Feel the Music

Chapter 5: Dreams and Reality

Applejack's POV

"OOMPH!" I grunted as I was thrown into my closet. The door closed behind me and I heard a click. Great. Locked in.

I pounded on the door with all my might, but it wouldn't open. It wouldn't even break when I bucked it! I growled in irritation.

"Oh, come on!" I yelled, pounding on the door some more. "I have apples to buck! This ain't funny! Lemme out!"

It wasn't until I heard giggling behind me that I noticed I wasn't alone. Turning around, I gasped.

Rainbow Dash?

"What in tarnation are you doin' in here, RD?" I asked curiously.

She shrugged. "Dunno. I was thrown in here just like you were."

It was then that I realized how close we were. We were sitting with our hind legs crossed, and they were touching. The closet was actually pretty small, so even if we wanted to separate, we couldn't. We had no choice but to stay in contact, awkwardly awaiting a savior.

"Soo..." Rainbow began. "Um, how you been? Found any other fillyfoolers that, er, suit your fancy, or whatever?"

You. "Naw, not really," I lied, refusing to look her in the eye. "You?"

She rubbed her neck nervously. "Heh, no...well, actually...ya, now that you mentioned it..." She blushed redder than Big Macintosh's coat.

My eyes widened in shock. "Really? Who?" I steeled myself for the answer that was sure to make or break me. I'm the only one that knows about her. Could it be me?...Naw, don't get your hopes up, Applejack. You can't count your apples before you buck them...eww...I should leave metaphors and stuff like that to Twilight...

She gulped. "Well...um..."

"What's wrong, sugar cube?" I asked as she struggled. "C'mon Dashie, just tell m—mmph!"

I froze in shock. The cyan pegasus had pressed her warm lips against mine, her eyes closed. Mmmm...skittles...As she began to pull away, I realized I hadn't kissed her back yet. I wrapped my forearms around her neck and pulled her onto me. She smiled and tenderly pulled away.

She gave me a heart-melting grin, her eyes sparkling, and whispered, "Wake up, Applejack."

"Huh?" My brows furrowed in confusion.

"Wake up, Applejack. WAKE UP!"

I shot awake, panting, and sat up in my bed. A wave of sadness washed over me, followed by a wave of confusion. What in tarnation was that dream about? Then I remembered my conversation I had with Big Mac before bed. Oh, yeah. I'm possibly in love with her. That explains it.

I turned my head to see Applebloom standing next to my bed. I raised an eyebrow, wondering why she woke me up.

"It's time ta get ta work, sis! You slept in!" She said, suspiciously more bubbly than usual. I was going to ask her why she was so excited, but then I figured I'd rather not know. Instead, I sighed and got out of bed. Time to get bucking.

Applebloom's POV

"Ya! She was talkin' in her sleep!" I told Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle excitedly.

"What'd she say?!" Sweetie Belle squeaked.

I grinned. "She said, and I quote, 'locked...consarnit...RD...please...mmmm, skittles...huh?'"

Scoots laughed. "That's not much to go off, AB." Sweetie nodded in agreement.

"But, she was smilin' so big! An' blushin'! Ya know what I reckon she dreamed about?" I said animatedly. "I reckon she dreamed that she and Rainbow Dash got locked somewhere an' started kisisn'!"

They looked at me skeptically. "Where'd you get that idea from?" Scootaloo asked.

"She said skittles! What else could that be?!" I argued.

"Gee, AB, I dunno. Maybe, ACTUAL SKITTLES?!" She yelled back.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. The details ain't important. What's important is I got a plan to get Operation: AppleDash movin' along!" I grinned at their confusion. "Y'all like it? Ah came up with that name mahself! Anyway, here's what we gotta do..."

Rainbow's POV

"Rainbow Dash!" I heard somepony yell from below me.

I leaned over the edge to see who it was. Huh. Scootaloo. Wonder what she wants.

"Yeah, Scoots? What's up?" I asked as I landed next to her.

"Will you come with me? Applejack needs help at Sweet Apple Acres and she asked me to come get you."

Applejack needs me? "Uh, ya, sure thing, Scoots!" I trotted next to her nervously. What could AJ need me for? Did she actually need me to do something for her? Oh no, what if she changed her mind and wants to talk about the song I was singing?! WHAT DO I TELL HER?!

Cue mental face-hoof.

Maybe, I thought to myself, She asked you to come help her because she actually needs helpwith something! Why do I always over-analyze everything? Oh, yeah. 'Cause love stinks!

When we finally arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, Scootaloo led me into the house, which seemed to be totally deserted.

"Where's Applejack?" I asked the filly.

She prodded my backside. "C'mon! She's stuck in the closet!"

Looking back on it, it probably wasn't the most well-thought-out thing I've ever done, but at those words, I rushed up the stairs and into Applejack's closet. It was full of Applejack's work duds and the garments Rarity had made her. It was just missing one thing—Applejack.

Before I had a chance to ask Scootaloo what the buck was going on, The door slammed shut and clicked. Locked. Crap.

I sat in that closet for who knows how long. Finally, the door opened and Applejack was shoved in. Unfortunately, before either of us had time to react, it was closed and locked once more. She looked at me, and we sat awkwardly for a few minutes.

Finally, she spoke up. "Rainbow, what in tarnation is goin' on? Applebloom said ya wanted ta talk ta me."

My brows furrowed. "Huh? What are you talking about? Scoots told me you were stuck in here and wanted me to come help you!" Wait...Ahh! Celestia damn it! Scootaloo must be trying to set us up! I knew i shouldn’t have told her I like mares! But how does she know AJ does, too? Unless....Oh, they are so dead!

Applejack's face suddenly changed from confusion to anger. Eventually, her face relaxed and she sighed. "Ah blame Apple Bloom fer this. C'mon, Rainbow. They mus' be playin' a prank on us. Let's get outta here."

I sighed, too. Damn it! This probably isn’t a good time for me to tell her that Apple Bloom knows her secret. Then, I decided I could make the best of the situation and hit on her. Hey, I gotta start dropping hints sometime, don't I? I gave her my most cocky smirk. "What's wrong, AJ? Uncomfortable about being so close to me? I can't say I mind it that much." I winked, and she blushed madly.

"N-naw. Course not, RD...heh..." She looked down, and I realized I'd embarrassed her.

I put a hoof under her chin and pretended to recognize her embarrassment as guilt, to avoid embarrassing her further. "C'mon AJ, I'm just messing with you. I guess you're right, we should probably get outta here."

She bit her lip. "Uhm, Sugarcube?" She asked tentatively. "Ah keep my guitar in here...do ya think you could play a few songs? They don't gotta be fer me or nuthin', jus', anything?  Ah wanna here ya sing again."

I blushed. "Uh, sure, AJ." I wracked my brain for a song to play for her. Ah! Perfect!

I picked up the guitar and played, looking directly into her eyes.

Turn around

Turn around and fix your

Eye in my direction

So there is a connection

She blushed and looked down, so I nudged her, making her look back up. She avoided my eyes anyway.

I can't speak

I can't make a sound to somehow

Capture your attention

I'm staring at perfection

Take a look at me so you can see She finally looked me in the eyes

How beautiful you are

And now she's looking down again. Great.

You call me a stranger

You say I'm a danger

But all these thoughts are

Leaving you tonight

I'm broke and abandoned

You are an angel

Making all my

Dreams come true tonight

I'm confident

But I can't pretend I wasn't

Terrified to meet you

I knew you could see right through me

I saw my life flash right

Before my very eyes

And I knew just what we'd turn into

I was hoping that you could see

Take a look at me so you can see...

I tilted her head up, but she was still looking anywhere but me.

You call me a stranger

You say I'm a danger

But all these thoughts are

Leaving you tonight

I'm broke and abandoned

You are an angel

Making all my

Dreams come true tonight

You are an angel!

Making all my

Dreams come true tonight!

Take a look at me so you can see

How beautiful you are

Her blush intensified by about 20%.

Take a look at me so you can see

How beautiful you are

Take a look at me so you can see

How beautiful you are

Take a look at me so you can see

How beautiful you are

Your beauty seems so far away

I'd have to write a thousand songs

To make you

Comprehend how beautiful you are

She slowly began to look at me.

I know that I can't make you stay

But I would give my final breath

To make you

Understand how beautiful you are

Her eyes widened as they met mine.

Understand how beautiful you are!

She pulled her hat down to cover her eyes, and I frowned.

You call me a stranger

You say I'm a danger

But all these thoughts are

Leaving you tonight

I'm broke and abandoned

You are an angel

Making all my

Dreams come true tonight

You call me a stranger

You say I'm a danger

You call me a stranger!

As I strummed the last chord, she moved her hat and our eyes met once more. Before she had the chance to say anything, I started back up again.

Don't break my heart before I give it to you

Don't tell me no before I ask you to

Don't say it doesn't fit before you try it on

there's too much to lose to be wrong

And it feels like there's something here

but i wanna see it before it disappears

and if there something real between me and you

well are we both open to

All these possibilities

so many little possibilities

right in front of us

close enough to touch

and far enough to have some time to see

All these possibilities

Whoa these possibilities

are written in the stars

we are who we are baby

and i can't help but think that possibly

there's possibilities

I plucked the riff and she looked down as if contemplating something. By the time the riff was over, she looked more confident and looked into my eyes with a resolute face. My heart melted and I finally let all my emotions show, flowing into the words I sang.

Don't give me hope if there's nothing to this

Don't let me in if you're not there

what I'm feeling doesn't happen every day

so baby please play me fair

And it feels like there's something more

than those crazy little crushes I've felt before

when you move in close i can feel the rush

and now we're so close we can touch

All these possibilities

so many little possibilities

right in front of us

close enough to touch

and far enough to have some time to see

All these possibilities

whoa these possibilities

are written in the stars

we are who we are baby

and i can't help but think that possibly

there's possibilities

Her eyes were sparkling with happiness. I think it was happiness, anyways. My heart pounded in my chest. This is it. I'm going to tell her. Tears started forming in her eyes, and I felt a burst of confidence. I began to lean in, ready to show her what I felt.

Unfortunately, I never got that chance. As soon as I opened my mouth to speak, I heard a click and the door opened.

It was Big Mac. He gave us a look that said, "What the hay?"

"H-howdy, Big Macintosh," Applejack said nervously.

Realizing that AJ was too nervous to form a coherent thought, I spoke up. "Apple Bloom and Scootaloo tricked us into coming in here and locked us in. They must've been trying to earn their pranking cutie marks or something." I rolled my eyes and smirked. "Anyway, AJ didn't wanna have to break the door down, so I was playing guitar to pass the time. Do I smell food?"

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but eventually smiled. "Eeyup."

AJ snapped out of her apparent shock and stood. "Well, thank ya kindly, Big Mac. If y'all would excuse me, ah have a little filly ta find."

Well, I guess that means we aren't going to be hanging out today. I turned to Big Mac and nodded my appreciation. After saluting AJ, I flew out the open window. Nap time.