Author's note: Hello whom ever decided to open this. I decided to make something for fun because I haven't posted in a while and also to hopefully reinvigorate interest in my profile. So this is just something short in fun that literally took my a combined 3 hours across two days. Nothing compared to the years I've been working on other stuff. So yeah go read that :D. But anyway here's this. Hope you enjoy and feel free to leave a comment!
Explosions were echoing through the trees in every direction. Rainbow Dash shivered in the cold as the forest floor was lit up by the plentiful colors of the fireworks. Her feet starting to hurt as the wet snow seeped through her thin canvas shoes. Her jeans and heavy jacket were mangled from running so far into the dense woodland. Dash found herself leaning against a tree panting from having run out into the forest.
"Rainbow!"
Fuck, Dashthought to herself. How had Applejack found her so fast.
"Come on sugarcube." AJ's caring tone rang through the trees. "You don't have to run."
Rainbow was close to running toward Applejack, to jumping in her arms and squeezing her until she hurt. But then she remembered why she had run away in the first place. How could Applejack ever forgive her? How could she even look at the jock. Rainbow knew she was dead to Appleback. She was no one to anyone in the Six, and she never would be again. She betrayed her best friend, and that was something she would have to live with for the rest of her life.. as short as it may be. She pulled a small 45 calibre handgun from the pocket of her coat and felt a tear form in her eye.
"Rainbow!" Applejack continued calling. "I don't feel like chasin' ya any more."
"Don't come close to me." Rainbow choked on tears as she shouted back.
AJ's voice haulted for a moment; then, she spoke again more softly. "Whatever this about, we can work it out."
"You know what this is about, dammit!" Rainbow was losing control of her emotions. She leaned into the tree, gripping the cold handle of the pistol.
Applejack sighed audibly. Although she was not within her line of sight, Rainbow could picture the farmhand. Her blonde braid falling down her back, snow covering her Stetson hat, her shaggy bangs rolling across her freckles face, shading her green eyes. Rainbow bit her lip and focused on the pain.
"Yes, I know what this is about, but it ain't nothing to get so worked up about." Applejack chose her words with extreme caution. "We've all made mistakes Rainy. I forgive you."
"You're a liar!" Rainbow cried into the night as she slid her back down the trunk. "I saw your eyes that night. I remember what you said. You'll never forgive me." She sobbed as she sat on the ground. Between distance booms of fireworks, she heard soft footsteps in the snow.
"That ain't true and you know it." Applejack tried to keep Dash calm as she stepped forward. "I was angry. I was in shock. I need time to process it; now I know you didn't mean anything agaisnt me, and I know you're sorry."
Dash wasn't so sure, and that tore her apart. She couldn't live with this, and she frankly didn't want to. She sprang to her feet and came out from behind the tree. Applejack slipped and fell in the deep snow as she scrambled away from Dash and her extended firearm. "You shouldn't have followed me." She said unevenly just as another firework exploded overhead.
The fireworks will cover the shots, Rainbow thought to herself. I could kill us both and never feel sorry again. Never feel again.
She saw applejack's pickup truck about fifty feet behind her. The off-road capable car had been Applejack's way through the rugged terrain of the forest. And it could be Rainbow's way out of the state. Maybe she could start over.
"Rainbow, think this through." Applejack said, slowly getting back to her feet with her hands raised. "You don't want to kill me."
"Yeah?" Rainbow said through gritted teeth. "And what is it that I want?"
"You want me to forgive you." Applejack said slowly. "And I do."
Rainbow shook her head in disbelief. "You pity me. You want me out of your life, but you couldn't handle the shame. I'll fix your problem." Rainbow turned the pistol on herself, holding the barrel agaisnt her neck.
"No!" Applejack shrieked, reaching out into thin air. The next moment, there was a click.
Rainbow was confused. She hadn't pulled the trigger. She scanned the snowy woods in search of the source of the metallic click. She then focused on the dark red lifted Chevy pickup that had carried Applejack into the snow. In the light of the moon and the fireworks, she watched the door swing open slowly. A pink haired girl stepped delicately out of the vehicle, her boots digging into the snow. Fluttershy looked at Dash with the same terrified expression as Dash had held this whole time.
The three girls stood in complete silence, not moving. They were undistirbed, as the wind and fireworks both seemed to cease with them. Dash still had the cold metal of the handgun pressed sternly agaisnt her neck. Applejack still stood with her legs slightly apart ready to pull her revolver at any second. Fluttershy simply stared between them, still grasping the truck's door handle. A single tear rolled down her cheek in the darkness as she collapsed to her knees in the snow.
The other two girls glanced between each other, afraid that the other might make an attack. Then rainbow dropped her hand to her side and let the handgun drop to the ground. Applejack stayed still as the jock jogged through the snow and kneeled next to Fluttershy.
"I'm sorry." Fluttershy sobbed as Rainbow embraced her. "This is all my fault. I'm sorry."
"Fluttershy, this is my fault." Dash tried to convince the girl. "You did nothing wrong. You were only going along with what I said."
"I-I should've known better." Fluttershy gasped for breath. "I shouldn't of listened. God, why am I such a doormat?"
Applejack went and picked up the handgun from the snow. She could tell from the weight that it had a full magazine, but when she pulled back the slide, there was no round in the chamber. She sighed in relief."
"Fluttershy, this isn't your fault." Rainbow gripped Fluttershy's shoulder. "You shouldn't have come out here. This is between me and AJ. No one is upset at you at all."
"You were gonna kill her." Fluttershy whispered, looking up at the rainbow haired girl.
Rainbow froze glaring blankly at the snow. She had been blinded by rage and fury; she hadn't even seen the implications of her previous action, and she likely would not have until they were complete. She looked back to see applejack standing several feet away. Rainbow slowly stood, looking at her girlfriend with an expression that wasn't just apologetic. It was shameful, pitiful, heart-rendingly distressing. Rainbow moves forward to embrace Applejack, and Applejack complied.
The two held each other tightly. Fluttershy stood slowly and was welcomed to join the hug. "I'm sorry." Rainbow said into AJ's shoulder.
"Quit sayin' that." Applejack laughed softly. "I'm just glad this whole thing over."
The girls separated and exchange grins as they all mentally agreed. Suddenly, the sky explodes with every imaginable color, followed by an eruption of cracks and bangs that made all the girls duck and cover their heads.
"Big finale." Applejack said, looking up through the trees as the colors lit up her eyes. "Must be midnight."
"Happy New Years." Fluttershy smiled softly.
The others laughed and pulled her back into a deep embrace.
"Let's get back to the party." Rainbow said, sniffing and wiping tears from her chin. "I think we have some explaining to do."