Rejection
"Yay! Now's my chance to finally join the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow Dash squealed, literally shaking with excitement.
"Good luck out there," whispered Fluttershy, before taking her seating in the stands.
"Okay Dash; you can do it, let's show 'em what you're made of." She gave herself a little pep talk then… "LADIES AND GENTLECOLTS; PLEASE WELCOME OUR FINAL CONTESTANT, RAINBOW DASH!" The M.C. called to the cheering of the crowd.
"Okay, time to meet my destiny." She dashed out quick as lightning, to the cloud that would be her starting point for her routine in the center of the stadium.
"And now, without further ado, BEGIN!" Rainbow Dash took off into a flawless routine, but just as she was about to dive into her Sonic Rainboom, her wing buckled and she plummeted towards earth. Luckily for Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, whose flying had improved greatly, managed to catch Rainbow before she hit the ground.
"Oh Rainbow Dash, are you alright?" said the worried Fluttershy, "What happened?"
"I don't know, all of the sudden my wing gave out." Rainbow tried moving her wing, only to be met with a jolt of pain. "AGH! I think it's broken!" While being very gentle with her wing, they made their way to Twilight's house. If anyone knew what to do, it'd be her.
"Oh my gosh! Rainbow Dash, what happened?" Twilight exclaimed, "Tell me later, I'm gonna go get the doctor." She took off in the direction of the Ponyville's Clinic, returning only a few minutes later with Dr. Whooves. "What seems to be the trouble Rainbow Dash?" he asked. "It's my wing. I can't move it!" she replied. He carefully examined her wing and after quite some time was ready to give his diagnosis.
"You really messed up your wing. It will heal but it will take time. Until then, I will set your wing, but you will not be able to move it for a while." Then he set her wing and left for the clinic.
"Thanks for the help guys. I'm... just gonna go for a walk." Then with head and tail drooping, Rainbow left Twilight's house in the direction of the village square, her mind racing.
"I'm never gonna join the Wonderbolts. I might not even fly again. What am I gonna do?" By the time she realized it she was already at Apple Jack's front door.
'What am I doing here?' she thought, 'Well might as well knock.'
Rainbow's hoof was halfway to the door when it opened and out popped Apple Jack. "Oh, howdy Rainbow! What happened to your wing?"
"It's a long story…" she replied. Rainbow's stomach growled.
"Well don't just stand out there in the cold, come on in and let's get dinner started! Rainbow Dash sat in the kitchen and retold the day's events while Apple Jack made her specialty (and Rainbow Dash's favorite), apples and steak dinner.
"Wow it looks delish AJ, Thank You" she exclaimed.
"Oh, it's no trouble at all Rainbow Dash. Where are you going to stay now that you can't fly?" she asked, sitting down at the table.
"That's a good question. I don't know yet." Rainbow stated.
"Well, in that case, you can stay here!" she replied.
"Are you sure you don't mind Apple Jack?" Rainbow asked.
"Sure I'm sure, you can stay here as long as you like."
"Thank you so much," exclaimed Rainbow.
They spent the rest of the night just talking, and by the time they were ready for bed, Rainbow Dash's spirits had risen considerably.
"Apple Bloom is visiting relatives out of town right now, so you can use her bed, if you don't mind sharin' a room with me," said Apple Jack.
"I don't mind at all. Thanks again Apple Jack."
"Yer welcome Rainbow," said Applejack, turning the lamp on her bedside table off.
"Good night Apple Jack" yawned Rainbow.
"Good night Rainbow Dash." She replied then the both fell into a deep, deep sleep.
The next morning, Rainbow Dash walked into the kitchen to find Apple Jack already making breakfast.
"Good Morning sleepy head, want breakfast?" she asked.
Rainbow replied "Sure I'd love some."
"Afterwards I've gotta go harvest the apples, with Big Mac and Apple Bloom away it's gonna take all day to get 'em all," sighed Apple Jack.
"In that case, let me help. It's the least I could do after all you've done for me." asked Rainbow.
"Are you sure Rainbow Dash? With your wing and all?" questioned Apple Jack.
"Sure I'm sure," They chuckled at the quote, "my wing will be fine," shrugged Rainbow Dash.
"Okay then let's get to work." With that they started gathering the apples, breaking for lunch, and then getting back to work. Rainbow was just as good at bucking as she was flying, so between the two them they were done in early afternoon, leaving the rest of the day for them to just hang out.
Worn out after the day's activities, they went to bed pretty early. The next several days went by just like the first until the apples had all been harvested.
"Thanks for all your help Rainbow Dash. I would have taken twice as long to do this by myself," said a tired Apple Jack, flopping down on the bed.
"It's no problem A.J. I actually had fun!" replied Rainbow, yawning and stretching out on her bed. "Well good night Apple Jack." "Good night Rainbow," replied Apple Jack. Then they both fell asleep.
The next morning Rainbow Dash was already out and about by the time Apple Jack rolled out of bed.
"Wow you're up early Rainbow. What's up?" asked Apple Jack.
"Today I go back to see Dr. Hooves for my wing," said Rainbow Dash.
"Oh in that case, mind if I tag along?"
Rainbow responded with, "not at all A.J. I appreciate the company." And with that they left for the clinic.
After waiting for what seemed like hours, they finally get in to see the Doc.
"How do you feel today, Rainbow Dash?" asked the Doctor.
"I'm feeling good today," replied Rainbow. "So let's see your wing," he said as he unwrapped the bandages. He then stretched out the wing and had Rainbow Dash move it.
"It looks good, now try holding yourself in the air" he ordered. Rainbow did as she was told. She had no trouble flying
"Ok it looks like your good to go. Just don't overdo it the next couple days, all right?" he said.
"You got it doc!" unable to contain her excitement anymore she hurried out of the clinic and flew around the village at top speed before rejoining Apple Jack on the ground.
"Thank you so much for everything Apple Jack; I really appreciate it!" said Rainbow Dash with so much gratitude in her voice that Apple Jack blushed.
"Aww, it was nothin' really. You would've done the same for me."
"Well as much as I hate to say it, I'd better get back to my weather duties. Bye Apple Jack, see you later!" With that Rainbow Dash took off.
"See you later Rainbow!" called Apple Jack. "Well guess there's nothin' else to do but go home." Apple Jack said to herself. On the way home, however, a carrier pony gave her a letter from Big Mac.
Dear Apple Jack,
The Apple family has decided to set up an orchard outside of Neighburg. We would like you to come out and assist in the planting and building. Please come out as soon as you can. Hope to see you soon.
Your brother,
Big Mac
"I'll leave first thing in the morning." She said to herself. She hurried to pack and get a good night's rest. Just before she fell asleep, she thought "it's kinda weird without Rainbow Dash. I miss her" That night, she dreamed of Rainbow Dash. On the train ride to Neighburg, she pondered the dream. A feeling in her heart she couldn't understand began to develop. Or maybe it had been there for a while and she just hadn't noticed.
Rainbow Dash cleared away storm cloud after storm cloud that had been building up during her absence. She was surprised it hadn't started raining yet. By the time she finished her duties, it was well into the night, so she returned to her home. She hadn't been home for quite some time, so was relieved to finally to be in her cloud manor. Although she was tired from the all work she did, she couldn't get sleep. Most likely due to the feeling of unease she was starting to develop. After tossing and turning for several hours, she managed to fall into a fitful, restless sleep. The next day she still hadn't shaken the feeling of unease. She had decided to go visit Apple Jack. When she arrived, however, she only found a note on the door that read:
To whom it may concern:
I will be out of town for a few days to help my family set up an orchard in Neighburg. I will be back soon.
Your friend,
Apple Jack
Those simple words caused inexplicable pain in Rainbow's heart, and all she could think about was Apple Jack.
That night, Rainbow Dash looked up at the stars and thought about Apple Jack, what she was doing, what were these feelings, was she thinking about me too, was she looking up at these same stars. All these questions and many more raced through her mind. "Heh, what is this all of a sudden, it's not like I love Apple Jack or anything." Even as she said it she realized her true feelings. She DID love Apple Jack.
Somewhere in Equestria, Apple Jack was helping set up the wedding for her aunt and soon-to-be uncle. Only half paying attention to her work, she overheard them talking.
"I love you," said her aunt.
"I love you, too," her uncle replied. Love. It suddenly all made sense. She loved Rainbow Dash.
Tomorrow would be the wedding, then the day after Apple Jack would board the next the train back to Ponyville. The day of the wedding was the slowest day of Apple Jack's life. When it finally came to end, she went to bed as quickly as she could. The whole train ride was spent rehearsing over and over again how she was gonna confess her feelings to Rainbow Dash. No matter how much she tried, she just couldn't find the right words. When she pulled into Ponyville station, she raced off the train and all through town to her ranch. Waiting for her there was none other than Rainbow Dash.
"Hello Rainbow, it's been a while hasn't it." She asked.
Rainbow replied, "Yeah, it has. Sooooo….." There was a silence between them; the tension was obvious. Each trying to hide their racing heart from the other, until one finally mustered the courage to speak.
"Rainbow Dash, there's somethin' I need to tell you. It's really important," said Apple Jack.
"For a while now I've had these feelings. Feelings I've never felt before," she sighed. "What I'm trying to say is I love y—."
All the sudden before she knew what had happened, Rainbow Dash had kissed her. It was unlike anything either of them had experienced before. The whole world fell away until there was only Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack. After what felt like just a tiny moment, Rainbow pulled away. "I love you too, Apple Jack." Then they embraced each other. Whispers of "I missed you" echoed between them; tears of joy streaming down their faces. For once, the world felt right. And together they stayed. No matter what happened or how upset they got at each other, it wouldn't last long. They stayed together through thick and thin.
THE END