Hailstorms (Edited)

Hailstorms

Fluttershy stepped over towards Twilight, completely ignoring Pinkie’s question.

“You’re leaving, Twilight?” she shyly asked, “Where are you go-go-going?”

“Fluttershy?  You came, I was just telling everypony that I was heading to Timberwoods for a few weeks, I have important  studies to do there,” Twilight explained.

“T-t-timberwoods? That’s really far away,” she squeed.

Her chances were ruined at the party, she was really planning on hanging out with Twilight more, and possibly even telling her secret, but that was all ruined.  Why?  Why in Equestria did this have to happen to poor little Fluttershy?

Applejack looked at Rainbow with a smile, and Rainbow Dash was blushing up like crazy.  She told her, and she followed Spike’s advice.  The rain outside the window started changing, very strangely.  It was hailing out, but it was still summer.

“Listen here’, RD, come upstairs and talk,” she nudged, pointing to the steps where Pinkie Pie was observing the room.

Pinkie hopped off the steps and looked outside, she nudged Twilight,

“Twilight, what’s wrong with the wacky weather?”

Twilight turned away from Fluttershy, but she stayed behind her.

“That’s the... hail?  Hail?  That IS some wacky weather, how will we get home?” she explained, then asked.

Fluttershy heard her last comment, there was still hope.  If they were all stuck at Pinkie’s home, she would be able to get Twilight alone.  This could be her night, better not let it slip by, and this was where Rainbow Dash and Applejack ascended the steps.

Applejack shut the door to the guest room behind Rainbow Dash, they were alone, and tears were already starting to swell up in Dash’s eyes.  Applejack lit up a few lanterns that were hanging up, the lights stretched across the room, reaching both of their hooves that were almost touching, how close they were.

Rainbow Dash wanted to just lean forward, just a few inches more, and feel Applejack’s breathing on her snout.  Why must this taunt her so?  Applejack was about to begin speaking, what words would come out of her mouth.  Rainbow could only try to block out her words by the tapping of the hail on the window, but they were coming loud and clear.

“Ya’ like me?” she asked, good start.

“Yes,” Dash said, basically breaking up, with her hot tears streaming down her face.

“How long’, sugarcube?”

“How long, what?” RD sobbed, her head bowed.

“Have ya’ liked me?” she returned.

“Applejack,” she looked up, “I have always liked you, maybe even lov-”

“Loved me?  Rainbow Dash, Ah' don’t really know what to say,”

“Tell me how you feel, Applejack, please!” she sobbed harder.

Rainbow Dash leaned forward, not towards Applejack’s face, but to her shoulder, and leaned upon it.  Applejack’s fur became wet from the tears that were dripping out of Rainbow’s eyes.  She put a hoof on RD’s back, trying to comfort her, and she whispered in her ear.

“Rainbow, I don’t know how I feel’, but if I told y’all that I felt the same way here, what would happen next?”

“I don’t care, Applejack, I don’t care,” more sobs.

“Please, stop yer’ cryin’, please Dash,” tears started to form up in her eyes too,

“please stop.”

This isn’t what Rainbow Dash expected to happen, she thought that Applejack would feel one hundred percent the same way, but she was wrong, how sad.  As long as she knew she was sharing the same type of sorrow, it made her feel a little better.  But not at all near what Applejack must have felt.

“I’m sorry, Applejack,” she cried over her friend’s shoulder.  Applejack lowered her head down onto Dash’s shoulder too, locked in a head rest, and tears poured through her eyes, onto Dash’s back.

“Sorry, fer’ what, Dash?” Applejack moaned,

“I don’t know, I’m just sorry for all of this, the secrets, I don’t know why it has to happen like this,” she answered.

“Why didn’t y’all tell me sooner, then Dash?”

“I always have tried to, but I was never truly able to work up the nerve to tell you face to face.”

“Always?” Applejack asked.

“Always, I always liked you, nopony else, but that’s what I was afraid of, telling you might have meant losing you,” Rainbow Dash teared.

Applejack needed a second to sort this out.  She let go Rainbow Dash, told her to take a seat on the bed, and sat next to her.  She put her hoof on her chin, and Rainbow Dash spoke up, as she was concentrating on her thought, “I can’t believe I did what Spike told me.”

“Spike?”

“He convinced me it was better if I told you, not to keep it a secret.”

“He was right,” Applejack corrected her.

“What?”

Applejack took a deep breath, and tried to make up her mind,

“Listen Dash, I AM quite lonely at the farm, I have never been in a serious relationship, before, but if you want too...”

“Yes?” Dash looked up.

“If you want to... We could give it a try...”

Fluttershy looked around the room, frantically, everything was happening to fast, but she had a plan, she had to get Twilight alone.  She went over to Pinkie, and asked her a question.

“Pinkie, do you have any spare rooms?”

What an odd question, most obvious of all reasons, really...

“Spare rooms?”

“I thought that we might have to stay here a while, since the hail storm, and I was worried you wouldn’t have any extra rooms we could find shelter in, if the windows break,” she lied, but Fluttershy was an awful liar, and Pinkie Pie caught on to what she was referencing,

“Uh, ya, we have a spare room, it’s upstairs, down the hall, and to the right,” she smiled.

Fluttershy was getting ready to talk to Twilight, but know was not the right time, she was being bombarded with questions from Rarity about the Timberwoods.

“Yes, yes, my train is leaving tomorrow, and I will have to pack my things early,” Twilight answered.

Fluttershy tried to calm herself down, she cheered herself up by slowly chewing on the food that was spread upon the table.  Spike was finally up from his corner of the room, he had to use the restroom, and the bathroom was upstairs, on the left...

He creaked up the stairs into the dark hallway, where he was accompanied by hail hitting the roof.  The hallway only had one lantern hanging from the ceiling, and Spike mad his way to the restroom.  He opened the door, and shut it slightly behind him, leaving a crack open.  The bathroom had a shower, nice sink, and a lone while alabaster toilet, where he walked over and relieved himself.

After he was finished, he flicked the sink on, and washed his hands, looking at the mirror in front of him, but something caught his eye.  From the crack in the door, he could see outside, across the hallway, was the door leading to the guest room.  There were lights coming from the crevice of the door, and Spike could here the hoof steps from the other side, over the rushing water and hail.  He shut the water off, and opened the bathroom door, and put his ear up the the shut guest room door.

“Really, Applejack, you mean it?” Rainbow Dash’s muffled voice pronounced.

“Why not, Dash, if Ah’ feel the same way y’all do, then Ah'm willin’ to find out,” Applejack’s muffled voice spoke.

Spike thought for a second, then leaned up, to hear some more.

“How do we tell the other girls, Applejack, I mean, Twilight is leaving tomorrow?” she asked.

“Ah’ don’t know, Dash, but we’ll find a way, we always do,” Applejack answered.

Spike tried to back away from the door, but accidentally smacked into the small table lying in the hall.  It rocked back, and Spike cupped his mouth, only to be seen by a confused Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who opened the door after hearing his mess up.

“We have to talk,” Spike said.

They walked back in the room, and Spike pinched the scaly skin between his eyes, and pulled up a chair from the corner of the small guest room.  He began to speak.

“Look, I don’t know what happened, but from looking outside, I think we’re going to be stuck here until the storm clears.  That means we might have to stay the night, and I have no clue what you were talking about."

“We said some things here Spike,” Applejack said.

“Did you tell her, Dash, be honest with me?” Spike turned to Rainbow,

“Yes, Spike, I did,”

Spike left them alone to sort everything out, and Spike ran downstairs to tell Twilight what happened, who was still being covered by Rarity’s never ending questions.

“Twilight, I need to talk to you.”

“Rainbow Dash and Applejack?” Twilight was stunned.

“Don’t take it as a bad thing, but this is a working relationship, it’s still in progress.”

“I’m not, Spike, but I wish I could stay here to watch it grow,” Twilight shuddered.

“Twilight, Timberwoods may not be as important as this, but, maybe, if you leave, and come back in the next few weeks, they will be a happy couple,” Spike suggested.

“Taking time away from my friends, to watch their bonds grow stronger?” Twilight thought, “You’re right, Spike."

Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy overheard their conversation, so now, Dash and Applejack’s secret was out, between the group.  Fluttershy’s secret was known by Pinkie, and Rarity, but unknown to Applejack, Dash, Spike, and Twilight.  She wasn’t too sure about this now, telling Twilight, she had to be alone, and with Applejack and Dash’s  relationship, there would be to much hassle.

There was one, crazy idea that popped in her small, little head, but what if she were to follow Twilight... to Timberwoods.  Would it work? Who would take care of her animals?  She had to tell someone if she wanted to go, to take care of Angle and her woodland friends.  The only person she could trust was Rarity and Pinkie, and unaware to her, they already knew her secret.

The night was just getting started, and it looks like they would all have to spend the night.  Pinkie confirmed, and pulled out a bunch of pillows, sheets, and mattresses.  She lined up the sleeping arrangements along the upstairs rooms.  There were two guest rooms, Pinkie’s room, and the bathroom.  So, it would be Pinkie in her room, Twilight, Rarity, and Spike in the guest room, and Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash in the last guest room.  Fluttershy didn’t handle stress very well, and it only made matters worse as she was put with the two ponies they were all talking about.  Only because of her shyness, she couldn’t speak up to change arrangements.

What a party!  This seemingly harmless night brought Pinkie’s sanity on hinges, this was supposed to cheer up everyponies feelings, when all it did was reveal secrets that were possibly supposed to be kept tucked away.  Maybe this was for the better, though, maybe everything would work out.  Applejack and Rainbow Dash slept in the same bed, saying it was because ‘of a shortage of mattresses’, or just Pinkie Pie trying to get them closer.

Fluttershy slept on a mattress located at the foot of the bed, on the floor.  More hail began to fall, as Pinkie locked the door, shut the shutters, and took in a deep breath.

“Here goes everything,” and she shut the light switch off.

9:27 PM

It was pitch black by the time everything was finished, and the ponies were getting ready to slumber, but Spike was still curious.

10:01 PM

About 30 minutes had passed, no sounds, no a peep, but Spike was up to no good, trying to hear more about the relationship.  He had to ensure that it would grow stronger to ensure a happy life.  Nopony knew that Spike ‘thought’ it was up to him, but in plain sense, it was truly non of his business.  He got up, out of his mattress, after making sure Twilight and Rarity were asleep, then he tip-clawed out the door.

10:12 PM

After making his way through the hallway, taking a short amount of steps by the minute, and planned out his way to eavesdrop.  The attic was one way, because he couldn’t just lean up against the door, he would easily be caught.

10:19 PM

Fluttershy had her head sideways, pointing away from the bed Applejack and Dash were sharing.  The bed was a good size, and it left some space between them, but they were facing away from each other.  Spike climbed up the ladder to the attic, and looked through the cracks in the floor boards, until he found the spot were he was right under them.  He camped out there for a few minutes, waiting for one of them to turn heads.

10:28 PM

The hail was hitting hard, and it was even louder as you got closer to the roof.  Spike peaked his eye through the cracks in the floor, and through the plaster and wood, he watched them, very ‘stakerish’ like.  Spike breathed hard, but not any movement from both ponies, and Fluttershy was still too.  He had to get one of their attentions, but how?  He thought of the closet thing that would make a loud noise.  He slammed his fist down on the floorboards and some dust fell down onto Applejack’s hat less head.

10:29 PM

Applejack turned, torqued her head head upwards, but couldn’t see Spike from the other end.  She turned her head over to Rainbow Dash, and started talking.  Spike couldn’t hear them through the floor, but he knew they were speaking.  His’ job’ was done, so he climbed back down, and got onto the mattress.

10:34 PM

“Hey, Applejack?”

“What’s that, sugarcube?”

“Your hoof is rubbing up against my mine,”

“Ah’ know, darlin’, just sumthin’ new,”

Fluttershy pretended to be asleep, but she could hear them loud and clear.

“Thank you, Applejack.”

“Fer’ what?”

“For giving us a chance, I’m not use to all this mushy stuff, but I’m gad I’m doing it with you,”

Fluttershy got tears in her eyes, and they started dripping down on her little pillow.  How lonely she felt, all alone in a big world, not feeling the warmth that Aj and RD’s bodies were giving off to the covers.  How she wish she could feel that, what she would give.  Her frustration with love was overcoming her own personality, soon, if she didn’t find her love interests soft spots, she would change completely, and just the thoughts of this gave her chills down her spine, and more tears that flowed down on the pillows.

1:45 AM

This was turning into a sleepless night for Pinkie Pie, not good at all, she was stressed, still afraid, but Rarity already told her not to.  Maybe after Twilight leaves, she could focus on the Apple/Dash situation.

2:31 AM

Everypony but Fluttershy was asleep...

4:52 AM

Hailing stopped, sun was about to start rising,

5:30 AM

Ponies wake up. Even Spike, strange, Spike usually likes to stay in bed, but there were many reasons why he would like to get up, Twilight was leaving by train today.

Morning

This was it, Pinkie put everything she had into the parts, and the hail was starting to melt by the hot, morning summer sun.  Fluttershy was ready, and after Pinkie finished cooking breakfast, they all met at the table.  RD and Aj were next to one another, their tails entwined, making a yellow and rainbow colored twist.  They sat the farthest away, so it was unnoticable.

Twilight was first to departure, with Spike.

“Thanks again, Pinkie for the wonderful party.”

“Sure thing, Twilight!” she shook her friends hoof, ten Pinkie put both hooves around her, and hugged.  This would be the last contact she would have with Pinkie until she returned.

“Uh, Pinkie, you’re crushing me,” Twilight squeezed out.

“Sorry, I’ll miss you,” Pinkie teared up.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back, why don’t you all come see me before I leave, at the train station.”

They all agreed, and she told them the time, only a couple of hours.

Twilight waved good bye to her other friends, and left Sugar Cube Corner.  Fluttershy watched as her only chance of true happiness walked out, and then pulled Rarity aside from the other ponies.

“Uh, Rarity, would it be to much to ask of you, if you would watch my animals?”

“Why?  Are you going somewhere?” Rarity asked.

Fluttershy thought for a second, and came up with a lie.

“Yes, I’m heading to Manehatten for an... important medicinal care center for animals.”

Rarity thought for a second, then spoke, as Fluttershy held her breath,

“Okay, Fluttershy, Twilight’s going, now you.  It must be a coincidence, these random appointments keep popping up! I hope to see you soon.”

“You will...” she hushed.

She waved goodbye to her friends, and walked out to pack her things, just as Twilight was.  Out the door, the ground was wet, the liquid of the hail was melting, but the queerest thing was that it was still summer!  The days were short, yes, but still they had a pair of weeks to go until autumn.  The Pegasus ponies really must have messed up, they will never hear the end of this.

Twilight packed her things away.  She packed heavy, thick coating with the furry rims of the hoods, and multiple candles.  Timberwoods may not sound like a big place, but it was huge!  It was located in between four mountain ranges, all named the Swayback Mountains.  The city was built in the center of the four sided mountain valley, and spread around five hundred miles of the valley.  The valley itself was a thick, lush area of timber wood, from where the city gets its name.  It was always snowing, but the most dangerous part were the woods themselves.  Blizzards were always occurring, and they say the trees are so tall, when you get lost, and there is a ninety nine percent chance you will, you can’t see the sky.

That was the main caution she had to worry about, getting lost, but she wasn’t too worried, as she packed her things.

Spike walked down the steps from upstairs, holding a note from the Princess, and he spoke up, making Twilight turn in his direction.

“Uh, Twilight.”

“Yes, Spike?”

“I just got this note from the Princess, and it says...”

“It says what, Spike?” Twilight got more interested.

“It says, for my safety, that I can’t go with you,”

“What?” she asked.

“I knew this was going to happen, but I really can’t go, Princess's orders.”

“You seem so calm about this, Spike.”

“Honestly, Twilight, I’m about to break into tears,” he lowered his head.

Twilight felt as if she was punched right in the gut.  No Spike?  How could she survive without her faithful assistant?

“Spike? You can’t come... But why?”

“I’m a dragon, Twilight, I can’t go out into the blizzards, I would freeze to death up there.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” Twilight choked up, small tears swelling in her eyes.

“You were hanging out with your friends at the party,” he rubbed his claw up on his other arm, “and this would be the last time you saw them before you left.”

“And?” she teared,

“And, I didn’t want to ruin your time you had, with me staying.” Spike said, hoy tears developing in his eyes.

So, Spike was to stay there, in Ponyville, while Twilight left for a few weeks, to study in Timberwoods.

Spike ran over to Twilight, and they hugged each other.

“Don’t worry, Twilight, you’ll be back soon,” Spike ensured.

Spike’s fire tears leaked out, and burned tiny holes into the wood floor of the center of the library, and mixed with Twilight’s tears, making small imprints.  When they connected, small pockets of steam rose up, and surrounded the embracing purple pony, and scaly purple dragon.

“I’m really gonna’ miss you, Spike,” Twilight exhaled, and started packing her things again.  Spike turned around, put his claws up to his stomach, and yanked a scale off.  He handed it to Twilight,

“Just so you don’t forget me,” he joked.

Twilight put the scale on top of her coat pocket, and locked the case shut.  In the distance, the train whistle was very faintly whistling through the crisp, summer air.