The Apple family farmhouse sat in the dim moonlight, partially obscured by the clouds which hung overhead, lightly peppering the already white landscape of Sweet Apple Acres with their snowy payload. All of the curtains in the home were drawn except the bottom two which glowed with soft light, almost making the building look like a creature peering through the night.
Burning logs crackled in the fireplace, sending flecks of light flying into the air for the briefest of moments before they died out, disappearing in the light. The warmth spread out like a cat stretching its legs after a long nap, reaching everywhere but the very corners of the living room. This scene, like many others, could be placed on a postcard and given a pithy saying, or perhaps even just “Happy Hearth’s Warming!”.
This went unnoticed to Applejack as she marched into the idyllic setting. After all, once you start barging through perfect moments, you stop seeing them.
"C'mon now, Apple Bloom. You've got school in the mornin'. You can't be staying up all night."
Resting on her belly sprawled out on the floor was Apple Bloom, who also seemed oblivious to the perfect moment that had formed around her. Instead, her eyes were focused on the scrap of paper in front of her where she had been dutifully scribbling. Raising her head, she put on her best pleading face.
"Awww but, Applejack, I really wanted to finish this drawing tonight so Sweetie Belle can take it home tomorrow!" The filly protested.
Curiosity got the better of Applejack. She craned her neck towards the paper Apple Bloom had been tirelessly scribbling on and furrowed her brow.
“Looks like some sorta sea monster,” Applejack remarked.
Thankful that Applejack hadn’t simply told her to go wash up and head for bed, Apple Bloom spun the paper around. Using her front legs, she encircled the drawing as if to frame it, presenting it to her older sister.
"That's cuz you're looking at it upside down. See? It's a pony with question mark on their flank! It represents the limitless potential of... The Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Apple Bloom shouted, leaping into the air.
Applejack covered her ears just in time to protect them from the now familiar proclamation. She heard a faint snort and “Whaaaaat?” from the kitchen where Granny Smith had fallen asleep. Upstairs, Applejack thought she heard Big Mac coughing and spitting out what she could only guess was mouthwash.
"Well, ya only started working on it tonight, right?"
"Yeah, so?" The filly asked, raising her eyebrows.
"If this is so important, don't you think you should spend a little more time on it than just one night?"
Dawning realization washed over Apple Bloom's face. "Oh gosh, you're right! This is super duper important! I can't just do this in a single night! I mean, we can’t just settle on a logo like that. That’d be like choosing a tattoo the first night you go into the shop!”
That last bit gave Applejack some pause. She didn’t know where Apple Bloom had heard about tattoos, or why they sprang into her head so quickly, but she also knew that questioning further would only delay the filly from getting ready for bed. "Errr, that's right. Now hop on upstairs and get cleaned up. Big Mac should be done by now."
"Okay," The filly said, picking up her paper and pencil. "You'll be up soon, won't you?"
The cowpony nodded. "Sure as shooting. I'll be up to tuck you in a few minutes. Now get goin."
Apple Bloom smiled and ran upstairs, undoubtedly to prepare for bed. Applejack took one more look around the living room, making sure nothing was left out that would trip a poor unsuspecting pony in morning. She did this mostly because she would probably be that unsuspecting pony. When she was satisfied, she reached for the lamp to turn off the light.
Thump, thump, thump.
Applejack's hoof stopped inches away from the light. The Apple family rarely received visitors after sundown. Even Pinkie was considerate enough to give decent notice for an impromptu slumber party, with only one exception. A tuft of hair rose on the cowpony’s back as caution set in.
"Just a moment!"
Stepping lightly to the door, Applejack grabbed the handle with one hoof, and lightly hovered over an umbrella with the other. It wasn’t ideal for fighting off an unsuspecting attacker, but Applejack realized her weapon choices were just a tad limited around the front door. She slowly cracked the door open and peered outside.
"Rainbow Dash?"
Standing on her doorstep was none other than the prismatic prankster of Ponyville, still wearing her winter gear from earlier... as well as a pitiful expression.
"Hey... Applejack," Rainbow muttered. She kept her head tilted, careful not to make eye contact with the farm pony.
There were several things wrong with this situation, not the least of which being Rainbow’s behavior. Applejack knew there wasn’t a disaster or anything. If there was, Rainbow would likely have just grabbed and hauled her to town to face it together—that was only if kicking it in the face didn’t solve it first, though. No, whatever was wrong was private, and very wrong.
"You okay, sugarcube? It ain't often you make your way here at night," Applejack remarked. It was better to single that out, rather than ask something like “Why do you look like you’ve dropped your ice cream cone”, or “Are the Wonderbolts being disbanded?”
An uneasy laugh escaped Rainbow's lips, her breath visible in the cold weather.
"Heh, heh... I should probably just be thankful you didn't hit me in the face with a shovel like you did Pinkie Pie."
Applejack’s hoof left the umbrella guiltily. She cringed and lowered her hat over her eyes. "I didn't expect her to come by for a surprise slumber party that night... I get easily startled, alright? I’ll never live that down.”
Rainbow snickered a little which made Applejack feel a bit better. Seeing Rainbow upset always made her uneasy.
"Relax, AJ. I didn't come here to make fun of you. I... I came to ask you a question."
"Well, go ahead then."
Rainbow sighed. It was clear she came with a question, but didn’t actually know what the question was.
"Do you... uhhh... I mean... how do you deal?
Applejack stared at the pegasus for a few moments, unsure what the question was supposed to be.
“Deal? Deal what? Cards?”
Panic flared in Rainbow’s eyes. This clearly wasn’t how it was meant to go. This wasn’t unusual. Most of the time, when a pony visualizes how a situation would go, they oftentimes get it mixed up with how they want it to go, instead of how it usually goes. Rainbow turned and flapped her wings, a sure sign she would vanish in just a moment.
"Nevermind, I'm just being stupid. I'll see you lat-"
With surprising speed, Applejack reached out and grabbed the retreating pegasus. "Hold on now. No need for that; we’re friends, and friends are supposed to listen to each other."
Applejack noted the cringe from Rainbow when she said ‘friends’, and filed that away in the ‘fishy’ section of her mind. With a gentle hoof, she pulled Rainbow inside the house.
"C'mon in and take a seat."
Rainbow was usually a hoofful on good days, and a hurricane on the worst. Tonight, she was putty. Without an argument, or even a snide remark, the pegasus did as she was told, taking a seat on the couch next to the lamp. Applejack sat in a recliner opposite of the couch.
"Now, talk."
Rainbow squirmed in her seat, rubbing her hooves together. “It’s really stupid.”
“I doubt that.”
A few moments went by, moments with no sounds except the pendulum in the grandfather clock as it sliced time in half, second by second. Applejack knew the appropriate thing to do was to just sit there patiently with an understanding smile, until the words tumbled out. After a long breath, they did just that.
“It is stupid. It’s stupid because mine is a turtle, and your’s was… and… and he’s not really gone he’s just-”
"Rainbow," Applejack interrupted, "just because my loss was harder than yours don't mean it don't hurt. I mean, sure, I thought it was a little silly, but it still hurts. You can’t go around comparing your pain to somepony else’s pain. Is there something more you’re not telling me, ponygirl?"
Applejack thought she saw a tear gathering in Rainbow’s eye. A sniffle worked it's way out of Rainbow's nose, confirming her suspicions.
"I'm lonely, Applejack. I’ve always been alone. I even laughed at other ponies who were dating or acting lovey dovey. I thought they were weak. Being alone, It never really hurt before... before I got Tank."
In an instant, Applejack’s metaphorical boat sailed every sea it knew before finally landing here, in uncharted waters.
Rainbow Dash: Equestria’s Best Young Flier.
Rainbow Dash: Element of Loyalty.
Rainbow Dash: Wonderbolts Reserve Member.
Applejack had met all of these Rainbow Dashes and more, and tonight, she was meeting an altogether new Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash: Weather Team Manager would make a snide remark, say something was uncool, hold her bravado, her strength up as a shield.
This Rainbow Dash was exposed like a raw nerve, like a filly looking toward somepony else for guidance.
For any other day, for any other Rainbow Dash, all that Applejack would need is a quick laugh, an elbow to the side, and a pat on the back: done and dusted.
This was not any other day, or any other Rainbow Dash.
“S-so you’re a little lonely. Happens to everypony now and then.” Applejack reasoned.
Rainbow raised her head, fuchsia eyes pleading for help.
"But it doesn’t happen to me. Nopony ever really visits me. I mean, most of my friends are unicorns and earth ponies. And Fluttershy? You try getting her to fly above thirty feet. Then, I got Tank... and all that changed. I finally had someone to read to at night, someone to take care of. I had so many cool plans for us during the winter, and just like that, it was all gone."
Applejack nodded. She rocked back and forth in the recliner, drinking in Rainbow's every word. A question popped up in the cowpony's mind, and before she realized, it left her lips.
"Ya never really lost anyone, have ya, gal?"
A little part of Applejack tensed up. She didn’t mean it to come out quite like that. In her head it sounded much better than it did out loud. Fortunately, Rainbow either didn’t notice, or didn’t care about the tone or intimation. She just shook her head.
"No. My parents are annoying, but they’ve always been there. That's why I came to you. I knew if anypony knew how to handle something like this, it'd be you."
The soft creak of the recliner filled the silence between them. Applejack wasn't exactly a wise pony—she didn't claim to have all the answers—but if there was one thing she knew, it was family.
"You see this here chair?"
Rainbow nodded, looking up for a moment.
"This chair belonged to my father. He'd come home after a night of heavy Applebucking and start rocking until momma called us for dinner. When we were through eating, we'd all come back to the living room and chat until it was time to sleep. Sometimes, I'd even sit in his lap as the night went on. Yup... there's alotta my father in this here chair."
Rainbow stared, her eyes pleading for something else. Of course family wasn’t the way to go, Rainbow had her parents. Applejack would need something else.
“Ah, I got it,” Applejack announced, smacking the chair with her hoof.
“Yes?”
A playful grin fell across Applejack’s lips. “Remember when you did that fancy trick of yours and you swiped that pine tree?”
Rainbow’s face turned up a faint cocksure grin. Raising her right front leg, she brushed a spot beneath her fur. “Sure do, still got the scar where they patched me up.”
“You still feel it now and then, doncha?”
Rainbow didn’t reply right away. She was too busy feeling that scar, her mind stuck at least a year in the past. “Yeah, I do.”
Applejack leaned back the way a chess player would whenever they know they’ve won.
“It’s always there. It don’t hurt like it used to, but it’s always there. Time, Rainbow Dash. Time is the bandage you'll need. And I don't just mean until spring. I mean just time. Ya see, when you're around other ponies, you get to know them, they become a part of you. When they're taken away, it feels like a part of you is taken away too. You have to learn to live as yourself once again. It’ll never go away. It always leaves a scar, and we never forget it, but we learn to live with it. I hope that helps."
Rainbow Dash stared at her with a look that could warm even the coldest of hearts. "Thanks, AJ. Guess I should tell you why I really came."
The recliner came to a creaking halt. Applejack panicked. For a moment she had that same shock a chess player gets when that pesky rook shows up from the other side of the board.
"Beg yer pardon?"
Rainbow Dash: Element of Loyalty vanished again. A new Rainbow Dash appeared, yet another that Applejack had yet to see. This one sported a sheepish blush that would look more in place on Fluttershy’s cheeks.
"This whole thing with Tank kinda showed me for the first time how quick life can hit. I thought me and Tank were gonna live forever and be best buds together. Then, all it took was that word to take it all away."
At this point in time, Applejack knew that using the H-word would be a grievous offense. She swallowed the urge to say it aloud and motioned for Rainbow to continue.
"I've thought about something for months now, and after this stuff with Tank, I don't want something to happen without having said it."
Applejack nodded sagely in such a way as to insinuate that it was her idea all along. "That's the best thing you can do in life. Take it by the horns. Ask away, sugarcube."
"The only pony in Ponyville who even competes with me is, well, you. I know it might be weird, us knowing each other for so long, but would you maybe wanna go out with me?
Now Applejack was well and truly stunned. Shaking her head, she looked at Rainbow once again, just to make sure she was still the pony sitting opposite her. No matter how she screwed up her eyes or tilted her head, Rainbow stubbornly remained there.
"Uhhh, you mind running that by me one more time?"
Rainbow's blush grew even stronger. At this point, Applejack had to wonder if there was even enough blood in the rest of her to keep the poor pegasus upright.
"I was asking if you wanted to go out sometime."
The cowpony leaned forward in her chair, sticking out her ear. "Out? As in... a date?"
Rainbow nodded in the affirmative.
Leaning back in her recliner, Applejack's eyes drifted toward the ceiling. Unfortunately, no one had been kind enough to paint the correct answer on it.
"Gee, Rainbow. I can't say I rightly expected this."
"Oh, well that's okay," Rainbow said, standing up to leave. Her feathers twitched violently the way they always do when she was looking to escape a problem. "Like I said, we'll just-"
Her sentence and escape plan were cut short as Applejack lept forward from the recliner. A strong hoof rested on her shoulder, grounding her to the spot.
"Now, hold on a minute, sugarcube. I ain't said no. I just said, I didn't expect it. Quite honestly, I didn't think a pony like you would see anything in somepony like me."
“Why not?”
It was a good question, short as it was, Applejack had to admit. Why didn’t she expect Rainbow to have a crush on her? Well, the answer to that was obvious. Rainbow was practically a celebrity. Though she’d never admit it, Applejack always thought of Rainbow as being a little out of her class. Applejack always thought she’d meet some pretty little farm mare, they’d discuss the trade, possibly swap some secrets, one thing leads to another, pow, marriage. She held nothing against pegasi, but when monogamy came into the picture, her potential partner never had wings. None of these things were the correct answer, Applejack was sure.
“Well,” she began, “You’re… a big deal. You like being the center of attention and stuff. Ponies throw ceremonies and parties for you.”
This was Applejack’s sneaky way of saying that Rainbow indeed probably was in a higher class than her, but without giving the pegasus a reason to gloat.
"Hah! Are you crazy? Everypony in Ponyville loves you.. figuratively speaking. I mean, they even threw a big ceremony for you! Ponyville's prized pony? Doesn't that ring a bell?"
Applejack couldn’t stop herself from wincing. While the ceremony had been a big deal, it was far from the only occasion that the ponies of Ponyville had gathered to thank her for ‘being a pillar of the community’, as it were.
“And look at all those trophies and ribbons,” Rainbow said, continuing her attack. “You’re just like me.”
Applejack turned unwillingly to the shelf where she kept her rodeo ribbons and other trophies. It seemed to be mocking her, standing there as evidence against her, testifying that she might have more in common with Rainbow than she’d care to admit.
“Not just like you. I don’t have an ego the size of a parade balloon for one,” Applejack said. The old denial and jab combo; it was always a good standby.
“Oh yeah? Then why do you keep competing with me?” Rainbow drew herself closer, a smug grin plastered on her face. “I’ll tell you why. Because I keep you on your hooves.”
Only someone who knew Rainbow would know that this was a challenge. Applejack wanted something more before she took it.
"So, you have a crush, huh? How long have you had your eye on me?"
Rainbow kept her crooked grin. "A little while."
There it was, a stalemate. Rainbow had all the cards Applejack wanted, and now the only thing left was to take them. Applejack moved so fast, she felt like her spirit might’ve left her body. Blue and orange blurred as the two figures tangled together. It was in the midst of this chaos that their eyes connected for a moment.
Until a minute ago, the thought of dating Rainbow Dash had never entered Applejack’s mind. Sure, she snuck a peek at the pegasus’ flank now and then, but that wasn’t serious. Like an adventurer who laid eyes upon a stash of jewels for the first time, it wasn’t until this moment that Applejack realized that this is exactly what she wanted. What could be better than dating your best friend? You both knew what you wanted out of each other. You both had chemistry. You even had each other’s little idiosyncrasies worked out. It wasn’t what she expected, but her time in life had taught her that few things turn out the way ponies expect them to.
With the element of surprise and her powerful earth pony strength, Applejack pinned Rainbow to the hardwood floor like a proud hunter. "Come on now, ya varmint. Tell me already!"
Rainbow struggled and squirmed a bit more between laughs before finally giving up. Defeated, but far from disappointed, she looked up into Applejack's eyes.
"It's been about a year now. Ever since we tracked you down in Dodge Junction. I saw how much you wanted to come back with that prize money. Even when you didn't win, you didn't give up. You did everything you could to turn that loss into a win."
"I was a dang fool," Applejack admitted. "I can't even believe I was gonna leave my kin and friends behind. I guess I got a taste of what it's like to be you sometimes."
Faster than Applejack could see, Rainbow slipped out of the pin. Hooves and hair flew in a blur and stopped just as abruptly. Applejack opened her eyes in shock as it dawned on her that Rainbow had reversed her pin.
"Hah! See, the difference is, I would have won the first time."
A dismissive sigh escaped Applejack's lips. "Sure, sugarcube. Whatever you say... but I gotta ask..."
Rainbow tilted her head quizzically.
A blush broke out on Applejack's face.
"If you've had your eye on me for so long, why are you just now getting around to it? Were you afraid?"
The smile ran away from Rainbow’s face.
"Yeah, I was. It wasn’t until today that I decided to suck it up and ask.”
Rainbow stepped back and helped Applejack to her hooves.
"Today? You mean with Tank? What's that got to do with it?"
"Because today," Rainbow started, "I wasn't afraid of what you'd say anymore. I was afraid I might never get the chance. What if I woke up, and you suddenly weren't here anymore? I had to ask... because tomorrow I might not be able to."
So that’s why Rainbow started with that question. She knew all too well what Rainbow was going through. Here today, gone tomorrow. You don’t know what you got until it’s gone. You can’t go home again. Everything is temporary. Only the chicken knows the egg.
Applejack wasn’t sure about that last one, but Derpy had told it to her with such a solemn tone and with such reverence that Applejack was sure it had to be applicable. The point was, say what you can today, because there might not be a tomorrow.
"You've got it."
Rainbow stood to attention like a soldier. "Wait, what?"
The hardwood floor creaked under Applejack's hooves as she closed the distance between them. She brushed Rainbow's mane gently and smiled.
"Your date. You've got it. Meet me here at seven in the evening. I trust even a scamp like you can treat a pony like me right?"
"I.... I didn't actually think you'd say yes," Rainbow sputtered. "I don't even know where we're going."
Walking to the door, Applejack held it open and waved a hoof through it. "Well, ya got all night tonight and tomorrow to think on it."
"Yeah! I will, that's for sure. Thanks Applejack. See you tomorrow," Rainbow said, hovering out the door.
"Oh, and Rainbow?"
The pegasus turned, hovering in place.
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you spoke up."
With a mighty flap of her wings, Rainbow tore off into the night sky. Applejack’s words echoed in her mind. She smiled to herself and, though the pony in question wasn’t around to hear it, she said the words anyway.
"Yeah, me too."
