Chapter Text
The sun was just starting to dip behind the bleachers, casting long shadows across the track. The air was heavy with the scent of cut grass and late-summer sweat. Rainbow Dash stood at the starting line, stretching out her legs like a coiled spring about to snap.
“Alright, you ready?” Applejack called from the sideline, one thumb hovering over the stopwatch.
Rainbow grinned, bouncing on her heels. “Always.”
Applejack swallowed. “Ready, set… go!”
Dash launched forward like lightning, all long strides and lean muscle, her ponytail whipping behind her as she blurred past. Applejack tried to keep her eyes on the stopwatch, but she didn’t.
She was watching Dash’s back, the way her shirt clung to her shoulder blades, how every step was force and freedom wrapped in speed. Her jaw clenched without her realizing. Her thumb never hit the button.
“Time?” Rainbow called out, barely winded as she slowed into a jog.
Applejack blinked. Looked down at the blank screen.
Shit.
“Uh… yeah, no. That was a practice one,” she said quickly, pressing the button like it would magically fix something. “Didn’t count.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow as she came over. “Seriously?” She said, barely out of breath.
Applejack gave a lopsided shrug. “Gotta keep ya on your toes.”
“Ugh.” Rainbow dropped dramatically onto the grass beside her bag, arms behind her head. “Guess I’ll just have to do it again.”
“Yeah,” Applejack said, still staring. “Guess you will.”
She glanced back at the stopwatch.
Still blank.
Applejack sat down in the grass, pretending to mess with the stopwatch settings. She wasn’t fooling anyone, but Rainbow didn’t press.
She never did.
The sunlight was warm on her skin, the breeze soft enough to rustle the tall grass lining the field. It should’ve felt peaceful. But Applejack’s thoughts had been too loud lately. Too jumbled.
Too full of her.
She glanced up. Rainbow was stretching again, arms overhead, shirt rising just enough to show a sliver of toned stomach. Applejack looked away fast. Too fast. Her face burned like she’d stared at the sun too long.
Get it together, AJ.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t noticed before. She’d always noticed Rainbow, loud and brilliant, fast and reckless, like she was born to outrun the world. But noticing and feeling were two different things. One was safe. The other… wasn’t.
She sighed, adjusting her hat lower on her brow like it could hide the thoughts pushing up behind her eyes.
Everything felt heavy lately.
College was harder than she expected, not the classes, but the in-between stuff. The silence of dorm rooms. The way Sweet Apple Acres felt a million miles away. The way everyone else seemed to be… moving. Figuring things out. Living.
And her? She was stuck. Sitting in the grass, holding a stopwatch she hadn’t even pressed, trying not to look at her best friend like she was-
“Ready for round two?” Rainbow’s voice cut through her thoughts, smug and glowing.
Applejack flinched. “Y-yeah. Jus’ fixin’ the settings.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes with a grin. “Sure you are.”
She took her place at the starting line again, stretching her legs out and shaking her arms. “You better time me this time, farm girl.”
Applejack managed a smile. “I will.”
This time, she told herself. No starin’. No daydreamin’. Just track times. Nothin’ more.
She pressed the button.
Rainbow ran.
And Applejack’s heart betrayed her all over again.
The dorm kitchen room was a mess of half-eaten takeout, tangled phone chargers, and the faint scent of Pinkie’s “emergency celebratory cupcakes” wafting from the kitchen.
Applejack stepped inside, wiping her hands on a towel, her cheeks still warm from the track.
“Y’all start dinner without me?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at the chaotic scene.
Pinkie popped her head up from behind the couch, a frosting-covered whisk in one hand and a glittery face mask on the other. “It’s not dinner. It’s a ritualistic sugar cleanse! Duh.”
Applejack blinked. “Right.”
Fluttershy sat on the arm of the couch, sipping tea from a mug with tiny ducks on it. “She made cupcakes because Rarity got featured in a campus fashion blog,” she said softly, smiling.
“Oh, only the most exclusive one,” Rarity added, sweeping dramatically into the room in silk pyjama pants and a designer tube top. “Page three, darling. But who’s counting?”
“You,” murmured Twilight from the corner, eyes glued to her laptop. “You literally printed it out and hung it above your bed.”
“I framed it,” Rarity corrected. “There’s a difference.”
Applejack chuckled, grabbing a bottle of water from the mini fridge. The room buzzed with soft music and louder personalities. It was nice. Comfortable. Familiar.
And then she walked in.
Rainbow Dash flopped into the beanbag like she’d been launched from orbit, hair now down and loose around her shoulders, sportswear swapped for an oversized hoodie with the sleeves pushed up.
“You guys have no clue how fast I ran today.” she grinned. “Tell ‘em, AJ.”
Applejack froze mid-sip.
“…Fast,” she muttered. “Real fast.”
Rainbow beamed. “See? I’m basically a blur. A blur with style!” She chuckled.
“More like a blur with pit stains,” Twilight muttered without looking up.
“EXCUSE YOU,” Rainbow shouted, flinging a throw pillow directly at Twilight’s head. Twilight shrieked, ducking too late.
Applejack laughed, but it caught in her throat when Rainbow leaned back, hoodie riding up just enough to show the curve of her waist, the faintest shadow of her toned stomach.
She looked away fast.
“You okay Applejack?” Fluttershy asked gently, watching her over her tea.
Applejack gave a tight smile. “Yeah,” she lied. “Just tired.”
She sighed, leaning back against the wall.
It wasn’t exactly a lie, she was tired. Bone-deep, soul-tired.
Juggling college classes, early-morning training, and weekend trips home to the farm wasn’t exactly easy. She went from lecture halls to study sessions, and then every other Saturday and Sunday, she’d make the long drive back to Sweet Apple Acres to help with sales. It never felt like enough.
Applejack had always carried guilt like a second skin. Leaving the farm, chasing her degree, living in the dorms while her family worked the orchards without her… It sat heavy in her chest.
Granny Smith always told her it was her life to live, said she’d earned the right to want something more.
But still, the guilt lingered.
Always there. Always pulling.
Rainbow kicked her legs up onto the coffee table and leaned back with a stretch that bordered on smug.
“So,” she said, lazily tossing a cushion at Pinkie’s head, “what’s this party you’ve been screaming about all week?”
Pinkie gasped like Rainbow had just insulted the entire institution of fun.
“It’s not just a party,” she said, placing a hand over her heart like she was about to deliver a speech. “It’s the Back-to-School Bash of the CENTURY. I’ve already named it. Ready? It’s called…Pinkchella.”
Twilight groaned audibly. “Seriously?”
“Oh she’s serious,” Fluttershy murmured. “She bought a smoke machine. And a fog machine. And… something called a glitter vodka redbull gun.”
Applejack blinked. “A what now?”
“A. Glitter. Vodka. Redbull. Gun, AJ!” Pinkie said proudly, waving a sparkly flyer she yanked from under a cushion. “It shoots sparkling fizzy fun across the dance floor. Very aesthetic. Very sticky.”
Rarity leaned in with interest. “Is there a theme? Please tell me there’s a theme. I’ve been waiting for an excuse to wear my rhinestone corset.”
“The theme is chaotic sparkle jungle rave. Interpret that however you want. Glitter is of course mandatory. Alcohol WILL be flowing. Bad decisions encouraged so please bring protection. Oh! And clothing is optional” Pinkie grinned, winking.
“Sounds about right,” Rainbow said, already smiling. “Who’s bringing the drinks?”
Pinkie pulled a glitter-covered notebook from her tote bag. “Cheese is on jungle juice. Lyra and Bon Bon are covering seltzers. Vinyl’s bringing a fog-chilled cocktail fountain and… someone, I think Trixie?, is making jello shots in little unicorn molds.”
“Damn,” Rainbow muttered with a short laugh, then leaned back. “Wish I could actually drink at one of these.”
That caught Applejack’s attention. “You ain’t drinkin’?”
Rainbow shrugged, casual, but not really. “Coach would kill me. It’s training season. I’ve got early drills every morning, and my dad’s already breathing down my neck about last week’s numbers. If he found out I was partying with vodka instead of protein powder, he’d lose it.”
The air shifted just slightly, still light, but grounded now.
Pinkie twirled her hair between her fingers. “You don’t have to drink to have fun,” she said, tone suddenly softer. “But also… I want this party to be huge. Like, unforgettable. First week of the semester, new dorms, new chances to make chaos. Girls, this is going be… legendary.”
“You say that every time,” Twilight muttered, not looking up from her screen.
“And every time, I’m right,” Pinkie replied sweetly.
Rainbow grinned again, kicking her feet up higher. “I’ll still show up. Drunk on vibes.”
She turned to Applejack with a half-smile. “You coming, cowgirl?”
Applejack blinked. “Huh?”
“The party,” Rainbow said, still grinning. “You’re not gonna bail, right? You never come to these things.”
Applejack hesitated. Just long enough to feel it.
“…Maybe.”
She didn’t say how much the idea of watching Rainbow dance in a packed, glitter-soaked crowd made her chest ache in that slow, stupid way.
The room burst into another round of chatter and planning, Pinkie going over decor and lights, Rarity insisting on custom drink charms, Twilight quietly calculating how early she could leave without hurting anyone’s feelings.
But Applejack stayed quiet. Listening. Thinking.
Already wondering what parts of herself she’d have to hide that night.
Applejack woke slowly to the soft glow of morning sun slipping through the blinds, warm against her cheek. Her room was still, quiet.
Peaceful.
BANG BANG BANG.
“RARITY! You’ve been in there for twenty minutes! I need to put my fucking contacts in!”
Applejack groaned, rubbing her eyes as Rainbow’s voice echoed through the hallway, followed by a muffled but clearly offended:
“Excuse me, Dashie, some of us like to start our day looking alive, thank you!”
“Some of us like to see, Rarity!”
Another voice rang out from the kitchen.
“Pinkie, that’s not a nutritious breakfast at all!” Twilight, sharp and already stressed. “You can’t just eat whipped cream out of the can!”
“I can if I put lucky charms with it!” Pinkie sang, punctuated by the unmistakable sound of whipped cream spraying directly into her mouth.
Applejack sighed and pushed herself up, getting dressed and tugging on her flannel. As usual, the girls were in full-blown chaos mode.
She opened the door into what looked like a battlefield.
Twilight was frantically digging through her bag with the intensity of someone searching for a lost child. “Has anyone seen my pink planner? Not the purple one, that’s for midterms. And not the galaxy one, that’s for journaling. The pink one has my schedule for this month. I had it right here - oh Christ, it’s gone!”
Pinkie, now on the kitchen counter in cupcake pyjama pants and two different socks, tilted her head. “Didn’t you leave it in the freezer so your stress wouldn’t ‘transfer to the pages?’”
“…Oh my God.”
Twilight bolted toward the fridge.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy stood timidly by the toaster, frowning at the faint scent of something burning.
“Oh dear,” she whispered, poking gently at a blackened waffle with a wooden spoon. “It’s… um. It’s a little crispy.”
“It’s basically cremated,” Rainbow said flatly, appearing beside her, squinting into the haze.
Her damp hair was messy and loose around her shoulders, skin still dewy from the shower. She was still half dressed, shirt still tucked in her bra, and her baggy pants hanging dangerously low. Applejack’s breath caught.
She looked away fast, suddenly interested in peeling a banana.
Rainbow turned toward the hallway and resumed pounding on the bathroom door.
“RARITY. I need the mirror! I literally can’t leave the dorm half-blind.”
“I said I’m contouring!” came Rarity’s muffled reply. “Do you want me to look sallow all day?!”
“I want to put my eyeballs in, Rarity!”
Applejack snorted and headed toward the kitchen.
Just then, Rarity finally emerged in a cloud of perfume, towel still wrapped around her hair, eyes already lined to perfection. “Honestly, some of us value presentation.”
Rainbow, paying no mind to Rarity’s showcase, bolted past her to what Applejack assumed was to “put her eyeballs in.”
Twilight whirled around, waving her pink planner triumphantly. “This is why we need a bathroom schedule!”
“I designed a bathroom schedule and no one respected it,” Rarity said with a huff, already gliding toward the coffeepot.
“Because it was scheduled unfairly! You had way more time! We were lucky if we even got 5 minutes in there!,” Twilight snapped.
“I was being considerate!”
“WE NEED MORE TIME THAN 5 MINUTES!”
“Who wants breakfast?!” Pinkie interrupted, flinging open the pantry with a flourish. “I’ve got waffles, bagels, marshmallows, protein puffs, chocolate sauce, popcorn, and um….tahini?”
She held up a jar and offered it to Rainbow Dash as she came out the bathroom, looking much more put together than before.
Rainbow made a face. “Nah, I’m good.”
“Come on,” Pinkie chirped. “You haven’t eaten all morning! Not even one sprinkle!”
“I’m fine,” Rainbow said, brushing her off casually as she put on her mascara, using the microwave as a mirror.“Coach has me on training protocol.”
Pinkie just shrugged and popped a marshmallow in her mouth.
But Applejack frowned.
Rainbow’s stomach had growled when she passed her earlier. AJ had noticed. No one else had.
She stood there, banana forgotten in her hand, watching Rainbow disappear into her bedroom with a bottle of water and nothing else.
The rest of the room carried on in chaos. Twilight muttering over class times, Fluttershy gently scraping char off the toaster, Rarity yelling about a pair of missing shoes, but Applejack stayed still, heart too full of something she couldn’t name.
The hallway buzzed with the usual campus chatter, students weaving between each other, doors clicking shut, laughter echoing from far-off classrooms. Applejack adjusted the strap of her brown leather satchel and glanced sideways.
Next to her, Rainbow Dash tugged on the hem of her cropped white tee, the fabric riding up slightly as she shrugged her backpack higher. Her low-slung, baggy jeans sat just right on her hips, Calvin Klein band peeking out from the top. Her rainbow hair was down, loose, soft, still a little frizzy from the humidity, and catching streaks of light as they passed by the windows.
AJ tried not to look. She really did.
She fiddled with the hem of her oversized plaid button-up, worn loosely over an orange ribbed tank and wide-legged jeans. Her cowboy hat was tipped high, loose golden curls pulled back into a low, messy braid.
But Rainbow was glowing. Unintentionally. Effortlessly. That kinda glow you couldn’t fake, one that came from motion, adrenaline, being alive.
“I swear to God,” Rainbow muttered suddenly, pulling AJ out of her daze, “if I don’t shave off two seconds today, Dad’s gonna have a fit.”
Applejack blinked. “Coach said that?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Coach-slash-Dad, same difference. You know how he is. If I’m not improving, I’m falling behind.”
She sighed and adjusted the heavy sports bag on her shoulder. “He had the nerve to tell me last night that I looked ‘heavier than usual’ during strides. Like, thanks! that’s so motivating!”
Applejack froze mid-step, just for a second. “He said that?”
Rainbow waved it off, fast. “Whatever. He didn’t mean it like that.”
But Applejack’s gut twisted.
Because Rainbow? Heavy?
That was damn near laughable.
If anything, the girl looked like she’d stepped out of some goddamn myth. Not that she’d ever let anyone say that, she played the tomboy card too hard. But up close, she had this delicate, bambi-like look. Big magenta eyes, soft lips, long dark lashes, the cutest dimples Aj had ever seen. Her features weren’t sharp , they were gentle, sweet, the kind of pretty that snuck up on you and stuck.
And her body? Despite her big personality, physically, she was tiny. Ironically, Dash was the shortest out of the girls, a fact in which Rainbow absolutely despised. With a tight, lean build from years of training. Narrow shoulders, small waist, stomach flatter than a cutting board. But she was strong. Like a coiled spring, always ready to snap forward. The kind of strong you earned, not just had.
“Did you even eat this mornin’?” AJ asked, a little too casually.
“Coffee,” Rainbow replied without missing a beat.
“Rainbow-”
“I said I’m fine.” She smiled as she said it, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
AJ let it drop. For now.
They reached the front building, and Rainbow pushed the door open for her. A rare gesture. “After all this, if I screw up qualifiers, I’m dead. Like actually. Coach will have my ass.”
“You’re bein’ too hard on yourself,” AJ muttered. “Ain’t nobody faster than you, and you know it.”
Rainbow didn’t answer right away. Her eyes flicked to the floor, then to the far wall. “You don’t get it. If I don’t win… I’m not anything. This scholarship, the team, track, it’s everything.”
Applejack watched her, heart pinched tight in her chest. “That ain’t true.”
But Rainbow was already walking again, fast. “Anyway. I’ve gotta get into the zone. Focus. Grind. Zero distractions.”
“Bet I’ll still get to the classroom before you.”
That got a grin out of her. “You seriously going to try out run the track star?”
Applejack tilted her hat. “Well I do have longer legs...” she teased.
Rainbow chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Playing that card is dirty and you know it.” Her smile then turned into something more competitive. Rainbow then mimicked Aj’s southern accent. “Come on then sugarcube, you’re awn!”
She darted down the hall, hair swinging, laughter trailing behind her like wind.
Applejack followed, slow and steady. Watching. Always watching.
Because even when Rainbow couldn’t see her own worth…
AJ never missed it.
Time had a funny way of stretching itself thin when you were already tired.
Applejack sat near the back of her economics lecture, elbow perched on the desk, cheek resting against her palm. The professor’s voice blurred in and out like static on an old radio, scribbling equations on the whiteboard that she could barely make herself care about.
Her eyes were open, her pen in hand, but her mind was far, far away.
She was thinking about the stack of chores waiting for her this weekend. About the early morning drive back to the farm. About Granny’s creaky knees and Big Mac working double shifts, and how Bloom still needed help with her science project. She thought about the apples that needed boxing, the market stall needing repainting, and the way guilt curled in her chest every time she wasn’t there to do it herself.
She thought about Rainbow too.
More than she should’ve.
Each class blurred into the next. The hallways all looked the same. Even the warmth of the sun pouring through the windows started to feel like too much. Her backpack felt heavier today. Her limbs slower. Her eyelids, heavier than the rest of her.
Everything just felt… heavy.
When her last class finally let out, she didn’t even glance at the clock. She knew it was lunch, her stomach gave her a painful reminder, loud enough to echo down the corridor.
She wandered to the cafeteria slowly, boots clicking softly against the polished floor. The noise grew louder the closer she got, a rising tide of chatter, clattering trays, laughter, voices overlapping and buzzing like bees in her skull.
But as soon as she turned the corner and saw them, the table by the windows, her steps quickened.
There they were, her girls.
Pinkie was waving her over like she hadn’t seen her in years, kicking her legs under the table like a child on too much sugar. Rarity was seated across from her with an iced latte in one hand and a compact mirror in the other, making some dramatic complaint about the lighting. Fluttershy sat beside her with a paper carton of fruit and a soft smile, listening to it all without interrupting.
Twilight was hunched over a planner she’d somehow already color-coded, and right beside her sat Sunset, legs crossed, leather jacket draped on the chair, chin resting on her palm as she watched Twilight ramble with a look that could only be described as utterly smitten.
Applejack let out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding.
The seat beside Pinkie was empty.
So was the one beside Sunset.
Rainbow wasn’t there yet.
Her absence was like a missing piece, noticeable even in the noise.
Still, AJ pulled her backpack off her shoulder, set her tray down, and slid into the open seat.
“About time!” Pinkie chirped, shoving her smoothie across the table toward Applejack as she flopped into the seat beside her. “Try this! It’s got, like, seven fruits and also some weird protein powder Cheese gave me.”
Applejack scrunched her nose and pushed the straw away. “No offense, sugarcube, but that looks like it could fuel a spaceship.”
Pinkie snorted. “Exactly!”
“Don’t let her fool you,” Rarity chimed in, flipping her compact shut with a click. “She nearly choked on it five minutes ago.”
Pinkie shrugged. “Worth it.”
Twilight adjusted her glasses, one hand still flipping through her planner while the other reached blindly for her fork. “You really should eat something more balanced, Pinkie. And hydrating doesn’t count when it’s… bright pink.”
“She had cake for breakfast,” Sunset muttered, not looking up from her phone. “Actual cake.”
“And a pack of sour gummies!,” Pinkie corrected proudly, beaming.
“You’re gonna end up with a sugar crash during macroeconomics again,” Twilight said without looking up.
“That’s what the nap room is for!” Pinkie cheered.
Fluttershy giggled softly. “You mean the third floor girls’ bathroom?”
“Yep!”
As the conversation tumbled on, Applejack sat quietly for a moment, letting it wash over her. This little whirlwind of chaos, cluttered lunch trays with lip gloss and clinking bracelet, it was a mess, but it was theirs. Familiar. Comforting.
“You look exhausted, darling,” Rarity said, breaking Applejack’s train of thought. “Everything alright?”
Applejack shrugged. “Same ol’. Classes are draggin’, work’s pilin’ up. You know how it goes.”
“I feel that,” Sunset added, nodding. “My music theory professor gave us a pop quiz today. Who the hell assigns pop quizzes in college?”
“Someone evil,” Pinkie said with a shudder.
“Oh! Speaking of evil,” Sunset perked up, spinning her phone toward the centre of the table. “Who’s ready for Friday night?”
A picture flashed across her screen, neon text over a blurry photo of strobe lights and silhouettes of people dancing: “PINKIE PIE’S WILD WEEKEND BASH 💖🎉 THIS FRIDAY, BRING YOUR DRINKS!”
Pinkie Pie shrieked with excitement. “Omeeegosh! Everyone’s posting about it! I knew this party would be bigger than the last one!”
“Oh, not this again,” Rarity groaned, rolling her eyes but smiling despite herself. “I haven’t even recovered from the last one.”
“Remember when you ended up dancing on the bar table,” Sunset reminded her, grinning.
“I was coerced,” Rarity insisted with dramatic flair.
“By the music?” Twilight deadpanned.
“By the four tequila shots Pinkie forced on me!”
“Peer pressure is fun pressure,” Pinkie said sweetly.
Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle. “So this party really is happening in full swing, huh?”
Pinkie’s eyes sparkled. “YUP! Bigger. Wilder. Jell-O shots. A DJ. Maybe a bouncy castle if Cheese actually pulls through. You have to come, AJ! You always bail!”
“I’ll try,” Applejack said. “Gotta see if I’m headin’ home this weekend-”
Pinkie made an exaggerated pout “If rainbow can come with her super strict training schedule, than you can too!” Pinkie said. “Even though she can’t drink she said she’d still come to dance and ‘show everyone how it’s done.’” Pinkie mimicked Rainbow’s cocky voice with a playful smirk.
Sunset raised a brow. “Wait, did she say that before or after practice?”
“After,” Pinkie said. “Why?”
Sunset shrugged. “Dunno. Her dad’s been riding her extra hard lately.”
At that, Applejack’s eyes drifted toward the cafeteria entrance, still waiting for Rainbow to appear.
Still not there.
The table fell into a short lull, just the clatter of trays and chatter from nearby students filling the silence.
“She’ll come,” Pinkie said suddenly, softer now. “Even if she’s tired. She never misses a party I throw.”
“Except that one time she had the flu,” Fluttershy murmured.
“Okay fineee…but she texted the whole night and still made me a playlist!” Pinkie huffed.
They all laughed.
Applejack, too though her eyes never quite stopped scanning the crowd. She let her eyes drift toward the entrance again, more out of habit now than hope.
And then she saw her.
Rainbow had just stepped into the cafeteria, her pace clipped, jaw tight. She wasn’t alone.
Coach Dash, her father, stood beside her. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Dressed like a man who treated every hallway like a locker room. His hand was clamped on Rainbow’s arm, not hard but firm, and he was speaking in that low, sharp way AJ had heard only once before, the kind of voice meant for scolding, not conversation.
Rainbow’s posture was tense. Shoulders stiff. Eyes fixed somewhere just past her dad’s face like she wasn’t really there.
Applejack frowned.
The girls at the table had noticed too.
“Oh no,” Fluttershy murmured, setting down her fork.
“Is that” Twilight adjusted her glasses. “Is that her dad?”
“Coach,” Sunset muttered. “Looks like she’s getting an earful.”
They all watched, silent now. Rainbow barely spoke, nodded once, then again, jaw clenched tighter each time. Her dad gestured toward her sports bag, toward her arm, maybe her shoulder, it was hard to tell.
Whatever it was, it didn’t look like encouragement.
Then, just like that, Coach Dash clapped her once on the back and walked off, leaving Rainbow standing alone.
She took a second. Breathed. Shoulders rolled back. Jaw loosened. She turned, spotted the group, and instantly, like flipping a switch, her whole face changed.
Bright smile. Loose limbs. That signature Rainbow bounce in her step.
Like nothing had happened at all.
“Heyyyy losers,” she called, slinging her bag onto the bench as she slid into the seat next to Applejack. “Miss me?”
“You’re late,” Twilight said, ever on brand.
“I was being dramatic,” Rainbow smirked. “It’s called timing.”
Applejack watched her out of the corner of her eye. The smile was wide. Her posture loose. Her voice full of heat and cockiness.
But there was no lunch tray in front of her.
Just a protein shake clutched in one hand, the kind packed with caffeine and almost no calories, used to replace a meal when you didn’t have the time. Or the appetite.
“You alright?” Applejack asked low, so only Rainbow could hear.
Rainbow took a sip, shrugged. “Peachy.”
Applejack didn’t believe her for a second.
But she just nodded anyway.
And Rainbow smiled like she’d won something.
Lunch carried on like it always did.
Pinkie somehow managed to get whipped cream in her hair. Twilight spent ten minutes explaining why she color-coded her folders based on emotional tone. Rarity bragged about getting an email from her fashion internship, and Sunset kept stealing the pickles off Twilight’s plate with quiet, smug precision.
Rainbow kept laughing at all the right moments. Tossed out sarcastic comments. Leaned back in her chair like nothing in the world had touched her.
Like she hadn’t just been chewed out in front of half the cafeteria.
And Applejack… watched.
She didn’t say much. Just chewed her sandwich, nodded where needed, kept one ear in the conversation and one on Rainbow’s every shift in tone. Every time she pushed her drink closer to her lips instead of reaching for anything solid. Every too-easy smile that didn’t quite make it to her eyes.
Eventually, one by one, the group peeled away. Classes. Study groups. Internships. Schedules that didn’t line up quite the same.
Twilight kissed Sunset’s cheek before rushing off. Fluttershy left behind a half-finished fruit cup with a gentle wave. Rarity and Pinkie wandered off arm-in-arm, still arguing about Pinkchella outfit themes.
And then it was just the two of them.
Applejack glanced toward the hallway that led to her next class.
Rainbow was already walking the other direction, toward the athletics wing.
She didn’t even hesitate. Just shouldered her bag and followed her.
Their steps echoed quietly down the corridor, the noise of the cafeteria fading behind them.
Rainbow glanced over. “Aren’t your classes that way?”
“Yeah,” Applejack said. “They’ll still be there.”
Rainbow raised a brow. “Didn’t peg you as the class-cutting type.”
“I ain’t.”
“So what’s up?”
Applejack shrugged, casual. Too casual. “Just thought I’d walk with you.”
Rainbow gave a half-laugh, half-snort. “To the gym?”
“Why not? It’s quiet this way.”
A beat passed. Rainbow didn’t stop walking.
Then: “If this is about earlier-”
“What’d your dad want anyway?” Applejack asked, not accusing. Not sharp. Just… soft.
Rainbow slowed.
Her fingers flexed on the strap of her bag. Her jaw ticked, just barely.
“Nothin’ important,” she muttered. “He was just being Coach.”
“That didn’t look like ‘nothin’, Rainbow.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes and sped up again. “Seriously, AJ, it’s fine. He’s just on my case about this weekend. My form’s off. My times aren’t low enough. Blah blah. Same crap, different day.”
Applejack didn’t reply right away.
She just matched her pace. Let the silence sit between them for a moment before finally saying, “You don’t gotta carry all that alone, y’know.”
Rainbow paused at the stairwell. Turned, leaning on the rail, expression guarded.
“I’m not carrying anything,” she said.
Applejack just looked at her. Quiet. Unmoving.
Rainbow held her gaze for a second longer, then smiled. Sharp. Bright.
“Get to class, farm girl.”
And with that, she turned and jogged up the stairs, long hair bouncing behind her.
Applejack stayed where she was for a moment, chewing on the inside of her cheek.
Then she turned and walked the other way, but slower now.
And heavier.
Three days later, and Pinkchella had finally arrived.
Rarity’s bedroom looked like a Sephora and a wine bar had exploded in the same space.
There were makeup bags tossed open across every surface. A dozen curling irons plugged into a single power strip. Shot glasses balanced precariously on windowsills and the edges of vanities. The air smelled like hairspray, fruity cocktails, and expensive perfume.
Pinkie was sitting cross-legged in front of the full-length mirror, applying rhinestones to her eyelids with tweezers and humming loudly to the thumping bass of the party playlist they’d queued up.
Twilight was on Rarity’s bed with her legs dangling over the edge, trying desperately to follow a twelve-step eyeliner tutorial on her phone while Sunset gently stole the eyeliner stick from her hand. “You’re gonna blind yourself,” she said, laughing, “just let me do it.”
Fluttershy was perched on the floor by the nightstand, sipping rosé from a cup shaped like a cat’s head, carefully separating lashes with a tiny metal comb. Her cheeks were already flushed, either from the alcohol or the commotion, no one could tell.
Rarity was in front of her vanity, surrounded by clouds of setting powder and clips in her hair, fluttering from one girl to the next like a perfectly manicured tornado. “Sunset, darling, make her eyeliner thicker, you can barely see it! Fluttershy darling, wear my Chanel lipstick, it’s in the Louis Vuitton makeup bag. Pinkie, you dropped your lip gloss on my silk robe again!”
“I meant to,” Pinkie called from the floor, giggling as she just took another shot. It could be first shot, or twelfth…no one could tell. “It smells like cupcakes!”
In the middle of it all, Applejack opened the door and leaned against the frame, arms crossed, a warm, crooked smile on her face.
Five heads turned toward her at once.
“You’re here,” Rarity said, shocked.
AJ shrugged. “Just got off the phone with Mac. Said the weekend’s lookin’ slow, so…” She glanced around at the sea of glitter and wine. “Figured I’d stick around.”
Pinkie squealed and launched across the room to hug her. “YOU’RE COMING TO THE PAAAARTY!”
“Easy now,” AJ laughed, steadying herself as Pinkie clung to her like a koala. “Ain’t like I’m gonna go dancin’ on the table.”
“That’s my jobbb!” Rarity sang, raising her glass.
Sunset grinned from where she was finishing Twilights second wing. “We’ll make a party girl outta you.”
“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Applejack said, but her eyes were soft, and her voice was warmer than usual.
She stepped further into the room, ducking slightly to avoid a string of fairy lights as she moved toward the open floor space where everyone had dumped bags and makeup.
“Rares, you still got that face stuff you used on Fluttershy last time?” she asked, plopping down beside her.
“I always have the “face stuff”,” Rarity said, mimicking Aj’s lack of beauty product knowledge.
The room burst into overlapping chatter again, lip gloss shades being debated, nail polish caps clicking open, someone cranking the music up louder. A bottle of cheap rosé was passed around like sacred ritual.
And in the middle of it all, Applejack let herself smile.
Just for tonight.
Then suddenly the door slammed open with a dramatic BANG, nearly knocking a coat hook off the wall.
“Okay, okay, I know I’m late but blame my dad, not me.”
All heads whipped toward the door.
Rainbow Dash stood there, a towel around her neck, sports bag slung over one shoulder, flushed from the cold night air and just a little breathless. Her cheeks were still pink from the post-shower heat, a few damp strands of rainbow-colored hair sticking to her collarbone.
“I finished practice on time, but noooo, he made me stay an extra forty-five minutes to ‘get my stride back.’” She stated, putting on a manly strict voice. “I swear he wants me to collapse before the qualifier just so he can say ‘I told you so.’”
“You poor thing,” Rarity drawled, getting up from her chair to start straightening Fluttershy’s hair. “Go ahead, darling. My vanity’s all yours.”
“I just need like ten minutes, hair is clean, face is clean, all I gotta do is slap on some eyeshadow, eyeliner and boom, hot.”
“You say that like it’s easy,” Twilight muttered from the bed, still blinking through Sunset’s mascara touch-up.
Rainbow made her way to the vanity, tossing her sports bag into the corner and flopping into the chair with a groan.
She was already pulling out her compact mirror when she glanced up, and froze.
“…Wait.”
Applejack looked up from where she was sitting cross-legged on the rug, sipping from Pinkie’s spare glittery cup.
Rainbow blinked. “You’re here?”
AJ tilted her head, giving her a small smile. “Reckon I am.”
Rainbow stared for another second, like her brain hadn’t caught up to the image yet, then broke into the biggest, most unguarded grin of the night.
“Well damn, now it’s a party.”
Pinkie gasped, clapping. “SEE?! I told you she was coming! She even brought her party soul!”
“I brought beer,” AJ corrected.
“Same thing,” Sunset mumbled, starting to line Twilights lips.
Rainbow swiveled in her seat, grinning over her shoulder at AJ. “Can’t believe you actually got the weekend off.”
“Called my brother. He said I’d earned it.”
Rainbow looked at her for a second longer, something softer flickering in her expression, relief, maybe. Or maybe something else entirely.
Then she turned back to the mirror, reaching for her eyeliner.
“I’m glad you’re coming,” she said quietly.
Applejack didn’t answer.
She just smiled into her drink and said, just as quiet, “Me too.”
The room was a riot of music, perfume, and controlled chaos.
Rainbow Dash was now sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the mirror, balancing her compact on her thigh as she carefully traced a wing over her left eye. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, not because she was bad at it, but because she had exactly one shot at making it even. Pinkie Pie sat behind her, perched on a fuzzy ottoman with a brush in one hand and a bottle in the other.
“Pinkie don’t yank it-”
“I’m not yanking, I’m styling,” Pinkie said, very matter-of-factly, slurring just the tiniest bit as she tried to curl the front pieces of Rainbow’s hair. “You gotta trust the process.”
“You’re on like, your eighth shot.”
Pinkie hiccupped. “…Twelfth.”
Rainbow winced. “That explains the glitter in my roots.”
On the bed, Applejack sat still whilst Sunset leaned in, gently brushing a soft brown shimmer across her eyelid. The glow from Rarity’s vanity lights gave her skin a warm hue, and AJ blinked slowly, unsure if it was the wine or Sunset’s very steady hand that made her feel a little floaty.
“You’re lucky you don’t wear much makeup,” Sunset said, reaching for a spoolie. “Your face already does most of the work.”
Applejack chuckled. “You flirtin’ with me or just drunk?”
“I’m not drunk,” Sunset smirked. “Just observant.”
In the corner, Twilight and Fluttershy were huddled together on a beanbag chair, Fluttershy carefully painting tiny daisies on Twilight’s nails while Twilight hyper-focused on not smudging Fluttershy’s.
“Hold still,” Twilight murmured. “Your cuticle game is unreal.”
“Oh,” Fluttershy whispered, cheeks turning pink. “Thank you.”
Meanwhile, Rarity was still firmly planted at her vanity, halfway through step twenty-five of her makeup-prep-meets-glam-routine, patting a powder puff into her jawline like it was a life-or-death mission. “No one dare speak to me whilst I’m baking!”
The girls chuckled.
“So,” Sunset drawled from her perch, swirling what remained of her drink. “Can we please talk about how Pinkie’s obviously in love with Cheese Sandwich?”
“WHAAAT?!” Pinkie gasped so loud she almost dropped the curling iron. “No I’m not!”
“Girl,” Applejack drawled, leaning back against the headboard, “you were doodlin’ his name on your class notes last week.”
“In bubble letters,” Twilight added helpfully.
“With hearts,” Fluttershy whispered.
Pinkie crossed her arms. “Oh please! That was purely platonic doodling.”
“Mmmhmm,” the room hummed back.
Sunset grinned. “You know he’s coming tonight, right?”
Pinkie went stock still, like she forgot her cohost would also be attending their party. Then quietly stated:
“…I need more glitter.”
Laughter exploded across the room.
“Hey, speaking’ of guests,” Rarity said, glancing up from her vanity mirror while tapping highlighter onto her cheekbones. “I heard Soarin’s going to be there tonight.”
Rainbow groaned instantly. “Of course he is.”
Sunset snorted. “Still following you around like a puppy?”
“More like a confused golden retriever,” Rainbow muttered, dabbing concealer under her eyes. “He means well, but I’ve told him, like, five times I’m not into it.”
“Oh please,” Rarity said, fanning herself dramatically, “he practically wrote you a sonnet after you let him borrow your pencil in Intro to Sports Physiology.”
“I think he only did that to get me to join the soccer team.” Rainbow protested.
“You do know he only uses that pencil now,” Twilight added without looking up from her nail polish. “I’m in his algebra and it’s like down to the very tip. Don’t be surprised if he asks you for another pencil soon”
Rainbow just laughed.
Pinkie gasped. “Wait isn’t he the captain of the colleges soccer team? He’s cute Dash!”
“The very same,” Rainbow groaned. “And like I said, I’m not into it.”
Applejack smirked around the rim of her drink. “Y’all sure do attract the clingy ones.”
Rainbow turned just enough to throw a scrunchie at her. “I hate all of you.”
“Love you too, Dashie,” Rarity chimed sweetly.
An hour later and the girls hair and makeup were completed. Rarity dramatically flung open her closet doors like she was unveiling a gallery. “Alright, ladies,” she purred, already in her outfit. “Let the fashion show commence.”
Dressed in a purple corset top and a leopard-print mini skirt, paired with glossy heeled boots, Rarity gave a playful twirl. “Behold,” she said with a wink, “the epitome of feline ferocity.”
“Oh my god, Rares,” Pinkie gasped, clapping, already a little giggly from her twelfth shot. “You look like you belong on the set of The Devil Wears Prada!”
Rarity gleamed. “Darling, I do belong on the set!”
Next up, Sunset stepped out from behind the closet curtain, tugging at the hem of her black mini skirt. Her deep red one-shoulder top hugged her curves perfectly, matched with sleek black boots.
“WowSunsetyoulookverypretyy!” Twilight said, her voice suddenly three octaves higher.
“Thanks babe.” Sunset smirked, throwing her purse over her shoulder.
Pinkie gasped. “Wait, wait! My turn!”
She popped up from the floor and did a spin in her pink metallic halter top, denim ruffle mini skirt, and star accessories glittering in every direction. Her pink platform combat boots stomped the floor as she posed.
“You are literally the only person who can wear that much pink and actually get away with it.” Sunset said with a grin.
Pinkie twirled again, giggling wildly.
Fluttershy stepped out next, soft and glowing in a pale pink ruched top and flowy yellow mini skirt. Her dainty heels tapped the floor as she shyly tugged at her hem.
“You look like a cocktail,” Pinkie gasped. “Like a really expensive one I’m too broke to afford.”
“A Valentino cocktail,” Sunset chimed in.
“Okay, okay!” Twilight announced, hopping over in her deep purple halter and low-rise jeans. “Don’t say anything mean, I tried.”
“Twilight Sparkle!” Rarity gasped, grabbing her hand dramatically. “You look hot.”
“She’s hot and scholarly,” Pinkie declared.
“She’s hot and chronically organized,” Sunset corrected, and everyone giggled.
Applejack gave a little chuckle before stepping forward herself, smoothing her hands over her ruched beige halter top and flared black jeans, cowboy boots firmly on her feet.
“Oh, HELL yes,” Sunset said, low and slow.
“Oh Aj!” Rarity Squeaked. “This is so western chic! C’est magnifique”
Applejack blushed and waved them off, sitting down again, just in time.
Because…
The door creaked open.
Rainbow Dash stepped in.
She stopped.
They all stared.
She was wearing a sheer black dress that clung to her toned figure, cinched perfectly to her waist that left almost nothing to the imagination, and the most dangerous-looking stiletto boots Applejack had ever seen. Her usual sporty energy was still there, but just dressed in something a lot…sexier.
The silence was deafening.
Rarity’s lip gloss slipped right out of her hand and clattered onto the vanity.
Sunset’s brows shot up. “Damn.”
Pinkie gasped audibly, swaying in place with wide eyes. “Who-who let the model in?!”
Applejack’s breath caught in her throat.
Her brain short-circuited.
Every synapse fired like a bottle rocket and then promptly died. Because that was Rainbow Dash. Her friend. Her loud, messy, scrappy, never-sits-still friend. The one who wears compression shorts under her jeans and claims to own absolutely no dressy outfits.
But this? This wasn’t scrappy.
This was hot.
And not just hot, this was painfully, agonisingly, unfairly hot.
Applejack sat stiffly, clutching the edge of Rarity’s bed like she might fall through the floor.
Rainbow caught their expressions and scoffed awkwardly, adjusting her dress in the mirror. “Ugh… it’d look better if I lost a pound or two,” she mumbled, tugging at the straps.
“Absolutely not,” Rarity snapped before anyone else could speak, rising to her feet like a fairy godmother on a warpath. “I will not tolerate that kind of talk in this room. You look flawless, Rainbow Dash.”
Pinkie nodded rapidly. “If I looked like that, I’d stop being nice. I’d just steal people’s boyfriends for fun.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes, clearly trying not to smile. “Yeah, yeah.”
“I thought you were a self-proclaimed tomboy, Dash,” Twilight teased from the corner beside sunset, smirking teasingly.
Rainbow looked up with a sharp, deadpan stare. “I am.”
Fluttershy, sweet and soft, chimed in without missing a beat. “It’s okay. We all know you like getting dolled up sometimes. Doesn’t make you any less you.”
Rainbow paused.
Then shrugged. “Yeah… guess not.”
She sat down beside Apple Jack, to top up her concealer under her eyes like it was no big deal. But Applejack was still staring.
Still reeling.
She felt like she’d been hit by a truck and dragged down Main Street. Her mouth was dry. Her palms were clammy. Her hat, thankfully, was still in her lap, because if it was on her head it’d be sliding right off from how hot her face had gotten.
She tried to look away. She really did.
But Rainbow tilted her head to adjust her makeup, and her collarbone flexed under the thin strap of the dress.
Applejack almost died.
This is fine, she told herself. Everything is fine. She’s just wearing a… a club outfit. A very short, tight, sheer…
She bit the inside of her cheek.
She was not fine.
The Uber XL pulled up, but XL was a damn lie.
All seven girls piled in like it was a clown car. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack were crammed into the middle row, though crammed didn’t even begin to cover it. Applejack had her shoulder mashed against the door, Rainbow’s bare thigh dangerously pressed against hers.
She was already sweating and they hadn’t even moved yet.
“Okay someone’s gonna have to move their purse, it’s crushing my pancreas,” Sunset grunted from the back row, wedged between Twilight and Pinkie, legs awkwardly twisted like a pretzel.
“Rarity,” Sunset groaned, “I love you, but your bag is a biohazard.”
“It is not! This is vintage Dior, thank you very much!”
“It’s poking me in the spine!”
“I told y’all we should’ve gotten two cars,” Applejack muttered, eyes fixed firmly out the window. Anywhere but Rainbow Dash’s thighs.
Twilight snapped. “I actually agreed with you Aj, but Pinkie INSISTED that we arrived as a group!”
Rainbow leaned back, draping one arm lazily behind AJ’s seat. Her body heat radiated like a furnace. “You guys are so dramatic,” she said, lips twitching into a smug grin. “I’m perfectly comfortable.”
“That’s because you’re takin’ up half the row,” Applejack said through clenched teeth.
“Am not,” Rainbow teased. “Maybe you are just too tense.”
Applejack’s brain short-circuited.
From the back, Pinkie let out a loud hiccup and declared, “This is gonna be the best night ever!”
“Not if Fluttershy hurls on Rainbow,” Sunset muttered.
“I-I’m okay,” Fluttershy squeaked, holding onto Rainbow’s wrist with the desperation of a sick child on a shipwreck.
The Uber driver cleared his throat. “So uh… is this, like, a sorority thing?”
“No,” the girls chorused in a perfect, chaotic harmony.
“It’s a club night darling,” Rarity said with flair, reapplying her lipstick.
The man blinked in silence. “Cool, cool…”
Twilight tried pulling up directions on her phone. “We were supposed to get there by 11:30 to avoid the line-”
“Pinkie’s the host, surely we get vip entry” Rainbow cut in, one leg bumping against AJ’s again.
“We do!” Pinkie squealed, spraying her perfume, generously.
Rarity let out a loud, exasperated sigh. “Does anyone have gum?! Pinkie’s perfume is giving me a headache.”
“It’s called sugar rush!,” Pinkie sang from the back.
“Rarity you’re in the front seat, you don’t have to inhale it like we do!” Sunset chimed in.
“Why does Rare even get the front seat, I feel like we should’ve rock paper scissors it.” Rainbow Dash moaned from her seat.
“MY HAIR DARLING! It shan’t get frazzled in the front.”
“Guess we will just have to suffer Pinkie’s perfume from back here then.”
Applejack was not okay.
Rainbow’s perfume was something darker, smoky, sweet, dangerous, and it hit AJ all at once, like whiskey and lightning.
“You okay?” Rainbow asked suddenly, turning toward her.
Applejack blinked. “Huh?”
“You’re like… breathing weird.”
“I’m breathin’ just fine,” she lied.
“You look flushed,” Rainbow said, leaning in a little too close. “You sick?”
“Nope!” Applejack said quickly, and elbowed her a little too hard in the side. “I’m peachy.”
Rainbow winced. “Ow, okay, chill.”
Sunset slapped her hand over the aux cord. “Nobody let Rainbow touch the music, I swear to god.”
“Too late,” Dash grinned, yanking the aux cord from Sunset, and Boom Boom Pow by the Black Eyed Peas immediately blasted through the car like a war cry.
Twilight shrieked. “NOOOO!”
“I’m gonna jump out,” Rarity whispered, fanning herself dramatically.
“I love this song!” Pinkie shouted, shaking her glittery clutch in the air. “TOO MANY HITS, NOT ENOUGH TIME!”
Fluttershy whimpered.
Applejack wanted to die. Not because of the noise. Not because of the smell of alcohol and strong perfume. But because Rainbow Dash was sat in the middle of the backseat dancing to the music like she was born for it, and AJ was gripping the door handle like a life raft.
This night was gonna kill her.
The Uber screeched to a stop outside Club Prism, the bass already shaking the pavement. A long line of students wrapped around the corner.
As the girls got out of the Uber, Pinkie curtsied dramatically, nearly falling over her platforms, and yelled, “THE QUEEN HAS ARRIVED!” before grabbing Rarity’s hand and twirling in the entryway.
As soon as the doors opened, the full force of neon lights, fog machines, and pounding music hit like a tidal wave. The dance floor was already packed, the DJ was screaming into the mic, and strobes flashed across the room like paparazzi on speed.
Pinkie barely made it ten steps inside before she was swarmed by partygoers.
“Pinkie! Oh my god, this is insane!”
“You’re a genius! The glitter cannons? The vodka slushy bar?!”
“Can you DJ later?!”
Without hesitation, Pinkie vanished into the crowd, waving a bedazzled flask above her head. “TO THE BOOZE TABLE!” she cried. “FOLLOW ME, MY LITTLE PINK SOLDIERS!”
Rarity, mid-spin, suddenly gasped in horror. “Fluttershy! Your skirt, darling, you did the zipper wrong! The hem is crooked!”
Fluttershy looked down in panic. “Oh-oh no-I- I didn’t..”
“No worries, angel,” Rarity said firmly, already dragging her by the wrist toward the bathrooms. “Operation: Wardrobe Emergency begins now.”
Sunset grinned and turned to Twilight, slipping her hand into hers. “You, me, dance floor. No arguing.”
Twilight blinked. “But I-wait-Sunset-I don’t dance-!”
“Too late!” Sunset laughed, dragging her into the crowd.
Applejack blinked and turned around, only to realise it was just her and Rainbow now.
Rainbow stood beside her, the flashing lights bouncing off the fabric of her dress. She was scanning the crowd, one hand on her hip, the other holding her phone.
It buzzed.
She glanced at the screen and sighed, already annoyed. “It’s my dad,” she muttered.
Without waiting, she turned on her heel and walked toward a quieter hallway, disappearing into the shadows just past the bar.
Applejack watched her go, frowning. She couldn’t hear anything, just the bass and the rising sound of some remix, but she could see Rainbow’s body language from where she stood.
Shoulders stiff.
Jaw clenched.
Eyes narrowed.
It didn’t last long, maybe a minute at most, but when Rainbow returned, her entire energy had shifted. She wasn’t smirking or bouncing on the balls of her feet. She wasn’t making a dumb joke or elbowing AJ in the ribs. She walked up fast, tense, like she was late to something she didn’t want to do.
“I need a shot,” Rainbow said flatly.
Applejack blinked. “Wait-what? You serious?”
Rainbow didn’t answer. She was already scanning the bar.
“Dash,” AJ stepped in front of her, voice low but concerned. “You’ve got a race next week. You told me you weren’t gonna drink ‘til after-”
“I know what I said,” Rainbow cut in.
Her voice wasn’t mean. It wasn’t even sharp. But it was tired. Hollow, almost.
Applejack stood frozen for a second, unsure what to say. Rainbow had already flagged down a bartender, motioning for two shots of tequila like it was muscle memory.
And all AJ could do was watch, the sound of the club fading into a low thrum behind her heartbeat.
The club had turned into a dreamscape.
Or maybe a nightmare. It was hard to tell.
The bass thudded like a heartbeat through Applejack’s ribs as she swayed with the others on the sticky dance floor. Her cheeks were flushed, her hat long gone, and her drink now tasted mostly like melted ice and lime.
They were all drunk. Like…very drunk.
Pinkie had ditched her platforms and was now dancing just in her miss matched socks with glitter all over her cheeks. Rarity was still flawlessly put together, though slightly buzzed and dramatic as ever. Twilight was giggling into Sunset’s shoulder mid-spin, and Fluttershy had managed to down a full cocktail and was now hiccuping in time with the music.
And then there was Rainbow.
Applejack couldn’t look away from her.
Rainbow was moving like the music had been made just for her, fluid and free, her hips swaying, arms above her head. Her hair whipped with every beat drop. Her eyes, smoky from her eyeshadow, were half-lidded with a tipsy grin stretching her lips.
She looked… heavenly.
And Applejack? She was drowning.
She tried to focus. On the music. On the others. But every time Rainbow turned her head, every time that laugh bubbled out of her chest, every time her hand brushed AJ’s arm,
She slipped deeper.
It wasn’t until a tall figure stepped onto the dance floor, weaving between dancers, that Applejack’s haze began to shift.
Soarin.
In his stupid backwards cap and smug little grin, he zeroed in on Rainbow with the confidence of someone who had never been told no. His eyes raked down her outfit, lingering far too long, and he leaned in close…too close.
“Didn’t think I’d see you here tonight,” he shouted over the music, flashing a too-white smile. “You look good, Dash.”
Rainbow blinked, clearly surprised, and opened her mouth to respond-
But she never got the chance.
“Back off,” Applejack snapped, stepping between them so fast she barely registered her own movement.
Soarin raised his brows. “Whoa-hey, I was just saying hi.”
“Yeah? Well, say it somewhere else.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened. “AJ-?”
“You heard her,” Sunset said behind them, her tone low, warning.
Soarin looked between them all, then leaned in closely to Rainbow Dash, “come catch me later when you ditch your friends” and then disappeared into the crowd with a dramatic eye roll.
There was a beat of silence. The girls stared.
“Okay… what was that?” Twilight asked, blinking at AJ.
“You just-jumped in there,” Fluttershy added gently.
“Y’all saw him. He was leering,” Applejack muttered, crossing her arms, suddenly aware of how loud her heart was pounding. “Wasn’t right.”
Rarity tilted her head. “You don’t usually step in like that, darling.”
Sunset raised a brow. “You sure that was about him and not, say… someone else?”
AJ’s mouth opened…and closed.
But before anyone could press further-
Pinkie paused mid-dance, blinked twice, and went completely pale.
“Uh-oh.”
The entire circle froze.
“Oh no,” Fluttershy said, already reaching for her.
“Uh-OHHHH!” Pinkie repeated, a bit more dramatically.
“I’m gonna be sick!” she wailed, turning on her heel and making a break for the bathroom.
“Oh dear,” Rarity sighed. “Again? That girl has the stomach of a Victorian ghost.”
Twilight chased after her. “We should’ve cut her off after the sixth tequila rainbow.”
Sunset followed close behind. “I told you not to let her drink something called ‘Unicorn Vomit.’”
As the group scattered toward the bathrooms and bar, Applejack stood frozen next to Rainbow, her blood still buzzing, not from the drinks. From what just happened.
Rainbow was still looking at her.
And her expression?
Unreadable.
Rainbow grabbed Applejack’s wrist the moment the rest of the girls disappeared into the crowd.
“Come with me,” she muttered, voice low, eyes unreadable.
She tugged her past the pulsing bodies and toward the side hallway, just outside the bathroom corridor where the lights were dimmer, the music muffled, and for once, it was just the two of them.
Applejack leaned back against the cool brick wall, arms crossed, breath heavy. Her chest was still tight from the confrontation with Soarin, from the tequila, from her.
Rainbow stood a few feet away, looking more serious than she had all night.
“You okay?” she asked.
Applejack stared. “Are you?”
Rainbow blinked. “What?”
“You heard me,” AJ said. “Are you okay?”
Rainbow scoffed. “AJ, c’mon. Soarin was just being annoying. You know I could’ve handled it.”
“Well sorry, Rainbow,” Applejack snapped, eyes sharp now, “but you haven’t exactly handled tonight all that well, have ya? So no, I don’t know how you would’ve handled him.”
Rainbow froze. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means ever since your dad called, you’ve been throwin’ back shots like you ain’t got a track meet next week,” Applejack said, stepping forward. Her voice wasn’t angry, it was tight, strained, like it had been building for hours. “You’re spiralin’. And I’m watchin’ it happen.”
“I’m not spiraling,” Rainbow said defensively, her arms folding across her chest.
“Aren’t you?” Applejack challenged, her voice lower now, steadier. “You’re drinkin’ and- and acting weird, barely even pretendin’ to be okay, what’d he say on the phone, huh?”
Rainbow’s jaw tensed.
Applejack stepped closer, voice soft but firm. “When are you gonna stop lettin’ your dad runnin’ your whole damn life?”
That hit.
Rainbow flinched like it physically stung.
“It’s my life, AJ,” she said coldly. “It doesn’t concern you.”
“The hell it doesn’t!” Applejack snapped before she could stop herself. “I care about you, Dash. I’ve watched you push yourself until you can’t breathe, starve yourself just to meet numbers he cares about more than you. I can’t just stand by when you’re actin’ like this and say it ain’t my business.”
“I didn’t ask you to care.”
“You didn’t have to!”
That shut them both up.
The music thumped in the background, dull and pulsing like a second heartbeat. Rainbow stared at her, something flickering behind her eyes, fear, maybe. Or guilt. Or both.
“I can’t mess up, AJ,” she finally said, voice barely a whisper. “If I lose that race, he’s gonna say it proves everything he’s already thinking about me.”
“What’s he thinkin’?”
Rainbow laughed bitterly. “That I’m lazy. That I’m soft. That I get distracted too easy. That I’m not cut out for this.”
Applejack’s expression cracked.
“You’re the hardest workin’ person I’ve ever met,” she said softly. “Ain’t a soul out there who could say you don’t earn what you get. Not without lyin’.”
Rainbow swallowed hard, looking away.
“I didn’t mean to… to drink this much,” she admitted. “I just, I needed to feel like I wasn’t in my own head for a minute. Like I actually had a life outside of track. And then when I realised how much that shot helped me escape… I just kept… I don’t know I couldn’t… I should’ve..
Her voice trailed off.
Applejack’s stomach twisted. She didn’t know what came next. She only knew that she wanted to pull Rainbow in, hold her, take some of that pressure off her back.
But she didn’t.
Not yet.
“Let’s just get you some water,” she said quietly.
Rainbow looked at her for a long moment. And for once, there was no defense in her eyes. No snark. No wall.
“Yeah,” she murmured. “Okay.”
They walked back toward the bar together.
Not touching.
But closer than they’d ever been.
The night was winding down.
Club Prism’s music faded into the distance, replaced by the soft hum of the city, the occasional car whooshing by, and the uneven shuffle of seven very tired, very glitter-covered girls making their way back to the dorms.
Pinkie Pie was draped between Twilight and Sunset, her boots long gone and her words slurred like alphabet soup.
“I just want… all the fries,” she declared dramatically, one arm swinging through the air. “And maybe… like, Cheese Sandwich. Again.”
Twilight nearly tripped. “Wait, again?!”
“I knew it!” Sunset cackled, tightening her hold on Pinkie’s waist.
Pinkie grinned, eyes sparkling beneath smudged mascara. “Coat closet,” she whispered conspiratorially. “I lost an earring. Worth it.”
Fluttershy blushed furiously but held Pinkie’s shoes like they were made of glass. “I hope he… um… treated you kindly.”
“I think I called him ‘the snack cart’ at one point,” Pinkie mused. “I was very polite.”
Rarity, far ahead of the group, strutted down the sidewalk like it was a runway, one arm extended at full angle taking blurry, low-light selfies.
“No one let me forget how fabulous I looked tonight,” she called over her shoulder. “I demand visual proof.”
“You took seventeen selfies in the Uber!” Twilight shouted.
“And yet none have captured the essence!”
Trailing behind them all were Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
Neither spoke for a minute, the silence between them a little softer now, like a blanket wrapped around sore shoulders.
Their boots clicked gently against the pavement, streetlights flickering gold above their heads. The night air was cooler now, cutting through the sweat and haze of the club, brushing against flushed cheeks and sticky skin.
Rainbow ran her hands through her hair, trying to find the right words to say.
“Hey,” she said eventually. “About earlier…”
Applejack glanced sideways.
Rainbow kept her eyes ahead. “I’m sorry. I was… harsh. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
AJ hesitated. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t’ve jumped down your throat like that.”
“No,” Rainbow said. “You were right.”
Applejack blinked.
“I’ve been letting him push me around for so long, I don’t even know how to push back anymore,” Rainbow admitted. “Tonight just felt like… too much. Like if I didn’t let go for a second, I’d snap in half.”
AJ swallowed.
“Then I’m glad you had a spiral, even you deserve mini meltdown,” she said chuckled.
Rainbow chuckled under her breath. “You’re a good friend, AJ.”
Applejack tried to smile.
It almost reached her eyes.
“Don’t make it weird,” Rainbow added, bumping their shoulders together.
“Who’s makin’ it weird?” AJ asked, bumping her right back.
They walked the rest of the way in silence, but this time, it wasn’t heavy.
Just… settled.
The dorm lights glowed ahead of them, warm and inviting. The night had been wild and messy and everything in between.
And somehow, this, right here, in the quiet, between laughter and exhaustion, felt like the real start of something.
Something Applejack wasn’t ready to name yet.
But it was there.
Waiting.