares sharing each other's company.
Dash pulled herself away from Applejack's mouth and stroked a hoof firmly down the length of her back. She used her other hoof to pull AJ's head aside and proceed kissing her neck. Applejack loved being kissed there. Her hind leg propped up and wrapped itself around Rainbow's back. Her front hooves gripped Dash's back. AJ moaned quietly.
RD continued kissing and sucking on her neck gently until the two were distracted by the rattling of the door knob. They both leapt up from the floor and observed the shaking golden knob. They heard a posh stallion's voice from outside, "Oh, what in the blazes? It's locked!"
RD trotted quietly over to the windows and pried one open. "AJ," she whispered, "quick." they both leaned out and looked to the ground below. The room they found themselves in was technically a ground floor room, but the castle was on such a steep gradient that the 'ground' floor varied from five foot to fifty foot from the actual ground. Luckily, however, the girls found themselves with no more than a fifteen foot drop, cushioned by a hedge directly below them.
Rainbow started to take her dress off so she could fly, but Applejack stopped her, "We don't have time for that." Applejack put one hoof on the windowsill and heaved her body out of the window. Dash witnessed AJ free-fall into the bushes below.
"Applejack!"
AJ rolled out of the bush, her dressed tattered and torn. "Come on, RD! Jump!" The door rattled once more. A 'click' was heard as the door unlocked itself. Dash wasted no time and leapt from the window. Applejack had gotten herself out of a tangle and was ready to help Dash find her feet as she tumbled to the ground. They both looked up to the window to see if they'd been caught yet. Thankfully not. "Come on, sugarcube." she grabbed Rainbow and galloped to the rear of the castle.
Once out of sight of the window, the two mares paused for a breath, panting and laughing. "We almost got caught, there, Dash!"
"How's that my fault? You were the one who pulled us in there in the first place!"
"An' look at us! We look like we've been dragged through a hedge backwards!"
"And thanks to you, one of us did!"
The two mares chuckled. "Well what are we gonna do now?" Applejack pulled bits of twigs and leaves from her tattered clothes, "We can't go back into the Gala lookin' like this."
"We'll do what we always do when we need our problems magically solved: go find Twilight."
"Oh yeah."
AJ and Rainbow trotted off around the castle, looking for a way back into the Gala without being spotted. They clopped around the side, but there were no entrances there. They cantered to the rear of the castle, but the party in the garden was still in full swing. They then wandered around to the front, but there was still a queue to get inside.
"Rainbow, I don't think we're gonna get back inside so easily..."
Rainbow looked to the sky, "Oh yeah we will." she tugged and pulled at her dress, trying to get the tattered mess off of her back.
"Uh, what are you doing?"
"This." Rainbow passed her dress to AJ before grabbing her under her forelegs and lifting her in the air.
"Oh, Ah see. In through the roof, ey?"
As Dashie flapped higher and higher. Neither pony were taking too much notice of their surroundings until Applejack peered inside of the window of one of the upper floor guest rooms and made brief eye contact with a couple of ponies who had left the Gala and made their way back to their room for a more exciting end to their night.
The two infatuated ponies leapt from their 'congress' and swiftly covered themselves with the bed sheets as a now beet red Applejack averted her eyes. "Rainbow. Could you not fly right in front of the windows, maybe? Or else somepony's gonna see something..."
"Oh, my bad." Rainbow continued her way up dodging around the rest of the windows up to the roof. Unfortunately, as soon as they peered over the top of the walls they noticed the roof was heavily guarded.
They were immediately confronted by one of the black pegasus guards, "Halt! This is a strict no fly zone. Don't move!" Before Applejack and RD had a chance to blink, there were several guards stood by the edge of the wall with spears drawn, "You will land on the roof slowly." Rainbow fluttered sheepishly onto the roof, setting Applejack down before landing herself. As soon as their hooves touched the ground, they were magically apprehended. Two guards approached them from behind with their spears aimed at the ponies. "What are your names?"
Rainbow wasn't too impressed with the question, "Seriously? You don't recognise the Elements of Harmony? I mean I'm not trying to brag or anything, here..."
"That'd make a change" AJ whispered under her breath.
"...but surely your training oughta cover the ponies depicted on some of the stained glass windows at least!"
The guard snorted at Rainbow, "Names!"
Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Ugh! Rainbow Dash!"
"Applejack"
"Identification?"
"What?" they both asked in unison.
"Do you have identification?"
AJ cocked an eyebrow, "Uh, no?"
"Why would we need ID? We're guests for Celestia's sake!"
The guard looked them both up and down for a moment, "Take them down to the dungeons until we can get confirmation on who they are."
Rainbow grunted, "Ugh, you're kidding me!"
Two guards with spears shunted Rainbow Dash and Applejack as a forceful suggestion for them to move. They were marched down one of the castle's spires all the way to the dungeons underneath where the corridors were made of cobblestones and the dark, damp rooms were more like old fashioned stables with metal doors. Both AJ and Dash had their dresses confiscated before being thrown into a holding cell together.
One of the black pegasus guards wandered off whilst the other glared at them, "These cells are almost a thousand years old. They're protected from all sorts of magic and physical attacks; there's no way out."
Rainbow interrupted, "I still think it's pretty dumb that you don't know who we are."
The guard shook his head, "We can't be sure who you are. Procedures are in place to examine anyone suspicious. Not even the Princesses get automatic clearance anymore; Twilight, Cadance, even Luna and Celestia have to carry with them their ID since the changeling invasion. We can't allow another attack like that on Canterlot; as a result, extra security measures have to be put in place."
Rainbow grunted, "How long is this gonna take?"
"It should take no more than a few minutes. We have a way of detecting changelings; if you're a changeling, it will force you to reveal your true form, if you're not, you'll be released."
Rainbow settled down on the bench of the holding cell, folding her hooves and pouting in disapproval of the situation.
Several minutes of silence passed, yet there were no signs of the other guard returning. As time dragged on, Applejack and Rainbow grew restless.
AJ trotted up to the bars, "Where's yer partner? You said he'd be back in a few minutes, but it feels like we've been sat here for hours! We're missing the Gala! Can't ya go look for him?"
The guard peered towards the exit of the cells in contemplation. He then looked to Applejack as the two mares stared dejectedly at him. "There should be a guard down here at all times to ensure nopony escapes, but..." he glanced over to the exit once more "he should have been back by now." The guard put on his helmet, "I'm going to see what's going on. Don't move."
AJ sat herself back down on the bench, rubbing shoulders with Rainbow. RD laid her head on the farm pony's shoulder. The two shared a few moments of quiet. The noise from the Gala couldn't be heard from down here, and with nopony else around, the scene fell silent. Rainbow lackadaisically wrapped her arm around AJ, resting it on her lap. The cute blue pegasus nuzzled into Applejack's shoulder to get more comfortable. The orange earth pony reciprocated by adjusting to show more of her shoulder to Dashie in an attempt to make it more comfortable for them both.
RD used the arm she'd flung around AJ to slowly caress her lover's stomach. Applejack brought her arm up behind Dash to fondle her mane. They both sat comfortably in each other's embrace, sharing their warmth and listening to each other breathe. Rainbow could smell the soothing fragrance Applejack was wearing; she didn't wear perfume often, but Dash always loved it when she did. She smelled like lavender and like fresh countryside air in early spring. The scent, mixed with the intimacy of the situation, sent Dashie's heart aflutter. She rubbed her muzzle gently under AJ's chin to get her attention; Applejack looked down with a smile.
RD closed her eyes as she stretched upwards, pouting her lips. AJ reached down and touched her lips with her own. Once again, the two ponies were locked in a passionate concourse. As they kissed, Rainbow's hoof slowly made its way from stroking Applejack's stomach, to her chest, to resting on her shoulder at the same time as Applejack was repositioning herself to plant herself more firmly on Dashie's lips by lifting slowly from the bench and climbing over her. AJ gradually lowered herself on top of Dash until their entire bodies were touching. RD loved the feeling of their bodies pressed together; the fur of her flat, toned abs rubbing against AJ's powerful yet still slightly chubby belly as the earth pony kissed her neck made her feel extremely comfortable and loved.
Dash closed her eyes to enjoy the feelings in that moment, wrapping her hooves around Applejack. They were losing themselves in each other for a moment until the echo of heavy hooves clopped down the hallway toward them. AJ leapt from Rainbow Dash, the blue pegasus lifted herself up from her slumped position on the bench and did her best to wipe away the wetness around her mouth from their sloppy kissing. Their hearts pounded as the guards returned; the ponies were flustered as they had been taken out of the moment once more. On the plus side, however, almost getting caught in such a manner felt exhilarating.
One of the guards had returned with a green amulet around his neck, similar to the colour of the aura of the changelings. "Okay, so this amulet, when combined with a detection spell, will force any changeling - Chrysalis included - to take their true form. You'll experience a large magical surge (equivalent in feeling to that of a severe electric shock), a tensing of the abdomen muscles and, afterwards, a mild aching feeling in the chest."
Applejack and Rainbow looked at each other nervously. Applejack waved her hoof, "Uh, wait. Ain't there a better way of finding out if we're changelings or not? All that sounds kinda painful."
The guard with the amulet shook his head as the other allowed them out of their cell. He ushered them into the middle of the floor before assuming his position behind them, magically tying them to the floor. "Unfortunately not, but Celestia had been pushing for tighter security for some time before Chrysalis invaded and after the attack the public cried out for it, too. We've had no option but to respond with measures to ensure Canterlot's safety and integrity is maintained. Some of the methods are a little unorthodox, but it's amazing what gets passed into law when ponies fear for their safety."
"And yer okay with these 'unorthodox' methods?"
"Hey, I'm just doing my job."
Dashie stomped forward, "And weren't the ponies of the Solar Empire just 'doing their job' when they released thousands of bat ponies into the daylight? Or when they burned down the forests of Nightmare Moon's other allies?"
"Ah agree. Y'all should never be content to just 'do as yer told', you should scrutinise these things. They weren't scanning for changelings at the door; y'all would have a very quiet Gala if they surged each and every one of these hoity toity types fer the sake of keeping the changelings out. Anypony here could be a changeling. You could be a changeling, and nopony would know. You can't subject ponies to this kinda thing just because a few bad eggs might be in the roost; it's unethical!"
"And what if we let you go and it turns out you are changelings? That'd be my head on the line. Not a chance." The guard began building up his magic and passing it into the amulet, but was interrupted by the entry of a familiar face into the cells. "Princess Twilight, I-"
Miss Sparkle ignored the guard; her focus was on Applejack and Rainbow Dash, "What in Celestia's name have you two been doing? You two have become the talk of the Gala, and not for the right reasons. I overheard guests talking about what a scene you've been making tonight; Applejack grabbing Sorin, Dash causing a scene in the gardens, and then I heard from one of the guards that you'd both been spotted flying around the roof of the castle. You know there's a no fly zone over Canterlot." the Princess looked down at the guard's neck, "And you; who authorised you to use that amulet? You need clearance for that from Celestia."
Twilight frustratedly rubbed her face, "AJ, Dash, get back in our room and wait for me there, and don't let anypony see you in the state you're both in. As for you two..." she stared down both guards, "you're not getting off with using classified equipment without authorisation. Both of you, with me." the Princess of Friendship ushered the guards out of the cells. However, before leaving, she turned back to RD and Applejack with an intense look in her eyes, "You two better sort out whatever relationship problems you're having in private before coming back into the Gala. I can't believe you two would make such a scene on a night as important as this one. You're lucky the Duke and Duchess aren't here yet. They've travelled here all the way from Trottingham and I need this night to go off without a hitch. Don't ruin this for me." the princess stormed out.
As she left, Dash remembered they were going to ask her to fix up their dresses, "Wait!" she called as she flew to retrieve the dresses which had been left on the guard's desk and back down the hall. "Twilight!" Dash flew up the stairs of the dungeon, "Our dresses need fixing up, can you help?"
Without hesitation, without change of her angered expression, and without taking her eyes from Dash, Twilight fired up a spell which magically transformed both girls' dresses back to their former glory. "Done. Now go." Twilight continued on up the stairs; within seconds, she'd completely disappeared up the hall.
Applejack had trotted her way to the stairs following Dashie. The blue pegasus tossed AJ her Gala dress and the two began to make their way back cautiously to their room without alerting anyone to their presence. Unfortunately, the girls were completely disorientated and unsure of where to go. AJ stared along one length of the unfamiliar corridor and RD stared down the other. In unison, they pointed down opposite ends and declared "I think we should go this way."
AJ reiterated first, "We came from this direction, I'm sure of it."
"But our rooms were over the other side of the castle."
"Ah don't think it was. Besides, even if it were, do you know where that leads to? It might not even go where we need to be!"
"Ugh, yeah, maybe, but I know that if we go back that way, we'll end up either back on the roof or in the Gala."
"Right, and our dresses are fixed up; we won't look out of place."
"Yeah, but you heard what Twilight said: we're the talk of the Gala; all eyes are gonna be on us."
"Oh, phooey. She was probably just exaggeratin'. You know what Twilight's like."
"And what if she wasn't? I mean, I love being the centre of attention and everything-"
"We know that." AJ whispered.
"-but tonight, for once, I really don't want to be." Dash continued, ignoring Applejack's sly remark, "The fact is, Twilight was right anyway; even if we aren't the talk of the Gala, we have let our relationship problems spoil what should have been a good night. I mean, I don't know about you, but I love you, AJ. I do, and I don't want to hurt you. Ever." RD sighed in contemplation of her next move, "Through everything that's happened recently, I've come to realise that I haven't been respecting my element at all. I want to be completely honest with you: I don't know what happened that night. I mean I know what happened, but I don't know how or why it happened. I know what I said earlier tonight implied some stuff - some awful stuff - but I really don't know if it's true, that's why I wouldn't let you confront Spitfire; I don't want accusations flying that have no substance. I just wanted to apologise to you about that night and to make it up to you, I'm going to make sure I'm never put in that situation again..." RD paused momentarily, lining up the next words in her mind, readying them for release, "I'm quitting the Wonderbolts." Rainbow dropped her dress to the floor and bolted down the hallway towards the Gala.
"Rainbow, wait!" AJ cried, throwing down her dress and giving chase.
Dash slammed through the doors to the Gala. The entire room fell silent, staring at her hovering in the air. Twilight was stood under an arch separating the hall from the lobby in which she'd been greeting the VIPs. Just moments prior, she'd been welcoming the Duke and Duchess of Trottingham, who were making their way into the hall. Twilight's face dropped.
RD hurriedly scanned the room for Spitfire. "There you are!" she bellowed as she darted down to the floor in front of the Wonderbolts' Captain.
Spitfire stood there silently, unsure of what was about to happen, but before any words could come out of Rainbow's mouth, Applejack stormed in. She galloped over to RD and Spitfire. "Rainbow, no!" she yelled.
Twilight's fury was now at the boiling point. "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to deal with this. One moment, if you please." she apologised Duke and Duchess of Trottingham. Twilight teleported directly into the group and with a flash of her purple aura, all four ponies disappeared. The guests of the event were all left aghast.
The four ponies were dropped inside the room atop the lookout tower of the castle. The soft lights of Luna's night sky shone through the single window, gently lighting up the bare stone walls. "You two are seriously on the precipice of disaster right now."
AJ cocked an eyebrow, "The preci-what?"
"Brink! This is the first year I've been left completely in charge of entertaining some very important guests. We're on the verge of completing a deal which would bring huge benefits to both of our regions, and it all hinges on them being thoroughly entertained here tonight! I'm not letting any of you mess this up. Normally, I'd be happy to help talk you through this, but I have much bigger things to focus on tonight, so you're all just going to have to stay here. Resolve your issues or don't bother coming back down to the Gala."
Spitfire seemed reluctant to stay, "Uh, I'm sorry, Princess, but I've got a performance to put on."
"For the Duke and Duchess, yes, I know..." Twilight grunted out of frustration, "Fine," Twilight's horn glowed and a large purple bubble appeared around the room, "We settle this now. Quickly. The more time I spend here, the less time I spend in the company of the Duke and Duchess." The room turned quiet after Twi's statement. Neither AJ, RD, nor Spitfire spoke up, "Come on!" Twilight pleaded. "Somepony, anypony, say something!"
Applejack glared at Spitfire, "Fine. You tell me what happened that night I saw y'all together. RD says she don't remember nothin'. Were she being disloyal or did y'all drug her up?"
Spitfire's eyes widened and eyebrows lowered at the accusation, "What? You're suggesting I drugged Rainbow Dash? Is that what she told you?"
"No!" Rainbow cried.
"No, but she said she didn't have all that much to drink that night - not enough to end up in the state she did anyhow."
"That's ridiculous! Rainbow was knocking them back with the best of us that night. After the show, we had a huge celebration at Berry's and Dash was the main instigator of the drunken shenanigans as she always is. You know how mad she goes for cider."
"That don't answer my question, though. Did ya spike her or not?"
"No! Of course not!"
"Dash?"
Rainbow's head dropped, "I don't know."
"Dash!" Spitfire scorned, "Stop lying! You know what you were doing!"
Twilight looked to RD, "Rainbow; lying will only cause more trouble. If you're not sure what happened, don't say anything that could wreck Spitfire's career and reputation,"
Rainbow receded into a ball on the floor, sobbing, "I don't know!"
Princess Sparkle looked to Spitfire, "What do you remember?"
"Everything. I can handle my drink, unlike some of us. Like I said, we were at Berry's. Dash was buying rounds for the whole squad. One cider after another; she even started picking up random drinks that other ponies had left. Fact is if she was spiked, it could have been from any one of those drinks she picked up. I spend half the night stopping her from going too crazy."
"And what happened when you left?"
"Dash wanted to leave. The night was still young, but she wanted to see Applejack. The others stayed at the party, but I couldn't bring myself to let Rainbow Dash wander home alone, so I tried taking her home, but she insisted that she wanted to go to Sweet Apple Acres. I tried to get her to just go back to her own place, because I figured you guys would all be in bed, but she refused. I distracted her by convincing her to walk around for a while, but even that didn't last too long and she started making her way to Applejack's."
Twilight briefly looked at Rainbow before further questioning Spitfire, "Okay, so you both ended up back at AJ's barn as we know. What happened there?"
Spitfire's aggressive stance lowered slightly, and she looked away from Twilight sheepishly, "Well I told her not to go wake up Applejack, so I suggested we hang out in the barn. I know AJ wakes up early to do her chores so I suggested we stayed in the barn until she woke up." AJ and Spitfire briefly made eye contact, which sent a wave of emotional pain through Spitfire, "We lay down on the hay and we talked. After a while, we started to drift off. I couldn't stand being so close to her and feeling so distant, so I kissed her. She didn't fight it; she kissed back and then... well, yeah, you know the rest."
Applejack and Twilight both stared over in Dash's direction. Twilight still wanted Rainbow Dash's side of the story, "Dash, does any of that sound familiar? Do you remember anything from that night?"
"I remember wanting to see Applejack. I know I remember that. I was arguing with Spitfire outside Berry's; that's when I decided I wanted to come see you. She was trying to get back with me and I told her 'no'. I don't know how we ended up bucking, but I know I don't remember it because if I knew she was trying it on with me again, I'd have stopped her."
Twilight addressed Spitfire, "Given what you've both told me, I have to say this doesn't bode well for you."
Spitfire refused Dash's version of the story, "No. Of course you knew it was me; how could you not?"
"Well judging by what you've just said, I was almost passed out! If that wasn't taking advantage I don't know what is!"
"You weren't passed out; you were fine! If you had passed out, how could you have kissed me back? You were conscious and you wanted it: I didn't rape you!" Spitfire sobbed.
Dash growled, "Well that's what it sounds like to me."
Applejack was trembling with a mixture of rage, grief and uncertainty, "Ah dunno what to believe. Ah don't wanna believe that Dash would cheat on me, but Ah also don't wanna believe that she were being taken advantage of, by her idol no less."
Twilight stared solemnly at Dash, "Rainbow, the decision's yours to make. It sounds like you weren't in a position to consent. If you didn't consent and she took advantage of you and you want to press charges, I can take her into custody now and this becomes a court case. Otherwise I can't do anything."
Rainbow Dash was fearful of the decision she'd been left with. She still struggled to remember everything that happened that night; she also didn't want to be at the centre of a court case which would inevitably become one of the most talked about events in Equestria. On the other hoof, if she admitted to cheating on Applejack - whether that guilt was justified or not - she knew she'd lose her for good, and to add more pressure to the situation, she had three pairs of eyes staring at her intently the entire time.
"Sh- she... didn't. It was me; it was my fault. I'm sorry, AJ."
"No. Yer lyin'. You can't be tellin' the truth, you just can't."
Dash sighed, "I am."
Twilight reluctantly lowered the shield keeping the ponies in the tower. Tears welled in Applejack's eyes as she galloped down the tower's stairs. Spitfire nervously backed out of the situation also, "Thanks, Rainbow, for coming to your senses."
Twilight felt Dash was lying, but unless she told the truth, she was powerless to stop Spitfire from leaving. "Rainbow..."
Dash couldn't bear the weight of the decision she'd just made, and took off out of the window with tears streaming down her face. She flew as fast and as hard as her wings would allow. The pegasus shot herself across half of Equestria, crying the whole way. She just wanted the whole world to open up and swallow her whole.
Eventually, she settled down, choosing to take rest at the top of Rainbow Falls. Dash fluttered down by the side of one of the rainbow-falls on the cliffs of the mountain. For several minutes she just stared silently up into the night sky, wondering what heartache the next few days and weeks would bring.
It took several minutes for Twilight to reappear by Rainbow's side. The princess had followed her friend all the way, puffing and panting, "There you are."
Rainbow groaned, "Aren't you supposed to be taking care of the Duke and Duchess?"
Twilight shook her head, "There are more important things to me than that; the well-being of my friends will always come first. Rainbow, everyone in the room could tell you were lying about cheating on AJ. I had no idea Spitfire was capable of such a thing." the Princess sat herself down by Dash's side, "Look, you don't have to do anything; I'll take care of it. I'll make sure that Spitfire is dealt with appropriately and I'll make sure it doesn't affect your career with the Wonderbolts, but you have to do one thing for me."
"What?"
"Go to AJ. Make it work. You two are great together - don't let this tear you apart. You know AJ as well as I do, and we both know that she would have been less upset had you told the truth, so go and tell her the truth before it's too late."
Dash stared up into the sky once more, "It's already too late..."
"No. It's never too late. Come on." Twilight hovered up above the ground, holding out a hoof for Dash. The blue pegasus grabbed hold and hoisted herself into the air. Twilight engulfed the two mares in her magic aura and teleported them both back to the castle, landing just outside the doors of the room they were staying in. "Listen to me; it'll be alright, just go talk to her, I'm sure you can work it out," Twi hugged Dash, "and when you two are ready, we'd love to see you both back in the Gala."
RD smiled and nodded at Twi before taking a deep breath and readying herself for a potentially intense argument. She swung the door open and, as expected, Applejack was inside, crying on the bed. "AJ?"
"Go away, Rainbow."
"No, I-"
Applejack furiously lifted herself up on the bed and rocketed a pillow in Dash's direction, "Ah said go away!"
RD took the strike from the pillow before dismissing it to one side, "I told you, 'no'. Look, I'm sorry I lied back there. I was scared. I mean if I'd confessed there, we'd both be dragged into the middle of a huge court case that would have the whole of Equestria talking! I don't think I could handle that, and I wouldn't want to put you through that."
"But she took advantage of ya! She deserves everything she gets!"
"Yeah, I know she does, but-"
"So then why are ya still protectin' her?"
"I'm not! I was trying to protect us, protect you!"
"From what, exactly?"
"From the indignity of having to deal with the fact that your girlfriend was raped right in front of your eyes!" Dash cried.
Applejack's mind flashed back to the scene, "And Ah just left her to it... Ah know." Applejack's tears flowed once more, "Ah'm so sorry, Rainbow. Ah didn't know."
"I know you didn't, and I don't blame you for what happened. Fact is if it was the other way around, I don't think I would have stuck around, either. It's not your fault."
"But Ah could have stopped her!"
"I could have stopped her, too, but I let it happen..."
Applejack snarled, "Now don't you dare talk like that. You didn't 'let' anything happen. Don't you dare blame yourself for this! She took advantage of you, and you weren't conscious enough to do anything about it!"
"Yeah, because I was too drunk, which was my fault!"
"But you were spiked, which wasn't yer fault."
"And what if what Spitfire said was true? I mean I did have a few drinks. I don't remember picking up other ponies' drinks, but maybe I was just too far gone to realise they were somepony else's. Getting spiked was my fault because I'd been picking up drinks that had been left unattended."
"It don't matter. Fact is she knew and she understood how drunk ya were. She shouldn't have touched you regardless of whether you wanted it or not!"
"I know that, but if I wasn't so out of it I could have stopped her myself. Look, it doesn't matter all that much n-"
"It matters plenty!"
"No, that's not what I meant, just listen. After you left, Twilight said she would deal with Spitfire herself. We won't have to see her after this. She also told me that it wouldn't affect my career with the Wonderbolts, but... I don't think that matters anyway. I still want to quit the Wonderbolts."
"But Rainbow, you've been working yer entire life to be a Wonderbolt."
"Yeah, I know, and I've been a Wonderbolt for a few years now, but the fact is they're not as awesome as I thought they'd be. I mean, yeah, I idolised them for years, but that's the thing about idols, once you meet them you quickly realise they're just as flawed as anypony else. The novelty's worn off, AJ - it's not all it's cracked up to be."
"Whatcha gonna do instead?"
"I'm not sure."
"Well I don't think it's worth throwing away all your hard work over this. Besides, with Spitfire gone, they'll be lookin' fer a new Captain - you should go for that- and if ya become the Captain, you could pull the strings; drop Sorin, maybe Fleetfoot, too, and get some fresh faces in, shake up the routine, introduce something new, do some charity work or somethin'. You've always had great vision, Rainbow, and y'all could lead the Wonderbolts into an era of heightened popularity."
"But you hated me being in the Wonderbolts, always away from home, never there when you needed me. It won't work, we'll just be stuck with the same old arguments."
AJ shook her head, "The farm ain't goin' nowhere. I know I've been left managing things pretty much on mah own since Granny left us and Big Mac started tourin' with the Ponytones, but it's fine, sugarcube. Ah was already lookin' into hiring some folk to come help with the labour on the farm - that's a part of what Filthy Rich and Ah were supposed to be discussin' tonight - and Ah can even get someone to manage it for me until Applebloom comes of age. Ah could travel with ya."
"What? No, you'd hate that."
"Maybe, maybe not. Ah dunno, but the fact is if we're gonna make things work we gotta switch things up a little, and Ah'm sure it won't all be big cities and stuff. Weren't y'all talking about doing Appleloosa Fest? And if Ah get home sick, maybe Ah can travel with ya fer a bit and then come back home for a while. We can make it work, Rainbow."
"So does this mean you're not breaking up with me?"
"Sweetie, Ah always had my doubts about Spitfire - she weren't good for ya - Ah didn't wanna believe you'd be unfaithful to me. Knowing that what happened weren't your fault... yeah, Ah ain't happy about it, course not, but Ah also know it weren't your fault. Ah forgive you, and Ah'm sorry."
Applejack reached out to Dash for a hug. Rainbow pulled AJ over and squeezed her with the utmost love. "I'm sorry, too."
The mares shared one final quiet moment together, "So. Whaddya say; we gonna enjoy the rest of this Gala or what?"
RD smiled, "Yeah. But, uh, where'd our dresses go?" AJ trotted over to the closet, revealing two shiny and clean dresses for them to wear. "Ah picked 'em up on the way back here" Both ponies swiftly got their dresses back on, fixed their manes, added their make-up and affixed their accessories. RD opened the door and held out a hoof. Applejack took the hoof on offer and the two walked down into the Gala hoof-in-hoof and with genuinely happy smiles across their faces.
It had been a while since they both felt so at ease. Even if that tranquillity was to last just one night, they were both happy in that moment. They glided gently across the room to the dance floor. A slow, piano-led composition begun as the mares found their spot on the floor. They shared a romantic slow dance together, staring lovingly into each other's eyes, swaying gently with the music. They were both exhausted and overwhelmed by the evening, but none of that mattered as they were together now, as they should have been all along. As the crescendo reached its peak, so did the fluttering of their hearts. Once more they were in each other's arms, sharing a loving and passionate kiss in the middle of the floor.
Their love wasn't always going to be easy - neither of them expected it to be - but in this moment, their love felt like the easiest and most exhilarating thing imaginable. The ordeal was far from over, but they knew in their hearts they could get through it, and that's all they needed.
Fin.
