Author's Note: Hey everyone, I'm back! New name and everything! I've finally decided to start writing stories again, though chances are you probably don't know me. Well hopefully this story will give you something to remember me by! This is my first dive into the deep waters of… eh heh, adult literature, so give me any feedback or tips you've got! Read and review!
UPDATE: I've changed the story title from "Even Leaves Get Lonely" to "The Rainbow Effect." I'm hoping the new title fits in better with the feel of the story. Just a heads up!
Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. If I did, I'd have a cockatrice make a pretty little statue out of Gilda, paint it gold, and have the dragon from Dragonshy haul it off to who knows where.
Aaaand... on with the story!
"The Rainbow Effect"
By: Aquarian Poet
Chapter 1: Wind In The Leaves
It was so… gorgeous.
Celestia's legacy lightly bathed the outskirts of Ponyville. The green hills seemed to flow with rippling waves as the summer breeze fluttered along the lively clearing. Butterflies spread out among the clusters of flowers, unaware of the portrait to which they paid homage, a life of color to the wondrous sight. The trees spread their shadows, and one was more than likely to see a squirrel or rabbit snoozing away the sunny day underneath one of them. It was the picture-perfect lazy day in the lovely month of May for all…
…but a single leaf riding in the wind. Trailing the air in a dazzling display of flips and turns, weaving in and out of the eddying winds, soaring faster and faster, so seemingly out of place in such a serene setting, and finally coming to rest…
…in the brim of the hat of one Applejack.
"Oh for hay's sake, she's got a rainbow for a mane! "
Still scouring the skies for any sight of her feathered friend, Applejack just couldn't find hair or hoof of Rainbow Dash amidst the many pegasus ponies dutifully moving the clouds around all morning long. She was about to pull the reigns on her little operation when she heard someone talking behind her.
"…and then I pulled up with three ponies on my back! The ground was so close, the grass caught fire! Fwooosh!"
'Heh, ain't no pony in Equestria that can tell their tales with such a spin', she thought. 'Cept maybe that Trixie girl.'
Applejack looked up behind her, and could see a spill of rainbow suspended over the edge of a cloud, two arms dramatically waving in the air. Three blonde mares were hovering just above them, their "oohs" and "ahhs" in perfect synchronization. Applejack shook her head fondly, glad that her goose-hunt was over…
Even if her quarry was already full of stuffing.
"Hey Rainbow!" She called out. Rainbow Dash let out a small "hm?", and sat up, turning around to look down towards her friend.
"Oh hey Applejack, what's up?" she called, soaring off the top of the cloud, and down toward the ground. The three girls all frowned with a "hmph," and left to help the other ponies move the clouds. Applejack blinked, her well-prepared speech about laziness and forgetting every other pony-darned thing died in her throat, unable to keep from watching the bright blue pony descend from atop her cloud, her sleek wings stretched out in all their feathered glory, her colored mane waving wildly behind her, the way her smile…
"Uhh, Applejack? You're looking kinda red. You okay?"
Applejack nearly jumped, but kept her footing, settling for looking away with a blush.
"Well shewt, ah've been lookin' for ya all mornin'! Just a little sunburnt is all, plus the sun shinin' in mah eyes don't help none." She replied, squinting her eyes for effect. Rainbow Dash frowned for a second, then retook her ever-victorious grin. Applejack let out an inward sigh of relief. "Y'all remember what tomorrow is, don'tcha?" She asked.
"Yeah, tomorrow's Twilight's birthday! But what does that have to- oh yeah…" she trailed off, looking suddenly sheepish. Applejack rolled her eyes.
"Ah've been settin' up preparation's an' everythan' all by myself! Fluttershy's too busy with sick animals today, Pinkie Pie's spendin' all day makin' the cake, and Rarity's got her… frou-frou dress guy comin' over fer some big project she's been workin' on! Ah need a little help…" she responded, weakly.
"Yeah yeah, let me just tell the guys upstairs that I'll be too busy to be helping with the downpour this month. I'll meet you back at the barn in ten minutes."
"Flat?" Applejack threw in, smirking. Rainbow rolled her eyes, scowling, and took off in a flash of color as Applejack galloped off with a light chuckle, leaf still tucked in the brim.
"Piece by piece, snip by snip. Croup dock haunch, shoulders hip…"
Through the numerous stands of clothing in the Carousel Boutique, one would be hard-pressed to see the lovely unicorn through the window, softly singing as she gathered a number of dresses from one of the racks, and laying them on a table next to her self-enchanted sewing machine.
But then, some ponies don't always show up for just a look.
"RARITY!" Applejack nearly shouted as she burst through the door, causing the laboring lady to shriek, her red-rimmed glasses flung into the air, and sending her tumbling onto another table of linens, cloth flying everywhere in a dazzlingly terrifying display. Applejack looked more than hangdog as Rarity fumbled around under a large green roll of cloth, until flinging it off her dramatically, leveling Applejack with a look of her own.
"Applejack! WHAT are you doing, frightening me in the middle of my work? I don't have time for such nonsense! Hoity-Toity is going to be here in less than a few hours to-"
"Uhh… Rarity?"
"-and just barge in here like you own the boutique! As if-"
"Rarity?"
"-should really get that enchantment for the entryway that keeps you ruffians from flinging my newly-polished doors-"
"RARITY!"
"WHAT?"
"Frog." Applejack simply replied, looking a little worn. Rarity blinked, slowly looked up to her horn, where a plump, green frog had perched itself, croaking quietly. Pupils shrinking, Rarity inhaled a large breath while Applejack slowly slid her hat down to cover her ears…
"And ah just came down to get the ribbons an' streamers for the party… Didn't mean to scare you like that."
"Oh don't worry about it, darling. Everything's all cleaned up, and I wouldn't want to keep Rainbow Dash waiting any longer, you know how impatient she can be." Rarity calmly replied, magicking the basket of items for the party off of a shelf in front of Applejack.
"Uh, heh, yeah. W-Wouldn' wanna keep her w-waitin' any longer." She stammered, bowing her head and feeling her face heat up. Rarity stared at Applejack for a moment.
"Hmm? Applejack dear, you look a little flushed. Are you all right?" Applejack did jump this time, nearly tripping over the basket.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a little sun-dried." she dourly replied, mentally kicking herself. Rarity let a small smile grace her features, turning away and trotting toward the back.
"Oh don't trouble yourself, sit right there, and I'll be back with some water. You must be parched!" she called out, disappearing behind a dress rack. Applejack let herself slump to the floor, more out of nerves than exhaustion.
"Good gallop, ah gotta get a grip on mah-self. If Rarity 'spected that ah had a thing fer Rainbow, it'd be all over Equestria by tomorrow! Why ah'd hafta pack a bag of apples an' move on in to the Everfree Forest! 'Course Zecora'd probably hear it from Twilight by then, so then I'd-"
"Gracious, you must be exhausted! You're not even listening to a word I'm saying!" cried Rarity, shaking Applejack out of her thoughts.
"Hmm? Oh no, ah was uhh… just admirin' yer carpet! Y'all sure do have fine taste in yer floorin' don' ya know." She pointed out with an exaggerated gesture of the hoof while grabbing the floating teacup from Rarity, who's eyes seemed to sparkle for a moment.
"Well thank you Applejack! I did have it imported from Canterlot, made by the very same pony who provided the carpeting inside the Royal Castle! Why, it's even the same material, though in a much lighter shade of periwinkle. I just love what it does to the place, so magnificent! It really brings out the curtains around the… Applejack?" She glanced behind her, barely catching the swinging of the deep-purple door, ending with a merry 'click!' Rarity shook her head.
"Oh well, so much to do for the both of us, I suppose. I must admit, I never held Applejack as a pony who knew an apple's worth about interior designing." Giggling at her pun, she turned around to face the frog now caught in a large glass jar, lightly simpering.
"And you are going to sit there until I've finished my tailoring! Honestly, pet fashion is pushing my limits as it is, but a suit for a frog? Please, not much I can do to make you look any better. If it wasn't Hoity-Toity that…"
The frog merely puffed out its cheeks as Rarity continued her rant, either out of pride, or indignation.
Applejack raced into the barn as fast as she could, skidding to a halt as hay flew off of the ground across the floor.
'pant'…'pant'…"Rainbow?"…'pant'…"Y'all in here? Aww horseshoes, she probably went out lookin' fer-"
"YAHHHHHH!"
SHOOF!
Her back now throbbing, and a low groan coming from her throat, the pony-tailed mare opened her eyes. Through her slightly fuzzy vision, she could see a blue leg dangling in front of her face, all tangled up in an array of colorful ribbons. Eyes widening, she helplessly let gaze trail upwards to where her other leg was, bent to the left, and still on upwards to her rainbow tail, arched up and outward, giving her a perfect, not-so-fuzzy view of Rainbow Dash's…
"CANDY APPLES!" she yelled, flinging the trussed-up pony into the air, who cried out in shock until landing in a haystack with a small "oof!" Applejack nearly passed out right then, whether from standing up so fast, or… other reasons, she couldn't really tell. She was trembling so badly, she didn't even notice that her hat had flown off and landed near the barn door. A rustling to the right brought her back to reality, and she trotted (in a funny way) over toward Rainbow Dash, who was struggling to get out of her multi-colored binds with little luck.
"Eeeugh! N-ugh! Urk! 'Groan!' Help me out here, Applejack! I can't get loose!" she hollered through her tousled mane, unable to break free from the streamers. Three of her legs were tied together, and one wing was fixed to her side by a large purple ribbon, one leg waving frantically through the air. Despite her tremoring knees, sweat-stained mane, and flustered face, Applejack couldn't help but chuckle a bit.
"Well at least ah found ya without too much trouble this time. Though ah gotta admit, ah thought y'all was colorful enough before." She nickered lightly, looking down at Rainbow, who stopped her struggle long enough to give Applejack a light glare. She returned it with a mischievous smile, suddenly thinking of all the payback she could give her filly friend. "Ya know, ah'm thinkin' ah could have a little fun with you before ah let you loose."
Rainbow Dash suddenly went stock still, her face now obstructed by her rainbow mane.
"W-W-Whaddya mean by… 'gulp', fun?" Applejack smirked, and then froze as the double-meaning of her words hit her. This… wasn't what she had in mind. She shook her head fiercely, 'So much fer that…', then reached down, and pulled a single ribbon. Immediately the knot of decorations loosened from around her legs, and Rainbow Dash shook them free, then immediately went to work on releasing her wing. Applejack gave a strained smile as she turned toward the door.
"Heh, well we don't really have time fer foolin' around, what with all the décor we need to lasso about this place. So uh, nevermind. Ah'll getcha back later." She noticed that Rainbow Dash had gone quiet, still trying to free her wing from the purple ribbon, her hair still covering her face. Applejack took a step forward, worried that she may have upset her friend.
"Y'all okay… Rainbow?" She hesitated. Rainbow Dash finally got her wing free, and flapping it a few times to shake off the ribbon, she turned to Applejack, flinging her hair back with a quick jerk of the neck. Applejack saw that she was smiling, though her eyes seemed lightly narrowed, and her pupils a bit larger…
"She probably just got some hay botherin' her eyes or somethin'." she thought.
"Yeah, I'm cool." Rainbow Dash replied, a little shakily. Applejack let out a breath through her nose she didn't know she was holding.
"Alrigh' then, I'm gonna head over to Roseluck's Botanical an' pick up the violet roses Rarity wanted me to get fer the decorations. She said she had somethin' special planned fer them… or somethin'. Ah'll be back soon, so keep up the…" –her eyes swept over the bare pillars of the barn, and landing back to Rainbow Dash, a mess of colored bunting around her.- "…the good work an' all. See ya'll later!" She called, running out the door at something close to a gallop. Rainbow Dash shrugged, and went to pick up the streamers when something caught her attention.
*sniff* *sniff* Whoa… what was that?
"What's that smell? Oh man, it smells so good. I'm really… It makes me…" her eyes trailed toward the door Applejack had left from…
"Hungry! I haven't eaten anything all morning, and I'm in the mood for apples! I wonder if the Apple family's started lunch yet?" Rainbow Dash chirped while jogging toward the exit, completely unaware of the burning sensation in her face…
And the hat that lay at the foot of the door.
*Phew!* Writing just doesn't come easy for me, but it sure is worth it in the end! PLEASE leave a review! I could use some constructive criticism… or a morale boost. Let me know what you guys (or gals) think! Thanks for reading this far!
Please review!