So...what DID you read, Rainbow?
After a tiring day at school, there was, of course, one place in all of Canterlot that the students of CHS loved to come to, and that was the local milkshake bar. This place, which did not have Pinkie Pie working it for today, was abuzz with activity, as was often the case as soon as the school day had ended. And it was not just CHS students here, but kids from all over, including the occasional visitor from Crystal Prep. Even so, the truly notable patrons here for the afternoon were Rainbow Dash and Applejack, both of whom wore wide smiles as they downed their respective milkshakes. As was usually the case with these two, they did so in a blatantly competitive manner, glaring at one another as they slurped and slurped. When it was done, Rainbow emerged as the victor, and soon enough, the young athlete folded her arms and leaned back into her chair, looking more than a little smug. Applejack rolled her eyes, but nevertheless acknowledged her friend's victory. Unfortunately, this friendly competition was interrupted by a wince on the part of the farmer, and she gripped her still-bandaged hand while a grimace took hold of her expression.
"Still giving you trouble?" Rainbow asked.
Sighing, Applejack nodded, even though she was clearly reluctant to do so.
"Yeah...Nurse Redheart says it'll still be a few weeks before it's back up ta scratch."
She grumbled after having said that.
"Ah hate this! Ah got so much work ta do!"
Chuckling, Rainbow leaned forward.
"Don't sweat it, AJ! Push comes to shove, you can always count on me!"
Looking to her, Applejack broke out into another smile, returning the laugh.
"Well, ya definitely helped me out today, Rainbow. Thanks again."
Rainbow tired her best to look and sound modest, even though her need to puff up her accomplishments was clearly seeping through in her words.
"Yeah, well, when you got super-speed, I guess it is pretty easy."
Applejack considered that, and then, as time went on, she narrowed her eyes slightly.
"...Rainbow?"
The other girl looked to her.
"Yeah?"
A pause, and then, Applejack asked her the question that had been on her mind this whole time.
"How much did ya read?"
For a just a moment, Rainbow seemed confused, and Applejack, frowning slightly, elaborated.
“Mah diary?”
Immediately, Rainbow took on a somewhat nervous look, and she scratched the back of her head, trying her best to avoid looking her friend in the eye.
"What? Oh, that! Well, you know...not much? Maybe one page? Probably not even that, come to think of it. Probably not enough for you to worry about it."
Applejack's eyes narrowed further, and within her mind, it was as if some imaginary radar had suddenly sprung into being. It beeped and beeped with every word that came out of Rainbow's mouth, getting faster with every passing moment.
"Are ya absolutely sure?"
Rainbow, who was staring to sweat now, and still avoiding Applejack's gaze, nodded.
"Er...yeah?"
The radar went off, blaring loudly in the farm girl's head. And so, after leaning back into her chair, she let out a sigh.
"So...what did ya see in there?"
Rainbow's head snapped in her direction, and she opened and closed her mouth several times over, in a way rather reminiscent of a gaping fish. These false starts were, it had to be said, a fairly clear display that she had no idea how to verbally defend herself right now. But Applejack, contrary to how people might have expected her to react, instead just kept calm about the whole situation.
"Rainbow...ah ain't mad."
Rainbow paused, looking left and right for a moment, before turning back to her colleague, her expression just the tiniest bit sceptical.
"You're...not?"
Applejack shook her head.
"Nope. Ah'm jus' a little sore ya'd lie ta me bout it."
A look of understandable shame came to Rainbow, and she once more looked away from her friend. But, this time, it was far more brief, and she looked back to her soon afterwards, speaking in a genuinely apologetic tone.
"I'm sorry, AJ. It's just...I guess I let my curiosity get the better of me."
Hearing that, Applejack could feel that her classmate had meant every word of that, and that, as one would expect, dulled the feeling of disappointment she’d been experiencing over this whole mess. So, taking in a deep breath, she once more looked to her friend with a smile.
"Don' worry about it. After all ya did fer me today, ah think ah can let that one slide."
Rainbow let out a sigh of relief so deep that Applejack couldn't help but chuckle to it. But, before either of them had the chance to say anything else, they were interrupted by the arrival of the bar's waitress, who promptly served them a tray with yet another pair of milkshakes. After taking the glasses, both girls gave her an appreciative smile, which she returned, before watching her go off to take the orders of some of the other customers. As before, the two slurped them down heartily, to the point where both glasses were practically emptied after just a few moments. As they set the glasses down, they let out contented sighs, after which, Applejack looked once more to Rainbow, this time with a degree of curiosity.
"...So?"
Rainbow looked back to her, confused.
"...So...what?"
Rolling her eyes, Applejack elaborated.
"So...what did ya read in there?"
A slight blush came to Rainbow at that, and after a few false starts, she started to confess.
"Oh, you know, nothing much. I sorta expected it to be full of juicy stuff. You know, some deep dark secrets and the like? But really, it was...well..."
Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"...What?"
Sighing, Rainbow looked her right in the eye.
"It was boring, AJ!"
Applejack, understandably, seemed surprised by this.
"Boring?! But...ah write all sorts o’ stuff in there!"
Rainbow nodded.
"Yeah, but...it's all everyday stuff! Like how you fixed your family's chicken coop the other day. Or how you took Winona for a walk. You know, normal stuff. Not the kind of stuff diaries are kept for!"
Applejack frowned.
"Well pardon me, Missy! Ah ain't really the diary type! Ah got that thing as a present from Granny fer mah Birthday one day an'...well...ah never knew what ta write in there. So, ah jus' wrote stuff that happened in ma day."
Folding her arms again, Rainbow nodded.
"You know what? That's actually fine."
Blinking slowly, Applejack regarded her carefully.
"It...it is?"
Another laugh from Rainbow.
"Sure. I mean, yeah, I was kinda disappointed there wasn't anything steamy in there, but...hey, if that's the kind of stuff you wanna write about, then that's the kind of stuff you wanna write about."
Applejack thought on that, and after a while, broke out into a smile.
"Well...glad we got that settled."
Chuckling once more, Rainbow raised her glass, silently holding it out for her friend, and Applejack, seeing that, smirked slightly before picking up her own drink. Together, they toasted, before once more gulping down their shakes. But, as they set the glasses down again, Applejack stared at Rainbow, eyebrow arched.
"Tell me...do you have a diary?"
Rainbow looked to her like a rabbit caught in headlights.
"Um...no?"
And the radar went off. Even though mind-reading was Sunset’s ability, Rainbow could nevertheless see that image in her friend’s head. Gulping, she once more panicked about what to say to get out of that situation, only to pause when, at that moment, she realised that there was no getting out of this. Fair was fair, no matter how much she might have wanted to deny it. So, resigned to her fate, she slumped into her chair, bearing a clear look of defeat as she answered her friend.
“Okay...I’ll get it to you after school tomorrow.”
Applejack, looking more than a little victorious, gave a short nod.
“That’s mighty decent o’ ya, Rainbow.”
Then, a new thought sprang to mind for Rainbow, and her eyes widened greatly. She sat up, looked her friend right in the eye, and spoke, her voice slightly apprehensive.
“But...for the record...anything you read in there about Flash was written before I found out he was my brother, okay?”
Hearing all that, Applejack’s prior smile faded a little, and she broke eye contact with Rainbow, gazing out of the window instead.
“On second thought...maybe ah don’ need ta read yer diary.”
