Gifts are tricky, aren't they?
“Aw, come on! You’ve got to be kidding me!” the young woman exclaims to herself in an exhausted tone, looking at the barren store doors with a sense of urgency. The cold winter’s air bites at her nose, but the adrenaline running through her veins is the only thing she can possibly focus on right now. Rainbow Dash is known to be quite air-headed, but this is a new low for the athlete… Normally, she isn’t this late to Christmas shopping, but this year has especially been hectic with all the threats of magic at school. Now, it’s the day of the holiday she’s shopping for and her depressed sighs only show how bad she feels.
Kicking the snow slightly, Rainbow Dash groans to herself, bringing her hands to her head. She should have known all the stores would be closed, but that idea evaded her thoughts when she woke up today. She already had gifts for everyone. Everyone except her best friend…
“God, I’m so screwed,” Rainbow Dash sighs to herself, scraping her foot across the icy ground. “How could I have forgotten a gift for AJ?! She’s always harping on about the meaning of Christmas! I should have remembered! God, Dash!” Taking a deep breath, Dash shakes her head, turning away from the store. Even though this revelation would render most people hopeless, Rainbow Dash has an odd sense of determination to her. Some call it stubborn. Others say it is loyalty. “Okay! I can do this! I haven’t checked the other stores. Surely something is open, right?” In her desperate attempt to reassure herself, Dash takes off running down the street, thinking of a couple other possible locations. Surely, she could get a gift from one of them. At least, that’s what she keeps trying to tell herself.
The ice on the sidewalk certainly makes it difficult for Dash to keep her balance, but her mind isn’t concerned with the dangerous situation at all. Instead, her main goal is to get a good gift for Christmas before it is too late. The Christmas party is in a few hours, so she is in a time crunch right about now. The only problem is that she can’t think of a good gift for her more southern friend. Even if one of the stores was open, what could she possibly get that Applejack would actually use? Her friend is a strong and resilient farm hand who sees little value in decorations or comfort items. In fact, Dash can’t remember if she’s ever seen Applejack value something like a stuffed animal. All her valued items have some sort of intrinsic use. Things that do some type of work…
Maybe she could get her some type of tool… Though, that would heavily depend on if she can find a tool that Applejack doesn’t have yet. This is why Christmas is almost always the most stressful time in Dash’s life. She never knows what to buy her friends and it always makes her feel a little inadequate. Despite how many excuses she may throw around, Dash knows that the only person to blame for all of this is herself… Thinking of good gift ideas is something that Rainbow Dash needs to work on. Especially after this fiasco.
Sliding across the ice, Rainbow Dash stops in front of one of the other stores in the area. Her wild eyes look at the doors to see if there’s any sign of life from inside. Unfortunately for the athlete, no light or movement comes from inside the establishment, making her heart drop a little more. “Okay… Only a couple more possible places. One of them has to be open. They have to,” Dash tells herself with a deep breath and a shake of her head. The universe itself seems to be laughing at the poor girl, the winter breeze biting at her skin and every place she goes to is closed. No, as much as she wants to blame the universe, Dash knows that this is because of her own procrastination.
It’s not like she dislikes her friends, right…? No, she loves her friends. Her procrastination isn’t due to any distrust she has of them. Instead, she just slept all of winter break, so she has no one to blame but herself. Sighing once again, Dash zips down the sidewalk, making her way to the next store she thought of. All she needs is one gift. One thing that can make it look like she didn’t forget to buy her friend a gift. This task seems more impossible as the seconds tick away. If there’s one thing Dash learned from this, she knew that she would have to go shopping earlier next year.
Pulling out her phone, Dash quickly starts looking up the next store to find out if they are open. Even though her heart is beating quickly, Dash ignores it and keeps running down the street. Her focus trained onto her phone’s screen. “Damn it. They’re closed too,” Dash mutters to herself, sliding on the ice to turn to the right quickly. “Think, Dash. There has to be something…” Running down an alleyway, Dash quickly jumps over a couple of boxes, taking multiple breaths in the span of a minute. Normally, something like this wouldn’t be tiring for her. It’s the winter air that makes her feel slower. The last thing she could focus on was the cold…
Zipping around a corner, Rainbow Dash’s eyes widen as she sees the person in front of her. A younger girl wrapped up in winter attire walks down the street with her bow bouncing up and down. An idea quickly comes to Dash’s mind, making her feel slightly conflicted. Of course this girl would know what to get for Applejack. She’s her younger sister after all…
“Apple Bloom!” Dash calls out, running towards the girl. Apple Bloom looks over her shoulder, smiling and giving a small wave to Dash.
“Hiya, Dash! You’re still coming to the Christmas party, right?” Apple Bloom’s attempt at pleasantries is inevitably ignored by the athlete, Dash quickly pushing her phone back into her pocket.
“Not a lot of time to explain, kid. Do you know what your sister would like for Christmas and where to get it?” Dash asks her through heavy breaths, trying to fight the cold as much as she can. Apple Bloom raises her eyebrow at Dash’s request and shrugs her shoulders quietly. A gesture that makes Rainbow Dash feel uneasy.
“I don’t think anywhere is open today… Other than restaurants. Did ya forget to get her a gift?” Apple Bloom asks Dash with a raised eyebrow. Dash nervously chuckles, only really confirming Apple Bloom’s suspicion.
“Uh… Yeah. Don’t tell your sister about that. I’m really trying to find something to give her.” The desperation in Dash’s voice makes Apple Bloom sigh quietly to herself, bringing her gloved hand to her face.
“Listen to me. I highly doubt you will find something in this time frame. It’s only a couple hours until the party. How about ya just go to the party and buy my big sis something afterward?” Apple Bloom’s suggestion doesn’t sit well with Dash… In fact, it almost makes her want to vomit out of guilt. How pathetic would she look to buy someone a gift after Christmas? Sure, a lot of people do it, but Dash is a woman of pride. There’s no way she would let that happen.
“I can’t do that. I REALLY can’t do that. I would be really ashamed and… You get the idea!” Dash tells Apple Bloom with a groan, shaking her head. “I can’t let myself do that. Surely there’s some idea you have, right?” A conflicted expression dawns on Apple Bloom’s face, only making Dash feel more hopeless. That isn’t a sign of good news… The only thought swirling through Dash’s mind is the fact that she should have done this sooner.
“How about ya make her something? I know that doesn’t sound like a good idea, but my big sis loves sentimental stuff from her friends.” Dash opens her eyes wider, about to dismiss Apple Bloom’s idea. The thought is absurd. Dash isn’t that talented at making things… The best she could do is make some sort of bad bracelet or something. It wasn’t even worth thinking about. Unless…
“Make her something, huh? That could… actually work,” Dash slowly states, standing upright with a thoughtful look on her face. She only has a couple hours, but she could probably make it within that time. All she has to do is look up a video online and she would be golden, right? “Thanks for the advice, Apple Bloom! I’ll see you at the party!” Dash quickly tells her before turning around and running down the street. This could be a lost cause, but Dash doesn’t really have any other options at this point. All she can do is hope that this won’t be a lost cause.
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“Oh? A wool sweater~ Aw, thank you so much, Rarity,” Sunset says to her friend, hugging the gift with a smile. Even though this party has been pretty active, the gift exchange is pretty quiet and peaceful. Despite this peaceful turn of events, Dash is still nervous beyond comparison… Every other gift she had for the other girls was just a store bought present. For some reason, the closer it gets to giving her gift to Applejack, it makes her feel more anxious. Was it because she made it herself? Perhaps it is due to the possible fear of rejection. What if her friend doesn’t like it? She’s never made a gift before and it feels… really scary. It feels so much easier to just buy a gift and offer to return it if the recipient doesn’t like it.
Instead, Dash holds a small box that is the size of her hand, constantly worried about what Applejack may think of it. “It’s no problem, darling~ Who wants to go next?” Rarity asks the group of friends. Before Twilight can say anything, Rainbow Dash quickly stands up. Dash put a lot of thought into this gift, even if it didn’t take her a long time to make it. As nervous as she is to give it to Applejack, she knows she can’t wait a second longer…
“Here you go, Applejack. I hope you like it,” Rainbow Dash tells her friend quietly, giving her the small box. The size of the present makes Applejack tilt her head slightly, seemingly curious about what is inside. Everyone else looks on in curiosity as well due to the fact that Dash never told anyone what she got for the cowgirl. The only one who knows what is inside the box is Dash herself… The fact that she made it herself only makes this moment more torturous for the athlete…
Applejack slowly unwraps the box, being careful to not rip the wrapping paper. Opening the box, Applejack’s eyes widen with surprise, making everyone else seem even more curious as to what Dash could have given her. “Why this sure is something, Dash~” Applejack says with a happy tone to her voice, slowly pulling out the small gift. In her hand, Applejack holds a small bracelet made from braided shoelaces. Blue and yellow represent the colors of their school and Dash can’t help but feel curious, wondering if her friend actually likes the gift. “Where did you get this, sugarcube?” Applejack asks her with a smile, slipping on the bracelet.
“I didn’t get it anywhere,” Dash slowly states, leaning back in her seat. Everyone looks at Rainbow Dash with confusion, seemingly wondering what she meant. Before Pinkie Pie can say anything, Dash takes a deep breath. “I made it. With the shoelaces from the tennis shoes you helped me get a couple years ago.” Rainbow Dash looks at Applejack for any sign of what she may think, seeing the cowgirl’s smile grow wider.
“You made this for me? Thank you so much, Rainbow~” Applejack stands up from her seat and gives her friend a hug, making Dash clear her throat in an attempt to compose herself.
“Yeah yeah. It wasn’t a big deal.” Despite how much Rainbow Dash attempts to act like this doesn’t mean a lot to her, she can’t help but smile at the thought that her friend really enjoyed her last minute gift idea. Returning the hug, Dash shakes her head, acting annoyed. Deep down, however… Dash enjoyed giving this gift the most out of any other this holiday. Maybe she will make her friends gifts next Christmas too. If she doesn’t forget about it again.
