A Second Chance in Summer

by Idsertian

Rating: teen
Tags: Applejack, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Romance, Slice of Life, Sex
Length: 10972

In which a rainbow pone and an apple pone find themselves face to face after two decades of estrangement.

The Summer Sun Celebration was never typically associated with second chances, not until Twilight Sparkle and her friends discovered the Elements of Harmony and used them to cleanse the jealousy from the heart of Princess Luna, at least. On that fateful night, two seconds chances were granted:

One for Luna herself, that she might seek forgiveness from her sister and the citizens of Equestria for her actions.

The other was for Princess Celestia, that she might once again find some measure of happiness after a thousand years of loneliness.

Some years later, however, another mare hopes for a second chance of an entirely different nature. She knows she doesn’t deserve it. She knows it’s stupid to even ask.

So why the hell can’t she just let it lie?

- - - - - - - -

Written for the 4th AppleDash contest, under the categories "Second Chances" and "A Special Event". Second place finisher.
Edited by Craine. Sorry for keeping you up until stupid o' clock, buddy!
Cover art by bakki. Used with permission.
Sex tag for author safety, nothing actually explicitly mentioned.

Published 2016-02-07 04:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-02-07 04:00:01 UTC

A Second Chance in Summer

A Second Chance in Summer

Perhaps it was her ego speaking. Perhaps it was seeing all her friends in one place again. Perhaps it was seeing the first shock of grey at the hairline of her awesome mane that morning. Perhaps it was the atmosphere of the Summer Sun Celebration. Or, perhaps, it was just the cider.

Whichever it was, Rainbow Dash knew what she was going to do; she was going to talk to Applejack.

And she was going to ask for her forgiveness.

There were a few things wrong with this idea, however. The first was that Rainbow Dash was the absolute worst when it came to apologising. The second was that she was definitely the one in the wrong. A third issue was that she was fairly certain that that ship had sailed an awfully long time ago.

Lastly, there was the fact that she was very slightly tipsy.

Not drunk--she could hold her cider, thank you very much--but certainly buzzing. Enough that she could entertain the idea of engaging in what was certainly an impossible conversation.

Rainbow nursed her cider as she sat at the long table she shared with her friends outside Twilight’s castle. This was the first time they’d all been gathered together in… what? Eighteen years? Twenty? She’d lost track. Life had taken priority and all of them had gone their separate ways. That is to say, Rainbow herself had gone her separate way, jetting around Equestria--and sometimes beyond--with the Wonderbolts, putting on shows and performing the occasional feat of heroics.

She knew she wasn’t the only one to leave Ponyville, however; she’d bumped into Rarity while in Manehattan when touring early on in her career. The fashionista had moved out to the city to oversee the opening of a new branch in her clothing chain. At some point since moving there, the unicorn had managed to get married and had been heavily pregnant when Rainbow had seen her.

Yeah, life had gotten in the way and while most of them had managed small get-togethers every now and then, between all their conflicting schedules, they’d never managed to all be in the same place at the same time.

It was strange seeing everyone together like this, laughing and chatting as if no time at all had passed since… Rainbow couldn’t actually remember the last time they’d all been together. Had it been the Hearth’s Warming after Starlight had tried her time spell trickery? Or had it been after that?

Rainbow looked around the table. Rarity sat immediately to her left, and was probably the one least affected by middle-age, barring Twilight. Even motherhood had barely left its mark on her, the unicorn sitting proud and tall. Beyond her sat Fluttershy, a wide silver streak running through her pink mane and tail, her yellow feathers also greying at the tips. Opposite the shy pegasus sat Pinkie Pie, her face showing the tell-tale lines of a pony who smiled practically every minute she was awake. Her pink mane wasn’t as vibrant as it used to be, but was a long way from being colourless. In the middle, opposite Rarity, sat Twilight, who seemed to have dodged every pitfall of aging. Rainbow suspected magic at work, but at least the alicorn had the good grace to look tired after a full day of pressing hooves with supposedly “important” ponies.

However, the pony that really held Rainbow’s attention right then was Applejack. Seated across from her at the table, the earth pony mare had aged well. Rainbow had never thought it possible that her friend could have looked better than she did twenty years ago, but the proof was right in front of her. Her features had matured gracefully in spite of, or perhaps because of, the rugged nature of her work; maintaining her tomboyish looks while giving them an air of experience. Her blonde mane and tail stood in defiance of age, sporting no signs of greying, and her ever present hat still sat squarely on her head, though it looked a little more weather-beaten than last Rainbow had seen it. She could’ve sworn the farmer was also sporting a few more freckles than the last time she’d seen her, too.

The more Rainbow looked at Applejack, the more she thought this was a stupid idea. It would never work, the two of them hadn’t exchanged more than half a dozen words to each other since they’d met that evening at the party opening. The way Applejack had immediately glanced away as soon as they’d made eye contact told Rainbow everything she needed to know.

But…

They’d been friends, hadn’t they? They’d even been really good friends, once upon a time. The kind that would constantly provoke each other into contests of strength or skill, looking to prove once and for all who was better. The kind that would enjoy regular bouts of rough-housing and general tomfoolery. The kind that would abscond to Applejack’s barn together when no-one else was around. The kind that would talk about nothing at all well into the night, only to wake up tangled up in each other the next morning. That had to count for something, right?

But then it had happened. Or more accurately, she had.

“What do you think, dear?”

The voice pulled Rainbow out of her reverie. She looked over at Rarity.

“What?” she asked.

“Twilight as a mommy, of course! With those new spells coming out of the medical wing of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, she and Sunset could have a foal and actually call it their own!”

“Rarity!” Twilight’s cry carried clearly across the table and beyond, causing several ponies seated elsewhere to look up briefly, but she was desperately trying to suppress a fit of giggles, hiding her mouth behind her mug. “Stop it, you’re embarrassing me!”

Rarity turned back to her. “Oh, but Twilight, the idea is so precious! I can just see you all curled up, reading to a little mini-Twilight… At least think about it, none of us are getting any younger, after all.”

Rainbow shook her head and took another swig of cider. That last bit was certainly true and, at the end of the day, wasn’t that the best excuse to do what she was planning to do? ‘You only live once’, after all. A shiver ran up her spine. Wasn’t that something kids were supposed to say?

Her friends’ conversation faded into the background once more as she stared into the foamy dregs at the bottom of her mug. Yeah, you only got one shot, so live life to the fullest, right? But no-one ever said anything about what you were supposed to do if you messed it all up. About how you were supposed to keep going without the one thing that had made you content.

Yeah, sure, she had the Wonderbolts and the Academy--hell, she ran them these days--but they only made her happy. They didn’t give her the same warm feeling of completion that waking up in the morning next to a headful of blonde hair did. Had. Whatever. Not that she’d ever admit that to anyone. Except maybe the owner of the hair.

Applejack’s voice suddenly cut across Rainbow’s thoughts like a hot knife through butter.

“Looks like they restocked the punch. I’m gonna get some while it’s fresh.”

Rainbow watched as the other mare got up and sauntered off, weaving her way between tables and ponies attending the celebration at Twilight’s castle. The peak of her hat remained visible above everyone’s heads as she made her way to the refreshment tables.

“Um, she knows a waiter will bring her a glass, right?” Rainbow heard Fluttershy ask.

“You know what Applejack is like, darling,” came Rarity’s reply as Rainbow watched the hat stop, half hidden in the sea of ponies. “She’s never been one to have anyone do anything for her. Especially after… you know…”

Rainbow’s ear twitched back, listening, but Rarity had fallen silent. After what? Had Applejack told their friends about… them? It was possible, she supposed, but why would Rarity be hesitant about mentioning that? No, something else was afoot. It didn’t matter right now, because if she was going to make her move, this was probably going to be her only chance. She necked the last of her drink and stood up.

“I’mma get some more cider,” she announced, curling a wingtip into the handle of the mug and taking it with her as she stalked into the crowd after Applejack.

A lifetime’s worth of agility and stretching exercises proved their worth as Rainbow effortlessly glided through the mass of ponies gathered in the castle grounds. Snatches of conversation drifted in and out as she passed tables and slid around waiters and guests alike.

“… said Princess Celestia might actually consider legalising it…”

“… if you ask me, it’s completely disgraceful behaviour. She should…”

“… and I’m like, there’s like, no way I’m putting that in like, my mouth…”

“… don’t be silly, Princess Luna would never sanction such a thing…”

“… another mare for a wife? It’s not the first time a princess has done that…”

After what seemed an age, Rainbow slipped out of the crowd into a clear spot, right where she’d seen Applejack’s hat stop. Sure enough, the earth pony mare stood at a table filled with various snacks, a large glass bowl filled with fruit punch at its centrepiece. She was sipping a glass of the red drink, staring thoughtfully at the castle’s crystal façade. Over the hubbub of the crowd, the sound of a string quartet could be heard, lending a refined atmosphere to the scene that Rainbow wasn’t entirely sure she cared for. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward.

“Hey.”

Applejack was mid-sip, but cast a glance back at Rainbow’s call. She glanced away again and swallowed before replying.

“Oh, hey.”

Rainbow set her mug down on the table and sat on her haunches, the grass tickling her slightly as she settled in. The pair were silent for a moment as the pegasus gathered her thoughts and pawed idly at the grass.

“Okay, so listen,” Rainbow began, her hoof stilling. She looked over at Applejack, who wasn’t facing her way but had an ear cocked towards her. “I’ve got something I wanna say, that I’ve wanted to say for a long time now, that I don’t think I’m gonna get the chance to say again after tonight.”

She paused, waiting for a response from the other mare, but none came. Instead, Applejack just took another sip of her drink. Rainbow pawed at the grass again, her wings restless against her sides. How was she supposed to do this? It was hard enough for her to apologise, but Applejack doing her whole “stoic cowgirl” routine wasn’t helping. Screw it, she’d plucked up enough courage to get this far, so she was damn well going to see it through.

“I mean, you probably don’t want to hear it,” Rainbow continued, “and you probably don’t even want to see me, but-”

“That ain’t true.” Rainbow stopped dead at the interruption and blinked. Applejack turned to look at her. “I came tonight ‘cause I knew you would be here. Well, I hoped you would be, and I-” The earth pony stopped and shook her head, looking away again. “Sorry, I should let you finish.”

Rainbow looked at the other mare as if she’d just sprouted her own pair of wings. If Applejack had wanted to see her, then why had she been almost-but-not-quite avoiding her all night? For that matter, why hadn’t she made any indication that she at least wanted to talk? She shook herself out of her confusion and tried to continue.

“I… I wanted to say… that is… dammit.” Applejack’s interruption had thrown her off. Normally, she’d be reluctant to apologise for something because she thought she was right or she was just being stubborn, but this? Rainbow had been utterly convinced Applejack wanted nothing to do with her, yet here was the mare herself telling her the complete opposite. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go down.

Not that she’d had any idea how any of this was supposed to happen, in truth.

“Rainbow?” Applejack’s voice snapped the pegasus back to reality.

“This… isn’t how I imagined this happening. I thought you’d be angry with me.” Rainbow looked down and pawed at the ground again.

“Angry?” Applejack sounded shocked. “Sugarcube, I ain’t seen hide nor hair o’ you, except in the papers, for nearly twenty years! I’m just glad my best friend is okay.”

Rainbow looked up to see Applejack looking at her again, a hopeful smile on the other mare’s face. ‘Best friend’? What? But that didn’t make any sen-

Her train of thought was cut off by Applejack suddenly hugging her. The pegasus’ wings “poofed” out briefly in surprise, while, unbidden, her forelegs rose and returned the hug; settling into a position their owner had forgotten, but their muscles had not. Applejack’s clean, subtle scent wafted into the pegasus’ nose, bringing with it a flood of memories of past times together. She inhaled deeply. By Celestia’s luscious flanks, she’d missed that smell. She’d missed seeing Applejack, missed talking to her, missed hearing her laugh…

Her eyes grew suddenly hot and her vision doubled, making her squeeze them shut. No, she wasn’t gonna cry. Not because that wasn’t cool, she’d outgrown that part of herself, but because she still had to do this. She squeezed her eyes harder. Get back in there, tears.

Still holding onto Applejack, Rainbow dug deep and mustered the courage she needed to say her piece. Somehow, it was easier with a muzzle full of hair.

“I’m sorry,” she said, simply. She felt herself suddenly pushed away. No, not pushed, she realised as she drew level with Applejack’s face; held. The farmer didn’t let go of her, her hooves remaining on the pegasus’ shoulders.

“What?” her companion asked.

“I said I’m sorry,” she repeated, with a sniff. “I’m sorry for what I said and I’m sorry for what I did.” She looked away, ashamed, before continuing. “I didn’t mean any of it, I was just hurt and so damn angry. I reacted the only way I could think of, and I hurt you by doing it. I’m sorry, Applejack.”

Rainbow looked back up at her friend, not sure what she was expecting to see. Applejack appeared to be considering her words, though her expression was troubled.

“I-” Rainbow started, but was interrupted.

“Rainbow, you don’t-”

“No,” she interrupted back, “let me finish.” The pegasus took a deep breath, steadying herself. “I was wrong. Calling you a cheating whore was wrong. Going out, getting blind drunk and sleeping with the first mare I came across was wrong. Worse, making sure you knew about it was a dick move so big, there isn’t a stallion big enough to carry it.”

Rainbow shook her head. “I acted like a stupid filly and looking back, I think I’ve been more angry and ashamed at myself, than I ever was at you.” She sniffed again, swiping at her nose. “I know there’s no way you’re ever forgiving me, I just wanted you to know I was sorry.”

For a second time that evening, Rainbow’s wings sprung away from her body in surprise as she suddenly found herself in an almost painful death grip. She heard Applejack’s voice in her ear, soft and clear, but unmistakably holding back tears.

“Rainbow, sugarcube, I’ve been waitin’ so long to see you again. I wasn’t plannin’ on forgivin’ you, ‘cause I never blamed you, but if that’s what you’re needin’ to hear for you to come back to me, then I forgive you.”

They came, then, the tears. Rainbow couldn’t have stopped them if she’d tried. Her wings curled back to her sides and her breath hitched as she wept twenty years worth of heart-ache into Applejack’s shoulder. There was no outpouring of grief, no over-dramatic sobs--those were Rarity’s territory after all--just a steady stream of tears as she held onto her friend. She could feel the other mare shaking against her as she did the same, could hear her breathing catching in her throat.

After a few minutes, which wasn’t long enough for Rainbow’s liking, the two parted; shoulders damp and faces stained with tears, but smiling.

“Thanks, AJ,” Rainbow said, wiping her eyes clear. “I… didn’t realise how much I needed to get that out.”

“It’s fine.”

“Heh,” chuckled the pegasus. “Wonder what Rarity would say if she could see us right now?”

“Probably be cryin’ her own eyes out, mascara runnin’ down her cheeks and whatnot.” Applejack traced a line down her cheek with her hoof in a pantomime. Both mares laughed good-naturedly, before falling silent for a moment.

“So what was it you were going to say?” Rainbow asked, breaking the silence.

“Huh? Oh,” started Applejack, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. “I was just…” She sighed and dropped her hoof. “I came here tonight to do pretty much what y’all just did. I had this big speech planned out and everythin’. I came over here to work up some nerve and think about how to get you away from the others, but then you came strollin’ up and… well…” The earth pony mare gestured at Rainbow.

“Oh,” she responded, her wings giving a brief jitter. “Guess I threw a wrench in all that, huh?”

Applejack just shook her head and smiled. “It’s for the best, I suppose,” she opined. “I’d’ve just made a bigger mess of everythin’, like as not.”

“Tell me anyway,” Rainbow said, pouring herself some of the punch. She sipped her drink as she watched Applejack consider for a moment, the other mare looking up at the castle as she did so. The spotlights shining up onto the castle from the ground refracted through the crystalline structure and back out, throwing out a miasma of colour over the revellers in the castle grounds below. Some of these beams were cast over Applejack’s face, bathing her in greens and blues.

To her, in that moment, Rainbow knew there was nopony more beautiful in all of Equestria. It was like seeing her as more than a friend all over again. Okay, maybe it was a good thing she’d stopped drinking the cider when she had. It was great they were talking again, but there was no way in tartarus the two of them were getting back together.

“Alright,” said Applejack, bringing Rainbow out of her maudlin thoughts. The farmer necked the rest of her punch and poured herself another glass. She stared into it for a moment, before speaking again. “I wanted to tell you how much I missed you, that I didn’t blame you for the way you reacted, that I never meant to hurt you and that I hoped we could be friends again.”

“But you shoul-” Rainbow started, but Applejack simply held up her hoof for silence.

“It don’t matter what you say, Rainbow, fact is, we both know I’m the one that’s wrong here. I should’a told you that me and Rara used to be a thing, and that we promised to give each other another shot if we ever met up again. It weren’t fair to keep you in the dark.” The Apple mare dropped her gaze slightly, the rim of her hat covering her eyes. “Truth is, the longer I went without hearin’ from her, the more I lost hope of ever seein’ her again. By the time you and I were doin’ our thing, I was convinced it was never gonna happen, so I just didn’t mention it.”

Applejack fell silent, continuing to look at the ground for a moment. When she spoke again, Rainbow had to strain to hear her next words.

“And then she came back.”

Silence grew between the two, filled only by the hubbub of the party and the somber, refined notes of the unseen string quartet. Rainbow waited patiently for Applejack to collect herself, although her forehoof pawed absentmindedly at the grass in front of her once more. It stopped when Applejack spoke again.

“Rainbow, do y’all have any idea what it’s like to love two ponies at once, but know you can only have one?” The orange mare brought her gaze up once again, meeting her friend’s magenta eyes with her green ones. The pegasus shook her head reflexively.

“I do,” Applejack continued. “That night, when Rara performed, I knew… I knew I still loved her. But I loved you, too. It was confusin’, and scary, and a little bit excitin’, but mostly just scary. I suddenly had to make a choice that I didn’t want to; stay with the mare I loved and break a promise, or keep my promise to the other mare I loved and lose the first.” She looked away from Rainbow again, down at the ground, and took a sip of her punch. “Y’all know which I picked.”

Once again, silence dominated between the two as Rainbow digested the story from Applejack’s perspective. Admittedly, she hadn’t done a very good job of listening the last time the mare had tried to explain, nearly two decades ago, and now things were starting to make a little more sense. There was still one question that she needed an answer to, however.

“But why?” Rainbow asked. “Why her and not me? Because of the promise?” There was no accusation in her voice, no anger in the question, she just wanted to know.

Applejack just nodded her head sadly. “Yeah. I didn’t wanna break it, I couldn’t do that to her, and I didn’t know if I was ever gonna see her again, never mind get to be with her.” She looked up at Rainbow again, eyes pleading. “Rainbow, please understand, I never set out to hurt you when we got together, I just… I’m sorry. It didn’t matter what I chose back then, somepony was gonna get hurt. I’m sorry it was you.”

Rainbow just sat and listened until Applejack was done, unsure of what she was feeling. Her wings jittered at her sides, despite her best efforts to calm them.

On the one hoof, Applejack’s words stung her all over again, of course they did, but not as badly as when this had all begun. On the other, now that it was all laid out in front of her and she was actually sat next to her, talking, rather than stupidly listening to her own anger…

By Celestia’s magnificent horn, she’d been an idiot. But then, she knew that already. This was about Applejack, not her, and Applejack needed her friend.

“Applejack?” Rainbow asked, keeping her voice even and looking her friend in the eye.

“Yeah?” responded the other mare. Her expression betrayed the nervousness she felt.

“Stop being sorry.” The pegasus wrapped her friend in both her forelegs and her wings as the two embraced a second time that evening. This time, however, it was Rainbow’s turn to initiate and surprise the farmer.

“I get why you’re blaming yourself,” Rainbow continued, speaking softly but clearly, “but please, just stop. You’d made a promise to someone you’d met long before me. Someone who meant a lot to you, who you’d known since you were a kid and who…” Rainbow took a second to swallow her pride and the horrible barbs that came with it. “Who you loved more, I guess.”

The two of them parted and Rainbow could see tears on Applejack’s face.

“But I should have told you-” started the farmer.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Rainbow interrupted firmly. “You were still doing the right thing. If you’d broken that promise, or not taken that chance, you’d have regretted it for the rest of your life.”

“I regretted losing you.”

Rainbow reached up with a hoof and started to dry her friend’s tears, but her hoof was gently rebuffed in favour of one of the farmer’s own. She shrugged.

“Nothing you could do,” Rainbow said, simply. “That was down to me, and I acted like a dumb kid, ‘cause let’s face it, I was. I… I can’t blame you for how you feel about someone.”

Applejack sniffed and swiped at her eyes again. “Dammit, Rainbow, I said to myself I wasn’t gonna cry tonight, and look what you’ve gone and done to me.” The earth pony gave a bark of harsh laughter, before looking morosely at the ground. “Twenty years of self-blamin’ ain’t gonna be easy to shake.”

“Then let me help.” Rainbow held out a hoof. “Friends again?”

Applejack looked from it, to Rainbow, back to the hoof, and to Rainbow again. Rainbow’s wings fluttered gently at her side, reflecting the nervousness in her chest. Just coming here tonight had been a big enough risk, no matter how she looked at it, so what was one more?

She felt another hoof touch her own and looked down. Applejack’s orange coat stood in strong contrast to her own cyan hair, even in the strange-coloured light coming off of the castle.

“Ain’t never stopped thinkin’ of you as one, sugarcube.”

Rainbow looked at Applejack, who was smiling thankfully at her, and felt her own cocky grin spread across her face. The two of them let go of each other and moved to sit closer together, Rainbow grabbing her drink as she did so. On impulse, she raised her glass.

“To being friends again,” she said. Applejack’s glass met hers with a quiet tink.

“To bein’ friends.”

The pair drained their glasses in one go, Rainbow finishing just ahead of Applejack. She twirled the glass in her hoof, watching as the light reflected from the castle caught in the various facets on its surface, bouncing away to destinations unknown.

Tonight had gone better than she’d expected. Way better. At best, she’d expected Applejack to angrily reject her apology, at worst, not even listen to her at all. Yet here they were now, drinking to a friendship renewed in the eyes of one, and that had never ended in the eyes of the other.

She hadn’t seen that one coming.

Plucking Applejack’s glass from her hoof with a wing, Rainbow got up and refilled their glasses. When she sat back down, she passed the other mare’s drink to her and both of them sat facing the castle. Holding her glass in her right wing, Rainbow took a sip of her drink, her remaining wing absent-mindedly stretching out over Applejack, covering her back. She felt the other pony shiver slightly.

“Huh, I’d forgotten how soft your feathers are, Rainbow,” she heard Applejack say. The pegasus looked over and nearly choked on her drink when she saw what she was doing.

“Oh crap!” She swore and started drawing her wing back. “Sorry! I-I wasn’t thinking!” Applejack’s hoof came up and trapped her wing, the earth pony’s drink sloshing dangerously close to the rim of the glass. She spoke without looking over.

“It’s alright, sugarcube, leave it there. It’s… nice. Like old times.”

Rainbow replaced her wing, unsure, but wrapped it firmly around Applejack’s shoulders, nonetheless. Somewhere, a few tables over, there was a loud pop and a cheer. Something small and hard thudded to the ground nearby.

“Sorry,” Rainbow said again, catching Applejack’s eye this time. “Old habits die hard, I guess.” She offered a lame grin. Applejack just shook her head and smiled.

“It’s alright. Show’s you still care, hon.”

Rainbow gave a soft hum at that and took another sip of her punch. The cool, red drink quenched her thirst, but did little to settle her nerves about the whole situation. Applejack and Coloratura were a thing, right? So why didn’t Applejack care about the wing hug? It wasn’t something “just friends” usually did. Then again, the two of them did have history. Rainbow had to be sure.

“You sure this is okay? I mean, Coloratura won’t mind, right? Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her at all tonight. Is she on tour or something?”

Rainbow looked over at Applejack to see the earth mare staring at her with a confused, almost hurt, expression. She felt a shot of panic in her chest.

“Applejack?” she asked, nervously. “W-what’s wrong?”

The Apple mare just stared at her for a moment, before looking away. After a moment, she sighed and simply asked, “You don’t know, do you?”

Know? Know what? Rainbow mentally cast about for anything that might key her into the situation. She kept turning up blank.

“Know what?” she asked. “Applejack? What’s going on?”

Applejack looked back over at her sharply, but there was only a distant sadness in her eyes. “No, you don’t.” The orange mare simply closed her eyes and hung her head. “Guess y’all didn’t get the invitation.”

Rainbow was legitimately stumped. What in Equestria was Applejack talking about? She hadn’t gotten any invitation to anything. Had something happened between her and Coloratura? Had they broken up? What-

Something suddenly clicked inside Rainbow’s head. Applejack’s defeated posture and the confusion when Rainbow mentioned the music star. The invitation. The appreciable lack of Coloratura. Rarity’s words to Fluttershy just before Rainbow had left the table echoed back in her memory:

“You know what Applejack is like, darling. She’s never been one to have anyone do anything for her. Especially after… you know…”

Oh no. Not to Applejack. Anyone but her.

“Rara’s dead, Rainbow.”

Applejack’s words stunned the pegasus. Coloratura wasn’t any older than Rainbow herself, or any of their friends! Or hadn’t been, anyway. How could she be dead?! She must have gotten sick, or maybe there’d been an accident. Applejack must be devastated! But… why hadn’t Rainbow heard about this before now? Coloratura was Equestria’s biggest pop icon, not to mention that surely someone here in Ponyville would have tried to contact Rainbo-

Oh. They had. The invitation had been the contact. The one she’d never gotten. She was going to have to have a long, possibly very shouty, talk with the pony in charge of the Wonderbolts Academy postal service when she got back to Cloudsdale. She might even have to-

“Equestria to Rainbow Dash, y’all in there?” Applejack was waving a hoof in front of her face, a bemused smirk on her lips. “You might wanna close your mouth there, hun, before you start catchin’ flies.”

Rainbow did so, then gave an embarrassed grin. That wasn’t cool, sitting here with her mouth open like a filly seeing her first flight show, while Applejack was grieving the loss of her mare. Though, now she thought that, the other mare didn’t really seem like she was grieving all that hard.

“Uh, sorry about that,” Rainbow said, scratching the back of her head. “Guess that surprised me a bit. But holy hell, AJ! When did this happen?! Why didn’t I hear about it?”

Applejack nodded her head slightly, as if to acknowledge the fairness of the question.

“I dunno why you didn’t hear about it,” she started, “but it was five years ago. Five years, three months, two weeks and four days. Yeah, I’ve been countin’.” She sipped her drink and then gave a humourless snort. “Started countin’ the days to try and help me get through the early days, you know, after she died, but now it’s just become some sorta habit.”

“What happened?”

Applejack didn’t answer straight away, and her silence went on long enough to make Rainbow think that she wasn’t going to at all. Eventually, though, she spoke, her voice subdued.

“There was an accident,” she said, looking at the castle, but not seeing it. Her eyes were distant, focussed on the past. “We were headin’ on up to Winsome Falls for a vacation, just the two of us, and we decided to stop in at one of those little rest stops, you know? On the new road out to Vanhoover?” Rainbow nodded. She knew the road. Applejack resumed her tale.

“Well, this one was on a hill. I’d parked up our cart, and the two of us were walkin’ to the diner to get some food, when there was all this commotion. This damn luggage cart had gotten loose, somehow, and was rollin’ down the hill faster than a timberwolf with his tail on fire. Ponies yellin’, chasin’ after it and all sorts.” The earth pony shook her head sadly. “And right in the middle of the road was this tiny little filly. Cream coat, pink mane, didn’t even have her cutie-mark yet.”

Rainbow felt her stomach drop. She had a very bad notion about where this story was going. She listened raptly as Applejack continued.

“Don’t know why she didn’t run, or even try to get out of the way. Maybe she was scared, or maybe she was too young to understand, I dunno. Didn’t matter to Rara, though, because she just disappeared and reappeared by that filly in a flash.” The orange mare took in an unsteady breath, clearly trying to hold back tears. “Only problem was, there was only enough time to put herself between the filly and the cart. She barely had time to shield the kid with her body before that damn cart hit her.”

Applejack waved a hoof in the air, gesturing at nothing. “Thirteen years of marriage undone like that, Rainbow. Thirteen years of my life gone, all because the wheels on a damn cart weren’t locked properly.”

“Jeez, AJ, I don’t even know what to say,” Rainbow said, squeezing her with her wing. “That’s terrible. No-one should have to go through that.”

Applejack sniffed and nodded, taking a mouthful of punch. “She saved that little filly, though,” she said. “My Rara died a hero that day and for that, I’ll always be proud of her, even if it doesn’t help fill the void she left behind.”

“I’m sorry, AJ,” said Rainbow, giving her a sympathetic nuzzle. “I didn’t mean to make you relive that. It sounds awful.”

Applejack leaned into the nuzzle in acknowledgement. “It’s fine,” she replied, wiping her eyes. “It was five years ago, and while it still hurts, I’ve pretty much made my peace with it. I’ve gotta move on in life, it’s what Rara would want me to do.”

As silence fell over the two once more, Rainbow pondered on the whole situation. So far tonight, she’d gone from thinking that Applejack hated her guts, to finding out that the mare actually blamed herself for Rainbow’s actions--which had been so not cool--twenty years ago, to further finding out that not only had Applejack gotten married, but that her wife had been dead for five years. Could this night get any weirder?

As if on cue, something clicked in Rainbow’s head, and she smacked her face into her free hoof.

“The invitation you mentioned,” she began. “That was a funeral invite, wasn’t it?”

“Yup,” Applejack replied.

“Five years and three months? That was around March, right?”

“Yup.”

Removing her face from her hoof again, Rainbow looked over at her friend and said, “This is going to sound unbelievable, but… I wasn’t even in Equestria at the time. Celestia asked the Wonderbolts to help out the Zebra villages near the border that had been hit by that freak storm that year.”

“That don’t sound so unbelievable,” Applejack stated. “Wouldn’t the mailroom at the academy just hold the letter for you until you got back?”

Rainbow nodded. “Normally, yeah, but this is the part that really makes it unbelievable. There was a fire in the academy mailroom at the same time, completely gutted the building. That letter must have been in there when it happened.” Rainbow shook her head in frustration. “I’m so, so sorry, AJ. I would have come if I’d gotten it, even if I was being a total ass. There’s some things you just shouldn’t be a bitch about, you know?”

Applejack looked at her for a moment, before nodding. “Ain’t like it was your fault,” she said. Rainbow relaxed at that.

Once again, the string quartet made its presence felt by the punch table. Something struck Rainbow as odd.

“Hey,” she started, looking around herself. “Don’t you think it’s odd that nopony else besides us has come to get fresh punch?”

Applejack also spared a look around and then shrugged. “Guess they’re all onto the harder stuff by now. Last year’s cider batch was pretty darn good, if I say so myself.”

Rainbow snorted in amusement. “Yeah, I mean it’s not as if you’d ever forget to fill one of the vats completely to keep out the air and ruin the batch because of it,” she teased.

Applejack was in the middle of another mouthful of drink as Rainbow delivered her barb. That mouthful quickly become airborne as she spat it out in laughter.

“Land’s sake, Rainbow,” she managed to get out between coughs and half-choked gasps for air. “I thought you’d forgotten about that! Geez, you tell a girl one’a your embarrassin’ kid mistakes, and she never lets you live it down.”

Rainbow grinned. It was an old joke between them, but she was glad Applejack still remembered it. She didn’t know if she really had any right to be glad, but screw it, she’d take the good times where she could, even if they were old times. She wondered if Applejack felt the same way.

“Well, it’s either the cider,” Applejack began as she got her coughing under control. “Or the Cake’s have rolled out their chocolate and peanut butter brownies.”

Rainbow immediately gagged, sending Applejack into another fit of guffaws. Yeah, she felt the same way, alright. Giving as good as she got was Applejack to a T, and she knew how much Rainbow hated peanut butter.

As she watched Applejack wind down to amused giggles and start to take another drink, she realised there was another thing that hadn’t changed since she left.

“I forgot how pretty you look when you laugh,” she said earnestly. Applejack’s giggles quietened and she seemed to blush in the greeny-blue light reflected off of Twilight’s castle, a nearly imperceptible smile on her lips.

Rainbow mentally kicked herself. The poor mare just got done telling her about her wife’s death, and she had to go and drop that on her! With a wing over her back, too! The hell was wrong with her?!

“Eh, sorry,” she apologised quickly, trying to hide her face behind her glass, with minimal success. “That wasn’t appropriate. So… you got married, huh? Sorry I missed that.” The little mare in her head kicked her even harder. Real smooth, Rainbow.

“Yeah, we did,” Applejack responded, now smiling more openly. “Sorry I didn’t tell you, but y’all were takin’ your finals at the Academy, didn’t see much point invitin’ you to somethin’ you couldn’t attend.” She drained her glass and set it down, then put a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “And what you said was fine, I ain’t heard someone say that to me in awhile. Feels nice, thanks.”

Rainbow just stared awkwardly at Applejack as she lowered her hoof. She seemed determined to put her hoof in it at every turn this evening, but it was like Applejack just didn’t care. She wished she could attribute it to the booze, but the fact was that neither of them had had anywhere near enough to even make merry. She hadn’t seen Applejack down more than a couple of mugs, while she herself had made do with three before initiating this conversation.

She supposed Applejack just really wanted to get things back to the way they had been, though that probably didn’t include them. Not that Rainbow would have minded, necessarily, but after what had happened, there were too many hurt feelings all round.

“Y’all away with the breezies again, sugarcube?” Applejack chortled. “That’s gettin’ to be a bit of a habit with you. You alright? Or is my pretty laugh throwin’ you off?”

Now it was Rainbow’s turn to blush, turning her head so Applejack couldn’t see. The farmer laughed again and thumped Rainbow’s shoulder playfully.

“I’m just teasin’ ya, silly filly. Ain’t no need to go all blushin’ schoolgirl on me.”

“Right,” Rainbow said, unsure where this was going. She became even more unsure when Applejack slid closer and rested her head on the pegasus’ shoulder, her forelegs curling around one of Rainbow’s own and the brim of her hat squishing between the two of them.

“Uh, what’s this now?” she asked, looking down at the other mare, uncertainty in her voice.

“Relax,” came the reply. “I’m cold, you ain’t.”

Rainbow repositioned her wing around Applejack while surreptitiously testing the air with her free one. It didn’t feel cold, especially since it was mid-summer, but then she was a pegasus. She didn’t tend to feel any chill in the air until late fall at the earliest. Rainbow supposed it was possible the earth pony was feeling a little cold. It wasn’t like having her snuggled up against her wasn’t pleasant, after all.

She tightened her wing a bit more.

For what seemed the umpteenth time that night, silence descended on the pair as they stared up at the castle. Even the string quartet had ceased its playing for now, the noise of several hundred ponies talking at once the only concession to the events around them. Rainbow lost herself in her thoughts for a few minutes, until one in particular snagged itself on her consciousness.

“I hate to kill the moment we’re having here,” she began, “but if I missed Coloratura’s funeral, then I guess I missed Granny Smith’s, too?” To her surprise, Applejack actually laughed.

“Hell no, sugarcube,” she chortled. “Y’all think old age can get Granny? Nah, stubborn old mare’ll go when she’s damn good and ready. She’s ninety-eight and deaf as a post, but she’s still around.”

“Oh. Well, good,” Rainbow said, genuinely surprised. She probably shouldn’t have been, Granny Smith’s reputation was well established even back when Rainbow had been living in Ponyville. It wouldn’t surprise her to see the old mare last another twenty years, just to spite death itself.

“Rainbow, if you don’t mind, I got a question for you now.”

The pegasus looked down at Applejack to see her still looking at the castle, an unreadable expression on the earth pony’s face. Well, this couldn’t be good…

“Shoot,” she replied, simply.

“How long have y’all been meanin’ to talk to me?”

The question surprised Rainbow, making it difficult for her to come up with an answer. Her plan to talk to Applejack tonight came not out of any specific want on her part, but out of a feeling decidedly more nebulous than that. She’d come to the celebration tonight because she had some free time and wanted to see her old friends, and when she’d seen Applejack, talking to her was something that she felt she ought to have done.

All she knew for certain was that she’d seen an opportunity and taken it.

“I… don’t know,” she replied after a moment. “I just… I saw you tonight and decided enough was enough. I was fed up with all of this between you and me.”

“And how long have you felt like that?”

“A while, I guess. A few years maybe.”

Applejack shifted to look up at her. “Just a few?” she asked, her words carrying a hint of disbelief. Rainbow capitulated almost immediately, looking away from Applejack.

“Well, more than a few,” she admitted. “Most of the time after I left, to be honest.” She felt one of Applejack’s hooves leave her leg and cup her cheek, gently pulling her face back around. She wore an unhappy expression that tugged at Rainbow’s heart like a sinking anchor.

“Then why didn’t you try and contact me sooner?”

Rainbow sighed. At least that question she could answer, though she wasn’t sure Applejack would like the answer. She swirled the last of the punch in her glass before knocking it back and speaking.

“I did try,” she answered, looking away from Applejack.

“I don’t understand,” Applejack said, confused. “I never got anything.”

“That’s because I tried,” Rainbow said. “Not because I actually did.” She sighed again and looked back at Applejack. “I thought being at the academy would help me get over everything between us, and it did, for a few months, at least. Then I just began missing you. I started to think on what had happened, and realised how wrong I was. So I tried to write you letters, but every time I did, the words just wouldn’t come to me, or I’d think there was no way you’d want to hear from me, let alone forgive me, and sometimes…” Rainbow felt a lump form in her throat, but swallowed it back. “Sometimes I felt that maybe I didn’t deserve your forgiveness. I was a crappy friend and the way I acted was even crappier. Eventually, I just gave up trying to write altogether and concentrated on my career in the Wonderbolts.”

The pegasus finished her unplanned speech. She felt drained, as if somepony had tapped her emotions and left the valve open. Rainbow hadn’t even contemplated telling Applejack that little bit about herself, but damned if the mare hadn’t teased it out of her anyway.

The mare always did have a knack for getting her to open up.

“Rainbow, I…” Applejack began, but stopped, her expression troubled. “That’s…”

“Terrible?” Rainbow offered. “Awful? Despicable?”

“What?” The other mare seemed shocked at Rainbow’s suggestions. “No! The exact opposite! You still cared. All this time, and you still cared what I thought about you, even after how angry I made you. Y’all wanted to make amends.”

Rainbow hadn’t thought of it like that. All she’d ever been focussed on was her inability to actually put into words how she felt, never giving even a second’s pause to consider the real reason she’d wanted to in the first place. Not because she’d sought to remonstrate with Applejack, or even to seek her forgiveness, but because she’d cared enough to in the first place.

She’d cared. She still cared.

Oh fuck! She still cared! She still cared about Applejack!

Rainbow felt a jolt of… fear? Excitement? Whatever it was, it tore her down from the inside like no harsh words ever could. She would have slumped to the ground if Applejack hadn’t still been holding onto her leg. Her breathing became short, sharp and gusty through her nose.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no… this wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go down! Not at all! There was no room for these feelings anymore, not after what she’d done! There was no way! No way that-

Rainbow felt a hoof stroke her mane.

“Easy there, sugarcube,” came Applejack’s soothing voice. “I see you panickin’. Talk to me. What’s goin’ on in that head of yours?”

The panicked pegasus took a moment to steady her breathing. What the hell was even going on here? This wasn’t her. She was cool, calm and collected under pressure, exactly all the qualities of a good Wonderbolt commander. Not this quivering wreck! Shape the hell up, ‘Bolt!

“I-” she started, her voice cracking. She cleared her throat and tried again. “I think I just scared myself, that’s all.”

“The great Rainbow Dash gettin’ scared?” Applejack teased. “Now there’s somethin’ you don’t see every day. But seriously, what’s wrong?”

Rainbow sat silent. Should she even answer that question? She’d taken a big enough risk just talking to Applejack tonight. Did she really want to risk the results she’d gotten on a sudden moment of, what could turn out to be really poorly timed, clarity? Wouldn’t just getting to be around Applejack again be enough?

A glimmer of her younger self streaked across her consciousness then, gone as quick as it arrived.

Hell no, she was Rainbow Dash! She was the mare who flew headlong into every situation and didn’t let go until it stopped kicking! She went at everything in her life with a dogged determination that would impress even the most patient of predators! She wasn’t going to be stopped by mere nerves!

Besides, she’d taken every other damn risk she could tonight, what was one more?

“You’re right, AJ,” she said, doing her best to keep her voice level. “I did care. And I think… I think I still do.” She put her hoof over the remaining one of Applejack’s that was still wrapped around her leg. “But I abandoned you, and I wasn’t there when you needed me most.”

Applejack just looked at her and shook her head. The hoof she had on Rainbow’s mane came down and wrapped around both of the pegasus’ legs, binding the two of them together.

“No, sugarcube,” she said, leaning her head on Rainbow’s shoulder once more. “I’m startin’ to think it’s the other way around.”

A puzzled “Huh?” was the best Rainbow could manage.

“You needed me, Rainbow,” answered the orange mare, “but unlike you, until I sent that funeral letter, I never even tried to make contact. Hell, it weren’t even me that sent it, it was Applebloom. I justified it as ‘givin’ you space’ and ‘lettin’ you cool off’, but in truth… I just couldn’t handle the idea that maybe I’d driven you away for good. I figured if I never sent you anythin’, I’d never have to know for sure.”

Well, that little nugget of truth stung, but Rainbow could at least appreciate the logic behind it. Better to not send anything at all and get nothing, than send something and get an angry something back. Or even worse, send something and still get nothing back.

Celestia’s teats! This whole thing was screwed up in every possible which way. There was only one way the two of them were going to find any peace out of this, and that was-

Rainbow suddenly realised Applejack was shivering. No, not shivering, crying.

“Hey, hey now,” she said, trying to sit Applejack up again and turn her face to her own. “Stop that, AJ, come on.” The other mare just brushed her off, tears streaming down her face.

“You think you’re the bad friend here, Rainbow,” the farmer managed to get out between sobs, “but at least y’all tried! I didn’t even do that much! Some friend I was.” She cupped her face in her hooves, openly weeping now.

Rainbow opened her mouth, but swiftly closed it. She didn’t want to admit it to her, but Applejack had a point. She should be angry with her, she should want nothing at all to do with her, but she just couldn’t summon the will. She’d spent twenty years being angry, first at Applejack, then at herself, and her reserves were completely tapped out. It was time to stop hurting each other, and themselves, and time to start trying to repair what had been broken.

A stray memory wandered into Rainbow’s head. She’d been talking to Spitfire, who had been educating her on team morale.

”A broken team is like a broken vase,” she’d said. ”In pieces, they’re useless, and you won’t get them back to top form while in the field. That has to wait until you get back home, and putting the pieces back together takes time, effort and dedication.”

And just like that, Rainbow knew what to say.

“Applejack,” she started, using her wing to pull the earth pony closer. “We could sit here all night playing the blame game, putting it back and forth on each other and ourselves, but where would that get us? We’ve spent twenty years basically hurting nopony but ourselves, and I think it’s time we stopped.”

Applejack continued her crying for a moment, but eventually brought her hooves back down. She sniffed and turned her freshly tear-stained face to Rainbow’s, a tear rolling quickly down her cheek to drop to the grass below.

“B-But how?” she asked. “How do we go on from so much pain? How do we stop hurtin’ and go back to how things were?”

“As a team,” Rainbow replied. “Together. It won’t be easy, and it’ll take time to put the pieces back together, but… I’m willing to try if you are.”

Applejack seemed to ponder this. Her breath still hitched every now and then, but she’d stopped crying for now. Rainbow sat in silence, waiting for the other mare to make her decision. Eventually, the orange mare nodded and met Rainbow’s gaze.

“I… Rainbow, you…” she began, but stopped again, shaking her head.

“Applejack,” said Rainbow gently, giving the mare a light squeeze with her wing. “I already offered for us to be friends again, what more convincing do you need that I’m serious about this?”

“It’s not that,” Applejack responded.

“Then what?”

“You said you cared about me, that you still do. Did you mean what I think you meant?”

Rainbow would have liked to have said that she had to think on that, that she didn’t know what Applejack meant straight away and that she had to ask her to clarify. But break-ups weren’t a fairy tale world where everyone was naive.

Ever since her epiphany on her feelings about her ex-lover, she’d known exactly where this conversation was going to lead.

“I meant what I said, AJ. I cared about you then, I still do now. It’s just taken me a while to realise it.”

“I… I see. Rainbow, I…” Applejack trailed off again, looking over at the castle once more. Rainbow’s heart sank. Well, that was that, then.

“You don’t feel the same way, do you?” she asked, unable to hide the rejection in her voice. Applejack quickly looked back.

“I do.”

Rainbow’s heart about-faced so hard, she was fairly certain she felt something tear. No way. There was no damn way she was this lucky. If she hadn’t known for certain that Princess Cadance was still in the Crystal Empire, she would have suspected her of interfering.

“Really?!” The pegasus mentally scolded herself for sounding so eager, like some school-filly getting her first date. Applejack just chuckled to herself.

“Yes, Rainbow, really.”

“But I don’t understand, you and Coloratura… I thought you stopped having feelings for me?”

Applejack shook her head. “No, Rainbow, not at all. I might have loved her more than you, but I never stopped lovin’ you. That’s why you leavin’ hit me so hard, and why I couldn’t bear to learn if I’d screwed things up forever.”

Rainbow understood now. She understood why neither of them could bear to try and re-initiate contact with the other in all this time. Why this evening had been so awkward and full of tears. Why Rainbow had been so angry and Applejack had been so forgiving.

Neither had stopped caring through it all. Nothing one had inflicted on the other had been enough to permanently dim the fires of romance in them. Even after all this time.

“So where do we go from here?” Rainbow asked. She knew where she would prefer this lead, but she didn’t know if Applejack wanted the same thing, or possessed the nerve to go through with it.

“I got a pretty good idea, but I don’t know if I should say it,” came the farmer’s response. She looked nervous. Rainbow decided to take the initiative.

“Then I’ll say it. AJ, would you like to give us another go?” She held out her hoof, exactly as she had earlier. Applejack just looked at it, her throat working as she swallowed.

“Oh jeez,” she breathed. “Rainbow, I… are we… I mean, can we? After everything? Is it even possible?”

“I don’t know,” replied the pegasus, her free wing giving a shrug. “But I think we owe it to ourselves to try, don’t you?”

“What about the others?”

“What about them? That never bothered you last time.”

“I… I suppose you got me there.” Still, Applejack hesitated. She looked up at Rainbow’s face. “Rainbow, how do we know we won’t end up the same way again?”

Rainbow searched for an answer, but came up empty. Then again, wasn’t that her answer? There was no telling, you just had to take a chance and dive.

“We don’t,” she answered simply. “And I think that’s kind of the point. Nothing’s certain in life, we’ve just got to make the best of it while we can.”

Applejack just returned her gaze to Rainbow’s hoof. The pegasus screamed internally. Why was she being so hesitant? They both wanted the same thing, what was she so nervous about? This was a second chance for both of them, for them to-

Oh. Ohhh!

“Applejack,” she said quietly. The earth pony looked up at her, the castle’s reflected light dancing on her face. “This is a new opportunity for us, something not many ponies can say they get. This is a chance for us to start afresh. We should take it, not just so we can give each other a second chance, but so we can give ourselves one, too.” She gave her hoof a wiggle. “Please, take my hoof and let’s put all this behind us once and for all.”

For a moment she thought it hadn’t worked. Applejack didn’t move and Rainbow was convinced the other mare wasn’t going to go for it. She almost screamed. Almost.

But then Applejack’s hoof came up and clasped her own with a gentle clop of hooves coming together. For the first time since she’d sat back down, Rainbow’s wing came off Applejack’s back as both her feathery appendages shot up in joy, flapping happily. She grinned at Applejack and the farmer smiled back. Suddenly, the pegasus found herself gripped in the fiercest hug she’d ever received.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Applejack whispered in her ear. “I’m sorry for everything back then, and I’m sorry for playing so hard to get just now, but I had to be sure.”

Rainbow managed to extricate herself enough to hold the other mare at arms’ length.

“Sure of what?” she asked, confused. Applejack just hooked her hoof behind Rainbow’s head and gently brought their foreheads together, her green eyes staring into Rainbow’s own magenta ones. The brim of her hat rode up over the pegasus’ ears, squashing them slightly.

“That you wanted this as much as I did,” Applejack said, barely above a whisper. The sensation in Rainbow’s chest was a peculiar one, as she felt her heart simultaneously melt and soar at the same time. She brought her own hoof up to the back of Applejack’s head, completing the gesture. It felt warm and familiar, like an old blanket.

“No more sorry’s,” she said to her… what was Applejack now? Friend? Marefriend? Yeah, that sounded nice. “We’re done with sorry’s now. From now on, it’s all about the dates, and the snuggles, and the good times.”

“Snuggles? Gettin’ a bit presumptuous, ain’t we?” Both mares laughed. This close to her, Rainbow could smell Applejack’s breath, her scent and the faint smell of hay from her hat. It was a heady mix that reminded her of times past, and promised a return to those times.

Rainbow leaned in, bringing their muzzles closer together. Applejack turned slightly, causing them to brush cheeks and giving Rainbow nothing but a noseful of her natural smell. Oh, she was playing that game, was she?

“Good times, you say?” she heard the orange mare whisper. Their muzzles brushed as Rainbow tried to chase her partner’s mouth, only to be foiled when she turned the other way.

“Yeah,” she responded, giving a playful lick to Applejack’s cheek. She tasted, unsurprisingly, of hair with a hint of salt from her earlier crying. “But only when you’re ready.”

“Ain’t neither of us has got the patience for tip-toein’ around, sugarcube.” Rainbow just grinned and dived for her lips again, but the Apple mare was just a fraction of a second quicker. It was an old game between them, one they used to play regularly. Applejack was always the quicker one, but Rainbow would wear her down and ultimately triumph. What happened after usually resulted in the two waking up together the next morning.

Another dart and a playful lick, this time from Applejack to Rainbow. She was getting bolder, not that it would throw the pegasus off her game, she knew every trick in Applejack’s book. Mostly because she helped write it. She took the opportunity while they were still to ask another question.

“How fast do you want to take this?” she made a quick dive for Applejack’s lips, scoring the briefest of passing touches as they exchanged places. Either Applejack had gotten sloppy, or she was getting impatient.

“Rainbow,” came the quiet answer, though Rainbow thought she caught the faintest hint of need under it. “We’re both grown-up enough to know where tonight is gonna end. It’s summer, we’re both mares, let’s leave it at that.”

Another dive, another, longer, brushing touch of lips. Yeah, she was definitely doing it deliberately.

“I don’t need to sleep with you to prove how I feel about you,” Rainbow murmured. “I’m a big girl, I can take of myself if you need time.”

“And how long until you go back to Cloudsdale? A day? Two, tops?” Rainbow made another dive for Applejack’s mouth, but either the earth pony anticipated it, or she was upping her teasing game, because she missed completely.

“Three, actually.”

“If you’re only in town that long, and we’re really tryin’ us again, if you think at this time of year I’m spendin’ more time outta a bed with you than in one, then the Rainbow I knew lost a few apples outta her tree.”

“As long as you’re cool with it. I don’t want either of us to have any regrets.” Rainbow dived at Applejack’s mouth once more, this time making contact. The kiss wasn’t long, or particularly forceful, little more than a peck, but it was enough. The game was over.

The two looked each other square in the eyes, staring each other down. Rainbow could practically cut the tension between them with her wing. The air around them suddenly felt boiling, as if someone had surrounded them with burning braziers.

“I’d have stopped you long ago if I wasn’t,” Applejack said, never breaking eye contact.

“Then answer me one last question,” Rainbow purred, leaning in. Her mouth was millimeters from Applejack’s. She could feel each exhalation from the earth pony on her own muzzle. “How fast you wanna go?”

Rainbow watched Applejack’s eyes as the briefest flicker of confusion ran through them, before recognition flashed bright.

Their old code-phrase. The beginning of many a sleepless night and fun-filled afternoons. Their way of saying ‘Don’t hold back’.

“Ain’t I the one supposed to ask that?” murmured the orange mare. Somewhere, a clock struck midnight.

“Then ask.”

“How fast you wanna go?”

“Slow as you like, beautiful.”

“Fast as you want, sugarcube.”

The pair kissed as Ponyville’s town clock rang the hour, signalling the height of the year’s shortest night. As the midnight fireworks went off above them, Rainbow lost herself to the taste of Applejack dashed with a hint of fruit punch.

* * * * * * * *

Rainbow jerked awake. Blearily, she rubbed her eyes and tried to focus on the clock next to her bed in the dim light around her. Quarter to six? Dammit, couldn’t she have had an extra fifteen minutes? That dream had been awesome. She sighed and rolled over.

Immediately she was lost in a sea of blonde hair as she rolled straight into Applejack’s mane. She smiled and inhaled deeply, taking in the faint smell of hay coming from her lover. She gently stroked the blonde hair with her hoof, when she caught the glint of gold around her foreleg.

Oh yes, not lover any more. Wife. Waking up fifteen minutes early wasn’t so bad when she got to spend it just enjoying the company of her wife.

It had been three years since that Summer Sun Celebration where they’d reconciled. It had taken two and a half for them to get married. It would have been sooner, had Rainbow’s busy schedule with the Wonderbolts not gotten in the way, but they’d made it work, somehow.

Rainbow just laid there and watched Applejack sleep, her barrel rising and falling gently with each breath. Outside, she could hear the world waking up, but inside, all was peaceful and calm. Once upon a time, she would have been itching to get up and go, but on days like these, when it was just her and Applejack, she preferred to just listen to the sound of her lover’s breathing.

She snuggled up closer to Applejack, wrapping a hoof around her mid-section, feeling the mare’s swollen belly. Pretty soon, there was going to be a new mini-Dash or mini-AJ in the world, thanks to those new pregnancy spells. Rarity had been right about those, at least, they were pretty awesome. Not only that, but Applejack was going to be an amazing mother, she just knew it. She only had to look at Applebloom to see that.

Rainbow supposed it was because she was getting old--not that she’d have ever voiced the concern out loud, of course, getting old was lame--but she found herself enjoying these quiet moments more and more. Just her, her wife and the silence. Yeah, this wasn’t so bad.

And to think, she wouldn’t have any of this if she hadn’t stepped up to the metaphorical starting line three years ago. If she hadn’t decided enough was enough. If she hadn’t swallowed her pride and apologised to Applejack.

If she hadn’t taken her second chance in Summer.

END