Apple's Coreby SaikoChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1A quiet evening it was, silent and dark, with atmosphere utterly perfect for a sad, very sad pony, one who wanted to be alone, to have a moment only for herself. The moon has already appeared on the inky sky, clear and beautiful this night, with stars strewed all over it. The silver light illuminated green gables near Sweet Apple Acres, making already present drops of dew glitter. It was chilly; the recognizable scent of night filled the air, completing the scenery and making it truly beautiful. A place everypony would like to find themselves in; a place whose charm stunned mainly because of its fetching simplicity. Applejack has been laying there for what seemed to be ages. The cold and dampness of the ground didn’t really affect her; she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings at all. Lost in her thoughts, she was staring at the moon, empty-eyed, not even noticing it. Memories were overflowing her for it was The Day – the only day when she would let herself give up on being the pony everypony else could count on. The day when she would always just leave without a word, followed by her brother’s and granny’s compassionate gazes, and spend the time alone. Mourning. The Day was always bleak and gloomy, with weather perfectly suiting Applejack’s mood. Sometimes it rained, sometimes it did not, but regardless – almost every year the sky was clouded, heavy, hanging over pony’s head like some kind of a judgment; omnipresent, never ceasing to force others to pay attention to its presence. This year, however, was different. The clouds have scattered around the noon and since then till night’s arrival the sun had been restlessly shining. It had been so, so irritating for Applejack – the first time the world wouldn’t acknowledge and embrace her sadness. It shouldn’t have acted this way; the time between autumn and winter, the time when The Day always occurred, was supposed to put everypony in bad mood. Applejack felt betrayed by nature, her one and only friend on The Day; the duplicitous friend that decided to keep laughing happily when she wanted somebody to be compassionate and caring. All of it, combined, made the orange pony welcome night with relief; even though there were no clouds to create the dull atmosphere, darkness and silence were enough to please her. Contemplating, Applejack was too lost in thoughts to notice a Pegasus trying to catch her eye. ‘AJ?’ she asked, insecure. Her friend paid no attention at all; she just lay on the wet grass, staring at a nonexistent point somewhere in the sky. ‘Is everything alright?’ Rainbow Dash gently touched Applejack’s shoulder. She quickly backed off as the earth pony stiffened, forced to leave her own closeted world. Applejack’s sad gaze had finally concentrated and she noticed her friend standing nearby. The Pegasus wasn’t sure how she should act; it was the first time she has ever seen her mate behave this way. AJ always kept her hooves on the ground, never had her head in the clouds and absolutely never ignored others. Especially not Rainbow Dash with whom she had to start a row every time they met. So they just stood there – well, one stood, one lay – and stared at each other, Applejack torn away from her meditation, Rainbow Dash suddenly lacking her usual confidence. She had come here because she was bored; wanting some fun conversation or quarrel, maybe one of their private competitions, maybe something more peaceful – she had nopony to spend time with and she though meeting AJ would be a good thing to do. The pony wasn’t present in the Sweet Apple Acress but flying away, the Pegasus managed to see her on a nearby gable. She had approached loudly as usual, bragging about some stuff of little importance, wanting to draw friend’s attention to herself, but surprisingly, it didn’t work. She felt alarmed then and tried talking to Applejack with calmer attitude – and by such a responsible action she got herself involved in this terrible mess. Because what was she supposed to do? She couldn’t just leave without a word now that the earth pony had noticed her – and even if she hadn’t done so… After all, Rainbow Dash represented the Element of Loyalty. Withdrawing without even trying to see what was wrong wouldn’t be too loyal, now, would it? But after deciding that leaving wasn’t an option, the Pegasus’ problem didn’t disappear. What should she say, what should she do!? It was obvious that something horrible had happened. Rainbow Dash wasn’t the comforting type of pony though. Twilight would have known what to do, or Fluttershy, or… or Applejack, gawddammit, if she hadn’t been the one who needed help. The hay with it! Rainbow Dash thought, finally deciding it was no time to do analyzing. She had to do something. Now. ‘D…do you want to talk to me about it?’ she asked, surprised at how easy being compassionate was. She always cared about others’ problems and just now has she noticed that comforting was all about showing she did instead of acting like it was no big deal. ‘Ah…’ Applejack didn’t know what to say. Every year, she spent The Day in silence, alone, mourning on her own, never speaking. Now, forced to talk, she didn’t know if she would manage to do it. And Rainbow’s question was a good one: did she want to talk to her? Did she want to share her weakness with another pony, and if she did, should the chosen pony be the rainbow-maned Pegasus, one that was never serious and often ended up hurting others, more or less on purpose? It was all too much thinking, too much thinking about the outside world Applejack has always rejected on The Day, so she just burst into tears, making Rainbow Dash drop her jaw and just look at her in awe. The pegaus slowly leaned over her friend, having in mind her previous reaction to body-to-body contact. Applejack didn’t seem to care so she placed herself next to her, now also laying on the grass. It was absolutely uncomfortable and made her coat wet. ‘AJ…’ Rainbow Dash murmured, realizing her friend has probably been lying on the cold ground for hours. ‘You’re going to catch a cold.’ Applejack would probably smile if it wasn’t The Day; cuteness of the Pegasus trying to express her care overwhelmed her. As a strong, dependable pony, she’s never needed Rainbow’s concern. They would usually hang out with their other friends, making it impossible for them to talk privately, and their one-on-one meetings usually regarded doing favors or rivalry stuff. It was just impossible for such ponies to find themselves in kind of situation that was happening then – the “I can handle it” Applejack and the “It’s no big deal” Rainbow Dash? No way. But there they were, sharing an unimaginably awkward moment. Eventually Rainbow Dash sighed quietly and wrapped her wing around the earth pony’s cold, shaking body, trying to share her still present warmth. And so they lay. It felt as if every second was a long, long hour of silence, coldness and oppressive sadness, and every moment Rainbow Dash spent with her friend was like a completed challenge on her quest towards representing the Element of Loyalty as worthily as possible. She was determined to stay, no matter how long. Her coat got impossibly wet, muscles ached and wing felt terribly numb but she wouldn’t move. Having spent at least a few hours this way, at the hour when you could feel sun’s presence just behind the horizon, Applejack has moved for the first time since her body ceased to convulse as her sobbing slowly stopped. She gently nuzzled Rainbow’s cheek, sure she has already fallen asleep, but the Pegasus instantly met her gaze, unsure of what was hidden behind those abstruse eyes. The earth pony seemed to be surprised by her companion’s consciousness. ‘Thanks’, she whispered, and went silent again, but this time her glance wasn’t empty. She was lost in thoughts, wondering what her next words should be, and it was a noticeable improvement if compared to her distracted attitude from before. The bizarre catatonia finally let go of the pony as she decided to speak. ‘Rainbow, Ah…’ she began, concerned look in her eyes, about to apologize, as if she had been the one who made the Pegasus stay with her all night. ‘Don’t.’ Rainbow Dash replied, small smile on her lips, somewhat surprised by the way she instantly understood her friend’s intentions; she’s never been able to figure out ponies’ feelings before. A change for the better, she thought. Or maybe not? Maybe it was easier not to care? She decided to consider this afterwards as then was the time when Applejack needed her full attention. The earth pony sighed. ‘It’s been so long, ya know, and I still can’t deal with it.’ She began. Rainbow Dash was all ears as her friend finally decided to talk to her. ‘It’s already been… Ten years. Ten long years. You mighta heard about this or not; the Apple family hadn’t been too outgoing before I and Applebloom got older. Granny Smith minded her own business, Big Macintosh was as quiet as he is now and mah parents… All they needed was each other. They didn’t consort with anypony unless it was really necessary. So nopony really noticed…’ her voice started shaking, tears appearing in the corner of her eye. ‘Their death.’ Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. She has never, ever thought of Applejack’s parents – the Apple family consisted of the granny and her grandchildren plus hundreds of more or less known to her relatives from all of Equestria, and it was a fact known to all. She didn’t know her current friend when they were fillies – busy with her trainings at the Flying School, always trying to impress other pegasi, she didn’t pay attention to ponies living in Ponyville, a town she visited only now and then. Therefore, she had no idea something bad happened, and other ponies must have known as little as she did – it would be impossible not to hear Apple couple’s death mentioned if it was a widely known issue. Rainbow Dash couldn’t imagine how such an important thing could have gone unnoticed for so many years, but eager to find out more, she gave Applejack a compassionate look and encouraged her to continue. ‘It happened when Applebloom turned one. Mah parents thought it was easy enough for Granny and us, Big Mac and me Ah mean, to take care of her. They wanted to spend some time alone and they did… They departed on the last sunny day of that year and never came back. Information about an accident they were involved in arrived the same day it had occurred. Ten years ago… Ten years ago. It’s been ten years!’ she raised her voice. ‘I was still a filly then, ya know, but I’ll never forget the looks on their faces as we parted for the last time. They were so happy and it might be good it was the last time I saw them. Because…’ Bitter smile curved Applejack’s lips. ‘the bodies never returned, not even they. There was no funeral. No proper burial. Just the messenger, with an awkward look on his face as he delivered a message making what was left of our family fall to pieces. We had to work hard from then on, you know. Granny was old, Applebloom was almost a newborn, and there was also a whole farm to take care of… The rest of the… family… wasn’t as keen on visiting us as they are now. Everypony was busy. Everypony had some important business to attend hundred miles from anywhere. Nopony cared! Nopony cares! We’ve been alone with it, always, and yet we had to move on with smiles on our faces or otherwise, Sweet Apple Acres would go bust. Now it’s the whole family’s pride. Then it was a burden, a burden too heavy for everypony apart from us. Orphans! All alone. It seems that the family is always with me, eh? That we support each other? Stick together? So I’ll tell you, Dashie. For all those years, with old, tired Granny, with silent Mac, who had his own ways of dealing with it, with filly Applebloom whom I couldn’t worry with things she didn’t even remember… oh, Ah love her, Ah really, really do, but I envy her so much, her innocence and unawareness…and, Dashie, with all the duplicitous relatives… For all those years Ah’ve been alone.’ Then, silence struck again. It filled the air, not at all awkward this time. It completed Applejack’s speech perfectly, letting Rainbow Dash rethink everything she has just heard, giving all the pieces time to find their place in the mosaic of her friend’s life. How could have she been so stupid, so blind, so egoistic? How could they all? Nopony ever wondered why the pony was the most dependable, the most hard-working, why she fended for herself so well. All the traits which everypony appreciated came hard to Applejack, they were an effect of her everyday life’s horror. And the worst thing was Applejack was right. According to everything that had happened to her, and also to the things that should have happened, but they had not – she was alone. And nopony cared. ‘AJ…’ Rainbow Dash whispered with feeling. This short word meant more than a thousand of them would have, and the pegasus stayed quiet for a moment before going on; she let the simple phrase have its place in the conversation. ‘You were alone, but now you’re not, nor will you ever be. Believe me, will you?’ She gently moved Applejack’s face towards hers, forcing her to make eye contact. ‘AJ. Nopony knew so nopony could have cared, and it was bad of us, more, it was truly evil. But it ends here, do you get it? I’m with you. I am and I’m never going to let you down.’ Words were leaving Rainbow’s mouth, flowing as a river. She didn’t really think as her tongue formed next and next vowels, everything she was promising just seemed to be the right thing to say and, moreover, the right thing to do. Because then and there, Rainbow Dash knew she would keep her promise, she would make up for all the years of Applejack’s suffering. The Pegasus felt so pathetic now, going back to days when she would consider the poor pony one of her best friends, knowing about her nothing at all. ‘I’m with you, AJ. From now on, for real, I am. You will still be the strongest pony I know even if you won’t have to handle being like that on your own. AJ.’ Rainbow finished with the same magic word she had begun with. ‘Ah… Thank ya, Rainbow. I’m sorry.’ Applejack said; she lifted her head, seeing the sun rise from beyond the horizon. Pale pink light glowed in the sky, encircling the blazing ball which was slowly climbing its way to the top of the sky. A reflection glittered in her eyes, making them seem alive for the first time since the Pegasus had arrived. ‘Ah shoulda kept my mouth shut. Let’s just forget, ‘kay?’ She smiled weakly and tried to get on her hooves but her body didn’t listen. Her head started to spin as soon as she had gotten up and she tripped, disorientated look on her face again. ‘I told you, silly’ Rainbow Dash murmured. ‘Laying on cold, wet, damp, disgusting grass never ends well!’ ‘Ah’m okay now, understood?’ Applejack growled, a bit more harsh than she had intended to. ‘Nah.’ Her friend grinned. ‘Time to get some sleep, AJ. In a bed, under a blanket…’ she briefly looked at the trampled grass on which they had been laying for hours, disgust on her face. ‘Not here! I wish you could experience a nice lil’ nap on a cloud but I guess you’ll need to stick to your bed. So we’re off!’ She grabbed Applejack and lifted her in the air with ease. Rainbow’s cracking laugh filled the air as her friend started calling her names and demanding to be released. ‘You sure you want that?’ she giggled, pointing to the ground, now far, far away, and felt extremely happy seeing a shy smile appear on the earth pony’s lips. The sadness was still present in her eyes, but it was obvious she felt amused; there was this slight, almost invisible sparkle in her gaze that showed hope. And yes, it was hope Applejack was feeling at that moment. She knew it was naïve, she knew she should not believe others. They have betrayed her too many times; everypony had let her down at one time or another before she met her current friends and she was sure they would also do so if they found out that the most helpful pony they knew was actually the one needing assistance. Her feelings were too complicated even for herself to understand. Actually, she didn’t want to understand; she was afraid. Afraid of others, afraid of herself. Afraid she would lose everypony if she opened up to them. Afraid nopony would need her anymore if she became weaker. Afraid she would break down if she let the sadness inside on days other than The Day; The Day that, as she has just noticed, had already ended. It was time to be strong again. There was no need for hope; Rainbow Dash didn’t care and she would soon forget. As soon as she needed Applejack’s help. The earth pony smiled, finally content with the conclusion she reached, and Rainbow felt odd kind of warmth somewhere deep inside her seeing her friend finally cheer up. Having flown in circles for a minute or two in order to warm up, Rainbow Dash decided to eventually let go of Applejack. She reached the Sweet Apple Acres – in ten seconds flat, I tell you – and asked her passenger which window belonged to her. The pony, glad to finally find herself closer to the earth, pointed what she had been asked to point and opened her eyes wide as the Pegasus moved her free hoof quickly near the window and made it open with a quiet squeal. ‘How’d ya do this?’ she asked, utterly surprised. ‘Magic.’ Rainbow Dash smirked. ‘Magic schmagic…’ Applejack murmured, still in awe. ‘Hey, that’s my line! Cut it or I’ll sneak up here at night… and…’ ‘That’s ‘kay, Dashie, don’t wanna hear it! Ya can have yar line.’ ‘Yeah, yeah, it was way too awesome for you.’ They entered the room laughing. Their brief happiness was heartfelt and it scared Applejack. She didn’t want to be sincere, she didn’t want to let anyone too close. She didn’t want to get hurt, but she couldn’t help smiling as she saw Rainbow’s intentions clearly visible in her eyes. At face value, only her usual sarcastic attitude was present, but somewhere behind it care and concern could be seen. And… fear? Maybe. But Applejack was too tired to think anymore. Rainbow’s face blurred in front of her as she lowered her eyelids, nearly closing her eyes, only a washed out part of the surroundings visible now. The smile stayed at her face as she felt being lay on the bed. Only then, suddenly feeling so comfortable, has she fully noticed her weariness. She wanted to wrap the blanket around herself, but the Pegasus helped her out and she felt so, so pleased and relieved. The Day had ended, so had her penance, and she could finally relax. She could imagine anypony in Rainbow’s place kissing her forehead good-bye as she was slowly drifting off into sleep, but… no way. It wasn’t anypony, it was Rainbow Dash, and instead of a cute peck, Applejack felt a nudge hit her shoulder. She opened her eyes, surprised, and her friend just laughed and left the room. ‘Night, AJ!’ she heard. Isn’t it more of a day now?, she had managed to think before closing her eyes again, and fell asleep in an instant. *** ‘The hay have I done!?’, Rainbow Dash yelled towards the rising sun. She had flown as high as she could and now, feeling the cold wind freeze her to the bone, she kept shouting and shouting. She was tired and frustrated. She was breathing heavily, angry at herself for saying what she said, angry at herself for being angry at herself, too. What she promised was the right thing to do. What she said was the right thing to say; it was clearly visible that she has given Applejack hope, even though the earth pony would never admit it. And it was so, so obvious – a pony like Rainbow Dash could never keep her word. She felt terribly. It was a nice, warm feeling, helping somepony else for the first time instead of laughing at them, but she knew she couldn’t stay this way and she knew that, being the most loyal pony of all, neither could she abandon Applejack. Final exhausted breath out of her mouth, Rainbow Dash recited: ‘Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.’ Then, closing her eyes, she gave out the loudest scream ever. ‘I WON’T LET YOU DOWN, AJ!’ She could have sworn she heard a loud “forever” echoing somewhere far away. Chapter 2It was already dinner time when Rainbow Dash finally managed to get up, having made up for all the sleep she lost last night. The cloud she was laying on was amazingly comfortable when compared to the grass she had grown to utterly hate. The ground seemed even less tempting for her now, when she had experienced it at its finest. She yawned and smiled; everything was so much better now as she was well-rested. Weather was nice, sun shined bright, and her promise to Applejack? It would be easy to keep, for sure. It was chilly, you could feel the winter coming, but Rainbow Dash liked it. Feeling coolness was an inherent part of flying and so, it had a special place in her heart. She stretched out her wings and felt her bones crack; ready for action, the Pegasus took off and dashed in an unspecified direction. Flying just for the joy of it was definitely her thing and she did that almost every day, training, relaxing and passing the time all at once. This time, however, it was different. She wasn’t really sure how – the flight gave her as much pleasure as always and, needless to say, her performance was outstanding. Her surroundings were just a blur as she rushed at top speed, a rainbow trail following her, the rush of air loud in her ears. Suddenly, she stopped, laughing almost hysterically. Everything became clear when she noticed where she had arrived – she was floating right over Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow Dash tried to assure herself that it was just a coincidence. In the end, however, she decided it didn’t matter… And she’d already come here so dropping in would be a pretty neat idea. The Pegasus reached Applejack’s window gliding slowly and looked in. Her friend was sitting down a table, leaning over something Rainbow couldn’t make out. She knocked on the glass. Applejack lifted her head and noticed the visitor; her face showed little emotions. She didn’t really seem sad anymore, just kind of lost in thoughts. ‘Weren’t ya supposed to use yer tricks to deal with the window?’ she asked, opening it. ‘I knew it, you didn’t listen at all! I only use my dirty tricks at nights, if you know what I…’ ‘Ah do, Ah do.’ Applejack cut her short, forcing a smile to appear on her lips. Rainbow Dash was a bit taken aback. She managed to grin in response though and changed her attitude afterwards. ‘What’s the… thing you’ve been reading?’ she asked, trying to sound uninterested, and pointed to the desk. ‘For how long have ya been spying one me like that?’ Applejack growled. It was her business. Hers and nopony else’s. She didn’t want Rainbow suddenly all caring because she had broken down one single time in her presence. Or maybe she did want somepony’s concern – but she would never admit it. Having flubbed and spilled her owns beans, she had to make sure she would be as she should be now. Responsible, dependable and – the most important thing –fending for herself. With no help, as it has always been. By herself. But suddenly, Applejack noticed a brief flash of pain in her friend’s eyes, and all those thoughts disappeared. Was she really so self-sufficient if she dealt with problems by taking it out on others!? It was pathetic; she was pathetic. Everything she has become, all the traits she’s been working on so hard, were crumbling in front of her eyes. All because of one moment of weakness, a loss she would never forgive herself. Rainbow Dash didn’t reply; she looked as if she had cowered, suddenly smaller than before. She looked… hurt. Something was off about it; Rainbow Dash never cared enough to get hurt by something. This time, however, her usual self-confidence disappeared. ‘Ah’m sorry!’ Applejack said almost straightaway. She drew Rainbow into this all and now she had to be consequent. Fair. It was her fault. ‘Ah didn’t mean it. Really. Ah’m just kinda… teed off.’ ‘Okay.’ A set smile appeared on Rainbow’s face. ‘Nah, it’s not okay. But Ah really didn’t… damn, just see it for yerself.’ Applejack grabbed a piece of paper from the table; it was crumpled at edges as if she had been holding it really tight for a long time. The Pegasus sighed and took the document from her friend. It had been written in a really formal way and so she had problems with understanding the details, but the general sense was easy to get – the number of AJ’s relatives has just decreased. ‘The Oranges.’ The earth pony murmured. ‘My family from Manehattan. Aunt and uncle. High-society ponies, like those in Canterlot, but at least twenty percent snobbier. They are… were… really rich. They had this huge shop that absolutely everypony in Manehattan has heard of. The beginning was just a small stall with orange juice, back in times they were just simple country folk like mah family her at the farm, but when Ah visited them a few years ago they already were important figures, and it seems that their business has been prospering greatly since then.’ ‘Uh, my condolences, AJ, but what’s the real problem? You’re not looking too… devastated about their death.’ ‘Ah’m not.’ Applejack smiled bitterly. ‘Ya might think Ah’m heartless but Ah don’t really care. Ya… ya already know what mah family is like.’ To the earth pony’s surprise, mentioning the last night’s events didn’t come to her as hard as she thought it would. ‘They weren’t bad to me when Ah visited Manehattan but as everypony else, they’ve never cared enough to help us out here in the Sweet Apple Acres. So now, how dare they… Damn, Dashie, have ya even read the whole of it? This document?’ ‘Nah, too complicated.’ ‘Ah see’ Applejack rolled her eyes. ‘Ya see, the problem is: their last will is to have me inherit their stupid company. Of course there is some “according to law” blah blah blah included. The shop will keep Orange’s name, they want a memorial and references to their so-called grandness every-goddamn-where. But guess who is to keep the whole thing up and running? Nah, wait, Ah know. Their beloved relative, Applejack. And… Ah don’t care for them, Ah could just refuse and forget about it but Ah… Ah respect their work, kind of. Ah don’t want that place to just go bust. Nopony wants it, Ah’m sure. And ya know what? Ah’m also sure that nopony other than me will move their lazy flank to go and actually do something to prevent this.’ ‘But AJ’, Rainbow Dash began. It was unfair; another burden for her friend to carry, another problem to deal with. Applejack didn’t deserve being treated this way by fate, by others, by the whole world that seemed to be turning against her. ‘You know you don’t have to do that. You do, right? All the hard work of your closest family was also at stake years ago and did the Oranges do anything at all to help you? Did they!?’ Rainbow was simply angry. Not only did the earth pony get drawn into an absolute mess. She didn’t even want to omit it. She was heading straight into the middle of it, ready to face everything the fate had prepared for her. And in the pegasus’ opinion it was the stupidest possible thing. ‘Ah know, Dashie.’ Applejack sighed. ‘It’s just… Ah have to go there and take care of this darn store of theirs. Ah just have to.’ ‘And leave the farm!?’ ‘It’s not forever. Ah’ll come back when Ah find somepony to run the business, not ruin it.’ ‘You can’t be serious, AJ’ Rainbow Dash groaned. ‘Ya’d better not go telling me what Ah can or can’t do, Dashie. Ah’ll deal with it as Ah always do. It’s a challenge, can’t ya see?’ ‘But… AJ, Manehattan!’ A gleam of hope appeared in Rainbow’s eyes as she saw the look on Applejack’s face change. It was clearly visible that the city scared her the most. It was just a second of weakness though; firm again, the earth pony shook her head. Every second, she was fighting tears. Enough of her feelings has already been shown, she couldn’t afford to lose anymore of her pose. Rainbow’s presence required her to talk about all the things she was used to dealing with on her own. For the first time she had to listen to somepony else’s arguments. It made her feel insecure. She wanted Rainbow to leave. To stop convincing her she could do something for her happiness, not ambitions. For she could not. ‘Ah’ve already decided. Dash… stop, okay? Just let it go.’ ‘When are you leaving?’ The pegasus asked coldly. ‘Tomorrow. At dawn. Gotta pack up some stuff. Ah think it’s high time ya left. No offense, Dashie, but Ah have things to take care of.’ ‘Yeah…’ Rainbow replied. ‘Bye then.’ ‘Bye.’ Maybe ten seconds after her friend had left, Applejack threw herself at the bed and burst out crying, not really caring if Rainbow would hear her or not. It was all her fault. The Pegasus had made her admit her feelings both inside and on the outside and affirm them in a way she has never before. Hadn’t it been for her, Applejack would do whatever was needed. She’d act like a robot, obeying fate’s orders and not letting her feelings reach her. But Rainbow Dash has changed it. She has made her feel the pain that came with acting against herself. *** After that, the day kept being as far from pleasant as possible. Applejack talked to the rest of the family, telling them about the testament and her plans to do as she had been told by the Oranges. Granny Smith paid no attention, rocking in her chair and trying to look as if she wasn’t about to fall into slumber. Big Macintosh didn’t complain, he never did, but his discontent was visible. Applejack was happy that all this mess had started just before winter’s beginning; there was no harvest work to be done so Big Mac wouldn’t have big problems with her absence. He hoped that his sister would finish the job before spring. Plus he made it clear that he was expecting some additional income from the new business. Applebloom, on the other hoof… she cared, she truly did, and concern in her eyes made Applejack feel tears in hers. The young filly couldn’t understand all the mature issues but she was honestly interested in the case and her sister’s feelings. She stayed quiet though, let Applejack mesh the plans with the older members of the family, and it wasn’t till late evening that she knocked on her sister’s room’s door. ‘Applejack?’ she asked quietly, not sure if her sister had already fallen asleep. ‘Come in, sugahcube.’ Applejack replied in weak, tired voice. Applebloom entered the room in silence. Not really knowing why, she wanted to keep quiet, to keep other ponies from hearing them. She glanced at the clean furniture, closing the door behind her. The room was tidy and it looked empty. Most of Applejack’s personal belongings have already been packed up. Her big, brown suitcase laid near the door and next to it a saddlebag with things she would need during the journey to Manehattan. ‘So what’s up, filly?’ Applejack gave her a weary smile. She was laying on her bed, not asleep yet but about to. Applebloom crawled in and snuggled against her under the blanket. Applejack’s smile grew wider as she closed her eyes and hugged her small sister. ‘Do ya really have to leave, Applejack?’ filly asked, sounding as if she was about to cry. ‘ ‘Tis just the way it is, sugahcube. Some problems need to be dealt with.’ ‘Ya can’t leave me…’ she sobbed quietly, feeling Applejack’s hoof stroking her mane gently. ‘Big Mac and Granny are gonna take good care of ya, ya know they love ya…’ she whispered, not really sure if she believed it herself. Maybe it was the same for Applebloom, maybe she didn’t feel comfortable in her brother’s and grandma’s presence either? At face value she had no reason to, but maybe… maybe… ‘Lemme go with ya!’ suddenly she straightened up. ‘Imma help ya with all the things in Manehattan! Ah will, believe me!’ ‘No way, Applebloom.’Applejack replied, upset about the reasons against her sister accompanying her. She’d sure be happy to have somepony with her in Manehattan but… ‘Ah’d love to take ya, really, but ya’re still just a filly. Ya oughta go to school and learn, and besides, Big Mac’s gonna need yar help now that Ah won’t be here to do a whole lotta things.’ ‘So ya’ll be alone. And so will be Ah.’ Applebloom muttered. ‘It seems so…’ her sister answered, trying not to break down in front of the filly. ‘Ah love ya, Applebloom.’ ‘Ah love ya too.’ She sobbed. ‘Ya know Ah’ll come back as soon as Ah can, right?’ ‘Yeah…’ They laid cuddled close to each other, both upset. Applebloom held her head against sister’s neck and kept sobbing; she was trying to lay still but she couldn’t help slight convulsions shaking her body as she was acknowledging her soon-to-be loneliness. Applejack gazed at the moon behind the window. The same moon that lightened Manehattan, the place where she would be tomorrow with nopony to lay with. ‘Applejack?’ ‘Yeah?’ ‘Can Ah stay for the night?’ ‘Please do.’ Both ponies smiled and closed their eyes, having come to terms with their fates, wanting to spend this last night with each other; with the only ponies they have ever truly loved and respected. *** To Applejack’s surprise, rooster’s cock-a-doodle-doo cut no ice with Applebloom. She smiled and swaddled her sister in the blanket. She kissed her forehead; the situation reminded her of similar one, one she didn’t really want to think about. Giving out a quiet sigh, the pony opened the door, put on the saddlebags and started dragging the suitcase down the stairs. Granny Smith was still asleep; Big Mac just nodded her instead of saying good bye, phrase much more complicated than his beloved eeeyup. Applejack hated it wholeheartedly, hearing it made her feel as if her brother was ignoring her. Well, maybe he was. She put on a fake smile though and left trying to look pleased and ready for the challenge. The carriage was to arrive at dawn. Applejack yawned and threw the suitcase off her back as soon as she had arrived to the road closest to the Sweet Apple Acres where she had agreed to meet the carter. The sun was rising slowly behind nearby gables. Its light was nearly blinding to Applejack’s sleepy eyes; she wiped them and then squinted, trying to make out a dark silhouette appearing on the horizon. It was the carriage. The one that would take her to her new prison, getting closer. Too quickly. Applejack jumped off the suitcase and stretched, ready to depart, when suddenly, she saw a shadow on the ground getting bigger and bigger. She heard a loud rush of air and looked up to see emptiness. Then she looked on the road again to notice a certain Pegasus standing there, panting a little, triumphant smirk on her face. ‘Well that was impressive, wasn’t it!?’ she bragged, heavy breaths leaving her mouth between the words. ‘Rainbow Dash, what are ya…’ ‘Just don’t go with all the Ah’m gonna do that on mah own crap, okay? I’m going with you. Sorry fella, already been decided.’ ‘By whom?!’ Applejack growled. ‘Me.’ Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. ‘I’ve heard you were doing short good byes with almost everypony in the town yesterday. And… I’ve got a feeling you omitted me.’ ‘Yeah, sorry, Ah was just informing everypony on mah way when Ah was doing some shopping. Guess what, Ah had no business in the sky.’ ‘Whatever. I’m going with you.’ ‘No ya’re not.’ ‘Try and stop me.’ Rainbow Dash grinned. ‘You can make it more difficult for me if you somehow make that pony over there’ she pointed to the carter who had already arrived; he looked annoyed and impatient. ‘…refuse to take my bits. So what? I can fly ten times faster than this… thing… and not get tired. I’m going. Really. There’s this young colt at the Weather Control who’s been begging for his great chance for months. So here it is, he gets the job, I go to Manehattan and nopony stops me.’ Applejack didn’t reply, but Rainbow Dash knew she has already won. The earth pony sighed – she’s been doing it all the time lately – and entered the carriage, looking defeated. The Pegasus wasn’t too happy seeing her like that, but it was a sacrifice needed; she’d make AJ better in no time. She winked at the carter and threw a bag of coins in his direction; he smiled slightly and caught it, not really sure if he understood what was going on, but happy for the cyan mare who got it made. ‘Brace yourself, you stupid promise’ Rainbow Dash whispered to herself, entering the carriage. ‘Ready or not, here I come. And I will keep you.’ Chapter 3‘Why is that guy stopping?’ Rainbow Dash complained as she felt the carriage they were in lose some of its speed. ‘Lemme take a wild guess. We’ve arrived? Maybe this is the reason?’ ‘Duh, sure. It’s been less than ten minutes, don’t tell me…’ ‘Ya thought Ah’d hired a carriage to take me to Manehattan?’ Applejack asked. ‘Don’t be silly.’ ‘So why…’ ‘Just put that tiny brain of yars to use, ‘kay, Dashie?’ the earth pony growled, growing more and more irritated by her friend’s appearance and its consequences. Rainbow Dash sighed and got off the carriage before it could even stop. They were near the Ponyville Train Station; it was noisy and crowded with dozens of ponies waiting for their trains to arrive. She glided for a few meters and landed, turning towards her companion. Applejack was struggling to drag her huge suitcase off the carriage. The Pegasus was about to ask if she needed help but in the nick of time she realized it’d make her no good; instead of doing it the peaceful way, she took off again. ‘Launching an air strike!’ she grinned and caught the suitcase, lifting it in the air with ease. She hovered, her wings waving slowly. ‘Where shall I take it, captain?’ ‘Oh, come ooon…’ Applejack complained, but she couldn’t help smiling a bit. ‘Thanks, silly. Ya can hand it over now.’ ‘Nah, I’ll keep it. I can’t imagine why you’d take such a big suitcase with you though, like, what do ya have there? You need no clothes, in case you forgot!’ Rainbow Dash kept blathering and Applejack let the smile stay on her lips. A certain kind of sadness came to the surface of her eyes, one similar to The Day’s, but she didn’t let it win her. She had Manehattan to deal with and if it wasn’t enough, also one annoying Pegasus – it was no time for memories, especially the sad ones. ‘Here’s mah train, sugahcube. Or ours, Ah guess.’ ‘Well said!’ Rainbow Dash smirked, glad to see Applejack finally agree with or at least accept her decision. They entered the train with only few other ponies, a small part of the crowd that had been gathering for last minutes. A big notice-board said there’d be one huge train to Fillydelphia leaving in a moment; next were to be cancelled for some reason and what seemed to be half of Ponyville and nearby villages had arrived. The trains going to Manehattan weren’t affected by the changes though – the two friends hoped it would let them have one compartment only for themselves. They definitely had some issues to settle. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help laughing as she kept hitting everypony around her with the suitcase she was holding in her hooves. Ponies stared at her in disbelief; foals giggled, amused by seeing their parents getting smacked, mentioned parents were trying to resist using words unsuitable for their children, and Applejack just chuckled. She stuck one of her hooves to her face in order to remain serious, but it didn’t really help her in getting to the train, so she put the hoof back on the ground and rushed to the entrance, trying to mute all the tee-hees leaving her mouth. When they finally jammed themselves into the train, laughing and panting heavily, the crowd didn’t get quieter; just the opposite, ponies kept complaining even louder, demanding to be heard by some station officials. Rainbow Dash waved her hoof at the foals and closed the door. As it slid and finally shut with a loud thump, Applejack placed herself on one of the seats, still gasping, with a wide smirk on her lips. ‘Well that was a mighty good performace, partner’ she laughed. ‘Indeed, miss Applejack’ Rainbow Dash grinned and threw the suitcase on one of the free seats. ‘Ho ho, there!’ Applejack sprung up in the direction of her suitcase, catching it in the last moment. ‘Careful with it, ‘kay?’ ‘Whatever. Hey, good time for you to answer that previous question of mine.’ Both ponies sat in a comfortable manner on opposite seats, facing each other. They felt the train eventually start to move. ‘Which one?’ ‘About the suitcase. Why the hay would you drag it all the way here? I mean, all the stuff would fit into your saddlebags, it’s really light.’ ‘Yeah. It is.’ Applejack stopped, not sure if she should continue. She would never talk about it to anypony, at least not a few days ago, but… Things have been changing during last days. Last hours, actually. Rainbow was loyal after all, and even if it annoyed the hell out of the earth pony, her friend deserved respect. She deserved… Honesty. Suddenly, it struck Applejack; she was called the element of Honesty. But has it ever been present in her life? Maybe… Maybe something was changing? Nah. No time for reflections; time for explanations. ‘It belonged to mah Papa.’ Having said it, Applejack didn’t really know what she should say next, so she just stopped as if it had been all. ‘I see. Sorry for throwing it ‘round then.’ It was kind of scary, hearing the word “sorry” coming from Rainbow Dash. It didn’t suit her at all. Applejack had no idea if her friend intended on being sarcastic or maybe truly did understand the situation was serious, but nevertheless… It felt sincere; far more sincere than everything Applejack would say. She felt she ought to be honest. She should talk to Rainbow, explain everything, show that deep inside, she was grateful for her company, even if it wasn’t perfect. But she wouldn’t. She wasn’t strong enough, confident enough. Her mask was, but she knew it wasn’t the thing Rainbow Dash wanted to see, so she didn’t keep lying, she just tried to be quiet, not making her friend force her to be fake and artificial again. ‘AJ?’ ‘Listenin’, sugahcube.’ ‘Wanna hear one pretty little tale?’ Rainbow Dash still held that arch grin of hers on her lips, but something in her eyes looked serious. She cocked her head and gazed at Applejack, anxious to hear her answer. She hoped it wouldn’t be as preservative as most of her friend’s actions. The earth pony smiled, relieved that she wouldn’t be the one to do the talking. ‘Ya have mah attention, Dashie.’ ‘Cool. So, ever been to Cloudsdale?’ ‘Yeah, don’t ya remember? We visited it thanks to Twi’s magic. But what ‘bout it?’ ‘Looks nice, doesn’t it? From the ground. You look up there… and all the clouds, rays of sunlight, the mist…’ Rainbow gently smiled, nearly closing her eyes. Applejack just nodded, not sure where the pegasus wanted to take this conversation. But suddenly the mood got different. Her friend’s eyes snapped open, now looking at her in a sharper way. ‘But it’s not all that beautiful, you know. Kind of… sorry to say that, but like with your family. A lovely apple on the outside, but it’s core… rotten, y’know? Rotten.’ She sighed. ‘Few ponies except for pegasi know about it, but… I wanna show you that others had it hard, too. No idea when or why it started, but we pegasi have no parents. Well, technically we do, but it doesn’t matter. The foals are taken after birth and there are ponies whose job is to take care of them. Then, there is this sort of kindergarten where you spend all your early childhood… And the flying school.’ She smirked, something bitter in the expression. ’It was cool with me, y’know, I’m not complaining. I’m strong, I’m awesome and what’s most important, I don’t care, never did. I dealt with that madness easily but believe me, even with my talent there was nothing nice about it. So having that in mind, look at Fluttershy. Or Derpy, you remember Derpy? That epitome of clumsiness? They were the poor ones, cause listen. The teachers are cruel and there’s no mercy for the weak ones. The strong kids wanna empower so they bully fillies like Shy. It sucks, really. You’ve never seen it nor experienced it so you won’t understand, it must lack sense to you, but really. It sucks. Foals live in the school, competing all the time, never looking back at their former friends they’d left behind. There’s always something to prove and something to improve, because if you’re not the best, you’re not worthy of calling yourself a Pegasus. At least that’s what they said… ‘Dashie, Ah…’ ‘No need for compassion, AJ.’ Now the bitterness could be heard in her voice, too. ‘Because I was the best filly, the best of the best. The liar and traitor who left her friends and found her way to the top.’ The earth pony opened her mouth to speak again, but Rainbow Dash barged in. ‘And then, there was this breakdown of mine.’ She was more carefree now; it seemed she was about to talk about nice things for a change. ‘I’ve acted what could be called loyal for, I think, the very first time. I helped Fluttershy, saved her from the bullies; you know the story. And I performed that badass Sonic Rainboom, and got my Cutie Mark, felt speed and awesomeness of flying… and then I saw the look in Shy’s eyes when we met afterwards…’ The Pegasus laughed happily and squealed. ‘Gosh, so awesome! I felt it was time to… to change something. I kept being the leader, the best, but having defeated those colts and proven myself, I began believing in myself enough to actually start… interacting with ponies? Stop being afraid they’d drag me down. Shy made me understand what loyalty’s all about and here I am now. Plaaain awesome.’ Rainbow Dash grinned. It made her more Rainbow-like. She had never been the type to do speeches before, but her occasional bursts of pride and arrogance made what she said seem natural and sincere. ‘So now I have a debt to repay, sorta. Don’t you think?’ ‘Ah do.’ Applejack let out a smile, a really wide one. ‘Much clearer now, Ah admit.’ And having said that, they fell silent. But the silence wasn’t awkward anymore. *** When they got off the train, it was already midnight. It was discouraging; entering the train at dawn to leave it and see the day already ended. The station, to the ponies surprise, wasn’t as crowded as the one in Ponyville. Besides their fellow travelers, only a few sophisticated unicorns with stylish saddlebags were present. They stuck to each other, smirking with supremacy and commenting everything around them in a mean manner. ‘Duhh, Manehattan at its finest.’ Applejack sadly nagged. The unicorns eyed the newcomers up and down, scathing expressions on their faces. Rainbow Dash gripped her friend’s suitcase and took off. ‘This time I’ll be careful.’ She winked. Applejack said nothing, just looked at the Pegasus with a small smile, less biased towards expressing her gratitude now. The farther from the station they were getting, the quieter the city was becoming. Darkness and silence were of utterly different kind than those they’d experience in Ponyville’s surroundings. Almost no stars could be seen on the sky because of the pollution; only the moon managed to stand out from the dirty blue background. It was ugly, foreign and scary, so dissimilar to Ponyville’s sky. The one in their hometown looked as if black silk had been stretched over the town to let its inhabitants savor its beauty. Manehattanites, as it seemed, didn’t deserve to be presented with such surroundings. They had their bleak buildings, bleak people. Bleak sky. Only a strip of it was visible now; the ponies entered one of the city’s narrow streets. Both felt imprisoned between two buildings on sides of the road, Applejack used to grasslands and meadows of open space, Rainbow Dash – to freedom given her by the sky. The city didn’t seem to change around them as they went ahead. Every building identical to the previous one, the gray pavement going on and on. ‘How far…’ ‘It’s here.’ Both ponies spoke at the same moment and giggled quietly. Breaking the omnipresent silence seemed a little bit awkward so they just looked up at the building near which they had stopped. It had an orange awning; it was nice to finally see something standing out. The walls were mostly made of glass, letting the friends take a peek inside at tables and chairs, all placed in one corner. The price list hung on one nail only, skewed in a funny way. ‘This is the store. The Oranges lived upstairs and that’s where Ah’m to live from now on. And ya too, Ah suppose?’ Applejack whispered, searching for keys in her saddlebag. Rainbow Dash just nodded in response. Having found the keys, the earth pony opened the door. She expected it to creak, but it didn’t; and so they entered the large room, feeling like outsiders violating a foreign land. As quietly as she could, Applejack turned the key in the lock again and led Rainbow Dash to a counter. The stairs were situated behind it. After climbing the stairs, the ponies had to open yet another door before they finally found themselves in their new flat. It smelled of something old; of tradition and conservatism, Rainbow thought, not really sure if she could have even felt those. There was one short, carpeted corridor and a few entrances to other rooms; it was hard to tell how many in the darkness. Applejack led the way, opening the farthest door to the left. A small but cozy bedroom was there, a nuptial bed and some wardrobes inside. There were paintings on the walls, with frames as dark as all the other furniture. It must have been the place where the Oranges slept. ‘Ya can drop the suitcase somewhere here, sugahcube, but gently, please.’ ‘No need to tell it twice.’ Rainbow replied and laid the suitcase on the bed. ‘So there is this room and also the one Ah used to sleep in when I was a filly, but Ah’d call it more of a cell. I think they just stored stuff there after Ah had left, no idea if the bed stayed, but we can go and check. Feel warned though. It’s small.’ ‘Duhh, AJ, you’re so amateurish. Being loyal includes sleeping with you.’ Rainbow Dash grinned, tempting tune in her voice. ‘Whatever. I survived a sleepover with Rarity, so…’ ‘Really!?’ ‘What, the sleepover?’ ‘Nah. Can I sleep here?’ the overly seducing, almost funny expression on Rainbow’s face was gone and she was more than enthusiastic now. ‘C’mon, AJ, don’t tell me you’d rather sleep alone in this scary house.’ She shivered, clearly overdoing it. ‘Already told ya. Whatever.’ ‘Aww, where’d your enthusiasm gone? Don’t wanna have your super-ultra-always-there-for-you-best friend with you?’ ‘Shut up and sleep with me, Dashie.’ Applejack rolled her eyes, then burst out laughing, understanding the way it must have sounded. ‘What’s been said cannot be unsaid.’ The Pegasus smirked and cast off her saddlebags. Applejack moved the suitcase from the bed to a corner of the room, deciding to unpack it on the following day. Having done that, she just stood there, not sure what to do, and so did Rainbow Dash. Both were struggling with embracing the fact that yes, there they were, finally in Manehattan. After a few minutes, the earth pony finally spoke up. ‘Ya as not-sleepy as Ah am?’ ‘Even more. Or less? Or something. Aww, not-sleepy. As hell.’ Rainbow Dash replied, yawning. Applejack smirked. ‘Yeah, Ah can see!’ ‘ ’twas just camouflage, you’ve got much to learn, kid.’ ‘Duh, sure!’ Applejack approached what must have been windows and drew the curtains. There was a glass door behind it, leading to a small balcony. The pony opened it, letting some fresh air inside the room. ‘Good idea, we’ll get rid of this smell.’ Rainbow said, trying hard not to yawn. Having heard her struggling Applejack laughed up her sleeve. She entered the balcony; two wooden chairs stood there. Must have been Oranges’ place to rest. Talk. Spend nights like that one in a nice company. ‘Come over here, Dashie.’ Applejack said, placing herself on one of the chairs and pointing to the other. The Pegasus yawned again and also sat. ‘Ya’re such a baby, that one was the third time!’ ‘The second!’ Rainbow denied with a playful kind of madness. ‘Thiiird!’ ‘End of this… yaaawn… topic, AJ!’ ‘Agreed, sugahcube.’ Both laughed for a few seconds and then sat in silence, trying to make out at least one star on this foreign sky. When some time passed, Applejack started talking as soon as the thought appeared in her head; she didn’t want to change her mind. ‘Hey, Dashie?’ ‘Yup?’ she reacted, sleepiness visible in her half-closed eyes. ‘Ah’m glad you came.’ ‘So am I, silly.’ ‘Even though ya’re freakin’ annoying.’ ‘Don’t say that!’ And they laughed and laughed, and Manehattan seemed less scary. And even one lonely star decided to stand out and shine for them, for which the ponies were truly grateful. Applejack hardly believed it, but she had finally said something from the bottom of her heart. One short sentence, but holding a great meaning; holding truth. She was heartily glad she wasn’t alone. She felt that her friend’s presence may give her a hard time in the future, but that day, in her first Manehattan moments, thought of being alone was an abysmal one, and Rainbow’s sleepy smile brought comfort. Suddenly, her expression livened up. ‘You wait here, I’ve got an idea.’ She grinned. The look in her eyes revealed she was up to no good, but Applejack simply nodded and, for the first time, yawned, too lazy to check what the Pegasus wanted to do. The earth pony heard her friend walking through the room loudly after she had left the balcony; things were bashing and falling, and Rainbow let out a quiet curse. Applejack chuckled. After a minute or two of slamming doors and generally devastating the flat, the Pegasus was back, small bruise on her face and, in her hoof, a bottle of wine she wielded like a sword or a bouquet of flowers. ‘Time to raise our glasses, don’t you think? …damn. Glasses. Nooo…’ she complained and went back to the room, this time to search for those. Only a few items were knocked off this time; Rainbow must have grown to understand the topography of the flat better. Having found the glasses, she appeared on the balcony again, this time for good. Apart from the bottle, she also held two beautifully carved, crystal chalices. ‘Those fellas of yours really flew high, didn’t they?’ ‘Just please don’t break those, they must have cost half of mah yearly income!’ Applejack moaned, but she seemed pleased with the idea of drinking expensive wine from priceless glasses. A good beginning to what was supposed to develop in a terrible way. A chance to spend some time… having fun. Her duty of responsible complaining had been done so Applejack accepted a glass full of wine with a smile. She waited with the first sip till Rainbow Dash also placed herself or the other seat with her beverage. Exchanging a gaze, they gulped down at the same time, and then just kept sitting and drinking slowly, enjoying each other’s company and encouraging other stars to also shine through the thick layer of pollution. They refilled the glasses twice and when Rainbow wanted to do this for the third time, she found the bottle empty. ‘Darn!’ the Pegasus hiccupped. ‘Don’t tell me we’ve already drunk it who-o-ole… Ah totally don’t feel like it…’ ‘Nor do I!’ Rainbow Dash hiccupped again. She threw the bottle up in the sky, watched it fly over buildings’ roofs and grinned upon hearing it break loudly. Somepony far, far away shouted with anger; the vandals burst out laughing and without hesitation retreated to the flat, as if afraid their victim could see them. ‘Ya’re so stupid!’ Applejack laughed, panting heavily. She closed the glass door and pulled the curtain, making a pot fall from the windowsill. ‘Damn!’ She muttered, but didn’t feel like cleaning tonight. ‘That’s not how you spell awesome’ Rainbow denied, throwing herself at the bed. It was soft and comfortable; she felt like if she was drowning in its pliability. ‘God, feels like heaven. I’m so gonna be rich in the future…’ ‘Ah’d be more concerned about tomorrow, it’s also sorta future… but… I’m not that looking forward to it’ Applejack murmured. ‘Silly mare, you’re drunk! You don’t have to say sad things now!’ The Pegasus reached for her friends mane and dragged her onto the bed. ‘Hurts!’ ‘It’s for the greater good, AJ!’ They kicked the blankets and fumbled with the sheet until, after at least a minute or two of struggling, they were finally arranged in a comfortable way. The pillows were cold in a pleasing way after hours of being exposed to chilly air from the outside; the blankets gave just enough warmth and mattress let them sink in, but didn’t feel like slime sucking them in. ‘Dead ponies might have slept here yesterday.’ Rainbow said in a voice that was meant to sound scary, but with her drunken pronunciation sounded like haunted pony’s blabbering. ‘Ya mean they were dead then or they’re dead now?’ Applejack answered slowly, lazily, taking her time to understand what the Pegasus was talking about. ‘Whatever. Both suck. Plus they were a couple. We’re sleeping in the bed that had belonged to a dead couple. Gross.’ ‘Already told ya, there’s another bed in the…’ ‘Ohh, stop spoiling the fun!’ ‘Ah have to, Ah’m sleepy’ Applejack replied. ‘Then you lose.’ ‘What?’ ‘The yawning competition. Not-yawning, actually.’ Rainbow said, letting out a loud yawn. Applejack chuckled. ‘Time t’ go t’ sleep, Dashie. Really.’ ‘Okaay… But come here.’ ‘Where?’ ‘Here!’ And so, the earth pony rolled her eyes and moved closer to her friend. Rainbow Dash snuggled beside her, closing her eyes, angel-like expression on the face of a devil. ‘Glad I’m here.’, the Pegasus said. ‘Glad you’re here.’ Applejack agreed, embracing Rainbow with one of her hooves and smiling softly with her eyes also finally closed. She was trying really hard not to think about how terrible the following day would be.
Chapter 1A quiet evening it was, silent and dark, with atmosphere utterly perfect for a sad, very sad pony, one who wanted to be alone, to have a moment only for herself. The moon has already appeared on the inky sky, clear and beautiful this night, with stars strewed all over it. The silver light illuminated green gables near Sweet Apple Acres, making already present drops of dew glitter. It was chilly; the recognizable scent of night filled the air, completing the scenery and making it truly beautiful. A place everypony would like to find themselves in; a place whose charm stunned mainly because of its fetching simplicity. Applejack has been laying there for what seemed to be ages. The cold and dampness of the ground didn’t really affect her; she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings at all. Lost in her thoughts, she was staring at the moon, empty-eyed, not even noticing it. Memories were overflowing her for it was The Day – the only day when she would let herself give up on being the pony everypony else could count on. The day when she would always just leave without a word, followed by her brother’s and granny’s compassionate gazes, and spend the time alone. Mourning. The Day was always bleak and gloomy, with weather perfectly suiting Applejack’s mood. Sometimes it rained, sometimes it did not, but regardless – almost every year the sky was clouded, heavy, hanging over pony’s head like some kind of a judgment; omnipresent, never ceasing to force others to pay attention to its presence. This year, however, was different. The clouds have scattered around the noon and since then till night’s arrival the sun had been restlessly shining. It had been so, so irritating for Applejack – the first time the world wouldn’t acknowledge and embrace her sadness. It shouldn’t have acted this way; the time between autumn and winter, the time when The Day always occurred, was supposed to put everypony in bad mood. Applejack felt betrayed by nature, her one and only friend on The Day; the duplicitous friend that decided to keep laughing happily when she wanted somebody to be compassionate and caring. All of it, combined, made the orange pony welcome night with relief; even though there were no clouds to create the dull atmosphere, darkness and silence were enough to please her. Contemplating, Applejack was too lost in thoughts to notice a Pegasus trying to catch her eye. ‘AJ?’ she asked, insecure. Her friend paid no attention at all; she just lay on the wet grass, staring at a nonexistent point somewhere in the sky. ‘Is everything alright?’ Rainbow Dash gently touched Applejack’s shoulder. She quickly backed off as the earth pony stiffened, forced to leave her own closeted world. Applejack’s sad gaze had finally concentrated and she noticed her friend standing nearby. The Pegasus wasn’t sure how she should act; it was the first time she has ever seen her mate behave this way. AJ always kept her hooves on the ground, never had her head in the clouds and absolutely never ignored others. Especially not Rainbow Dash with whom she had to start a row every time they met. So they just stood there – well, one stood, one lay – and stared at each other, Applejack torn away from her meditation, Rainbow Dash suddenly lacking her usual confidence. She had come here because she was bored; wanting some fun conversation or quarrel, maybe one of their private competitions, maybe something more peaceful – she had nopony to spend time with and she though meeting AJ would be a good thing to do. The pony wasn’t present in the Sweet Apple Acress but flying away, the Pegasus managed to see her on a nearby gable. She had approached loudly as usual, bragging about some stuff of little importance, wanting to draw friend’s attention to herself, but surprisingly, it didn’t work. She felt alarmed then and tried talking to Applejack with calmer attitude – and by such a responsible action she got herself involved in this terrible mess. Because what was she supposed to do? She couldn’t just leave without a word now that the earth pony had noticed her – and even if she hadn’t done so… After all, Rainbow Dash represented the Element of Loyalty. Withdrawing without even trying to see what was wrong wouldn’t be too loyal, now, would it? But after deciding that leaving wasn’t an option, the Pegasus’ problem didn’t disappear. What should she say, what should she do!? It was obvious that something horrible had happened. Rainbow Dash wasn’t the comforting type of pony though. Twilight would have known what to do, or Fluttershy, or… or Applejack, gawddammit, if she hadn’t been the one who needed help. The hay with it! Rainbow Dash thought, finally deciding it was no time to do analyzing. She had to do something. Now. ‘D…do you want to talk to me about it?’ she asked, surprised at how easy being compassionate was. She always cared about others’ problems and just now has she noticed that comforting was all about showing she did instead of acting like it was no big deal. ‘Ah…’ Applejack didn’t know what to say. Every year, she spent The Day in silence, alone, mourning on her own, never speaking. Now, forced to talk, she didn’t know if she would manage to do it. And Rainbow’s question was a good one: did she want to talk to her? Did she want to share her weakness with another pony, and if she did, should the chosen pony be the rainbow-maned Pegasus, one that was never serious and often ended up hurting others, more or less on purpose? It was all too much thinking, too much thinking about the outside world Applejack has always rejected on The Day, so she just burst into tears, making Rainbow Dash drop her jaw and just look at her in awe. The pegaus slowly leaned over her friend, having in mind her previous reaction to body-to-body contact. Applejack didn’t seem to care so she placed herself next to her, now also laying on the grass. It was absolutely uncomfortable and made her coat wet. ‘AJ…’ Rainbow Dash murmured, realizing her friend has probably been lying on the cold ground for hours. ‘You’re going to catch a cold.’ Applejack would probably smile if it wasn’t The Day; cuteness of the Pegasus trying to express her care overwhelmed her. As a strong, dependable pony, she’s never needed Rainbow’s concern. They would usually hang out with their other friends, making it impossible for them to talk privately, and their one-on-one meetings usually regarded doing favors or rivalry stuff. It was just impossible for such ponies to find themselves in kind of situation that was happening then – the “I can handle it” Applejack and the “It’s no big deal” Rainbow Dash? No way. But there they were, sharing an unimaginably awkward moment. Eventually Rainbow Dash sighed quietly and wrapped her wing around the earth pony’s cold, shaking body, trying to share her still present warmth. And so they lay. It felt as if every second was a long, long hour of silence, coldness and oppressive sadness, and every moment Rainbow Dash spent with her friend was like a completed challenge on her quest towards representing the Element of Loyalty as worthily as possible. She was determined to stay, no matter how long. Her coat got impossibly wet, muscles ached and wing felt terribly numb but she wouldn’t move. Having spent at least a few hours this way, at the hour when you could feel sun’s presence just behind the horizon, Applejack has moved for the first time since her body ceased to convulse as her sobbing slowly stopped. She gently nuzzled Rainbow’s cheek, sure she has already fallen asleep, but the Pegasus instantly met her gaze, unsure of what was hidden behind those abstruse eyes. The earth pony seemed to be surprised by her companion’s consciousness. ‘Thanks’, she whispered, and went silent again, but this time her glance wasn’t empty. She was lost in thoughts, wondering what her next words should be, and it was a noticeable improvement if compared to her distracted attitude from before. The bizarre catatonia finally let go of the pony as she decided to speak. ‘Rainbow, Ah…’ she began, concerned look in her eyes, about to apologize, as if she had been the one who made the Pegasus stay with her all night. ‘Don’t.’ Rainbow Dash replied, small smile on her lips, somewhat surprised by the way she instantly understood her friend’s intentions; she’s never been able to figure out ponies’ feelings before. A change for the better, she thought. Or maybe not? Maybe it was easier not to care? She decided to consider this afterwards as then was the time when Applejack needed her full attention. The earth pony sighed. ‘It’s been so long, ya know, and I still can’t deal with it.’ She began. Rainbow Dash was all ears as her friend finally decided to talk to her. ‘It’s already been… Ten years. Ten long years. You mighta heard about this or not; the Apple family hadn’t been too outgoing before I and Applebloom got older. Granny Smith minded her own business, Big Macintosh was as quiet as he is now and mah parents… All they needed was each other. They didn’t consort with anypony unless it was really necessary. So nopony really noticed…’ her voice started shaking, tears appearing in the corner of her eye. ‘Their death.’ Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. She has never, ever thought of Applejack’s parents – the Apple family consisted of the granny and her grandchildren plus hundreds of more or less known to her relatives from all of Equestria, and it was a fact known to all. She didn’t know her current friend when they were fillies – busy with her trainings at the Flying School, always trying to impress other pegasi, she didn’t pay attention to ponies living in Ponyville, a town she visited only now and then. Therefore, she had no idea something bad happened, and other ponies must have known as little as she did – it would be impossible not to hear Apple couple’s death mentioned if it was a widely known issue. Rainbow Dash couldn’t imagine how such an important thing could have gone unnoticed for so many years, but eager to find out more, she gave Applejack a compassionate look and encouraged her to continue. ‘It happened when Applebloom turned one. Mah parents thought it was easy enough for Granny and us, Big Mac and me Ah mean, to take care of her. They wanted to spend some time alone and they did… They departed on the last sunny day of that year and never came back. Information about an accident they were involved in arrived the same day it had occurred. Ten years ago… Ten years ago. It’s been ten years!’ she raised her voice. ‘I was still a filly then, ya know, but I’ll never forget the looks on their faces as we parted for the last time. They were so happy and it might be good it was the last time I saw them. Because…’ Bitter smile curved Applejack’s lips. ‘the bodies never returned, not even they. There was no funeral. No proper burial. Just the messenger, with an awkward look on his face as he delivered a message making what was left of our family fall to pieces. We had to work hard from then on, you know. Granny was old, Applebloom was almost a newborn, and there was also a whole farm to take care of… The rest of the… family… wasn’t as keen on visiting us as they are now. Everypony was busy. Everypony had some important business to attend hundred miles from anywhere. Nopony cared! Nopony cares! We’ve been alone with it, always, and yet we had to move on with smiles on our faces or otherwise, Sweet Apple Acres would go bust. Now it’s the whole family’s pride. Then it was a burden, a burden too heavy for everypony apart from us. Orphans! All alone. It seems that the family is always with me, eh? That we support each other? Stick together? So I’ll tell you, Dashie. For all those years, with old, tired Granny, with silent Mac, who had his own ways of dealing with it, with filly Applebloom whom I couldn’t worry with things she didn’t even remember… oh, Ah love her, Ah really, really do, but I envy her so much, her innocence and unawareness…and, Dashie, with all the duplicitous relatives… For all those years Ah’ve been alone.’ Then, silence struck again. It filled the air, not at all awkward this time. It completed Applejack’s speech perfectly, letting Rainbow Dash rethink everything she has just heard, giving all the pieces time to find their place in the mosaic of her friend’s life. How could have she been so stupid, so blind, so egoistic? How could they all? Nopony ever wondered why the pony was the most dependable, the most hard-working, why she fended for herself so well. All the traits which everypony appreciated came hard to Applejack, they were an effect of her everyday life’s horror. And the worst thing was Applejack was right. According to everything that had happened to her, and also to the things that should have happened, but they had not – she was alone. And nopony cared. ‘AJ…’ Rainbow Dash whispered with feeling. This short word meant more than a thousand of them would have, and the pegasus stayed quiet for a moment before going on; she let the simple phrase have its place in the conversation. ‘You were alone, but now you’re not, nor will you ever be. Believe me, will you?’ She gently moved Applejack’s face towards hers, forcing her to make eye contact. ‘AJ. Nopony knew so nopony could have cared, and it was bad of us, more, it was truly evil. But it ends here, do you get it? I’m with you. I am and I’m never going to let you down.’ Words were leaving Rainbow’s mouth, flowing as a river. She didn’t really think as her tongue formed next and next vowels, everything she was promising just seemed to be the right thing to say and, moreover, the right thing to do. Because then and there, Rainbow Dash knew she would keep her promise, she would make up for all the years of Applejack’s suffering. The Pegasus felt so pathetic now, going back to days when she would consider the poor pony one of her best friends, knowing about her nothing at all. ‘I’m with you, AJ. From now on, for real, I am. You will still be the strongest pony I know even if you won’t have to handle being like that on your own. AJ.’ Rainbow finished with the same magic word she had begun with. ‘Ah… Thank ya, Rainbow. I’m sorry.’ Applejack said; she lifted her head, seeing the sun rise from beyond the horizon. Pale pink light glowed in the sky, encircling the blazing ball which was slowly climbing its way to the top of the sky. A reflection glittered in her eyes, making them seem alive for the first time since the Pegasus had arrived. ‘Ah shoulda kept my mouth shut. Let’s just forget, ‘kay?’ She smiled weakly and tried to get on her hooves but her body didn’t listen. Her head started to spin as soon as she had gotten up and she tripped, disorientated look on her face again. ‘I told you, silly’ Rainbow Dash murmured. ‘Laying on cold, wet, damp, disgusting grass never ends well!’ ‘Ah’m okay now, understood?’ Applejack growled, a bit more harsh than she had intended to. ‘Nah.’ Her friend grinned. ‘Time to get some sleep, AJ. In a bed, under a blanket…’ she briefly looked at the trampled grass on which they had been laying for hours, disgust on her face. ‘Not here! I wish you could experience a nice lil’ nap on a cloud but I guess you’ll need to stick to your bed. So we’re off!’ She grabbed Applejack and lifted her in the air with ease. Rainbow’s cracking laugh filled the air as her friend started calling her names and demanding to be released. ‘You sure you want that?’ she giggled, pointing to the ground, now far, far away, and felt extremely happy seeing a shy smile appear on the earth pony’s lips. The sadness was still present in her eyes, but it was obvious she felt amused; there was this slight, almost invisible sparkle in her gaze that showed hope. And yes, it was hope Applejack was feeling at that moment. She knew it was naïve, she knew she should not believe others. They have betrayed her too many times; everypony had let her down at one time or another before she met her current friends and she was sure they would also do so if they found out that the most helpful pony they knew was actually the one needing assistance. Her feelings were too complicated even for herself to understand. Actually, she didn’t want to understand; she was afraid. Afraid of others, afraid of herself. Afraid she would lose everypony if she opened up to them. Afraid nopony would need her anymore if she became weaker. Afraid she would break down if she let the sadness inside on days other than The Day; The Day that, as she has just noticed, had already ended. It was time to be strong again. There was no need for hope; Rainbow Dash didn’t care and she would soon forget. As soon as she needed Applejack’s help. The earth pony smiled, finally content with the conclusion she reached, and Rainbow felt odd kind of warmth somewhere deep inside her seeing her friend finally cheer up. Having flown in circles for a minute or two in order to warm up, Rainbow Dash decided to eventually let go of Applejack. She reached the Sweet Apple Acres – in ten seconds flat, I tell you – and asked her passenger which window belonged to her. The pony, glad to finally find herself closer to the earth, pointed what she had been asked to point and opened her eyes wide as the Pegasus moved her free hoof quickly near the window and made it open with a quiet squeal. ‘How’d ya do this?’ she asked, utterly surprised. ‘Magic.’ Rainbow Dash smirked. ‘Magic schmagic…’ Applejack murmured, still in awe. ‘Hey, that’s my line! Cut it or I’ll sneak up here at night… and…’ ‘That’s ‘kay, Dashie, don’t wanna hear it! Ya can have yar line.’ ‘Yeah, yeah, it was way too awesome for you.’ They entered the room laughing. Their brief happiness was heartfelt and it scared Applejack. She didn’t want to be sincere, she didn’t want to let anyone too close. She didn’t want to get hurt, but she couldn’t help smiling as she saw Rainbow’s intentions clearly visible in her eyes. At face value, only her usual sarcastic attitude was present, but somewhere behind it care and concern could be seen. And… fear? Maybe. But Applejack was too tired to think anymore. Rainbow’s face blurred in front of her as she lowered her eyelids, nearly closing her eyes, only a washed out part of the surroundings visible now. The smile stayed at her face as she felt being lay on the bed. Only then, suddenly feeling so comfortable, has she fully noticed her weariness. She wanted to wrap the blanket around herself, but the Pegasus helped her out and she felt so, so pleased and relieved. The Day had ended, so had her penance, and she could finally relax. She could imagine anypony in Rainbow’s place kissing her forehead good-bye as she was slowly drifting off into sleep, but… no way. It wasn’t anypony, it was Rainbow Dash, and instead of a cute peck, Applejack felt a nudge hit her shoulder. She opened her eyes, surprised, and her friend just laughed and left the room. ‘Night, AJ!’ she heard. Isn’t it more of a day now?, she had managed to think before closing her eyes again, and fell asleep in an instant. *** ‘The hay have I done!?’, Rainbow Dash yelled towards the rising sun. She had flown as high as she could and now, feeling the cold wind freeze her to the bone, she kept shouting and shouting. She was tired and frustrated. She was breathing heavily, angry at herself for saying what she said, angry at herself for being angry at herself, too. What she promised was the right thing to do. What she said was the right thing to say; it was clearly visible that she has given Applejack hope, even though the earth pony would never admit it. And it was so, so obvious – a pony like Rainbow Dash could never keep her word. She felt terribly. It was a nice, warm feeling, helping somepony else for the first time instead of laughing at them, but she knew she couldn’t stay this way and she knew that, being the most loyal pony of all, neither could she abandon Applejack. Final exhausted breath out of her mouth, Rainbow Dash recited: ‘Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.’ Then, closing her eyes, she gave out the loudest scream ever. ‘I WON’T LET YOU DOWN, AJ!’ She could have sworn she heard a loud “forever” echoing somewhere far away.
Chapter 2It was already dinner time when Rainbow Dash finally managed to get up, having made up for all the sleep she lost last night. The cloud she was laying on was amazingly comfortable when compared to the grass she had grown to utterly hate. The ground seemed even less tempting for her now, when she had experienced it at its finest. She yawned and smiled; everything was so much better now as she was well-rested. Weather was nice, sun shined bright, and her promise to Applejack? It would be easy to keep, for sure. It was chilly, you could feel the winter coming, but Rainbow Dash liked it. Feeling coolness was an inherent part of flying and so, it had a special place in her heart. She stretched out her wings and felt her bones crack; ready for action, the Pegasus took off and dashed in an unspecified direction. Flying just for the joy of it was definitely her thing and she did that almost every day, training, relaxing and passing the time all at once. This time, however, it was different. She wasn’t really sure how – the flight gave her as much pleasure as always and, needless to say, her performance was outstanding. Her surroundings were just a blur as she rushed at top speed, a rainbow trail following her, the rush of air loud in her ears. Suddenly, she stopped, laughing almost hysterically. Everything became clear when she noticed where she had arrived – she was floating right over Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow Dash tried to assure herself that it was just a coincidence. In the end, however, she decided it didn’t matter… And she’d already come here so dropping in would be a pretty neat idea. The Pegasus reached Applejack’s window gliding slowly and looked in. Her friend was sitting down a table, leaning over something Rainbow couldn’t make out. She knocked on the glass. Applejack lifted her head and noticed the visitor; her face showed little emotions. She didn’t really seem sad anymore, just kind of lost in thoughts. ‘Weren’t ya supposed to use yer tricks to deal with the window?’ she asked, opening it. ‘I knew it, you didn’t listen at all! I only use my dirty tricks at nights, if you know what I…’ ‘Ah do, Ah do.’ Applejack cut her short, forcing a smile to appear on her lips. Rainbow Dash was a bit taken aback. She managed to grin in response though and changed her attitude afterwards. ‘What’s the… thing you’ve been reading?’ she asked, trying to sound uninterested, and pointed to the desk. ‘For how long have ya been spying one me like that?’ Applejack growled. It was her business. Hers and nopony else’s. She didn’t want Rainbow suddenly all caring because she had broken down one single time in her presence. Or maybe she did want somepony’s concern – but she would never admit it. Having flubbed and spilled her owns beans, she had to make sure she would be as she should be now. Responsible, dependable and – the most important thing –fending for herself. With no help, as it has always been. By herself. But suddenly, Applejack noticed a brief flash of pain in her friend’s eyes, and all those thoughts disappeared. Was she really so self-sufficient if she dealt with problems by taking it out on others!? It was pathetic; she was pathetic. Everything she has become, all the traits she’s been working on so hard, were crumbling in front of her eyes. All because of one moment of weakness, a loss she would never forgive herself. Rainbow Dash didn’t reply; she looked as if she had cowered, suddenly smaller than before. She looked… hurt. Something was off about it; Rainbow Dash never cared enough to get hurt by something. This time, however, her usual self-confidence disappeared. ‘Ah’m sorry!’ Applejack said almost straightaway. She drew Rainbow into this all and now she had to be consequent. Fair. It was her fault. ‘Ah didn’t mean it. Really. Ah’m just kinda… teed off.’ ‘Okay.’ A set smile appeared on Rainbow’s face. ‘Nah, it’s not okay. But Ah really didn’t… damn, just see it for yerself.’ Applejack grabbed a piece of paper from the table; it was crumpled at edges as if she had been holding it really tight for a long time. The Pegasus sighed and took the document from her friend. It had been written in a really formal way and so she had problems with understanding the details, but the general sense was easy to get – the number of AJ’s relatives has just decreased. ‘The Oranges.’ The earth pony murmured. ‘My family from Manehattan. Aunt and uncle. High-society ponies, like those in Canterlot, but at least twenty percent snobbier. They are… were… really rich. They had this huge shop that absolutely everypony in Manehattan has heard of. The beginning was just a small stall with orange juice, back in times they were just simple country folk like mah family her at the farm, but when Ah visited them a few years ago they already were important figures, and it seems that their business has been prospering greatly since then.’ ‘Uh, my condolences, AJ, but what’s the real problem? You’re not looking too… devastated about their death.’ ‘Ah’m not.’ Applejack smiled bitterly. ‘Ya might think Ah’m heartless but Ah don’t really care. Ya… ya already know what mah family is like.’ To the earth pony’s surprise, mentioning the last night’s events didn’t come to her as hard as she thought it would. ‘They weren’t bad to me when Ah visited Manehattan but as everypony else, they’ve never cared enough to help us out here in the Sweet Apple Acres. So now, how dare they… Damn, Dashie, have ya even read the whole of it? This document?’ ‘Nah, too complicated.’ ‘Ah see’ Applejack rolled her eyes. ‘Ya see, the problem is: their last will is to have me inherit their stupid company. Of course there is some “according to law” blah blah blah included. The shop will keep Orange’s name, they want a memorial and references to their so-called grandness every-goddamn-where. But guess who is to keep the whole thing up and running? Nah, wait, Ah know. Their beloved relative, Applejack. And… Ah don’t care for them, Ah could just refuse and forget about it but Ah… Ah respect their work, kind of. Ah don’t want that place to just go bust. Nopony wants it, Ah’m sure. And ya know what? Ah’m also sure that nopony other than me will move their lazy flank to go and actually do something to prevent this.’ ‘But AJ’, Rainbow Dash began. It was unfair; another burden for her friend to carry, another problem to deal with. Applejack didn’t deserve being treated this way by fate, by others, by the whole world that seemed to be turning against her. ‘You know you don’t have to do that. You do, right? All the hard work of your closest family was also at stake years ago and did the Oranges do anything at all to help you? Did they!?’ Rainbow was simply angry. Not only did the earth pony get drawn into an absolute mess. She didn’t even want to omit it. She was heading straight into the middle of it, ready to face everything the fate had prepared for her. And in the pegasus’ opinion it was the stupidest possible thing. ‘Ah know, Dashie.’ Applejack sighed. ‘It’s just… Ah have to go there and take care of this darn store of theirs. Ah just have to.’ ‘And leave the farm!?’ ‘It’s not forever. Ah’ll come back when Ah find somepony to run the business, not ruin it.’ ‘You can’t be serious, AJ’ Rainbow Dash groaned. ‘Ya’d better not go telling me what Ah can or can’t do, Dashie. Ah’ll deal with it as Ah always do. It’s a challenge, can’t ya see?’ ‘But… AJ, Manehattan!’ A gleam of hope appeared in Rainbow’s eyes as she saw the look on Applejack’s face change. It was clearly visible that the city scared her the most. It was just a second of weakness though; firm again, the earth pony shook her head. Every second, she was fighting tears. Enough of her feelings has already been shown, she couldn’t afford to lose anymore of her pose. Rainbow’s presence required her to talk about all the things she was used to dealing with on her own. For the first time she had to listen to somepony else’s arguments. It made her feel insecure. She wanted Rainbow to leave. To stop convincing her she could do something for her happiness, not ambitions. For she could not. ‘Ah’ve already decided. Dash… stop, okay? Just let it go.’ ‘When are you leaving?’ The pegasus asked coldly. ‘Tomorrow. At dawn. Gotta pack up some stuff. Ah think it’s high time ya left. No offense, Dashie, but Ah have things to take care of.’ ‘Yeah…’ Rainbow replied. ‘Bye then.’ ‘Bye.’ Maybe ten seconds after her friend had left, Applejack threw herself at the bed and burst out crying, not really caring if Rainbow would hear her or not. It was all her fault. The Pegasus had made her admit her feelings both inside and on the outside and affirm them in a way she has never before. Hadn’t it been for her, Applejack would do whatever was needed. She’d act like a robot, obeying fate’s orders and not letting her feelings reach her. But Rainbow Dash has changed it. She has made her feel the pain that came with acting against herself. *** After that, the day kept being as far from pleasant as possible. Applejack talked to the rest of the family, telling them about the testament and her plans to do as she had been told by the Oranges. Granny Smith paid no attention, rocking in her chair and trying to look as if she wasn’t about to fall into slumber. Big Macintosh didn’t complain, he never did, but his discontent was visible. Applejack was happy that all this mess had started just before winter’s beginning; there was no harvest work to be done so Big Mac wouldn’t have big problems with her absence. He hoped that his sister would finish the job before spring. Plus he made it clear that he was expecting some additional income from the new business. Applebloom, on the other hoof… she cared, she truly did, and concern in her eyes made Applejack feel tears in hers. The young filly couldn’t understand all the mature issues but she was honestly interested in the case and her sister’s feelings. She stayed quiet though, let Applejack mesh the plans with the older members of the family, and it wasn’t till late evening that she knocked on her sister’s room’s door. ‘Applejack?’ she asked quietly, not sure if her sister had already fallen asleep. ‘Come in, sugahcube.’ Applejack replied in weak, tired voice. Applebloom entered the room in silence. Not really knowing why, she wanted to keep quiet, to keep other ponies from hearing them. She glanced at the clean furniture, closing the door behind her. The room was tidy and it looked empty. Most of Applejack’s personal belongings have already been packed up. Her big, brown suitcase laid near the door and next to it a saddlebag with things she would need during the journey to Manehattan. ‘So what’s up, filly?’ Applejack gave her a weary smile. She was laying on her bed, not asleep yet but about to. Applebloom crawled in and snuggled against her under the blanket. Applejack’s smile grew wider as she closed her eyes and hugged her small sister. ‘Do ya really have to leave, Applejack?’ filly asked, sounding as if she was about to cry. ‘ ‘Tis just the way it is, sugahcube. Some problems need to be dealt with.’ ‘Ya can’t leave me…’ she sobbed quietly, feeling Applejack’s hoof stroking her mane gently. ‘Big Mac and Granny are gonna take good care of ya, ya know they love ya…’ she whispered, not really sure if she believed it herself. Maybe it was the same for Applebloom, maybe she didn’t feel comfortable in her brother’s and grandma’s presence either? At face value she had no reason to, but maybe… maybe… ‘Lemme go with ya!’ suddenly she straightened up. ‘Imma help ya with all the things in Manehattan! Ah will, believe me!’ ‘No way, Applebloom.’Applejack replied, upset about the reasons against her sister accompanying her. She’d sure be happy to have somepony with her in Manehattan but… ‘Ah’d love to take ya, really, but ya’re still just a filly. Ya oughta go to school and learn, and besides, Big Mac’s gonna need yar help now that Ah won’t be here to do a whole lotta things.’ ‘So ya’ll be alone. And so will be Ah.’ Applebloom muttered. ‘It seems so…’ her sister answered, trying not to break down in front of the filly. ‘Ah love ya, Applebloom.’ ‘Ah love ya too.’ She sobbed. ‘Ya know Ah’ll come back as soon as Ah can, right?’ ‘Yeah…’ They laid cuddled close to each other, both upset. Applebloom held her head against sister’s neck and kept sobbing; she was trying to lay still but she couldn’t help slight convulsions shaking her body as she was acknowledging her soon-to-be loneliness. Applejack gazed at the moon behind the window. The same moon that lightened Manehattan, the place where she would be tomorrow with nopony to lay with. ‘Applejack?’ ‘Yeah?’ ‘Can Ah stay for the night?’ ‘Please do.’ Both ponies smiled and closed their eyes, having come to terms with their fates, wanting to spend this last night with each other; with the only ponies they have ever truly loved and respected. *** To Applejack’s surprise, rooster’s cock-a-doodle-doo cut no ice with Applebloom. She smiled and swaddled her sister in the blanket. She kissed her forehead; the situation reminded her of similar one, one she didn’t really want to think about. Giving out a quiet sigh, the pony opened the door, put on the saddlebags and started dragging the suitcase down the stairs. Granny Smith was still asleep; Big Mac just nodded her instead of saying good bye, phrase much more complicated than his beloved eeeyup. Applejack hated it wholeheartedly, hearing it made her feel as if her brother was ignoring her. Well, maybe he was. She put on a fake smile though and left trying to look pleased and ready for the challenge. The carriage was to arrive at dawn. Applejack yawned and threw the suitcase off her back as soon as she had arrived to the road closest to the Sweet Apple Acres where she had agreed to meet the carter. The sun was rising slowly behind nearby gables. Its light was nearly blinding to Applejack’s sleepy eyes; she wiped them and then squinted, trying to make out a dark silhouette appearing on the horizon. It was the carriage. The one that would take her to her new prison, getting closer. Too quickly. Applejack jumped off the suitcase and stretched, ready to depart, when suddenly, she saw a shadow on the ground getting bigger and bigger. She heard a loud rush of air and looked up to see emptiness. Then she looked on the road again to notice a certain Pegasus standing there, panting a little, triumphant smirk on her face. ‘Well that was impressive, wasn’t it!?’ she bragged, heavy breaths leaving her mouth between the words. ‘Rainbow Dash, what are ya…’ ‘Just don’t go with all the Ah’m gonna do that on mah own crap, okay? I’m going with you. Sorry fella, already been decided.’ ‘By whom?!’ Applejack growled. ‘Me.’ Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. ‘I’ve heard you were doing short good byes with almost everypony in the town yesterday. And… I’ve got a feeling you omitted me.’ ‘Yeah, sorry, Ah was just informing everypony on mah way when Ah was doing some shopping. Guess what, Ah had no business in the sky.’ ‘Whatever. I’m going with you.’ ‘No ya’re not.’ ‘Try and stop me.’ Rainbow Dash grinned. ‘You can make it more difficult for me if you somehow make that pony over there’ she pointed to the carter who had already arrived; he looked annoyed and impatient. ‘…refuse to take my bits. So what? I can fly ten times faster than this… thing… and not get tired. I’m going. Really. There’s this young colt at the Weather Control who’s been begging for his great chance for months. So here it is, he gets the job, I go to Manehattan and nopony stops me.’ Applejack didn’t reply, but Rainbow Dash knew she has already won. The earth pony sighed – she’s been doing it all the time lately – and entered the carriage, looking defeated. The Pegasus wasn’t too happy seeing her like that, but it was a sacrifice needed; she’d make AJ better in no time. She winked at the carter and threw a bag of coins in his direction; he smiled slightly and caught it, not really sure if he understood what was going on, but happy for the cyan mare who got it made. ‘Brace yourself, you stupid promise’ Rainbow Dash whispered to herself, entering the carriage. ‘Ready or not, here I come. And I will keep you.’
Chapter 3‘Why is that guy stopping?’ Rainbow Dash complained as she felt the carriage they were in lose some of its speed. ‘Lemme take a wild guess. We’ve arrived? Maybe this is the reason?’ ‘Duh, sure. It’s been less than ten minutes, don’t tell me…’ ‘Ya thought Ah’d hired a carriage to take me to Manehattan?’ Applejack asked. ‘Don’t be silly.’ ‘So why…’ ‘Just put that tiny brain of yars to use, ‘kay, Dashie?’ the earth pony growled, growing more and more irritated by her friend’s appearance and its consequences. Rainbow Dash sighed and got off the carriage before it could even stop. They were near the Ponyville Train Station; it was noisy and crowded with dozens of ponies waiting for their trains to arrive. She glided for a few meters and landed, turning towards her companion. Applejack was struggling to drag her huge suitcase off the carriage. The Pegasus was about to ask if she needed help but in the nick of time she realized it’d make her no good; instead of doing it the peaceful way, she took off again. ‘Launching an air strike!’ she grinned and caught the suitcase, lifting it in the air with ease. She hovered, her wings waving slowly. ‘Where shall I take it, captain?’ ‘Oh, come ooon…’ Applejack complained, but she couldn’t help smiling a bit. ‘Thanks, silly. Ya can hand it over now.’ ‘Nah, I’ll keep it. I can’t imagine why you’d take such a big suitcase with you though, like, what do ya have there? You need no clothes, in case you forgot!’ Rainbow Dash kept blathering and Applejack let the smile stay on her lips. A certain kind of sadness came to the surface of her eyes, one similar to The Day’s, but she didn’t let it win her. She had Manehattan to deal with and if it wasn’t enough, also one annoying Pegasus – it was no time for memories, especially the sad ones. ‘Here’s mah train, sugahcube. Or ours, Ah guess.’ ‘Well said!’ Rainbow Dash smirked, glad to see Applejack finally agree with or at least accept her decision. They entered the train with only few other ponies, a small part of the crowd that had been gathering for last minutes. A big notice-board said there’d be one huge train to Fillydelphia leaving in a moment; next were to be cancelled for some reason and what seemed to be half of Ponyville and nearby villages had arrived. The trains going to Manehattan weren’t affected by the changes though – the two friends hoped it would let them have one compartment only for themselves. They definitely had some issues to settle. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help laughing as she kept hitting everypony around her with the suitcase she was holding in her hooves. Ponies stared at her in disbelief; foals giggled, amused by seeing their parents getting smacked, mentioned parents were trying to resist using words unsuitable for their children, and Applejack just chuckled. She stuck one of her hooves to her face in order to remain serious, but it didn’t really help her in getting to the train, so she put the hoof back on the ground and rushed to the entrance, trying to mute all the tee-hees leaving her mouth. When they finally jammed themselves into the train, laughing and panting heavily, the crowd didn’t get quieter; just the opposite, ponies kept complaining even louder, demanding to be heard by some station officials. Rainbow Dash waved her hoof at the foals and closed the door. As it slid and finally shut with a loud thump, Applejack placed herself on one of the seats, still gasping, with a wide smirk on her lips. ‘Well that was a mighty good performace, partner’ she laughed. ‘Indeed, miss Applejack’ Rainbow Dash grinned and threw the suitcase on one of the free seats. ‘Ho ho, there!’ Applejack sprung up in the direction of her suitcase, catching it in the last moment. ‘Careful with it, ‘kay?’ ‘Whatever. Hey, good time for you to answer that previous question of mine.’ Both ponies sat in a comfortable manner on opposite seats, facing each other. They felt the train eventually start to move. ‘Which one?’ ‘About the suitcase. Why the hay would you drag it all the way here? I mean, all the stuff would fit into your saddlebags, it’s really light.’ ‘Yeah. It is.’ Applejack stopped, not sure if she should continue. She would never talk about it to anypony, at least not a few days ago, but… Things have been changing during last days. Last hours, actually. Rainbow was loyal after all, and even if it annoyed the hell out of the earth pony, her friend deserved respect. She deserved… Honesty. Suddenly, it struck Applejack; she was called the element of Honesty. But has it ever been present in her life? Maybe… Maybe something was changing? Nah. No time for reflections; time for explanations. ‘It belonged to mah Papa.’ Having said it, Applejack didn’t really know what she should say next, so she just stopped as if it had been all. ‘I see. Sorry for throwing it ‘round then.’ It was kind of scary, hearing the word “sorry” coming from Rainbow Dash. It didn’t suit her at all. Applejack had no idea if her friend intended on being sarcastic or maybe truly did understand the situation was serious, but nevertheless… It felt sincere; far more sincere than everything Applejack would say. She felt she ought to be honest. She should talk to Rainbow, explain everything, show that deep inside, she was grateful for her company, even if it wasn’t perfect. But she wouldn’t. She wasn’t strong enough, confident enough. Her mask was, but she knew it wasn’t the thing Rainbow Dash wanted to see, so she didn’t keep lying, she just tried to be quiet, not making her friend force her to be fake and artificial again. ‘AJ?’ ‘Listenin’, sugahcube.’ ‘Wanna hear one pretty little tale?’ Rainbow Dash still held that arch grin of hers on her lips, but something in her eyes looked serious. She cocked her head and gazed at Applejack, anxious to hear her answer. She hoped it wouldn’t be as preservative as most of her friend’s actions. The earth pony smiled, relieved that she wouldn’t be the one to do the talking. ‘Ya have mah attention, Dashie.’ ‘Cool. So, ever been to Cloudsdale?’ ‘Yeah, don’t ya remember? We visited it thanks to Twi’s magic. But what ‘bout it?’ ‘Looks nice, doesn’t it? From the ground. You look up there… and all the clouds, rays of sunlight, the mist…’ Rainbow gently smiled, nearly closing her eyes. Applejack just nodded, not sure where the pegasus wanted to take this conversation. But suddenly the mood got different. Her friend’s eyes snapped open, now looking at her in a sharper way. ‘But it’s not all that beautiful, you know. Kind of… sorry to say that, but like with your family. A lovely apple on the outside, but it’s core… rotten, y’know? Rotten.’ She sighed. ‘Few ponies except for pegasi know about it, but… I wanna show you that others had it hard, too. No idea when or why it started, but we pegasi have no parents. Well, technically we do, but it doesn’t matter. The foals are taken after birth and there are ponies whose job is to take care of them. Then, there is this sort of kindergarten where you spend all your early childhood… And the flying school.’ She smirked, something bitter in the expression. ’It was cool with me, y’know, I’m not complaining. I’m strong, I’m awesome and what’s most important, I don’t care, never did. I dealt with that madness easily but believe me, even with my talent there was nothing nice about it. So having that in mind, look at Fluttershy. Or Derpy, you remember Derpy? That epitome of clumsiness? They were the poor ones, cause listen. The teachers are cruel and there’s no mercy for the weak ones. The strong kids wanna empower so they bully fillies like Shy. It sucks, really. You’ve never seen it nor experienced it so you won’t understand, it must lack sense to you, but really. It sucks. Foals live in the school, competing all the time, never looking back at their former friends they’d left behind. There’s always something to prove and something to improve, because if you’re not the best, you’re not worthy of calling yourself a Pegasus. At least that’s what they said… ‘Dashie, Ah…’ ‘No need for compassion, AJ.’ Now the bitterness could be heard in her voice, too. ‘Because I was the best filly, the best of the best. The liar and traitor who left her friends and found her way to the top.’ The earth pony opened her mouth to speak again, but Rainbow Dash barged in. ‘And then, there was this breakdown of mine.’ She was more carefree now; it seemed she was about to talk about nice things for a change. ‘I’ve acted what could be called loyal for, I think, the very first time. I helped Fluttershy, saved her from the bullies; you know the story. And I performed that badass Sonic Rainboom, and got my Cutie Mark, felt speed and awesomeness of flying… and then I saw the look in Shy’s eyes when we met afterwards…’ The Pegasus laughed happily and squealed. ‘Gosh, so awesome! I felt it was time to… to change something. I kept being the leader, the best, but having defeated those colts and proven myself, I began believing in myself enough to actually start… interacting with ponies? Stop being afraid they’d drag me down. Shy made me understand what loyalty’s all about and here I am now. Plaaain awesome.’ Rainbow Dash grinned. It made her more Rainbow-like. She had never been the type to do speeches before, but her occasional bursts of pride and arrogance made what she said seem natural and sincere. ‘So now I have a debt to repay, sorta. Don’t you think?’ ‘Ah do.’ Applejack let out a smile, a really wide one. ‘Much clearer now, Ah admit.’ And having said that, they fell silent. But the silence wasn’t awkward anymore. *** When they got off the train, it was already midnight. It was discouraging; entering the train at dawn to leave it and see the day already ended. The station, to the ponies surprise, wasn’t as crowded as the one in Ponyville. Besides their fellow travelers, only a few sophisticated unicorns with stylish saddlebags were present. They stuck to each other, smirking with supremacy and commenting everything around them in a mean manner. ‘Duhh, Manehattan at its finest.’ Applejack sadly nagged. The unicorns eyed the newcomers up and down, scathing expressions on their faces. Rainbow Dash gripped her friend’s suitcase and took off. ‘This time I’ll be careful.’ She winked. Applejack said nothing, just looked at the Pegasus with a small smile, less biased towards expressing her gratitude now. The farther from the station they were getting, the quieter the city was becoming. Darkness and silence were of utterly different kind than those they’d experience in Ponyville’s surroundings. Almost no stars could be seen on the sky because of the pollution; only the moon managed to stand out from the dirty blue background. It was ugly, foreign and scary, so dissimilar to Ponyville’s sky. The one in their hometown looked as if black silk had been stretched over the town to let its inhabitants savor its beauty. Manehattanites, as it seemed, didn’t deserve to be presented with such surroundings. They had their bleak buildings, bleak people. Bleak sky. Only a strip of it was visible now; the ponies entered one of the city’s narrow streets. Both felt imprisoned between two buildings on sides of the road, Applejack used to grasslands and meadows of open space, Rainbow Dash – to freedom given her by the sky. The city didn’t seem to change around them as they went ahead. Every building identical to the previous one, the gray pavement going on and on. ‘How far…’ ‘It’s here.’ Both ponies spoke at the same moment and giggled quietly. Breaking the omnipresent silence seemed a little bit awkward so they just looked up at the building near which they had stopped. It had an orange awning; it was nice to finally see something standing out. The walls were mostly made of glass, letting the friends take a peek inside at tables and chairs, all placed in one corner. The price list hung on one nail only, skewed in a funny way. ‘This is the store. The Oranges lived upstairs and that’s where Ah’m to live from now on. And ya too, Ah suppose?’ Applejack whispered, searching for keys in her saddlebag. Rainbow Dash just nodded in response. Having found the keys, the earth pony opened the door. She expected it to creak, but it didn’t; and so they entered the large room, feeling like outsiders violating a foreign land. As quietly as she could, Applejack turned the key in the lock again and led Rainbow Dash to a counter. The stairs were situated behind it. After climbing the stairs, the ponies had to open yet another door before they finally found themselves in their new flat. It smelled of something old; of tradition and conservatism, Rainbow thought, not really sure if she could have even felt those. There was one short, carpeted corridor and a few entrances to other rooms; it was hard to tell how many in the darkness. Applejack led the way, opening the farthest door to the left. A small but cozy bedroom was there, a nuptial bed and some wardrobes inside. There were paintings on the walls, with frames as dark as all the other furniture. It must have been the place where the Oranges slept. ‘Ya can drop the suitcase somewhere here, sugahcube, but gently, please.’ ‘No need to tell it twice.’ Rainbow replied and laid the suitcase on the bed. ‘So there is this room and also the one Ah used to sleep in when I was a filly, but Ah’d call it more of a cell. I think they just stored stuff there after Ah had left, no idea if the bed stayed, but we can go and check. Feel warned though. It’s small.’ ‘Duhh, AJ, you’re so amateurish. Being loyal includes sleeping with you.’ Rainbow Dash grinned, tempting tune in her voice. ‘Whatever. I survived a sleepover with Rarity, so…’ ‘Really!?’ ‘What, the sleepover?’ ‘Nah. Can I sleep here?’ the overly seducing, almost funny expression on Rainbow’s face was gone and she was more than enthusiastic now. ‘C’mon, AJ, don’t tell me you’d rather sleep alone in this scary house.’ She shivered, clearly overdoing it. ‘Already told ya. Whatever.’ ‘Aww, where’d your enthusiasm gone? Don’t wanna have your super-ultra-always-there-for-you-best friend with you?’ ‘Shut up and sleep with me, Dashie.’ Applejack rolled her eyes, then burst out laughing, understanding the way it must have sounded. ‘What’s been said cannot be unsaid.’ The Pegasus smirked and cast off her saddlebags. Applejack moved the suitcase from the bed to a corner of the room, deciding to unpack it on the following day. Having done that, she just stood there, not sure what to do, and so did Rainbow Dash. Both were struggling with embracing the fact that yes, there they were, finally in Manehattan. After a few minutes, the earth pony finally spoke up. ‘Ya as not-sleepy as Ah am?’ ‘Even more. Or less? Or something. Aww, not-sleepy. As hell.’ Rainbow Dash replied, yawning. Applejack smirked. ‘Yeah, Ah can see!’ ‘ ’twas just camouflage, you’ve got much to learn, kid.’ ‘Duh, sure!’ Applejack approached what must have been windows and drew the curtains. There was a glass door behind it, leading to a small balcony. The pony opened it, letting some fresh air inside the room. ‘Good idea, we’ll get rid of this smell.’ Rainbow said, trying hard not to yawn. Having heard her struggling Applejack laughed up her sleeve. She entered the balcony; two wooden chairs stood there. Must have been Oranges’ place to rest. Talk. Spend nights like that one in a nice company. ‘Come over here, Dashie.’ Applejack said, placing herself on one of the chairs and pointing to the other. The Pegasus yawned again and also sat. ‘Ya’re such a baby, that one was the third time!’ ‘The second!’ Rainbow denied with a playful kind of madness. ‘Thiiird!’ ‘End of this… yaaawn… topic, AJ!’ ‘Agreed, sugahcube.’ Both laughed for a few seconds and then sat in silence, trying to make out at least one star on this foreign sky. When some time passed, Applejack started talking as soon as the thought appeared in her head; she didn’t want to change her mind. ‘Hey, Dashie?’ ‘Yup?’ she reacted, sleepiness visible in her half-closed eyes. ‘Ah’m glad you came.’ ‘So am I, silly.’ ‘Even though ya’re freakin’ annoying.’ ‘Don’t say that!’ And they laughed and laughed, and Manehattan seemed less scary. And even one lonely star decided to stand out and shine for them, for which the ponies were truly grateful. Applejack hardly believed it, but she had finally said something from the bottom of her heart. One short sentence, but holding a great meaning; holding truth. She was heartily glad she wasn’t alone. She felt that her friend’s presence may give her a hard time in the future, but that day, in her first Manehattan moments, thought of being alone was an abysmal one, and Rainbow’s sleepy smile brought comfort. Suddenly, her expression livened up. ‘You wait here, I’ve got an idea.’ She grinned. The look in her eyes revealed she was up to no good, but Applejack simply nodded and, for the first time, yawned, too lazy to check what the Pegasus wanted to do. The earth pony heard her friend walking through the room loudly after she had left the balcony; things were bashing and falling, and Rainbow let out a quiet curse. Applejack chuckled. After a minute or two of slamming doors and generally devastating the flat, the Pegasus was back, small bruise on her face and, in her hoof, a bottle of wine she wielded like a sword or a bouquet of flowers. ‘Time to raise our glasses, don’t you think? …damn. Glasses. Nooo…’ she complained and went back to the room, this time to search for those. Only a few items were knocked off this time; Rainbow must have grown to understand the topography of the flat better. Having found the glasses, she appeared on the balcony again, this time for good. Apart from the bottle, she also held two beautifully carved, crystal chalices. ‘Those fellas of yours really flew high, didn’t they?’ ‘Just please don’t break those, they must have cost half of mah yearly income!’ Applejack moaned, but she seemed pleased with the idea of drinking expensive wine from priceless glasses. A good beginning to what was supposed to develop in a terrible way. A chance to spend some time… having fun. Her duty of responsible complaining had been done so Applejack accepted a glass full of wine with a smile. She waited with the first sip till Rainbow Dash also placed herself or the other seat with her beverage. Exchanging a gaze, they gulped down at the same time, and then just kept sitting and drinking slowly, enjoying each other’s company and encouraging other stars to also shine through the thick layer of pollution. They refilled the glasses twice and when Rainbow wanted to do this for the third time, she found the bottle empty. ‘Darn!’ the Pegasus hiccupped. ‘Don’t tell me we’ve already drunk it who-o-ole… Ah totally don’t feel like it…’ ‘Nor do I!’ Rainbow Dash hiccupped again. She threw the bottle up in the sky, watched it fly over buildings’ roofs and grinned upon hearing it break loudly. Somepony far, far away shouted with anger; the vandals burst out laughing and without hesitation retreated to the flat, as if afraid their victim could see them. ‘Ya’re so stupid!’ Applejack laughed, panting heavily. She closed the glass door and pulled the curtain, making a pot fall from the windowsill. ‘Damn!’ She muttered, but didn’t feel like cleaning tonight. ‘That’s not how you spell awesome’ Rainbow denied, throwing herself at the bed. It was soft and comfortable; she felt like if she was drowning in its pliability. ‘God, feels like heaven. I’m so gonna be rich in the future…’ ‘Ah’d be more concerned about tomorrow, it’s also sorta future… but… I’m not that looking forward to it’ Applejack murmured. ‘Silly mare, you’re drunk! You don’t have to say sad things now!’ The Pegasus reached for her friends mane and dragged her onto the bed. ‘Hurts!’ ‘It’s for the greater good, AJ!’ They kicked the blankets and fumbled with the sheet until, after at least a minute or two of struggling, they were finally arranged in a comfortable way. The pillows were cold in a pleasing way after hours of being exposed to chilly air from the outside; the blankets gave just enough warmth and mattress let them sink in, but didn’t feel like slime sucking them in. ‘Dead ponies might have slept here yesterday.’ Rainbow said in a voice that was meant to sound scary, but with her drunken pronunciation sounded like haunted pony’s blabbering. ‘Ya mean they were dead then or they’re dead now?’ Applejack answered slowly, lazily, taking her time to understand what the Pegasus was talking about. ‘Whatever. Both suck. Plus they were a couple. We’re sleeping in the bed that had belonged to a dead couple. Gross.’ ‘Already told ya, there’s another bed in the…’ ‘Ohh, stop spoiling the fun!’ ‘Ah have to, Ah’m sleepy’ Applejack replied. ‘Then you lose.’ ‘What?’ ‘The yawning competition. Not-yawning, actually.’ Rainbow said, letting out a loud yawn. Applejack chuckled. ‘Time t’ go t’ sleep, Dashie. Really.’ ‘Okaay… But come here.’ ‘Where?’ ‘Here!’ And so, the earth pony rolled her eyes and moved closer to her friend. Rainbow Dash snuggled beside her, closing her eyes, angel-like expression on the face of a devil. ‘Glad I’m here.’, the Pegasus said. ‘Glad you’re here.’ Applejack agreed, embracing Rainbow with one of her hooves and smiling softly with her eyes also finally closed. She was trying really hard not to think about how terrible the following day would be.
