“Ma’am, no smoking on the train.”
Rainbow inhaled in surprise, snapping her lighter shut with a start. “Ah! Sorry, sorry. I wasn’t-- yeah, sorry.”
The conductor shrugged before continuing down the aisle.
Rainbow waited a few seconds before she pulled the lighter from her jacket pocket again, bouncing it up and down in her hoof with a frown. The scenery passed her by outside, but she paid it no mind. There wasn't anything worthwhile to look at out there anyways.
She turned the lighter over in her hoof, staring down at the engraved Wonderbolts logo near the bottom. It whispered to her, carrying the ghost of a conversation passed.
“I don’t smoke, Spits.”
“Trust me, you will. If not that, then maybe something worse.”
“Worse?”
“Worse. Trust me on that.”
Maybe she should have listened. Maybe if she had taken that step to ruining her lungs, then she wouldn’t have exploded at Spitfire. Then she wouldn’t be on this train, forced into a vacation.
Forced to go home. She never thought she’d see the day when she’d actually have to be forced to go see the ponies most important to her.
Rainbow sighed, shoving the lighter back into her pocket. She leaned against the window, feeling as the cool surface pressed against her head, and closed her eyes.
She didn’t smoke. There were times like this when she wished she did.
The Ponyville Station was as barren and empty as the Appleoosan Desert. Rainbow had come expecting this, but the sight was still somewhat sobering to her. Pinkie Pie was busy with Sugarcube Corner. Rarity was in Manehattan, Twilight was in Canterlot, and Fluttershy was visiting the Dragonlands. Which of course just left…
“Howdy Rainbow!”
Rainbow smiled as Applejack charged towards her. Her friend skidded to a halt in front of her, raised a hoof awkwardly, then put it back down again. Whatever words she had never left her mouth.
“Heya, AJ,” Rainbow replied, offering a hoof.
Applejack bumped with a smile. “Glad to see ya still in one piece.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Girl, have you read your own letters? I was half-worried you’d pass out from that bleedin’ heart of yours!”
Rainbow laughed, loud and gravelly. “You’re not suggesting that I got soft, are you?”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “C’mon Dash, you’ve always been a big softie.”
“What?! Have not! Wonderbolts are tough as nails, AJ! We don’t get soft.” Rainbow crossed her forelegs and pouted.
Unfortunately this only got a snort out of Applejack. “Rainbow, you can be both soft and cool y’know.”
Rainbow stuck out her tongue. “Fluttershy is soft. Ice cream is soft. I am not.”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Come on now, let’s get to that party.”
“Party? I thought Pinkie was busy?” Rainbow asked.
“She… was,” Applejack confessed. “I took the reins on it.” Her smile wavered as they began walking out of the station. “I, uh… gotta confess that it ain’t as good as one of hers, but I gave it all I could. Couldn’t let you show up without one at any rate.”
There was a pang in Rainbow’s heart as she watched Applejack falter. A flash of concern shot through her system, and her mind quickly produced a question. One that she had been dying to ask.
But instead, she put on a brave face and did what she always did: acted tough. “I’m sure it’ll be great!” Rainbow exclaimed, punching the air for emphasis. She quickly flashed a smile, hoping it would convince her.
“Heh. Well… don’t get your hopes up, sugarcube,” Applejack replied with a smile of her own.
It was brighter than Rainbow’s. She didn’t know if that worried her.
“This is… This is a great party!”
Rainbow looked around the room, a wide smile plastered on her face.
Applejack laughed. “You don’t need to humor me, Rainbow. It’s awful.”
“Well…”
The room Applejack had booked was dim and damp. Several of the overhead lights were broken, and the floorboards were scuffed, scratched, and stained. A few tables were lined against the far wall, offering a rather sorry selection of concessions: a bowl of fruit punch, bagels, bags of chips, coffee, and water.
On the far end of the room was a temporary stage made from wooden pallets, and set out in front of it was a series of beat-up folding chairs in rows.
A few ponies milled around the room, lounging in chairs or leaning against the walls.
“It’s definitely an interesting atmosphere,” Rainbow faltered. “Reminds me of…”
“An Alcoholics Anonymous meeting?” guessed Applejack. “Heck, some of these ponies probably do think it’s one.” Her smile quickly fell away as she shot Rainbow a nervous glance. “Rainbow, I’m really sorry, I tried. Fact is… it’s 3:00 on a Wednesday. And ponies are workin’, plus I’ve been busy with the farmwork and the rest of the girls aren’t in town... Aw, consarnit, now I’m just makin’ excuses…”
“No no!” Rainbow quickly interjected. “This is… this is great! I mean, it says on the wall right there, great party!” She pointed at the right wall, where a few cardboard letters spelt out “GRT PRTY!”
Applejack blushed hard, tugging on the brim of her hat. “I, uh… ran out of letters,” she muttered. “The exclamation mark is an upside down ‘i’.”
“Uh, well… if it says great party, then it’s gotta be great… party. Yeah…” Rainbow rubbed the back of her head as she sputtered out the words.
Rainbow tried looking behind Applejack but two young ponies were standing there, locking their lips together with furious intent. Fighting back a blush, Rainbow decided to study the floorboards instead.
“Why don’t I get the music on?” Applejack suggested. “Help yourself to the food.” With that, Applejack set off for the stage, where a pony standing next to a record player was waiting.
With an awkward sigh, Rainbow went over to the table, idly rummaging through the bag of paper plates. Her eyes drifted around the room, looking at the tired, haggard faces of the occupants. She frowned when she realized that none of them were familiar. When did I get so out of touch with Ponyville? Used to know almost everyone here…
She craned her neck to look at the stage. Applejack appeared to be having a quiet argument with the white-hatted mare next to the record player, judging by the way they gestured to the player. Applejack would stomp her hoof and wave, but the other mare hugged the player tightly and stuck her tongue out in response.
Rainbow smiled a bit at that, remembering the way she’d argue with Applejack for hours on end over something silly. Whether it be cider or doing chores, or whether it was ethical to take naps in trees, the two always found something to disagree on.
There were hoofsteps behind her, and Rainbow realized one of the other guests was waiting. She hurriedly shoved a bag of chips into her jacket pocket and retreated to the corner of the room. The pony nodded and went over to the punch, only to stick his face inches from the surface and inhale deeply.
“...yeah, not drinking that,” Rainbow muttered. She shuddered, digging around in her pocket and pulling out a small, clear bottle.
“What do you mean by, ‘you will?’”
“I’m saying most everyone ends up with a vice of some sort. This kind of thing… it wears on you. Hard. Family, friends, yourself, everything. The odd hours, time changes, it can really mess you up. Can’t say I approve of it, but… sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.”
“I… hm.”
“Don’t mean it as a bad thing, Rainbow. But frankly I’m not an optimist. And if you ever need to talk--”
“I think I get it, thanks.”
“Rainbow?”
With a gasp, Rainbow flinched and the bottle fell from her hooves. It rolled on the floor until it came to a stop in front of Applejack’s hoof.
“..what’re these?” she asked, picking them up and giving them back to Rainbow.
“Painkillers,” Rainbow answered. “Sprained my wing awhile ago.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “You take any? Still looks full to me.”
“No,” Rainbow confessed. “Pain’s not that bad.”
There was a second of silence before it was quite literally shattered by four crashes of a cymbal and an explosion of guitar, followed by a guttural scream.
“Sorry,” Applejack yelled over the din. “Cousin Fiddle’s really particular about her music!”
Applejack glanced over at the player, where the mare manning it was furiously thrashing her head up and down to the beat of the music. The mare met her eyes and stuck out her tongue, to which Applejack rolled her eyes. “... go outside?”
“Sure.”
Rainbow led the way, and the two quickly excused themselves to step into the cold and plain hallway.
“So… you ain’t takin’ your meds,” Applejack continued.
“Yeah? Don’t think it’s a big deal.”
“Sugar, if the doctors say you should take ‘em…”
Rainbow sighed, holding a hoof to her face. “AJ, I said I’m fine.”
“You’ve been wrong on that before,” Applejack countered.
“I don’t need you to remind me!”
Another silence passed, accentuated only by the faint thumping of bass from inside the party room.
“I’m sorry,” Rainbow quickly said, eyes dropping to the floor again.
“Nah, you got nothin’ to be sorry for,” Applejack replied softly. “Reckon after all these years I still know how to push your buttons.”
That got a chuckle out of Rainbow. “Yeah, I guess so.” She stared at the floorboards only to see them blur in front of her.
“Rainbow?” Two orange blobs stepped into her view. “What’s wrong, Rainbow?”
“N-Nothing,” Rainbow muttered, silently cursing her eyes for betraying her while swiping at them.
Applejack was quiet for a second. “... is it the party?” she asked quietly.
“No!” Rainbow blurted.
“... is it me?”
Rainbow didn’t reply.
Applejack picked up a hoof and slowly lifted Rainbow’s chin, forcing her to stare into her bright green eyes.
“Can… can I level with you, AJ?” Rainbow finally asked.
“Of course, Rainbow.”
Rainbow sighed, blinking rapidly a few times. “I… I’m scared. Scared of letting you all down. See, I found out that a lot of the Wonderbolts are… well, not great. Some of them are hooked on smoking, others drinking… sometimes drugs. Spitfire says it’s been a pretty big problem, because of all the things we deal with. Stress, pressure, being away from home, time zone changes, that kind of stuff.
“And I’m trying to stay clean, y’know? I get tempted and stuff, but… I just keep thinking of you girls. And how you’d all be so disappointed in me. But it’s tough because…” Rainbow sucked in a breath, not bothering to hide her words with a smile this time. “Because I miss you. I miss all of you, but you the most, because I could always count on you to set me straight. And missing you sucks. I just… never said anything, because I didn’t want to face the aftermath.”
Applejack smiled. “Aw, sugarcube, I wish you told me you felt like that. I’ve missed you too, Rainbow. And y’know what, I’m proud of you for stayin’ loyal like that.”
“It’s my element, duh,” Rainbow answered haughtily. “But… yeah. I couldn’t take it anymore. So I came home. Also I… might be here for longer than I said. Spitfire kinda forced me into a mandatory vacation.”
“Oh, Rainbow. What’d you do?”
“May have said some… not great things about her and her habits,” Rainbow answered.
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “How long’d she exile you for?”
Rainbow muttered something under her breath.
Applejack took off her hat and smacked her with it. “You’re gonna be here for that long?! And I bet you didn’t even set any livin’ arrangements or nothin’.”
“I… was gonna stay in my cloudhouse!” Rainbow protested.
“Really? The one that you sold years ago?’
“Oh, yeah.” Rainbow chuckled weakly. “Uh… stay with you?”
“You bet your rear you are,” Applejack replied, face flush with anger.
They stared at each other before bursting into laughter.
Applejack shook her head, clicking her tongue. “You still get a rise out of me, you know that?”
“Hey, you push my buttons and I’ll push yours,” Rainbow replied.
In that second, she made a decision. Rainbow stepped forwards and spread her wings, pulling Applejack into a hug. Her friend didn’t resist, and it didn’t take a second thought for her to hug back. “Aw, you did get soft,” Applejack cooed.
“I should have done this years ago,” Rainbow replied.
They broke their embrace, and Applejack jerked her head to the party room. “Well, I know it ain’t much, but you wanna enjoy what little’s there?”
“Why not,” Rainbow agreed. “Besides, I don’t think I’ll ever have another welcome home party like that again.”
“I sure hope not,” Applejack exclaimed. “I wouldn’t wish this kind of party on anyone.”
The two laughed, trotting back into the grim room and shutting the door behind them.
