Nightmares | Appledash

Chapter Seven

She's standing in the kitchen, leaning on the countertop with a recipe book in her hands. Today she's planning on trying something new for dinner, and she has the perfect idea in mind; she just has to find the recipe for it.

It's taking longer than she likes to admit. The book is very thick – it was a gift from her parents last time they had visited. She knows it was their attempt to discreetly help her, knowing she wasn't a great cook and most likely worrying she wouldn't survive on her own.

Well, she wasn't entirely on her own. She throws a glance towards the kitchen wall and smiles at the sight of the framed photo. It displays her and Applejack standing in front of Sweet Apple Acres, the blonde girl's arm resting around her waist, both of them wearing huge smiles. It's a beautiful picture, though a couple of years old now. It was long before they'd decided to move in together, and long before they even dared share the news of their more-than-friendly relationship to family and friends. Both of them had been worried sick; the anxiety started eating at them until the day came when Rainbow couldn't take it anymore. She had, quite literally, just shouted it in everyone's faces. Applejack had freaked out and attempted to drag her home, but at that point, it was too late. The words had already been spoken.

But, lucky for them, it turned out to be one of the best things to ever happen in their relationship. Neither of them had excepted the support to be so overwhelming, and for once, Applejack was pleased that the polychromatic girl had driven herself to an outburst – it saved her the burden of doing it herself. That same night, the two had shared their very first especially memorable moment.

Rainbow grins widely as the memories flick through her mind. She has to vigorously shake her head to stop them from taking over entirely. She shifts her attention back to the task at hand. Right, cooking. That's what she was doing. Or, well, going to do. If she could just find that stupid recipe, that is. She allows her gaze to fall back on the book and starts scanning through the pages.

"Spaghetti puttanesca, chicken quesadilla, beef stroganoff, fettuccini alfredo, spaghetti bolognese..." she reads to herself while flipping through the content. She rolls her eyes. "Creamy mushroom pasta? Jeez, what's with all these pasta recipes?"

There's a sudden noise interrupting her focus. She groans as she puts the book face down, to make sure she doesn't lose her progress, before turning to glare at her ringing phone on the kitchen table. She momentarily considers ignoring it – she is pretty busy, after all – but decides against it. Dash walks over to check the number before picking up. It's unknown. She frowns.

"Who is it?" she asks immediately.

The person on the other end is a woman whose voice she doesn't recognize. She asks if it's Rainbow Dash she's speaking with. Rainbow wants to answer 'the one and only' but the woman sounds impatient, as if in need of an immediate reply, so she decides to settle with a simple 'yes'.

The following words heard from the phone don't fully reach Rainbow's head. She finds herself standing in the middle of the kitchen with wide eyes, unable to speak or even open her mouth at all. The lady calls out for her, but she barely hears it. She hardly hears anything. Everything merges into the sound of static, and Dash can't seem to make proper use of her eyes anymore. It's blurry; everything is out of focus.

Silver gems appear along her cheeks. There is a silence so quiet and long, yet deafening and meteoric. And then, a sob shatters the air. A heart ruptures in tranquility but was felt in the volume of a thousand decibels.

. . .

Applejack's eyes shoot open in panic at Rainbow's scream. She whirls her body around and finds the spot beside her empty. The room is dark, and she's about to call out for the girl when the sudden sound of a sob guides her towards the bottom of the bed where she finds Rainbow curled up and shivering. AJ shuffles towards her. She goes to bring her in for a hug, but then she realizes the girl isn't crying. She's just... staring into the thin air with blank eyes.

Applejack puts a hand on her shoulder. "Rainbow, you okay?" she asks. Rainbow shakes her head but doesn't speak. "A nightmare?" AJ tries instead, though she's fairly certain about the answer. She's shocked when Dash shakes her head once more.

"A memory," Rainbow Dash corrects quietly. Applejack nods understandingly before finally bringing the girl into a comforting embrace. She doesn't need the other to say it; she already knows it's a memory from the incident.

"I'm sorry," she says.

"Not your fault," Rainbow answers. "It never was and it never will be."

Applejack sighs. "But you're right, I should've told ya about Trenderhoof. Maybe we could've stopped him together."

"It's not your fault," Dash repeats firmly. She presses her ear to the cowgirl's chest and starts counting her heartbeats. "You're here with me, and that's all that matters."

"...And what if I wasn't?" Applejack asks. Her voice is so low, Rainbow almost doesn't hear her.

"I would die," Rainbow says simply.

Applejack moves away to glare at her. "No, Rainbow. You wouldn't."

"Yes, I would," Dash insists, scooting closer.

"No, you would not," AJ argues, shuffling further away from her.

"Stop doing that. Come here," Rainbow whispers as she grabs her arm. Applejack shakes it off.

"Not until you say you won't die without me," she says.

"Why? Are you leaving or something?" Rainbow asks, trying her best to sound tough, but the slight crack in her voice betrays her.

Applejack seems alarmed. She opens her mouth to retort but ends up drawing a couple of deep breaths before sighing instead. She gives in and finally closes the distance between their bodies again.

"I love you, alright?" she reassures. She starts rubbing slow circles along Rainbow's back, and the girl hums in appreciation.

"Yeah, alright," she mumbles softly, already drifting back to sleep. Applejack presses a loving kiss to her forehead.

"More than I've ever loved and will ever love anyone else," she adds quietly, despite knowing Rainbow doesn't hear her anymore. The girl is already snoring loudly in her arms.