Restless Nightsby DJ DreamtheaterChaptersSense of Danger, Scent of ApplesSecretsThe TruthRegaining what was LostOne Long NightThe Truth pt. IIWants and NeedsSecrets pt. IISense of Danger, Scent of ApplesChapter 2 Sense of Danger, Scent of Apples The sun shined in through the window of the guest room to signal that a new day had started. Applejack woke up first and got out of bed, she walked to the end of the bed and picked up her trade mark cowpony hat she left hanging on the bed post. When she got out of bed that let the sun shine directly into Rainbow’s face causing her to groan because it was day already. She pulled the covers over her head and rolled over to her other side and tried to fall back to sleep. Applejack heard her groan and saw that the pegasus was curled up into a ball trying to reenter her dream world. “Wakey, wakey Rainbow!” the orange cowpony said while yanking the covers off of her. “Aww come on!” she said while letting out a big yawn. “Just five more minutes or how about 10? You know what just wake me up in an hour.” She said as she waved her hoof at AJ and roll back over. “Come on Rainbow we got a long day ahead of us. No time to be lazy today.” Just then Twilight woke up and greeted the other two while stretching. “Good morning everypony.” “Mornin’ Twi.” “Umm where is Rainbow?” AJ rolled her eyes and then pointed at the bed with a huge lump in it. Rainbow had curled up into a ball again and pulled the covers back over her. “Really, this again?” Twilight mumbled “I. Hate. Mornings.” Rainbow said still covered up. “Come on Rainbow, we have a long walk ahead of us so the sooner we get started the better.” Said Twilight She then lifted the blanket with her magic and held it in the air above Rainbow so she had no choice but to get up. Rainbow sat up and reluctantly got out of bed. “That’s better.” Said Twilight with that smile she always gets. “Yeah soo much better.” Rainbow mumbled to herself while rolling her eyes. “Okay so first we need to prepare before we got out into the desert today. Here I made a check list for each of you of stuff you need to bring so everything will go without a hitch.” “Alright ah’ll get started right away.” “Wait, you mean I ‘have’ to bring my bag?” “Well, yes, of course.” “Fine.” Rainbow hates to bring any kind of bag around because it slows her down and is just too much of a hassle to lug around something you’ll more than likely never use anyway. Rainbow looked over the list seeing a variety of things like a canteen, rope, food, etc. and couldn’t help but think that half this stuff would be useless to her. They both followed behind Applejack to prepare for the long journey. * * * After they finished their preparations and had breakfast they started out into the harsh environment. As they were walking Twilight pulled out a map of the area and gave it a quick look over then looked to AJ and asked her opinion on the safest way to the nearest plateau shown. “Hey Applejack can you look over this map and show us the safest way there.” “Sure Twi let me take a look.” They stopped and AJ looked over the map for a little, drawing an imaginary line with her hoof, to mark the safest route possible. She got a disgruntled look on her face when she saw the nearest area Twilight marked wouldn’t be the best to go to. “Hey Twi I hate to tell y’all this but the nearest plateau ain’t goin’ to work.” “Why?” “Well y’all see here.” As AJ points to an image of a Buffalo running through a canyon. “Yes what about it?” “Well in order for us to get to that plateau we have to go through this canyon but its buffalo stampede territory and we don’t need to be caught there with no way out.” “Wow nice job Applejack!” “No prob Twi. Now if we look the best place to start would be here.” “Umm AJ that’s in the middle of the desert, nowheresville!” Interjected Rainbow “Ah see that but it’s the only safe location to search for now sugar cube.” “Well if we have no choice.” Said Twilight reluctantly “Here take the map you obviously need it more than me.” “Thanks Twi.” AJ stuffed it in her bag then they continued on with there now longer journey to, as Rainbow put it, Nowheresville. The walk alone was hard enough with the sun glaring down on them but they still had to find this plant and there is no guarantee it is even at the first plateau. As they continued onwards the day dragged on for what seemed like eternity. Nothing to look at except vast nothingness and Rainbow was trying every technique she could think of to keep herself entertained, flying upside down, sideways, backwards, doing an occasional loop, but eventually she just got bored and just glided around. Twilight noticed Rainbow’s boredom and asked to fly up to see if they were getting any closer. “Hey Rainbow can you fly up and scout ahead to see if we’re getting close.” “Yea no prob!” In an instant she went from two miles an hour to thirty straight up. Rainbow got up high enough to see for miles. She squinted and did a three-sixty spin to get a full view. She smiled and rushed back down to her friends in just a few seconds. “Aww yea, it’s about two miles ahead to the north-east!” As she pointed in that direction. “About time, ah was gettin’ concerned we’d passed it.” “Well no point in waiting around let’s get going.” Twilight said looking at Rainbow. “You can lead the way Rainbow.” Twilight nodded to her “Well then you better keep up!” Then she took off like a rocket “Oh for Pete’s sake! She’s always in a hurry!” AJ yelled then facehoofing “Come on we better catch up to her.” The two chased after her as fast as they could gallop. They caught up to her after a few seconds and continued to gallop in the direction Rainbow was flying. A few short minutes passed by and Twilight asked Rainbow if she could see the plateau. “Rainbow are we getting any closer?” “Yea the plateau should be coming into view for you guys.” Just as she said that the plateau appeared over the horizon. Showing the three ponies its immense size they were awe struck. “Woh nelly!” “Woooh that thing is huge!” “I expected it to be big but not like this.” The three friends showed their surprise at almost the same time. They finished the first half of their journey as they approached the towering landmass and took a well-deserved break in the shade of the plateau. They opened their bags and took out the canteens they brought to get rid of the thirst they had acquired after all that running or in Rainbow’s case flying. “Hey AJ can you tell what time it is?” Twilight politely asked “Judgin’ from the suns spot in the sky ah’d say around three or three-thirty.” “Alright then we’ll rest here for a few minutes then get started looking for that plant.” Twilight suggested * * * They sat there for a few minutes resting their tired bodies. Rainbow got and stretched out her wings getting ready to fly up to the top and start the search. “Alright I’ll head up and see if that plant thingy is here.” “Here Rainbow this is what the plant looks like.” Twilight pulled her book out using her magic and set it on the ground in front of Rainbow. “Ok so the one I need has red blooms on it, right?” “That’s correct.” “Got it, I’ll be back in no time!” “Wait, hold on Rainbow!” Twilight yelled as she grabbed Rainbows’ tail with her magic “You need to dig the plant up not just pull it out of the ground.” “Oh you’ve got to be kiddin’ me!” “The princess wants to use this plant in some kind of experiment, so it needs to have roots so it can be planted at the palace for her to use anytime, right?” “That’s right AJ.” “Fine, I’ll dig it up.” “Thank you very much Rainbow.” Twilight let go of Rainbow’s tail and she took off to the top of the plateau. It took her just a few seconds but the others would have climb for couple of minutes to get up there. She stayed hovering in the air for a few minutes looking for the plant until she spotted a small group of them under a bush. “There you are!” She said as she zoomed down onto the ground She managed to kick up pollen from the small plant as she landed. The pollen tickled her nose causing her to sneeze. “Alright let’s get this done with.” She mumbled as she started to dig at the ground with her hoof She dug at the ground for a good few minutes till she reached what looked to be a rock. The roots of the plant were embedded into the stone. “Awww come on!” she said rolling her eyes Meanwhile Twilight and Applejack were sitting at the base wondering what was taking Rainbow so long. “Now what’s takin’ that pony so long?” “I’m not sure but it can’t be that difficult to dig up a plant, right?” Applejack pulled out the map from her bag and rolled it out in front of her. She looked it over scratching her chin in confusion. “What is it AJ?” Twilight inquired “Well ah’ve been out here plenty of times and ah know the terrain. Plus ah know maps of this area but ah’ve never seen an image like that before.” Twilight walked over to AJ and sat down next to her looking at the map as well. “Y’all ever seen that image on a map before?” “No, never, it looks like some kind of house or…temple?” “Twi where did y’all get this map?” “From Princess Celestia herself.” Just then they heard a loud yell that came from the top of the plateau. A familiar voice, Rainbows voice! * * * Rainbow is digging at the ground when she hits what seems to be a rock. “Aww come on!” she said “Wanna play hard ball, fine let’s play hard ball!” She reared up and stomped as hard as she could on the stone. It didn’t even crack or fracture so she did it again and again. Still no signs of any give to the stone’s surface. “Oh I see how it’s goin’ to be!” She flew up into the air and hovered there. “This will get you to come loose.” She rushed head long at the ground then she switched her position to do a flying dropkick. She hit the ground with enough force to do more than break the rock but put a hole in it. Rainbow fell through a roof of a house of an ancient civilization long forgotten. As she fell into the darkness she yelled as loud as she could have hoping somepony could hear her. She fell through roof of the building landing hard onto the ground. She hit her head hard and was dazed for a few minutes then she looked up at the hole. She spread her wings out to fly up but a sharp pain hit her. Her wing was messed up pretty bad so she couldn’t fly out. “Stupid plant it’s your entire fault!” She thought as she sat there trying to hold back tears. Back at the base of the plateau AJ and Twilight heard Rainbows yell and knew they had to save her but how were they going to get to her. They could climb up but that could take too long and without a secured rope at the top they could end up hurt as well. There has to be a way around, some kind of path or trail leading to the top hopefully. They ran around the base of the plateau for a few seconds trying to find a path but it wasn’t successful until AJ noticed a small cave-like entrance. “Here Twi! This might get us up to the top.” AJ said while pointing at the entrance “I’m not sure AJ. What if it leads to a dead end or what if it collapses while we’re inside?” “Well we gotta try at least, for Rainbow sake.” “You’re right we need to!” So against all common reason Twilight and Applejack headed into the cave hoping it would lead them to Rainbow. After a few minutes of walking through the cave they didn’t have the light of the sun showing the way anymore. Their eyes had adjusted to the darkness but not enough to give them good guidance. AJ stopped and reached into her bag and brought out some flint and a piece of pyrite. She asked Twilight for some parchment and tied it to the end of stick she found in the cave. “Wow AJ I’m impressed.” “Ain’t nothin’ special, just some survival things ah picked up from Big Mac a long time ago.” They kept walking in hopes it would lead to the top of the plateau but instead it lead them to something they couldn’t even imagine. “Wooooh!” Twilight exclaimed “What is all this Twi?” “Looks like the remains of an ancient pony civilization from centuries ago.” She said while examining some of the architecture. “Wait, hold on just a pony pickin’ minute, how in the hay is there an ancient civilization inside this huge rock thing?” “I read books on the subject but never got really see one for myself. Well until now that is. Ancient civilizations like this one would build their homes, towns, entire cites inside mountains or plateaus to keep themselves safe from the harsh environment outside. It also provides excellent natural protection from other empires looking to conquer their own.” Twilight went on to explain to Applejack “Hmm makes sense ah guess but how would anypony get inside this place?” “Back during ancient times there would have been a great big entrance somewhere in the side of the mountain but I’m guessing over time it must have fallen apart or has been weathered away by time and the elements.” Twilight explained again “Well we ain’t got time to sight see here. We need to find a way to Rainbow at the top and fast.” At the same time Rainbow was walking around the ruins of the ancient house she just fell through. She kept checking on her wing to see if it had, hopefully, healed enough to fly but it still was painful to move. After sitting there her eyes began to adjust and she could see the annoying little plant that caused all this mayhem for her. “Pfff you little…” She grunted wanting to say something else but her train of thought got cut off when she heard friends talking. She grabbed the plant making sure it still had its roots then she put in her bag and headed in the direction of the voices of her friends. * * * She couldn’t see all that well but she could hear plenty good. Running through the remains of this once bustling city she followed the echoes of her friend’s voices. She yelled in an attempt to gain their attention. “AJ! Twilight! I’M HERE!” She yelled Applejack and Twilight were caught off guard when they heard their friend’s voice in a place like. They stopped and Twilight held out the torch with her magic in hopes of seeing Rainbow. Rainbow could see the torch in the distance and knew she would be safe now. “RAINBOW!” Her friends yelled to her “Aww man I’m sure glad to see you guys!” She yelled back as she kept running “NO, RAINBOW STOP!” Yelled Applejack “Huh? What do you mean?!” Rainbow stopped her gallop and slide to a stop. “Why do I need to stop?” “Look at your hooves Rainbow!” Rainbow looked and by the dim light of the torch she could see a pit filled with the rubble of the ancient city. Judging from the light of the torch the pit looked to be about fifty feet deep. Rainbow took a few steps back from the edge to be safe. “Woh that was a close one.” She said quietly to herself “Now how in the wide world of Equestia did a hole get here?” AJ asked Twilight “Must have been the reason why this ancient city was abandoned. It looks like a massive sink hole took half the city down there.” Twilight responded “Rainbow come on and fly over here.” AJ said “Don’t you think I would have done that already if I could? My wing is pretty messed up so I can’t fly.” “Horseapples! We gotta think of something then.” “I could try and levitate her over here.” “Twi, y’all think you can do that?” “Well we don’t have a choice do we. I’m not use to levitating full grown ponies but given the circumstances we don’t have any other option,” “But what if y’all run out of magic half way?” “I won’t, not while my friend needs my help.” “Well…ok then, worth a shot.” AJ said hesitantly “Rainbow I’m going to use my magic to levitate you over to us! So be still!” Twilight’s horn began to glow brightly as she conjured up all the magic she could muster up. Rainbow’s body became engulfed in the purple aura that was Twilight’s magic. Slowly but surely Rainbow began to come closer and closer to her friends. Twilight’s face began to show signs of strain and her forehead began to sweat heavily. Rainbow kept getting closer and closer to the other side of the deep hole when Twilight yelled to Applejack. “I…I CAN’T HOLD IT!” “Aww HAYSEEDS!” AJ yelled as she ran to the edge of the hole. Just as Applejack reached the edge of the hole, Twilight’s magic gave out on her and Rainbow began to fall. Rainbow closed her eyes and let out a huge scream but AJ grabbed her hoof just in time. Rainbow opened her eyes and looked up at the cowpony that just saved her life. “Come on now sugar cube, y’all think ah would let you down like that?” “Hehe I guess not.” She pulled up Rainbow to the edge and just as she got to the top Applejack lost her footing and pulled Rainbow on top of her. They laid there for a few seconds staring at each other, not thinking about a thing, just staring into each other’s eyes. Rainbow could feel herself starting to blush but just then Twilight ran up to her and grabbed her around the neck. She gave her a big hug and apologized multiple times. Rainbow accepted the apology and gave her a hug back saying it was no big deal, AJ managed to catch me anyway. “Aww shucks, it was nothin’.” AJ said pulling her hat over her face. “Yea it was! If it wasn’t for you Celestia knows what would’ve happen!” “Come on you two; let’s get out of here and back to the ranch.” Twilight interjected The three friends traced their steps back to the entrance of the cave. It was night now and so much cooler than this afternoon. They began their journey back to ranch and hopefully a well-deserved night’s sleep. As they walked back through the desert Rainbow couldn’t help to keep thinking of that moment back at the ruins and how she felt for those few seconds. She looked over at AJ who was talking to Twilight about the day’s events and she could feel herself starting to blush again. “Oh Rainbow!” Twilight said Hearing Twilight’s voice made her snap out of her thoughts. “Yea what’s up?” “I know this is no place to ask but did you get the plant?” “Huh, oh the plant! THAT plant. Yea I got it for you, roots and all.” “Thanks Rainbow, now we can head back to Ponyville tomorrow.” “Yup and Rainbow can help me on mah farm too!” AJ said “HUH?!” Rainbow yelled “What do you mean?!” “You already forgot the deal we made huh?” “OH Yea, the deal we made on the train ride.” Rainbow said scratching the back of her head. They walked for a few more hours until they reached the blessed sight of the Apples Ranch. They walked into house where everypony was already sitting down and enjoying dinner. They had to answer a lot of questions about why it took them so long and why they were a mess. They didn’t even eat dinner they just went upstairs and each took long, hot showers then headed off to bed. They kept the same sleeping arrangements as the night before. They each quickly fell asleep as they enjoyed the soft mattresses and comforting blankets. * * * The next morning was just like any other to the ponies except Rainbow woke up before all the others. The sun shined in her face and she grunted at the thought of the sun being up already but this morning was different than the one from yesterday. She smelled the distinct scent of apples. “Apples? I didn’t smell those yesterday morning.” She thought She opened her eyes to find herself face to face with Applejack. Close enough that if anypony was to walk in and see them like that they only come to the conclusion they were a couple. Rainbow had cuddled with Applejack during the night, in her sleep, and didn’t even notice it. Her arm was around her waist, her leg was on top of AJ’s and their faces were almost touching, “WHAT AM I DOING?!” She thought “Why does this feel…feel fine to me?” -End of Chapter 2- SecretsChapter 3 Secrets “Oh man!” Is all she could think to herself as she lay there, almost on top of Applejack. “What do I do?” She thought as she panicked at the idea of Applejack waking up and seeing her there. “Okay, calm down Rainbow, I got this. All I have to do is just move my rear leg and shift my weight so I’ll be off of her.” She laid there for a second and thought on what she said. “Get ‘off’ of her.” She paused and looked at her friend that was asleep by her side. She examined her body slowly thinking how amazing she looked glowing in the morning sunlight. Her body wanted to move off of Applejack but her mind wasn’t cooperating with it. She just wanted to lay there and just keep staring, keep… “What am I thinking?!” She yelled at herself. She got lost in thought but managed to snap herself out of it. “This is Applejack! AJ, your best friend in the whole world! Why are you thinking like this?” She shook her head to get rid of the thoughts plaguing her. “Okay this is just a mistake. I was asleep and I didn’t know what I was doing. That’s all, THAT’S IT.” She managed to calm herself down and she began to move her leg off of AJ. Once she moved over enough she propped her body up with her elbow to move her arm but she failed to realize that her arm was under AJ’s and that to move hers she would need to move Applejack’s first. A chill ran up her spine at the thought of moving any part of AJ and her waking up to see Rainbow like she was. “Okay I got this, no problem.” She began to move the orange pony’s arm up so she could slide her arm out from under Applejack’s. She got it up enough to move her arm out. She started to slide her arm out but leaned to far back and a pain shot through her body. She forgot about her injured wing from yesterday’s adventure. It took every ounce of strength she had not to yell but the pain made her arm go numb and she fell on her injured side causing more pain to go through her body. She rolled over to her other side to stop the pain but misjudged the size of the bed and fell to the floor with a loud thud. “Ahh Son of a…” She began to say when she heard the other two wake up. “Wha, What the hay?!” AJ sat up in bed and mumbled to herself “Hmmm what’s going on?” Twilight asked “Rainbow? Why y’all on the floor?” “OH! Morning AJ, I mean guys. Hehe” Rainbow said while scratching her head “Are you okay Rainbow?” Twilight inquired “What, me, yea yea I’m fine.” “You sure Rainbow? Yer scratchin’ yer head a lot. Sure you didn’t hit it?” “What, nah, I’m good” Applejack and Twilight looked at each other trying to figure out what’s with Rainbow’s attitude this morning. Normally she’s all tired and groggy but today she seems really awake and on the move. They shrugged it off then got out of bed and stretched. “What time is it?” Asked the cowpony Twilight looked at the clock on the wall. “It’s about 7:30 a.m.” “When does our train leave today?” AJ asked “Around 10 this morning” Twilight answered “Well since we’re awake now might as well get packin” The three ponies began to gather up their stuff they left out from yesterday morning and start packing things away. Applejack reached into her bag and noticed something that Rainbow could probably use right now. “Oh hey Rainbow I almost forgot to ask.” Applejack said “Huh? Ask what?” She could see AJ asking her about why she was sleeping on her like that last night. She kept thinking that she might have woken up in the middle of the night and saw Rainbow on her in that position. “How’s yer wing holdin’ up?” “Oh, its’ fine kinda, it still hurts a little though.” Rainbow replied breathing a sigh of relief. “Well come over here anyways.” Applejack motioned with her hoof “Wwhy?” “What? Ah’ve got bandages for ya.” “Oh okay then.” Rainbow walked to the other side of the room to Applejack and sat down next to her. Applejack began to bandaging up Rainbow’s side and wing. AJ got done with the dressing on Rainbow’s wing then put her things away and patted her on her side. Rainbow flinched a little in pain. “Tender there are we?” AJ suggested “Huh?! Of…of course not. What gave you that thought?” Rainbow said while trying not to blush. “Calm down now. It was only a joke.” “Oh, yea, haha funny.” The orange cowpony cocked her eyebrow up and gave her friend an unusual stare. “Well I have to finish packing.” She got up and went back to what she was doing. The cowpony didn’t know what to think of the way Rainbow was acting this morning. She seemed a little on edge or uneasy about something. It might be about what happened yesterday; after all it was a scary experience for any pony. She probably just needs some time to gather her thoughts that’s all. Applejack went back to getting her things ready for the long train ride they had ahead of them. They finished their packing but before leaving the Apple family gave them a big breakfast. A large spread of a sorted apple- based food lay on the table just begging to be eaten. Rainbow’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and all she could think about was eating till she passed out. “Ahh well thanks cus. This is mighty fine of ya.” Applejack told Breaburn “Ain’t no trouble cus. After all y’all need it after yesterday.” “This looks delicious Breaburn.” Twilight said while looking over the food “Well thank ya kindly miss Twilight.” “Man I’m starving!” Rainbow exclaimed as she dashed for the table. She sat down and grabbed a plate then started to eat everything in front of her. Just as she started AJ walked up to her and took her plate from her. “What the?! Hey my food!” Applejack took Rainbow’s plate and walked to the end of the table and sat it down. “Y’all gotta wait till everypony is at the table. Plus y’all didn’t thank Breaburn for makin’ this for us,” “But, but…my food.” Rainbow mumbled as she stared at her plate, so far yet so close too. “Rainbow” “Alright, thanks Breaburn for this spread this morning.” “It’s fine miss Rainbow.” Applejack gave Rainbow her plate back and one by one the ponies of the Apple home came to the table. They all ate their share, except for Rainbow who can eat like a full grown stallion, and shared their story about what happened yesterday. Time passed until they needed to get going to the station. They left the comfort of the Apple home and couldn’t wait to get back to their homes. Applejack thought about how everypony back at the farm had been and how she was going to explain the things they saw this weekend. They reached the station in time, just as the train conductor makes his last call. They show him their tickets and climb aboard for the long ride back to Ponyville. * * * The train ride was nothing out of the ordinary. Just like the first time through it was quiet with the three friends lost in thought. Well two of them at least, Rainbow being her usual self was sleeping on the ‘boring’ train, AJ was thinking about being back on the farm but this gnawing thought about Rainbow was pestering her. The orange cowpony pulled her hat down over her eyes and thought on the subject, her hat created a barrier between her and everypony else as she thought on things, but she couldn’t place her hoof on what it was. Twilight could see her friend was being bothered by something. She tried to talk with Applejack but her hat created a ‘barrier’ that no pony could break through. Twilight got through to AJ eventually by pulling on her hat with her magic. “What the hay?” “Sorry AJ but I wanted to get your attention.” “Oh sorry Twi. Ah guess ah was lost in thought about somethin.” “What’s up Applejack?” “Well didn’t y’all notice that Rainbow was actin’ kinda funny this mornin?” “Well now that you mention it.” Twilight placed her hoof under her chin and thought back. “First ah thought it was cause of what happen yesterday but ah’m not sure.” “Well it was an ‘exciting’ day. That’s probably what it was.” “Yea ah guess yer right.” The rest of the ride was quiet again. Twilight was lost in one of her history books while AJ was back to her thoughts and Rainbow, well not much has changed with her, still lost in her dreamland. The train slowed down as it came to the Ponyville station and jerked to a stop. Rainbow jerked with the train and fell over onto Applejack’s shoulder. She woke up seeing AJ staring at her. “Well hey there sleepy head.” Rainbow sat up immediately and looked around. “H…hey there AJ.” “Y’all enjoy sleepin’ on my shoulder?” “Huh? I didn’t sleep on your shoulder.” Rainbow stopped and thought “Did I?” “Ah’m just messin’ with ya.” Rainbow sighed then looked at AJ and thought “That wasn’t funny.” They gathered their things and got off the train. With the train ride taking about half of the day it was just beginning to be nightfall. The three friends said goodbye to each other and headed back to their cozy homes. Twilight headed towards her treehouse while AJ and Rainbow took off together. They reached a fork in the road and Rainbow headed off in the direction of her home in Cloudsdale. “I’ll see you around AJ.” She said as she waved and flew off AJ stopped and called out to Rainbow. “Aye Rainbow, ah’ll see you tomorrow right?” Rainbow stopped dead in the air with a looked of dread on her face. She couldn’t help but think to herself that AJ did know about last night. She turned around and with all her strength looked at AJ. “Yea, sure, tomorrow.” “Y’all forgot didn’t ya?” Rainbow thought back. How could she forget? Waking up that morning lying next to Applejack, so close to her, feeling her touch. Seeing her in the morning light… “Ah DAMN these thoughts!” She mumbled “So y’all did forget, huh?” “No…” “Good, then y’all need to show up early in the mornin’ so ah can tell ya what ya need to do.” “Wait, what?!” Rainbow exclaimed “That bet y’all made. Yer gonna work on the farm for a week to prove yer not a lazy pony. Unless y’all wanna back down?” “OH no way am I backing down from a challenge. It’s on!” “Alright then see ya tomorrow.” AJ took off towards her farm to get rest and tell her family of the weekend adventure they had. Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief and took off for her home. While she fly through the night sky she stared at the moon and thought just how ridiculous she was being. “Applejack doesn’t know about me sleeping on her and besides it wasn’t anything. I probably just rolled over on her, that’s all. But if that’s all then why do I still have these thoughts?” She shook her head in confusion “No matter, I’m sure after a good night’s sleep at my own home everything will be okay.” She finally reached her home and walked up the stairs to her room. She saw her favorite place in the world, her bed made of clouds; she jumped on it and felt the soft comfort that only a cloud can give. She snuggled up and relaxed for a few minutes before letting the clouds drag her off to sleep. * * * Rainbow woke up the next morning; the sun was shining in through the window, it was warm and comforting on her face. She heard her door open so she rolled over wondering who would be at her home this early in the morning. She was surprised to see Applejack come walking through and even more surprised to see her walking on clouds. “Wha…? What are you doing here AJ and how are you walking on the clouds?” “Ah asked Twilight to make it were ah can walk on clouds. Ah wanted to make sure y’all didn’t forget.” “Yea I remember. I haven’t backed out of our challenge.” Applejack walked over to Rainbow’s bed and sat down next to her. “Ah wasn’t talkin about that Rainbow. Ah know about the other night sugar cube.” Rainbow looked at AJ then looked away trying to figure out what to say next. How am I going to defend myself? What should I say to her? Thoughts spun around in her head. She didn’t know what to say and even if she did she couldn’t figure out how to say it. Suddenly she felt Applejack’s hoof under her chin. Applejack slowly turned Rainbow’s face around so they were looking at each other. At that moment Rainbow couldn’t think of anything, nothing to say, just nothing. They stared at each other looking into their eyes and slowly Applejack leaned in and gave Rainbow a slow, loving, kiss. To Rainbow the world around her stopped everything she knew was upside down, her closest friend was with her in her room locking lips. She felt unsure about the situation but at the same time she enjoyed it. They both lay down together. Applejack was on top of her and Rainbow was unsure of what to do or say. Applejack nudged at Rainbow’s side that wasn’t fully healed yet. Rainbow twitched in pain a little and Applejack remarked “So, still tender huh?” Before Applejack could carry on more Rainbow heard a bird chirping at her window. She looked over and the sunlight blinded her for a few seconds. She woke up to the sunlight shining in her face. She sat up quickly and looked around the room to see if Applejack was still there but she wasn’t. “It was all just a dream? It felt soo real to me though.” She fell back into her bed and reflected on the dream and just how great it felt to her. “Urgh” She groaned into her pillow “What’s going on with me? Why am I thinking this way?” Rainbow Dash wanted to just roll over and go back to sleep but she knew she couldn’t. She made a deal with Applejack that she would work on the farm for a whole week because AJ called her lazy. Unfortunately now, with these thoughts, Rainbow isn’t sure she can even be around her friend let alone work together with her. “URGH…What the HELL am I going to do?!” -End of Chapter 3- The TruthChapter 5 The Truth Rainbow was the one to greet the morning on this day. She woke up in the middle of the night from the nightmare and couldn’t go back to sleep. She tossed and turned, the dream replaying in her head, not being able to find a comfortable position. She knew that the dream was weighing heavily on her mind and that she would not be able to go back to sleep but she still tried. Unsuccessful at her attempts she did something she hadn’t done since she was a filly. She went out in the middle of the night on a flight to one of her favorite locations; it was a tall oak tree on a hillside on the outskirts of Ponyville. She flew out there then lay down on top of the tree and stared at the night sky. She came here often when she felt overwhelmed or confused by something but the last time she came out here at night was when she was a filly. That time was when she decided she wanted to become one of them Wonderbolts and work hard to achieve her goal. She stayed there the rest of the night just staring out into space and thinking of what she needs to do. She cleared her head of everything except the two choices she had to make; choice one was confront AJ about this, tell her everything, and let AJ decide if she still wants to be her friend or not then there was choice two which was to keep it to herself and try to make it go away. She was so lost in thought she didn’t even realize that the sun was rising. The brightness of its rays hit her in the face causing her to snap back to reality. She rolled over and watched the sun rise. “Wow, that’s beautiful. I’ve never seen the sun rise before.” She sat up and waited as the sun came into full view. After a minute of two Rainbow stood up and gave a subtle but still noticeable grin. “Alright, I’ve made my choice. As Celestia as my witness I will overcome this.” She opened her wings and took off towards her home. She had to get ready, after all she still had to go do work at the farm, she didn’t want to keep her friend Applejack waiting. * * * Applejack’s night was less restless but still the same problem bugged her when she woke up that morning. She had a dream, an intimate one, between her and Rainbow and she couldn’t make heads or tails of it. She lay there in her bed after waking up for a couple of minutes thinking of the dream. Why would she have a dream about Rainbow, she’s had dreams about Rainbow before but they were normal stuff nothing like this one, was it because of them spending so much time around each other? She sat up in her bed and grabbed her hat off the night stand. Applejack got out of bed and walked over to her mirror to get ready for the day. She noticed the sun was rising through her window. She stopped and looked out at the sun slowly coming up and all the colors that were painting the sky. One of Applejack’s favorite things to do was watch the sun rise while the other was watch it set in the evening. “Too bad Rainbow sleeps so much. She’s probably missing this.” She stared at the sun rise not letting the dream weigh on her mind. After all it’s just a silly dream, it has no meaning, right? That thought went through her head and she started to think on it again. “Ah don’t have time to dwell on this. Ah got that needs attendin’ to.” She left her room and headed downstairs where her family was. They had already started eating breakfast. “Oh there’s ole sleepy head.” Granny Smith said as Applejack walked into the kitchen. “Y’all slept in late today.” Applejack didn’t notice that she spent so much time in her room thinking about that dream. To her it was only a few minutes but it was actually an hour. “What gives? It’s not like y’all to sleep in Applejack?” Applebloom asked with a mouthful of cereal. “Eeyup” “Ah’m sorry family Ah was just thinkin’ about some stuff.” “Thinkin’ about what?” Applebloom asked again “Nothin’ that concerns you sugar cube.” She patted Applebloom on the head and smiled. She wanted to talk to somepony about it but she figured her family wouldn’t understand. She knows her family loves her no matter what but if she told them about that dream and how she was staring at Rainbow yesterday they might think of her differently. It would probably be for the best if she just kept this to herself. It’s not like something like ‘that’ would ever happen anyway. There’s no way Rainbow would be like ‘that’. She and Rainbow are just friends and that is not going to change. After breakfast Applebloom left the house and went to go see her friends so Applejack went to attending to her chores around the house. She started to clean up when a knock was heard at the door. She went to answer but when she did she heard Granny Smith welcome Rainbow into their home. When she heard Rainbow’s voice all she could think about was that dream and the ‘intimate things’ they said to each other. “Morning AJ!” “Oh Rainbow, good mornin” Applejack kept to her chores in the kitchen trying not to look over at Rainbow Dash. She knew if she did she would give away that something was on her mind. After all she couldn’t lie it just was not in her to do so, being the embodiment element of Honesty and all. * * * Once Applejack was done with the small things around the house she and Rainbow went outside to start with the chores out in the fields. “Alright what do you have for me today AJ?” “Hmm let me think.” Applejack placed her hoof under her chin “Well the barn is clean, the house chores are done and most of the west orchard has been bucked.” She tried to think of something then it hit her. “Oh yea, we need some feed for the chickens and some other supplies for the rest of the week. Mind takin’ care of that today. Y’all can go see Granny Smith about bits to buy the stuff and a list of what we need.” “Sure that doesn’t seem too big of a hassle.” Rainbow remarked as she placed her arm around Applejack’s neck. She didn’t realize it at first because she did a lot in the past but this time putting her arm around AJ was different. When Rainbow did realize what she did she pulled away and they both looked in the opposite direction from each other. Rainbow tried to hide her blushing as well as Applejack. “I guess I’ll get going then.” They both said in perfect unison and walked away. Rainbow walked away a little and stopped then looked back. All she could think was that was too close. Applejack did the same as well. She walked a little farther and stopped at an apple tree, she pulled down her hat and head-butted the tree, trying to get the thought of her and Rainbow together out of her head. “Damn it! Ah don’t know if this is gonna work after all.” * * * Rainbow made her way through the market place in Ponyville. She tried to keep her mind on the task at hoof. She had already bought the feed for the chickens and was heading to get the rest of the supplies for the Apple family. While there she ran into Twilight who was out for a stroll around town. “Hey there Twilight” “Good morning Rainbow. What are you doing here, not working on Applejack’s farm today?” “Yea I am still. I’m just grabbing some supplies for the family.” “So you still haven’t given up on that challenge yet?” “Challenge? Oh yea, that’s right.” Rainbow had forgotten all about the challenge she and Applejack had made a while back. She was actually enjoying working on the farm…and being around Applejack all the time. She smiled at that thought. “Rainbow? Rainbow?!” Twilight tried to get her attention as she was lost in thought “Huh? Yea what’s up?” “Are you okay? You were kind of smiling and spaced out.” “Sorry, yea I’m good.” “So do you need any help?” “Yea that would be great. My bags are almost full.” “It would be my pleasure.” They walked around the market place getting what was needed and caught up on things. Twilight told Rainbow how Princess Celestia had been putting her through more training and teaching her more difficult spells. Twilight went on to tell Rainbow that the princess was impressed by what they went through to get the plant, the princess even gave the plant a name for the troubles they went through to get it, and their little adventure through those ancient ruins. The princess sent out and expedition team to the location to do research and to see what they can learn about old pony civilizations. They finished the shopping and started back to the farm. Twilight kept going on about her studies and Rainbow talked about her time so far working on the farm. “So it seems like you’ve been having a good time.” “Yea kinda but it’s really hard work.” “I can imagine but at least you don’t need to work out as much to stay in shape.” “I can get all the exercise I need doing work there. Hey speaking of hard work what did the princess name that pest of plant anyway?” “I think she called it ‘Molestam Florescunt’ if I’m not mistaken.” “Uhh…what?” “It’s Latin meaning ‘Troublesome Bloom’.” “Well that’s fitting.” The two friends kept on talking about several different things until they got back to the farm. When they got back Applejack was in the barn getting tools to use in the orchard. “Hey there I’m back.” “About time Ah thought y’all got lost. Howdy there Twilight, didn’t expect to see you.” “Good morning Applejack. I was at the market and I ran into Rainbow. She needed help carrying some stuff back so I offered.” “Well thank ya kindly Twilight. There is a door around back that leads down to the cellar. That’s where this stuff goes.” “Alright I’ll get it down there in no time.” “Applejack may I ask if I can barrow Rainbow for a little after this is done?” “Well Ah guess so but what for?” “I need about two dozen apples. I’m going to be able to carry those back myself.” “Two dozen?! Now why y’all need that many?” “Princess Celestia has me working on a new spell, it’s a transformation spell, and I want to test it out on something inanimate before moving on to the next level. I’ll gladly pay for them.” “Well alright then Ah see no problem just make sure you get back here after y’all are done.” “I will. You can trust me.” “Thank you very much Applejack.” The two left the barn and headed around to the backside where the cellar was. They took the supplies down and quickly place everything where it belonged then headed back up to the barn where Applejack was waiting with two dozen apples plus a few extra for her friend, no extra charge of course, then Twilight and Rainbow left the farm heading back to Ponyville. * * * They reached Twilight’s house and Twilight offered her friend a drink. Rainbow accepted and went inside for a short break before heading back to the farm. They went upstairs and as usual there were books scattered everywhere and pieces of parchment with notes scribbled on them. “So where’s Spike at?” “He’s having to run some errands for me.” “You always keep him busy don’t you?” “Well he is my personal assistant after all.” Rainbow really didn’t care about what Spike was doing she just wanted to know if anypony else was there or not. Once Twilight said he was out doing errands she felt a little more comfortable knowing it was just her and Twilight. She took a deep breath and looked around the room. She wasn’t sure she wanted to do this but she needed to talk to somepony. Twilight seemed to be the best candidate since she was smart on a lot of things. She took another deep breath and drink of the water Twilight gave her. For some reason she had a really dry mouth at that moment. “Is something wrong Rainbow?” “No. I mean yes. I don’t know.” “What’s wrong Rainbow? Ever since we came back from Appleloosa you’ve seem to be bothered by something.” “Twilight can I tell you something but you have to promise not to tell anypony. Promise me!” “Sure Rainbow, I promise you nopony shall know.” Rainbow sat there trying to figure out how she would word what she was thinking at that moment. She stared at the glass of water in her hooves hoping to find the answer there but it provided no such thing. She thought that there is no going back now. “I. Kind of. Have a crush on somepony.” Twilight stopped in the middle of drinking her water, shocked by what she just heard, and stared at Rainbow. Rainbow just sat there waiting to hear what Twilight would say next. “OH MY GOSH! Ohmygosh, ohmygosh! Tell me! Who is he? Is he a strong stallion!? Oh I bet he’s very athletic too! Is he a pegasus as well?!” Twilight had so many questions to ask but was too excited to be quiet and let Rainbow answer any of them. She finally got a hold of herself and got quiet so Rainbow could talk. “I’m sorry Rainbow, please continue.” After all that Twilight just asked she was afraid to tell her that the pony she had a crush on wasn’t even a stallion it was a mare and to top it off it was her best friend Applejack. Rainbow looked off to the side to gather her thoughts. “You promise you won’t tell?” “Yes I promise.” “And you promise you won’t think less of me if I tell you who it is.” “Of course I won’t Rainbow.” “Fine it’s…” Rainbow mumbled the name under her breath to where it was almost inaudible. Twilight cocked her eyebrow and tried to listen closely but couldn’t hear the name. She asked Rainbow to repeat it and Rainbow did at the same low tone. She asked for one more time. “APPLEJACK! There I said it.” “Wait you have a crush on Applejack?!” Rainbow sat there staring at the floor trying not to blush but it was too late, her face was the same color red as the one in her mane. “Aww man I’ve messed up now! Twilight thinks I’m a weirdo and now she isn’t going to be my friend anymore!” Rainbow thought to herself as she covered her face. “That’s…” “I knew it, here it comes!” She yelled at herself inside her head “That’s ADORABLE! Have you told her yet?!” “Wait, what?!” “What, you didn’t think I was going to be weirded out by that did you?” “Well I wasn’t sure, I mean it’s not something that everypony goes through.” “Rainbow it’s fine. We have no control over who we fall in love with.” "Yea but it's not natural, to be a mare and have feelings for another mare." "Rainbow love isn't meant to be natural. It's something that we find, not discover. It's something we understand, we don't need to study it. Love is a common ground or certainty and uncertainty, natural and unnatural." “Wow I never thought of it like that.” “So how long have you had a crush on her? Does she know?” Rainbow sat there with Twilight and they both talked. Rainbow told Twilight about everything that had happened since the time at Appleloosa to now, her dreams, her thoughts and how she feels when around Applejack. “And you haven’t told her yet?” “No I’m too afraid of what she might say.” “I’m sure if you open up to her she might accept you. The worst is she says she doesn’t feel the same way.” “But what if she gets weirded out by it and chooses not to be my friend anymore?” “I don’t think she’ll do that. Applejack is very understanding.” “I guess so. I need to think about this some more. Thanks Twilight for listening to me.” “No problem Rainbow and I promise I won’t tell Applejack about any of this. I’m always here if you need to talk again.” “Yea thanks a lot again.” Rainbow gave Twilight a big hug then realized something. She looked through the window and saw it was almost Dusk. She had spent the rest of the day sitting around and talking with Twilight. She opened the glass door leading to Twilight’s balcony and took off heading for Applejack’s farm. * * * She flew as fast as she could to get back to the farm. She couldn’t believe she had stayed there that long talking with Twilight. Even though she did feel bad about not coming back to the farm she felt good that she told somepony about everything that had been happening. Good enough to confront Applejack about it. Finally she was going to say something to her. She got back to the farm and wasted no time looking for Applejack. It didn’t take long because she was in the orchard bucking still. Rainbow landed and trotted up to Applejack with a happy smile on her face. “Hey AJ, still working I see.” “Yup of course Ah am.” Applejack didn’t even look in Rainbow’s direction. She just kept kicking the apple trees and staying focused on the task. “Hey AJ, can we talk about something?” Applejack gave the tree one last heavy kick that shook the whole tree then stopped. She had her hat down over her eyes but Rainbow could Applejack was giving her a stare that would burn a hole through steel. “Yea ok Rainbow let’s talk. Let’s talk about how ‘YOU’ promised y’all would be back after going to Twilight’s house then never did!” “I. I’m sorry Applejack I lost track of time.” “Yea Ah’m sure you did. ‘You can trust me’ isn’t that what you said before you left?” “Yea I did but Twilight and I started talking about some stuff and I just lost track of time.” “Ah was expecting y’all to come straight back. After y’all took off we got a huge order for ten barrels of apples. Big Mac and Ah had to do all that work while you were out chattin’ with Twilight. What could be so dang important that y’all had to talk all day about?!” Applejack gave the tree another heavy kick When Rainbow came back she was so confident to tell AJ how she felt but now she didn’t even want look at her. She knows she screwed up and Applejack was mad. Nothing she could say would probably make Applejack feel better right now. “I’m sorry AJ I messed up.” “Well it’s fine. Ah’ve had time to think and just don’t come back tomorrow or the rest of the week too.” “What? Why?” “Y’all know why. Ah thought Ah could depend on y’all but that was proven wrong.” “Applejack, please! Just give me a chance to tell you something.” “No Ah don’t want to hear it. Just go.” Applejack turned and walked away into the darkness of the orchard. Rainbow stood there not knowing what to say. She sat down on the ground and wanted to cry, she could feel the tears building up. “It’s just like my dream from last night.” She placed her face in her arms so if Applejack was still around she wouldn’t see her sobbing. Applejack had already walked away, heading back to the house, she kept thinking about how Rainbow never came back. She doesn’t know why she is soo mad. Her and Big Mac had done orders like those before with no problem so why was this time different? She was just mad at the fact Rainbow told her she could trust her and Rainbow left her holding the barrel, so to speak. Every time she thought about it, it made her mad. “Just let it go AJ. Just go home and sleep it off.” Rainbow by this time had left the orchard and started to walk home. She didn’t feel like flying tonight. She just wanted to walk and take the long way home. Maybe she thought if she took long enough Applejack would come back to her and give her another chance. It never happened though; Rainbow walked and felt nothing but sadness and loneliness tonight. Applejack didn’t even eat dinner she just went straight to her bedroom and fell asleep. She didn’t have a dream that night. She just slept hoping she could forget what happened that day. Rainbow Dash finally made it home but wasn’t as lucky. She went to her room and laid there on her bed. She stared out through the window at the night sky. That normally calms her down but tonight it just reminded her of how she felt on the inside; empty. Another night of no sleep, another restless night. -End of Chapter 5- Regaining what was LostChapter 6 Regaining what was Lost It had been a few days since Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s argument. Rainbow had been keeping to herself those few days. She stayed home most of the time except when she left to go do her weather duties but even then she still kept to herself. She didn’t want to talk about what had happen, she really didn’t want to talk to anypony period, so she stayed silent and distant from her friends especially Applejack. Even though they did have that argument Rainbow still thought about her. She wondered how she was doing and if she had cooled down enough so they could talk again. All Rainbow really wanted was to just tell Applejack how she felt, what she thought about her, and if there is any way to make things work. They could back to being friends again or if by some miracle they could become more. At this point though she would just settle for seeing her friend again, at least that would give her some kind of sense that they are okay. The past few nights Rainbow was plagued by nightmares of her and Applejack not making up and Applejack going on the rest of life hating Rainbow. Nightmares that had her waking up at all hours of the night. She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since the fight. Rainbow had figured that she needed to apologize but Applejack really isn’t the type to let things go. She knew AJ was stubborn and not going to admit she over-reacted so she would have to make the first move. “I shouldn’t have to make the first move. I did nothing wrong, right Tank?” She asked her tortoise as she paced the floor. In these past few days Tank has been the only one Rainbow communicated with but it’s not like he can offer any advice to the situation. That tortoise has heard more than his fair share of complaints from Rainbow these last couple days but he didn’t care. As long as he got to spend time with Rainbow he was fine. “What should I do Tank?” She laid on the ground in front of him and stared like he was going to offer life changing information or something but he just sat there and stared back. “I know I needed to talk to Applejack.” She said back to his blank stare “The problem is she might not talk back.” He just kept sitting there and staring at his owner talking to herself. “You’re right! I need to talk to somepony. Twilight is the only one though that knows about my secret and I’m not sure how much help she’ll be.” Tank the ever patient tortoise kept staring at his owner still talking to herself thinking the whole time she just might be going crazy. “All right then I guess I should go talk to Twilight. She might be able to help after all.” She left her house, for the first time in almost three days, with the intention to find somepony to talk to about her problem and hopefully get an answer as to what she needs to do. Inside she already knew the answer but that pride of hers was not about to give in and admit she did something wrong even though she knew she messed up. It was Applejack that should apologize, not her. * * * The last couple of days were hard on Applejack just as they were on Rainbow. AJ knew she had over-reacted to what Rainbow had done but she did promise she would come right back, plus Rainbow told Applejack she could trust her. If she couldn’t trust her with something simple as a delivery run then how could she trust Rainbow with something more serious? Applejack wasn’t one for reading too much into dreams but the last few nights they had been bugging her. She would wake up and go out at night for walks through the orchards. Applejack would go out at nights and go for walks so she could think and clear her head. She found the night time the best time because nopony was awake to bother her so she could just walk, think and take in the calming scenery that only the night and moonlight could bring. She wouldn’t think about the dreams she had as she walked around but she would think about Rainbow and if she was doing okay. The last time they ‘talked’ Applejack could tell Rainbow was really upset about what had happened but she was too angry to care. The past few nights her faithful pet dog Wanona would follow her as she strolled through the fields. Applejack would wonder around for a couple of hours thinking how she could make it up to Rainbow. Once she walked around for a little while she would stop at an old apple tree that had been on the farm since Granny Smith was a filly. She would sit under it and pet Wanona as she stared out at the night sky, gazed at the stars, and let her mind wander away. “Darn it, why do things like this gotta be so complicated?” She looked down at Wanona like she had an answer but she was asleep next to her master. She butted the back of her head against the trunk of the tree and moaned to herself. “We were fine as friends! Then she started workin’ on the farm and…” She paused and thought back to her dream about the two of them together. “Then things began to change. Ah changed, maybe, or Ah might have had that thought before.” She continued to sit there under that tree and argue with herself. She wondered if she had changed or if there was something there the whole time it’s just she chose to ignore it until now. “What am Ah gonna do? Ah could talk to Rainbow.” She thought “But Celestia knows how she’ll react to that and Ah’m sure not gonna talk to anypony in my family about this. They might react the same way as Rainbow.” She wanted to talk to Rainbow but didn’t know how to go about telling her something like ‘I have these feelings for you’. The only pony she could think of that could offer some kind of insight might be Twilight. “Well Ah guess that settles that. Tomorrow Ah’ll go see Twilight and ask her…” Applejack paused and thought on how she would tell Twilight. “Ah guess Ah need to work on this some.” Applejack stood up and headed back to the farm to sleep on her decision. She figured out of everypony Twilight would be the most understanding and hopefully give her some sound advice on what she should do. Confront Rainbow or just leave things alone? * * * Rainbow arrives at Twilight’s treehouse and starts to knock on the door when she hears two voices talking inside. She recognizes both voices, it was Twilight and Applejack talking about something, so she walks around to the other side and flies up to the balcony then stands at the glass door and listens to the conversation. Rainbow stood there for a few seconds but all she could hear was mumbles. She put her ear up to the glass to try and hear a little better. She heard what sounded like Applejack saying something but it was too low to really hear but she heard Twilight loud and clear. “You WHAT?!” Twilight exclaimed “Ah know. Ah should really talk to her about this but Ah’m too nervous to.” “AJ take it from me, talking to Rainbow about this will probably be a good thing.” Twilight reassured her friend “Yea but with that darn pride of hers she may just blow me off. Ah did treat her kinda hard after all.” “Applejack trust me. You are going to want to talk to Rainbow about this.” “Y’all might be right Twilight. Ah’m gonna need to think about this.” “It’s no trouble at all AJ, anytime.” Rainbow stayed glued to the glass on the door. She figured that Applejack wanted to talk about how she acted but Rainbow wasn’t aware of Applejack’s real reason for her visiting Twilight that morning. After AJ left Twilight stopped and thought about something then went upstairs and started to write something down. Just then she heard the door leading to her balcony open. She turned and saw Rainbow come walking in, after she looked around to make sure AJ was gone, and then greeted her with an unusual big smile. “Good morning Rainbow!” “Hey Twilight” “So I heard that you and Applejack aren’t talking to each other right now.” “Yea, we had a ‘disagreement’.” “I’m sorry to hear that, really I am.” “That’s why I’m here actually. I need to talk to you.” “I figured as much. You want to talk to Applejack right?” “Yea but I’m not sure she wants to.” “Well of course she does Rainbow.” “Didn’t seem like it to me.” Rainbow covered her mouth “Rainbow were you eavesdropping on mine and Applejack’s conversation earlier?” “I kinda did but I really didn’t hear anything.” “Oh okay then” Twilight looked discouraged at the fact Rainbow didn’t hear anything. Applejack had come to Twilight early that morning to talk to her about these feelings she had towards Rainbow. At first Twilight thought Rainbow had confronted AJ about her feelings but when AJ said they had gotten into a fight earlier that week and that they hadn’t talked since she was unsure what AJ wanted. After much poking and prying at Applejack Twilight finally got her to admit why she showed up. Twilight was ecstatic that Applejack had the same feelings for Rainbow as Rainbow did for Applejack. Twilight wanted to tell AJ how Rainbow felt but she promised Rainbow she wouldn’t, she couldn’t; besides this was something Rainbow had to tell Applejack personally. After Applejack told Twilight her feelings, her dreams, her fears and how she feels when she’s around Rainbow Twilight wanted to find Rainbow and tell her everything. Applejack on the other hoof wanted to talk to Rainbow so she made Twilight promise to keep this between them. Twilight had hoped while Rainbow was eavesdropping she would have heard AJ confession but it seemed like Rainbow was a little too late. Twilight was getting aggravated over the fact she had the opportunity to tell these two love struck friends the truth about each other but she knew it wasn’t her place to just come out and tell them. She could on the other hoof coax them to come together and finally talk about this. “Hey! Hello? Twilight!” Rainbow waved her hoof in Twilight’s face “Oh I’m sorry Rainbow. I guess I got lost in thought.” “I’m having a mental breakdown and you’re daydreaming?! I’m sorry Twilight it’s just I have no idea of what to do here. I didn’t mean to snap at you.” “It’s okay Rainbow, I understand, you’re feeling stressed out right now.” “Yea I guess so. Hey you wouldn’t happen to have a book on these kinds of things do you? Maybe some kind of guide lines or something?” “Sorry Rainbow I hate to say but there isn’t any guide lines to love.” “I figured as much. That’s always my kinda luck.” “You know what though Rainbow. How about later this evening you and I go for a walk around the park. We can talk there and maybe the fresh air will help you think better.” “I’m not sure. What if somepony over hears us talking?” “It will be fine Rainbow, trust me.” “Alright then. Later this evening at the park. I’ll see you there besides I have to take care of some weather stuff anyway, later Twilight.” Twilight smiled at the thought that her plan might work. Now all she has to do is extend an invitation to Applejack and hope she accepts it as well. She walked back to her desk and started writing on the parchment again. * * * The day ticked by slow for Rainbow. She normally would have taken a nap to pass the time but she really wanted to talk to Twilight. She got done with her weather duties over Ponyville early so she lazed around the park till it was time to meet Twilight. “Rainbow there you are!” “Oh hey Twilight. So are we going to talk now?” “Yup just one more minute.” “For what?” “Sorry Ah’m late Twilight Ah had to take care of some last minute things.” “Oh Celestia no, really Twilight?” Rainbow mumbled to her friend “You have to talk to her eventually Rainbow.” Rainbow shivered at the thought of confronting Applejack about everything, especially in a public place like this, even more so since they haven’t talked in a couple of days. “Hey Twilight…oh hey there Rainbow.” Rainbow stood there staring at the ground not knowing what to say. “Twilight what’s the big idea? Y’all said we should talk, you never said Rainbow was coming.” Applejack whispered to Twilight “Look you two, you have been ignoring each other for the almost a week now. It’s time you two made up!” They both stood there silent trying to figure out what Twilight’s plan is. “Rainbow your pride is what is keeping you from talking to Applejack not the fact you’re afraid if she’ll not talk back. Applejack your stubbornness is what’s keeping you from talking to Rainbow. Not to mention that the both of you are so afraid of rejection from the other you are ignoring how it’s affecting you personally.” “What fear of rejection?” Applejack asked “I’m tired of keeping your guys secrets. Somepony needs to talk to the other one or I will!” Rainbow Dash wanted to disappear but she knew that no matter how fast she could fly she wouldn’t escape the fact that Applejack was going to find out about her secret, either from her or Twilight, so it was up to her to come clean. It was time for her to own up to her feelings. Applejack was regretting showing up this evening. She could have just stayed home and been just fine but she still had not figured out how to say to Rainbow how she felt. It doesn’t matter now though, with Twilight putting the spotlight on her like this, she had no choice but to say what she felt. Rainbow reached out and grabbed Applejack on the shoulder. “Twilight is right. AJ I need to talk to you about something. Not here though, can we walk and talk?” Applejack did not know how to react. She wasn’t sure what Rainbow had to say and she really wasn’t sure what she was going to say to her. “Well alright Rainbow, if it’s that important.” The two started to walk off together in silence, neither one of them wasn’t sure what to say, then Twilight could be heard yelling to them. “I want to see progress when you return!” * * * The two friends walked for some time without saying a word to each other. Rainbow didn’t want to say anything; the time she was spending with Applejack was great even if they didn’t talk. Walking through the park with AJ on a moonlit night is what Rainbow needed to make sure that her feelings were true. Rainbow glanced over at her friend who was lost in thought, she couldn’t be sure on what, but she knew it had to be something majorly bugging her. They walked by a lake then Applejack stopped and stared out across the water. “What’s up AJ?” “Ah’ve been thinkin’ and Twilight is right. Rainbow there is somethin’ Ah’ve been meanin’ to talk to you about.” “No me first, I need to tell you this more.” “Now hold on Rainbow Ah know y’all want to apologize for earlier this week but Ah’ve got something a little more important.” “Wait, what?! Apologize? If anything you should apologize for over-reacting.” “Me? Y’all were the one who left and didn’t come back.” “That’s because I needed to talk to Twilight!” “Y’all keep sayin’ that. What could’ve been so important?” “The fact that…” Rainbow paused not knowing what to say next. Rainbow shut her eyes tight and grit her teeth. All she wanted to do was finally tell AJ the truth. “The truth is I’ve been meaning to tell you. Applejack I love you.” Applejack was stunned and speechless. She didn’t know if what she just heard had actually come from Rainbow or was it her mind playing tricks. Rainbow stood there waiting for a response from Applejack but all she was getting a black stare. “I’m guessing from that stare you don’t feel the same way. I understand I’ll just leave you alone.” She lowered her head and folded her ears back then started to walk away. “Rainbow wait!” Applejack ran in front of her to stop her. “Are y’all serious about what you just said?” “Yea, I am and I know it’s probably weird for you so I won’t bug you but I hope we can still be friends?” “No Rainbow y’all don’t understand. That’s what Ah wanted to tell y’all as well.” “What?! Really!?” “Yea sugar cube but Ah was too scared of how y’all would react.” “Me too, I didn’t want to lose you as a friend.” “Well y’all don’t need to worry about that anymore.” Applejack put her hoof under Rainbow’s chin and lifted her face up to hers. They stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed like a lifetime even though it was only for a few moments. They both leaned in close, both of their hearts beating a million miles a second, they could feel each other’s breath. Rainbow’s wings had shifted from being by her side to an upright position, a pegasus trait showing their love, then the whole world stopped. At least for those two it did as they shared their first real kiss. “It just like how I dreamed.” Rainbow thought “Wait; don’t let this be another dream!” She thought They stood there for what was like an eternity locked together by that kiss. The seal that showed that both of them had felt the same way. That was until Applejack pulled herself away from Rainbow. Rainbow’s expression on her face dropped instantly like her wings. “What’s wrong AJ? Did I do something wrong?” “Ah…Ah’m just unsure.” “What? Unsure about what?” “You weren’t unsure with that kiss a second ago.” Rainbow thought “Ah mean what about my family? What if they don’t approve of this?” “Well they are your family, I’m sure they can be understanding right?” “Ah don’t know. Rainbow Ah need some time to think. If y’all will give me that Ah’ll have an answer for ya.” “Wait if you’re going to talk to your family I want to be there.” “No Rainbow this is something Ah wanna do alone.” Applejack walked off into the night to think about everything that had just happen. She told Rainbow the truth tonight and Rainbow had felt the same way as well. She should be happy, stumbling over herself with happiness, but she was worried about what her family would think if they found out. Applejack finally admitted to Rainbow her love, the only pony she had felt that way for, and now she might have to choose between her loved ones. Applejack didn’t want to choose, she couldn’t choose, she needed time to think. Rainbow left the park feeling like she walk on water. Finally she had told Applejack the truth. Surprisingly Applejack wasn’t freaked out or creeped by it. Applejack actually had the same thoughts, the same feelings, and Rainbow was ecstatic by the thought. No more secrets, no more hiding stares, now they can actually move on. Rainbow felt calm for the first time in a week or so, she might even be able to sleep the whole night tonight, and there was nothing that could change that. * * * Rainbow flew home that night still not believing that what just happened was real but she knew it, she finally did it, and that thought made her the happiest pegasus ever. She wondered though if AJ was doing ok. She was pretty upset when she left. I know she wanted to be left alone to think but what if I just stopped by for a second to make sure she’s fine. Rainbow changed her course and headed towards the Apple family farm. She wasn’t going to actually stop at the place just fly by to see if Applejack is fine. She made it to the farm and it was dark and quiet. She figured that everypony was asleep so she would fly by quick then leave. She started to fly down to the far when she noticed the front door open. “Now who would be awake at this hour?…other than me” She flew down and landed expecting to see Applejack but instead it was Granny Smith holding a lantern. “Hey there Granny Smith. Aren’t you up a little late?” “Ah should say the same for you as well.” “What are you doing outside with a lantern?” “Waiting for Applejack.” “Wait you mean she hasn’t come home yet?” “No. The last I heard Applejack was going to see Twilight at the park for something. What are you doing out this late?” “Oh well I…ran into Applejack and Twilight at the park. We hung out for a bit and Applejack headed home. I was just making sure she got home safely.” “Wait! You mean you let go off alone?!” “Well yea, she said she would be fine. Why?” “There’s been an increase in Timber Wolf sightings lately.” “WHAT?! Oh nononono!” Rainbow shot off like a rocket heading back to the park. She flew as fast as she could. She couldn’t stop beating herself up in her mind. “How stupid could I be!? I should have never let her go off alone tonight!” -End of Chapter 6- One Long NightChapter 7 One Long Night After getting the news from Granny Smith all Rainbow could think about is how she let Applejack go off on her own. Rainbow pounded her hoof against her forehead as she grit her teeth trying to get rid of the thought that something might have happen to Applejack. “No, not as long as I’m around, I’ll make sure she’s safe.” Rainbow flew through the night sky faster than a shooting star towards the park where she last saw her friend at. The whole time she was praying that AJ was still at the park, still walking by the lake side, perfectly fine and out of danger. After flying in a frantic state she arrived at the park. It was quiet and nothing was moving. Rainbow shifted her head from one direction to another hoping to spot Applejack but was unsuccessful. A pained look covered her face as she started to run around the park looking, hoping, and praying to find any sign of Applejack’s whereabouts. She ran along the path that covered the whole park until it lead her to the lake. Rainbow stopped and looked around again with high hopes that AJ was still there. She shifted her gaze to the other side of the lake, thinking she could be over there, but it was as empty as the rest of the park. “Maybe I’m over reacting. Applejack could be back at her home by now.” She sighed to herself, turned around and started to leave but as she was walking away something caught her eye. A look on Rainbow Dash’s face some could only describe as that of her ‘Seeing a ghost’. Rainbow ran along the path that lead to the other side of the lake. She stopped and place almost perfectly on top of a bush was the one thing she didn’t want to see. It was Applejack’s trade mark cowpony hat sitting there alone and then Rainbow knew her fears were true. Feeling guilt build up inside her she lowered her head and tried to hold off the urge to kick herself. Rainbow gave the tree next to her a hard kick. “I’m an idiot! No, this is no damn time to be feeling sorry for myself. Screw this I’m not gonna give up! She’s fine I know it!” Rainbow grabbed Applejack’s hat and tossed it on her head. Rainbow flew along the path for a few minutes. When she reached the end of it she was staring down an entrance to the Everfree Forest. “She has to be in there. This is the only place where the path ends at.” Rainbow took a step forward but quickly stopped and stepped back. “No Rainbow! This isn’t the time to get cold feet. Applejack needs your help and you’ve come too far, in more ways than one too.” Rainbow put her determined look on her face and ran steadfast into the forest. Not knowing what might happen or what may be waiting but she didn’t care. The one pony she cares for could be in trouble and that’s all that was on her mind. * * * Rainbow was walking through the Everfree Forest. Constantly looking in every direction hoping for a sign of Applejack’s location. “Timberwolves…why did it have to be Timberwolves? And why do they have to live in the Everfree Forest?” Rainbow thought to herself She kept walking deeper and deeper into the forest. An eerie wind had started to blow through the woods. It was dark even with the moonlight she still had a hard time seeing in front of her. After the wind had started a chilling fog had rolled in that surrounded everything. The Everfree Forest had a reputation for unpredictable and scary weather. Pegasi had no control over the weather in this area of Equestria so they tended to stay away from it. Against everything Rainbow knew of the area she continued on. Rainbow knew something had happen to Applejack, she could feel it inside her. The fog was thick and impairing her sight even more. “Wait if I fly up over the tree tops I will be able to see better.” Rainbow feeling confident about her plan opened her wings getting ready to take flight but stopped as she looked up and saw how compact the tree tops were. The trees had been growing here for possibly centuries unchecked which meant the tree tops created a ceiling of foliage. If she flew over the forest she wouldn’t be able to see the ground. “Damn I wouldn’t be any better off doing that than staying down here.” Rainbow closed her wings by her side and continued walking along the invisible path through the forest. Rainbow wasn’t sure if Applejack was still here in the forest or if she was even here to begin with. After all she could have made it home. “She could be back at home, safe and sound, asleep in her bed. But why did she leave her hat at the park? Maybe she was chased off by some Timberwolves but made it home? But what if they chased after her?” Rainbow looked at AJ’s hat on her head and shook her head vigorously at that thought. “No I can’t think like that. I’ll look around just a little more and if I don’t find anything then I’ll go back to farm and check to see if she made it back.” Rainbow went along the path through the forest and through the fog. She had her doubts but she wanted to be sure nonetheless. So she walked on, searching the ground for any kind of sign, looking for any clue that would validate Applejack being here. Suddenly she heard a noise no pony wants to hear. Her ears pricked up and a look of terror fell on her face. She frantically searched around her, staring off into the darkness, but the fog was thick and it was hard to see but that sound was unmistakable. “That…that was the howl of Timberwolves and they’re…close by.” Rainbow panicked and began to run through the trees and fog. The last thing a pony wants is to encounter a pack of Timberwolves in the Everfree Forest especially at night. So Rainbow instinctively ran from the noise. She had no idea where she was going or what might be ahead of her but she kept running. * * * Rainbow ran for as long as she could. Shards of moonlight shone through the canopy of tree tops as she ran from the sound of Timberwolves behind her. The fog was thick and it made visibility low but she didn’t care about was in front of her just what was behind her. Rainbow heard the howls again and picked up her pace. She turned her head to look behind her, she saw nothing, it was dark and foggy but that didn’t mean she wasn’t being chased. Rainbow looked forward again and was hit in the face by the glare of moonlight. “An opening? Is it an exit to the forest?” Rainbow wasn’t going to take any chances. She ran for the opening in the trees. Turning her head to look behind her one last time to make sure she was safe. “Haha there is no way some dumb old Timberwolves can catch me!” Rainbow kept running to the exit and began to breathe a sigh of relief. “At lasaaAHHH!” Rainbow yelled The opening she ran so desperately for, hoping it would offer salvation, ended with a cliff. The thick fog on the ground had concealed the drop-off from her so as she ran she couldn’t have noticed it. Rainbow stopped and looked around her. The view would be beautiful, the Everfree Forest lay in front of her basked in moonlight, if she wasn’t in these current circumstances. “Aww man that was close. Another few inches and I would have been six feet under.” Rainbow turned and heard the growls of the wolves. “Might be too early to pat myself on the back.” She searched the tree line looking for her pursers but didn’t see anything. Just then Rainbow heard more howls of the Timberwolves but this time from behind her. Rainbow turned to look and at the bottom of the cliff was something she had hoped not to see. At the bottom of the cliff was a small, open area, field and as she looked on Rainbow saw Applejack running across it. At first Rainbow felt relieved to see AJ safe. That was until she noticed that a pack of six Timberwolves were chasing Applejack. “APPLEJACK!!” Rainbow yelled Applejack stopped when she heard her name being yelled by Rainbow. There is no way Applejack could mistake that voice. “Rainbow! Am Ah glad to see y’all!” Applejack turned when she heard the sound of the wolves growling behind her. One of them lunged at her but she gave it a swift kick making it fall to pieces to the ground. “Rainbow we ain’t got time to talk now. Look Ah’m headin’ to the river that runs through the forest. If we follow it downstream it will lead us to the farm. Meet me there!” Applejack started to run off back into the forest with the wolves close behind her. “Hell no am I going to just let you go off on your own again AJ!” Rainbow opened up her wings getting ready to take flight when she heard growls behind her as well. Rainbow turned to see three Timberwolves slowly walking towards her. “Damn it! I don’t have time for this.” The lead wolf of the pack; a large, old, grey-ish wolf with a long scar across its face stared Rainbow down. It began to charge towards Rainbow. She backed up against the edge of the cliff and looked over her shoulder. “Your mistake” The wolf jumped towards Rainbow and Rainbow jumped backwards off the cliff then opened her wings and took flight towards the field where she saw Applejack. The Timber wolf tried to grab onto the ledge but it lost its grip and fell into the darkness below. Rainbow flew off towards the open field with only one thought in her mind. That was to help Applejack and stomp anything that gets in her way. Rainbow landed in the field and saw the tracks that lead in the direction of Applejack. Rainbow took off in the direction that would hopefully lead to Applejack. She flew just inches off the ground always keeping her eyes in front of her, also watching the tracks below her too, waiting and hoping that the next turn she would see AJ. Rainbow stared at the ground following the tracks with her eyes until the clouds blocked the moonlight making it hard for Rainbow to see anything. (Smack!) A loud thud could be heard through the forest. Without the little light the moon was giving off the forest turn black and Rainbow couldn’t see the trees in front of her. The clouds shifted and Rainbow lay there in the dirt. She sat up and tried to open up her wings but a sharp pain flew through body. Her wing that had finally healed after her last accident was messed up again. “Ugh! I’m such an idiot! I knew flying through the trees was stupid.” Rainbow stood up and started walking in the direction of the tracks. No matter how bad she was hurt she was not going to let her friend down. Not now, not ever. * * * Rainbow followed the tracks till they reached the edge of the river that Applejack had told her earlier. She looked around, searching for her friend, but AJ wasn’t there and there were no more tracks to follow. Rainbow looked along the river’s bank but there was none to be found. “What the hell? How do tracks just disappear?” Rainbow crossed the river to the other side hoping to have better luck but still nothing that she could see. She began to panic but calmed herself down and took another look around then noticed that a few branches were broken. Some of the Applejack’s blonde hair was on the branches as well. The only reason why there were no tracks was because AJ had ran into thick grass and bushes. “Man these wolves just don’t quit.” Rainbow ran into the thick grass and followed the broken branches with high hopes. She knew she was getting close to her friend and that meant they were close to this nightmare being over. They could go home, sleep comfortably, dream about things and relax finally. Rainbow continued to follow the broken branches while she let her thoughts about her and AJ keep her spirits up. That was until she reached the end of the trail of branches and came across something that made her heart sink. Applejack had been cornered against some rocks and was lying on the ground while Timberwolves circled her. She wasn’t moving as the wolves were closing in on her slowly. “No this can’t be right, AJ can’t be beaten that easily.” One of the wolves moved in for the kill but before he could get any closer Rainbow dashed in giving the wolf a huge head-butt causing him to fly against the rock wall behind him, smashing him into tiny pieces. Rainbow then stood over Applejack staring down the other four wolves daring them to come closer. “I swear if you take on step closer I will use the sticks you’re made of as a camp fire.” One of the wolves challenged Rainbow’s threat by stepping forward and another did the same. Rainbow looked around her and knew she was outmatched plus surrounded on all four sides. She wasn’t going to back down though. That would mean certain death for her and Applejack and she was not about to let that happen. The wolves began to attack. The first one jumped towards Rainbow but she managed to spin around and give it a hard kick to the side of its head causing it to shatter. Another ran towards Applejack but Rainbow cut it off by giving it a low kick causing its legs to fall out from under it. “That’s two” Rainbow stood her ground as the other two wolves began to circle her. She didn’t take her eyes off either one of them for a second. Rainbow patiently waited for one of them to make their move. The two wolves stopped and stared at each other as if confirming something. Rainbow kept her ground wondering what they were doing. Unexpectedly both wolves attacked from opposite sides of Rainbow. “Ahh hell I didn’t see this coming!” Rainbow thinking fast came up with an idea. She stood steadfast till the wolves got close enough then she reached down and grabbed AJ by her tail and dodged the attack causing the wolves to hit head on. “Don’t you even think for a second that you can beat me like that!” But before Rainbow could breathe another sigh of relief she heard a growl from behind her. Rainbow turned to see a large Timber wolf with a long scar on its face. “Damn your back!” The wolf sat there, staring down Rainbow, as if waiting for something to happen. Sure enough the wolves that Rainbow had just beaten began to come back together with their magic. The five wolves had come back to life and began to circle Rainbow and Applejack again. This time it was different though, they seemed more coordinated, Rainbow might not be able to fight them off again. “One hell of a time to take a nap AJ.” The wolves walked around the light-blue pony looking for a weak point to attack. Rainbow knew that that’s what they were doing so she tried to fight off the pain she felt in her wing she injured earlier. She tried to fight it off but it became too much, she was exhausted and hurting, and the wolves picked up on that fact. Even so she still stood her ground, still protecting Applejack, and staring down the lead wolf. The wolves stopped and finally figured out which side to attack from. They began to coordinate their attack, positioning themselves in the pounce stance, and Rainbow could see what was about to happen. Three wolves went in for the attack. Two from Rainbow’s weak side and another from the opposite side. “Damn it I can’t react quickly enough.” Rainbow knew she couldn't fight off three at once, she was tired and injured, Rainbow shut her eyes and quietly accepted her fate but before the wolves could land the final blow she heard a loud, thunderous, bark. The lead wolf, the one she outsmarted on the cliff, had called off the attack. Rainbow opened her eyes and looked at the old wolf who was staring back at her. The reason why the lead wolf called off the attack was unknown but Rainbow didn’t care. The old wolf walked off into the forest with his pack following behind him. Rainbow sat down next to Applejack, who was still unconscious, then felt relieved that it was over and she nudged Applejack’s head with her nose. Rainbow pulled Applejack’s hat off her head and sat it on top of Applejack’s head. Rainbow picked up Applejack and carried her on her back. She walked back through the woods to the river and followed it downstream. Rainbow walked along the river bank thinking to herself the whole time how this night could have turned out with a sad ending. She tried to wrap her head the events that happened tonight but was brought back to reality by the grunts of Applejack coming back to consciousness. “Well about time you woke up. I was starting to think I was going to have to talk to myself the whole time.” “Rainbow? Where are we?” “Still in the Everfree Forest but not for long. We’ll be back at the farm soon.” “Where did them wolves go?” “I chased them off. Once they saw how awesome I was they just ran away.” “Right…whatever you say.” Applejack fell back to sleep “Lucky. Wish I could sleep right now.” Rainbow followed the river all the way until it ended at the Apple family farm. Rainbow was exhausted and a little beaten up but she still managed to carry Applejack to the front door of her home. Rainbow knocked on the door and was greeted by Big Mac and Granny Smith. “Told you I’d find her.” Then Rainbow collapsed on the porch. * * * Rainbow woke up the next day inside the Apple family home. She had bandages across her body and her wing was in a splint. Even though she was beaten up the first thing she thought of was how Applejack was doing. Rainbow was relieved to see AJ up walking around the house. Applejack was a little better off than Rainbow was but she still had bandages on her as well. Rainbow got up off the couch and walked into next room where she saw AJ. “Mornin’ there Rainbow.” “Morning AJ” “How y’all feelin’?” “Kinda like I was just dragged through Ghastly Gorge.” “Well y’all look the part anyway.” “Gee, thanks. You know you don’t look that much better.” “Yea Ah kinda figured.” The two friends stood there in the house in silence. They weren’t sure what to say to each other. Not about what had happen in the Everfree Forest but earlier that night at the park. It was still on both of their minds but they didn’t know how to approach the other. “Well I guess I should get going. I’m sure Tank is missing me.” “Rainbow, wait, Ah wanna talk to you. Ah wanna apologize about how Ah acted.” “Acted? I’m not following?” “About how Ah treated you before. Ah thought you were unreliable after you didn’t return to the farm.” “Oh come on AJ. That was like a week ago.” “Ah know that but Ah just felt bad about it. Ah wanted to talk to y’all about it but Ah was afraid y’all would push me away.” “What? I wouldn’t push you away you’re my best…I mean I care for you a lot.” “Well after last night Ah can see how much y’all care.” Rainbow lowered her head trying to hide the fact that her face was red from blushing. “Applejack I just want you to know that…” “Applejack are y’all up yet?” Applebloom yelled from upstairs cutting off Rainbow. “Yea Applebloom Ah’m downstairs with Rainbow.” “There y’all are. Ah thought y’all were gonna sleep all day.” “Nah your big sis can’t stay in bed all day. Ah gotta get up and do somethin’.” “Y’all should be in bed though. Y’all gotta finish healin’ after all.” “Ah’m fine Ah’ll just do small stuff around the house.” “Ah guess that’s alright. How about you Rainbow? You fine too?” “Yea I’m alright kid. Nothing to major to worry about.” “That’s good to hear. Thanks for helpin’ my sis by the way.” “It’s fine besides I wasn't about to lose AJ after all." “What y’all mean?” “Umm…I mean if I didn’t help AJ then I might have lost a friend. Hehe” “Oh Ah see” “Well I’m gonna head out. I’ll see ya around AJ.” “Now hold on Rainbow. How y’all gonna go home?” “What do you mean?” “Well y’all live in Cloudsdale and that’s in the sky.” “Yea and your point is?” “How are y’all gonna get up to Cloudsdale with that busted up wing?” “Oh yea, right” “Oh! Ah know! Rainbow can stay here with us.” “Wait, now hold Applebloom.” “Why? What’s wrong Rainbow?” “Well you guys don’t have enough room for another pony.” “Of course we do. We have a guest room upstairs. It’s next to Applejack’s room.” “Oh well I don’t want to impose or anything.” “It’s no problem. After all it the least we can do since you helped my sis.” “Yea it’s fine Rainbow.” “Are you sure AJ?” “Yup no problem at all, unless y’all don’t wanna?” “No it’s fine by me. I guess I’ll have to get Fluttershy to bring Tank here since I’m not sure how long I’ll be staying.” “Yeah! Rainbow is stayin’ here! This is going to be fun.” “Yea it sure will be interesting.” Rainbow thought -End of Chapter 7- The Truth pt. IIChapter 8 The Truth pt. II It had been a week since Rainbow Dash’s and Applejack’s, so called, adventure in the Everfree Forest. Life for the two ponies had started to return to normal. Well as normal as it could be considering their circumstances. Since telling each other how they felt and with Rainbow staying at AJ’s house to heal from her wing injury the two grew closer to each other. The two worked the last few days side by side. Trading looks back and forth, a passing smile and even a small nudge here and there when they walked by each other. Small stuff inconspicuous to everypony around but to them they had big meaning to them. Rainbow helped Applejack out in the orchards which gave them time to spend together and out of sight of the Apple family. Applejack wasn’t ready to tell her family about her life style choice. She didn’t even know how to tell them. How was she going to tell her family that she was in a relationship with another mare? More over how was her family going to react to this news? These thoughts were in the back of AJ’s mind but when she was around Rainbow they seem to fade away. Applejack always wanted a strong, supportive and loyal partner but was unable to find a stallion that fit that. Looking back she can see why now. All those traits were not hidden in a stallion but a mare and her best friend no less. The same can be said about Rainbow. Rainbow had looked for a pony that could challenge her and push her to the edge. The best trait Rainbow looked for in a partner was not athleticism but how honest they could be. Applejack just happened to fit both of those traits perfectly. Even though the two were happy with being around each other Rainbow could tell AJ was stressing over telling her family the truth but no matter the outcome Rainbow would stay by AJ’s side and give her support if she needed it. Thinking about talking to somepony they forgot to go see Twilight and tell her about everything that has happened. Twilight has helped them to get this far so it’s only fitting to tell her. She has been the most supportive to them. Maybe Twilight can also give one last piece of advice to Applejack on how to deal with her “family issue”. “Hey there AJ.” Rainbow said giving her marefriend a small nudge. “Oh, sorry Rainbow.” Applejack replied “You okay? You seem a little out of it.” Rainbow inquired “Nah Ah’m fine Ah was just thinkin’ that’s all.” “About how you’re going to confront your family?” “Yea Ah’m still not sure about it.” Applejack replied hesitantly “Well whatever you decide I’ll stand by you.” Rainbow replied supportively “Thanks Rainbow. Ah know Ah can count on you anytime.” Applejack said as she rubbed against Rainbow. Rainbow and Applejack went back to working the orchard. Rainbow walked over to the tree AJ was bucking at and grabbed a bucket filled with apples then began to walk back to the barn. As Rainbow started to leave Applejack snuck up behind her and gave her a short lick on her neck. “What was that for?” Rainbow asked as she stopped and turned. “No reason, just cause.” Applejack replied and shrugged. Rainbow stepped close to Applejack and repaid her kind gesture with the same one. “Now what was that for?” Applejack asked “I don’t need a reason either.” Rainbow retorted “Just y’all get back to work b’fore somepony sees us.” Applejack said “Yes boss ma’am.” Rainbow left and headed to the barn to drop off the basket. Applejack had pulled her hat over her face to hide the fact that she was blushing pretty hard from what Rainbow had just said. She remembered Rainbow saying something along that line two nights ago. Images began to flood her mind but she managed to shake them out of her head and go back to work. The last few days Rainbow had been helping out around the farm. Rainbow gave her assistance to the other Apple family’s chores but she always made time to be with AJ. Of course they made it look normal when AJ’s family was around but when they were alone nothing could keep them apart. The day went by pretty fast with Rainbow’s help and before they knew it, it was night and time for the family to gather at the house for dinner. Rainbow and Applejack took their time getting back to the house. They walked slow and talked about small stuff but spending time together was all that mattered to them. They reached the house and strolled onto the porch then before going into the house they gave each other a long, heart-felt, kiss. They entered the house and walked into the living room then they were caught off guard by the voice of Applebloom from behind. “Hey sis, Ah saw y’all today out in the orchard with Rainbow.” Applebloom pronounced “Oh no” Rainbow mumbled under her breath as she lowered her head. “Umm, y’all okay Rainbow?” Applebloom asked “What? Yea I’m great kid, nothing wrong here.” Rainbow answered back Rainbow looked over at Applejack for some kind of support. Applejack was standing there, frozen in place, with a blank stare on her face. Rainbow realized that Applejack wasn’t going to talk to her sister about this so it was up to her to do it. “Look Applebloom, what you saw today was (mhmm!)” Rainbow was cut off by AJ putting her hoof in Rainbow’s mouth. “What y’all talkin’ about Applebloom?” Applejack questioned “Huh? Ah’m talkin’ about how great you and Rainbow worked together today.” Applebloom answered “Oh yea, Rainbow and Ah can really work well together when we’re on the same page.” Applejack replied “Same page?” Applebloom asked “It’s a figure of speech sugar cube. Go get ready for dinner now.” Applejack answered “Alright then, see ya in a little.” “Aww man I thought your sister found out.” Rainbow sighed “I mean I thought I was going to have to explain that to her. Good thing you stopped me or else your sister would be really confused right now, hehe.” Rainbow explained “Sorry about that Ah kinda froze. Come on, Granny should be done makin’ dinner.” Applejack said while pointing into the dinner room. After dinner Rainbow and Applejack cleaned up the kitchen. This gave them time to spend together before heading to their separate rooms for the night. Rainbow and AJ had figured out ways they could spend time with each other without the rest of the family being suspicious. After cleaning up they would head upstairs and go into AJ’s room. With the family already asleep they could be together without worry of somepony stumbling across them. Out of the few nights they spent together only one time did something actually happen. Most of the time they just laid there in AJ’s bed cuddling and whispering to each other about things they only know and laughing at each other’s jokes. They did this late into the night until Rainbow had to go to her room. Wouldn’t want the two of them coming out of the same room the next morning but Rainbow and Applejack wouldn’t care. They would like to have one night where they could stay together the whole time. Just one whole night together in the same bed, holding each other, sleeping side by side. Unfortunately tonight wasn’t that night but as Rainbow was leaving the room to go to hers Applejack stopped her at the door. “Rainbow Ah wanted to ask you somethin’?” “Yea what is it AJ?” Rainbow asked “Ah was thinkin’ that tomorrow we take the day off and go see Twilight” Applejack suggested “OH man I forgot about Twilight!” Rainbow exclaimed “Sshh, Rainbow, keep it down.” Applejack replied “Sorry, my bad” “Ah remembered that we forgot to go see Twilight after that night.” Applejack explained “Yea that’s true. We should go see her and tell her about us, also thank her for all the advice and support.” Rainbow remarked “Also Ah wanna ask her about one last thing.” Applejack continued “What’s that?” Rainbow asked “Just some advice on something.” Applejack whispered “Alright, tomorrow it is then.” Rainbow answered Rainbow walked back over to Applejack and rubbed her muzzle against hers. Giving Applejack the physical support she wants. Rainbow then turned and left the room and Applejack climbed into bed. Both ponies laid in their separate beds and thought about the day when they didn't have to hide their love and could finally sleep together. * * * The next morning Rainbow woke up and walked over the mirror. She stretched out her wing that was bandaged. Normally it would sting but the last couple of days it started to feel better. So she unwrapped it and extended it out then started to flap it around to see if it was fully healed. It had been a whole week since her wing was injured but now it was back in action. “Looks like y’all are back to normal.” Applejack remarked as she stood in the door way. “Finally, it’s been far too long since I’ve flown.” Rainbow replied “Well don’t forget that we are gonna go see Twi today.” “Yea I remember.” Rainbow answered back “I’m just going to go and stretch my wings for a little bit.” Rainbow added “Just be sure to be back for breakfast.” Applejack answered “Of course, I wouldn’t miss great food.” Then before AJ could say anything else Rainbow took off. Flying out the open window next to her bed and taking off to the clouds. Rainbow flew through the sky doing stunts, through and around the clouds, laughing and being as happy as could be. Applejack walked over to the window and watched Rainbow fly through the sky for a few moments. “Pegasi…Ah just don’t understand them.” Applejack said as she walked towards the door. “Mornin’ sis” Applebloom mumbled as she stumbled into the room rubbing her eyes. “Mornin’ there Applebloom” “What’s all that yellin’ about?” Applebloom asked “Oh that’s just Rainbow. Her wing is healed and she’s out enjoyin’ herself.” AJ answered “Wow…she sure is amazing.” Applebloom admiringly remarked “Yea she sure is something.” AJ replied in the same tone “Come on now, time for breakfast.” AJ said Applejack and Applebloom left the room and headed downstairs to the kitchen. They started to make breakfast as the rest of the family came down. Rainbow followed shortly after everypony else by entering through the front door and was breathing heavily. Normally somepony would have asked why but with how loud Rainbow was being this morning there was no need. They could tell she was healed and enjoying her ability to fly again. They all sat down at the table and Applejack and Granny Smith served up a variety of food. After breakfast Applejack told Granny that she was taking the day off. After all, with the help Rainbow has been, they have caught up on a lot of things and they could use the day off to really spend time together. They cleaned up the table and kitchen then left Sweet Apple Acres heading towards Twilight’s. The two walked down the road talking, laughing and carrying on with each other. Applejack told Rainbow about the time Big Mac lost a bet to her and he had to sell apples dressed in one of Granny’s sun dresses for a whole day. They reached Ponyville as Rainbow was telling AJ about the time she beat her coach in a race when she was a filly then out of nowhere a purple blur ran into AJ. “Hey! What’s the big idea!?” Rainbow yelled “Ohh I’m sorry!” “Yea you better be…wait Twilight?” Rainbow asked “Ah, Rainbow! I was coming to see you.” Twilight answered “We have to go see Applejack.” Twilight remarked “Well you just ran into her.” Rainbow said pointing at the ground “Oh, sorry AJ.” Twilight apologized as she helped AJ up. “It’s fine Twi. Actually we were just on our way to see you as well.” Applejack said “That’s great!” Twilight answered “What was with the big rush though?” Rainbow asked “You’ll see, just follow me back to the library. There’s something you two need to see.” Twilight said apprehensively “Twi is everything okay?” AJ asked “I’m not sure actually. You’ll just need to see for yourselves.” Twilight answered Applejack and Rainbow followed Twilight back to her house. The two ponies asked her questions about what was wrong but Twilight remained silent the whole walk back. They weren’t sure about what was bugging Twilight but they could tell it wasn’t good. * * * The three ponies walked into Twilight’s home and up the stairs to her room. They got to her room and it was a mess with research papers and test tubes. Spike was taking notes on something when Twilight and her friends came walking up the stairs. Spike ran over to Twilight when she got up the stairs. “Twilight! It seems like your guess was right.” Spike exclaimed as he held a clipboard in front of her. “Hmm…I was afraid of this. Tell me Spike how many times did we do these test?” Twilight questioned “At least five times and every one of them ended the same.” Spike replied “I honestly was hoping I was wrong for once.” Twilight sadly responded “Twi what’s goin’ on here?” Applejack asked “Yea what’s this about anyway?” Rainbow followed up “Oh hey Rainbow and Applejack!” Spike responded “Spike can you go into the kitchen and make some tea?” Asked Twilight “Yeah sure I’ll be back.” Spike answered and left the room After Spike left the room the air was heavy. Rainbow and Applejack could physically see Twilight being upset by something. Twilight had a distant look in her eyes and she didn’t turn to her friends and speak. She just stood there looking over Spike’s research notes intensely. They weren’t sure what to make of what Twilight was reading but they knew for a fact now that it involved the two of them. “Twi are you…” AJ started to ask but Twilight cut her off. “You two aren’t really in love.” Twilight harshly remarked “What? Twilight if this is a joke it’s not funny.” Rainbow answered back “It’s no joke Rainbow. You two aren’t in love.” Twilight repeated “Now hold on! How are y’all gonna say we love each other then turn around and say the opposite!?” Applejack fired back “I’m sorry” Twilight sadly apologized “We came here to thank you for getting us this far and now you’re going to try this? I never thought you’d turn your back on us.” Rainbow harshly replied “I’m not turning on you. It’s just…” Twilight stopped “Just WHAT?!” Rainbow answered “After you two came to me a week ago with your stories I was curious about something. So after AJ left I started writing a letter to the princess when Rainbow came to see me. There was something similar with both your stories so I wanted to test my theory.” Twilight explained “Test what theory?” Rainbow asked “The letter I wrote to the princess was to ask her for a sample of the plant that we got.” Twilight continued “The plant? That annoying thing again?” Rainbow remarked “When the sample arrived I asked Fluttershy if she could bring me some field mice for me to test on. The last week I’ve done repeated testing in hopes that my hypothesis was wrong. Unfortunately it wasn’t which is why I was coming to find you two earlier.” “Twi Ah’m not sure Ah like were this is goin’.” AJ said “In both of your recounts you each had a run-in with the plants pollen. Afterwards you both then had an intimate moment in your minds with the other. For Rainbow it was when you saved her at the pit and she landed on top of you. As for Applejack it must have been when she was watching you working hard at the barn. Normally this would be nothing but under the influence of the plant’s pollen it must have triggered a sense of infatuation with the first pony you had deep thoughts about.” Twilight explained “So what y’all are sayin’ is that Ah really don’t have feelings for Rainbow? It’s just this plant here?” Applejack miserably responded “I’m afraid so. The plant’s pollen has a unique property; once it enters your nose it releases an endorphin into the brain that gives a sense of euphoria and intimacy. If it helps I haven’t told anypony about you two. So no pony will know what you’ve been through. Except us three that is. Even the princess and Spike don’t know.” Twilight tried to reassure them “No! I don’t…I won’t believe this! I want proof.” Rainbow demanded “Over here then” Twilight motioned with her head Twilight showed Rainbow and Applejack a pin with two mice in it. The two mice were on opposite sides divided by a piece of cardboard. Twilight removed the cardboard and the two mice walked to each other, sniffed then walked back to their corners. Twilight put the cardboard back in place and took some of the pollen then dropped it on top of the two mice. She removed the cardboard and the mice stared at each other. Then they grouped together and cuddled with each other. “Spike and I ran these tests five to six times in the last week and they all ended the same way, like this.” “No…is this some kind of joke?” Rainbow mumbled “I’m sorry Rainbow, I truly am.” “Rainbow” Applejack said in a low tone trying to comfort her. “Just leave me alone.” Rainbow answered and walked out of the room “Applejack I…thought you two would want to know.” Twilight explained “Sometimes Twilight having all the answers isn’t always the best thing.” Applejack retorted pulling her hat down trying to hide her tears as she left the room too. Spike returned from the kitchen with a tray carrying a white tea set. He stopped as AJ left the room then looked around and noticed Rainbow was gone as well. With a puzzled look he asked Twilight where they were going. Twilight sat down and lowered her head. She let out a sigh and told Spike not to worry about it. Twilight knew that telling them was possibly a bad thing but she still did it. Twilight thought they had a right to know the truth. Not matter how hurtful it may be. Twilight looked over at the pin with the untested mice and thought about something. “Maybe…I over looked something?” Accepting the truth about something is one thing but accepting the reality that you thought was true might be a lie is something completely different. Rainbow left the library in a rush to escape the real truth. She didn’t want to face that everything she had went through and all that she fought for was a lie. Rainbow was lost in her thoughts and reflected back on everything. As much as she hated to admit it, it could be possible. Applejack wasn’t fairing any better. After Rainbow left AJ wanted to go after her. Did she really or was it the effects of that plant? Applejack wasn’t sure anymore. She was going to talk to Rainbow about it but Rainbow left. AJ went outside after her but the blue pegasus flew off. AJ tried to stop her but her pleas fell on deaf ears. All Rainbow wanted was to be left alone. * * * Applejack spent the day looking around Ponyville for her ‘lover’ if you could really call her that now. Both Applejack’s and Rainbow’s worlds were ripped apart. Everything they thought or felt about each other was just proven to be a lie by Twilight and her science. To them their love was undeniable and unquestionably true. In their minds there were no doubts about it, never any second guesses, but now that’s all there was. Applejack couldn’t find Rainbow in town. After an extensive search and questioning everypony she came across there was no luck. The sun was setting on a day that started out promising but ended in tragedy. Dusk was settling in and soon the night would bring darkness. Applejack gave up on her search and started to head back to the farm. The walk back was quiet unlike earlier that day. The sky was a bright orange as the sun set and off in the distance you could see the night sky coming. Applejack was lost in her own world the whole time. She failed to notice that she walked past the gate to farm and kept going down the road. A mile down the dirt road it leads to a hill. On that hill is an old oak tree about fifteen to twenty feet tall. Applejack knew about the tree that’s why when she saw it she was brought back to reality. At the top of the hill you can see for a couple of miles. The sight of the rolling country side from this spot is something out of a novel. “What the hay? Ah guess Ah spaced out for a while.” Applejack stopped and started to turn around to head back for home. It was dark now and the moon hung over head. As she was about to leave a figure caught her eye. The light from the moon made the figure glow in the night. On the tree top was the figure of somepony she couldn’t mistake. Applejack walked down the road and sat under the tree. “So this is where y’all went to.” Applejack remarked “This is my go-to-spot. I come here whenever I need to clear my head or just to take a really great nap.” Rainbow answered “Rainbow…Ah wanna talk to y’all about today.” Applejack stumbled through her sentence “Talk about what? It’s pretty clear what’s going on so there’s no need to talk.” Rainbow retorted “But we need to figure out what we’re gonna do about it.” Applejack sadly admitted “….” Rainbow remained quiet for a few seconds. They both knew that something had to be done about this issue. Both ponies tried to figure out different scenarios that would make both of them happy. The only problem is that there would always be that doubt in the backs of their minds. That small sliver of ‘truth’ they learned today. “What do you suggested we do then?” Rainbow asked breaking the silence “Ah’m…not sure” Replied Applejack “Of course you do AJ. I know the answer myself as well.” Rainbow mournfully answered as she flew down out of the tree. “Yea Ah know too.” Applejack responded “Tomorrow we will go to Twilight’s and see if she can find a cure. A way to remove the effects of that plant.” Rainbow continued "But..." Applejack protested "If we get rid of the effects of the plant and still love each other then we will know what we have is true." Explained Rainbow "What if we don't? Then what Rainbow?" Asked Applejack Applejack stood there in silence because she knew that it was going to end this way. She ran through multiple scenarios about how they could end this happily but there was no way for that. Rainbow had left and came to this spot to try and find out a solution was well. They both came to the conclusion that this was the best way. “So what now?” Applejack asked “I guess we’ll see what tomorrow brings. I’m heading home now. I already dropped by the farm and gathered my stuff and took Tank home…so I’ll see ya around.” Rainbow took off into the night sky heading towards her home while Applejack stayed there under the tree. Applejack sat there for at least another hour just staring off into the distance. Following the contour of the rolling hillsides illuminated by the moon’s light. She held her feelings inside and tried to think about other things. After a little bit of sulking Applejack made it back home in the dead of night. The farm was still and quiet as could be. Every member of the Apple family was asleep leaving Applejack to be alone with her thoughts. She went upstairs and to her room but before entering she stopped and looked down the hallway to the room where Rainbow stayed. For the past week she didn’t mind staying up late because it was time well spent with Rainbow. Now all that was left was an empty room and an empty heart. Applejack walked into her room and opened her window to let the night breeze enter. She lit the candle next to her bed and laid down. Staring at the ceiling she started to doze off. She fell into a sound sleep that was until she heard a noise. Applejack sat up and scanned the room but there was nothing. She sat there and listened again. This time she heard a knock on wood. It didn’t come from the door though it came from her window sill. Applejack got up and walked over to the window to see Rainbow hovering there. “Rainbow? What are y’all doin’ here?” Whispered Applejack “Can I come in? I want to talk.” Rainbow answered “Yea I guess so” Applejack opened the window wider and let Rainbow enter “So what is it Rainbow?” “I’m not sure this is the best answer.” Rainbow grudgingly answered “Ah’m not followin’?” Applejack responded “Going to Twilight and finding a ‘cure’. I mean is it really the best way?” Rainbow responded “Ah know what you mean sugar cube but we can’t be together and have doubts about how we feel.” Applejack argued “But…I don’t want to be alone.” Rainbow sadly remarked “Ah know but is living a lie any better?” Asked Applejack “If a lie is what makes me happy then I don’t want to face the truth.” Rainbow answered Applejack was taken back by Rainbow’s willingness to fight for what she wanted not what she needed. Rainbow was willing to fight for Applejack and what she felt to be true not the truth Twilight’s experiments said. Applejack was about to give up but as always Rainbow found a way to pick up her spirits and give her the inspiration she needed. “Rainbow, thank you” Applejack thought to herself as she kissed Rainbow long and hard. Those few moments lasted forever for them. As that kissed lasted the two of them walked closer to the bed. Applejack laid down with Rainbow on top. The two ponies’ rubbed muzzles, bit each other’s necks, nibbled at their ears and locked lips again and again. The window still letting a cool night breeze into the room made the flame of the candle dance. Their shadows cast along the wall moved as if they too were dancing. Rainbow’s wings, extended complete out, flapped every time they grew more intimate. Eventually her wings blew out the flame letting only the moonlight illuminate the room. Their bodies moved together as one. The moonlight caressed them. Only a faint outline of their figures was visible. It didn’t matter if they were under the influence of the plant’s pollen or if this was because they had real, honest and true feelings for one another. What did matter was that they were happy in these intimate moments. They could feel every emotion they had for each other. Every touch was based on the love they had. Applejack started to take off her hat and sit it aside but Rainbow stopped her. Rainbow lowered her head next to Applejack’s ear and whispered into it. “Leave it…you look better with it on.” * * * The next morning they woke up together in the same bed. Rainbow stared at Applejack hoping that this time wasn’t another dream and sure enough it wasn’t. Rainbow moved closer to her lover and put her arm around her waist then placed her wing on Applejack’s shoulder. Applejack woke up and rubbed her face against Rainbow’s. The two ponies laid together in the bed for a while before getting up and going downstairs. Today was the day that, no matter what anypony said, they would tell Applejack’s family. Of course they had to go to Twilight and tell her that even if her experiments did say it was the plant was the cause of all this they weren’t going to change. They walked down the stairs expecting questions about why Rainbow was there but no pony was around. Applejack remembered it was Saturday and that meant Granny Smith had gone to the market and she took Big Mac to carry supplies. Applebloom was probably with her friends. So that means the news was going to have to wait till they got back from Twilight’s. Rainbow and Applejack left the farm heading towards Ponyville. They got a sense of déjà vu as they walked down the road towards town. Of course it didn’t matter what kind of news they received today they made up their minds and nothing was going to change that. The sense of déjà vu was only made more apparent when a familiar purple blur tackled Applejack to the ground. “Really…this again?” Rainbow remarked as she facehoofed “Oww, I’m sorry” Twilight apologized “You know for a pony that prides herself on knowing things you would think she would know what’s in front of her?” Answered Rainbow as she helped up Twilight “Well yesterday I was in a hurry but today I was reading something.” Twilight explained “Y’all know readin’ and runnin’ is dangerous, right?” Applejack jokingly answered “Yeah, well the thing is I wanted to make sure my notes were correct before coming to see you two.” “Oh boy! Notes again” Rainbow sarcastically responded “Actually Twi we were comin’ to see you as well.” “Oh good we can talk at the library. You two will love this.” Twilight happily suggested “Anypony else getting a weird sense of déjà vu here?” Rainbow whispered to AJ Rainbow and Applejack followed Twilight back to the library. Unlike yesterday Twilight was happy to bring Rainbow and AJ to the library. The three friends walked up to Twilight’s room which still had the same set up as yesterday except Spike wasn’t around. “Hey where’s the little guy today?” Rainbow inquired “Spike is returning the mice to Fluttershy.” Twilight answered “So what’s the idea here Twi?” Applejack asked “I performed one last experiment last night after Spike fell asleep.” Twilight explained “OH NO! No more experiments Twilight.” Rainbow protested “Yea Twi that’s why we’re here. We wanted to tell you somethin’.” Applejack explained “Me first though, you two are going to want to hear this.” Twilight answered Twilight walked over to the other side of the room where there were two boxes. Rainbow and Applejack walked over too to see what Twilight was making a big fuss about. Inside the boxes were two mice separated from each other just like the last time. Twilight used some of the pollen on the mice and put them together. The mice took to each other like last time. “Uh…Twilight you’ve already shown us this.” “Yea Twi, Ah’m not sure what y’all are so worked up about?” “Well Rainbow, Applejack you see these two mice are from the ones Fluttershy gave me.” Twilight explained “…I’m still lost” Rainbow answered “You see what I didn’t take into account was the fact that these mice have been together since birth. They have lived their whole lives together.” Twilight continued “Okay” Applejack answered “Now over here in this box are two field mice that Spike collected. These mice have never met before. I applied the pollen and guess what?” Twilight questioned “What?” Rainbow and Applejack said in unison “Nothing” Twilight proudly replied Applejack and Rainbow stood there and stared at each other not knowing what to think. “You see since these two mice never met or spent time with each other the pollen didn’t affect them. Do you know why?” Twilight questioned again “Now Twilight if we knew then we wouldn’t be here.” Responded Applejack “Yea what’s this all leading up to anyway?” Asked Rainbow “The reason it didn’t affect them is because there was nothing to affect. You see my first hypothesis was that the pollen created the feeling of infatuation with the first pony you had intimate thoughts about. I was wrong because my second test proved that taking two mice that had no history together and exposing them to the pollen made them do nothing. Now taking two mice that grew up together and exposing them to the pollen made them become more intimate.” Twilight excitedly explained “Wait so what you’re saying is…” Rainbow hinted “That’s right Rainbow. The pollen doesn’t create these feelings but what it does is it enhances them by a factor of five times.” “So what y’all are sayin’ is that Rainbow and Ah have had these feelings for some time but since we were exposed to this plant’s pollen they became more stronger.” Applejack summarized “Exactly Applejack” Replied Twilight "Also I noticed that after one whole week pasted the effects of the pollen wore off for some of the mice where it didn't for others. The mice that were exposed and then it wore off didn't want contact with each other." Continued Twilight "But Applejack and I have been feeling like this for some time now." Rainbow added "Exactly Rainbow. Which leads me to this conclusion, the pollen from this plant effects the part of the brain that deals with emotions. If you don't have feelings for somepony then nothing happens but if you do then the pollen triggers those feelings and makes you act on them. That being said if the feelings aren't true love then the pollen will wear off in a week, you see. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, your feelings are true love. The pollen just kinda pushed you two in the right direction." Twilight finalized After getting the news and finding out that their feelings were in fact from themselves and not some plant Rainbow and Applejack enjoyed the rest of the day together. Rainbow and Applejack opened up to Twilight about everything they had gone through since this all started. Of course they left out more ‘intimate’ details. Twilight was amazed by how far these two had come. From being friends to lovers is no easy thing and both of them can vouch for that. Twilight tried to imagine the demons they had to fight and trials they had to overcome to get to this point. She couldn't even begin to visualize the inner hell they fought through. Even through the hardships and fights, both inner and outer, they came together on the basis of their feelings for each other. A love that was realized because of the plant that gave them hell from the beginning. Rainbow couldn’t even believe that ‘annoying’ thing was responsible for this. Now all that was left was to go back to the farm. They had to face the last challenge and that was telling the Apple family about them. Honestly Applejack would rather face down another pack of Timberwolves or run through the Everfree Forest at night again. Not matter the outcome though Applejack knew that Rainbow was not going anywhere. She would stay by her side for either better or worse and that’s really all Applejack wanted. That's what they both wanted in the end was somepony to be by her side at all times. Standing on the front porch the two mares looked into each other’s eyes. “You ready for this?” Asked Rainbow “Yea, Ah’m as ready as Ah can be.” Applejack assured The two gave a kiss for good luck and enter the home. -The End- Wants and NeedsChapter 1 -Needs and Wants- “It is said that one’s wants will outweigh one’s needs but the needs have to be met first.” Running through the thick forest at night, her heart was pounding heavily, not being able to see the path in front of her. All she could think was about her friend and if she would get there in time. Running faster and faster with those thoughts of her being hurt made her angry at herself for letting her go off alone. “What was I thinking?!” “This was an idiotic choice on my part!” Wishing so much that she could fly over the forest to get a better view but unable to due to her injury from earlier that day, now all she can do is run, run and hope that she won’t be too late. “NO! I will NOT be too late!” she yelled to herself and she kept running until she found signs of tracks she was looking for. “Yes, finally…now where do these lead to?” She looked around frantically into the moonlit forest hoping to see her but couldn’t. She kicked the ground with her hoof in frustration and then started to follow the tracks off into darkness of the forest not knowing what to expect to find. * * * (A couple of weeks earlier) “Uuugh…what in the name of Celestia do we need to go out there for?” moaned Rainbow Dash after hearing the news from Twilight. “Because Rainbow the princess has tasked me with finding this rare plant for her herbal studies and she is too busy to go out and find it herself.” Twilight explained to the disgruntled pegasus. “Yea I figured that out but why do we have to come along?” Dash replied instantly. “Yea Twi ah’m with Rainbow on this one, what’s our role in this?” Applejack questioned. “Well girls you see I need use of your abilities. The plant I am looking for is in a high location which is where you come in Rainbow; you can fly above us keeping an eye out for it. AJ; you know the terrain around Appleloosa better than anyone here in Ponyville since you’ve been out there plenty of times.” Twilight explained to her friends with her “all knowing” smile she gets from time to time. “But this weekend of ALL weekends? The Wonderbolts are having an airshow and I have my ticket already!” the pegasus said while hovering in the air inside Twilight’s library. “Yea Twi I can’t just up and leave on some journey. The south orchard needs bucking this weekend.” “Can’t you take Fluttershy or Rarity? How about Pinkie Pie?” asked the light blue pegasus. “Fluttershy is taking care of some animals that were hurt during the last storm we had and Rarity is having to spend time with Sweetie Belle this weekend, besides not too sure she would want to come anyway, and Pinkie Pie is … well Pinkie Pie." Answered the purple unicorn giggling. “Well if you really can’t find anypony else to help you then ah guess Big Mac will have to work harder this weekend.” “Uuuuhhh…” grunted Rainbow under her breath. “Fine I’ll come too. I can see the Wonderbolts next time.” “Thanks girls this means a lot.” “No problem sugar cube, always happy to help.” “Yea no big deal Twi.” The friends ended their conversation with a group hug. Rainbow and AJ headed out the door to go home for the night and get ready for their journey. AJ stopped at the door before leaving and turned to Twilight “Hey what time should we meet up at the train station tomorrow?” Twilight stopped and thought to herself scratching her chin. “Does meeting there around 8a.m. sound good to you?” “AWWWW come on!” Rainbow yelled from outside. “That early!?” AJ gave Rainbow a disgruntled look then turned to Twilight “Yea that’ll be just fine. Ah”ll make sure ‘Rainbow’ is there too.” “Yea, yea I get it.” The pegasus replied while rolling her eyes. Twilight giggled a little and told her friends good night and that she’ll see them tomorrow bright and early. * * * The next morning Twilight woke up early to finalize all her items she would be taking with her. Check off items on her list and walking softly around the library making sure not to wake Spike up. She finally got everything done and right on schedule she left the tree house heading towards the train station. She walked through Ponyville slowly viewing the town as the early morning sun set its rays on the buildings and the streets. Twilight always loved walking around Ponyville in the early morning hours, she gets to see the new day start and the town slowly comes to life. Ponies are opening their shops and waving to her as she walks by and she returns the gesture as she continues her stroll to the station, She arrives at the station and looks at the big clock face on the outside of the building. “Right on time.” She thought to herself. Twilight walked inside and was immediately greeted by AJ. “Mornin’ Twi.” “Good morning Applejack.” Twilight looked around with a puzzled look on her face. “Umm where is Rainbow?” “This is too early to be doing anything, you know that right?” “Oh Rainbow there you are, good morning.” Rainbow was hovering behind Twilight looking almost half asleep. “Yea good morning to you too.” She replied back while yawning and stretching. Rainbow looked around the station seeing the empty area except for the other few ponies that were waiting for the train to leave as well. She couldn’t help but think to herself “What kind of pony is awake at 7:50 in the morning?” She kept thinking of her super soft cloud bed and how she should still be asleep but her friends need her so of course she is willing to help no matter where or what time. “ALL ABOARD! The Train from Ponyville to Appleloosa then to Hoofsdale is now boarding!” yelled the conductor standing in front of the train. “That’s us, let’s go girls.” Twilight said as she walked towards the train. “Well at least I can sleep on the train for a while.” Mumbled Rainbow as she landed on the ground and started walking to the train too. They got on the train and took their seats. Twilight sat across from AJ and Rainbow, who was already snoozing, and asked “How is she able to do that?” AJ stared at Twilight and asked “Do what?” “Just fall asleep anywhere so easily.” “Must be a pegasus thing, ah suppose.” Answered the orange cowpony while scratching her head trying to figure it out herself. Twilight laughed “Nah it’s probably a Rainbow Dash thing if any!” They both laughed together at the joke. “You know I can hear you two, right?" the blue pegasus said with her eyes still shut tight. “Sorry Rainbow but you can be kinda lazy from time to time.” Said Applejack “Hey! I work harder than anypony here.” Rainbow snapped back. “Please you wouldn’t last ten minutes on the farm.” “Is that a challenge AJ?” “Only if y’all accept it as one.” AJ said while staring down her blue friend. “Alright then, deal. When we get back I’ll help out on the farm for one whole week.” Rainbow said staring back. “Heh deal then!” They shook on the challenge they just made to make it final and then Rainbow laid back down next to AJ. “Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to take a nap.” * * * The train ride was mostly quiet considering the most talkative one, Pinkie Pie, wasn’t there with them this time. Rainbow slept the whole ride because of the early morning meeting but also she finds train rides really boring, she would prefer to just fly everywhere. AJ’s time was spent looking out the window thinking about being on the farm bucking trees but her friend Twilight needed her help and she just couldn’t refuse her offer. Twilight was reading her Herbal Remedies book she brought along so she can identify the exact plant they needed for the princess. Out in the desert there are two plants that looked the same just the one they need has little red bulbs on it, the other has blue and it’s very poisonous. “Ah wonder how far Big Mac has made it into the south orchard by now?” AJ thought to herself. She was jerked out of her thoughts by the train coming to a halt at the Appleloosa station. Rainbow somehow didn’t even budge an inch and stayed in her dream world. Twilight got up and put her things in her bags as AJ tried to wake Rainbow up. She nudged her on her shoulder but that didn’t work so AJ got up and walked into the isle and cleared her throat. “Ahmm…RAINBOW!” she yelled. “AHHH What?!” Rainbow yelled as she fell off the bench and onto the floor scared senseless. “We’re here sugar cube, hehe.” “Not funny AJ.” Twilight walked away slowly and giggling to herself. AJ grabbed her bags and started to get off the train with Twilight as Rainbow followed. They stepped onto the platform and are immediately greeted by a familiar voice and face. “WELL HOOWDY THERE STRANGERS! LONG TIME, NO SEE!” “Hey there cus!” “Nice to see you again Breaburn.” “Always a pleasure to see my cus and her friends.” “Ah sent word ahead to the Apple family out here. Told them we were coming out here and to see if we could borrow their guest room for the weekend.” “Well shoot cus no need to ask, after all you are family and we Apples look out for our own.” “Well we really do appreciate your hospitality Breaburn.” “No problem miss Twilight, t’aint nothin’ to it.” The ponies left the station and started towards the Apple family farm. Heading through the town AJ, Rainbow and Twilight couldn’t help but think about the last time they were here and that whole mess that happened. “So Breaburn how have them Buffalo tribes been doin’ since our last visit?” “Pretty decent folk once you get to know them cus. They come into town every now and them to trade some of their wears for our pies.” “That’s good to hear everything worked out in the end.” “Yup miss Twilight it sure did, just fine.” “Hey Twilight I gotta ask something.” “What is it Rainbow?” “If we were heading out here to Appleloosa than why bring AJ? I’m sure Breaburn here knows the area better than Applejack.” “Well thanks a lot there Rainbow.” “I’m just sayin’.” Breaburn turns towards Rainbow and lets out a small sigh. “Well shoot miss Rainbow ah would be happier than a parasprite in an apple orchard to help but y'all see its harvest season here and everypony on the farm has their share of chores to do.” “Ah understand cus.” AJ replied while nodding her head. They continued to walk through town talking about things that have changed since they were there last time. After a while they reached a small hill and on the other side was the biggest Apple orchard they’ve seen outside of Ponyville. “Yup there she is, isn’t she beautiful?” “Wow Breaburn is sure has gotten bigger since the last time!” AJ said in genuine amazement. “Thanks cus! Well the house is over yonder, ah got chores that need attendin’. Go make yourselves at home and dinner will be ready in a short.” Breaburn waved to them as he set off to go do his evening chores. Twilight and the others made their way to the house to set up for the evening. Walking through the apple trees made AJ miss her home even more and also made her think about what kind of “adventures” Applebloom and her friends got into today. They reached the home and AJ stepped inside first to greet her family there. After a few short hugs and howdys AJ showed the other two upstairs to the guest room where they will be staying for the weekend. A semi-small room, big enough for four ponies to stay, with a large medium size window. Two beds on opposite sides of the room, a hoof stitched rug lay on the floor with matching bed sheets and blankets, and a cabinet in the corner of the room. The girls set their bags down on the beds and get ready for dinner. “Hey Twilight why don’t we just go and grab this plant tonight?” asked Rainbow. “Well Rainbow you see…” Twilight uses her magic to open her bag and levitate the herbal book in front of Dash. “The plant has distinct buds that make it different from a plant that looks similar to it but is extremely poisonous. These buds only bloom during the day so going out at night to find it could be very bad since we couldn’t tell the difference.” Applejack walks over to Rainbow who is reading the levitating book in front of her. “So where do we find this plant at?” “It says here that the plant is on top of Plateaus in the desert terrain around Appleloosa.” Twilight closes the book and shoves it back into her bag. “That’s correct Rainbow, which is exactly why I brought you along.” “I was hoping to go and grab it tonight and be gone by tomorrow afternoon. A half a day train ride is SOOO boring.” She mumbled to herself as she lay on the bed. After a little time passed Breaburn came knocking on the door telling the girls that dinner downstairs was ready for all who were hungry. Of course the first one out the door was Rainbow Dash; the only thing she loves more than sleeping is eating great food. They all sat down at the table and enjoyed a large dinner special made for the guests of the house. After all the eating, talking and cleaning dishes everypony headed off to their beds. Twilight and her friends went to their room for the night as well. Twilight got into the room first, looked around for a bit, and started to ask the other two a question. “Ummm. So who’s sleeping with whom?” “What you mean Twi?” “There are only two beds.” “Doesn’t matter to me at all as long as I can sleep.” Answered Rainbow. “Doesn’t matter to me neither.” Said Applejack. “Ok well then Rainbow you can share a bed with Applejack tonight.” Offered Twilight to the others. “Fine by me as long as she doesn’t snore.” “You’re one to talk.” “HEY!” “Ok then it’s settled.” Twilight said smiling. They all settled in for the night and drifted off into their own dreams. -Chapter 1…end- Secrets pt. IIChapter 4 Secrets pt. II She laid there in her bed for a while with her arm across her forehead. The sun came in through the window illuminating her room. She could do nothing but think about that dream and what it could possibly mean. Rainbow let out a sigh and got out of bed then walked to the window. Looking out over the land below her she thought if it would be best to just stay home and away from Applejack for a while or at least till she was able to clear her head of these thoughts and now DREAMS too. “I can’t do that. Applejack could actually use my help. Besides I do have to beat that challenge.” She walked around her room for a little while longer thinking if going to her friend’s house today would be a good thing or if it would be better to call things off. She thought about it and decided that this wasn’t going to stop her from hanging around her friends especially Applejack. She started to get ready to leave her home and head to Applejack’s farm. After breakfast she grabbed her bags and left her home going towards the farm. She arrived at the farm to find her friend waiting at the front gate. She landed and trotted up to her acting like nothing was wrong but the dream still lingered in her mind. “Mornin’ Rainbow, Ah didn’t think y’all would come honestly.” “What?! You think I would just back out, no way!” “Well that’s good. Now come on back to the barn and we’ll get started.” The two started walking down the dirt road. Rainbow was lost in thought and AJ noticed it. AJ noticed that Rainbow had been distant recently and she wanted to know why but didn’t know how to go about confronting Rainbow on what was bugging her, especially about something she doesn’t even know. During the walk an idea hit her. “Okay so Rainbow will be here working for the week. Ah’ll just talk to her until she spills what’s buggin’ her.” They kept walking down the road and the barn started to come into view. Applejack turned her head to Rainbow and tried to start a conversation. “So Rainbow, how y’all been since that incident at the plateau?” “Alright, nothing to special really.” “How’s yer wing healin?” “It’s fine. Lucky me nothing was broken. Just a little bruised but I’ve flown under worst circumstances.” “Well that’s good.” Applejack thought to herself the different things that could’ve been wrong. “Well she seems to have gotten over the plateau thing. Also her injured wing isn’t the issue either.” They reached the barn and Applejack opened the door. They walked inside and Rainbow sat her bags on the ground. “So what kinda challenges am I going to be testing my awesome skills against?” “Hehe now that sounds like Rainbow.” AJ thought “Well for now Ah’m gonna need you to organize the barn. These bales of hay gotta be moved from the back to the front then around back we got more that needs to come inside. After that y’all need to rearrange and place the work tools on this peg board.” “That’s all? I got this, no problem.” “After y’all get done come see me out in the orchard field. Big Mac and Ah are buckin today while Applebloom is helpin Granny inside the house.” “Don’t get to comfy out there; this will be done in no time.” Applejack turned and started to walk out but noticed Rainbow’s bag on the ground. She picked it up and sat it on the table next to the door. When she did a small amount of pollen puffed out and AJ sneezed. Rainbow turned around to see what was wrong and noticed the bloom of the plant sticking out of her bag. “What the hay is this?” Applejack questioned as she examined the bag. “OH HORSEAPPLES! That’s Twilight’s plant!” Rainbow yelled as she ran over and grabbed the bag. “Twilight’s plant? Y’all mean you forgot to give it to her?” “Well it was a busy day and by the time we got back I forgot it was in my bag. I actually forgot about it completely!” “How could y’all forget the plant that we went through so much trouble to get?” “Well my mind was on other things…” Rainbow wanted to explain but how could she. “Anyway I need to get this to Twilight. I’ll be back in a flash AJ.” No sooner she said that was she out the door and heading towards Ponyville. In one swift movement she ran pass the table and grabbed her bag and took off like a rocket, not missing a beat. She flew fast to get the plant to Twilight’s home before it could wilt or was it to avoid telling Applejack her little secret. * * * Rainbow rushed to Twilight’s house to deliver that annoying plant and have it gone once and for all. She landed on Twilight’s balcony and knocked on her glass door. Twilight opened the door with her magic but was nowhere to be seen. “Come in!” Twilight yelled from downstairs and Rainbow walked in. The room looked like a hurricane had hit it or a tornado. Rainbow wandered around trying to find Twilight but wasn’t successful. “Umm Twilight?! Where are you?” Rainbow called out “Oh Rainbow Dash, good morning.” Twilight yelled Twilight came walking up the stairs looking around her home for something. “Sorry about the mess.” “It’s okay, no big deal. What are looking for?” “Well, hehe, this may sound silly but…I MISS PLACED THE PLANT!” “Uh Twilight” Rainbow tried to say ‘Do you know what this means?! The princess will think I’m not trying hard enough with my studies!” “Umm Twi” “If she starts to doubt me then I’ll be forced do another quest to prove myself.” “Twilight” “What if she does do that? What if I fail at that quest too?!” “Twilight” “Oh this is bad, really bad, REALLY BAD!” “ahm Twilight” “If I fail another test she may not want to teach me anymore. I may even get kicked out of my magic training. She may even banish me! The princess can’t have a student that fail as big as I have, it would be an embarrassment to her!” “TWILIGHT!” Rainbow grabbed and sat her down “Geez calm down you’re blowing everything out of proportion again. I have the plant right here.” “Really?!” Twilight stood up and smiled “Yea here ya go.” “Oh thank you Rainbow!” “It’s nothing. Hey where’s Spike at?” “Well… I kinda had him go to the train station this morning. I think he’s retracing my steps trying to find the plant, hehe.” Twilight giggled trying to not look embarrassed “Really?” Rainbow replied “Well I thought I dropped it somewhere. Besides where did you find it?” “Yea I kinda had it the whole time.” She said as she scratched her head “You WHAT?!” “I forgot I had it though.” “How could you forget?” Rainbow stopped and thought back to last couple of days and wondered if telling Twilight would do her any good. Twilight was smart on a lot of things and she might be able to give advice on how to deal with these thoughts. Rainbow wanted to tell somepony and get any kind of help or advice she could find but if she told somepony and it got back to Applejack; she shuddered at the thought of what AJ might think of her. She might stop talking to her or even stop being friends completely. After a quick deliberation with herself Rainbow decided to keep it top secret. No pony needs to know about this and if she just stops thinking about it maybe it will go away in some time. She came up with a little lie to answer Twilight’s question. “Well with all that happened…I guess it slipped my mind. You know with the whole getting trapped inside that plateau and almost falling into that pit too.” “Oh, yeah, that stuff. I can understand.” The purple pony said feeling embarrassed about the pit incident. “Well I have to get back to the farm. Applejack is probably waiting for me.” “Oh so you are working on the farm this week.” “Of course, I never back down from a challenge.” Then Rainbow was out the door and heading back towards the farm to finally start those chores and prove AJ she isn’t ‘lazy’ she just enjoys life at a slower pace than others do. * * * She flew out the door eager to get back to the farm and help her friend. It took only a few minutes and Applejack was waiting next to the barn for Rainbow to return. “Waiting here, huh? Thought I wouldn’t come back?” “Ah just wanted to make sure, that’s all. Ah didn’t know if y’all feel asleep or not on the way back.” “Oh HAHA, that’s just so funny. I told you I can handle this, no problem.” “Okay then get to it. Ah’ll be in the orchard once y’all get done.” Applejack turned and walked off into the orchard to help Big Mac with the bucking and to make up for the weekend she wasn’t there. Rainbow strolled into the barn and thought back to what all that needed to be done. She laid her bag back on the table next to the door and began working on moving the bales of hay around the barn. She flew towards the back part of the barn and put her hoofs against the hay. She started to push making it slide across the ground slowly but surely. After a few minutes she managed to get half of the hay bales to the front before she got winded and had to stop. “Man, this isn’t as easy as I thought.” She knew it was going to be hard work but she didn’t expect a bale of hay to be this heavy. She got her second wind and kept on pushing the hay the rest of the way then placed it where AJ said to. She went to the back and repeated the process over and over for about ten times till she was done. After a quick break she headed around back and started to pull the bales through the back door inside the barn. Applejack walked over to the barn to see how Rainbow’s progress had been coming along. She walked over to one of the open windows and checked in on her. She saw Rainbow Dash working hard to get things done, like she wanted, harder than she would expect the pegasus to be working. She stood there for a few minutes staring at the blue pegasus admiring her hard work ethic and stick-to-it’ness. Suddenly she heard her name being called from behind her. “Applejack” “Huh, what? Ah was doin’ nothin’.” It was Applebloom looking for her big sis. Rainbow had heard Applebloom’s voice and went to the open window to see what was up. “What were y’all doin?” Applebloom asked “Uhh Ah was just checking on Rainbow’s work.” “Through the window?” Applebloom questioned with a puzzled look About this time Rainbow was at the window where Applejack and Applebloom were. She stuck her head out the window and saw the two talking. “Hey what’s up you two?” “Oh hey Rainbow!” Applebloom smiled and waved “Why are you guys over here?” “Well ya see Ah was lookin’ fer Applejack and she was…” Before Applebloom could finish AJ put her hoof over her sister’s mouth. “Ah was just checkin’ in, that’s all, nothin’ special.” “Oh well I’ve got the moving done so I’m about to do the other stuff.” “That’s good just come and see me when y’all are done.” Applejack said as she waved and left with Applebloom while still covering her mouth. Applejack left the barn and let Rainbow finish her work. When she got far enough away she let Applebloom go and asked her what she needed. “Hey what’s the big idea?” Applebloom yelled “What?” Applejack asked back “Puttin’ yer hoof in my mouth?” “Oh well umm…Ah was managing Rainbow progress. Secretly ‘cause we…” Applejack was trying to think of something to tell her little sister but couldn’t think of anything. Then she remembered why Rainbow was there to begin with. “We have a bet goin’ on, to see if Rainbow can work on the farm or not.” “Oh well y’all could’ve said so. Anyway Granny Smith needs yer help inside the house.” “Oh, alright then.” Applejack breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards the house. * * * Rainbow went back to her work. She was done with moving the hay around so she went on to the next task which was putting the tools away. Of the two tasks this was by far the easiest to do. It took no time at all to finish and she did she left the barn looking for Applejack. Applejack was at the house helping Granny Smith with some small things when she heard a knock at the door. Applejack went to the door and opened it. “Oh there you are. I was looking for you.” “Hey there Rainbow. Y’all done already?” “Yea, told you it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.” “Well come on in and take a break for a little bit.” Rainbow walked in and sat down at the kitchen table. Applejack handed her a glass of apple cider while looking over her friend. She could see how hard Rainbow had been working by the sweat coming off her forehead. She was impressed by how Rainbow stuck to her work and was ready to keep going. “Hey what are you staring at?” Rainbow asked “Huh? Oh nothing” Applejack didn’t realize she was steadily staring at Rainbow. “Ah was just lettin’ my mind wonder that’s all.” “Wondering about what?” Applejack didn’t realize what she said at the time till Rainbow repeated it. The cowpony became flustered and didn’t know how to respond to it. Then Granny Smith cut into their conversation asking Applejack if she had went out to the east orchard yet and hosed down the trees. “Oh yeah Ah was going to do that but Applebloom came and got me. Hey Rainbow Ah’m gonna need help if y’all wouldn’t mind?” “Sure, what’s the task?” “Follow me and Ah’ll show ya.” They started out the front door and headed towards the east orchard. Along the way Applejack explained how apple trees need to be constantly moist so they can produce juicy and full-flavored apples. They get to the field and there is a small wooden shed. “What’s in there?” “That’s where we keep the tools we use out here. It has the hose we’re gonna use.” “Really AJ? I think I can handle this one just fine.” Rainbow unfolded her wings and took off into the sky. Within a few short moments she came back down above the trees with five or six white clouds. She spun around them in a circle till they gathered and created one large, dark, rain cloud. She gave it one good kick causing it to rain heavily and flew over the orchard drenching the trees. Applejack stood there watching as her friend do what she does best which is showing off her control of the weather. She thought about how useful somepony like Rainbow could be around here from time to time. A reliable, hard-working, pegasus like her. She realized this time that she was staring at Rainbow again with that admiring look from earlier. She quickly pulled down her hat before Rainbow would notice, again. After a few minutes Rainbow was done. She whipped the cloud her tail a few good times to make it dissipate back into the sky. She then flew down and landed in front of AJ who was standing there with her hat over her eyes. “Um AJ are you alright?” “Huh?” She pulled her hat up and looked at Rainbow in her magenta eyes. “Oh yea Ah’m good." "It must have been the sun.” Applejack quickly responded “The sun?” “Yea the sun got in my eyes.” “Oh okay, so what now?” “Now? Hmm…” She scratched her head “Well Ah got a few more things around here to do. Just small stuff but y’all can help too.” The two left the orchard and headed back to the house. The rest of the day Rainbow helped around the house as AJ and Big Mac finished bucking the trees. The rest of the day was kind of slow but still steady with work. After everything was done for the day Applejack invited Rainbow to stay for dinner. Of course Rainbow accepted, why turn down such great food, so her and the rest of the apple family went into the kitchen started making the food. Table was set and the food was delicious. The home that night was lively with chatter, mostly Granny Smith saying how such good help Rainbow was today which lead into a story about one pegasus she knew as a child that was also helpful but really clumsy, Applejack told how Rainbow made quick work of watering the orchard too. After all the friendly chatter was done Rainbow left and headed back to her home for the night. All she could think about was her comfy bed and how her body was tired. Applejack cleaned up after putting Applebloom to bed. Normally she would make a mental list of things to do the next day but this night all she could think about was Rainbow. She shook her head vigorously; she meant to say how much help Rainbow was today and how she was impressed. Rainbow made it home and wasted no time taking a shower and heading to bed. Applejack did the same thing. She placed her hat on the night stand and blew out the candle next to her bed then quickly fell asleep. The night was quiet as the two friends slept in different homes in different cities but still had dreams of each other. In Applejack’s dream it was her and Rainbow together working on the farm. The dream was as normal as it could be till it reached the end of the day. In the dream Rainbow had left to go home and Applejack had gone to her bedroom. When she got there the window was open and Rainbow was sitting on the bed. Normally the orange pony would ask why she was there but in the dream Applejack felt comfortable about the situation and walked across the room to her friend and gave her gentle nudge then a soft kiss on the neck. Rainbow’s night was a little rougher than the night before and her dream not as pleasant. It was her and Applejack together but this dream was different. Instead of them being together it was more like they were separated. Rainbow wasn’t sure why Applejack was not talking to her but she tried desperately to get her to talk. Rainbow confronted AJ about the dreams she was having and her feelings but all Applejack did was walk away. She disappeared and the faint sound of her voice could be heard saying “That’s just not natural”. She could feel the pain of rejection and loneliness as she sat there in the darkness. Rainbow woke up in a cold sweat. Her heart racing as she tried to figure out this dream too. It was the middle of the night, she never wakes up in the middle of the night, she just laid there staring at the ceiling. She thought on everything that has happened. First there was the sleeping incident and then there was that first dream, which she didn’t mind at all because it was a nice one, but now there is this dream. Not to mention how she feels when she is around AJ. She is confused about everything and maybe she SHOULD talk to somepony. She thought that maybe it was time to confront Applejack about this. She shook her head and tossed out that idea. If she was to talk to AJ about this then her dream might come true. The last thing she wants is to lose a good friend like her but what can she do? She rolled over and closed her eyes trying to go back to sleep but she just kept reviewing the dream and how she felt being rejected. “I can’t let AJ know about this, no matter what.” -End of Chapter 4-
Sense of Danger, Scent of ApplesChapter 2 Sense of Danger, Scent of Apples The sun shined in through the window of the guest room to signal that a new day had started. Applejack woke up first and got out of bed, she walked to the end of the bed and picked up her trade mark cowpony hat she left hanging on the bed post. When she got out of bed that let the sun shine directly into Rainbow’s face causing her to groan because it was day already. She pulled the covers over her head and rolled over to her other side and tried to fall back to sleep. Applejack heard her groan and saw that the pegasus was curled up into a ball trying to reenter her dream world. “Wakey, wakey Rainbow!” the orange cowpony said while yanking the covers off of her. “Aww come on!” she said while letting out a big yawn. “Just five more minutes or how about 10? You know what just wake me up in an hour.” She said as she waved her hoof at AJ and roll back over. “Come on Rainbow we got a long day ahead of us. No time to be lazy today.” Just then Twilight woke up and greeted the other two while stretching. “Good morning everypony.” “Mornin’ Twi.” “Umm where is Rainbow?” AJ rolled her eyes and then pointed at the bed with a huge lump in it. Rainbow had curled up into a ball again and pulled the covers back over her. “Really, this again?” Twilight mumbled “I. Hate. Mornings.” Rainbow said still covered up. “Come on Rainbow, we have a long walk ahead of us so the sooner we get started the better.” Said Twilight She then lifted the blanket with her magic and held it in the air above Rainbow so she had no choice but to get up. Rainbow sat up and reluctantly got out of bed. “That’s better.” Said Twilight with that smile she always gets. “Yeah soo much better.” Rainbow mumbled to herself while rolling her eyes. “Okay so first we need to prepare before we got out into the desert today. Here I made a check list for each of you of stuff you need to bring so everything will go without a hitch.” “Alright ah’ll get started right away.” “Wait, you mean I ‘have’ to bring my bag?” “Well, yes, of course.” “Fine.” Rainbow hates to bring any kind of bag around because it slows her down and is just too much of a hassle to lug around something you’ll more than likely never use anyway. Rainbow looked over the list seeing a variety of things like a canteen, rope, food, etc. and couldn’t help but think that half this stuff would be useless to her. They both followed behind Applejack to prepare for the long journey. * * * After they finished their preparations and had breakfast they started out into the harsh environment. As they were walking Twilight pulled out a map of the area and gave it a quick look over then looked to AJ and asked her opinion on the safest way to the nearest plateau shown. “Hey Applejack can you look over this map and show us the safest way there.” “Sure Twi let me take a look.” They stopped and AJ looked over the map for a little, drawing an imaginary line with her hoof, to mark the safest route possible. She got a disgruntled look on her face when she saw the nearest area Twilight marked wouldn’t be the best to go to. “Hey Twi I hate to tell y’all this but the nearest plateau ain’t goin’ to work.” “Why?” “Well y’all see here.” As AJ points to an image of a Buffalo running through a canyon. “Yes what about it?” “Well in order for us to get to that plateau we have to go through this canyon but its buffalo stampede territory and we don’t need to be caught there with no way out.” “Wow nice job Applejack!” “No prob Twi. Now if we look the best place to start would be here.” “Umm AJ that’s in the middle of the desert, nowheresville!” Interjected Rainbow “Ah see that but it’s the only safe location to search for now sugar cube.” “Well if we have no choice.” Said Twilight reluctantly “Here take the map you obviously need it more than me.” “Thanks Twi.” AJ stuffed it in her bag then they continued on with there now longer journey to, as Rainbow put it, Nowheresville. The walk alone was hard enough with the sun glaring down on them but they still had to find this plant and there is no guarantee it is even at the first plateau. As they continued onwards the day dragged on for what seemed like eternity. Nothing to look at except vast nothingness and Rainbow was trying every technique she could think of to keep herself entertained, flying upside down, sideways, backwards, doing an occasional loop, but eventually she just got bored and just glided around. Twilight noticed Rainbow’s boredom and asked to fly up to see if they were getting any closer. “Hey Rainbow can you fly up and scout ahead to see if we’re getting close.” “Yea no prob!” In an instant she went from two miles an hour to thirty straight up. Rainbow got up high enough to see for miles. She squinted and did a three-sixty spin to get a full view. She smiled and rushed back down to her friends in just a few seconds. “Aww yea, it’s about two miles ahead to the north-east!” As she pointed in that direction. “About time, ah was gettin’ concerned we’d passed it.” “Well no point in waiting around let’s get going.” Twilight said looking at Rainbow. “You can lead the way Rainbow.” Twilight nodded to her “Well then you better keep up!” Then she took off like a rocket “Oh for Pete’s sake! She’s always in a hurry!” AJ yelled then facehoofing “Come on we better catch up to her.” The two chased after her as fast as they could gallop. They caught up to her after a few seconds and continued to gallop in the direction Rainbow was flying. A few short minutes passed by and Twilight asked Rainbow if she could see the plateau. “Rainbow are we getting any closer?” “Yea the plateau should be coming into view for you guys.” Just as she said that the plateau appeared over the horizon. Showing the three ponies its immense size they were awe struck. “Woh nelly!” “Woooh that thing is huge!” “I expected it to be big but not like this.” The three friends showed their surprise at almost the same time. They finished the first half of their journey as they approached the towering landmass and took a well-deserved break in the shade of the plateau. They opened their bags and took out the canteens they brought to get rid of the thirst they had acquired after all that running or in Rainbow’s case flying. “Hey AJ can you tell what time it is?” Twilight politely asked “Judgin’ from the suns spot in the sky ah’d say around three or three-thirty.” “Alright then we’ll rest here for a few minutes then get started looking for that plant.” Twilight suggested * * * They sat there for a few minutes resting their tired bodies. Rainbow got and stretched out her wings getting ready to fly up to the top and start the search. “Alright I’ll head up and see if that plant thingy is here.” “Here Rainbow this is what the plant looks like.” Twilight pulled her book out using her magic and set it on the ground in front of Rainbow. “Ok so the one I need has red blooms on it, right?” “That’s correct.” “Got it, I’ll be back in no time!” “Wait, hold on Rainbow!” Twilight yelled as she grabbed Rainbows’ tail with her magic “You need to dig the plant up not just pull it out of the ground.” “Oh you’ve got to be kiddin’ me!” “The princess wants to use this plant in some kind of experiment, so it needs to have roots so it can be planted at the palace for her to use anytime, right?” “That’s right AJ.” “Fine, I’ll dig it up.” “Thank you very much Rainbow.” Twilight let go of Rainbow’s tail and she took off to the top of the plateau. It took her just a few seconds but the others would have climb for couple of minutes to get up there. She stayed hovering in the air for a few minutes looking for the plant until she spotted a small group of them under a bush. “There you are!” She said as she zoomed down onto the ground She managed to kick up pollen from the small plant as she landed. The pollen tickled her nose causing her to sneeze. “Alright let’s get this done with.” She mumbled as she started to dig at the ground with her hoof She dug at the ground for a good few minutes till she reached what looked to be a rock. The roots of the plant were embedded into the stone. “Awww come on!” she said rolling her eyes Meanwhile Twilight and Applejack were sitting at the base wondering what was taking Rainbow so long. “Now what’s takin’ that pony so long?” “I’m not sure but it can’t be that difficult to dig up a plant, right?” Applejack pulled out the map from her bag and rolled it out in front of her. She looked it over scratching her chin in confusion. “What is it AJ?” Twilight inquired “Well ah’ve been out here plenty of times and ah know the terrain. Plus ah know maps of this area but ah’ve never seen an image like that before.” Twilight walked over to AJ and sat down next to her looking at the map as well. “Y’all ever seen that image on a map before?” “No, never, it looks like some kind of house or…temple?” “Twi where did y’all get this map?” “From Princess Celestia herself.” Just then they heard a loud yell that came from the top of the plateau. A familiar voice, Rainbows voice! * * * Rainbow is digging at the ground when she hits what seems to be a rock. “Aww come on!” she said “Wanna play hard ball, fine let’s play hard ball!” She reared up and stomped as hard as she could on the stone. It didn’t even crack or fracture so she did it again and again. Still no signs of any give to the stone’s surface. “Oh I see how it’s goin’ to be!” She flew up into the air and hovered there. “This will get you to come loose.” She rushed head long at the ground then she switched her position to do a flying dropkick. She hit the ground with enough force to do more than break the rock but put a hole in it. Rainbow fell through a roof of a house of an ancient civilization long forgotten. As she fell into the darkness she yelled as loud as she could have hoping somepony could hear her. She fell through roof of the building landing hard onto the ground. She hit her head hard and was dazed for a few minutes then she looked up at the hole. She spread her wings out to fly up but a sharp pain hit her. Her wing was messed up pretty bad so she couldn’t fly out. “Stupid plant it’s your entire fault!” She thought as she sat there trying to hold back tears. Back at the base of the plateau AJ and Twilight heard Rainbows yell and knew they had to save her but how were they going to get to her. They could climb up but that could take too long and without a secured rope at the top they could end up hurt as well. There has to be a way around, some kind of path or trail leading to the top hopefully. They ran around the base of the plateau for a few seconds trying to find a path but it wasn’t successful until AJ noticed a small cave-like entrance. “Here Twi! This might get us up to the top.” AJ said while pointing at the entrance “I’m not sure AJ. What if it leads to a dead end or what if it collapses while we’re inside?” “Well we gotta try at least, for Rainbow sake.” “You’re right we need to!” So against all common reason Twilight and Applejack headed into the cave hoping it would lead them to Rainbow. After a few minutes of walking through the cave they didn’t have the light of the sun showing the way anymore. Their eyes had adjusted to the darkness but not enough to give them good guidance. AJ stopped and reached into her bag and brought out some flint and a piece of pyrite. She asked Twilight for some parchment and tied it to the end of stick she found in the cave. “Wow AJ I’m impressed.” “Ain’t nothin’ special, just some survival things ah picked up from Big Mac a long time ago.” They kept walking in hopes it would lead to the top of the plateau but instead it lead them to something they couldn’t even imagine. “Wooooh!” Twilight exclaimed “What is all this Twi?” “Looks like the remains of an ancient pony civilization from centuries ago.” She said while examining some of the architecture. “Wait, hold on just a pony pickin’ minute, how in the hay is there an ancient civilization inside this huge rock thing?” “I read books on the subject but never got really see one for myself. Well until now that is. Ancient civilizations like this one would build their homes, towns, entire cites inside mountains or plateaus to keep themselves safe from the harsh environment outside. It also provides excellent natural protection from other empires looking to conquer their own.” Twilight went on to explain to Applejack “Hmm makes sense ah guess but how would anypony get inside this place?” “Back during ancient times there would have been a great big entrance somewhere in the side of the mountain but I’m guessing over time it must have fallen apart or has been weathered away by time and the elements.” Twilight explained again “Well we ain’t got time to sight see here. We need to find a way to Rainbow at the top and fast.” At the same time Rainbow was walking around the ruins of the ancient house she just fell through. She kept checking on her wing to see if it had, hopefully, healed enough to fly but it still was painful to move. After sitting there her eyes began to adjust and she could see the annoying little plant that caused all this mayhem for her. “Pfff you little…” She grunted wanting to say something else but her train of thought got cut off when she heard friends talking. She grabbed the plant making sure it still had its roots then she put in her bag and headed in the direction of the voices of her friends. * * * She couldn’t see all that well but she could hear plenty good. Running through the remains of this once bustling city she followed the echoes of her friend’s voices. She yelled in an attempt to gain their attention. “AJ! Twilight! I’M HERE!” She yelled Applejack and Twilight were caught off guard when they heard their friend’s voice in a place like. They stopped and Twilight held out the torch with her magic in hopes of seeing Rainbow. Rainbow could see the torch in the distance and knew she would be safe now. “RAINBOW!” Her friends yelled to her “Aww man I’m sure glad to see you guys!” She yelled back as she kept running “NO, RAINBOW STOP!” Yelled Applejack “Huh? What do you mean?!” Rainbow stopped her gallop and slide to a stop. “Why do I need to stop?” “Look at your hooves Rainbow!” Rainbow looked and by the dim light of the torch she could see a pit filled with the rubble of the ancient city. Judging from the light of the torch the pit looked to be about fifty feet deep. Rainbow took a few steps back from the edge to be safe. “Woh that was a close one.” She said quietly to herself “Now how in the wide world of Equestia did a hole get here?” AJ asked Twilight “Must have been the reason why this ancient city was abandoned. It looks like a massive sink hole took half the city down there.” Twilight responded “Rainbow come on and fly over here.” AJ said “Don’t you think I would have done that already if I could? My wing is pretty messed up so I can’t fly.” “Horseapples! We gotta think of something then.” “I could try and levitate her over here.” “Twi, y’all think you can do that?” “Well we don’t have a choice do we. I’m not use to levitating full grown ponies but given the circumstances we don’t have any other option,” “But what if y’all run out of magic half way?” “I won’t, not while my friend needs my help.” “Well…ok then, worth a shot.” AJ said hesitantly “Rainbow I’m going to use my magic to levitate you over to us! So be still!” Twilight’s horn began to glow brightly as she conjured up all the magic she could muster up. Rainbow’s body became engulfed in the purple aura that was Twilight’s magic. Slowly but surely Rainbow began to come closer and closer to her friends. Twilight’s face began to show signs of strain and her forehead began to sweat heavily. Rainbow kept getting closer and closer to the other side of the deep hole when Twilight yelled to Applejack. “I…I CAN’T HOLD IT!” “Aww HAYSEEDS!” AJ yelled as she ran to the edge of the hole. Just as Applejack reached the edge of the hole, Twilight’s magic gave out on her and Rainbow began to fall. Rainbow closed her eyes and let out a huge scream but AJ grabbed her hoof just in time. Rainbow opened her eyes and looked up at the cowpony that just saved her life. “Come on now sugar cube, y’all think ah would let you down like that?” “Hehe I guess not.” She pulled up Rainbow to the edge and just as she got to the top Applejack lost her footing and pulled Rainbow on top of her. They laid there for a few seconds staring at each other, not thinking about a thing, just staring into each other’s eyes. Rainbow could feel herself starting to blush but just then Twilight ran up to her and grabbed her around the neck. She gave her a big hug and apologized multiple times. Rainbow accepted the apology and gave her a hug back saying it was no big deal, AJ managed to catch me anyway. “Aww shucks, it was nothin’.” AJ said pulling her hat over her face. “Yea it was! If it wasn’t for you Celestia knows what would’ve happen!” “Come on you two; let’s get out of here and back to the ranch.” Twilight interjected The three friends traced their steps back to the entrance of the cave. It was night now and so much cooler than this afternoon. They began their journey back to ranch and hopefully a well-deserved night’s sleep. As they walked back through the desert Rainbow couldn’t help to keep thinking of that moment back at the ruins and how she felt for those few seconds. She looked over at AJ who was talking to Twilight about the day’s events and she could feel herself starting to blush again. “Oh Rainbow!” Twilight said Hearing Twilight’s voice made her snap out of her thoughts. “Yea what’s up?” “I know this is no place to ask but did you get the plant?” “Huh, oh the plant! THAT plant. Yea I got it for you, roots and all.” “Thanks Rainbow, now we can head back to Ponyville tomorrow.” “Yup and Rainbow can help me on mah farm too!” AJ said “HUH?!” Rainbow yelled “What do you mean?!” “You already forgot the deal we made huh?” “OH Yea, the deal we made on the train ride.” Rainbow said scratching the back of her head. They walked for a few more hours until they reached the blessed sight of the Apples Ranch. They walked into house where everypony was already sitting down and enjoying dinner. They had to answer a lot of questions about why it took them so long and why they were a mess. They didn’t even eat dinner they just went upstairs and each took long, hot showers then headed off to bed. They kept the same sleeping arrangements as the night before. They each quickly fell asleep as they enjoyed the soft mattresses and comforting blankets. * * * The next morning was just like any other to the ponies except Rainbow woke up before all the others. The sun shined in her face and she grunted at the thought of the sun being up already but this morning was different than the one from yesterday. She smelled the distinct scent of apples. “Apples? I didn’t smell those yesterday morning.” She thought She opened her eyes to find herself face to face with Applejack. Close enough that if anypony was to walk in and see them like that they only come to the conclusion they were a couple. Rainbow had cuddled with Applejack during the night, in her sleep, and didn’t even notice it. Her arm was around her waist, her leg was on top of AJ’s and their faces were almost touching, “WHAT AM I DOING?!” She thought “Why does this feel…feel fine to me?” -End of Chapter 2-
SecretsChapter 3 Secrets “Oh man!” Is all she could think to herself as she lay there, almost on top of Applejack. “What do I do?” She thought as she panicked at the idea of Applejack waking up and seeing her there. “Okay, calm down Rainbow, I got this. All I have to do is just move my rear leg and shift my weight so I’ll be off of her.” She laid there for a second and thought on what she said. “Get ‘off’ of her.” She paused and looked at her friend that was asleep by her side. She examined her body slowly thinking how amazing she looked glowing in the morning sunlight. Her body wanted to move off of Applejack but her mind wasn’t cooperating with it. She just wanted to lay there and just keep staring, keep… “What am I thinking?!” She yelled at herself. She got lost in thought but managed to snap herself out of it. “This is Applejack! AJ, your best friend in the whole world! Why are you thinking like this?” She shook her head to get rid of the thoughts plaguing her. “Okay this is just a mistake. I was asleep and I didn’t know what I was doing. That’s all, THAT’S IT.” She managed to calm herself down and she began to move her leg off of AJ. Once she moved over enough she propped her body up with her elbow to move her arm but she failed to realize that her arm was under AJ’s and that to move hers she would need to move Applejack’s first. A chill ran up her spine at the thought of moving any part of AJ and her waking up to see Rainbow like she was. “Okay I got this, no problem.” She began to move the orange pony’s arm up so she could slide her arm out from under Applejack’s. She got it up enough to move her arm out. She started to slide her arm out but leaned to far back and a pain shot through her body. She forgot about her injured wing from yesterday’s adventure. It took every ounce of strength she had not to yell but the pain made her arm go numb and she fell on her injured side causing more pain to go through her body. She rolled over to her other side to stop the pain but misjudged the size of the bed and fell to the floor with a loud thud. “Ahh Son of a…” She began to say when she heard the other two wake up. “Wha, What the hay?!” AJ sat up in bed and mumbled to herself “Hmmm what’s going on?” Twilight asked “Rainbow? Why y’all on the floor?” “OH! Morning AJ, I mean guys. Hehe” Rainbow said while scratching her head “Are you okay Rainbow?” Twilight inquired “What, me, yea yea I’m fine.” “You sure Rainbow? Yer scratchin’ yer head a lot. Sure you didn’t hit it?” “What, nah, I’m good” Applejack and Twilight looked at each other trying to figure out what’s with Rainbow’s attitude this morning. Normally she’s all tired and groggy but today she seems really awake and on the move. They shrugged it off then got out of bed and stretched. “What time is it?” Asked the cowpony Twilight looked at the clock on the wall. “It’s about 7:30 a.m.” “When does our train leave today?” AJ asked “Around 10 this morning” Twilight answered “Well since we’re awake now might as well get packin” The three ponies began to gather up their stuff they left out from yesterday morning and start packing things away. Applejack reached into her bag and noticed something that Rainbow could probably use right now. “Oh hey Rainbow I almost forgot to ask.” Applejack said “Huh? Ask what?” She could see AJ asking her about why she was sleeping on her like that last night. She kept thinking that she might have woken up in the middle of the night and saw Rainbow on her in that position. “How’s yer wing holdin’ up?” “Oh, its’ fine kinda, it still hurts a little though.” Rainbow replied breathing a sigh of relief. “Well come over here anyways.” Applejack motioned with her hoof “Wwhy?” “What? Ah’ve got bandages for ya.” “Oh okay then.” Rainbow walked to the other side of the room to Applejack and sat down next to her. Applejack began to bandaging up Rainbow’s side and wing. AJ got done with the dressing on Rainbow’s wing then put her things away and patted her on her side. Rainbow flinched a little in pain. “Tender there are we?” AJ suggested “Huh?! Of…of course not. What gave you that thought?” Rainbow said while trying not to blush. “Calm down now. It was only a joke.” “Oh, yea, haha funny.” The orange cowpony cocked her eyebrow up and gave her friend an unusual stare. “Well I have to finish packing.” She got up and went back to what she was doing. The cowpony didn’t know what to think of the way Rainbow was acting this morning. She seemed a little on edge or uneasy about something. It might be about what happened yesterday; after all it was a scary experience for any pony. She probably just needs some time to gather her thoughts that’s all. Applejack went back to getting her things ready for the long train ride they had ahead of them. They finished their packing but before leaving the Apple family gave them a big breakfast. A large spread of a sorted apple- based food lay on the table just begging to be eaten. Rainbow’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and all she could think about was eating till she passed out. “Ahh well thanks cus. This is mighty fine of ya.” Applejack told Breaburn “Ain’t no trouble cus. After all y’all need it after yesterday.” “This looks delicious Breaburn.” Twilight said while looking over the food “Well thank ya kindly miss Twilight.” “Man I’m starving!” Rainbow exclaimed as she dashed for the table. She sat down and grabbed a plate then started to eat everything in front of her. Just as she started AJ walked up to her and took her plate from her. “What the?! Hey my food!” Applejack took Rainbow’s plate and walked to the end of the table and sat it down. “Y’all gotta wait till everypony is at the table. Plus y’all didn’t thank Breaburn for makin’ this for us,” “But, but…my food.” Rainbow mumbled as she stared at her plate, so far yet so close too. “Rainbow” “Alright, thanks Breaburn for this spread this morning.” “It’s fine miss Rainbow.” Applejack gave Rainbow her plate back and one by one the ponies of the Apple home came to the table. They all ate their share, except for Rainbow who can eat like a full grown stallion, and shared their story about what happened yesterday. Time passed until they needed to get going to the station. They left the comfort of the Apple home and couldn’t wait to get back to their homes. Applejack thought about how everypony back at the farm had been and how she was going to explain the things they saw this weekend. They reached the station in time, just as the train conductor makes his last call. They show him their tickets and climb aboard for the long ride back to Ponyville. * * * The train ride was nothing out of the ordinary. Just like the first time through it was quiet with the three friends lost in thought. Well two of them at least, Rainbow being her usual self was sleeping on the ‘boring’ train, AJ was thinking about being back on the farm but this gnawing thought about Rainbow was pestering her. The orange cowpony pulled her hat down over her eyes and thought on the subject, her hat created a barrier between her and everypony else as she thought on things, but she couldn’t place her hoof on what it was. Twilight could see her friend was being bothered by something. She tried to talk with Applejack but her hat created a ‘barrier’ that no pony could break through. Twilight got through to AJ eventually by pulling on her hat with her magic. “What the hay?” “Sorry AJ but I wanted to get your attention.” “Oh sorry Twi. Ah guess ah was lost in thought about somethin.” “What’s up Applejack?” “Well didn’t y’all notice that Rainbow was actin’ kinda funny this mornin?” “Well now that you mention it.” Twilight placed her hoof under her chin and thought back. “First ah thought it was cause of what happen yesterday but ah’m not sure.” “Well it was an ‘exciting’ day. That’s probably what it was.” “Yea ah guess yer right.” The rest of the ride was quiet again. Twilight was lost in one of her history books while AJ was back to her thoughts and Rainbow, well not much has changed with her, still lost in her dreamland. The train slowed down as it came to the Ponyville station and jerked to a stop. Rainbow jerked with the train and fell over onto Applejack’s shoulder. She woke up seeing AJ staring at her. “Well hey there sleepy head.” Rainbow sat up immediately and looked around. “H…hey there AJ.” “Y’all enjoy sleepin’ on my shoulder?” “Huh? I didn’t sleep on your shoulder.” Rainbow stopped and thought “Did I?” “Ah’m just messin’ with ya.” Rainbow sighed then looked at AJ and thought “That wasn’t funny.” They gathered their things and got off the train. With the train ride taking about half of the day it was just beginning to be nightfall. The three friends said goodbye to each other and headed back to their cozy homes. Twilight headed towards her treehouse while AJ and Rainbow took off together. They reached a fork in the road and Rainbow headed off in the direction of her home in Cloudsdale. “I’ll see you around AJ.” She said as she waved and flew off AJ stopped and called out to Rainbow. “Aye Rainbow, ah’ll see you tomorrow right?” Rainbow stopped dead in the air with a looked of dread on her face. She couldn’t help but think to herself that AJ did know about last night. She turned around and with all her strength looked at AJ. “Yea, sure, tomorrow.” “Y’all forgot didn’t ya?” Rainbow thought back. How could she forget? Waking up that morning lying next to Applejack, so close to her, feeling her touch. Seeing her in the morning light… “Ah DAMN these thoughts!” She mumbled “So y’all did forget, huh?” “No…” “Good, then y’all need to show up early in the mornin’ so ah can tell ya what ya need to do.” “Wait, what?!” Rainbow exclaimed “That bet y’all made. Yer gonna work on the farm for a week to prove yer not a lazy pony. Unless y’all wanna back down?” “OH no way am I backing down from a challenge. It’s on!” “Alright then see ya tomorrow.” AJ took off towards her farm to get rest and tell her family of the weekend adventure they had. Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief and took off for her home. While she fly through the night sky she stared at the moon and thought just how ridiculous she was being. “Applejack doesn’t know about me sleeping on her and besides it wasn’t anything. I probably just rolled over on her, that’s all. But if that’s all then why do I still have these thoughts?” She shook her head in confusion “No matter, I’m sure after a good night’s sleep at my own home everything will be okay.” She finally reached her home and walked up the stairs to her room. She saw her favorite place in the world, her bed made of clouds; she jumped on it and felt the soft comfort that only a cloud can give. She snuggled up and relaxed for a few minutes before letting the clouds drag her off to sleep. * * * Rainbow woke up the next morning; the sun was shining in through the window, it was warm and comforting on her face. She heard her door open so she rolled over wondering who would be at her home this early in the morning. She was surprised to see Applejack come walking through and even more surprised to see her walking on clouds. “Wha…? What are you doing here AJ and how are you walking on the clouds?” “Ah asked Twilight to make it were ah can walk on clouds. Ah wanted to make sure y’all didn’t forget.” “Yea I remember. I haven’t backed out of our challenge.” Applejack walked over to Rainbow’s bed and sat down next to her. “Ah wasn’t talkin about that Rainbow. Ah know about the other night sugar cube.” Rainbow looked at AJ then looked away trying to figure out what to say next. How am I going to defend myself? What should I say to her? Thoughts spun around in her head. She didn’t know what to say and even if she did she couldn’t figure out how to say it. Suddenly she felt Applejack’s hoof under her chin. Applejack slowly turned Rainbow’s face around so they were looking at each other. At that moment Rainbow couldn’t think of anything, nothing to say, just nothing. They stared at each other looking into their eyes and slowly Applejack leaned in and gave Rainbow a slow, loving, kiss. To Rainbow the world around her stopped everything she knew was upside down, her closest friend was with her in her room locking lips. She felt unsure about the situation but at the same time she enjoyed it. They both lay down together. Applejack was on top of her and Rainbow was unsure of what to do or say. Applejack nudged at Rainbow’s side that wasn’t fully healed yet. Rainbow twitched in pain a little and Applejack remarked “So, still tender huh?” Before Applejack could carry on more Rainbow heard a bird chirping at her window. She looked over and the sunlight blinded her for a few seconds. She woke up to the sunlight shining in her face. She sat up quickly and looked around the room to see if Applejack was still there but she wasn’t. “It was all just a dream? It felt soo real to me though.” She fell back into her bed and reflected on the dream and just how great it felt to her. “Urgh” She groaned into her pillow “What’s going on with me? Why am I thinking this way?” Rainbow Dash wanted to just roll over and go back to sleep but she knew she couldn’t. She made a deal with Applejack that she would work on the farm for a whole week because AJ called her lazy. Unfortunately now, with these thoughts, Rainbow isn’t sure she can even be around her friend let alone work together with her. “URGH…What the HELL am I going to do?!” -End of Chapter 3-
The TruthChapter 5 The Truth Rainbow was the one to greet the morning on this day. She woke up in the middle of the night from the nightmare and couldn’t go back to sleep. She tossed and turned, the dream replaying in her head, not being able to find a comfortable position. She knew that the dream was weighing heavily on her mind and that she would not be able to go back to sleep but she still tried. Unsuccessful at her attempts she did something she hadn’t done since she was a filly. She went out in the middle of the night on a flight to one of her favorite locations; it was a tall oak tree on a hillside on the outskirts of Ponyville. She flew out there then lay down on top of the tree and stared at the night sky. She came here often when she felt overwhelmed or confused by something but the last time she came out here at night was when she was a filly. That time was when she decided she wanted to become one of them Wonderbolts and work hard to achieve her goal. She stayed there the rest of the night just staring out into space and thinking of what she needs to do. She cleared her head of everything except the two choices she had to make; choice one was confront AJ about this, tell her everything, and let AJ decide if she still wants to be her friend or not then there was choice two which was to keep it to herself and try to make it go away. She was so lost in thought she didn’t even realize that the sun was rising. The brightness of its rays hit her in the face causing her to snap back to reality. She rolled over and watched the sun rise. “Wow, that’s beautiful. I’ve never seen the sun rise before.” She sat up and waited as the sun came into full view. After a minute of two Rainbow stood up and gave a subtle but still noticeable grin. “Alright, I’ve made my choice. As Celestia as my witness I will overcome this.” She opened her wings and took off towards her home. She had to get ready, after all she still had to go do work at the farm, she didn’t want to keep her friend Applejack waiting. * * * Applejack’s night was less restless but still the same problem bugged her when she woke up that morning. She had a dream, an intimate one, between her and Rainbow and she couldn’t make heads or tails of it. She lay there in her bed after waking up for a couple of minutes thinking of the dream. Why would she have a dream about Rainbow, she’s had dreams about Rainbow before but they were normal stuff nothing like this one, was it because of them spending so much time around each other? She sat up in her bed and grabbed her hat off the night stand. Applejack got out of bed and walked over to her mirror to get ready for the day. She noticed the sun was rising through her window. She stopped and looked out at the sun slowly coming up and all the colors that were painting the sky. One of Applejack’s favorite things to do was watch the sun rise while the other was watch it set in the evening. “Too bad Rainbow sleeps so much. She’s probably missing this.” She stared at the sun rise not letting the dream weigh on her mind. After all it’s just a silly dream, it has no meaning, right? That thought went through her head and she started to think on it again. “Ah don’t have time to dwell on this. Ah got that needs attendin’ to.” She left her room and headed downstairs where her family was. They had already started eating breakfast. “Oh there’s ole sleepy head.” Granny Smith said as Applejack walked into the kitchen. “Y’all slept in late today.” Applejack didn’t notice that she spent so much time in her room thinking about that dream. To her it was only a few minutes but it was actually an hour. “What gives? It’s not like y’all to sleep in Applejack?” Applebloom asked with a mouthful of cereal. “Eeyup” “Ah’m sorry family Ah was just thinkin’ about some stuff.” “Thinkin’ about what?” Applebloom asked again “Nothin’ that concerns you sugar cube.” She patted Applebloom on the head and smiled. She wanted to talk to somepony about it but she figured her family wouldn’t understand. She knows her family loves her no matter what but if she told them about that dream and how she was staring at Rainbow yesterday they might think of her differently. It would probably be for the best if she just kept this to herself. It’s not like something like ‘that’ would ever happen anyway. There’s no way Rainbow would be like ‘that’. She and Rainbow are just friends and that is not going to change. After breakfast Applebloom left the house and went to go see her friends so Applejack went to attending to her chores around the house. She started to clean up when a knock was heard at the door. She went to answer but when she did she heard Granny Smith welcome Rainbow into their home. When she heard Rainbow’s voice all she could think about was that dream and the ‘intimate things’ they said to each other. “Morning AJ!” “Oh Rainbow, good mornin” Applejack kept to her chores in the kitchen trying not to look over at Rainbow Dash. She knew if she did she would give away that something was on her mind. After all she couldn’t lie it just was not in her to do so, being the embodiment element of Honesty and all. * * * Once Applejack was done with the small things around the house she and Rainbow went outside to start with the chores out in the fields. “Alright what do you have for me today AJ?” “Hmm let me think.” Applejack placed her hoof under her chin “Well the barn is clean, the house chores are done and most of the west orchard has been bucked.” She tried to think of something then it hit her. “Oh yea, we need some feed for the chickens and some other supplies for the rest of the week. Mind takin’ care of that today. Y’all can go see Granny Smith about bits to buy the stuff and a list of what we need.” “Sure that doesn’t seem too big of a hassle.” Rainbow remarked as she placed her arm around Applejack’s neck. She didn’t realize it at first because she did a lot in the past but this time putting her arm around AJ was different. When Rainbow did realize what she did she pulled away and they both looked in the opposite direction from each other. Rainbow tried to hide her blushing as well as Applejack. “I guess I’ll get going then.” They both said in perfect unison and walked away. Rainbow walked away a little and stopped then looked back. All she could think was that was too close. Applejack did the same as well. She walked a little farther and stopped at an apple tree, she pulled down her hat and head-butted the tree, trying to get the thought of her and Rainbow together out of her head. “Damn it! Ah don’t know if this is gonna work after all.” * * * Rainbow made her way through the market place in Ponyville. She tried to keep her mind on the task at hoof. She had already bought the feed for the chickens and was heading to get the rest of the supplies for the Apple family. While there she ran into Twilight who was out for a stroll around town. “Hey there Twilight” “Good morning Rainbow. What are you doing here, not working on Applejack’s farm today?” “Yea I am still. I’m just grabbing some supplies for the family.” “So you still haven’t given up on that challenge yet?” “Challenge? Oh yea, that’s right.” Rainbow had forgotten all about the challenge she and Applejack had made a while back. She was actually enjoying working on the farm…and being around Applejack all the time. She smiled at that thought. “Rainbow? Rainbow?!” Twilight tried to get her attention as she was lost in thought “Huh? Yea what’s up?” “Are you okay? You were kind of smiling and spaced out.” “Sorry, yea I’m good.” “So do you need any help?” “Yea that would be great. My bags are almost full.” “It would be my pleasure.” They walked around the market place getting what was needed and caught up on things. Twilight told Rainbow how Princess Celestia had been putting her through more training and teaching her more difficult spells. Twilight went on to tell Rainbow that the princess was impressed by what they went through to get the plant, the princess even gave the plant a name for the troubles they went through to get it, and their little adventure through those ancient ruins. The princess sent out and expedition team to the location to do research and to see what they can learn about old pony civilizations. They finished the shopping and started back to the farm. Twilight kept going on about her studies and Rainbow talked about her time so far working on the farm. “So it seems like you’ve been having a good time.” “Yea kinda but it’s really hard work.” “I can imagine but at least you don’t need to work out as much to stay in shape.” “I can get all the exercise I need doing work there. Hey speaking of hard work what did the princess name that pest of plant anyway?” “I think she called it ‘Molestam Florescunt’ if I’m not mistaken.” “Uhh…what?” “It’s Latin meaning ‘Troublesome Bloom’.” “Well that’s fitting.” The two friends kept on talking about several different things until they got back to the farm. When they got back Applejack was in the barn getting tools to use in the orchard. “Hey there I’m back.” “About time Ah thought y’all got lost. Howdy there Twilight, didn’t expect to see you.” “Good morning Applejack. I was at the market and I ran into Rainbow. She needed help carrying some stuff back so I offered.” “Well thank ya kindly Twilight. There is a door around back that leads down to the cellar. That’s where this stuff goes.” “Alright I’ll get it down there in no time.” “Applejack may I ask if I can barrow Rainbow for a little after this is done?” “Well Ah guess so but what for?” “I need about two dozen apples. I’m going to be able to carry those back myself.” “Two dozen?! Now why y’all need that many?” “Princess Celestia has me working on a new spell, it’s a transformation spell, and I want to test it out on something inanimate before moving on to the next level. I’ll gladly pay for them.” “Well alright then Ah see no problem just make sure you get back here after y’all are done.” “I will. You can trust me.” “Thank you very much Applejack.” The two left the barn and headed around to the backside where the cellar was. They took the supplies down and quickly place everything where it belonged then headed back up to the barn where Applejack was waiting with two dozen apples plus a few extra for her friend, no extra charge of course, then Twilight and Rainbow left the farm heading back to Ponyville. * * * They reached Twilight’s house and Twilight offered her friend a drink. Rainbow accepted and went inside for a short break before heading back to the farm. They went upstairs and as usual there were books scattered everywhere and pieces of parchment with notes scribbled on them. “So where’s Spike at?” “He’s having to run some errands for me.” “You always keep him busy don’t you?” “Well he is my personal assistant after all.” Rainbow really didn’t care about what Spike was doing she just wanted to know if anypony else was there or not. Once Twilight said he was out doing errands she felt a little more comfortable knowing it was just her and Twilight. She took a deep breath and looked around the room. She wasn’t sure she wanted to do this but she needed to talk to somepony. Twilight seemed to be the best candidate since she was smart on a lot of things. She took another deep breath and drink of the water Twilight gave her. For some reason she had a really dry mouth at that moment. “Is something wrong Rainbow?” “No. I mean yes. I don’t know.” “What’s wrong Rainbow? Ever since we came back from Appleloosa you’ve seem to be bothered by something.” “Twilight can I tell you something but you have to promise not to tell anypony. Promise me!” “Sure Rainbow, I promise you nopony shall know.” Rainbow sat there trying to figure out how she would word what she was thinking at that moment. She stared at the glass of water in her hooves hoping to find the answer there but it provided no such thing. She thought that there is no going back now. “I. Kind of. Have a crush on somepony.” Twilight stopped in the middle of drinking her water, shocked by what she just heard, and stared at Rainbow. Rainbow just sat there waiting to hear what Twilight would say next. “OH MY GOSH! Ohmygosh, ohmygosh! Tell me! Who is he? Is he a strong stallion!? Oh I bet he’s very athletic too! Is he a pegasus as well?!” Twilight had so many questions to ask but was too excited to be quiet and let Rainbow answer any of them. She finally got a hold of herself and got quiet so Rainbow could talk. “I’m sorry Rainbow, please continue.” After all that Twilight just asked she was afraid to tell her that the pony she had a crush on wasn’t even a stallion it was a mare and to top it off it was her best friend Applejack. Rainbow looked off to the side to gather her thoughts. “You promise you won’t tell?” “Yes I promise.” “And you promise you won’t think less of me if I tell you who it is.” “Of course I won’t Rainbow.” “Fine it’s…” Rainbow mumbled the name under her breath to where it was almost inaudible. Twilight cocked her eyebrow and tried to listen closely but couldn’t hear the name. She asked Rainbow to repeat it and Rainbow did at the same low tone. She asked for one more time. “APPLEJACK! There I said it.” “Wait you have a crush on Applejack?!” Rainbow sat there staring at the floor trying not to blush but it was too late, her face was the same color red as the one in her mane. “Aww man I’ve messed up now! Twilight thinks I’m a weirdo and now she isn’t going to be my friend anymore!” Rainbow thought to herself as she covered her face. “That’s…” “I knew it, here it comes!” She yelled at herself inside her head “That’s ADORABLE! Have you told her yet?!” “Wait, what?!” “What, you didn’t think I was going to be weirded out by that did you?” “Well I wasn’t sure, I mean it’s not something that everypony goes through.” “Rainbow it’s fine. We have no control over who we fall in love with.” "Yea but it's not natural, to be a mare and have feelings for another mare." "Rainbow love isn't meant to be natural. It's something that we find, not discover. It's something we understand, we don't need to study it. Love is a common ground or certainty and uncertainty, natural and unnatural." “Wow I never thought of it like that.” “So how long have you had a crush on her? Does she know?” Rainbow sat there with Twilight and they both talked. Rainbow told Twilight about everything that had happened since the time at Appleloosa to now, her dreams, her thoughts and how she feels when around Applejack. “And you haven’t told her yet?” “No I’m too afraid of what she might say.” “I’m sure if you open up to her she might accept you. The worst is she says she doesn’t feel the same way.” “But what if she gets weirded out by it and chooses not to be my friend anymore?” “I don’t think she’ll do that. Applejack is very understanding.” “I guess so. I need to think about this some more. Thanks Twilight for listening to me.” “No problem Rainbow and I promise I won’t tell Applejack about any of this. I’m always here if you need to talk again.” “Yea thanks a lot again.” Rainbow gave Twilight a big hug then realized something. She looked through the window and saw it was almost Dusk. She had spent the rest of the day sitting around and talking with Twilight. She opened the glass door leading to Twilight’s balcony and took off heading for Applejack’s farm. * * * She flew as fast as she could to get back to the farm. She couldn’t believe she had stayed there that long talking with Twilight. Even though she did feel bad about not coming back to the farm she felt good that she told somepony about everything that had been happening. Good enough to confront Applejack about it. Finally she was going to say something to her. She got back to the farm and wasted no time looking for Applejack. It didn’t take long because she was in the orchard bucking still. Rainbow landed and trotted up to Applejack with a happy smile on her face. “Hey AJ, still working I see.” “Yup of course Ah am.” Applejack didn’t even look in Rainbow’s direction. She just kept kicking the apple trees and staying focused on the task. “Hey AJ, can we talk about something?” Applejack gave the tree one last heavy kick that shook the whole tree then stopped. She had her hat down over her eyes but Rainbow could Applejack was giving her a stare that would burn a hole through steel. “Yea ok Rainbow let’s talk. Let’s talk about how ‘YOU’ promised y’all would be back after going to Twilight’s house then never did!” “I. I’m sorry Applejack I lost track of time.” “Yea Ah’m sure you did. ‘You can trust me’ isn’t that what you said before you left?” “Yea I did but Twilight and I started talking about some stuff and I just lost track of time.” “Ah was expecting y’all to come straight back. After y’all took off we got a huge order for ten barrels of apples. Big Mac and Ah had to do all that work while you were out chattin’ with Twilight. What could be so dang important that y’all had to talk all day about?!” Applejack gave the tree another heavy kick When Rainbow came back she was so confident to tell AJ how she felt but now she didn’t even want look at her. She knows she screwed up and Applejack was mad. Nothing she could say would probably make Applejack feel better right now. “I’m sorry AJ I messed up.” “Well it’s fine. Ah’ve had time to think and just don’t come back tomorrow or the rest of the week too.” “What? Why?” “Y’all know why. Ah thought Ah could depend on y’all but that was proven wrong.” “Applejack, please! Just give me a chance to tell you something.” “No Ah don’t want to hear it. Just go.” Applejack turned and walked away into the darkness of the orchard. Rainbow stood there not knowing what to say. She sat down on the ground and wanted to cry, she could feel the tears building up. “It’s just like my dream from last night.” She placed her face in her arms so if Applejack was still around she wouldn’t see her sobbing. Applejack had already walked away, heading back to the house, she kept thinking about how Rainbow never came back. She doesn’t know why she is soo mad. Her and Big Mac had done orders like those before with no problem so why was this time different? She was just mad at the fact Rainbow told her she could trust her and Rainbow left her holding the barrel, so to speak. Every time she thought about it, it made her mad. “Just let it go AJ. Just go home and sleep it off.” Rainbow by this time had left the orchard and started to walk home. She didn’t feel like flying tonight. She just wanted to walk and take the long way home. Maybe she thought if she took long enough Applejack would come back to her and give her another chance. It never happened though; Rainbow walked and felt nothing but sadness and loneliness tonight. Applejack didn’t even eat dinner she just went straight to her bedroom and fell asleep. She didn’t have a dream that night. She just slept hoping she could forget what happened that day. Rainbow Dash finally made it home but wasn’t as lucky. She went to her room and laid there on her bed. She stared out through the window at the night sky. That normally calms her down but tonight it just reminded her of how she felt on the inside; empty. Another night of no sleep, another restless night. -End of Chapter 5-
Regaining what was LostChapter 6 Regaining what was Lost It had been a few days since Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s argument. Rainbow had been keeping to herself those few days. She stayed home most of the time except when she left to go do her weather duties but even then she still kept to herself. She didn’t want to talk about what had happen, she really didn’t want to talk to anypony period, so she stayed silent and distant from her friends especially Applejack. Even though they did have that argument Rainbow still thought about her. She wondered how she was doing and if she had cooled down enough so they could talk again. All Rainbow really wanted was to just tell Applejack how she felt, what she thought about her, and if there is any way to make things work. They could back to being friends again or if by some miracle they could become more. At this point though she would just settle for seeing her friend again, at least that would give her some kind of sense that they are okay. The past few nights Rainbow was plagued by nightmares of her and Applejack not making up and Applejack going on the rest of life hating Rainbow. Nightmares that had her waking up at all hours of the night. She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since the fight. Rainbow had figured that she needed to apologize but Applejack really isn’t the type to let things go. She knew AJ was stubborn and not going to admit she over-reacted so she would have to make the first move. “I shouldn’t have to make the first move. I did nothing wrong, right Tank?” She asked her tortoise as she paced the floor. In these past few days Tank has been the only one Rainbow communicated with but it’s not like he can offer any advice to the situation. That tortoise has heard more than his fair share of complaints from Rainbow these last couple days but he didn’t care. As long as he got to spend time with Rainbow he was fine. “What should I do Tank?” She laid on the ground in front of him and stared like he was going to offer life changing information or something but he just sat there and stared back. “I know I needed to talk to Applejack.” She said back to his blank stare “The problem is she might not talk back.” He just kept sitting there and staring at his owner talking to herself. “You’re right! I need to talk to somepony. Twilight is the only one though that knows about my secret and I’m not sure how much help she’ll be.” Tank the ever patient tortoise kept staring at his owner still talking to herself thinking the whole time she just might be going crazy. “All right then I guess I should go talk to Twilight. She might be able to help after all.” She left her house, for the first time in almost three days, with the intention to find somepony to talk to about her problem and hopefully get an answer as to what she needs to do. Inside she already knew the answer but that pride of hers was not about to give in and admit she did something wrong even though she knew she messed up. It was Applejack that should apologize, not her. * * * The last couple of days were hard on Applejack just as they were on Rainbow. AJ knew she had over-reacted to what Rainbow had done but she did promise she would come right back, plus Rainbow told Applejack she could trust her. If she couldn’t trust her with something simple as a delivery run then how could she trust Rainbow with something more serious? Applejack wasn’t one for reading too much into dreams but the last few nights they had been bugging her. She would wake up and go out at night for walks through the orchards. Applejack would go out at nights and go for walks so she could think and clear her head. She found the night time the best time because nopony was awake to bother her so she could just walk, think and take in the calming scenery that only the night and moonlight could bring. She wouldn’t think about the dreams she had as she walked around but she would think about Rainbow and if she was doing okay. The last time they ‘talked’ Applejack could tell Rainbow was really upset about what had happened but she was too angry to care. The past few nights her faithful pet dog Wanona would follow her as she strolled through the fields. Applejack would wonder around for a couple of hours thinking how she could make it up to Rainbow. Once she walked around for a little while she would stop at an old apple tree that had been on the farm since Granny Smith was a filly. She would sit under it and pet Wanona as she stared out at the night sky, gazed at the stars, and let her mind wander away. “Darn it, why do things like this gotta be so complicated?” She looked down at Wanona like she had an answer but she was asleep next to her master. She butted the back of her head against the trunk of the tree and moaned to herself. “We were fine as friends! Then she started workin’ on the farm and…” She paused and thought back to her dream about the two of them together. “Then things began to change. Ah changed, maybe, or Ah might have had that thought before.” She continued to sit there under that tree and argue with herself. She wondered if she had changed or if there was something there the whole time it’s just she chose to ignore it until now. “What am Ah gonna do? Ah could talk to Rainbow.” She thought “But Celestia knows how she’ll react to that and Ah’m sure not gonna talk to anypony in my family about this. They might react the same way as Rainbow.” She wanted to talk to Rainbow but didn’t know how to go about telling her something like ‘I have these feelings for you’. The only pony she could think of that could offer some kind of insight might be Twilight. “Well Ah guess that settles that. Tomorrow Ah’ll go see Twilight and ask her…” Applejack paused and thought on how she would tell Twilight. “Ah guess Ah need to work on this some.” Applejack stood up and headed back to the farm to sleep on her decision. She figured out of everypony Twilight would be the most understanding and hopefully give her some sound advice on what she should do. Confront Rainbow or just leave things alone? * * * Rainbow arrives at Twilight’s treehouse and starts to knock on the door when she hears two voices talking inside. She recognizes both voices, it was Twilight and Applejack talking about something, so she walks around to the other side and flies up to the balcony then stands at the glass door and listens to the conversation. Rainbow stood there for a few seconds but all she could hear was mumbles. She put her ear up to the glass to try and hear a little better. She heard what sounded like Applejack saying something but it was too low to really hear but she heard Twilight loud and clear. “You WHAT?!” Twilight exclaimed “Ah know. Ah should really talk to her about this but Ah’m too nervous to.” “AJ take it from me, talking to Rainbow about this will probably be a good thing.” Twilight reassured her friend “Yea but with that darn pride of hers she may just blow me off. Ah did treat her kinda hard after all.” “Applejack trust me. You are going to want to talk to Rainbow about this.” “Y’all might be right Twilight. Ah’m gonna need to think about this.” “It’s no trouble at all AJ, anytime.” Rainbow stayed glued to the glass on the door. She figured that Applejack wanted to talk about how she acted but Rainbow wasn’t aware of Applejack’s real reason for her visiting Twilight that morning. After AJ left Twilight stopped and thought about something then went upstairs and started to write something down. Just then she heard the door leading to her balcony open. She turned and saw Rainbow come walking in, after she looked around to make sure AJ was gone, and then greeted her with an unusual big smile. “Good morning Rainbow!” “Hey Twilight” “So I heard that you and Applejack aren’t talking to each other right now.” “Yea, we had a ‘disagreement’.” “I’m sorry to hear that, really I am.” “That’s why I’m here actually. I need to talk to you.” “I figured as much. You want to talk to Applejack right?” “Yea but I’m not sure she wants to.” “Well of course she does Rainbow.” “Didn’t seem like it to me.” Rainbow covered her mouth “Rainbow were you eavesdropping on mine and Applejack’s conversation earlier?” “I kinda did but I really didn’t hear anything.” “Oh okay then” Twilight looked discouraged at the fact Rainbow didn’t hear anything. Applejack had come to Twilight early that morning to talk to her about these feelings she had towards Rainbow. At first Twilight thought Rainbow had confronted AJ about her feelings but when AJ said they had gotten into a fight earlier that week and that they hadn’t talked since she was unsure what AJ wanted. After much poking and prying at Applejack Twilight finally got her to admit why she showed up. Twilight was ecstatic that Applejack had the same feelings for Rainbow as Rainbow did for Applejack. Twilight wanted to tell AJ how Rainbow felt but she promised Rainbow she wouldn’t, she couldn’t; besides this was something Rainbow had to tell Applejack personally. After Applejack told Twilight her feelings, her dreams, her fears and how she feels when she’s around Rainbow Twilight wanted to find Rainbow and tell her everything. Applejack on the other hoof wanted to talk to Rainbow so she made Twilight promise to keep this between them. Twilight had hoped while Rainbow was eavesdropping she would have heard AJ confession but it seemed like Rainbow was a little too late. Twilight was getting aggravated over the fact she had the opportunity to tell these two love struck friends the truth about each other but she knew it wasn’t her place to just come out and tell them. She could on the other hoof coax them to come together and finally talk about this. “Hey! Hello? Twilight!” Rainbow waved her hoof in Twilight’s face “Oh I’m sorry Rainbow. I guess I got lost in thought.” “I’m having a mental breakdown and you’re daydreaming?! I’m sorry Twilight it’s just I have no idea of what to do here. I didn’t mean to snap at you.” “It’s okay Rainbow, I understand, you’re feeling stressed out right now.” “Yea I guess so. Hey you wouldn’t happen to have a book on these kinds of things do you? Maybe some kind of guide lines or something?” “Sorry Rainbow I hate to say but there isn’t any guide lines to love.” “I figured as much. That’s always my kinda luck.” “You know what though Rainbow. How about later this evening you and I go for a walk around the park. We can talk there and maybe the fresh air will help you think better.” “I’m not sure. What if somepony over hears us talking?” “It will be fine Rainbow, trust me.” “Alright then. Later this evening at the park. I’ll see you there besides I have to take care of some weather stuff anyway, later Twilight.” Twilight smiled at the thought that her plan might work. Now all she has to do is extend an invitation to Applejack and hope she accepts it as well. She walked back to her desk and started writing on the parchment again. * * * The day ticked by slow for Rainbow. She normally would have taken a nap to pass the time but she really wanted to talk to Twilight. She got done with her weather duties over Ponyville early so she lazed around the park till it was time to meet Twilight. “Rainbow there you are!” “Oh hey Twilight. So are we going to talk now?” “Yup just one more minute.” “For what?” “Sorry Ah’m late Twilight Ah had to take care of some last minute things.” “Oh Celestia no, really Twilight?” Rainbow mumbled to her friend “You have to talk to her eventually Rainbow.” Rainbow shivered at the thought of confronting Applejack about everything, especially in a public place like this, even more so since they haven’t talked in a couple of days. “Hey Twilight…oh hey there Rainbow.” Rainbow stood there staring at the ground not knowing what to say. “Twilight what’s the big idea? Y’all said we should talk, you never said Rainbow was coming.” Applejack whispered to Twilight “Look you two, you have been ignoring each other for the almost a week now. It’s time you two made up!” They both stood there silent trying to figure out what Twilight’s plan is. “Rainbow your pride is what is keeping you from talking to Applejack not the fact you’re afraid if she’ll not talk back. Applejack your stubbornness is what’s keeping you from talking to Rainbow. Not to mention that the both of you are so afraid of rejection from the other you are ignoring how it’s affecting you personally.” “What fear of rejection?” Applejack asked “I’m tired of keeping your guys secrets. Somepony needs to talk to the other one or I will!” Rainbow Dash wanted to disappear but she knew that no matter how fast she could fly she wouldn’t escape the fact that Applejack was going to find out about her secret, either from her or Twilight, so it was up to her to come clean. It was time for her to own up to her feelings. Applejack was regretting showing up this evening. She could have just stayed home and been just fine but she still had not figured out how to say to Rainbow how she felt. It doesn’t matter now though, with Twilight putting the spotlight on her like this, she had no choice but to say what she felt. Rainbow reached out and grabbed Applejack on the shoulder. “Twilight is right. AJ I need to talk to you about something. Not here though, can we walk and talk?” Applejack did not know how to react. She wasn’t sure what Rainbow had to say and she really wasn’t sure what she was going to say to her. “Well alright Rainbow, if it’s that important.” The two started to walk off together in silence, neither one of them wasn’t sure what to say, then Twilight could be heard yelling to them. “I want to see progress when you return!” * * * The two friends walked for some time without saying a word to each other. Rainbow didn’t want to say anything; the time she was spending with Applejack was great even if they didn’t talk. Walking through the park with AJ on a moonlit night is what Rainbow needed to make sure that her feelings were true. Rainbow glanced over at her friend who was lost in thought, she couldn’t be sure on what, but she knew it had to be something majorly bugging her. They walked by a lake then Applejack stopped and stared out across the water. “What’s up AJ?” “Ah’ve been thinkin’ and Twilight is right. Rainbow there is somethin’ Ah’ve been meanin’ to talk to you about.” “No me first, I need to tell you this more.” “Now hold on Rainbow Ah know y’all want to apologize for earlier this week but Ah’ve got something a little more important.” “Wait, what?! Apologize? If anything you should apologize for over-reacting.” “Me? Y’all were the one who left and didn’t come back.” “That’s because I needed to talk to Twilight!” “Y’all keep sayin’ that. What could’ve been so important?” “The fact that…” Rainbow paused not knowing what to say next. Rainbow shut her eyes tight and grit her teeth. All she wanted to do was finally tell AJ the truth. “The truth is I’ve been meaning to tell you. Applejack I love you.” Applejack was stunned and speechless. She didn’t know if what she just heard had actually come from Rainbow or was it her mind playing tricks. Rainbow stood there waiting for a response from Applejack but all she was getting a black stare. “I’m guessing from that stare you don’t feel the same way. I understand I’ll just leave you alone.” She lowered her head and folded her ears back then started to walk away. “Rainbow wait!” Applejack ran in front of her to stop her. “Are y’all serious about what you just said?” “Yea, I am and I know it’s probably weird for you so I won’t bug you but I hope we can still be friends?” “No Rainbow y’all don’t understand. That’s what Ah wanted to tell y’all as well.” “What?! Really!?” “Yea sugar cube but Ah was too scared of how y’all would react.” “Me too, I didn’t want to lose you as a friend.” “Well y’all don’t need to worry about that anymore.” Applejack put her hoof under Rainbow’s chin and lifted her face up to hers. They stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed like a lifetime even though it was only for a few moments. They both leaned in close, both of their hearts beating a million miles a second, they could feel each other’s breath. Rainbow’s wings had shifted from being by her side to an upright position, a pegasus trait showing their love, then the whole world stopped. At least for those two it did as they shared their first real kiss. “It just like how I dreamed.” Rainbow thought “Wait; don’t let this be another dream!” She thought They stood there for what was like an eternity locked together by that kiss. The seal that showed that both of them had felt the same way. That was until Applejack pulled herself away from Rainbow. Rainbow’s expression on her face dropped instantly like her wings. “What’s wrong AJ? Did I do something wrong?” “Ah…Ah’m just unsure.” “What? Unsure about what?” “You weren’t unsure with that kiss a second ago.” Rainbow thought “Ah mean what about my family? What if they don’t approve of this?” “Well they are your family, I’m sure they can be understanding right?” “Ah don’t know. Rainbow Ah need some time to think. If y’all will give me that Ah’ll have an answer for ya.” “Wait if you’re going to talk to your family I want to be there.” “No Rainbow this is something Ah wanna do alone.” Applejack walked off into the night to think about everything that had just happen. She told Rainbow the truth tonight and Rainbow had felt the same way as well. She should be happy, stumbling over herself with happiness, but she was worried about what her family would think if they found out. Applejack finally admitted to Rainbow her love, the only pony she had felt that way for, and now she might have to choose between her loved ones. Applejack didn’t want to choose, she couldn’t choose, she needed time to think. Rainbow left the park feeling like she walk on water. Finally she had told Applejack the truth. Surprisingly Applejack wasn’t freaked out or creeped by it. Applejack actually had the same thoughts, the same feelings, and Rainbow was ecstatic by the thought. No more secrets, no more hiding stares, now they can actually move on. Rainbow felt calm for the first time in a week or so, she might even be able to sleep the whole night tonight, and there was nothing that could change that. * * * Rainbow flew home that night still not believing that what just happened was real but she knew it, she finally did it, and that thought made her the happiest pegasus ever. She wondered though if AJ was doing ok. She was pretty upset when she left. I know she wanted to be left alone to think but what if I just stopped by for a second to make sure she’s fine. Rainbow changed her course and headed towards the Apple family farm. She wasn’t going to actually stop at the place just fly by to see if Applejack is fine. She made it to the farm and it was dark and quiet. She figured that everypony was asleep so she would fly by quick then leave. She started to fly down to the far when she noticed the front door open. “Now who would be awake at this hour?…other than me” She flew down and landed expecting to see Applejack but instead it was Granny Smith holding a lantern. “Hey there Granny Smith. Aren’t you up a little late?” “Ah should say the same for you as well.” “What are you doing outside with a lantern?” “Waiting for Applejack.” “Wait you mean she hasn’t come home yet?” “No. The last I heard Applejack was going to see Twilight at the park for something. What are you doing out this late?” “Oh well I…ran into Applejack and Twilight at the park. We hung out for a bit and Applejack headed home. I was just making sure she got home safely.” “Wait! You mean you let go off alone?!” “Well yea, she said she would be fine. Why?” “There’s been an increase in Timber Wolf sightings lately.” “WHAT?! Oh nononono!” Rainbow shot off like a rocket heading back to the park. She flew as fast as she could. She couldn’t stop beating herself up in her mind. “How stupid could I be!? I should have never let her go off alone tonight!” -End of Chapter 6-
One Long NightChapter 7 One Long Night After getting the news from Granny Smith all Rainbow could think about is how she let Applejack go off on her own. Rainbow pounded her hoof against her forehead as she grit her teeth trying to get rid of the thought that something might have happen to Applejack. “No, not as long as I’m around, I’ll make sure she’s safe.” Rainbow flew through the night sky faster than a shooting star towards the park where she last saw her friend at. The whole time she was praying that AJ was still at the park, still walking by the lake side, perfectly fine and out of danger. After flying in a frantic state she arrived at the park. It was quiet and nothing was moving. Rainbow shifted her head from one direction to another hoping to spot Applejack but was unsuccessful. A pained look covered her face as she started to run around the park looking, hoping, and praying to find any sign of Applejack’s whereabouts. She ran along the path that covered the whole park until it lead her to the lake. Rainbow stopped and looked around again with high hopes that AJ was still there. She shifted her gaze to the other side of the lake, thinking she could be over there, but it was as empty as the rest of the park. “Maybe I’m over reacting. Applejack could be back at her home by now.” She sighed to herself, turned around and started to leave but as she was walking away something caught her eye. A look on Rainbow Dash’s face some could only describe as that of her ‘Seeing a ghost’. Rainbow ran along the path that lead to the other side of the lake. She stopped and place almost perfectly on top of a bush was the one thing she didn’t want to see. It was Applejack’s trade mark cowpony hat sitting there alone and then Rainbow knew her fears were true. Feeling guilt build up inside her she lowered her head and tried to hold off the urge to kick herself. Rainbow gave the tree next to her a hard kick. “I’m an idiot! No, this is no damn time to be feeling sorry for myself. Screw this I’m not gonna give up! She’s fine I know it!” Rainbow grabbed Applejack’s hat and tossed it on her head. Rainbow flew along the path for a few minutes. When she reached the end of it she was staring down an entrance to the Everfree Forest. “She has to be in there. This is the only place where the path ends at.” Rainbow took a step forward but quickly stopped and stepped back. “No Rainbow! This isn’t the time to get cold feet. Applejack needs your help and you’ve come too far, in more ways than one too.” Rainbow put her determined look on her face and ran steadfast into the forest. Not knowing what might happen or what may be waiting but she didn’t care. The one pony she cares for could be in trouble and that’s all that was on her mind. * * * Rainbow was walking through the Everfree Forest. Constantly looking in every direction hoping for a sign of Applejack’s location. “Timberwolves…why did it have to be Timberwolves? And why do they have to live in the Everfree Forest?” Rainbow thought to herself She kept walking deeper and deeper into the forest. An eerie wind had started to blow through the woods. It was dark even with the moonlight she still had a hard time seeing in front of her. After the wind had started a chilling fog had rolled in that surrounded everything. The Everfree Forest had a reputation for unpredictable and scary weather. Pegasi had no control over the weather in this area of Equestria so they tended to stay away from it. Against everything Rainbow knew of the area she continued on. Rainbow knew something had happen to Applejack, she could feel it inside her. The fog was thick and impairing her sight even more. “Wait if I fly up over the tree tops I will be able to see better.” Rainbow feeling confident about her plan opened her wings getting ready to take flight but stopped as she looked up and saw how compact the tree tops were. The trees had been growing here for possibly centuries unchecked which meant the tree tops created a ceiling of foliage. If she flew over the forest she wouldn’t be able to see the ground. “Damn I wouldn’t be any better off doing that than staying down here.” Rainbow closed her wings by her side and continued walking along the invisible path through the forest. Rainbow wasn’t sure if Applejack was still here in the forest or if she was even here to begin with. After all she could have made it home. “She could be back at home, safe and sound, asleep in her bed. But why did she leave her hat at the park? Maybe she was chased off by some Timberwolves but made it home? But what if they chased after her?” Rainbow looked at AJ’s hat on her head and shook her head vigorously at that thought. “No I can’t think like that. I’ll look around just a little more and if I don’t find anything then I’ll go back to farm and check to see if she made it back.” Rainbow went along the path through the forest and through the fog. She had her doubts but she wanted to be sure nonetheless. So she walked on, searching the ground for any kind of sign, looking for any clue that would validate Applejack being here. Suddenly she heard a noise no pony wants to hear. Her ears pricked up and a look of terror fell on her face. She frantically searched around her, staring off into the darkness, but the fog was thick and it was hard to see but that sound was unmistakable. “That…that was the howl of Timberwolves and they’re…close by.” Rainbow panicked and began to run through the trees and fog. The last thing a pony wants is to encounter a pack of Timberwolves in the Everfree Forest especially at night. So Rainbow instinctively ran from the noise. She had no idea where she was going or what might be ahead of her but she kept running. * * * Rainbow ran for as long as she could. Shards of moonlight shone through the canopy of tree tops as she ran from the sound of Timberwolves behind her. The fog was thick and it made visibility low but she didn’t care about was in front of her just what was behind her. Rainbow heard the howls again and picked up her pace. She turned her head to look behind her, she saw nothing, it was dark and foggy but that didn’t mean she wasn’t being chased. Rainbow looked forward again and was hit in the face by the glare of moonlight. “An opening? Is it an exit to the forest?” Rainbow wasn’t going to take any chances. She ran for the opening in the trees. Turning her head to look behind her one last time to make sure she was safe. “Haha there is no way some dumb old Timberwolves can catch me!” Rainbow kept running to the exit and began to breathe a sigh of relief. “At lasaaAHHH!” Rainbow yelled The opening she ran so desperately for, hoping it would offer salvation, ended with a cliff. The thick fog on the ground had concealed the drop-off from her so as she ran she couldn’t have noticed it. Rainbow stopped and looked around her. The view would be beautiful, the Everfree Forest lay in front of her basked in moonlight, if she wasn’t in these current circumstances. “Aww man that was close. Another few inches and I would have been six feet under.” Rainbow turned and heard the growls of the wolves. “Might be too early to pat myself on the back.” She searched the tree line looking for her pursers but didn’t see anything. Just then Rainbow heard more howls of the Timberwolves but this time from behind her. Rainbow turned to look and at the bottom of the cliff was something she had hoped not to see. At the bottom of the cliff was a small, open area, field and as she looked on Rainbow saw Applejack running across it. At first Rainbow felt relieved to see AJ safe. That was until she noticed that a pack of six Timberwolves were chasing Applejack. “APPLEJACK!!” Rainbow yelled Applejack stopped when she heard her name being yelled by Rainbow. There is no way Applejack could mistake that voice. “Rainbow! Am Ah glad to see y’all!” Applejack turned when she heard the sound of the wolves growling behind her. One of them lunged at her but she gave it a swift kick making it fall to pieces to the ground. “Rainbow we ain’t got time to talk now. Look Ah’m headin’ to the river that runs through the forest. If we follow it downstream it will lead us to the farm. Meet me there!” Applejack started to run off back into the forest with the wolves close behind her. “Hell no am I going to just let you go off on your own again AJ!” Rainbow opened up her wings getting ready to take flight when she heard growls behind her as well. Rainbow turned to see three Timberwolves slowly walking towards her. “Damn it! I don’t have time for this.” The lead wolf of the pack; a large, old, grey-ish wolf with a long scar across its face stared Rainbow down. It began to charge towards Rainbow. She backed up against the edge of the cliff and looked over her shoulder. “Your mistake” The wolf jumped towards Rainbow and Rainbow jumped backwards off the cliff then opened her wings and took flight towards the field where she saw Applejack. The Timber wolf tried to grab onto the ledge but it lost its grip and fell into the darkness below. Rainbow flew off towards the open field with only one thought in her mind. That was to help Applejack and stomp anything that gets in her way. Rainbow landed in the field and saw the tracks that lead in the direction of Applejack. Rainbow took off in the direction that would hopefully lead to Applejack. She flew just inches off the ground always keeping her eyes in front of her, also watching the tracks below her too, waiting and hoping that the next turn she would see AJ. Rainbow stared at the ground following the tracks with her eyes until the clouds blocked the moonlight making it hard for Rainbow to see anything. (Smack!) A loud thud could be heard through the forest. Without the little light the moon was giving off the forest turn black and Rainbow couldn’t see the trees in front of her. The clouds shifted and Rainbow lay there in the dirt. She sat up and tried to open up her wings but a sharp pain flew through body. Her wing that had finally healed after her last accident was messed up again. “Ugh! I’m such an idiot! I knew flying through the trees was stupid.” Rainbow stood up and started walking in the direction of the tracks. No matter how bad she was hurt she was not going to let her friend down. Not now, not ever. * * * Rainbow followed the tracks till they reached the edge of the river that Applejack had told her earlier. She looked around, searching for her friend, but AJ wasn’t there and there were no more tracks to follow. Rainbow looked along the river’s bank but there was none to be found. “What the hell? How do tracks just disappear?” Rainbow crossed the river to the other side hoping to have better luck but still nothing that she could see. She began to panic but calmed herself down and took another look around then noticed that a few branches were broken. Some of the Applejack’s blonde hair was on the branches as well. The only reason why there were no tracks was because AJ had ran into thick grass and bushes. “Man these wolves just don’t quit.” Rainbow ran into the thick grass and followed the broken branches with high hopes. She knew she was getting close to her friend and that meant they were close to this nightmare being over. They could go home, sleep comfortably, dream about things and relax finally. Rainbow continued to follow the broken branches while she let her thoughts about her and AJ keep her spirits up. That was until she reached the end of the trail of branches and came across something that made her heart sink. Applejack had been cornered against some rocks and was lying on the ground while Timberwolves circled her. She wasn’t moving as the wolves were closing in on her slowly. “No this can’t be right, AJ can’t be beaten that easily.” One of the wolves moved in for the kill but before he could get any closer Rainbow dashed in giving the wolf a huge head-butt causing him to fly against the rock wall behind him, smashing him into tiny pieces. Rainbow then stood over Applejack staring down the other four wolves daring them to come closer. “I swear if you take on step closer I will use the sticks you’re made of as a camp fire.” One of the wolves challenged Rainbow’s threat by stepping forward and another did the same. Rainbow looked around her and knew she was outmatched plus surrounded on all four sides. She wasn’t going to back down though. That would mean certain death for her and Applejack and she was not about to let that happen. The wolves began to attack. The first one jumped towards Rainbow but she managed to spin around and give it a hard kick to the side of its head causing it to shatter. Another ran towards Applejack but Rainbow cut it off by giving it a low kick causing its legs to fall out from under it. “That’s two” Rainbow stood her ground as the other two wolves began to circle her. She didn’t take her eyes off either one of them for a second. Rainbow patiently waited for one of them to make their move. The two wolves stopped and stared at each other as if confirming something. Rainbow kept her ground wondering what they were doing. Unexpectedly both wolves attacked from opposite sides of Rainbow. “Ahh hell I didn’t see this coming!” Rainbow thinking fast came up with an idea. She stood steadfast till the wolves got close enough then she reached down and grabbed AJ by her tail and dodged the attack causing the wolves to hit head on. “Don’t you even think for a second that you can beat me like that!” But before Rainbow could breathe another sigh of relief she heard a growl from behind her. Rainbow turned to see a large Timber wolf with a long scar on its face. “Damn your back!” The wolf sat there, staring down Rainbow, as if waiting for something to happen. Sure enough the wolves that Rainbow had just beaten began to come back together with their magic. The five wolves had come back to life and began to circle Rainbow and Applejack again. This time it was different though, they seemed more coordinated, Rainbow might not be able to fight them off again. “One hell of a time to take a nap AJ.” The wolves walked around the light-blue pony looking for a weak point to attack. Rainbow knew that that’s what they were doing so she tried to fight off the pain she felt in her wing she injured earlier. She tried to fight it off but it became too much, she was exhausted and hurting, and the wolves picked up on that fact. Even so she still stood her ground, still protecting Applejack, and staring down the lead wolf. The wolves stopped and finally figured out which side to attack from. They began to coordinate their attack, positioning themselves in the pounce stance, and Rainbow could see what was about to happen. Three wolves went in for the attack. Two from Rainbow’s weak side and another from the opposite side. “Damn it I can’t react quickly enough.” Rainbow knew she couldn't fight off three at once, she was tired and injured, Rainbow shut her eyes and quietly accepted her fate but before the wolves could land the final blow she heard a loud, thunderous, bark. The lead wolf, the one she outsmarted on the cliff, had called off the attack. Rainbow opened her eyes and looked at the old wolf who was staring back at her. The reason why the lead wolf called off the attack was unknown but Rainbow didn’t care. The old wolf walked off into the forest with his pack following behind him. Rainbow sat down next to Applejack, who was still unconscious, then felt relieved that it was over and she nudged Applejack’s head with her nose. Rainbow pulled Applejack’s hat off her head and sat it on top of Applejack’s head. Rainbow picked up Applejack and carried her on her back. She walked back through the woods to the river and followed it downstream. Rainbow walked along the river bank thinking to herself the whole time how this night could have turned out with a sad ending. She tried to wrap her head the events that happened tonight but was brought back to reality by the grunts of Applejack coming back to consciousness. “Well about time you woke up. I was starting to think I was going to have to talk to myself the whole time.” “Rainbow? Where are we?” “Still in the Everfree Forest but not for long. We’ll be back at the farm soon.” “Where did them wolves go?” “I chased them off. Once they saw how awesome I was they just ran away.” “Right…whatever you say.” Applejack fell back to sleep “Lucky. Wish I could sleep right now.” Rainbow followed the river all the way until it ended at the Apple family farm. Rainbow was exhausted and a little beaten up but she still managed to carry Applejack to the front door of her home. Rainbow knocked on the door and was greeted by Big Mac and Granny Smith. “Told you I’d find her.” Then Rainbow collapsed on the porch. * * * Rainbow woke up the next day inside the Apple family home. She had bandages across her body and her wing was in a splint. Even though she was beaten up the first thing she thought of was how Applejack was doing. Rainbow was relieved to see AJ up walking around the house. Applejack was a little better off than Rainbow was but she still had bandages on her as well. Rainbow got up off the couch and walked into next room where she saw AJ. “Mornin’ there Rainbow.” “Morning AJ” “How y’all feelin’?” “Kinda like I was just dragged through Ghastly Gorge.” “Well y’all look the part anyway.” “Gee, thanks. You know you don’t look that much better.” “Yea Ah kinda figured.” The two friends stood there in the house in silence. They weren’t sure what to say to each other. Not about what had happen in the Everfree Forest but earlier that night at the park. It was still on both of their minds but they didn’t know how to approach the other. “Well I guess I should get going. I’m sure Tank is missing me.” “Rainbow, wait, Ah wanna talk to you. Ah wanna apologize about how Ah acted.” “Acted? I’m not following?” “About how Ah treated you before. Ah thought you were unreliable after you didn’t return to the farm.” “Oh come on AJ. That was like a week ago.” “Ah know that but Ah just felt bad about it. Ah wanted to talk to y’all about it but Ah was afraid y’all would push me away.” “What? I wouldn’t push you away you’re my best…I mean I care for you a lot.” “Well after last night Ah can see how much y’all care.” Rainbow lowered her head trying to hide the fact that her face was red from blushing. “Applejack I just want you to know that…” “Applejack are y’all up yet?” Applebloom yelled from upstairs cutting off Rainbow. “Yea Applebloom Ah’m downstairs with Rainbow.” “There y’all are. Ah thought y’all were gonna sleep all day.” “Nah your big sis can’t stay in bed all day. Ah gotta get up and do somethin’.” “Y’all should be in bed though. Y’all gotta finish healin’ after all.” “Ah’m fine Ah’ll just do small stuff around the house.” “Ah guess that’s alright. How about you Rainbow? You fine too?” “Yea I’m alright kid. Nothing to major to worry about.” “That’s good to hear. Thanks for helpin’ my sis by the way.” “It’s fine besides I wasn't about to lose AJ after all." “What y’all mean?” “Umm…I mean if I didn’t help AJ then I might have lost a friend. Hehe” “Oh Ah see” “Well I’m gonna head out. I’ll see ya around AJ.” “Now hold on Rainbow. How y’all gonna go home?” “What do you mean?” “Well y’all live in Cloudsdale and that’s in the sky.” “Yea and your point is?” “How are y’all gonna get up to Cloudsdale with that busted up wing?” “Oh yea, right” “Oh! Ah know! Rainbow can stay here with us.” “Wait, now hold Applebloom.” “Why? What’s wrong Rainbow?” “Well you guys don’t have enough room for another pony.” “Of course we do. We have a guest room upstairs. It’s next to Applejack’s room.” “Oh well I don’t want to impose or anything.” “It’s no problem. After all it the least we can do since you helped my sis.” “Yea it’s fine Rainbow.” “Are you sure AJ?” “Yup no problem at all, unless y’all don’t wanna?” “No it’s fine by me. I guess I’ll have to get Fluttershy to bring Tank here since I’m not sure how long I’ll be staying.” “Yeah! Rainbow is stayin’ here! This is going to be fun.” “Yea it sure will be interesting.” Rainbow thought -End of Chapter 7-
The Truth pt. IIChapter 8 The Truth pt. II It had been a week since Rainbow Dash’s and Applejack’s, so called, adventure in the Everfree Forest. Life for the two ponies had started to return to normal. Well as normal as it could be considering their circumstances. Since telling each other how they felt and with Rainbow staying at AJ’s house to heal from her wing injury the two grew closer to each other. The two worked the last few days side by side. Trading looks back and forth, a passing smile and even a small nudge here and there when they walked by each other. Small stuff inconspicuous to everypony around but to them they had big meaning to them. Rainbow helped Applejack out in the orchards which gave them time to spend together and out of sight of the Apple family. Applejack wasn’t ready to tell her family about her life style choice. She didn’t even know how to tell them. How was she going to tell her family that she was in a relationship with another mare? More over how was her family going to react to this news? These thoughts were in the back of AJ’s mind but when she was around Rainbow they seem to fade away. Applejack always wanted a strong, supportive and loyal partner but was unable to find a stallion that fit that. Looking back she can see why now. All those traits were not hidden in a stallion but a mare and her best friend no less. The same can be said about Rainbow. Rainbow had looked for a pony that could challenge her and push her to the edge. The best trait Rainbow looked for in a partner was not athleticism but how honest they could be. Applejack just happened to fit both of those traits perfectly. Even though the two were happy with being around each other Rainbow could tell AJ was stressing over telling her family the truth but no matter the outcome Rainbow would stay by AJ’s side and give her support if she needed it. Thinking about talking to somepony they forgot to go see Twilight and tell her about everything that has happened. Twilight has helped them to get this far so it’s only fitting to tell her. She has been the most supportive to them. Maybe Twilight can also give one last piece of advice to Applejack on how to deal with her “family issue”. “Hey there AJ.” Rainbow said giving her marefriend a small nudge. “Oh, sorry Rainbow.” Applejack replied “You okay? You seem a little out of it.” Rainbow inquired “Nah Ah’m fine Ah was just thinkin’ that’s all.” “About how you’re going to confront your family?” “Yea Ah’m still not sure about it.” Applejack replied hesitantly “Well whatever you decide I’ll stand by you.” Rainbow replied supportively “Thanks Rainbow. Ah know Ah can count on you anytime.” Applejack said as she rubbed against Rainbow. Rainbow and Applejack went back to working the orchard. Rainbow walked over to the tree AJ was bucking at and grabbed a bucket filled with apples then began to walk back to the barn. As Rainbow started to leave Applejack snuck up behind her and gave her a short lick on her neck. “What was that for?” Rainbow asked as she stopped and turned. “No reason, just cause.” Applejack replied and shrugged. Rainbow stepped close to Applejack and repaid her kind gesture with the same one. “Now what was that for?” Applejack asked “I don’t need a reason either.” Rainbow retorted “Just y’all get back to work b’fore somepony sees us.” Applejack said “Yes boss ma’am.” Rainbow left and headed to the barn to drop off the basket. Applejack had pulled her hat over her face to hide the fact that she was blushing pretty hard from what Rainbow had just said. She remembered Rainbow saying something along that line two nights ago. Images began to flood her mind but she managed to shake them out of her head and go back to work. The last few days Rainbow had been helping out around the farm. Rainbow gave her assistance to the other Apple family’s chores but she always made time to be with AJ. Of course they made it look normal when AJ’s family was around but when they were alone nothing could keep them apart. The day went by pretty fast with Rainbow’s help and before they knew it, it was night and time for the family to gather at the house for dinner. Rainbow and Applejack took their time getting back to the house. They walked slow and talked about small stuff but spending time together was all that mattered to them. They reached the house and strolled onto the porch then before going into the house they gave each other a long, heart-felt, kiss. They entered the house and walked into the living room then they were caught off guard by the voice of Applebloom from behind. “Hey sis, Ah saw y’all today out in the orchard with Rainbow.” Applebloom pronounced “Oh no” Rainbow mumbled under her breath as she lowered her head. “Umm, y’all okay Rainbow?” Applebloom asked “What? Yea I’m great kid, nothing wrong here.” Rainbow answered back Rainbow looked over at Applejack for some kind of support. Applejack was standing there, frozen in place, with a blank stare on her face. Rainbow realized that Applejack wasn’t going to talk to her sister about this so it was up to her to do it. “Look Applebloom, what you saw today was (mhmm!)” Rainbow was cut off by AJ putting her hoof in Rainbow’s mouth. “What y’all talkin’ about Applebloom?” Applejack questioned “Huh? Ah’m talkin’ about how great you and Rainbow worked together today.” Applebloom answered “Oh yea, Rainbow and Ah can really work well together when we’re on the same page.” Applejack replied “Same page?” Applebloom asked “It’s a figure of speech sugar cube. Go get ready for dinner now.” Applejack answered “Alright then, see ya in a little.” “Aww man I thought your sister found out.” Rainbow sighed “I mean I thought I was going to have to explain that to her. Good thing you stopped me or else your sister would be really confused right now, hehe.” Rainbow explained “Sorry about that Ah kinda froze. Come on, Granny should be done makin’ dinner.” Applejack said while pointing into the dinner room. After dinner Rainbow and Applejack cleaned up the kitchen. This gave them time to spend together before heading to their separate rooms for the night. Rainbow and AJ had figured out ways they could spend time with each other without the rest of the family being suspicious. After cleaning up they would head upstairs and go into AJ’s room. With the family already asleep they could be together without worry of somepony stumbling across them. Out of the few nights they spent together only one time did something actually happen. Most of the time they just laid there in AJ’s bed cuddling and whispering to each other about things they only know and laughing at each other’s jokes. They did this late into the night until Rainbow had to go to her room. Wouldn’t want the two of them coming out of the same room the next morning but Rainbow and Applejack wouldn’t care. They would like to have one night where they could stay together the whole time. Just one whole night together in the same bed, holding each other, sleeping side by side. Unfortunately tonight wasn’t that night but as Rainbow was leaving the room to go to hers Applejack stopped her at the door. “Rainbow Ah wanted to ask you somethin’?” “Yea what is it AJ?” Rainbow asked “Ah was thinkin’ that tomorrow we take the day off and go see Twilight” Applejack suggested “OH man I forgot about Twilight!” Rainbow exclaimed “Sshh, Rainbow, keep it down.” Applejack replied “Sorry, my bad” “Ah remembered that we forgot to go see Twilight after that night.” Applejack explained “Yea that’s true. We should go see her and tell her about us, also thank her for all the advice and support.” Rainbow remarked “Also Ah wanna ask her about one last thing.” Applejack continued “What’s that?” Rainbow asked “Just some advice on something.” Applejack whispered “Alright, tomorrow it is then.” Rainbow answered Rainbow walked back over to Applejack and rubbed her muzzle against hers. Giving Applejack the physical support she wants. Rainbow then turned and left the room and Applejack climbed into bed. Both ponies laid in their separate beds and thought about the day when they didn't have to hide their love and could finally sleep together. * * * The next morning Rainbow woke up and walked over the mirror. She stretched out her wing that was bandaged. Normally it would sting but the last couple of days it started to feel better. So she unwrapped it and extended it out then started to flap it around to see if it was fully healed. It had been a whole week since her wing was injured but now it was back in action. “Looks like y’all are back to normal.” Applejack remarked as she stood in the door way. “Finally, it’s been far too long since I’ve flown.” Rainbow replied “Well don’t forget that we are gonna go see Twi today.” “Yea I remember.” Rainbow answered back “I’m just going to go and stretch my wings for a little bit.” Rainbow added “Just be sure to be back for breakfast.” Applejack answered “Of course, I wouldn’t miss great food.” Then before AJ could say anything else Rainbow took off. Flying out the open window next to her bed and taking off to the clouds. Rainbow flew through the sky doing stunts, through and around the clouds, laughing and being as happy as could be. Applejack walked over to the window and watched Rainbow fly through the sky for a few moments. “Pegasi…Ah just don’t understand them.” Applejack said as she walked towards the door. “Mornin’ sis” Applebloom mumbled as she stumbled into the room rubbing her eyes. “Mornin’ there Applebloom” “What’s all that yellin’ about?” Applebloom asked “Oh that’s just Rainbow. Her wing is healed and she’s out enjoyin’ herself.” AJ answered “Wow…she sure is amazing.” Applebloom admiringly remarked “Yea she sure is something.” AJ replied in the same tone “Come on now, time for breakfast.” AJ said Applejack and Applebloom left the room and headed downstairs to the kitchen. They started to make breakfast as the rest of the family came down. Rainbow followed shortly after everypony else by entering through the front door and was breathing heavily. Normally somepony would have asked why but with how loud Rainbow was being this morning there was no need. They could tell she was healed and enjoying her ability to fly again. They all sat down at the table and Applejack and Granny Smith served up a variety of food. After breakfast Applejack told Granny that she was taking the day off. After all, with the help Rainbow has been, they have caught up on a lot of things and they could use the day off to really spend time together. They cleaned up the table and kitchen then left Sweet Apple Acres heading towards Twilight’s. The two walked down the road talking, laughing and carrying on with each other. Applejack told Rainbow about the time Big Mac lost a bet to her and he had to sell apples dressed in one of Granny’s sun dresses for a whole day. They reached Ponyville as Rainbow was telling AJ about the time she beat her coach in a race when she was a filly then out of nowhere a purple blur ran into AJ. “Hey! What’s the big idea!?” Rainbow yelled “Ohh I’m sorry!” “Yea you better be…wait Twilight?” Rainbow asked “Ah, Rainbow! I was coming to see you.” Twilight answered “We have to go see Applejack.” Twilight remarked “Well you just ran into her.” Rainbow said pointing at the ground “Oh, sorry AJ.” Twilight apologized as she helped AJ up. “It’s fine Twi. Actually we were just on our way to see you as well.” Applejack said “That’s great!” Twilight answered “What was with the big rush though?” Rainbow asked “You’ll see, just follow me back to the library. There’s something you two need to see.” Twilight said apprehensively “Twi is everything okay?” AJ asked “I’m not sure actually. You’ll just need to see for yourselves.” Twilight answered Applejack and Rainbow followed Twilight back to her house. The two ponies asked her questions about what was wrong but Twilight remained silent the whole walk back. They weren’t sure about what was bugging Twilight but they could tell it wasn’t good. * * * The three ponies walked into Twilight’s home and up the stairs to her room. They got to her room and it was a mess with research papers and test tubes. Spike was taking notes on something when Twilight and her friends came walking up the stairs. Spike ran over to Twilight when she got up the stairs. “Twilight! It seems like your guess was right.” Spike exclaimed as he held a clipboard in front of her. “Hmm…I was afraid of this. Tell me Spike how many times did we do these test?” Twilight questioned “At least five times and every one of them ended the same.” Spike replied “I honestly was hoping I was wrong for once.” Twilight sadly responded “Twi what’s goin’ on here?” Applejack asked “Yea what’s this about anyway?” Rainbow followed up “Oh hey Rainbow and Applejack!” Spike responded “Spike can you go into the kitchen and make some tea?” Asked Twilight “Yeah sure I’ll be back.” Spike answered and left the room After Spike left the room the air was heavy. Rainbow and Applejack could physically see Twilight being upset by something. Twilight had a distant look in her eyes and she didn’t turn to her friends and speak. She just stood there looking over Spike’s research notes intensely. They weren’t sure what to make of what Twilight was reading but they knew for a fact now that it involved the two of them. “Twi are you…” AJ started to ask but Twilight cut her off. “You two aren’t really in love.” Twilight harshly remarked “What? Twilight if this is a joke it’s not funny.” Rainbow answered back “It’s no joke Rainbow. You two aren’t in love.” Twilight repeated “Now hold on! How are y’all gonna say we love each other then turn around and say the opposite!?” Applejack fired back “I’m sorry” Twilight sadly apologized “We came here to thank you for getting us this far and now you’re going to try this? I never thought you’d turn your back on us.” Rainbow harshly replied “I’m not turning on you. It’s just…” Twilight stopped “Just WHAT?!” Rainbow answered “After you two came to me a week ago with your stories I was curious about something. So after AJ left I started writing a letter to the princess when Rainbow came to see me. There was something similar with both your stories so I wanted to test my theory.” Twilight explained “Test what theory?” Rainbow asked “The letter I wrote to the princess was to ask her for a sample of the plant that we got.” Twilight continued “The plant? That annoying thing again?” Rainbow remarked “When the sample arrived I asked Fluttershy if she could bring me some field mice for me to test on. The last week I’ve done repeated testing in hopes that my hypothesis was wrong. Unfortunately it wasn’t which is why I was coming to find you two earlier.” “Twi Ah’m not sure Ah like were this is goin’.” AJ said “In both of your recounts you each had a run-in with the plants pollen. Afterwards you both then had an intimate moment in your minds with the other. For Rainbow it was when you saved her at the pit and she landed on top of you. As for Applejack it must have been when she was watching you working hard at the barn. Normally this would be nothing but under the influence of the plant’s pollen it must have triggered a sense of infatuation with the first pony you had deep thoughts about.” Twilight explained “So what y’all are sayin’ is that Ah really don’t have feelings for Rainbow? It’s just this plant here?” Applejack miserably responded “I’m afraid so. The plant’s pollen has a unique property; once it enters your nose it releases an endorphin into the brain that gives a sense of euphoria and intimacy. If it helps I haven’t told anypony about you two. So no pony will know what you’ve been through. Except us three that is. Even the princess and Spike don’t know.” Twilight tried to reassure them “No! I don’t…I won’t believe this! I want proof.” Rainbow demanded “Over here then” Twilight motioned with her head Twilight showed Rainbow and Applejack a pin with two mice in it. The two mice were on opposite sides divided by a piece of cardboard. Twilight removed the cardboard and the two mice walked to each other, sniffed then walked back to their corners. Twilight put the cardboard back in place and took some of the pollen then dropped it on top of the two mice. She removed the cardboard and the mice stared at each other. Then they grouped together and cuddled with each other. “Spike and I ran these tests five to six times in the last week and they all ended the same way, like this.” “No…is this some kind of joke?” Rainbow mumbled “I’m sorry Rainbow, I truly am.” “Rainbow” Applejack said in a low tone trying to comfort her. “Just leave me alone.” Rainbow answered and walked out of the room “Applejack I…thought you two would want to know.” Twilight explained “Sometimes Twilight having all the answers isn’t always the best thing.” Applejack retorted pulling her hat down trying to hide her tears as she left the room too. Spike returned from the kitchen with a tray carrying a white tea set. He stopped as AJ left the room then looked around and noticed Rainbow was gone as well. With a puzzled look he asked Twilight where they were going. Twilight sat down and lowered her head. She let out a sigh and told Spike not to worry about it. Twilight knew that telling them was possibly a bad thing but she still did it. Twilight thought they had a right to know the truth. Not matter how hurtful it may be. Twilight looked over at the pin with the untested mice and thought about something. “Maybe…I over looked something?” Accepting the truth about something is one thing but accepting the reality that you thought was true might be a lie is something completely different. Rainbow left the library in a rush to escape the real truth. She didn’t want to face that everything she had went through and all that she fought for was a lie. Rainbow was lost in her thoughts and reflected back on everything. As much as she hated to admit it, it could be possible. Applejack wasn’t fairing any better. After Rainbow left AJ wanted to go after her. Did she really or was it the effects of that plant? Applejack wasn’t sure anymore. She was going to talk to Rainbow about it but Rainbow left. AJ went outside after her but the blue pegasus flew off. AJ tried to stop her but her pleas fell on deaf ears. All Rainbow wanted was to be left alone. * * * Applejack spent the day looking around Ponyville for her ‘lover’ if you could really call her that now. Both Applejack’s and Rainbow’s worlds were ripped apart. Everything they thought or felt about each other was just proven to be a lie by Twilight and her science. To them their love was undeniable and unquestionably true. In their minds there were no doubts about it, never any second guesses, but now that’s all there was. Applejack couldn’t find Rainbow in town. After an extensive search and questioning everypony she came across there was no luck. The sun was setting on a day that started out promising but ended in tragedy. Dusk was settling in and soon the night would bring darkness. Applejack gave up on her search and started to head back to the farm. The walk back was quiet unlike earlier that day. The sky was a bright orange as the sun set and off in the distance you could see the night sky coming. Applejack was lost in her own world the whole time. She failed to notice that she walked past the gate to farm and kept going down the road. A mile down the dirt road it leads to a hill. On that hill is an old oak tree about fifteen to twenty feet tall. Applejack knew about the tree that’s why when she saw it she was brought back to reality. At the top of the hill you can see for a couple of miles. The sight of the rolling country side from this spot is something out of a novel. “What the hay? Ah guess Ah spaced out for a while.” Applejack stopped and started to turn around to head back for home. It was dark now and the moon hung over head. As she was about to leave a figure caught her eye. The light from the moon made the figure glow in the night. On the tree top was the figure of somepony she couldn’t mistake. Applejack walked down the road and sat under the tree. “So this is where y’all went to.” Applejack remarked “This is my go-to-spot. I come here whenever I need to clear my head or just to take a really great nap.” Rainbow answered “Rainbow…Ah wanna talk to y’all about today.” Applejack stumbled through her sentence “Talk about what? It’s pretty clear what’s going on so there’s no need to talk.” Rainbow retorted “But we need to figure out what we’re gonna do about it.” Applejack sadly admitted “….” Rainbow remained quiet for a few seconds. They both knew that something had to be done about this issue. Both ponies tried to figure out different scenarios that would make both of them happy. The only problem is that there would always be that doubt in the backs of their minds. That small sliver of ‘truth’ they learned today. “What do you suggested we do then?” Rainbow asked breaking the silence “Ah’m…not sure” Replied Applejack “Of course you do AJ. I know the answer myself as well.” Rainbow mournfully answered as she flew down out of the tree. “Yea Ah know too.” Applejack responded “Tomorrow we will go to Twilight’s and see if she can find a cure. A way to remove the effects of that plant.” Rainbow continued "But..." Applejack protested "If we get rid of the effects of the plant and still love each other then we will know what we have is true." Explained Rainbow "What if we don't? Then what Rainbow?" Asked Applejack Applejack stood there in silence because she knew that it was going to end this way. She ran through multiple scenarios about how they could end this happily but there was no way for that. Rainbow had left and came to this spot to try and find out a solution was well. They both came to the conclusion that this was the best way. “So what now?” Applejack asked “I guess we’ll see what tomorrow brings. I’m heading home now. I already dropped by the farm and gathered my stuff and took Tank home…so I’ll see ya around.” Rainbow took off into the night sky heading towards her home while Applejack stayed there under the tree. Applejack sat there for at least another hour just staring off into the distance. Following the contour of the rolling hillsides illuminated by the moon’s light. She held her feelings inside and tried to think about other things. After a little bit of sulking Applejack made it back home in the dead of night. The farm was still and quiet as could be. Every member of the Apple family was asleep leaving Applejack to be alone with her thoughts. She went upstairs and to her room but before entering she stopped and looked down the hallway to the room where Rainbow stayed. For the past week she didn’t mind staying up late because it was time well spent with Rainbow. Now all that was left was an empty room and an empty heart. Applejack walked into her room and opened her window to let the night breeze enter. She lit the candle next to her bed and laid down. Staring at the ceiling she started to doze off. She fell into a sound sleep that was until she heard a noise. Applejack sat up and scanned the room but there was nothing. She sat there and listened again. This time she heard a knock on wood. It didn’t come from the door though it came from her window sill. Applejack got up and walked over to the window to see Rainbow hovering there. “Rainbow? What are y’all doin’ here?” Whispered Applejack “Can I come in? I want to talk.” Rainbow answered “Yea I guess so” Applejack opened the window wider and let Rainbow enter “So what is it Rainbow?” “I’m not sure this is the best answer.” Rainbow grudgingly answered “Ah’m not followin’?” Applejack responded “Going to Twilight and finding a ‘cure’. I mean is it really the best way?” Rainbow responded “Ah know what you mean sugar cube but we can’t be together and have doubts about how we feel.” Applejack argued “But…I don’t want to be alone.” Rainbow sadly remarked “Ah know but is living a lie any better?” Asked Applejack “If a lie is what makes me happy then I don’t want to face the truth.” Rainbow answered Applejack was taken back by Rainbow’s willingness to fight for what she wanted not what she needed. Rainbow was willing to fight for Applejack and what she felt to be true not the truth Twilight’s experiments said. Applejack was about to give up but as always Rainbow found a way to pick up her spirits and give her the inspiration she needed. “Rainbow, thank you” Applejack thought to herself as she kissed Rainbow long and hard. Those few moments lasted forever for them. As that kissed lasted the two of them walked closer to the bed. Applejack laid down with Rainbow on top. The two ponies’ rubbed muzzles, bit each other’s necks, nibbled at their ears and locked lips again and again. The window still letting a cool night breeze into the room made the flame of the candle dance. Their shadows cast along the wall moved as if they too were dancing. Rainbow’s wings, extended complete out, flapped every time they grew more intimate. Eventually her wings blew out the flame letting only the moonlight illuminate the room. Their bodies moved together as one. The moonlight caressed them. Only a faint outline of their figures was visible. It didn’t matter if they were under the influence of the plant’s pollen or if this was because they had real, honest and true feelings for one another. What did matter was that they were happy in these intimate moments. They could feel every emotion they had for each other. Every touch was based on the love they had. Applejack started to take off her hat and sit it aside but Rainbow stopped her. Rainbow lowered her head next to Applejack’s ear and whispered into it. “Leave it…you look better with it on.” * * * The next morning they woke up together in the same bed. Rainbow stared at Applejack hoping that this time wasn’t another dream and sure enough it wasn’t. Rainbow moved closer to her lover and put her arm around her waist then placed her wing on Applejack’s shoulder. Applejack woke up and rubbed her face against Rainbow’s. The two ponies laid together in the bed for a while before getting up and going downstairs. Today was the day that, no matter what anypony said, they would tell Applejack’s family. Of course they had to go to Twilight and tell her that even if her experiments did say it was the plant was the cause of all this they weren’t going to change. They walked down the stairs expecting questions about why Rainbow was there but no pony was around. Applejack remembered it was Saturday and that meant Granny Smith had gone to the market and she took Big Mac to carry supplies. Applebloom was probably with her friends. So that means the news was going to have to wait till they got back from Twilight’s. Rainbow and Applejack left the farm heading towards Ponyville. They got a sense of déjà vu as they walked down the road towards town. Of course it didn’t matter what kind of news they received today they made up their minds and nothing was going to change that. The sense of déjà vu was only made more apparent when a familiar purple blur tackled Applejack to the ground. “Really…this again?” Rainbow remarked as she facehoofed “Oww, I’m sorry” Twilight apologized “You know for a pony that prides herself on knowing things you would think she would know what’s in front of her?” Answered Rainbow as she helped up Twilight “Well yesterday I was in a hurry but today I was reading something.” Twilight explained “Y’all know readin’ and runnin’ is dangerous, right?” Applejack jokingly answered “Yeah, well the thing is I wanted to make sure my notes were correct before coming to see you two.” “Oh boy! Notes again” Rainbow sarcastically responded “Actually Twi we were comin’ to see you as well.” “Oh good we can talk at the library. You two will love this.” Twilight happily suggested “Anypony else getting a weird sense of déjà vu here?” Rainbow whispered to AJ Rainbow and Applejack followed Twilight back to the library. Unlike yesterday Twilight was happy to bring Rainbow and AJ to the library. The three friends walked up to Twilight’s room which still had the same set up as yesterday except Spike wasn’t around. “Hey where’s the little guy today?” Rainbow inquired “Spike is returning the mice to Fluttershy.” Twilight answered “So what’s the idea here Twi?” Applejack asked “I performed one last experiment last night after Spike fell asleep.” Twilight explained “OH NO! No more experiments Twilight.” Rainbow protested “Yea Twi that’s why we’re here. We wanted to tell you somethin’.” Applejack explained “Me first though, you two are going to want to hear this.” Twilight answered Twilight walked over to the other side of the room where there were two boxes. Rainbow and Applejack walked over too to see what Twilight was making a big fuss about. Inside the boxes were two mice separated from each other just like the last time. Twilight used some of the pollen on the mice and put them together. The mice took to each other like last time. “Uh…Twilight you’ve already shown us this.” “Yea Twi, Ah’m not sure what y’all are so worked up about?” “Well Rainbow, Applejack you see these two mice are from the ones Fluttershy gave me.” Twilight explained “…I’m still lost” Rainbow answered “You see what I didn’t take into account was the fact that these mice have been together since birth. They have lived their whole lives together.” Twilight continued “Okay” Applejack answered “Now over here in this box are two field mice that Spike collected. These mice have never met before. I applied the pollen and guess what?” Twilight questioned “What?” Rainbow and Applejack said in unison “Nothing” Twilight proudly replied Applejack and Rainbow stood there and stared at each other not knowing what to think. “You see since these two mice never met or spent time with each other the pollen didn’t affect them. Do you know why?” Twilight questioned again “Now Twilight if we knew then we wouldn’t be here.” Responded Applejack “Yea what’s this all leading up to anyway?” Asked Rainbow “The reason it didn’t affect them is because there was nothing to affect. You see my first hypothesis was that the pollen created the feeling of infatuation with the first pony you had intimate thoughts about. I was wrong because my second test proved that taking two mice that had no history together and exposing them to the pollen made them do nothing. Now taking two mice that grew up together and exposing them to the pollen made them become more intimate.” Twilight excitedly explained “Wait so what you’re saying is…” Rainbow hinted “That’s right Rainbow. The pollen doesn’t create these feelings but what it does is it enhances them by a factor of five times.” “So what y’all are sayin’ is that Rainbow and Ah have had these feelings for some time but since we were exposed to this plant’s pollen they became more stronger.” Applejack summarized “Exactly Applejack” Replied Twilight "Also I noticed that after one whole week pasted the effects of the pollen wore off for some of the mice where it didn't for others. The mice that were exposed and then it wore off didn't want contact with each other." Continued Twilight "But Applejack and I have been feeling like this for some time now." Rainbow added "Exactly Rainbow. Which leads me to this conclusion, the pollen from this plant effects the part of the brain that deals with emotions. If you don't have feelings for somepony then nothing happens but if you do then the pollen triggers those feelings and makes you act on them. That being said if the feelings aren't true love then the pollen will wear off in a week, you see. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, your feelings are true love. The pollen just kinda pushed you two in the right direction." Twilight finalized After getting the news and finding out that their feelings were in fact from themselves and not some plant Rainbow and Applejack enjoyed the rest of the day together. Rainbow and Applejack opened up to Twilight about everything they had gone through since this all started. Of course they left out more ‘intimate’ details. Twilight was amazed by how far these two had come. From being friends to lovers is no easy thing and both of them can vouch for that. Twilight tried to imagine the demons they had to fight and trials they had to overcome to get to this point. She couldn't even begin to visualize the inner hell they fought through. Even through the hardships and fights, both inner and outer, they came together on the basis of their feelings for each other. A love that was realized because of the plant that gave them hell from the beginning. Rainbow couldn’t even believe that ‘annoying’ thing was responsible for this. Now all that was left was to go back to the farm. They had to face the last challenge and that was telling the Apple family about them. Honestly Applejack would rather face down another pack of Timberwolves or run through the Everfree Forest at night again. Not matter the outcome though Applejack knew that Rainbow was not going anywhere. She would stay by her side for either better or worse and that’s really all Applejack wanted. That's what they both wanted in the end was somepony to be by her side at all times. Standing on the front porch the two mares looked into each other’s eyes. “You ready for this?” Asked Rainbow “Yea, Ah’m as ready as Ah can be.” Applejack assured The two gave a kiss for good luck and enter the home. -The End-
Wants and NeedsChapter 1 -Needs and Wants- “It is said that one’s wants will outweigh one’s needs but the needs have to be met first.” Running through the thick forest at night, her heart was pounding heavily, not being able to see the path in front of her. All she could think was about her friend and if she would get there in time. Running faster and faster with those thoughts of her being hurt made her angry at herself for letting her go off alone. “What was I thinking?!” “This was an idiotic choice on my part!” Wishing so much that she could fly over the forest to get a better view but unable to due to her injury from earlier that day, now all she can do is run, run and hope that she won’t be too late. “NO! I will NOT be too late!” she yelled to herself and she kept running until she found signs of tracks she was looking for. “Yes, finally…now where do these lead to?” She looked around frantically into the moonlit forest hoping to see her but couldn’t. She kicked the ground with her hoof in frustration and then started to follow the tracks off into darkness of the forest not knowing what to expect to find. * * * (A couple of weeks earlier) “Uuugh…what in the name of Celestia do we need to go out there for?” moaned Rainbow Dash after hearing the news from Twilight. “Because Rainbow the princess has tasked me with finding this rare plant for her herbal studies and she is too busy to go out and find it herself.” Twilight explained to the disgruntled pegasus. “Yea I figured that out but why do we have to come along?” Dash replied instantly. “Yea Twi ah’m with Rainbow on this one, what’s our role in this?” Applejack questioned. “Well girls you see I need use of your abilities. The plant I am looking for is in a high location which is where you come in Rainbow; you can fly above us keeping an eye out for it. AJ; you know the terrain around Appleloosa better than anyone here in Ponyville since you’ve been out there plenty of times.” Twilight explained to her friends with her “all knowing” smile she gets from time to time. “But this weekend of ALL weekends? The Wonderbolts are having an airshow and I have my ticket already!” the pegasus said while hovering in the air inside Twilight’s library. “Yea Twi I can’t just up and leave on some journey. The south orchard needs bucking this weekend.” “Can’t you take Fluttershy or Rarity? How about Pinkie Pie?” asked the light blue pegasus. “Fluttershy is taking care of some animals that were hurt during the last storm we had and Rarity is having to spend time with Sweetie Belle this weekend, besides not too sure she would want to come anyway, and Pinkie Pie is … well Pinkie Pie." Answered the purple unicorn giggling. “Well if you really can’t find anypony else to help you then ah guess Big Mac will have to work harder this weekend.” “Uuuuhhh…” grunted Rainbow under her breath. “Fine I’ll come too. I can see the Wonderbolts next time.” “Thanks girls this means a lot.” “No problem sugar cube, always happy to help.” “Yea no big deal Twi.” The friends ended their conversation with a group hug. Rainbow and AJ headed out the door to go home for the night and get ready for their journey. AJ stopped at the door before leaving and turned to Twilight “Hey what time should we meet up at the train station tomorrow?” Twilight stopped and thought to herself scratching her chin. “Does meeting there around 8a.m. sound good to you?” “AWWWW come on!” Rainbow yelled from outside. “That early!?” AJ gave Rainbow a disgruntled look then turned to Twilight “Yea that’ll be just fine. Ah”ll make sure ‘Rainbow’ is there too.” “Yea, yea I get it.” The pegasus replied while rolling her eyes. Twilight giggled a little and told her friends good night and that she’ll see them tomorrow bright and early. * * * The next morning Twilight woke up early to finalize all her items she would be taking with her. Check off items on her list and walking softly around the library making sure not to wake Spike up. She finally got everything done and right on schedule she left the tree house heading towards the train station. She walked through Ponyville slowly viewing the town as the early morning sun set its rays on the buildings and the streets. Twilight always loved walking around Ponyville in the early morning hours, she gets to see the new day start and the town slowly comes to life. Ponies are opening their shops and waving to her as she walks by and she returns the gesture as she continues her stroll to the station, She arrives at the station and looks at the big clock face on the outside of the building. “Right on time.” She thought to herself. Twilight walked inside and was immediately greeted by AJ. “Mornin’ Twi.” “Good morning Applejack.” Twilight looked around with a puzzled look on her face. “Umm where is Rainbow?” “This is too early to be doing anything, you know that right?” “Oh Rainbow there you are, good morning.” Rainbow was hovering behind Twilight looking almost half asleep. “Yea good morning to you too.” She replied back while yawning and stretching. Rainbow looked around the station seeing the empty area except for the other few ponies that were waiting for the train to leave as well. She couldn’t help but think to herself “What kind of pony is awake at 7:50 in the morning?” She kept thinking of her super soft cloud bed and how she should still be asleep but her friends need her so of course she is willing to help no matter where or what time. “ALL ABOARD! The Train from Ponyville to Appleloosa then to Hoofsdale is now boarding!” yelled the conductor standing in front of the train. “That’s us, let’s go girls.” Twilight said as she walked towards the train. “Well at least I can sleep on the train for a while.” Mumbled Rainbow as she landed on the ground and started walking to the train too. They got on the train and took their seats. Twilight sat across from AJ and Rainbow, who was already snoozing, and asked “How is she able to do that?” AJ stared at Twilight and asked “Do what?” “Just fall asleep anywhere so easily.” “Must be a pegasus thing, ah suppose.” Answered the orange cowpony while scratching her head trying to figure it out herself. Twilight laughed “Nah it’s probably a Rainbow Dash thing if any!” They both laughed together at the joke. “You know I can hear you two, right?" the blue pegasus said with her eyes still shut tight. “Sorry Rainbow but you can be kinda lazy from time to time.” Said Applejack “Hey! I work harder than anypony here.” Rainbow snapped back. “Please you wouldn’t last ten minutes on the farm.” “Is that a challenge AJ?” “Only if y’all accept it as one.” AJ said while staring down her blue friend. “Alright then, deal. When we get back I’ll help out on the farm for one whole week.” Rainbow said staring back. “Heh deal then!” They shook on the challenge they just made to make it final and then Rainbow laid back down next to AJ. “Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to take a nap.” * * * The train ride was mostly quiet considering the most talkative one, Pinkie Pie, wasn’t there with them this time. Rainbow slept the whole ride because of the early morning meeting but also she finds train rides really boring, she would prefer to just fly everywhere. AJ’s time was spent looking out the window thinking about being on the farm bucking trees but her friend Twilight needed her help and she just couldn’t refuse her offer. Twilight was reading her Herbal Remedies book she brought along so she can identify the exact plant they needed for the princess. Out in the desert there are two plants that looked the same just the one they need has little red bulbs on it, the other has blue and it’s very poisonous. “Ah wonder how far Big Mac has made it into the south orchard by now?” AJ thought to herself. She was jerked out of her thoughts by the train coming to a halt at the Appleloosa station. Rainbow somehow didn’t even budge an inch and stayed in her dream world. Twilight got up and put her things in her bags as AJ tried to wake Rainbow up. She nudged her on her shoulder but that didn’t work so AJ got up and walked into the isle and cleared her throat. “Ahmm…RAINBOW!” she yelled. “AHHH What?!” Rainbow yelled as she fell off the bench and onto the floor scared senseless. “We’re here sugar cube, hehe.” “Not funny AJ.” Twilight walked away slowly and giggling to herself. AJ grabbed her bags and started to get off the train with Twilight as Rainbow followed. They stepped onto the platform and are immediately greeted by a familiar voice and face. “WELL HOOWDY THERE STRANGERS! LONG TIME, NO SEE!” “Hey there cus!” “Nice to see you again Breaburn.” “Always a pleasure to see my cus and her friends.” “Ah sent word ahead to the Apple family out here. Told them we were coming out here and to see if we could borrow their guest room for the weekend.” “Well shoot cus no need to ask, after all you are family and we Apples look out for our own.” “Well we really do appreciate your hospitality Breaburn.” “No problem miss Twilight, t’aint nothin’ to it.” The ponies left the station and started towards the Apple family farm. Heading through the town AJ, Rainbow and Twilight couldn’t help but think about the last time they were here and that whole mess that happened. “So Breaburn how have them Buffalo tribes been doin’ since our last visit?” “Pretty decent folk once you get to know them cus. They come into town every now and them to trade some of their wears for our pies.” “That’s good to hear everything worked out in the end.” “Yup miss Twilight it sure did, just fine.” “Hey Twilight I gotta ask something.” “What is it Rainbow?” “If we were heading out here to Appleloosa than why bring AJ? I’m sure Breaburn here knows the area better than Applejack.” “Well thanks a lot there Rainbow.” “I’m just sayin’.” Breaburn turns towards Rainbow and lets out a small sigh. “Well shoot miss Rainbow ah would be happier than a parasprite in an apple orchard to help but y'all see its harvest season here and everypony on the farm has their share of chores to do.” “Ah understand cus.” AJ replied while nodding her head. They continued to walk through town talking about things that have changed since they were there last time. After a while they reached a small hill and on the other side was the biggest Apple orchard they’ve seen outside of Ponyville. “Yup there she is, isn’t she beautiful?” “Wow Breaburn is sure has gotten bigger since the last time!” AJ said in genuine amazement. “Thanks cus! Well the house is over yonder, ah got chores that need attendin’. Go make yourselves at home and dinner will be ready in a short.” Breaburn waved to them as he set off to go do his evening chores. Twilight and the others made their way to the house to set up for the evening. Walking through the apple trees made AJ miss her home even more and also made her think about what kind of “adventures” Applebloom and her friends got into today. They reached the home and AJ stepped inside first to greet her family there. After a few short hugs and howdys AJ showed the other two upstairs to the guest room where they will be staying for the weekend. A semi-small room, big enough for four ponies to stay, with a large medium size window. Two beds on opposite sides of the room, a hoof stitched rug lay on the floor with matching bed sheets and blankets, and a cabinet in the corner of the room. The girls set their bags down on the beds and get ready for dinner. “Hey Twilight why don’t we just go and grab this plant tonight?” asked Rainbow. “Well Rainbow you see…” Twilight uses her magic to open her bag and levitate the herbal book in front of Dash. “The plant has distinct buds that make it different from a plant that looks similar to it but is extremely poisonous. These buds only bloom during the day so going out at night to find it could be very bad since we couldn’t tell the difference.” Applejack walks over to Rainbow who is reading the levitating book in front of her. “So where do we find this plant at?” “It says here that the plant is on top of Plateaus in the desert terrain around Appleloosa.” Twilight closes the book and shoves it back into her bag. “That’s correct Rainbow, which is exactly why I brought you along.” “I was hoping to go and grab it tonight and be gone by tomorrow afternoon. A half a day train ride is SOOO boring.” She mumbled to herself as she lay on the bed. After a little time passed Breaburn came knocking on the door telling the girls that dinner downstairs was ready for all who were hungry. Of course the first one out the door was Rainbow Dash; the only thing she loves more than sleeping is eating great food. They all sat down at the table and enjoyed a large dinner special made for the guests of the house. After all the eating, talking and cleaning dishes everypony headed off to their beds. Twilight and her friends went to their room for the night as well. Twilight got into the room first, looked around for a bit, and started to ask the other two a question. “Ummm. So who’s sleeping with whom?” “What you mean Twi?” “There are only two beds.” “Doesn’t matter to me at all as long as I can sleep.” Answered Rainbow. “Doesn’t matter to me neither.” Said Applejack. “Ok well then Rainbow you can share a bed with Applejack tonight.” Offered Twilight to the others. “Fine by me as long as she doesn’t snore.” “You’re one to talk.” “HEY!” “Ok then it’s settled.” Twilight said smiling. They all settled in for the night and drifted off into their own dreams. -Chapter 1…end-
Secrets pt. IIChapter 4 Secrets pt. II She laid there in her bed for a while with her arm across her forehead. The sun came in through the window illuminating her room. She could do nothing but think about that dream and what it could possibly mean. Rainbow let out a sigh and got out of bed then walked to the window. Looking out over the land below her she thought if it would be best to just stay home and away from Applejack for a while or at least till she was able to clear her head of these thoughts and now DREAMS too. “I can’t do that. Applejack could actually use my help. Besides I do have to beat that challenge.” She walked around her room for a little while longer thinking if going to her friend’s house today would be a good thing or if it would be better to call things off. She thought about it and decided that this wasn’t going to stop her from hanging around her friends especially Applejack. She started to get ready to leave her home and head to Applejack’s farm. After breakfast she grabbed her bags and left her home going towards the farm. She arrived at the farm to find her friend waiting at the front gate. She landed and trotted up to her acting like nothing was wrong but the dream still lingered in her mind. “Mornin’ Rainbow, Ah didn’t think y’all would come honestly.” “What?! You think I would just back out, no way!” “Well that’s good. Now come on back to the barn and we’ll get started.” The two started walking down the dirt road. Rainbow was lost in thought and AJ noticed it. AJ noticed that Rainbow had been distant recently and she wanted to know why but didn’t know how to go about confronting Rainbow on what was bugging her, especially about something she doesn’t even know. During the walk an idea hit her. “Okay so Rainbow will be here working for the week. Ah’ll just talk to her until she spills what’s buggin’ her.” They kept walking down the road and the barn started to come into view. Applejack turned her head to Rainbow and tried to start a conversation. “So Rainbow, how y’all been since that incident at the plateau?” “Alright, nothing to special really.” “How’s yer wing healin?” “It’s fine. Lucky me nothing was broken. Just a little bruised but I’ve flown under worst circumstances.” “Well that’s good.” Applejack thought to herself the different things that could’ve been wrong. “Well she seems to have gotten over the plateau thing. Also her injured wing isn’t the issue either.” They reached the barn and Applejack opened the door. They walked inside and Rainbow sat her bags on the ground. “So what kinda challenges am I going to be testing my awesome skills against?” “Hehe now that sounds like Rainbow.” AJ thought “Well for now Ah’m gonna need you to organize the barn. These bales of hay gotta be moved from the back to the front then around back we got more that needs to come inside. After that y’all need to rearrange and place the work tools on this peg board.” “That’s all? I got this, no problem.” “After y’all get done come see me out in the orchard field. Big Mac and Ah are buckin today while Applebloom is helpin Granny inside the house.” “Don’t get to comfy out there; this will be done in no time.” Applejack turned and started to walk out but noticed Rainbow’s bag on the ground. She picked it up and sat it on the table next to the door. When she did a small amount of pollen puffed out and AJ sneezed. Rainbow turned around to see what was wrong and noticed the bloom of the plant sticking out of her bag. “What the hay is this?” Applejack questioned as she examined the bag. “OH HORSEAPPLES! That’s Twilight’s plant!” Rainbow yelled as she ran over and grabbed the bag. “Twilight’s plant? Y’all mean you forgot to give it to her?” “Well it was a busy day and by the time we got back I forgot it was in my bag. I actually forgot about it completely!” “How could y’all forget the plant that we went through so much trouble to get?” “Well my mind was on other things…” Rainbow wanted to explain but how could she. “Anyway I need to get this to Twilight. I’ll be back in a flash AJ.” No sooner she said that was she out the door and heading towards Ponyville. In one swift movement she ran pass the table and grabbed her bag and took off like a rocket, not missing a beat. She flew fast to get the plant to Twilight’s home before it could wilt or was it to avoid telling Applejack her little secret. * * * Rainbow rushed to Twilight’s house to deliver that annoying plant and have it gone once and for all. She landed on Twilight’s balcony and knocked on her glass door. Twilight opened the door with her magic but was nowhere to be seen. “Come in!” Twilight yelled from downstairs and Rainbow walked in. The room looked like a hurricane had hit it or a tornado. Rainbow wandered around trying to find Twilight but wasn’t successful. “Umm Twilight?! Where are you?” Rainbow called out “Oh Rainbow Dash, good morning.” Twilight yelled Twilight came walking up the stairs looking around her home for something. “Sorry about the mess.” “It’s okay, no big deal. What are looking for?” “Well, hehe, this may sound silly but…I MISS PLACED THE PLANT!” “Uh Twilight” Rainbow tried to say ‘Do you know what this means?! The princess will think I’m not trying hard enough with my studies!” “Umm Twi” “If she starts to doubt me then I’ll be forced do another quest to prove myself.” “Twilight” “What if she does do that? What if I fail at that quest too?!” “Twilight” “Oh this is bad, really bad, REALLY BAD!” “ahm Twilight” “If I fail another test she may not want to teach me anymore. I may even get kicked out of my magic training. She may even banish me! The princess can’t have a student that fail as big as I have, it would be an embarrassment to her!” “TWILIGHT!” Rainbow grabbed and sat her down “Geez calm down you’re blowing everything out of proportion again. I have the plant right here.” “Really?!” Twilight stood up and smiled “Yea here ya go.” “Oh thank you Rainbow!” “It’s nothing. Hey where’s Spike at?” “Well… I kinda had him go to the train station this morning. I think he’s retracing my steps trying to find the plant, hehe.” Twilight giggled trying to not look embarrassed “Really?” Rainbow replied “Well I thought I dropped it somewhere. Besides where did you find it?” “Yea I kinda had it the whole time.” She said as she scratched her head “You WHAT?!” “I forgot I had it though.” “How could you forget?” Rainbow stopped and thought back to last couple of days and wondered if telling Twilight would do her any good. Twilight was smart on a lot of things and she might be able to give advice on how to deal with these thoughts. Rainbow wanted to tell somepony and get any kind of help or advice she could find but if she told somepony and it got back to Applejack; she shuddered at the thought of what AJ might think of her. She might stop talking to her or even stop being friends completely. After a quick deliberation with herself Rainbow decided to keep it top secret. No pony needs to know about this and if she just stops thinking about it maybe it will go away in some time. She came up with a little lie to answer Twilight’s question. “Well with all that happened…I guess it slipped my mind. You know with the whole getting trapped inside that plateau and almost falling into that pit too.” “Oh, yeah, that stuff. I can understand.” The purple pony said feeling embarrassed about the pit incident. “Well I have to get back to the farm. Applejack is probably waiting for me.” “Oh so you are working on the farm this week.” “Of course, I never back down from a challenge.” Then Rainbow was out the door and heading back towards the farm to finally start those chores and prove AJ she isn’t ‘lazy’ she just enjoys life at a slower pace than others do. * * * She flew out the door eager to get back to the farm and help her friend. It took only a few minutes and Applejack was waiting next to the barn for Rainbow to return. “Waiting here, huh? Thought I wouldn’t come back?” “Ah just wanted to make sure, that’s all. Ah didn’t know if y’all feel asleep or not on the way back.” “Oh HAHA, that’s just so funny. I told you I can handle this, no problem.” “Okay then get to it. Ah’ll be in the orchard once y’all get done.” Applejack turned and walked off into the orchard to help Big Mac with the bucking and to make up for the weekend she wasn’t there. Rainbow strolled into the barn and thought back to what all that needed to be done. She laid her bag back on the table next to the door and began working on moving the bales of hay around the barn. She flew towards the back part of the barn and put her hoofs against the hay. She started to push making it slide across the ground slowly but surely. After a few minutes she managed to get half of the hay bales to the front before she got winded and had to stop. “Man, this isn’t as easy as I thought.” She knew it was going to be hard work but she didn’t expect a bale of hay to be this heavy. She got her second wind and kept on pushing the hay the rest of the way then placed it where AJ said to. She went to the back and repeated the process over and over for about ten times till she was done. After a quick break she headed around back and started to pull the bales through the back door inside the barn. Applejack walked over to the barn to see how Rainbow’s progress had been coming along. She walked over to one of the open windows and checked in on her. She saw Rainbow Dash working hard to get things done, like she wanted, harder than she would expect the pegasus to be working. She stood there for a few minutes staring at the blue pegasus admiring her hard work ethic and stick-to-it’ness. Suddenly she heard her name being called from behind her. “Applejack” “Huh, what? Ah was doin’ nothin’.” It was Applebloom looking for her big sis. Rainbow had heard Applebloom’s voice and went to the open window to see what was up. “What were y’all doin?” Applebloom asked “Uhh Ah was just checking on Rainbow’s work.” “Through the window?” Applebloom questioned with a puzzled look About this time Rainbow was at the window where Applejack and Applebloom were. She stuck her head out the window and saw the two talking. “Hey what’s up you two?” “Oh hey Rainbow!” Applebloom smiled and waved “Why are you guys over here?” “Well ya see Ah was lookin’ fer Applejack and she was…” Before Applebloom could finish AJ put her hoof over her sister’s mouth. “Ah was just checkin’ in, that’s all, nothin’ special.” “Oh well I’ve got the moving done so I’m about to do the other stuff.” “That’s good just come and see me when y’all are done.” Applejack said as she waved and left with Applebloom while still covering her mouth. Applejack left the barn and let Rainbow finish her work. When she got far enough away she let Applebloom go and asked her what she needed. “Hey what’s the big idea?” Applebloom yelled “What?” Applejack asked back “Puttin’ yer hoof in my mouth?” “Oh well umm…Ah was managing Rainbow progress. Secretly ‘cause we…” Applejack was trying to think of something to tell her little sister but couldn’t think of anything. Then she remembered why Rainbow was there to begin with. “We have a bet goin’ on, to see if Rainbow can work on the farm or not.” “Oh well y’all could’ve said so. Anyway Granny Smith needs yer help inside the house.” “Oh, alright then.” Applejack breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards the house. * * * Rainbow went back to her work. She was done with moving the hay around so she went on to the next task which was putting the tools away. Of the two tasks this was by far the easiest to do. It took no time at all to finish and she did she left the barn looking for Applejack. Applejack was at the house helping Granny Smith with some small things when she heard a knock at the door. Applejack went to the door and opened it. “Oh there you are. I was looking for you.” “Hey there Rainbow. Y’all done already?” “Yea, told you it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.” “Well come on in and take a break for a little bit.” Rainbow walked in and sat down at the kitchen table. Applejack handed her a glass of apple cider while looking over her friend. She could see how hard Rainbow had been working by the sweat coming off her forehead. She was impressed by how Rainbow stuck to her work and was ready to keep going. “Hey what are you staring at?” Rainbow asked “Huh? Oh nothing” Applejack didn’t realize she was steadily staring at Rainbow. “Ah was just lettin’ my mind wonder that’s all.” “Wondering about what?” Applejack didn’t realize what she said at the time till Rainbow repeated it. The cowpony became flustered and didn’t know how to respond to it. Then Granny Smith cut into their conversation asking Applejack if she had went out to the east orchard yet and hosed down the trees. “Oh yeah Ah was going to do that but Applebloom came and got me. Hey Rainbow Ah’m gonna need help if y’all wouldn’t mind?” “Sure, what’s the task?” “Follow me and Ah’ll show ya.” They started out the front door and headed towards the east orchard. Along the way Applejack explained how apple trees need to be constantly moist so they can produce juicy and full-flavored apples. They get to the field and there is a small wooden shed. “What’s in there?” “That’s where we keep the tools we use out here. It has the hose we’re gonna use.” “Really AJ? I think I can handle this one just fine.” Rainbow unfolded her wings and took off into the sky. Within a few short moments she came back down above the trees with five or six white clouds. She spun around them in a circle till they gathered and created one large, dark, rain cloud. She gave it one good kick causing it to rain heavily and flew over the orchard drenching the trees. Applejack stood there watching as her friend do what she does best which is showing off her control of the weather. She thought about how useful somepony like Rainbow could be around here from time to time. A reliable, hard-working, pegasus like her. She realized this time that she was staring at Rainbow again with that admiring look from earlier. She quickly pulled down her hat before Rainbow would notice, again. After a few minutes Rainbow was done. She whipped the cloud her tail a few good times to make it dissipate back into the sky. She then flew down and landed in front of AJ who was standing there with her hat over her eyes. “Um AJ are you alright?” “Huh?” She pulled her hat up and looked at Rainbow in her magenta eyes. “Oh yea Ah’m good." "It must have been the sun.” Applejack quickly responded “The sun?” “Yea the sun got in my eyes.” “Oh okay, so what now?” “Now? Hmm…” She scratched her head “Well Ah got a few more things around here to do. Just small stuff but y’all can help too.” The two left the orchard and headed back to the house. The rest of the day Rainbow helped around the house as AJ and Big Mac finished bucking the trees. The rest of the day was kind of slow but still steady with work. After everything was done for the day Applejack invited Rainbow to stay for dinner. Of course Rainbow accepted, why turn down such great food, so her and the rest of the apple family went into the kitchen started making the food. Table was set and the food was delicious. The home that night was lively with chatter, mostly Granny Smith saying how such good help Rainbow was today which lead into a story about one pegasus she knew as a child that was also helpful but really clumsy, Applejack told how Rainbow made quick work of watering the orchard too. After all the friendly chatter was done Rainbow left and headed back to her home for the night. All she could think about was her comfy bed and how her body was tired. Applejack cleaned up after putting Applebloom to bed. Normally she would make a mental list of things to do the next day but this night all she could think about was Rainbow. She shook her head vigorously; she meant to say how much help Rainbow was today and how she was impressed. Rainbow made it home and wasted no time taking a shower and heading to bed. Applejack did the same thing. She placed her hat on the night stand and blew out the candle next to her bed then quickly fell asleep. The night was quiet as the two friends slept in different homes in different cities but still had dreams of each other. In Applejack’s dream it was her and Rainbow together working on the farm. The dream was as normal as it could be till it reached the end of the day. In the dream Rainbow had left to go home and Applejack had gone to her bedroom. When she got there the window was open and Rainbow was sitting on the bed. Normally the orange pony would ask why she was there but in the dream Applejack felt comfortable about the situation and walked across the room to her friend and gave her gentle nudge then a soft kiss on the neck. Rainbow’s night was a little rougher than the night before and her dream not as pleasant. It was her and Applejack together but this dream was different. Instead of them being together it was more like they were separated. Rainbow wasn’t sure why Applejack was not talking to her but she tried desperately to get her to talk. Rainbow confronted AJ about the dreams she was having and her feelings but all Applejack did was walk away. She disappeared and the faint sound of her voice could be heard saying “That’s just not natural”. She could feel the pain of rejection and loneliness as she sat there in the darkness. Rainbow woke up in a cold sweat. Her heart racing as she tried to figure out this dream too. It was the middle of the night, she never wakes up in the middle of the night, she just laid there staring at the ceiling. She thought on everything that has happened. First there was the sleeping incident and then there was that first dream, which she didn’t mind at all because it was a nice one, but now there is this dream. Not to mention how she feels when she is around AJ. She is confused about everything and maybe she SHOULD talk to somepony. She thought that maybe it was time to confront Applejack about this. She shook her head and tossed out that idea. If she was to talk to AJ about this then her dream might come true. The last thing she wants is to lose a good friend like her but what can she do? She rolled over and closed her eyes trying to go back to sleep but she just kept reviewing the dream and how she felt being rejected. “I can’t let AJ know about this, no matter what.” -End of Chapter 4-
