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reid-reece · 7 days ago

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ths made me like applejack and rainbow dash being together more than i did

Cinnamon Girl, an Appledash Shortfic

Characters: Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack, with mentions of Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie

Genre: Shortfic, AU.

Premise: Dash is secretly in love with AJ, which just broke up with Rarity. And yes, they are absolutely Lana del Rey coded.

TW: very slight angst, unrequited love.

Rainbow Dash was a terrible person, she knew that perfectly well. First, she was extremely competitive and arrogant in any topic related to motocross. The sport, besides making her adrenaline rise, her blood circulate and her heart beat, giving her life, also made her lose her reason sometimes, to the point of saying harsh words even to the members of her own team, for which she always apologized later.

But the main factor that made her a terrible person was a secret that she kept locked away under lock and key, perfectly hidden under a thick layer of irony and jokes: she was completely and irrevocably in love with Apple Jack, one of her school friends — and the girlfriend of her best friend, Rarity.

You see, it wasn't intentional. Dash loved Rarity with all her heart, and would support her friend no matter the circumstance, being there to hug her through every messy and tearful breakup she went through with Apple Jack since they were teenagers, considering that their relationship was like a crazy emotional rollercoaster. When Dash moved to Ponyville, a small town in the middle of nowhere, the first person she met and who extended a helping hand towards her was Rarity, at the age of 13; she met Apple Jack much later, when they were already in high school, as soon as the tall, blonde and, at the time, skinny girl, started getting romantically involved with her friend.

At first, she couldn't care less about the country girl Rarity had chosen to love, and who she had been babbling about during every single school break; quite the opposite, in fact: at first, she hadn't liked the blonde at all, feeling jealous of her best friend and believing she was being left behind in exchange for that young love. Dash and AJ even had a small feud involving card games during school breaks, with growing bets and animosity involved. But, unfortunately, as time went by, Apple Jack had proven to be very easy to love.

Their entire group of friends welcomed her with open arms, and it was only a matter of time before Dash found herself having to put up with her, and then discovered their common interests. They were both competitive, they liked adventures, they were good at physical education and they would be up for anything related to extreme sports; in that regard, Dash was the best, as she had already stood out in motocross rallies at the age of 15, a fact that she never failed to show off. Unlike what she expected, however, Apple Jack did not try to look down on her nor felt envious: she congratulated her on each of her victories, and began attending the matches to cheer for her, since Rarity hated that type of events full of "noisy motorcycles and mud".

Years passed, and the initial irritation that Dash felt towards AJ was gradually replaced by friendship and then by an extremely annoying and seemingly ineradicable one-sided crush on Dash's part. The day she became convinced that she was a fool and a terrible person, however, was a surprising day: during one of Rarity and Apple Jack's breakups, when they all were around eighteen years old, almost finishing school.

Dash had spent the entire morning of a cold Saturday comforting her purple-haired friend, who had cried in her frilly bed for hours until finally falling asleep. Then, huffing to herself, she decided to check on the other person involved in the mess, for whom she had inappropriate feelings, but who was still her friend. Grabbing her skateboard, she crossed the small town in a matter of half an hour, heading down the road that led to AJ's family ranch. It was spring, but the weather remained cool, and the apple trees, still in a timid period of budding, were the first thing Dash saw as she approached the large red wooden house: Sweet Apple Ranch. A silly name, as silly as the girl she had come to look for, which made her roll her eyes and get off her skateboard, tucking it under her arm to walk across the grass between the trees.

— Hey, anyone home? — she exclaimed, clapping her hands, knowing in advance that there was no sign of a doorbell in that house.

She expected Big McIntosh, AJ's older brother, to come and greet her. He was always at home, and he was also always the most willing to talk to anyone who showed up; however, she was surprised to be greeted directly by Apple Jack, who kept an impassive expression on her face, with bags under her eyes that didn't let the possible sleepless night go unnoticed.

— Hi. — Dash murmured, lost in analyzing AJ’s freckled face, her lips pressed into a thin line, her wavy blond hair, which was currently a mess, and her shoulders slightly hunched forward.

— Hi. What do you want? — AJ asked immediately, in a tone that was completely unfriendly, not typical of her at all. She raised one of her blond eyebrows, her tall figure still looming over Dash even as she slumped against the doorframe.

— Good morning to you, too — Dash replied, rolling her eyes.

— Stop messing around. If you came to deliver a message for her or defend her in front of me, you can go away. I don’t want to hear it this time.

Dash’s jaw dropped, and she remained in disbeliefed silence as she stared Apple Jack up and down. Okay, she had helped Rarity through previous breakups, working as a carrier pigeon to try to restore peace between the two of them; but it wasn’t like she was the only one who did that. In their group of friends, Fluttershy and Pinky Pie were always the ones most willing to help solve any emotional problems, trying to make sure everyone was happy at all times. It was annoying sometimes, but Dash knew they did it out of love; she did it too, for goodness sake.

— First of all, keep your venom to yourself. I wasn't the one who broke your heart. — Dash walked right past AJ, who didn't answer, and entered the house, taking off her colorful-soled sneakers. Then, she turned and flicked the blonde's forehead, making her mumble. — Second, I'm not here on anyone's orders. I just came to check on you. You guys fight and the job of official emotional caretaker always falls over me.

AJ remained standing, leaning against the doorframe, just staring at her, her eyebrows furrowed. She seemed to get lost in thought from time to time and then return to reality, as if she didn't really know what to do.

— Sorry. You’re right. — She pushed herself off the wood, as if she had regained a small amount of energy. — Wanna eat something? I’m the only one home, but Grandma made grape jelly and homemade bread before she left this morning.

— Yes, I do. — Dash answered simply, making AJ smile softly and roll her eyes, walking past her and leading her to the kitchen. The blonde one left the door open, not seeming at all afraid of intruders; Dash couldn’t help but think that this was exactly the behavior she would expect from a country soul like AJ.

The two of them walked into the farmhouse kitchen, which had cream-colored tiled walls and floor, was spotlessly clean and had a wonderful sweet smell filling the air. Opening the oven, AJ took out a platter full with what looked like the world’s largest loaf of homemade bread, placing it on the plaid tablecloth. Then she walked over to the counter and picked up a carefully sealed glass jar and a knife, placing them next to the bread.

— Enjoy your meal — she said, holding out her arms, letting Dash know she could help herself to as much as she wanted.

Having not had lunch at Rarity's, Dash didn't feign politeness and went straight to cutting the soft bread, whose insides were still warm enough to steam. Rubbing her hands together in contentment, she took a slice for herself and bit into it without anything else, just enjoying the taste of the pure bread. She closed her eyes for a few moments, shaking her head in a brief, hungry dance.

She heard a hoarse laugh, which made her swallow quickly and open her eyes.

— This must be really good — AJ said, sitting in a chair at the end of the table, next to Dash, and then throwing one of her arms over the back of the chair, sprawling out comfortably.

Unlike when they first met, AJ was no longer a thin country bumpkin: now her muscles had developed, perfectly matching her broad shoulders and elegant frame. Dash had to look away, focusing on anything other than the forearms exposed by AJ’s rolled-up shirt sleeves.

— It’s good. Didn’t you eat? — Dash asked, taking another bite and chewing quickly, partly because she was hungry, partly to force herself to ignore the slightly faster beating of her heart.

AJ’s expression clouded over, and her green eyes darkened even further as she slumped over the table, letting out a long, obviously tired sigh.

— No. I just didn’t have an appetite today. — By “today” she meant all week, since she’d broken up with Rarity the previous Tuesday.

Apple Jack was the kind of person who spoke very little and showed even less about her feelings, but who punished herself by depriving herself of sleep and food as ways of coping with her pain. Which was incredibly unhealthy.

— Listen here, princess: — Dash called, in a casual tone, using one of the nicknames she liked to use with all her friends, especially AJ, because she knew it irritated her. — You need to eat. Starving yourself won't magically solve the situation. Talking will. And you know as well as I do that, when you two put your pride aside, which will happen in a week at most, you'll get back together and all the sadness will go away in the blink of an eye...

— No. Not this time, Dash — AJ interrupted, her eyes coming away from the tablecloth and quickly rising to Dash's face. The light green of her irises was blurry as her eyes watered and she pressed her lips together tighter, trying to stop any tears from slipping out. Her voice sounded shaky when she repeated, next: — Not this time.

Dash went silent, even stopping to chew. She thought for a few moments, her eyes wandering around the cozy kitchen, until they returned to AJ's face, who was still staring at her. She seemed to be waiting for her to inquire about the situation, or to tell her in a generic way that everything was going to be okay. But Dash wouldn't do that, she wasn't like that; the losses and hardships in motocross had taught her from an early age that sometimes the best medicine for a hurting heart was crying. No invasive questions or empty phrases of comfort, just acceptance and openness.

Dropping the slice of bread on the table, she rubbed her hands together, getting rid of the crumbs, and then turned once more to Apple Jack, who remained motionless.

— Then cry, AJ. You don’t have to be strong all the time. — She opened her arms slightly, signaling without using words that she could give AJ a hug if she needed it. — It’s okay to cry.

That was enough to make the remains of the wall that the blonde had built around herself crumble. Shaking, tears began to roll down her freckled cheeks in copious amounts, and she didn’t hesitate to lean over and hug Rainbow Dash tightly, burying her face in one of her shoulders. She didn’t sob or make any noise, but her body shook and her breath hitched for countless minutes, during which her hot tears flooded the shoulder of Dash’s coat. But it was okay, Dash didn’t care.

Reaching out an uncertain hand, she thought about stroking the blonde's hair the same way she did with Rarity while comforting her; but that seemed inadequate, so she decided against it, instead just patting AJ's back in comfort, allowing her to let out everything that had been suffocating her heart these past few days.

As she watched her like that, so devastated, Rainbow Dash knew that she could never have her. She, with such a pure and vulnerable heart, was not made for a terrible person like Dash. And that was okay. She could settle for just secretly wishing for her love, until she finally managed to smother and erase that inappropriate desire. In the end, they would still be friends, and Rainbow Dash would be there for her when she needed her, just as she would be there for Dash. That was enough.

Fifty minutes later, Apple Jack released her, wiping her face with the back of her hand and sniffling deeply. Her eyes were puffy when she looked at Dash, but her irises seemed less cloudy than before.

— Thanks — she murmured barely, in a low, husky tone.

Dash smiled slightly, shrugging and going back to eating her previously forgotten slice of bread.

— You’re welcome, snot — she replied, which made her roll her eyes but smile back.

A few moments passed, during which AJ got up and washed her face in the kitchen sink, blowing her nose with a paper towel that she discarded. Then, amidst Dash’s barrage of jokes about her still having boogers on her face — which she didn’t — she sat back down in the same spot.

— Hey, aren’t you going to try the jam? Grandma would be sad — she asked, pointing to the glass jar.

— You’re right — Dash replied, helping herself to another slice of bread after finishing the first one. — Open it for me.

The blonde looked at her with an amused smile on her lips, very different from the devastated expression from earlier. That was a relief.

— Why? Can’t you open the jar yourself, weakling? — That was a common provocation between the two of them.

Outraged, Dash immediately dropped the bread and reached for the jar of jam, frowning.

— Of course I can! — And then she tried to turn the lid, which didn’t budge an inch.

She looked at Apple Jack, alarmed, while the blonde started to laugh. Concentrating, she kept trying, applying all the strength of her arms to the jar.

— Damn, your grandma has iron biceps. Did she superglue this thing shut?

— Give it to me, weakling — AJ exclaimed, deftly stealing the jar from Dash’s hands. In a few moments, she had it open effortlessly, as if it were the easiest thing in the world, which left the colorful-haired girl with her mouth open and a disgusted expression. — You need to train those arms of yours more, not just your legs.

— Shut up. You’re no one to criticize my training, country bumpkin — Dash snapped, sticking out her tongue.

This only made Apple Jack laugh even harder, as she leaned over to pick up the knife, spreading the jam over the slice of bread Dash had cut earlier. With everything ready, she held out the jam-covered slice to Dash, indicating it with her eyes.

— Take it. Eat.

Ignoring the annoying tingling in the pit of her stomach that AJ's typical display of service gestures caused, she rolled her eyes, accepting the slice and quickly stuffing her mouth with bread and jam.

— Damn, this is delicious! — she exclaimed sincerely as she chewed. A crumb flew from her mouth towards AJ's face, who widened her eyes.

As Rainbow Dash turned as red as the house, Apple Jack laughed until she leaned against the tabletop, her posture finally becoming relaxed.

Well, as long as Dash could make her feel better, she didn't mind embarrassing herself a little. Even if she couldn't have her, she still loved her as a friend, and seeing her happy was enough.

•••

And that was the day she gave up on Apple Jack once and for all, nipping in the bud the obsession she had cultivated during her adolescence. Even if AJ and Rarity got back together and her heart ached, she would accept it. This was the best thing for everyone, she was sure of it.

Apple Jack was made of apple, soft, strong and sweet, and she was made of cinnamon, insistent and striking. They were different, in every possible way, and they would never mix.

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