Chapter Text
Pop! Pop! Pop! Beeeep!
Apple Jack vividly heard her microwave door open then slam as she got settled on her couch. Somehow, Rainbow Dash managed to buy every snack except popcorn. She heard multiple cabinet doors open and close before Rainbow Dash asked about the bowls, and she simply answered ‘Right cabinet by the fridge,’ before spreading out her favorite blanket; a gift from Rarity.
Rainbow Dash emerged from Apple Jack’s kitchen. “Alright! What are we watching?” She asks, a bowl of unburnt popcorn in her hand, unlike last time.
Beside her, Apple Jack grabbed three DVDs from the side table. “Alright, we’ve got The Notebook, Jennifer’s Body, or Titanic.”
Rainbow Dash grimaced as she joined Apple Jack on her couch. “Damn, a little lame,” she says, grabbing a handful of popcorn before placing the bowl onto the coffee table in front of them.
Apple Jack shrugged, “This is all the DVDs my parents have for now. I think they donated a majority of them.”
Groaning, Rainbow Dash looked over her options once more. According to her, The Notebook was too cheesy (she most definitely cried the last time they watched) and the Titanic was lame. So, they settled on Jennifer’s body, ignoring the knowing look Apple Jack gave Rainbow Dash when she proudly announced her decision.
“What? Megan Fox is hot.”
Inserting the DVD into the old player, Apple Jack can’t help but look at the cover. Yeah, she is kinda…
Apple Jack shakes her head, almost as if she was trying to shake the thought out of her brain. She regains her spot on the couch as the movie begins to play.
The bowl of popcorn is in between them, creating a barrier that Apple Jack doesn’t want. She wants to be close, closer than she is. From where she is now, their knees are hardly touching.
As kids, they often had movie nights like this, except it was more PG. The movie they’re watching now is more gory than Apple Jack expected, not that she was scared. The movie follows two best friends—one popular, one shy. It turned dark after one of them became possessed and started killing boys. But the girls had a close friendship, almost too close.
Hm.
“You watched this before?” Apple Jack skeptically asks, brow lifting as Jennifer—the popular girl— gets a handful of her best friend's chest. What kind of best friends do that?
“Nah.” Rainbow Dash simply says, and Apple Jack questionably looks at her. Rainbow Dash is smirking, arms crossed in satisfaction. “Megan Fox can sooo get it.” Okay, so she’s right where she wants to be.
Apple Jack internally scoffs, stuffing her face with popcorn. Couldn’t Rainbow Dash just look at her like that? A lot of Apple Jack’s new problems would be solved, actually. No more worrying about whether she’d be replaced by Rainbow Dash’s new girlfriend. It would just be her. The thought hits too fast, too sharp. Apple Jack shoved it away immediately.
Again, she's hyper aware of the distance between them. Apple Jack finds herself moving the popcorn bowl into Rainbow Dash’s lap, explaining that she doesn’t want anymore, and that she can have it. Finally, she can move closer. The two of them are under the same blanket, so it’s easy to connect skin-to-skin. As their legs met, neither of them reacted. They just continued to stare at the TV.
The warmth from Rainbow Dash’s thigh is electrifying. Since she closed the distance, they now sit shoulder-to-shoulder.
She waits for Rainbow Dash to snap at her—to tell her she’s too close, and that she needs to move away, but it never comes. Instead, Rainbow Dash places her hand on Apple Jack’s thigh. It’s an innocent yet daring touch, and Apple Jack feels like she could pass out.
Apple Jack tries to focus on the movie. The popular girl kills a bunch of boys, pushes her friend around, blah blah. She’s not really tuned in.
Until.
Apple Jack’s eyes widen at her TV screen. The two girls were kissing, innocently and unsure at first, but then Needy—the shy girl— is on top of Jennifer. Oh God. The noises?
She absently feels an elbow being nudged into her side, and she tries to look away, she does, but her eyes are glued to the screen in front of her.
Apple Jack has seen sexually implied scenes in movies. Who hasn’t? But it’s usually not… two girls.
The scene only lasts about a minute, yet it felt like an hour. Apple Jack is finally able to come to her senses, realizing that Rainbow Dash has been trying to get her attention for who knows how long.
Apple Jack’s body feels warm. “Uh, sorry, did you say somethin’?” she asks. The hand on her thigh feels more intimate now.
Rainbow Dash is slightly smiling at her. “Megan Fox doing something to you now, too?”
“No,” Apple Jack defensively says, huffing. Then she exhales. “Maybe,” she admits.
Rainbow Dash is her best friend. She feels safe enough to tell her this new secret.
“You act like you’ve never watched something like that.” Rainbow Dash cackles, nose scrunching as she does so.
Cute.
“What?” Rainbow Dash asks.
Oh God, did she say that out loud?
“Didn’t mean to say that out loud,” Apple Jack explains, shoulders bunching up in embarrassment.
Rainbow Dash doesn’t laugh, instead, she quietly repeats the compliment. “Cute?”
Apple Jack feels heat crawl up her neck. “I meant your laugh— you just looked, I don’t know!” She says, gesturing vaguely at her face.
A pause, then Rainbow Dash’s thumb is slightly shifting against her thigh.
“But that’s not what you were looking at.”
Apple Jack’s stomach drops.
“I—“
“These past few days, something has changed. You’ve changed. Our conversation in the car? I think I understood what you meant, and that changes nothing between us, or so I thought. Now it feels…different. You’ve been looking at me like you need something else.” Rainbow Dash says. Not smugly, not accusingly. Just observant.
The movie keeps playing in the background. Loud screaming, dramatic music, but they aren’t watching anymore. They’re looking at each other.
“I need… I really don’t wanna lose you again, Dash.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes soften. “You won’t. Never again, I promise. I just want to understand you.”
Apple Jack bites her lip. Should she say what she really yearns to say? Should she risk losing everything forever?
The way Dash is looking at her though, it’s like she’s pulling the truth from her.
“And I want you.”
Rainbow Dash doesn’t pull away, but she doesn’t lunge forward either. She just goes very, very still.
“You… want me?” She parrots, eyes wide.
Apple Jack’s throat feels dry. She nods, her hand coming to rest on top of Rainbow Dash’s. That’s her chance. If she doesn’t want her back, she can pull away and tell her she doesn’t reciprocate her feelings.
Rainbow Dash’s body slightly relaxes, though her face is still red. “I thought you didn’t like girls,” she quietly asks.
“I thought I didn’t,” Apple Jack explains, voice shaking. “Maybe I just like you, and I think I have for a while.”
Rainbow Dash lightly gasps. “For how long?”
“To be honest, I really don’t know. I’ve always been a bit jealous of the girls you were around. I wanted it to be just me.”
Rainbow Dash laughs at that, then she exhales. Her hand moves to hold Apple Jack’s, pausing the movie with her other hand.
“Look, I don’t know what this means for us, but I don’t want to be your failed experiment. Are you completely sure about this?”
Apple Jack’s heart stutters. If they really go through with this, she’ll have no choice but to accept herself. Suddenly, it doesn’t feel too bad.
“I promise you’re not an experiment, but I’m more than happy to take this slow if you’re willing.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes flicker down to her lips. “Of course I am.”
Apple Jack doesn’t reply. She finds herself leaning in, even though there’s barely a distance to be closed between them. They’re already so close.
Finally, their lips meet.
It’s not perfect. It’s clear that neither of them are very experienced, and their seating position is awkward, but it’s so electrifying.
Apple Jack lets out a soft sound into the other's mouth, hand falling to hold Dash’s waist.
It’s a soft kiss. Apple Jack truly can’t get enough. They keep kissing, but not before their position is moved. She refuses to risk a sore neck from craning her head like an owl.
They shift, bodies facing each other now, sitting in front of each other. Apple Jack leans back in, hungry, searching for more.
Rainbow Dash gives her what she wants, of course, but then they’re pulling apart from each other, because self-control, duh.
They stare into each other’s eyes, falling into giggles as they realize just what they’re doing. Apple Jack’s parents could walk in through the door at any minute, yet they were just about to eat each other alive.
Slowly, Apple Jack is able to catch her breath.
“I like you so much, Dash.”
“I like you too,” she says.
—-
The next morning, Apple Jack wakes up with a weight on her chest. Her brows furrow in confusion as she opens her eyes, pupils adjusting to the morning light. She attempts to sit up, and only then does she realize her reasoning for waking up.
Rainbow Dash is sprawled out on top of her, arms completely wrapped around her torso. She can’t help but to look down at her… friend in awe. The two of them are mushed together on Apple Jack’s small couch. Half the blanket is covering them, the other half on the floor. Sometime in the night, they managed to flip the half eaten popcorn bowl onto the ground, so that’ll be a blast to clean up.
That’s the very least of her concerns though.
So it wasn’t a dream, she thinks.
She lays there for a bit, staring up at the ceiling as she recalls their conversation. Apple Jack admitting she wants Dash, then they kissed! A lot, actually. Apple Jack feels her chest start to rise more as she remembers how her lips felt pressed against her new interest.
Apple Jack isn’t really sure what they are. They’re more than friends, but they aren’t really dating yet. So they’re kind of in between. But they kissed? So, talking? Whatever they are, Apple Jack knows that she only wants Rainbow Dash.
Distantly, she wonders how long she was in denial about being in love with her. The jealousy, the admiration, and the need to always be with her; it all makes sense now. For once, she’s found clarity.
It wasn’t just her though. Rainbow Dash liked her, too. Before all of this. I mean, there’s no way she just suddenly started liking her because she felt her thigh during an innocent movie night. How long? How long did she like her?
Could they have been together earlier?
A sleepy groan interrupts her train of thought. “Mmh… Why’re ‘wake?”
“Well, I think I attempted to get off this darn couch, but I was completely trapped, so.” Apple Jack says, “And I really gotta pee, if you don’t mind.”
Rainbow Dash groans even louder, pressing her face into Apple Jack’s torso. If it didn’t affect her already full bladder, she might’ve started laughing. Instead, she settled for a deadpan.
Rainbow Dash squints at her. “Fineee!” She complains, removing herself from the warm embrace.
Apple Jack sighs in relief as she stretches, body aching from their poorly chosen sleeping place. Why didn’t they go to her bed again? Oh, right. Twin bed. She yawns as she makes her way into the bathroom, doing her business before brushing her teeth. Just in case someone wants to kiss her.
When she comes out of the restroom, Rainbow Dash is cocooned in Apple Jack’s blanket. She’s so adorable, like an angry chihuahua.
“Let’s go back to bed.” Rainbow Dash protests, pouting her lips out.
Apple Jack giggles, “You can go back to bed. I have chores to do. Did you let your parents know you were staying the night?”
Rainbow Dash groans for the third time that morning. “I wasn’t planning to sleep over. You let me fall asleep!”
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
Sadly, Rainbow Dash does eventually have to go back home. After Rainbow Dash helped Apple Jack with a few simple house chores, they spent the past few hours together in Apple Jack’s bedroom, simply just enjoying each other’s presence (totally not kissing.)
The worried text from her parents followed by an angry phone call gave Rainbow Dash no choice but to leave. Apple Jack was upset at first, but Rainbow Dash reminded her they had all the time in the world, and they didn’t have to rush things. That put her heart at ease.
“When can I see you again?” Apple Jack longingly asks, leaning her head against her front door frame, offering her best attempt at puppy eyes.
Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes playfully. “You can see me anytime. Even tonight, if you want,” she says, voice dipped in flirtation.
Well, alright. She knows how to flirt for sure.
Apple Jack pretends to consider it, tapping her chin. “Tonight, huh?” she hums, eyes glinting.
Rainbow Dash smirks. “Don’t tempt yourself.”
Before Apple Jack can fire back, Rainbow Dash’s phone pings once. Then again. Her ring tone cuts through the moment.
Rainbow Dash winces. “As much as I’d love to stay here and one-up you with my flirting, I really need to go.”
She doesn’t give Apple Jack time to argue. She steps forward, presses a quick, warm kiss to her lips, then bounds down the porch steps, tossing a lazy wave over her shoulder.
Apple Jack leans against the doorframe again, watching her disappear down the road— but this time, there’s no tightness in her chest. Instead, her heart is full of warmth. No fear of losing her. No rushing to hold onto something slipping away.
They had time.
And for the first time, watching Rainbow Dash leave didn’t feel like goodbye.