The Ember Effect

The day after the dance was, or at least Rainbow Dash expected it to be, the beginning of her life returning to normal. The newness of two of her besties dating had faded, with the rumor mill taking its course at the dance and the revelation becoming old news. It seemed to not bother her as much, as long as she didn’t have to be near them, and now even the party was a thing of the past. This was the beginning of the rest of her life, and Rainbow Dash was determined to make it awesome.

That is… until she left her house. Something just seemed off.

It couldn’t be the weather; it had been like this for weeks. “Rainbow Dash, we need a little bit more cloud-cover in the air, our crops are starting to blah, blah, blah…” It was always clouds: Cold and clouds, rain and clouds, a light breeze and clouds… she hadn’t seen the sun for what seemed like two months. And with winter just around the corner, she probably would be seeing snow before the sun came back out.

So, what could it be? Everything just seemed so… dull. Maybe she was just riding the after-party high, where reality seemed so unimpressive in comparison. Maybe with nothing too insanely stressful, the average day-to-day life just seemed unfit for Rainbow Dash’s awesomeness.

Or maybe she just knew that it would be forever until she could just hang out with Vinyl Scratch again.

Oh, for Celestia’s sake, I have tons of friends! Sure, Vinyl is awesome, but so is everypony else! I can’t be getting all sappy over it. When we do hang out, it just makes it that much more awesome. The thoughts were, Rainbow Dash knew, poor comfort, but she had to convince herself that, despite how much she wished she could party like that every night, Vinyl Scratch would be moving on to her next gig before Rainbow Dash knew it. And she couldn’t follow. Why? Because Ponyville—and more importantly, her friends—needed her here.

She was the living embodiment of loyalty, for heck’s sake! She couldn’t go off deserting her friends just because one night of awesomeness with an old friend. That’s not cool, and Rainbow Dash should know. She was kinda the embodiment of cool.

Descending from her flying mansion in the sky (or at least she liked to think of it as a mansion), she soared down to the little town below. The other winged weather ponies had taken care of the skies; meaning that all Rainbow Dash had to do was enjoy her day.

Taking this opportunity to maybe just get a little bit of down time, she decided to find one of her friends. As she flew slowly through the streets of Ponyville, she thought of potential candidates. It was Sunday, which meant most of Ponyville would be out enjoying their weekend. She glanced around, seeing the various residents go about their mid-morning chores. There had to be somepony around that she knew. She would settle for anypony at this point.

She gave a brief sigh. Maybenot anypony. There were two, in fact. She still couldn’t do it. Being around Twilight or Applejack was still just so weird… And right now? She didn’t want weird. Maybe she just needed another day or two until she was ready for—

“Hiya, Rainbow!” Rainbow Dash froze in mid-flight, visibly wincing from those words. The country lace to them could only mean one thing: it was Applejack.

She wasn’t mad at Applejack. In fact, it was the exact opposite: she was really happy for AJ, and immensely proud of her. Her friend had found her happiness, and it turned out to be right in front of her! That was just wicked awesome. But being around either of those love-ponies just—as much as she hated to admit it—made her uncomfortable.

Why? She didn’t want to even go there. She knew in the end, it was her being—not jealous—just… envious. Was there even a difference? She didn’t like either of them—heck, she didn’t even like girls! They were two of her bestest friends in the entire world—but seeing them together so much made her… feel alone. Why didn’t she have somepony like that, too? Why was nopony there for her? There with her?

In a weird way, it took two of her bestest friends getting together, to make her realize she didn’t have somepony, herself. And every little thing they did, every word of affection they didn’t even realize they were saying, just highlighted how lonely Rainbow Dash hadn’t realized she was.

But, like she had done last night, she put a brave face on, smiling as she swooped down to circle her friend: “Hiya, yourself!” she welcomed, landed right next to Applejack. “What’re you doing out here with the city-folk?” she teased, nudging her with her shoulder.

“Well, I was honestly just goin’ to see Twilight,” she sheepishly answered. “But we really do need to get together sometime, Dash. I feel like I haven’t see ya in ages!”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head a moment, pretending to be in deep thought. “Yeah, I guess it has been a while, huh? We should definitely do that, sometime…”

Applejack thought a moment, taking a second to lean against the wall of the nearby restaurant they had stopped outside of. “Well, how’s about tomorrow night? You could stay over at the farm, and we could make a day of it!”

Rainbow Dash froze. To be completely honest? That sounded great—if it was old Applejack. If this was the Applejack that would wake her up at the crack of dawn, having already made breakfast. If it was old Applejack, who would talk about the weirdest stuff, but would have the weirdest passion about it. She would have loved to, if she knew the day was going to be about them pitting their stubbornness against each other, seeing who the best was at the stupidest of things.

But this wasn’t the old Applejack. This was going to be the new Applejack—who was just like the old Applejack, minus one very small, yet very important detail: she had Twilight. It was like Applejack had found a new source of attention in all aspects of her life, replacing every single friend she had with one overarching obsession. And Rainbow Dash was pretty positive that this new replacement would be the center of AJ’s attention, whether Twilight was there or not. And that many hours of talking about her new girlfriend? That didn’t exactly sound like a fun time.

“I—ah—can’t make it then. Sorry AJ. I have…plans.” The word came out before Rainbow Dash could stop it. Of course, she didn’t have plans… she didn’t even know what she was doing for lunch, let alone tomorrow night. But now, apparently, she did. What those plans were… what, exactly? She just hoped that AJ didn’t—

“Oh, whatcha doin’? Anything excitin’?” the country pony asked, her curiosity piqued.

Panic. It was pure panic that answered the question: “I have a—uh—a thing that I gotta do...” Smooth, Rainbow Dash. Very smooth, she thought, mentally face-hooving her own stupidity.

“Right,” Applejack said, lifting an eyebrow at her friend. Rainbow Dash’s panic was bubbling over, at this point. Just under that look of confusion, she could see AJ had a small look of pain in her eye. She knew that something was wrong, she just couldn’t place what, and, with the massive heart that AJ had, she was going to the directly worst situation possible: that Rainbow Dash didn’t want to be around her.

Was it true? Absolutely. Was it wrong? …Absolutely. But Rainbow Dash just didn’t want to spend a night listening to her drawl on about Twilight. It wasn’t anything more sinister than that. Applejack, of course, wouldn’t jump to that conclusion. She’d jump to something way worse. Heck, she might even assume that Rainbow Dash didn’t like that they were dating. That was a total possibility. So, she had to double down.

“I—I—” Rainbow dash didn’t even know what to say. What should she do? Give up and go hang out with AJ? No, that’d only make it look entirely more suspicious. But what kind of event would take up an entire night? She stumbled through her catalogue of excuses, picking out the only one that seemed even remotely possible for filling her alibi: “I have a date, okay?”

Applejack’s look of hurt turned into one of disbelief… and then, surprisingly, joy. “Well now! Gotta say I didn’t see that comin’! Who’s the lucky pony?” she asked, looking over Rainbow Dash’s shoulder, apparently expecting to see the new special somepony lurking in the shadows somewhere.

A DATE? The question was Rainbow Dash’s first thought. Why did I say I had a DATE? What in Equestria am I supposed to say now? I can’t say it’s a secret—she’ll know I’m lying. If I do answer, I’ll have to… I don’t even know! Make someone up? Her mind was racing with potential candidates, but none of the ideas even made any sense. The dance had just happened the night prior. Everypony knew everypony’s relationship status. And if she couldn’t find anypony for that, she certainly wasn’t going to create a convincing lie in a few seconds.

In an act of desperation, she began to look over Applejack’s own shoulder. Maybe this date of hers would be lurking in the shadows... Or maybe, just out in the open. She wasn’t exactly being picky, right now. First pony you see, Dash, first pony you see.

Applejack immediately caught on to the roaming gaze, her eyes narrowing into a glare. “I knew it, Rainbow Dash! You don’t even have a—“

“Fluttershy! I—it’s Fluttershy.”She blurted, spotting the pink-maned Pegasus stepping along the cobbled path a few paces away. At hearing her own voice, the pink-maned pony lifted her head before smiling and began to trot over.

Fluttershy! Fluttershy? Of all the ponies I could have picked, I picked FLUTTERSHY? I could have picked any pony else that I wanted—literally anypony—and it would have made more sense. But there is no way that—

“I—yes?” The small voice of Fluttershy approached, and instantly Rainbow Dash could feel the worst, most foreign feeling in the history of her existence creeping up on her: she started to blush.

Rainbow Dash, in all of her years of living, had never been this embarrassed. She had never done anything that put her in a tight spot like this. Rainbow Dash didn’t like to lie, she never abandoned anypony, and if she bragged about something, she knew she could do it. But now? She had to lie—only to protect her friend’s feelings. That was okay, right? Right? That was like the one time you could lie, wasn’t it?

Applejack grew a curious look, planning on getting to the bottom of this mystery. “Rainbow Dash was just tellin’ me about your girls’—“

Damage control. She jumped between the two ponies, giving Fluttershy the biggest silent plea for help she could muster with a single pointed stare “—plans for tomorrow night, right Flutters? I’m really looking forward to it. I know we’re gonna have a lot of fun, just me and you.” Rainbow Dash didn’t have a single plan on how to convince Fluttershy of the situation, but she knew that she could at least save it, now, as long as she was in charge of the conversation.

Fluttershy, on the other hand, looked between the two of the ponies, her anxiety and confusion getting the best of her. She began to almost whimper, taking a single step back. “I don’t—” she began, looking at Applejack. She turned back to Rainbow Dash, taking yet another pace back. She looked like she was about to bolt. “We could---I suppose—”

“It’s okay, Fluttershy. I told her everything.” Rainbow Dash stepped over to the practically shaking girl, placing a hoof on her shoulder. She looked over at Applejack, thinking on her hooves. “We didn’t want to tell anypony about it. We aren’t sure about—well, anything—right now, but we are going to see what happens. Please, don’t tell anypony? For a while, at least?”

Please work. Please work. Please work… The words repeated through her mind as Rainbow Dash looked between the two ponies, equally shocked and confused, but for completely different reasons. If she could get AJ to buy it, she could explain everything to Fluttershy, and hopefully everything would work out. If Rainbow Dash was right—and let’s face it, she was right way more often than not—AJ would be riding on her new-relationship high, and she would be willing to believe almost any—

“Well, I’ll be—this is just amazin’! I’m happy for ya both, I really am. I won’t tell a soul, I promise.”

Thank Celestia. All that was left was the easiest part: explaining everything to Fluttershy…

Applejack cantered away; a large, incredibly goofy smile plastered on her face. For some reason, Rainbow Dash had a feeling that AJ would be squealing about the new relationship the minute her and Twilight were alone. She would have to take care of that later…

She turned, looking over at Fluttershy, who, strangely, was simply staring at her expectantly. It wasn’t anger, it wasn’t fear, it was just… well, Rainbow couldn’t think of any other word. There was just… expectance. She lifted a hoof to scratch the back of her neck as she met Fluttershy’s gaze. “I—uh—can explain.” The words came out, but Fluttershy didn’t even flinch. A single blink came from the pink-haired pegasus as she still just waited for Rainbow Dash to elaborate on the strange situation. “I—Okay, look Fluttershy, I can’t really explain all of this with you glaring at me like a stone statue. At least give me the stare, or something…”

Fluttershy shrugged before casting her glance downward, drawing invisible patterns on the cobbled path with her hoof. “You told Applejack we were dating. I just want to know why.”

The words were so innocent. They were simple. They didn’t hold any hidden meanings. They weren’t pushing. That was classic Fluttershy; she was just there. She was there when you needed her, and she never asked anything in return, even when you put her in a tight spot… well—she expected an explanation, but could you really blame her for that one?

But for some reason, that was what made using her so absolutely wrong, in Rainbow Dash’s mind. It was like breaking a sacred rule. Abusing her friendship with this very fragile, very sensitive pony was absolutely one of the least coolest things she had ever done.

She sighed, huffing as she promptly collapsed, sitting on the cobbled path, leaning her head against the wall of that same restaurant. Rainbow Dash was happy there weren’t any windows on this side of the building. The last thing she needed was an audience. “I told Applejack that I couldn’t go to her place tomorrow, because I really don’t feel like sitting there while she goes on and on about her new girlfriend. She asked what I was doing, and I just kinda froze. I couldn’t think of any excuse, so I just said that I had a date. She asked me who, so I didn’t really have a choice.” It was a simple explanation, but Fluttershy already knew that this new relationship wasn’t sitting well with her. Rainbow Dash didn’t really think an encore performance of that conversation was necessary.

“That’s it?” she asked, looking a little hesitant.

Rainbow Dash paused it thought, thinking through her explanation. No, that pretty much covered it. “What else is there?”

Fluttershy’s mane fell in front of her face, covering one of her eyes as she hid behind herself. The words came out in almost a whisper. “I just kind of… maybe… wanted to know why you picked me? I mean, I know I was right there, but there are a lot of ponies around, and—I just don’t understand.”

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, looking around the town for anypony nearby that might give her an escape from this nightmare. Had there really been other ponies around? In her mind’s eye, she didn’t really remember seeing anypony else. Well—maybe a few other ponies, but certainly no pony she thought was worth mentioning. Some were married, others in steady relationships—and a few were just plain creepy. In a weird way… maybe she did filter some of them out. “I don’t know… I guess I figured if all of this went down, and I really did have to end up spending tomorrow night with somepony, I would want it to be with a pony who I could at least have fun with. We don’t exactly have a lot in common, Flutters, but you gotta admit: we have fun, sometimes.”

Fluttershy tilted her head in thought, continuing to just stare at Rainbow Dash. That stare… it was making her uncomfortable. It was like Fluttershy wasn’t looking at her, she was looking in her. She was watching the thoughts Rainbow Dash was working through, and somehow reading the reasoning behind each answer that she gave. “They’ll ask us, you know. You won’t be able to just pretend like this never happened.”

Despite this situation escalating more and more, Rainbow Dash knew that she was right. She knew that, despite all of this going according to plan, there was one thing she hadn’t yet taken into consideration: this was Applejack they were talking about. AJ didn’t just let things go. It wasn’t like they could just lay low for a couple of days and hoped she forgot. It wasn’t like they could bury this under the rug.

“So, what do you suggest we do, Dashie?” Fluttershy asked, interrupting Rainbow Dash’s train of thought.

A deep sigh, some quick thinking, and a resignation later, and Rainbow Dash looked back toward Fluttershy: “Well… do you have any plans for tomorrow night?”

She giggled, and Rainbow wasn’t sure if it was out of excitement, the joke, or even if she was just laughing at Rainbow Dash’s predicament. “I do, now.”

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