Part 3
"Love and Fantasy"

1
"Through the Storm"

Rainbow Dash felt lighter than air, as though she was outside drifting on a gentle breeze. It made sense to her that she was on a cloud high above Ponyville. She felt so safe and warm, wrapped in cozy confines without a care in the world. She didn't know where she was and couldn't remember how she got there, but all of that didn't matter. Her eyes were closed, and she could hear... but had little interest in listening to the distorted sounds of the world. Her thoughts drifted to recent events:

Sorry just ain't good enough this time, Rainbow. Apple Jack's voice echoed, causing Rainbow to wince. I think maybe it'd be better if you just left...

She perked an ear as the low rumble of thunder resonated through the bakery. She focused on the accompanying steady pitter-patter of rain, hearing Pinkie Pie, right next to her ear, inhale deeply before snoring. She felt the mare's warm breath against her neck and smelled it... it all came back to her. Before she was consciously aware of what she was doing, Rainbow's hoof gently wrapped itself around Pinkie's body. She slowly opened her eyes and tilted her head to the left.

A blurry mass of poofy pink lay beside her -- Pinkie's head. As her eyes began to focus, she looked past Pinkie's mane and through the window. The weather had turned even more gray than before, but the rain had let up some.

Rainbow scanned her body. Aside from the weight of Pinkie, the smell of musk and cold, as well as urine and foal powder... she noticed that she really had to pee:

Six or seven mugs of cider will that to you...

Rainbow's left hoof felt tingly as Pinkie's weight was on top of it. She tried to move, very gently... hoping to keep Pinkie from waking. It didn't work, but at least she got her hoof back. Pinkie turned towards her:

"Hey, Dashie," she said, rubbing her eyes. "Do you know what time it is?"

"I dunno," replied Dash, shifting her weight away from Pinkie. "But I'm thirsty and I really need to go to the bathroom."

Pinkie rolled over and stretched, smiling up at Rainbow Dash:

"I won't stop you, Dashie. Go for it!"

Rainbow smiled playfully as she slipped down off the bed, accidentally pulling the covers (and Gummy) along with her. Pinkie's lower half was now exposed. The cyan mare got a clear view of the soaking wet diaper... and ended up staring at it. Even six feet away the smell was quite strong.

"Oh!" Pinkie blushed, looking at the urine-soaked polymer between her legs. "I must've fallen asleep still wet."

"I'll say." Rainbow replied, setting the blankets and surprisingly heavy gator back on the bed.

Pinkie giggled nervously, no longer feeling as drunk or open as she had been before. She reached for the white package, barely out of her grasp...

"I'll just take care of that while you get something to drink then!"

Rainbow Dash approached, picking up the package and holding it up high:

"If it's alright with you, Pinkie... I'll do it." She smiled. "You don't have to be embarrassed around me."

Pinkie Pie looked up, a friendly grin spreading itself across her face. She relaxed back onto the bed:

"Okay, Dashie... I- I'd really like that."

Rainbow Dash just smirked in response, leaning in and ruffling Pinkie's mane.

Even though Pinkie's diaper was quite soaked and emanating an almost stale odor, like day-old asparagus... Dash was more than up to changing it. This was another chance to excite Pinkie, and briefly see her mare bits... even if only just to clean them.

As Dash got into position, Pinkie found both the cyan blanket and pacifier by her side. The Pegasus popped the tapes on the old diaper while Pinkie stuck the pacifier in her mouth and cuddled with her blanket. Changing her would be a simple task, no sweat for Rainbow Dash... and very fun for both parties involved. She pulled open the used diaper, noticing that it was somewhat stuck to Pinkie's mare bits. It peeled off easily enough and once it did... Pinkie felt the cool air.

The one thing Rainbow Dash didn't remember to do was detach the tape in the back. Instead she simply pulled the old diaper right off Pinkie's backside... it didn't make that much difference, except for the urine-soaked polymer dragging across Pinkie's already damp thighs. She didn't seem phased... though Rainbow was pretty grossed out feeling the cold pee squeeze out of the diaper as she pulled on it.

"There are wipes on the vanity," Pinkie said, pulling the pacifier out for a moment and pointing a hoof behind her friend.

Dash spun around and started to rise to her hooves when she saw something she didn't expect:

Gummy was in the process of scaling Pinkie's vanity with surprising ease. Once he got to the top ledge, he flipped upward and grabbed the wipes in his toothless mouth. He then jumped down from the vanity to the mattress. How a short-legged little lizard with no teeth was able to do that, Dash would never know.

Gummy dropped the small plastic package of wipes by Dash's hip, all the while looking up at her, blinking one eye at a time. He sat there staring as she picked up the package and fished out a single wipe. She turned away and sighed, glancing back over her shoulder to see he was still staring, no trace of emotion in his face.

Dash looked down at Pinkie's mare bits and raised bottom, both glistening in the faint light. With the diaper open, the smell of urine and foal powder permeated the air. Rainbow tried to avoid taking too deep a breath through her nose as she looked down at the job laid out before her:

With clinical precision, Dash wiped Pinkie's rump clean, starting with her moist mare bits and working her way outside. Pinkie giggled, opening her legs and allowing Dash to clean her more throughly. Dash was tempted to clean a little too throughly, but she could picture Pinkie giving her a hoof to the head... either by accident or on purpose.

Soon enough, Pinkie was adequately clean and Rainbow was holding the diaper in her hooves. She didn't have to tell Pinkie to raise her rump again, she did so as Dash opened the diaper wide. It was slipped beneath the pink fanny and tapes were applied... Pinkie was diapered, yet again, by her best friend Rainbow Dash.

"Thanks, Dashie," Pinkie said, blushing and looking down at the job her friend had done.

"What do you want done with the old one?" Rainbow Dash asked, motioning to the still opened diaper on Pinkie's bed.

Pinkie grabbed it and started balling it up.

"I'll take care of it later," she said, taping it tightly. "It can go in my waist paper basket for now!"

Pinkie motioned towards the tiny basket by the walkway to the stairs, some eight feet away.

Rainbow smirked:

"Okay. Give it here."

Pinkie did as Rainbow Dash asked, raising an eyebrow:

"Dashie, what're you doing?"

Rainbow looked down and replied with just one word:

"Watch."

Holding the balled diaper high, she glanced back at the waist paper basket, wound up, and pitched it clear over her shoulder. She didn't have look to be sure... she knew already, and from the look on Pinkie's face (which was excited, not horrified), the ball had found its mark. Rainbow flew a few feet in the air to celebrate:

"She shoots, she scores!"

Pinkie giggled.

"Well," the Pegasus landed on the floor. "I'm going downstairs to use the can and get myself some water... do you want anything?"

Pinkie pulled herself up to the side of the bed, then put her hoof in the box. She pulled up the baby's bottle, two pleading eyes looking up at Dash:

"Some milk from the big 'fridge?"

Rainbow smiled, taking the bottle in her hoof:

"Alright Pinkie. I think I can do that."

Pinkie grinned almost ear-to-ear. Dash ruffled her mane.

Rainbow then turned around and started for the stairs, glancing back at Pinkie and the still staring Gummy before taking the first few steps and disappearing below the floor.

* * *

Downstairs the lights were out, the bakery darkened by the nasty weather. Though the Cakes were away, Rainbow Dash still descended the stairs quietly out of habit. When she got low enough, she let her wings carry her the rest of the way, stopping gently inches before hitting the floor with the bottle in hoof. She gracefully set her hooves down, then stretched, popping her back:

"Grr... what time is it?"

Her eyes hunted for the clock, the bakery seeming gloomy and foreign in the faint light. She could barely make out a clock on the back wall of the kitchen. Squinting her eyes, she could see it was around 11:30 or so. Dash was surprised -- while she loved her naps, she almost never slept that long.

Rainbow still felt a tad tipsy, and her head was beginning to throb... a classic symptom of a hangover. Flying, especially up high, would aggravate it due to the changes in pressure, so she was happy to at least be on the ground.

Dash cantered quietly around the counter and into the kitchen, where she saw the giant, steel refrigerator waiting in back. She'd only seen it a handful of times... and always wanted to see it from the inside. She swung open the door and was hit by a light which seemed more blinding than Celestia's sun in her current state. She winced, covering her eyes:

"Ouch."

It took a moment and a lot of squinting, but her eyes adjusted. As expected, the fridge was filled to the brim with cakes, puddings, gelatins, confections, and sodas. All labeled and organized by type and price. Dash reached out her hoof, tempted to take one particularly nice-looking, rainbow-frosted cupcake...

Who's going to find out?

She shook her head and sighed, retracting her hoof as if it were slapped by Mrs. Cake. Rainbow Dash may have been a lot of things, but she was no thief.

Towards the bottom of the fridge rested some back-up cooking supplies... eggs, distilled water, and four half gallon containers of milk. She grabbed the one opened carton and closed the door.

She then took a cup from the cupboard. At least she knew where that was.

Turning on the light above the counter, she filled her own cup first using the tap and drank it promptly... she filled another, and another. After three glasses she let out a deep sigh, and finally felt sated. The throbbing in her head felt some relief as well. She turned to the bottle:

"Pinkie's really gunna drink outta you, huh?"

This bottle was a lot bigger than one of the Cake twin's. She opened it, twisting off the top. Lifting up the milk, it glugged into the container. She chuckled. It was both silly and fun to be giving a full-grown diapered mare a giant foal's bottle. The bottle filled surprisingly quickly, the carton now empty.

Dash perked an ear as she heard a sound. Not thunder rumbling, not rain falling, not Pinkie getting up... it was the main entrance, shuffling by the knob.

"Bakery's closed!" She bellowed in the direction of the sound. The walls weren't thin, but she had spoken loud enough to be heard.

The sound didn't let up... it anything, it sounded less like knocking and more like fiddling with the knob. She now headed in the direction of the door:

"Hey, I said this place is closed!"

Not that Rainbow Dash knew this, but there was only one customer who would come in the rain and be this pushy -- Vinyl Scratch. She needed her sweetened espresso after getting up each afternoon before recording, and found the Cakes' recipe to be especially good to get her moving. Vinyl's loyalty to both the brew and her routine was unparalleled -- she would come looking for it even if the building had been on fire the night before.

Rainbow tried to look at the pony through the window on the door, but all she could see was a shadow. Whoever it was, this looked like a very big pony.

"Are we being robbed?" She thought aloud, instantly crouching down to get the upper hoof should this be a tough customer... and not just a pushy one. She regretted not using the bathroom first thing, instead drinking an ample amount in hopes to kill her hangover. Peeing would have to wait for now... or it might happen just after she collided with the intruder.

The knob turned completely and the door started to open. Twitching her tail, Rainbow Dash was primed to pounce. The wind blew loudly as the intruder stepped inside, letting the door shut behind once he or she was in the building. Something big and heavy dragged behind the soaking wet pony as it looked up. Whoever it was, they were concealed behind a green raincoat, causing the intruder to appear much larger than it actually was. A hoof, brushing by the head, lowered the hood. The intruder was Apple Jack.

* * *

"Boy, howdy! It sure is cold and rainy out there!" Apple Jack yipped, squinting her eyes in the direction of the shadowy Pegasus. "Rainbow... is that you?"

Rainbow Dash stood up tall and sighed:

"Yeah. It's me."

Apple Jack smiled warmly... not that Rainbow could see her fine features in the faint light:

"Thought you might be here! Well, actually... that ain't true." The farm pony tried nervously to remove her hat, only to remember she'd left it at the farm on account of the hood. Dash stood silent, letting her continue:

"Ah checked the Library for ya, Rainbow... knowing you're into that Darin' Doo series. Twilight hadn't seen you. Her guess was you were somewhere off with Pinkie, but knowing Pinkie... she's just as liable to be with you as she is to be out playin' in this horrible rain. If it weren't for that light comin' on in the kitchen, I'd of just kept walkin'. Maybe even gone home at this point. "Apple Jack shook her head, then pulled the object from behind herself -- a keg the size Pinkie had bought. "Brought you a lil somethin'. It's only half full, but I think it more than makes up for the whole fiasco earlier."

"Apple Jack," Rainbow said, approaching hesitantly with her head down. "I destroyed a whole keg. I destroyed your property. I should be owing you something!"

Apple Jack waved her hoof nonchalantly in the air:

"Oh, Rainbow! That was just an accident."

Dash tried to smirk, look amused... but Apple Jack knew better. She could see the upset, uncomfortable look in Rainbow's eyes.

"One thing I don't get AJ... your family. They were so mad at me."

Apple Jack laughed:

"Oh, they forgive you! Well, they were understandably annoyed, but we didn't lose all that much. Actually, now that Ah think about it... we were gunna lose a bit anyway. The storm's kinda canceled today's events entirely."

Rainbow Dash looked up at Apple Jack. She was smiling, or at least trying to... fighting off a few sentimental tears. She hugged the orange pony:

"Oh, Apple Jack... I made a total foal of myself back there."

"It's quite all right, Rainbow," Apple Jack replied, patting the pensive Pegasus on the back. "Ah get how you must've thought I was mad, too."

Rainbow nodded into Apple Jack's shoulder.

"Ah ain't, sugarcube. You know that deep inside, too, don't ya?"

The cyan pony nodded a second time, now snuggling in to Apple Jack's flank... letting it all go. Hearing the staccato-like rhythm of Rainbow's breathing, AJ felt the wetness of tears against her side. She wouldn't stand for that. The orange pony broke away from the hug and turned around so that they were now face-to-face. She cleaned Rainbow's teary eyes tenderly with her hoof:

"Hey, hey... it's all right. Don't make me cry, too, now!" Dash sniffed, smiling at her marefriend. The two ponies giggled. "Now that's what I wanna see... Ah knew there was a pretty mare underneath all those tears. Now... can Ah have a little sugar? Ah only need a pinch, if you've got that much to spare."

Giggling like a school filly, Rainbow Dash quickly put all the nonsense of the day behind herself. She submitted to Apple Jack as she had many times before... usually in the privacy of the farm house.

Relaxing completely, Rainbow closed her eyes and puckered up. The farm pony did the same, tenderly wrapping a hoof around the mare's head, pulling her in slowly. All was silent as their lips connected, Dash' cheeks still wet from crying. Apple Jack patted her back reassuringly... she didn't need to say anything more. She'd come all this way in the rain, because she was worried about Rainbow Dash. Rainbow knew that, and was weak in the knees... not that she'd have admitted it, openly at least.

They both felt at peace. It seemed like things were going to be okay.

* * *

Both ponies broke from the kiss, smiling... staring into each other's eyes. Apple Jack was the first to open her mouth, speaking softly to her marefriend:

"So, where is Pinkie in all this?"

"She's upstairs," replied Rainbow Dash, taking a sudden interest in her hooves. "AJ, I have to go to the bathroom."

Despite the sudden break in eye-contact, Rainbow Dash still felt the farm pony's loving gaze.

"Oh, don't let me keep ya." The farm pony winked. "You were just up there with her, too, huh?"

"Yeah."

Apple Jack chuckled playfully, looking at Rainbow Dash with a coy smile:

"Rainbow, that's her bedroom and the light is off. What're y'all two doin' up there?"

The Pegasus froze, a look of pure panic on her face. Apple Jack had only been teasing, but Rainbow reacted instinctively... like she had something to hide:

"Apple Jack, I uh..."

Again, Apple Jack smiled... but her smile gradually faded as she read Rainbow's face. The farm pony sighed, shaking her head:

"Oh, boy... you and Pinkie Pie? Really now?"

Dash nodded slowly.

"Woah... woah." Apple Jack shook her head again, biting her lip. "Nope. I ain't mad... we talked about this. You're free to see anypony you want."

Rainbow Dash, feeling awful, spoke trying to comfort her mare friend the best way knew how... by expressing her loyalty:

"I want you."

With those words, Apple Jack felt her blood boiling. She exploded into a flare temper which made the cyan mare's heart sink in her chest (and her bladder almost start to empty):

"Then why did you take Pinkie!?"

Dash remained quiet for a moment... silently crying, but not partially out of sentiment anymore. The farm pony's anger subsided quick as she looked into Raimbow's frightened eyes. The Pegasus spoke, her voice weak at first:

"I don't know, AJ. It just kind of... happened."

Apple Jack sighed. She smiled again, just for her marefriend... even though she didn't feel like it:

"Alright then. What's done is done."

Rainbow raised a brow in surprise. Apple Jack was so quick to let it go... too quick. She wasn't yelling, wasn't cursing, she wasn't even walking away. The cyan mare looked up hesitantly, unsure of what to do next... this was so unlike Apple Jack:

"So... we're cool then?"

"Yeah, Ah guess..." Apple Jack replied coldly, looking at the floor and scowling. She glanced up at Dash long enough to see her ears were flattened and her lip was quivering. "I mean, heck yeah, RD! We're cool."

Rainnbow looked ready to rocket off the ground in excitement. She shut her eyes and hugged the orange farm pony tight... Apple Jack returned the hug, but rolled her eyes:

Glad you're happy at least.

Rainbow Dash had no clue AJ was still angry... or maybe she didn't want to think like that. Not even she knew what she wanted, but she was glad things didn't have to change right away. That was enough for her.

* * *

Once they broke away from each other, the farm pony stretched.

Apple Jack began looking around the room for anything to distract herself with. To say she was angry would be an understatement. After all that time and effort for Rainbow... she wanted to kick the wall in. She knew if she did that the Cakes would be furious at her, and with good cause. She thought about hitting Rainbow, just once, really hard, to prove a point... but as she prepared herself to draw back her hoof, she found she just couldn't do it.

"Uh, Apple Jack," Rainbow Dash said, nervously. "Are you okay?"

The farm pony didn't answer... instead she winked up at Rainbow, who smiled back. Apple Jack grabbed a hold of the rope handle on the keg and started pulling it towards the counter. This kept her hooves busy while she spoke:

"Well, there is this one thing that's been buggin' me, Rainbow."

Dash helped her prop it up against the wall:

"What's that, AJ?"

The orange pony smiled sincerely this time. She didn't know what she was actually going to say, so she decided to make the best of this situation:

"How you could possibly have fun with Pinkie and not invite me along?"

Again, Rainbow Dash froze, looking up at Apple Jack.

The farm pony let out a hardy laugh. The Pegasus laughed, much more hesitantly. They were cool... or so it seemed.

"How 'bout a mug of cider to settle things once you come outta the can, RD?" Apple Jack suggested. Her tone was jovial, but her eyes were unblinking and scowling. "Let bygones be bygones?"

Rainbow looked at her half filled keg, then up at Apple Jack. She still had to pee and her head still throbbed. This wasn't going to be easy:

"Umm... no thanks, AJ."

"Oh, heck, Rainbow! I brought it all the way here... at least enjoy one mug with me."

Rainbow just stared at Apple Jack, unsure of what to say. She was honest:

"I'm sorry... I kinda already had more than I can count with Pinkie."

The orange pony raised an eyebrow:

"Oh...well, I guess that might explain some things, then." Apple Jack turned to the counter in frustration and noticed the plastic container on top of it. "A giant glass of milk? Really now, RD, Ah always thought you hated milk."

Rainbow chuckled:

"Actually it's for Pinkie."

"Oh, alright," Apple Jack examined it closer. "Why's it got a screw on top?"

Rainbow stammered:

"It's 'cause it's, well... kind of a-"

AJ noticed the nipple a few feet away on the counter top and picked it up, screwing it on the top of the plastic container. It fit perfectly:

"You gotta be kidding me," Apple Jack held up the complete bottle, then looked over at Rainbow Dash. "Seriously?"

"It's exactly what it looks like," she said, blushing. "I can say it's not mine at least!"

"That Pinkie Pie sure is random," Apple Jack said, turning to the stairs. "Well, think I'd better go let her know I'm here."

"I can do it," said Rainbow, immediately flying to the stairs and baring the way. "Probably be less awkward that way."

"An' I think it would be better for me to talk to her face-to-face... alone."

Rainbow Dash stood firmly on the stairs, still as a statue, barring the way completely now with her wings. Her eyes were wide:

"You can't go up there."

"Says who?" Apple Jack snorted in Rainbow's face, her tone finally having shifted from soft to very angry. "Me and the Cakes are full-fledged business partners, so I can come and go anywhere in this house as Ah please!" The farm pony grinned in her usual smug way, leaning towards the Pegasus. "You ain't hidin' something up there, RD... are ya? Maybe Pinkie's all tied up?"

"Not exactly." Rainbow sighed. "Pinkie... let's just say she's indecent."

Apple Jack narrowed her eyes:

"Oh, what a load of horse apples... Whatever it is that's goin' on, it ain't gunna phase me. Ah promise." Apple Jack started stretching out her hind legs as Rainbow braced herself against the stairs. "Oh, Ah get it, Rainbow... you wanna tango. You wanna answer to Bucky McGillycuddy and Kicks McGee?"

The farm pony playfully smiled as she began to turn around slowly. Rainbow Dash backed up as she spoke, just in case:

"Apple Jack, before you kick my head in,.. Can I just please have a minute up there first? It's more important to me than peeing is right now."

Rainbow Dash's request seemed to calm her mare friend down just a tiny bit. Maybe it was where it ranked in her priorities:

"Well, you're actually serious." Apple Jack took a breath. "Look, whatever you and Pinkie did, I'll just tell her I'm cool with it and get it out of the way. If you tell her first it just won't be the same. Please understand, Rainbow."

Lowering her head, the Pegasus shut her eyes and nodded slowly. Apple Jack was right, plus... she really didn't have anything more she could say. She had tried. Rainbow Dash stepped aside and pulled in her wings:

"Okay AJ..."

Apple Jack trotted up the stairs at a brisk pace. She was already at the bend near top, right before Pinkie's room. It was surprising Pinkie hadn't heard them coming already, but the bakery was rather stoutly built and the weather quite noisy... especially at the very top of the building.

As AJ turned the corner, Dash made sure to tail her closely. The Pegasus could see past her orange marefriend. Both could see that Pinkie was on top of her blankets, with her back to the door. The pink earth pony looked out the window while kicking her feet idly against the mattress. She had no clue they were there.

"Pinkie," AJ began looking at the mare on the bed. "We gotta tal-" Pinkie looked back at Apple Jack frozen in place as Apple Jack got a load of what she was wearing. "Oh, uh... okay. Pinkie, we gotta talk."

One tiny noise escaped Dash in all this:

"Eep."

Pinkie had almost as much reason to be nervous. For one long, agonizing moment... Gummy had her tongue. She just started at the two ponies behind her.

Apple Jack should have been the most phased by all this... but it as it turned out she was the most focused and hardened. She was just there to tell Pinkie it's okay. It would take a lot of convincing for that now, though. Apple Jack was just trying to keep from laughing after seeing all that, even though the bottle had been a big tip off.

Author's Note

The scene with Apple Jack underwent a lot of editing.

At this point, this is probably going to be one of those stories I end up publishing chapter-by-chapter. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks for reading!