A Place To Lay My Head

The rain started a few minutes earlier, the steady downpour pounded atop the duo's heads. Pinkie's mane somehow retained its curly nature, while Dash's mane was almost covering her eyes, over the years the pegasus had learned how to cut her mane just right so it still looked cool, but didn't obscure her vision while flying. Fashion and function were possible, unlike what Rarity thought.

"Can we get some shelter, Pinkie? I don't want my wings to get too wet..." Dash spread her now sopping wet wings and pouted, out of all of her features, her wings were the most important.

"Sure Dashie, no problem." Pinkie had already planned for this and she had been steering their walk towards the treehouse in the middle of the orchard. It was secluded, dry, and more importantly, it only had one exit that Dash could fit through so Pinkie could make sure Dash heard her out.

As the two entered the clubhouse, Dash sat down in the corner, spread her wings and began preening light blue feathers. Her wingspan nearly touched both walls of the small clubhouse, which only allowed Pinkie to admire the beautiful sight all the more. Pegasi were such graceful creatures in Pinkie's opinion. Nothing could compare to seeing a talented pegasus like Dash flying through the sky with such ease, with such...beauty. It was one of the many miracles of the pony body.

"So...what's up Pinkie?" Dash spoke in between moments of cleaning her glorious plumage.

"Well...I-I sort of wanted to talk to you about something..." Pinkie focused on her hooves, the appendages became more interesting the more Pinkie thought of what she was about to say. It was nerve wracking and ridiculous, it was just plain stupid now that she thought about it. She was going to tell one of her best friends that she loved her! It was one of the few things that Pinkie's mind even questioned.

"Shoot, just let me....get...this pesky..." Dash yanked out long blue feather from  her wing and let it hit the ground. "Gotcha, I knew that I was getting some drag...." The pegasus' magenta eyes looked up into Pinkie's sky blue ones. "So, what's up?"

"Well...I...I sort of...have a crush on you..." Pinkie felt her cheeks glow red from embarrassment, she looked up at Dash, who just smiled kindly at her. It gave Pinkie hope that something good was about to happen.

"I know." The pony opposite Pinkie chuckled. "You think I didn't know that? Oh man Pinkie, you're pretty dense, aren't you?" Dash broke into laughter, Pinkie could have sworn she also saw tears forming in her crush's eyes from laughter. Pinkie didn't know how to feel about that, it both hurt and gave her more hope than ever. It was a strange combination.

"Well....do, um...do you like me too?"

"What? No. No, no, no." the blue mare shook her head furiously, water splashing off from it and coating the walls in a light dusting of water. "Are you crazy?" That...that one sentence, broke something. Something deep within Pinkie that usually held all of her joy, all of her hope, all of her....Pinkie-ness. It didn't just break, it shattered. "I mean, first off: I can't have a relationship. They would interfere with my Wonderbolt training, I can't allow that!" It just kept piling up, the hurt. With every word, another ton was added to Pinkie's heart. "Secondly: I'm not into the whole...fillyfoolin' thing Pinkie. If I dated, it would be a colt." That didn't hurt as much as the first one, but it did add more pain knowing that there was another reason. "Lastly: You're an earth pony. No offense, you're my friend. But I would never date another race, that can't keep up with me, they're not worth it."  rainbow Dash decided long ago that earth ponies and unicorns weren't worth it, they couldn't revel in her passion with her, they couldn't walk on clouds naturally. It would be like Twilight dating someone who hated reading, it just didn't compute.

That was the last straw on Pinkie's mind. Racism was very rare in Equestria, but it still happened, and when it did...it hurt. It was also the last thing Pinkie expected to hear from Rainbow Dash, saying that love should not only be dictated by gender, but by race as well. It was unheard of!

"Thanks for the talk, Pinks. But I gotta go, I have a job to do." The pony stood, pushed passed the still stunned pink pony, and trotted outside.

As soon as Pinkie heard the flap of wings, she let it all fall. All of her walls, all of the weight that  had piled on her heart, it all fell. Collapsed. Tears formed in her eyes, legitimate tears, tears of despair and sadness. All of the water that had collected on her mane finally fell through, soaking it to the core and making it fall flat. Pinkie was devastated.

--

"Ah don't care what'cha think Big Mac! That. Was. Wrong." Applejack's nose was touching her older brother's. both pairs of emerald eyes were narrowed in anger. The siblings had been arguing for about ten minutes now, Applejack was defending her friend, and Big Mac was defending his decision as Apple Family patriarch.

"She was corruptin' mah little sister! Ah know y'all like ta leave the foal rearin' ta me, but don'tcha think that just fer once ya could think about her?" Big Mac pushed his sister away from him and stole the hat from atop her head. "Pa would be ashamed." With that, the hulking stallion trotted off, ushering Applebloom and her friends to her room.

That left Applejack, not just stunned, but angry. Not the good 'make you work harder' angry. The bad angry, rage. She wanted to buck him in his apples so hard that he couldn't stand. It was one thing to disagree with her, it was another thing to take her hat and bring Pa into the matter. That was like telling Twilight that Celestia thought she was an idiot. It was so far below the belt.

"FINE! You..you good fer nothin'!" She had no insults that could compare, that could even come close to touching Big Mac's pride in the way that he hurt hers. "Ah'm gonna find Pinkie Pie, and she's gonna come back in the house....and...yeah..."Her rage fell as sadness took its place, it overcame her and swallowed her whole.

The farmer budged the door open and stepped into the gloomy rain, today was just going to be one disaster after another, she could feel it in the core of her soul. She trudged through the thickening mud of the dirt road that lead away from Sweet apple Acres. How many times had she walked this road alone in sadness? She could only count two times, both now having to do with her parents, each time worse than the last.

Applejack knew she had to find Pinkie, but she had no idea where to look. Her first thought was Sugarcube Corner, then she remembered what happened to the bakery. Aside from the bakery, Pinkie Pie didn't really have 'hangouts'. The party pony was just everywhere at once. How do you find a pony like that?

Inexplicably, she was drawn away from the muddy trail and into the orchard. As she trotted, she realized where she was going: The clubhouse. It was a place of solace for her, a place for memories. Many years ago, her Pa built it for her...as a place where she could get away from the work and just be a little filly. One of the few memories she had of her father...

Once the rebuilt clubhouse was within sight, a wave a calm washed over Applejack. Something she desperately needed. But, as she drew closer, she heard sobs coming from inside. While it wasn't an oddity to come across a random hobo staying in the clubhouse, it was odd to hear the cry. Something about it seemed...not right. It was almost as if that particular pony shouldn't be allowed to cry...it was something that spurred Applejack all the closer.

--

"Hey, who's in there?" The call came from outside, a place that Pinkie almost forgot existed. She had become so wrapped up in her sadness. It had not only washed over her, it consumed her entirely. Sadness was a foreign feeling, but not a bad foreign, a good foreign. It was something that one could indulge in, yet hate at the same time. Guilty pleasure pretty much summed it up.

The sobbing pony quickly wiped her eyes and cleared her throat. "I-It's me...Pinkie." Now Pinkie wasn't sure who was coming up, but anypony would be fine. She just wanted somepony to talk to and hug, that's all anypony could ask for during a bad day.