Pillow thoughts

Chapter 3
Clouds Don't Talk

"Well?"

The orange pony was just standing there, pointing at her neck. Rainbow was just... not quite fully processing the entire situation. Twilight finally managed to close her mouth but, before she could say anything, Rarity was already measuring Applejack from top to bottom.

"...and what exactly happened to you?" the white unicorn asked, not entirely sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"Ah have no idea," Applejack replied.

"You look even more... uh... in-need-of-a-brush than usual," continued Rarity.

"Forget that! Ah have bite-marks on mah neck! Look!" the orange pony explained, showing her marks to the unicorn.

"Did you fall from a window too?" Pinkie's voice was heard from across the bedroom. "Wait, are those bite-marks? You got bitten by the window?! Eek! Have I got bitten too?! Do I have bite-marks?” she yelled, starting to search her body.

Rainbow looked around, trying desperately to find some sort of weird explanation for all this. Even the truth was weird, but she had no idea what happened. Suddenly, the general confusion was interrupted by a shout:

"Bedbugs!"

The ponies turned to Twilight.

"Heh, yeah, bedbugs! I had some problems some time ago, I thought I got rid of those pesky little... bugs... heh, failed magic experiment, who would've known?" She grinned, waving her hooves around. "I'm sorry for that, Applejack. I'm quite sure it's harmless, it will probably be gone by tonight."

"Uh-huh..." replied the orange pony. "What are bedbugs?"

"Oh, I heard of these too!" Rainbow quickly intervened. "They're like... small and they have, like, one tooth. Each. And they always bite in groups, so it looks like you were bitten by something bigger when, in fact, there were... more...tiny...things?" She gulped, then looked at Twilight. "Right?"

"Oh, yes... uh... again, sorry about that. Don't worry about it. Now, who wants breakfast? Spike is probably making one of his specialties right now!" she added quickly, hoping to distract her friends without looking suspicious.

Rainbow took this opportunity to hurry downstairs. "Good idea, I'm starving! We all are. Let's go!" Whoosh! Out the door she went, past a very confused Applejack. Pinkie jumped out of her bed, just as Fluttershy was waking up. Twilight let out a silent sigh as her hooves touched the floor. She'll probably have a little talk with Rainbow later to find out what happened.

She was just about to exit the bedroom, along with her friends, when she noticed something.

"Uh...Rarity?" she asked, turning towards the white unicorn who looked petrified.

"B-b-bedbugs? I-I slept in a bed full of...bugs?!" Rarity mumbled, in a semi-state of shock.

With a quick motion, Twilight lifted Rarity using her magic. "Come on, you're fine." The white unicorn didn't even react to being lifted off the ground. She was too busy trying to picture the one-tooth creatures who probably tried eating her beautiful, beautiful mane.

"Are they like...moths?" she mumbled, almost inaudibly, as Twilight carried her downstairs, towards the kitchen table, like some sort of porcelain figure that showed a 3D interpretation of “The Scream” by Hoofvard Munch.

***

Spike had already cleaned most of last night's party, and the breakfast, as delicious as it was, didn't last very long. Soon, everypony waved goodbye and started going on with their business.

Days passed, everything was normal, no big events, no strange interactions, then again, the mane six didn't really have much time to interact with each other since the slumber party. They were all busy preparing for the upcoming winter.

Fluttershy was guiding her animal friends into their tiny homes to prepare for the long sleep. Rarity was already planning a new design for the perfect ‘clothes for the upcoming cold days’, as she would call them. It seems this year she plans on making those ‘warmer and more flexible than ever’.

Pinkie was working now even more than usual on a new type of hot beverage to warm those ‘hoovsies’ in the winter. She called it ‘Hot Chocolate II’, but it still was not ready, so she spent most of her time mixing up ingredients to get that perfect taste. All in all, the ponies were busy.

"Rainbow, hang on!" Twilight shouted just as the blue pegasus was flying above her treehouse.

Rainbow froze in place and turned around. She saw Twilight on the balcony so, with an unnecessary but impressive backflip, she landed right near her. "What's up, Twilight?"

Twilight smiled, a bit embarrassed. "I know this may not be a good time... but remember the night we all had that sleepover party?"

Darn. Rainbow hoped that Twilight would've forgotten that incident by now.

"Listen," started Rainbow, "I have no idea what happened back there. I was sleeping and when I woke up... uh...yeah, I was...you know..." She started pacing the balcony, nervously. "I mean, all that talk the night before, I dunno... I ... and bite-marks?! How did I..."

"Rainbow, listen, I don't know what happened, but... that's not really what I wanted to talk to you about."

Hearing that, Rainbow pricked up her ears. She didn't really want to talk about that either, then again, it was still bugging her. "Oh... um... okay."

"I just need you to do something for me. Applejack needs a book, which I think I left at Carrot Top's place. I'd go there myself but I need to go around Ponyville and resupply my ingredients – experiment related stuff. I have no idea how long that could take and Applejack asked for that book during the slumber party. I kept forgetting... and she and Big Macintosh want to try planting a new type of apple tree and I would hate to mess up their plans just because I can't find the time to get that book back and I have no idea when the right time to plant those things might be and—"

Rainbow lifted her hoof and Twilight closed her mouth. "Twi, you're rambling."

"I know, sorry, I would've asked somepony else, but nopony was available today, and I already postponed this too much," replied the purple unicorn.

"Wait, why didn't you just tell Applejack to get it herself?"

"Honestly, Applejack and Carrot Top don't really see eye-to-eye, you know, since the whole ‘how-to-plant’ incident,” said Twilight, scratching the back of her head.

"Oh yeah," recalled Rainbow. Having two ponies, with two different farming backgrounds, working on the same field was not a good idea. "Sure, I'll... I'll do it."

Twilight wanted to say something else, but Rainbow was already high above the clouds. She looked after her friend, wondering if she should try to help out or just stay out of this altogether.

***

The pegasus spotted her friend a mile away. She almost forgot to grab Applejack's book. On her way home she quickly saw Carrot Top's house and remembered... now she was on her way to Sweet Apple Acres.

This is easy, focus, she said to herself. Carrot Top gave you the book immediately, no problem there... now all you have to do is give it to Applejack. The book! Give the book to Applejack, she corrected herself and didn't waste a single moment thinking about the possible misinterpretations of that thought.

She landed near the earth pony, who was surrounded by the usual apple trees.

"Hey AJ!" shouted Dash.

"Oh, hey."

Good, thought the pegasus. So far so good. She must've forgotten all about it, just... be cool. Like always. She looked at all the baskets full of apples surrounding them. Applejack really picked up the pace today.

"So, uh, AJ," said the Pegasus, leaning on one of the trees as cool as she could, "long time, no see... busy as always, huh?"

Applejack was looking at the surrounding trees, thinking about bucking the thinner ones so she can save her strength for the bigger ones towards the last minutes of daylight.

Yeah...sure, the orange pony thought to herself. Does she think Ah'm stupid or somethin'? Or that Ah forgot? Or that Ah was blind? I saw her face when Ah asked about those marks... She continued her thoughts, out loud: "Dash, Ah've been meanin’ to talk to ya."

The pegasus' eyes widened. That was it. She was in trouble.

"It's been three weeks... you seemed busy, Ah didn't say anythin'..." she continued, turning towards her friend. "Them bedbugs... Ah'm not stupid, ya know..."

Rainbow let her ears fall on the back of her head and looked down. She probably blushed too. It's been three weeks, why did she hang onto that tiny thing?!

"Ah know it was you."

"AJ, listen... I-I'm sorry. Please don't be mad.”

"Mad? Ah'm not mad... just disappointed. Ah thought you could be a little more sensitive, especially after Ah shared mah wish with y'all. Ya should've known it was hard for me to tell ya all that... wakin’ up with somepony beside me, and what do y'all do?" The orange pony frowned and looked directly at her friend.

Rainbow lowered her head a little. She felt really bad, especially since she couldn't explain her behavior. She was sleeping! She had no control over it... and now she's probably going to lose Applejack as her friend.

"And what do ya do?” repeated the earthpony. "Y'all go and put bedbugs on mah neck!"

Wait, what? Rainbow lifted her head. "I did what?"

"Don't ya lie to me, Rainbow Dash. It was a stupid joke and you'd best admit it or Ah swear Ah'm never speakin' to ya again," concluded the earth pony.

Dash thought about it for a second and then, trying to hide her smile, replied: "Oh, yes... I'm sorry, AJ. It was really stupid and I didn't think it through. I promise I won't do it again, I just went too far."

For Applejack, that was enough of an apology. She just nodded and turned towards her trees.

"I know your wish is very important to you and that you're sensitive about it. Really… I mean it... I really think you'll meet the perfect stallion one day, who will always be at your side," Rainbow continued, trying to make sure she patched up the situation completely. "And he'll be really cool and he'll love everything about you... from the hat you wear to the end of your tail... from your special talent to the apple perfume that you wear."

Nailed it, thought Dash, allowing herself to smile honestly, with a bit of pride for being so good at fixing stuff.

"Ah'm sorry, wha--?"

Applejack turned towards the blue pegasus. As irritating as this was... wait, she wasn't wearing any apple perfume.

Lately, Dash froze so many times, that she started to believe that the whole ‘20% cooler’ saying might have a different meaning now. Why did she mention that apple smell?! Not good... not good at all... She started looking around, trying her best to avoid Applejack's stare. She mumbled something about the apple trees, hoping that the earth pony would've misheard what she just said.

But the earth pony didn't.

Since Rainbow was so keen on changing the subject, the orange pony turned towards her apple trees again. She felt this was probably a bad time to talk about it. Rainbow said something about a book, to which Applejack just replied something about the kitchen table. She wanted to look busy but, actually, she was pretty confused.

Finally, the pegasus took off leaving her alone with her thoughts. She just stood there for a while and laid down near a big apple tree. The sun was going down. She should probably go home now, but she couldn't understand this.

Yes, she was upset these days, thinking about Dash's prank and the fact that her friend reacted so stupidly to her intimate wish. She just felt that, after such a long time, she finally told somepony her secret ideals and one of her best friends made fun of her. Or did she?

Applejack never liked wearing perfume. Well, not that she didn't like it, she just found it useless. She wasn't aiming at impressing anypony, "But how did Rainbow know...?"

After working such a long time amongst apple trees, her coat and her hair caught that tiny hint of apples. It was really discreet, not even her family, her closest loved ones, ever noticed. You'd have to get really close to notice that special fragrance. Really close.

These past weeks her thoughts were a bit clouded but now she really didn't know what to think. She got up and started slowly walking towards the farm. Maybe she just understood this completely wrong.

Maybe Rainbow just noticed the apple smell when we slept in the same bed... but even so... why would she mention that, out of all things? she thought to herself. She felt a bit embarrassed. It was a tiny detail that nopony really knew about her. It was like a special secret of hers. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned the whole coltfriend-thing.

If she couldn't talk about her wishes with her family, for various reasons... now she really couldn't mention this. To anypony. Not even Dash.

...even if the pegasus might’ve been the only one that already knew.

***

Rainbow was tossing and turning in her bed. She kept playing back in her mind the events from that evening and from three weeks ago. She tried sleeping in trees, on various clouds, she even tried sleeping on a bench in the Ponyville park. Nothing.

She knew what was missing but she didn't like admitting it. It was... weird! Applejack is one of her best friends! Is this even normal?

"Maybe there's something wrong with me," she whispered to herself.

All these thoughts were taking their toll. She felt tired. Soon, she fell in a dreamless state. It couldn’t be called ‘sleeping’ but it was better than nothing.

***

Some mornings in Ponyville were nicer than others. This one was rather gray. It was raining. The wind was howling, announcing the end of autumn and the beginning of winter.

When did it become so cold all of a sudden? With her teeth chattering, Applejack woke up from her bed and closed the window in her room.

"Dang, it's cold!" she shouted. "That's one nasty way to wake up.”

Good thing she finished bucking almost every apple tree yesterday. The remaining ones were Big Mac's share of the chore. She trotted down the stairs, wondering if there's still something left out of that apple pie that Granny Smith made last night. She sure knew how to make the apples taste better... somehow. Old family recipes were handed down from generation to generation, but nopony had ever been able to copy her way of cooking. Ever.

The orange pony reached the kitchen when she saw Twilight standing, right there, near the entrance.

"Oh, hey Twi. What are y'all doin' here?"

"Hi, Applejack, sorry for dropping by like this. I was out yesterday looking for some ingredients – spell thing, herbs and stuff- when I couldn't find one of them. I was hoping maybe you could come with me and help me look for it,” she said, confident in her great idea. "You know, like... a mini-adventure! Two friends going hiking, searching for—"

"Um, hate to break it to ya, Twi, but have ya been outside? It looks fierce out there!" said Applejack, pointing at the window.

"Ah, yes, well... my ingredient can be found in a cave, not too far from here. We'll be protected and dry the whole time we search for it. We'll just grab a big umbrella and make our way through."

"Ah don't know..." the mare hesitated. Anypony knew that going hiking on such weather is not such a bright idea.

"Pleaaaase, Applejack! If it gets colder or, even worse, if it snows, I'll be all out of Tristle-Tosser until spring!"

"Tristle-what now?"
"Tristle-Tosser,” explained the purple unicorn. "It's a plant that... well, I need it in my experiments."

Applejack took a slice of the pie that was still on the table and started eating. She offered a slice to Twilight as well, who refused.

"Well, why didn't you search for it sooner?" the earth pony asked.

"I didn't know that Ponyville would be fresh out! You know how I organize everything, this was not exactly according to my organized plans."

Applejack swallowed the last bite and walked towards the door.

"Alrighty, then... but we'd best get one more pony to join us, just in case," she said, opening the door with both front legs, since the wind was pretty strong and was holding the door shut.
“Oh, what a coincidence! I was just about to suggest the same thing!”

***

Rainbow heard a noise and opened her eyes slightly. She could hear the wind outside and what seemed to be... rain?

Oh yeah, she thought to herself, still sleepy, day off today...

She hugged her cloud pillow and looked up lazily. Oh, this was funny, the pillow looked orange... she's probably still dreaming. Well, after all these weeks of worries and messed up thoughts, what's the harm in a bit of fun? Even if it was all in her head.

"Hello, fluffy orange cloud..." she said, smiling to the earthpony. She had an idea... maybe if she grabbed a cloud and painted it orange, she could get some sleep again. After all, nopony had to know and she would like to get some rest.

Or maybe she could get one of those apple perfumes from Rarity, if she had one. There's no harm in that, right? That way, maybe things would get back to normal... Or maybe if she--

"What in the hay is that supposed to mean?" asked Applejack, slightly amused by the pegasus' reaction.

"ACK!" yelled Rainbow, jumping about two feet in the air. "Applejack, you...are you...wait, what are you doing here? In my house?" She gasped, offended. "In my bed?!"

- End of Chapter 3 -