“Ya sure ya wanna do this, big brother?” Applejack asked, peering up at her brother from beneath the rim of her tattered Stetson, her golden-blonde tail coiling around her sturdy legs.
Big Mac nodded firmly, his barrel chest rippling with muscles as he squared his shoulders. “Eeyup.”
Applejack nodded. “Ah guess Ah shouldn't try t’ stop ya. But… ya know Sugar Belle will like ya no matter what, right? Ah don’ think talkin’s gonna make a difference.”
“Ah know. ‘S’just…” He sighed deep in his throat. “Ah always git all flustered when Ah’m around her. Ah never know what t’ say. Ah wanna be able talk t’ her without makin’ a fool o’ mahself, that's all. An’ Ah think maybe a spell can git me started.” He peered anxiously at his little sister, hoping that she would understand.
The smaller cowpony shrugged. “Well… Ah guess ya know what yore doin’.” Her grass green eyes full of trust, she turned and called to Twilight, who had been pretending to examine a whorl on one of the nearby apple trees in order to conceal the fact that she had been eavesdropping. “Twi, sugarcube? Mackie’s ready.”
The robust stallion flushed at AJ’s childish nickname but said nothing as the lavender alicorn trotted over. “Ready? Alright. Now, you know what you're going into, right? This spell will allow you to articulate any thought you have for the next twenty-four hours - just enough time for you to journey to Sugar Belle’s village, spend the night with her, and come back. But this feature of the spell only takes effect when somepony else isn't talking to you - while they're talking to you, the spell binds you to be silent, and when there's no one talking to you, the spell binds you to speak. Are you okay with that?”
“Eeyup.”
“Okay. Here goes.” Twilight squeezed her eyes shut in concentration and spread her hooves apart, lowering her head until her horn was pointing directly at Big Mac. The telltale purple glimmer of magic began to glow around her horn, spiraling around its base until it reached the tip, where it flared white. The spell was ready to be cast.
And then it happened. Applejack unconsciously scuffed her hoof against the dirt. The motion wafted an infinitesimal particle of dust, too small for the naked eye to behold, towards Twilight… and into her nose.
She twitched. She twitched again. And then she swung her head around and let out an explosive sneeze. The bolt of pent-up magic in her horn shot out and smacked Applejack in the chest, knocking her to the ground with an ‘oof’ of surprise.
Big Mac was the first one to react. “Sis? Y’alright?” His brow creased with worry, he trotted forwards and offered his little sister a hoof to help her up, using his other hoof to brush dirt off her furry stomach and then place her hat back over her wild blonde waves.
As he was doing so, Twilight came hurrying over, her cheeks flushed with mortification. “Oh my goodness! I am so sorry! I don't know where that sneeze came from, but it completely threw off my concentration. Celestia, that's embarrassing.” Her whole face was redder than Big Mac’s coat.
Applejack slowly sat up and scratched her head, accepting her brother’s proffered hoof. “No, Ah’m fine, Twi, jus’ a little battered, Ah’m a farmpony, it takes more’n a little tumble t’ shake me up, hey, the sky looks real purdy t’day, don’ it, musta been them weather ponies, wonder what Dash is up to, that dadblamed gorgeous - ”
Eyes wide with horror, the dusty orange farmpony finally managed to wriggle her hoof out of Big Mac’s firm grasp and clamp it over her mouth in a panic. “Why the hay am Ah talkin’ like Ah swallowed Pinkie Pie?!” she demanded, her eyes crossed in surprise as she tried to peer down her muzzle. Her cheeks were lit with a faint blush - that bit about Rainbow Dash had slipped out entirely against her will. Nopony needed to know about her secret feelings for her best friend.
Fortunately, Twilight was too busy frustratedly clapping her hoof to her forehead to notice Applejack’s slip up. “Of course! When I moved my head, the spell must have hit you instead of Big Macintosh.” Her face fell. “Oh… that means you’ll have to talk like this for the next twenty-four hours…”
Applejack paled. While not as taciturn as her big brother, she was still less talkative than most ponies. “Well, can't ya jus’ take the spell off b’fore the twenty-four hours are up?” she mumbled, shoving her hoof deeper into her mouth as more words attempted to force their way out.
Twilight nibbled on her hoof. “Well… I can try, but I’ll have to go to my library and read up on how to do it first.”
“But yore an alicorn! Yore better at usin’ magic than Celestia herself!” Applejack glanced up at the sun nervously, really wishing that she had control over what was coming out of her mouth. “Er, no offense.”
“None taken,” Twilight answered impatiently, as though she were Celestia herself, “but, you see, I haven't had to perform this spell in years, so I'm a little rusty. It's easy to cast the talking spell in the first place, but removing it is quite a bit trickier because the spell changes depending on whether you're casting it on a stallion or a mare. I can't explain why without delving into advanced sorcery topics, so let's just say I don't want to mess up this spell again. I need to make sure I know what I'm doing, which means it's time to hit the books. In the meantime, why don't you go about the day’s business, Applejack? I'll come find you as soon as I've figured out the spell. Then we can sort this out for good.”
“Uh-huh. Say, don’ that cloud look purdy? An’ how ‘bout that ‘un? Bow howdy, them weather pegasi sure did a mighty fine job with the clouds t’day. ‘Course, with a pony like R. D. in charge, Ah don' see how they coulda done anythin’ but - GAH!” Applejack stuffed her hooves in her mouth once more, blushing all over. “Ah can't stand it!” She steadied her hooves and furrowed her brow. “Maybe if Ah jus’ think about only one thing, Ah won't talk so much.” She scrunched her eyes shut, images of a familiar polychromatic tail, a roguish smile, and a sleek sky-blue coat flashing before her closed lids…
“AJ?” Big Mac shook her shoulder concernedly. “Y’all have been sayin’ Rainbow Dash’s name over an’ over fer the past thirty seconds.” Although his eyes were dark and serious, a smile lurked at the corners of his lips. He was no stranger to his little sister’s fancies.
Groaning in embarrassment, the farmpony slumped dejectedly to the ground with her golden tail curled between her legs and tugged her battered Stetson over her eyes. “Shoot. That don’ work either. This is gonna make mah work t’day completely impossible!”
“Huh?” Perplexed, Twilight scratched her head and blinked at the surrounding apple trees. She was far too tactful to point out Applejack’s obvious crush, and thanked Celestia that Pinkie Pie hasn't been there in her place - if she had, the whole town would have known by now. “But don't you just have to buck apples? How is talking going to affect that?”
Applejack’s brother took it upon himself to explain - in as few words as possible, of course. “It's market day, an’ it’s AJ’s turn t’ sell apples at the stall.”
“Ohhhh.” Understanding lit up the alicorn’s face. “I can see how constantly saying whatever comes to your mind might be unhelpful in that situation. Well, I'll get back to my library right away then - the sooner I research this spell, the sooner I can remove it! Before I go - Big Mac, do you want me to recast the original spell on you so you can head over to Sugar Belle’s place?”
“Eenope.” He shook his head stubbornly, his thick carrot mane rippling around his bulky shoulders as he draped a thick hoof around Applejack’s back. “Ah ain't leavin’ t’ go see Sugar Belle until mah little sis is right as rain. Y’all can try that spell on me again after she’s fixed.”
Applejack nuzzled him appreciatively. “Thanks, big brother. Y’know y’all stink t’ high heaven from all that farm work- Sorry! Sorry! Ah didn't mean it! Ah can't help it… ah, nuts an’ shoes…” She pulled her Stetson down so low that her chin was barely visible.
Mac frowned at her and then turned to Twilight. “Please fix her. Ah’m beggin’ ya.”
“Yes, yes, of course. I'll go right now. Applejack, remember that the spell isn't completely infallible. If you try hard enough, you might be able to avoid saying certain thoughts that you'd rather not say out loudly. It's really rare to be able to do that, but not unheard of. But I believe in you, so.. good luck until I get back.” Twilight shut her eyes, lit her horn, and teleported back to her castle in a swirl of shimmery purple magic.
Applejack sighed and slowly dragged herself to her hooves, flicking her tail against her rump to sweep off some stray specks of dirt. “Well, Ah guess Ah better get t’ market.”
Big Mac peered down at his sister. “As ya sure ya wanna go with the spell on ya?”
“Yes. Ah gotta do some work ‘round here. Otherwise Ah’ll feel useless. Ah’m so hungry Ah could eat a barn an’ this grass really needs trimmin’. Ah - ” She managed to catch herself before she could go any further. “Heh, whoops. Ah’m doin’ it again.” A wry smile came to her face as her eyes sparkled with sudden mirth. “Hoo-boy, if this ain't the most goshdarn ridiculous situation Ah’ve ever been in, Ah don’ know what is!” Her throat rumbled with a low chuckle as she tipped her hat to Big Mac and turned around to head to the market, where the apple cart had already been set up.
Mac knew better than to try to stop her from going. She was too stubborn. Instead, he called after her, “You jus’ call me if ya need anythin’. Anythin’, ya hear? Ah’ll be here.” She nodded without looking back at him to indicate that she'd heard, and, satisfied, he plodded away in the direction of the barn to resume his chores.
Applejack sighed with relief and flicked a bead of sweat off her brow. Things had been getting really close there. This stupid spell was going to ensure that everypony in town knew she liked Rainbow Dash. And it wasn't just a tiny crush, either. Ohhhh no. Applejack had been head-over-heels in love with that brash pegasus since the first time she'd met her as a filly fifteen years ago, when Rainbow had made the mistake of snickering at Applejack’s overly large hat as she flew by. She had ended up tied to a tree. The friendly rivalry that had begun that day had eventually morphed into real, deep friendship throughout the years, a friendship which has proven to be as sturdy and tough as Applejack herself. The farmpony wouldn't trade their relationship for all the bits in the world, but she did wish she could find a way to tell Rainbow Dash how much she really meant to her.
Of course she had said all of this out loudly, courtesy of that stupid spell. Applejack huffed. “At least nopony was around t’ hear that.”
Apple Bloom popped out of the bushes. “Hiya, big sis! So ya have a crush on Rainbow Dash?”
“Yes! Ah mean no! Ah mean - Apple Bloom! Y’all were eavesdroppin’?!”
“Naw, Ah was jus’ playin’ in the bush!” Apple Bloom replied innocently - and a little too quickly. “‘Sides, it's not like ya had t’ answer me, so ya can't get mad!” Giggling, she darted away before her big sister could get at her, yelling in a singsong voice, “Applejack’s in luuu-uuuuve! Applejack’s in luuu-uuuuve!”
“Didn't have t’ answer ya, mah eye,” Applejack muttered angrily to herself. If only Apple Bloom knew. “Jus’ you wait ‘till Ah tell Granny Smith on ya, ya little rascal!” she hollered after the young escapee. “Takin’ advantage o’ yore big sis like that! The nerve!” Shaking her head in annoyance and humiliation, she plodded onwards once more after pausing, against her will, to make some unrelated remarks to the world in general about how run-down the barn was looking and how tired she felt from her late workday yesterday.
Applejack managed to make it to the market without further incidents, unless you count talking to yourself so consistently that every pony who passes by wonders if you're insane and automatically turns around to walk away from you an incident. By now she'd figured out a facet of the spell that Twilight had neglected to mention: Applejack only had to speak out loudly if she was responding to somepony who had directly addressed her. Otherwise, she could murmur her thoughts quietly to herself. This wasn't much of a help, since anypony who spoke to her was still going to be met with a torrent of words, but at least her voice wouldn't become hoarse as quickly.
“Still, kind of a paltry compensation,” Applejack sighed, before frowning at her muzzle. “What in the hay? ‘Paltry’? Ah didn't even know Ah knew that word.” That was mildly disturbing.
Sending a prayer that she wished were silent to Twilight to hurry up with that counterspell already, Applejack trotted into the marketplace. Big Mac had come by earlier that morning to set up the stall, so the Apple family wooden booth loaded with shiny varieties of apples was already in place. Although the farmpony normally greeted her fellow vendors with a cheerful smile and a whoop of greeting, she didn't want her mouth to run away with her again, so she arranged her features into a placid, businesslike countenance with a downturned smile, hoping to dissuade ponies from talking to her and thereby noticing that she was continuously mumbling under her breath.
Naturally, her discouraging expression had quite the opposite effect, probably because it looked so out-of-place on her usually friendly features. “Hey there, Applejack!” Golden Harvest called. “Why so glum?”
“Ah can't stop mah goshdarn mouth from babblin’ ‘cause Twilight accidentally cast a spell on me instead o’ Big Mac, an’ now Ah have t’ say everythin’ that comes t’ mind an’ Ah really hate the taste o’ carrots.” Applejack cringed as the words slipped off her tongue before she could stop them, causing Golden Harvest to recoil with hurt-filled eyes. She really needed to figure out how to suppress the spell, like Twilight had mentioned. “Sorry! Ah’m sorry! Ah’ll explain later…” Feeling guilty, she made a speedy getaway before she could dig herself into an even deeper hole. The rest of the sellers who had heard the exchange frowned disapprovingly at her, and she shrank down in mortification and dragged her hat over her ears. “Oh, ponyfeathers. This is gonna be a long day.”
***
Applejack’s muscles stood out from the exertion as she hitched herself to the movable apple stall and dragged it to the edge of the marketplace. She wanted it to be close enough to the other stalls that she could still hear the other vendors if they shouted, but far enough away that they wouldn't bother shouting in the first place. That way, she didn't have to talk to anypony and embarrass herself. She was very quickly discovering that there was a huge difference between choosing to be honest and being forced to be honest.
Fortunately, however, the farmpony didn't have to spend too long wondering about whether she’d be able to attract any customers at all, as none other than Rarity trotted gaily up to the stall and offered her a shining smile. “Good morning, Applejack! May I ask why you have separated your stall from the others by such a noticeable distance?”
AJ sighed grumpily and crossed her hooves over the stall with a moody pout. “Let’s jus’ say Ah don' wanna offend anypony else. Didja know ya got spinach in yore teeth?”
So much for not offending anypony else.
Rarity widened her sapphire eyes dramatically. “Oh, dear? Really? Where?”
“Er, jus’ between yore two front teeth - which, by the way, could use a bit more brushin’. Ah can pretty much tell what ya ate fer breakfast. Some kinda omelette Ah’m guessin’.”
Rarity stopped poking around her mouth with her tongue and frowned disapprovingly, her lips a thin line of annoyance. “Now that was just plain rude. Honestly, Applejack, I know you were brought up on a farm, but that's no excuse to be mean!”
Applejack buried her head in her hooves, her blonde bangs swinging gently over her forehead. “Well, one insult deserves another, Ah guess. We're even now.” Then she raised her head to stare at Rarity, her eyes pleading. “Look, Rares, Ah’m sorry. Ah can't help it. Twilight cast a spell on me by accident an’ now Ah hafta say every dang thing that comes t’ mind. Ah really can't help it, Ah swear. Ah jus’ hafta deal with it ‘til Twi comes back to remove it.”
The alabaster unicorn’s eyes softened. “Oh, Applejack. I'm sorry. I didn't know. I suppose that's alright then.” She leaned forwards conspiratorially. “Better stay away from Rainbow Dash then. I wouldn't you to accidentally tell her something secret.” Her eyes danced with mirth as she said the last word in a sing-song voice.
Applejack jumped violently and turned bright red. “Ya knew?” For once, she had nothing more to say - all of her thoughts swam with shock over what Rarity had told her. How had she known?
“Well, I didn't. At least not for sure. But you just confirmed it.” She beamed smugly.
Applejack groaned and reddened even further. She'd just fallen prey to the oldest trick in the book. “Rarity, so help me, Ah'm gonna wrestle ya right into the pig pen as soon as Ah git this stupid spell off me.”
“And it would be so worth it,” she replied mischievously. “Don't me mad, darling. We're friends, are we not? It's my business to know these things so that I can help you when you need it!”
“By makin’ me a fancy dress, ya mean,” Applejack answered wryly.
“If that is what the situation calls for,” Rarity said innocently. “Now, I'm on a bit of a schedule, so could I please place my order rather quickly? I don't want Sweetie Belle to destroy the house while I'm gone somehow. I told her she could make the pie crust while I fetched the apples, and I'm just a tad worried she’s going to start experimenting.” She said the word in a hushed whisper as though it were her greatest fear. “Little sisters, you know?”
Applejack saw an opportunity to get a little bit of revenge for Rarity’s trick and took it. “Actually, Ah don’t,” she said smoothly. “Ah taught mah little sis t’ make pie when she was three years old.”
The two of them stared daggers at each other for a few seconds and then burst out laughing. “I suppose I deserved that,” Rarity conceded smilingly.
Applejack twitched her muzzle in an answering smile. “Uh-huh. How wide’s the pie?”
“Nine inches exactly.” Of course the unicorn would have taken care to be so precise.
Applejack nodded and bent down over her apples, eyeing them critically. Her expertise had taught her that six apples would be about enough for a pie with a nine-inch diameter, and she also knew from personal experience that using different types of apples would make the pie even tastier than it already would have been. Narrowing her eyes in intense concentration, she selected two Granny Smiths, two Braeburns, and two Jonagolds. She slipped them into a bag and hoofed it over to Rarity with a friendly smile, tossing her a gleaming red Fuji as the unicorn slid over some bits. “One more fer ya t’ eat on yore way home. No charge.”
“Why, thank you, darling,” Rarity cooed. “That's just wonderful of you.”
“No problem. Jus’ get that spinach outta yore teeth an’ yore all set.” AJ cringed. “Er, Ah mean… enjoy the apple?”
Rarity maintained her smile. “I shall pretend you didn't say that, just this once.” She offered Applejack a parting wave and cantered away. “Ta-ta, darling. Thank you for the apples.”
“Welcome,” AJ called after her. She sighted another approaching customer and groaned, banging her head on the counter. One more customer meant one more pony who was going to be surprised and hurt by Applejack’s wayward mouth. And this pony wasn't likely to be as forgiving as Rarity.
The farmpony closed her eyes, burying her muzzle into the sawdust-scented wooden counter, as her lips murmured what she wished could have been a silent plea. “Oh, Twilight, where are ya?”
***
Half an hour later, Twilight Sparkle was still nowhere to be found, and Applejack was beginning to wonder if that dadblamed alicorn had gotten distracted by some book and curled up to read it in her library, giving no thought to her friends or her princess duties. It wouldn't be the first time.
Applejack knew that Twilight wasn't to be blamed, since the whole thing had been an accident, but… that didn't make the events of the last half hour any less exasperating. Her stall had collected far fewer bits than normal thanks to her insubordinate tongue - nearly every time a customer approached, they flounced away in anger without buying anything thanks to one of Applejack’s involuntary comments. Of course, Applejack tried mightily to focus only on the positive aspects of each pony, but Twilight had been right when she'd said that it was immensely difficult to stop yourself from saying everything on your mind while under this spell, so an insult usually managed to slip out against AJ’s will.
As one particular customer drew herself up in a fury and trotted away, a familiar raspy voice giggled from above. “Nice going, AJ,” Rainbow Dash cackled, swooping down to hover at eye level and crossing her forehooves over her chest.
Applejack gulped. “Oh no.” Her heart began to race. It was only a matter of time before she said something to her crush that would ruin their friendship forever.
Fortunately, Rainbow barreled on without hearing her. “What the hay is going on? You've been rude to, like, everyone who comes by! That's not like you.”
“It's a spell,” she croaked out. “Twilight accidentally cast a spell on me so Ah can't talk right… every time somepony else ain't talkin’ t’ me, Ah have t’ say out loud whatever’s on mah mind. Ah'm waiting for Twilight t’ come take off the spell, but…” She shrugged sadly at the emptiness around her stall where there would usually be a horde of clamoring customers. “Ah think Ah already did enough damage.”
Dash frowned, some of the confusion in her eyes vanishing. “Oh. That's… not cool.”
“Tell me about it.” The farmpony stared into her friend's bright magenta eyes and felt her heart clench. Don’ think about Dash. Don' think about Dash. With a supreme effort of will, she managed to wrest her gaze away from the pegasus. “Ah’m gonna head home now. No point stayin’ here any longer.” Eyes downcast, she bent her head and used her strong teeth to unlock the stall’s wheels from their fixed position, turning it into a cart. Without a single word, Rainbow Dash flew around to the front of the cart and began to store AJ’s wares inside the stall.
Touched, Applejack felt her eyes sting with tears. She opened her her mouth to thank her friend and bit down the words just as quickly, realizing that a whole lot more would probably slip out as well. She closed her eyes. Ah’m the Element of Honesty. Ah’ve saved the realm from a thousand dangers an’ protected mah family from a thousand hurts. Ah come from the family that founded Ponyville. Ah’m an Apple, an’ AJ gotta be strong like one. So if Ah don’ wanna tell Rainbow Dash that Ah like her… then Ah sure as anythin’ ain't goin’ to. Opening her eyes, she took a deep breath and said, “Thanks.” Wincing, she cringed away, expecting a torrent of words about how much she loved Rainbow to come pouring forth.
But none came.
Rainbow nodded to her in acknowledgement, and Applejack’s muzzle spread into a delighted grin. Already she could feel words at her lips again, tumbling over themselves in their haste to escape - but for one brief moment, she had conquered the spell, and that was what counted.
With Rainbow’s unflagging assistance, AJ soon had the stall ready to go. She hitched it to her back, shook her sweaty mane away from her forehead, and launched into a slow trot. She couldn't bear to face the other customers and vendors in the market again after all she had said to them, so she decided to take the long way home by going in the opposite direction. Rainbow, thankfully, did not bother asking why.
“You know what this means, right?” Rainbow said after a while.
Curious, AJ tilted her head to stare at the pegasus flapping a few feet above her head. “What?”
“The spell. You know what I get to do now, right?”
“Can't say Ah do,” the cowpony said slowly, her emerald eyes narrowed in thought.
Rainbow flashed her a wicked grin. “Can't say I do,” she mimicked in a passable imitation of AJ’s accent.
Applejack stopped walking, lifted her eyes to the heavens, and groaned loudly. “Oh, fer Celestia’s sake. Kill me now,” she uttered dully as Rainbow gleefully repeated her every word.
Out of all the ponies who had come to help her, why did it have to be Rainbow Dash? Not only was she distractingly hot, but she was also incredibly immature. Sometimes Applejack wondered how she had even managed to fall in love with her in the first place. Rainbow was very fond of this little game - ‘Copycat’, she called it. She would pick out an unsuspecting citizen of Ponyville, zoom over their head, and start repeating their every word, usually attempting to adopt their mannerisms, tone of voice, and accent as well. She actually wasn't bad at imitations, but that didn't make it any less annoying. It usually only took a few minutes for her victim to realize that if they stoped talking, Rainbow would have nothing to imitate, and once they realized this the pegasus would fly away in search of her next prey. All in all, no harm was done, making this particular trick far less destructive than most of her usual pranks.
But Rainbow Dash knew very well that Applejack was bound to speak every time somepony else wasn't talking, ensuring that Rainbow Dash could copy her all the way home. And Applejack knew that she didn't have the energy to suppress the spell until she could make it back to the farm - so she was pretty much stuck with Dash for the next half an hour.
Applejack glared up at her friend, who looked immensely proud of herself. “Yore so immature.”
“You're so immature,” the grinning pegasus replied smugly, intentionally placing emphasis on the ‘you're’.
Applejack lowered her head, her tail drooping as her shoulders strained beneath the weight of the cart. “Ugggggh.”
“Uggggh.”
Applejack gritted her teeth, trying her hardest to suppress the spell, but it was no use - her previous success at the marketplace had apparently sapped some of her strength. “Rainbow Dash, Ah’m warnin’ ya!”
“Rainbow Dash, I'm warning you!” Barely suppressing a chuckle, Dash casually flipped around in the air until she was hovering a few inches in front of Applejack’s face, her eyes gleaming with amusement.
An idea sprang to AJ’s mind, and she gave a sly grin. “Ah’m an idiot.” This was sure to work - if there was one thing Rainbow Dash would never do, it was insult herself.
Rainbow’s cocky smile faltered. She hesitated a moment before shrugging. “I'm an idiot.”
The cowpony huffed and stuck her tongue out in exasperation. She'd been sure Rainbow was going to stop copying her after that. Rainbow smirked, returned the gesture, and then playfully booped her on the nose and darted away before AJ could slap her. “Git down here, Rainbow Dash!” she hollered in a fury, stamping her hoof down on the hard-packed ground with a firm thud. “This ain't funny an’ Ah mean it!”
No, it certainly wasn't. Right now, Applejack was scared. Terrified, even. She could feel words bubbling at her lips, the words that were always on her lips whenever she was around Rainbow Dash - the words that she was always too scared to say. Because even when Rainbow was behaving like a foal, she was still loyal. She was still confident. She was still brave and funny and ridiculously good-looking and grumpy and lazy and sarcastic, and all the things that made her Rainbow Dash. And Applejack loved her.
The only problem was that now, she might be forced to admit it.
“Get down here, Rainbow Dash!” Dash yelled from above, lounging on a low-lying cloud and kicking her legs in the air as though she was having the time of her life. “This ain't funny and I mean it!” She rolled off the cloud, free-fell until she was about to hit the ground, and then snapped her feathery wings open, floating up to glide backwards in front of Applejack’s face once more. Arching an eyebrow, she shot Applejack a lazy grin, and the cowpony felt her face flush as those magenta eyes captured and held her own grass-green ones. She swallowed shakily, her vision going black from the mental strain of trying to suppress her words. Yore gorgeous. Yore awesome. Yore mah best friend. Ah love ya, Rainbow Dash. The words floated to her lips like roses on a breeze - beautiful, smooth, dangerous.
Sweet Celestia, Ah can't stop ‘em no more. Ah’m gonna have t’ tell her how Ah feel. In a panic, she glanced around for Twilight; for anyone who could save her.
No one.
But as the first words flew from her muzzle, Applejack saved herself - in perhaps the most unsafe way possible.
Later, Applejack didn't know why she did what she did. She could have tried to run away. She could have just said the words and hoped for the best. She could have even tried to suppress them a little longer. But instead, her body acted for her:
Without thinking about it, without hesitation, without really even knowing what she was doing, Applejack slid her hooves around Rainbow’s neck, tugged her closer, and pressed their lips together in a firm but gentle kiss. Their manes mingled together, honey-blonde strands coiling together with polychromatic ones. The soft fur of their muzzles brushed together as Applejack deepened the kiss, shutting her eyes and running a soft hoof along Rainbow’s ear and mane. The words on her lips died, now unable to be said.
AJ’s shoulders shuddered as she realized what she was doing, but it was too late to go back now. A single tear slipped down her cheek, splashing onto Rainbow’s chest like a diamond. Applejack knew this could very well be their last day as friends, thanks to her impulsive action. But she didn't want to open her eyes, to see Rainbow staring at her with shock or horror or fear. No, she would keep her eyes closed, so that for one shining moment, she could dream.
“I found it! I found it!” Twilight - with her impeccable timing, as usual - materialized into existence several feet down the road, her muzzle creased in a broad smile, almost dancing with happiness. “Applejack, I've been looking for you all over, I finally found the counterspell! It was actually much easier than I expected, it just involved some differential - ohhhhhh…” Her voice faltered. “Oh my goodness.” Blushing brightly, she timidly crept closer to Applejack, peering at the two of them with bright eyes. It was clear that AJ had initiated the kiss - Rainbow Dash’s eyes were open and her pupils were the size of pinpricks at she stared at her best friend in shock, but Twilight noticed that she didn't pull away. And as the alicorn watched, Rainbow slowly sank to the ground, closed her eyes, put her hooves on AJ’s shoulders, and kissed back, wrapping her strong wings around Applejack’s back.
Clearly, they were both too busy to notice Twilight’s presence. The alicorn beamed in silent glee and wiped a happy tear away, sniffling. “Awww. How cute.” And the best part? Princess Celestia owed her a hundred bits now. She'd bet that Rainbow would kiss Applejack first.
Smiling lovingly at her two friends, the alicorn removed Applejack’s spell as silently as possible so as not to alert her to her presence. “I wish you two every happiness in the years to come,” she murmured warmly, although she knew that neither of them was listening. Then, with a soft flash, she stepped backwards and teleported away.
***
Applejack finally pulled away, her eyes wide and frightened. “Ah - Ah gotta go,” she said brusquely, her legs trembling as she shouldered Rainbow out of the way and trotted past her. “Ah'm sorry.” She bit her lip to hold back a sob - successfully, this time. At least the spell was no longer in effect, although Applejack didn't bother to question why. She had more important things on her mind.
“No, wait!” Rainbow Dash ran after her, her wings hanging limply by her sides, perhaps immobilized by shock. Well, she'd stopped imitating Applejack. That was something, at least. “Applejack…” Her voice quavered as she reached out a hoof to brush AJ’s shoulder and then pulled it back. “Why?”
Just one word - but Applejack knew what she was asking. “Because - because Ah love ya,” she mumbled, hanging her head, suddenly feeling exhausted. “Alraght?” The spell was gone, but her natural honesty was asserting itself, encouraging her to voice her true feelings. “Ah always have. Ever since Ah was a filly, Ah… Ah’ve admired ya. Yore the strongest, loyalest, bravest pony Ah know. An’ yore so beautiful, the way ya fly through the sky without a care in the world, with that bright mane o’ yores streamin’ behind ya…” Her ears drooped. “Of course Ah loved ya. Ah couldn't help it,” she finished bitterly.
Rainbow was shaking her head disbelievingly. “No, you're just saying that ‘cause you're under the spell, you can't really mean it, you - ”
“Rainbow,” Applejack said softly, “Ah ain't under the spell no more.”
The pegasus faltered and fell silent.
“Ah know what Ah’m sayin, an’ believe me, Ah’m intendin’ t’ say it,” AJ continued. “‘Cause… Ah need ya t’ know. Ah’ve been lyin’ t’ ya fer too long.”
“You never actually lied,” Rainbow pointed out.
A wry smile touched AJ’s lips. “Lyin’ by omission is still lyin’, sugarcube. It’s high time Ah told ya. But…” She sighed. “Ah’d understand if ya didn't want t’ be mah friend any more.”
Rainbow settled onto her haunches. “So… you meant what you said,” she murmured, staring up at AJ with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. “You really meant it.”
“Every word,” she affirmed. The farmpony stood tall and strong without a trace of moisture in her eyes. Whatever Rainbow’s verdict, she would accept it without complaint. That was the Apple way.
Dash nodded and glanced down at her hooves, her mane falling over her forehead. She sat in uncharacteristic silence for a few minutes before raising her head to stare Applejack in the eye once more. “I - talking’s not my strong point,” she said feebly, getting to her hooves and trotting closer to her best friend, until they were no more than a few inches away from each other. “But, Applejack, I think I…” She bit her lip and reached out to hold Applejack’s hoof. “Look, can I just have a second chance?”
“A second chance? T’ what?” she answered, frowning.
Rainbow Dash smiled. “Let me have a chance to copy you one more time.”
Applejack thought back to their kiss and felt her heart thud against her chest. “What… what do ya wanna copy?” she breathed, not caring that her shoulders were aching from the strain of pulling the cart, not caring that her mane was in her eyes and her Stetson askew.
Her favorite pegasus grinned. “I think you already know,” she murmured gently, sliding her wings around Applejack’s neck and leaning in.
Author's Note
I'm sorry, everyone.
I tried. I really did. But... let's face it, this story is pretty much the worst thing I've ever written. Everything is undeveloped and I didn't have time for any sort of editing whatsoever, so... I apologize. I swear the next story I publish will be better. I just wanted to explain why this story is so awful: I've been experiencing some really trying times lately and have had almost no time to write, so this story definitely isn't my best because I'm so distracted. But I decided to post it anyway because entering the Appledash contest was one of my personal goals for this summer, and I also didn't want to have this beautiful cover art made for me by my good friend to go to waste. So those are my reasons for posting this anyway even though I dont feel like it's my best work. I hope you guys understand!
