Chapter Text
The story starts when it was hot and it was summer and-
Actually, it’s spring. But nevermind that.
Applejack stood at her locker, sticking her tongue out in frustration as she attempted to successfully fill in her locker combination. The constant buzzing of the crowded hallway was getting on her last nerve, and she felt like veins were starting to stick out of her neck from frustration. Her fingers were aching and her palms were growing sweaty, and she ended up dropping the lock, throwing her hands in the air in defeat, and turning to the person beside her for help.
“Shit’s screwed. How do y’all get around all year like this,” she muttered as she leaned her back forcefully into the locker, watching the girl next to her take the lock in her hands and give it a shot. “It’s still my first week but I don’t get any of this fancy shit.”
A few moments later, the lock clicked and she pulled it off, handing it to her with a giant smile.
“Easy peasy!” she exclaimed, her pink frizzy hair bouncing up as she did a shoulder dance.
Applejack scoffed as she snatched the lock, then placed it on the shelf once she opened the locker. She took off her backpack and started to dig through it.
“Guess this ain’t your first rodeo,” she spoke sarcastically, eyebrows held at an unamused height.
Pinkie Pie shook her head and giggled. “Yeah, it’s kind of my job. You’re lucky to have me!”
Applejack chuckled, loosening up a bit. “You’re not wrong. I’d be totally lost in this hellhole without you.”
She continued throwing stuff into her locker, then looked down at her uniform, which she was definitely not used to yet.
“I don’t think I can stand wearin’ this all year,” she complained, pulling at the button-up shirt she was forced to put on. She looked down at the ugliest plaid skirt she’d ever seen, attempting to pull it down, even though Pinkie told her that all the girls roll their skirts at least three times.
“Oh, it’s not so bad. Besides, it’s easy to cheat on tests. Just write your answers on your leg and cover it, ‘cause it’s not like the teachers can ask you to lift up your skirt!” Pinkie exclaimed, then burst into giggles, but Applejack just scoffed. Not a bad idea, however.
She turned back to her locker, attempting to organize her textbooks. Pinkie started urging her on, so she finished taking things out of her backpack, and was about to close her locker when the sound of slamming metal echoed from across the school.
The sound sent a wave of silence down the hallway. Students turned their heads toward the sound, everyone staring toward the end of the corridor. Applejack looked at Pinkie for an explanation, but she just shrugged, yet her question was answered as other students started running in the direction of the noise, gasps and whispers forming the moment they turned the corner.
Applejack furrowed her brows in curiosity as she watched Pinkie Pie head the same direction, and she followed her, leaving her backpack behind.
Questions filled her mind. Jeez, it was her first week at this new school, what gives? As she rounded the corner, now dozens of students were standing around something, yet she couldn’t see what. The previous whispers had transformed into shouts, random voices calling out over the others.
Another echoing slam. It clattered in-between the lockers and bounced off the dirty tile floors, loud enough to make someone jump out of their skin. Gasps erupted from the hurdle of students, and Applejack watched Pinkie Pie widen her eyes and cover her mouth.
“What is it?” Applejack murmured, stretching her neck in an attempt to see over the crowd. Pinkie Pie put a finger to her lips, and Applejack just continued looking confused as fuck, unable to figure out what was happening.
The students kept muttering, chatter filling her ears, yet a couple voices raised above the rest.
“How the fuck do you like that, huh!” a feminine voice yelled, accompanied by another slam.
“You’re sick,” replied a raspy one, full of irritation.
Applejack perked up, listening in on what she was finally starting to figure out.
“I’m tired of this bullshit, and I’m pretty sure everyone else here is too,” she continued, words laced with venom, sounding like she was practically hissing with anger.
The students in front of her moved, and now she had a clear shot of the two girls that seemed to be fighting.
A girl with golden hair was being held up against the locker, one hand rubbing her head and the other reaching out towards the girl in front of her. Her eyes were dark, pupils dilated, shadows covering her face. Applejack felt a sense of dread run through her body.
The other girl spoke up again, spitting something about the way she was acting. Her back was turned to her, but Applejack could see the muscles in her legs, and her eyes widened. Her uniform skirt was rolled up sloppily, shirt untucked and tie wrinkled. One of her socks was pulled up higher than the other, and her converse were covered in dirt.
The thing that stuck out most about her was the multi-colored hair. Applejack was surprised that shit was even allowed at this catholic school.
Her shaggy hair fell past her shoulders, box-dyed colors vibrant among the rest of the students. Applejack was kinda mesmerized by it. How was it so bright?
Applejack’s eyes fell to her legs again, watching the way her muscles flexed as she took a step forward. She had to blink a few times to snap herself out of it.
Remember why you were sent here, she reminded herself in her mind, forcing herself to keep her gaze at eye level.
The box-dye girl was grasping the golden-haired one by the shirt, her fingers twisted up in the fabric of her collar, pushing her up against the locker. Applejack thought this was usually a public school thing.
She slammed her head against the locker again, and gasps elicited from the crowd, and Applejack felt her heart drop. The fuck does this multi-colored hair bitch think she is?
Applejack sucked in a deep breath and pushed her way through the crowd, hearing Pinkie Pie attempt to call her back. Others gasped and whispered, people telling her to stop. Applejack had no idea what was going on, but this obviously wasn’t right. Nobody else was doing anything.
So she stepped right up to the bickering girls, grabbing ahold of the rainbow-haired girl’s wrists and pulling her grip off of the other girl’s shirt. It was pretty easy, since she hadn’t been expecting it, but she immediately gripped harder when she realized someone was intervening.
Applejack’s mind raced as the girl turned around to face her. Oh, what a great first impression, she immediately thought, as she realized how many sets of eyes were on her. The hallway went quiet, apart from the few lingering gasps of surprise from the students, and Applejack could feel the anger radiating off of this bitch.
What had she gotten herself in the middle of.
The box-dye bitch opened her mouth to speak, fuschia eyes meeting Applejack’s, but her words caught in her throat as she took in the person in front of her, eyes scanning her features in an attempt to recognize, but she couldn’t.
This staring contest lasted for just milliseconds, but Applejack swore it felt like an hour.
Her lips were parted in shock, looking up in curiosity at the blonde who had just intervened, but she quickly snapped herself out of it and pushed Applejack back a few steps. It wasn’t a shove, and Applejack surely didn’t let herself fall, but she did stumble, not expecting the girl to actually push.
Applejack widened her eyes as she regained her footing, and the rainbow-haired girl was giving her a serious look that read “get the fuck out”.
But it wasn’t an angry look, it was more… concerned.
In this short time it took for her to give Applejack a warning, she had already released her grip on the other girl and soon regretted it a moment later, as the golden-haired girl lunged at Applejack, knocking her down and pinning her to the ground.
The jumble of students erupted in gasps and shouts, and Applejack felt her body go numb. Not necessarily with fear, but definitely shock. This was not how her first week was supposed to go.
“How dare you!” the girl on top of her yelled, pulling back her arm in preparation, and Applejack’s vision went white as she covered her own face. Her mind started racing in panic, realizing she was about to be hit by a psycho bitch on her first week of school.
Moments before disaster, Applejack feels the weight ripped off of her, and hears the startling sound of crashing beside her, not able to comprehend what in the hell just happened.
She finally opens her eyes, watching the golden-haired girl having just been smashed against the ground, the box-dye bitch hovering over her. She grabbed her by the shirt and whispered something to her that even Applejack couldn’t hear, then dropped her.
The golden-haired girl’s head hit the tile with a bang, and the crowd of students replied with hushed oohs.
The sharp clacking of high-heeled footsteps sent heads turning the other direction, eyes widening and whispers shooting out of mouths. Applejack watched the rainbow-haired girl’s face fall, her head turning to follow the sound too.
The clump of students deformed to create space for a woman to walk through, who stood tall and serious as she took in the scene before her. Her skin was dark, hair navy with sparkling waves, bright teal eyes looking cat-like and curious.
She scanned the scenario, yet didn’t seem angered. She didn’t show much emotion at all.
“Oh Vice Principal Luna, she started it!” the golden-haired girl spoke up from the floor as she pointed to the other girl, still sprawled across the tiles. She was holding her head, sitting up on one of her elbows. Her lips were drawn in a frown, yet her eyes looked like she was forcibly making them downturned.
“Liar!” the colorful-hairball spat, staring down at her with something brewing in her eyes. “And you know it.”
“Girls, enough,” the woman spoke, a hush falling over the students.
Her voice echoed off the lockers, yet it wasn’t in a harsh tone. Applejack swore her heart was beating out of her chest. How did she get herself into this?
The woman surveyed the scene, eyes flicking between the three girls. Applejack curled into a ball on the ground, the bitchy one sprawled across the tiles like a damsel in distress, and the box-dye maniac standing like a pixar character, arms across her chest and all her weight shifted onto one hip.
The vice principal’s eyes landed on the girl on the floor. “Lightning Dust, you’re coming with me,” she confirmed, gesturing to her.
“What?!” she replied, anger erupting out of her as soon as the vice principal’s words left her mouth.
She looked down at her in resentment. “Are you talking back to me?” she asked, and the students replied with oohs.
“Shush,” she said to the kids, and they fell silent after a few lingering giggles. She turned back to the girl on the ground.
“Get up, or we’re going to have more than just a little chat,” she added, and she started walking away before the girl on the ground could argue any further.
The other girl started raspily cackling, slapping her knee. “That’s what cunts like you get,” she chimed, pointing at her.
She stood up from the ground, shoving her shoulders as she passed by, stomping after the vice principal.
“And the rest of you, go back to class!’ the vice principal yelled from down the hallway, and the students immediately started dispersing as soon as the action was over.
Pinkie Pie ran up to Applejack, pulling her up off the floor. “Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! What in the absolute bedazzling fuck were you thinking?!” she exclaimed, dusting off her clothes.
Applejack was kind of in a daze. “I don’t know,” she muttered, rubbing her forehead, “But remind me to never get involved in anythin’ ever again.”
“That was insane! That was a great start to your popularity here!” Pinkie went on. Applejack chuckled as she shook her head.
The crowd of students around them started to thin out as they got back to class. Pinkie started picking some of the dirt out of her hair, and Applejack just let her, knowing the back of her head fell right into the most populous hallway in the entire school.
Applejack’s face fell as someone approached her. Her eyes traced up her body, meeting the girl’s eyes. She looked… a lot more chill than she did a moment ago.
Her shaggy hair had fallen into her eyes, which were an extraordinary color, Applejack realized. Now seeing her from the front, she got a good look at her. Her toned legs, slender arms, slim waist that was dressed in the same plaid skirt she was wearing, although somehow she made it look much better than anyone else. Half of her shirt was tucked in, yet she looked comfy as hell. She ran her hands through her messy hair, before putting a hand on Applejack’s shoulder.
“Never seen you around here before,” she proclaimed, patting her on the back. “Sorry you got dragged into that. Actually, you dragged yourself into it,” she continued, bursting out in laughter. Her laugh was so high-pitched and crackly, it almost made Applejack burst into laughter herself.
“Hey. You’re welcome,” Applejack replied, eyes narrowing.
She quit her laughing fit, crossing her arms as she switched her gaze between Applejack’s eyes and the hat on her head. “Where did you come from?” she rudely asked, eyebrows raised.
Applejack was appalled. “‘Cuse me?”
“Dash, do’ya mind?” Pinkie Pie spoke up once she finished cleaning off Applejack’s clothes, stepping in between the two.
Applejack just grew more surprised by the minute. “You’re friends with her?” she asked Pinkie, and Pinkie nodded enthusiastically.
“Course we are! And Dash, Applejack’s my second-cousin-once-removed-or-maybe-third-cousin-sorta-removed-at-some-point-relative.”
The rainbow-haired girl raised her eyebrows even higher, mouth parting slightly. In her confusion, she lifted her shirt slightly, then pulled out a sucker from her waistband. She unwrapped it, dropped the wrapper on the ground, then stuck it in her mouth. After a moment, she slowly replied. “Yeahhh, okay. Didn’t answer my question.”
Applejack already didn’t like her damn attitude. And why’d she just drop the wrapper on the floor? “What’s it to you,” she snorted. "I transferred.”
She tilted her head to the side, looking her up and down. She sucked on the dum dum for a moment. “I see. Not from around here.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She shrugged, breaking eye contact. “Nothing, blondie.”
Applejack frowned. Pinkie Pie giggled.
She smirked at her. Then she took another lick of her sucker, and started to back away.
“Whatever. Nice to meet you, babe. See ya.”
Applejack’s lips parted in shock, turning to Pinkie Pie as soon as the girl had made her way down the hallway.
Pinkie Pie kept giggling. “Ah, you’ll learn to love her.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “No, I won’t. That was a truckload of tarnation! And what did she mean by blondie?” she complained, crossing her arms.
And what did she mean by babe?
-
Applejack set her lunchtray down on the table, glancing around at the other surrounding tables. The cafeteria was full of chatter, all the tables packed with students squeezing in on the benches, paper plates and apple cores cluttering up the centers. All the unrecognizable faces made her nauseous.
Pinkie Pie slammed her lunchtray down next to her, and Applejack was about to ask what that was all about, until Pinkie sat down abruptly and immediately dug into her bag of chips. Applejack refrained from asking.
She looked down at her own plate, trying to debate between a soggy sandwich and a ripe apple, yet her deciding was interrupted by two unfamiliar faces that walked up to their table.
“And I asked if they had the last book, and they said it’s never existed?! I swear the series was completed!” one of the girls exclaimed, pushing up her glasses once they fell down the bridge of her nose after her angry gesture. “I’ve been trying to find the final book for months!”
The girl next to her calmly sat her lunchtray down, patting her on the back. “I’m sure you’ll track it down, Twilight,” she replied quietly, brushing her long pink hair out of her face.
“Oomph!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed through her chewing, waving frantically at the girls as she speedily swallowed her ginormous bite. “Guys! Guys!’ she called, as if they weren’t sitting right across the table. “Meet Applejack!” she encouraged, making jazz hands as if Applejack was some prize.
Applejack felt her face grow hot. “Pinkie, y’don’t have to-”
“Oh! Yes! We’ve heard so much about you. My name’s Twilight, and I-”
“Oh my goodness!” another girl squealed as she ran up to the table, interrupting the girl with glasses. She threw her purple ponytail over her shoulder, setting her lunchtray down before she ran around the table in small excited strides, giving Applejack the tightest hug around the shoulders. “You are so darling! Oh, your freckles are wondrous! How I wish I had a complexion like yours,” she sang, pinching her cheeks. “My name is Rarity, and I would love to do your makeup,” she continued, her nails digging into Applejack’s skin.
“Oh, uh, that’s real dandy-”
Another lunchtray was slammed onto the table, followed by a stream of gasps, mainly from Applejack, who was starting to get overstimulated. “I’m Sunset, and I have a bone to pick with you,” the dusk-haired girl greeted, yet her last words were aimed at the one still pinching Applejack’s cheeks.
Rarity gasped, letting go and placing her hands on her hips. “What ever do you mean?” she remarked, sassily shifting her weight.
Sunset frowned at her, then started laughing. “You’re sitting where I usually sit!” she complained, then shoved Rarity’s lunchtray over with her own.
Rarity placed her hand on her chest dramatically. “My, dear. Will you ever accept my apology?” she replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes with a smile as she sat down in her new place.
Sunset slid into her seat next to Twilight, taking her fork and stabbing it into Rarity’s apple. Rarity gasped and threw a napkin at her.
Pinkie Pie burst into laughter, and Applejack just watched in confusion, yet she was quite amused.
“And I’m… Fluttershy,” the girl with the pink hair spoke up, just barely above a whisper.
Pinkie Pie reached over the table and patted Fluttershy on the head. “She usually speaks that quiet. Don’t be afraid to ask her to speak up,” she quipped, and Fluttershy just went back to playing with her hair.
“Well, it’s real nice to meet y’all,” Applejack finally said, smiling at all of Pinkie Pie’s friends. “Thanks for letting me join your table,” she said to her, and Pinkie just replied with a big thumbs up, followed by jazz hands.
After a few minutes of listening to stories of the girls’ school day so far, Pinkie brought up when Applejack intervened with the fight in the hallway. The girls were astonished.
“You got in between Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust?!” Rarity exclaimed, covering her mouth with a napkin.
Applejack rolled her eyes at the names. “I really don’t see the big deal, y’all, I mean no one was doin’ anythin’ to stop it,” she defended, shrugging.
“I mean, we’re all friends with Dash, and yet even we know to never get in Lightning Dust’s way,” Twilight explained, putting her fork down.
Applejack narrowed her eyes. “What’s the big deal with these girls anyhow? And y’all are all friends with the rainbow-dyed wolf cut? Hell, even her name is Rainbow?” Applejack chuckled, sitting in disbelief. There’s no way this chick has rainbow hair and a rainbow name.
Pinkie Pie laughed with her, but the others stared with their eyebrows raised. “Hey, we love her, but she’s not the right person to get in the way of, especially when it comes to Lightning Dust,” Sunset added, emphasizing her last words. Applejack couldn’t help but wonder what that fight was even about. And what was so special about these two…
Moments later, one more lunchtray slammed onto the table across from her, and Applejack nearly jumped out of her skin. She looked up, eyes blowing wide, feeling like her words accidentally summoned the one she was talking about.
That scandalous set of rosy eyes were staring down at her, a smirk slowly growing on her lips. A few scratches were swollen and red on her forehead, and her eyes were cloudy and shadowed. She looked devious. Applejack felt her heart skip a beat.
She dropped her deceitful glance a moment later, throwing her legs over the bench and squeezing in between Sunset and Rarity, right across from Applejack. She didn’t even look at her own food, instead immediately reached over to Sunset’s plate and stole her cookie, taking a bite before she even had a chance to react.
“What’s up bitches, what are we fuckin’ up today,” she muttered, eyes scanning everyone’s plates.
“Oh boo-hoo, the lunch lady cut you off again. Get your own damn cookie from your own damn house,” Sunset criticized, making grabby hands at her as she attempted to get her cookie back.
“Actually, I’m not cut off. I just don’t want the fuck-ass mashed potatoes I got. I asked for multiple cookies, and she frowned and gave me a load of shit,” she remarked, snorting as she watched Sunset fail to take back her cookie. She shoved it in her mouth, then opened her chocolate milk carton with her teeth.
Rarity rolled her eyes at her manners, immediately reaching over to wipe up the spilt milk. The girls continued eating, random thoughts being brought up out of nowhere, aimless stories being told about their days so far.
After a few minutes of simple conversation flowing, Applejack began to relax. Yet Sunset brought up the fight in the hallway, and now everyone was looking at her, staring at her freckled face as they awaited her reply.
She set down her apple. “Why did I get involved? Don’t ask me these questions, ask the one who was doin’ the fightin’ in the first place!” she exclaimed, gesturing at the girl across the table.
A smirk fell onto the rainbow-haired girl’s lips. She sighed dramatically, looking up at the ceiling. “It was a dark and stormy night…”
Sunset elbowed her in the stomach. “Get on with it already. And Applejack’s right- let’s not ask the new girl a bunch of questions about something you started,” she advised, making a displeased face at her.
Rainbow rolled her eyes as she slurped her chocolate milk, then wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. “Listen, we all know Dusty started it,” she said defensively as she held up her hands.
Twilight scoffed. “Then why does it look like she got you good?” she asked, corners of her lips turning up in amusement.
Rainbow looked baffled. “These few scratches? Please, it’s just what happens when you hit the side of the locker. You shoulda seen the other guy,” she gestured behind her.
Sunset chuckled, but soon after placed her hands on the table, signaling that she means business. “Okay, but what was it even about? What was she upset about?”
Rainbow scoffed, flicking a piece of cookie at her. “Just bullshit. Nothing important enough to slam my head into the locker for,” she mentioned, and Sunset just shook her head.
“Alright, but from what I saw, you slammed her head a few more times than she did,” she replied, sticking her finger in the air, and Rainbow tried to bite it. Sunset slapped her face away.
Twilight sighed. “Okay but seriously what was it. Because last time you didn’t know what it was about, she tracked you down and you ended up camping for 3 days,” she laughed, and Rainbow gave her a harsh look.
Applejack cringed. What in the world?
Rainbow’s eyes found Applejack’s, and she seemed to be amused by her reaction. “What?” she smiled, eyes narrowing slyly. “Curious?”
Applejack stuttered. “What? I’m just fuckin’ confused, is all.”
Sunset nodded truthfully. “Yeah. It’s… a lot.”
“But who is this- Dusty, and what-“
“My girlfriend, dumbass. My girlfriend.”
Applejack’s eyes widened even bigger as the words left Rainbow’s mouth, and she could tell there was some different intent behind it, as she said it like a threat, like something that she needs to change.
“Ooh… that… makes more sense…?” Applejack trailed off, even though it actually made even less sense, because what kind of girlfriend beats up… their girlfriend…
Sunset snatched the milk carton out of Rainbow’s hands. “Enough stalling, what did Lightning Dust want.”
Another sigh from Rainbow, but this one seemed more serious. “Another one of her episodes,” she replied, and the table all seemed to nod in agreement. Except for Applejack of course, who was still confused as to what kind of relationship this was.
“Is she getting any better?” Rarity asked, dabbing the corners of her lips with her napkin. Rainbow shook her head.
They all seemed to drop it after that. Yet Rainbow immediately started stealing Pinkie Pie’s chips, then they made an agreement that if Rainbow could catch the ones in her mouth that Pinkie threw, then she could eat those.
Minutes later, crumbs were everywhere, and Rarity was shouting at Rainbow about the mess on her skirt. Fluttershy giggled while Twilight and Sunset just rolled their eyes.
Rainbow took another swig of her nasty chocolate milk, then smashed it down on the table. She looked up, a look of deep thought crossing over her face.
“So,” she began after she swallowed, gesturing lazily at Applejack, “What’s your story, blondie?”
Applejack widened her eyes, still not enjoying the way her rosy eyes stared right through her soul. The other girls’ heads turned toward her, awaiting her reply. She cleared her throat, swallowing dryly.
“Well, I transferred from Las Pegasus. It, uh… didn’t go so well over there,” she explained, kind of getting lost in the memory.
The girls nodded, yet box-dye bitch didn’t seem satisfied. “That’s it?” she asked, taking another swig of chocolate milk.
“Dash, she’s new,” Twilight muttered as she elbowed her in the stomach, and Rainbow rolled her eyes. “What? I wanna hear the story. Why’d you transfer, fuckin’, mid semester? There’s only, like, two months of school left.”
Rarity scoffed. “Darling, you don’t have to tell us whatever happened right now. We’re just glad you’re here,” she comforted, earning nods from the others.
“Yeah!” Pinkie piped up. “Besides, we need looots of time to listen to the full story. It’s sooo interesting, and there’s lots of crazy details that AJ will probably have a hard time repeating!” she exclaimed, which just made Applejack face palm.
Rainbow smirked. “Hmm, now I’m intrigued,” she teased, looking at the other girls and raising her eyebrows.
“Nah, you can tell us later, we don’t mind-”
“Yeah, Applejack it’s okay-”
“I wanna hear!” Rainbow exclaimed, putting her hand down on the table.
Applejack narrowed her eyes at her.
The other girls rolled their eyes and continued eating, yet Rainbow was staring at her like it was a dare.
Applejack swallowed her pride, then proceeded to say her next sentence so nonchalantly, you might not have even understood the meaning behind it.
“Well, when my granny found out I was gay,” she said harshly, staring right through Rainbow, “she sent me to this catholic school in an attempt to fix me,” she explained, one elbow on the table, slumped over as if it was a casual everyday conversation.
Rarity dropped her fork. Rainbow’s lips parted and her eyes slightly widened, and Applejack felt an intense sense of victory run through her limbs, and she held her icy stare right on Dash’s rosy eyes, watching a small blush find its way to her cheeks.
Oh, this is gonna be fun.