A/N: I try not to do too many author's notes, but I just wanted to explain: I hoped to get this out before Valentine's Day, but seeing as it is currently Valentine's Day, and I still have two more chapters to go (plus possibly an epilogue), I'll have to settle for AROUND Valentine's Day. *sigh* Happy Valentine's Day!

Chapter 6 – Sunset

"Rarity," said a soft voice. The mare was enveloped in darkness, as sweet, sweet sleep was doing it's best to keep her in its confines. "Rarity, we're here."

"Mmm," moaned the pony, stretching her limbs, before going limp again against her soft her pillow. She was so nice and warm. "Five more minutes…"

"Well, I assure you, I would let you keep sleeping, but I don't think the crew members will allow us to ride back from the next stop without paying for another ticket."

"Hmm-wha-?" Rarity took in a deep breath and managed to open her eyes.

"Besides, you mentioned you wanted to see the sunset."

Realizing she was not, in fact, in her room, on her bed, in her house, but on a train with ponies she didn't know staring at her, and lying on something foreign, the mare jerked awake. "Huh? Wha? Where am I?" she asked. She turned to see she was facing Fancy Pants, of all ponies.

"You fell asleep on the train ride," he said, his gentle smile gracing his face.

"Oooooh," Rarity said, looking around at what she had been lying on: a train seat. She was covered with her date's jacket, and could only assume she had been using his leg as a pillow. Mortified, she felt her face go bright red, and turned to the stallion. "I am sooo sorry, Fancy Pants! I had no idea! I don't know what came over me! Oh, dear, I hope I wasn't doing something embarrassing, like snoring."

"No, not at all," he said, laughing softly, as he got up, and helped Rarity to her hooves. "Though you do talk a little in your sleep."

"I…I do?" she asked, feeling her face turn even more red, if that were possible.

"It was quite charming, I assure you," he said as they walked out onto the platform. It was then that she realized she still had the stallion's coat on her.

"Oh, and you gave me your coat. That is…" Embarrassment turned to giddiness as she realized the sincerity of the act. "That is too sweet. Thank you." She pulled the coat off and gave it back to him.

"It was nothing. Are you sure you don't need it?"

"I'd actually like to get into something festive for the festival tonight," she said. "But, again…thank you." The doors closed and the train started getting ready to leave again. It was then that Rarity noticed her reflection in the window. Her face fell at the sight. Her mane was completely mushed, stray hairs out in every which direction. "Oh, dear," she said, as she tried her best to get it back into shape right then.

"Oh, it's fine," Fancy Pants said with a small chortle as he took a hoof and started to lead Rarity down the platform. "You shouldn't worry so much about your appearance, Rarity. You are far too lovely to look anything but beautiful."

"You are too kind, darling," she said, though she fought every fiber in her being to try and fix her mane before they left. "If you don't mind going by my boutique, first? We should have plenty of time to find a nice place to watch the sunset." The stallion agreed, and off they went.

At the wine tasting, an uptight stallion with grapes for a cutie mark was explaining how to go about selecting and tasting wines. The white wines were first, a small sampling of each poured into each pony's glass. Fluttershy was listening carefully to follow the instructions, but Pinkie Pie drank her wine before he even began to explain.

"No, no, no," said the stallion when he noticed the wine had disappeared from the mare's glass. "You have to first take in the color of the wine."

"I did," she said. "I took in everything about the wine! More, please!" She smiled as she put her glass out to the mare serving the wine. She glared at Pinkie Pie, before serving her some more. As the stallion resumed talking about what colors should be looked for in a wine and what can be appreciated from it, the pink mare leaned over to the Pegasus and whispered, "It's really dry. I like sweet wines, but, eh."

"I didn't realize you liked wine so much, Pinkie," Fluttershy said.

"Well, it's not my spirit of choice," she said in a mock posh voice. "I like 'em sweet. But they always give you so little at these things, so if you want to get a good buzz, you gotta start early." She tossed back another glass just as the sommelier started explaining how to properly smell the wine. Pinkie Pie stuck her tongue out, before smiling and waiting for the mare to serve her more. The serving mare looked to the sommelier, but as he was busy showing how to properly smell the wine, the server just rolled her eyes and poured a small sampling more.

Fluttershy took a whiff of the wine, before jerking back. It was, to her, a very strong smell, and she was worried about getting drunk off the fumes, let alone having to drink it.

"Now," said the expert, "Take a sip, but don't swallow it yet." Fluttershy heard Pinkie Pie let out a satisfied, "Ah!" as she threw back another glass, followed by a, "more, please!" The expert continued. "Let it linger on your tongue and really get the tastes on each taste bud. Swish it around gently in your mouth, and take notice of each robust flavor." Fluttershy tried to do as told, but once her tongue hit the tiniest droplet of wine, she pulled back, and refused to drink any of it.

The sommelier noticed and seemed to be insulted, to which Fluttershy said, "I'm sorry," softly, and put down the glass.

Pinkie Pie leaned in close with a huff, "I can't believe that mare won't give me another sample of wine! …are you going to finish that?" Fluttershy pushed the glass towards the pink mare, and she chugged it down, before giving a satisfied smile to the serving mare.

This went on for four more different flavors of wine. With each step, Pinkie Pie would drink down her wine before it was even time to smell it, and though the serving mare refused to give her more, Pinkie would manage to pop up next to somepony who didn't want to taste their wine, if there was one, and talked them into giving the wine to her, and then finish off with Fluttershy's, as most of the wines were too strong for her, anyhow.

As the sixth wine was passed out, Pinkie was already in discussions about which wine to buy with the serving mare. "I mean, that last one was sweet, and it's the only one that Fluttershy would drink, so I'm thinking that would be a good one to buy. But are they really expensive? I'm mean super duper expensive? Not that I couldn't afford it, mind you," she said rubbing a hoof on her outfit, then looking at it as though she had just shined it up. "It's just I'm not sure I'm COMMITTED to buying it yet."

"Pinkie," Fluttershy said.

"Shh," Pinkie Pie said, leaning close to the Pegasus. "I'm trying to get another sample out of her!"

"I heard that," said the serving mare. Pinkie Pie gave a nervous smile.

After nearly getting kicked out, Pinkie Pie managed to buy a bottle of the sweet wine they had sampled, and the two of them got out of the wine tasting facility as fast as possible. Fluttershy walked with her head low, looking severely reprimanded, while Pinkie Pie trotted along, happy to have gotten enough wine to get tipsy, as well as purchase something she found delicious. "Have some wine with me, Flutters, I bought this one so we can have it together!" She nudged the mare lightly with her nose.

"I don't like getting kicked out of stores," she said, hanging her head low.

"You weren't kicked out!" Pinkie Pie said, looking at the yellow mare with a serious expression on her face. "You were ALMOST kicked out. Don't worry, you get used to it. In fact, if I wasn't a professional at getting kicked out of places, you could add wine tasting to the places you've been kicked out of!" Pinkie Pie smiled broadly.

"Are you sure?" Fluttershy said. "I feel like I was being kicked out."

"No, that was just a tactic to get me to buy wine," Pinkie Pie said, looking at the bottle. "And it worked!" She was trying to figure out how to open the bottle with her hoof, before resorting to her teeth.

"Pinkie," Fluttershy said, looking to the sky. "It's getting late. We should get back on the train, right? We can save the wine for later tonight."

Pinkie Pie leaned against Fluttershy, the wine she had already consumed starting to take effect. She nodded to the mare. "Sounds like a good idea to me!"

Somehow, Fluttershy managed to get her date back onto the train to Ponyville for the night's festivities.

"Alright," Rainbow Dash said, smiling to the orange mare who lay on the ground, looking up to the sky. The Pegasus was nervous as the sunset was approaching. Already, Pegasi could be seen in the sky, preparing the clouds and the climate for the perfect sunset. "So…there was more than one reason for me to bring you up here…aside from showing you the view and spending some time with you."

"Ya mean hangin' out?" Applejack asked. They had to have several odd conversations before they started to feel normal around each other after the incident in Applejack's bedroom. Still, there was electricity in the air between the two, and they both knew it. Under the guise of them being just friends, Rainbow Dash simply nodded to the comment. Her nerves must have shown on her face, because Applejack followed her comment with, "Are you alright, sugar cube?"

Oh, Celestia, how the Pegasus loved the way the earth pony said, 'sugar cube.'

"Well, see," Rainbow Dash said, "I may have had something to do with the preparations for the sunset this year."

Applejack's eyes widened. "Well, Ah gotta say, Rainbow, that's not what Ah was expectin' you ta say."

"I know," she said. She was so nervous; her heart felt like it was pumping out of her chest. She had to take a deep breath before continuing. "You see, I was asked to help out for this year, and while I usually would accept, I really…well, I wanted to…help create the sunset rather than be part of it because, well, first of all, a singular rainbow stream in the air during a sunset? It will just detract from my own, personal awesomeness," she said, trying to make light. But really, her nerves made her feel like she was going to throw up, so she thought it better to just forego the jokes.

"Rainbow, Ah've never seen you like this before," Applejack said, sitting up and looking quizzically at the rainbow-maned mare. "You're makin' me nervous!"

"Well, maybe you should be," Rainbow Dash said in all seriousness, even moving forward and nodding to the mare to convey how serious she was. "See, since I had so much say this year…I wanted to express what's it's been like for me. This year. Yeah."

"Ah'm not sure what you're sayin'," the orange mare said.

"Well, I mean, I'm not an artist, like Rarity," she explained. "I'm not smart like Twilight, or …"

"You're smart, Rainbow," Applejack said. "Why in the world would you think you weren't?"

"Well, I mean, like Twilight," she said. "No pony is as smart as her. Um…can you let me get this out? I might not be able to finish if you keep talking." The mare seemed a little miffed at being told to keep quiet, but she nodded and leaned back a bit, waiting to take in what the Pegasus had to say. "Where was I? Right, smart like Twilight. I could never be as happy as Pinkie Pie always is, and I'm not sweet and kind like Fluttershy. And, well, there's you. I could never be…" She let out a nervous sigh. "I can never be as wonderful as you are, Applejack." The orange mare turned a little red, and gave the Pegasus a sincere smile.

Another nervous exhalation. "I mean, you're so hard working and honest, and…well…beautiful," Rainbow Dash started blushing, and then she just couldn't look at Applejack, anymore. "But that's besides the point. So, when I was given the chance to help with the sunset this year, I knew what I wanted to do. And I was inspired by…you." Now the Pegasus was committed to staring at the ground, digging lightly at the dirt. "So, I…"

She didn't get a chance to finish what she was going to say. Applejack had used her hoof to lift up the mare's chin so that they looked into each other's eyes. The electricity the Pegasus could feel earlier sparked between them, and there was nothing either of them could do at that point. Their fate was sealed, and all that was left to do was to proceed.

They leaned in towards each other, bringing their lips close to one another. For a moment, Applejack pulled away a little, but Rainbow Dash wasn't going to let her get away this time. Not when they were this close. She pulled in, closed her eyes, puckered her lips.

Then their lips met for their first kiss.

One second, two seconds, three seconds, each seemed like a blissful eternity. Then after a second more, Rainbow Dash pulled away. She opened her eyes just in time to see Applejack move a little forward, following after her lips, her eyes opening in surprise. The Pegasus smiled, and bit back a laugh by biting her lip. "Expecting something more?" she asked.

Applejack looked up, face flushed, looking a little confused. "A…a whole lot more," she said.

"That can be arranged." And she captured the earth pony's lips for another kiss.

Pinkie Pie was humming to herself as she sat in the train seat on the way back to Ponyville. Fluttershy looked to the pink mare, then to herself. How they ended up in such strikingly elegant outfits still baffled her. The day had certainly been a little overwhelming for her, but she enjoyed trying some new things. And it took her mind off of Angel, who she was sure was resting safely at the veterinarian's office.

Pinkie Pie gasped with glee. "Fluttershy! Fluttershy! LOOK! It's sunset!"

The yellow mare looked out the window to see Pegasi flying through the air. The sunset was already displaying a muted rainbow across the canvas of the sky. Pegasi - with different colors that trailed behind them - flew in different formations and figurations. The combination made the color of the Celestia's sun streaming through their trails appear in every different shade, and the rays of light seemed to undulate in the air like waves as the flying ponies created formations in the sky.

"That's beautiful," Pinkie Pie said, leaning out the window, as a silly smile crossed her face. Fluttershy leaned out the window next to Pinkie's smiling up at the change in colors and patterns made by the clouds in the sky, the likes of which they only saw once a year.

Rarity, with her mane fixed and wearing a simple yet fashionable pink dress, sat on a blanket next to Fancy Pants near Fluttershy's cottage. There were plenty of places where they could have had a better view of the sunset, but those areas were packed with ponies, and Rarity wanted her stallion to have the best first show in Ponyville as possible. After all, how much fun could he have surrounded by a gasping and oohing crowd? Still, there were a few ponies who seemed to have the same idea as she did, so they were not alone.

Just as a Pegasus formed a spiral in the air using the colors that trailed behind her (caused by her tail color), the unicorn mare stole a glance at her date. He was looking up at the sky, with an amazed smile on his face. "How is this compared to Canterlot?" she asked.

"It's absolutely stunning," Fancy Pants said, not taking his eyes off of the spectacle. "We have some very impressive acrobatics, plus the Princess is often there to lower the sun, but it's all so…rigid. The Wonderbolts are performers, but they're not artists. This…well, this is art."

Feeling pride for her home town, Rarity smiled and looked up to the show. The horizon was gleaming pale orange and light yellow as the sun was halfway to its resting point.

Twilight Sparkle was on the balcony of the library, watching with fascination as some of the Pegasi performing flew so close to the library, that they skimmed the leaves. Spike sat on the balcony's edge, leaning forward, with a massive smile on his face as he watched the show.

"Did you see how close they got?" he asked Twilight.

The mare laughed. "I'm right here with you, Spike!" Her attention went from looking to Spike to somepony down on the ground, looking up at the spectacle. Big Macintosh looked like he was in the middle of walking somewhere with his cart attached to his collar, when he got distracted by the show. The unicorn leaned over the edge of the balcony. "Big Mac!" she called. The stallion tore his eyes away from the sights and noticed the mare looking at him. "Come on up here! It's a better view!"

The earth pony looked to his cart, then up to the mare. "Don't worry," she said. "We can watch it from here. Just leave it at the door!" Big Macintosh moved faster than the unicorn had expected him to, taking off the yoke and harness and going into the library. She smiled when she realized how much he must like to watch the show, too.

"Hmmph," Spike said, "You want me to leave you two alone?"

Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes. He didn't take the news that she would be spending the festival night with Big Macintosh rather than him very well. He was hoping to enjoy the festival with a friend. "Don't take it personally, Spike," she said. "You should join Apple Bloom and the others tonight. You'll have more fun with them, anyways." The dragon just folded his arms as Big Macintosh lumbered onto the balcony, smiling graciously to the unicorn.

"What do you think of this years show, so far?" asked the unicorn.

"Ah like the colors," he admitted. "That's red like a fresh apple." The mare turned her attention to the horizon, and nodded in agreement at his comparison.

Pinned to the ground, Rainbow Dash could only submit to the passionate kisses between the two friends-turned-something-more. Not that it was a bad position to be in. Lost in the world they had created, the Pegasus only hoped to be lost there forever.

With Applejack lying on top of her, all Rainbow Dash could do was put her forelegs around her and return her kisses with equal fervor and determination. She stroked a hoof through the mare's light yellow mane, reaching the end of her ponytail and plucking the hair band away, allowing the earth pony's mane to flow free. She stroked her pale orange fur. The mare pulled away, and they looked into each other's eyes.

Her beautiful green eyes.

…green eyes…

Oh, crud, the sunset!

"OH!" Rainbow Dash mumbled, pushing Applejack away, much to the earth pony's chagrin. "The sunset! You're missing it!"

The orange mare opened her mouth to say something, but seemed at a loss for words. Then, after a moment, she said, "Ah think there'll be more sunsets in the future, RD."

"No, I mean," Still pinned onto her back, the mare looked out towards the setting sun. The final colors were fading out. "The colors I carefully planned….do you know how long that took?" Realizing what the mare meant, Applejack got up and looked towards the sun. It had just a sliver to go, and as the two watched, the sun disappeared behind the horizon. There was a sudden green flash, and that was it. Rainbow Dash let out a huff, turning to her side and slowly getting up. She looked dejectedly towards the Pegasi, who were flying in formation away from the sunset, trailing a pastel colored rainbow between the six of them, and flying out of sight. "All that work…"

"Oh, Ah'm sorry, sugar cube," Applejack said, nudging the mare. "Ah guess we kinda got caught up…"

"Yeah," she said. "Well…" Rainbow Dash's frown turned into a mischievous smile. "You owe me for that."

Applejack let out a small yelp as she was pounced by the Pegasus mare.