An Inconvenient Attachment // Appledash

chapter 6

"No way, I remember that! Oh that was the BEST." Soarin exclaimed, raising his third drink in the air.

"We should definitely do it again soon." Gilda hinted, smirking at him while lifting a glass to her lips.

"You guys want to go...now?" Lightning asked slyly, raising her eyebrows up and down.

Fleetfoot slammed her palms down on the table and stood up in excitement. "Yes, right now. It's been so long since we've had a rush like that!"

"You know Fleet, why not, let's do it!" Spitfire agreed, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. She propped a foot up on the table to push back further as she turned her head over to Rainbow.

"Dash, you in?"

"...i'm not so sure, what if we get caught?" She replied with uncertainty, looking down as she reached up a hand to scratch her head.

"We won't! We never do." Lightning responded for Spitfire, rolling her eyes at her. "We're not THAT lame."

"Maybe i'll sit this one out..."

Applejacks words were still on repeat in Dash's head. 'Nothing risky...stay safe...'

"Why...you SCARED?" Gilda challenged, smirking at her.

Dash's eyes lit up, oh she's not scared at all. She was insulted that anyone would question her daredevil attitude even in the slightest. That comment pushed Rainbow over the edge and she finally agreed. She looked up and a grin slowly grew on her face.

"Alright. i'm in."

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"Oh that makes sense, thanks Twilight! Rarity said gratefully. "How are you so good at all this stuff?" She questioned.

Twilight looked up from her work and searched her mind for an answer. "My teacher Princes...oh erm...they taught me at my old school..." She responded followed by an awkward smile to play off her accidental word slip.

"Okay...well I think i'm about done!" Rarity said gleefully, closing her notebook and placing her feathered pen back into her pencil case. "Is everyone else finished?"

"Twilight can you help me with this last one?" Fluttershy asked softly, pointing at one of the harder questions.

"Of course!" She replied, moving her seat closer to her.

Applejack finished all the work and shut her laptop and book. She took a deep breath in and out and sat back in her chair. "Finally..." She mumbled to herself. She was glad she went to Fluttershy's to finish the homework because there's no way she'd get it on her own. She wasn't dumb but she was a hard worker, and it always paid off. Rainbow on the other hand. She never studies, never does the homework and fails every test. It's a miracle that she hasn't gotten any detentions. AJ tried to get her to study when they were together, and it worked for a while. But Dash, once again, became a victim of her own laziness and old habits. She was a lost cause. And Applejack knew for a fact that Rainbows homework would not be finished by tomorrow. 'Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on her...if she came she could've finished the work with us.' Applejack started thinking, regret sinking into her mind.

"Do you get it now?" Twilight asked Fluttershy kindly, interrupting Applejacks thoughts.

"Oh yes, so much more, Rarity is right you're so smart." She said softly, looking up at her.

"Oh it's nothing." Twilight said, flicking her hand downwards.

"We're all done now! WE SHOULD GET DINNER, IM STARRRVVINGGG!" Pinkie shouted, slamming her book closed.

Applejack pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the time. Wow three hours had passed already. She looked back up at the girls to hear them trying to decide on a restaurant to eat at. Applejack enjoyed eating anything so she didn't really mind where they went. She looked at her phone screen again but not for the time, to check for any messages. There were a few from Applebloom but that was about it. Not exactly the person she was hoping for.

"What do you think Applejack?" Rarity called across the table to her.

"Think about what...?" Applejack asked, looking up from her phone in her lap immediately as if she was guilty of looking for texts from Rainbow.

"The restaurant silly!" Pinkie chirped, sliding over to Applejack.

"Oh yeah...sure, sounds good." She replied, not knowing where they were going.

Twilight eyed her from her peripheral vision.
"You don't know where we said we were going...did you?"

"Well...no." Applejack said, scratching the back of her head nervously. "But ah eat anything so I don't mind."

"Well then, pack up your things girls and we'll leave in a few." Rarity said, fluttering her hand at everyone's books and pens.

Applejack slowly started stacking the books, her mind completely elsewhere. She was worried about Dash. 'I hope she's okay...'

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"HA look it's stupid Celestial!" Soarin called mischievously, pointing at a terrible mural he did.

"Looks great Soarin!" Lightning called back, rolling her eyes as she sprayed red devil horns onto her interpretation of Luna.

Rainbow stood still in the middle of the alley behind the school, watching her friends spray insults all over the brick walls. She crossed her arms around her stomach protectively as if she felt sick. This was horrible. Rainbow would sometimes joke about teachers and stuff, but would never say the things about them that her friends were vandalising all over the walls.

"Here dash, CATCH!" Gilda shouted to her, flinging a blue can in her direction. Rainbow heard her shout and looked up just in time to catch it with one hand before it hit her face.

"Nice catch." Spitfire complimented her coming to stand beside her as she shook her orange can. "You ok?"

Rainbow looked up at her and smiled. "Yeah i'm fine, just..." She looked down at the can in her hand. "Just didn't know what to spray on the wall...heh..."

"Oh I don't know what i'm doing either. I'm just being spontaneous, it doesn't have to be pretty, it's just fun, and LOOK AT SOARIN, he's going for it." She explained to her, laughing slightly. "Just do whatever u feel like doing." Spitfire smiled at Dash and went back to her part of the alley.

Rainbow walked a bit further down the alley past Gilda and Soarin and claimed an area of the wall, shaking her can.

'Whatever you feel like doing...'

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"No i'll pay darling!" Rarity said dramatically, flicking Applejacks hand away from the bill.

"Rarity let me pay for once, you can't be the generous one all the time!" Applejack replied, putting her hand back onto the bill and pulling it towards her.

"Applejack let go!" She said slightly louder than before, trying to pulling back to her.

"Not until you let me pay!"

"How about we just split it?" Fluttershy whispered between the two of them.

"NO." They shouted at her face in unison and continued to tug at the bill, faces getting more red by the minute.

"Girls girls...this needs to stop!" Twilight cut in. "You're more mature than this. It's just a bill, why can't one of you pay for this dinner and the other pays on another day?" Twilight suggested, hovering her hand in question.

"But they won't be the same amount and then one person would have to pay less, it wouldn't be fair!" Applejack responded, smoke basically coming out of her ears.

"OOH OOH OOH I KNOW!" Pinkie cut in. "How about a competition? We put the bill in the middle and when I count to three whoever touches it first wins!" Pinkie exclaimed, clapping her hands in excitement.

Applejack grinned and turned to face Rarity. "I like the sound of that Pinkie."

Rarity playfully glared at her. "Fine, i'm not usually the one to participate in such silly contests but it is on!" She agreed, slamming her palms on the table.

"YAY. OKAY i'll count!" Pinkie squealed, leaning forward in her seat.

Applejack and Rarity turned to face eachother waiting for the countdown, eyes glued to the bill.

"One..."

Rarity's blue eyes flicked up to meet Applejacks green ones, only to see her smirking but death staring her at the same time. Rarity reciprocated the expression.

"Two..."

Applejack couldn't allow herself to be distracted, she moved her vision back to the bill and away from Rarity's eyes. As beautiful as they were, she wouldn't allow herself to be lost in them. Rarity saw Applejacks gaze shift and did the same. The two girls awaiting the last number eagerly.

"...THREE!" Pinkie finally announced.

Rarity and Applejack both dove at the bill at the same time, the sound of hands slamming on the table was heard and once the noise stopped the results were clear.

"I WON!" Both girls called at the same time.

"What?" They echoed.

"No I did!" They both shouted over eachother.

"Both of your hands are touching the bill...it's a tie!"

Applejack looked down and saw her palm very much on the bill, but her fingers were resting under Rarity's. Rarity looked up at her and her face went a pink. She removed her hand quickly and pushed the bill to Applejack.

"You win."

"Wait wha-" Before Applejack could ask her why she forfeited, sirens started to echo down the road and a flash of police cars drove by the restaurant, creating a red and blue glow illumination in the room.

"What's happening out there?" Twilight asked, standing up swiftly and racing out the door. "It looks like it's heading to Canterlot High!" Rarity cried in shock. Rarity stood and followed Twilight, Applejack not far behind, neither paying the bill.

Pinkie and Fluttershy eyed eachother and and shook their heads a little with a small smile. They each chucked a fifty out on the table before following their friends, chasing the flashing lights to see what happened.

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The police cars just started pulling out of the back of CHS as the girls finally got there. They had chased the cars for what felt like ages but was actually 5 minutes in reality.

"It mustn't have been that serious if the cars are leaving already." Fluttershy said quietly pointing at an alleyway where the lights were slowly fading from.

"Let's go check it out." Twilight said, gesturing towards the alley.

"Are you sure it's safe...?" Fluttershy said even quieter, hiding behind Pinkie.

"If the police have left already, i'm sure there weren't any immediate dangers or threats there, we should be fine!" Twilight said kindly, walking over to Fluttershy and pulling her out from behind her pink friend.

All five girls started walking towards the alley and could glimpse patches of colour on the walls. As they got closer they realised it was vandalism. They went further into the alley and gawked at all the questionable art.

"Is that suppose to be Principal Celestia?" Rarity asked Applejack pointing at a pastel ball of hair.

"Looks like it..." Applejack replied, staring at it in confusion.

"And i'm assuming this is Luna..." Twilight said, placing her hand on a detailed blue smudge in front of her. She continued walking further down the alley, accidentally kicking empty spray cans on the way. She did her best to manoeuvre between them and ended up at the furthest side of the alley. She looked up and saw a colourful stream of neon paints. The only decent looking mural here.

"Guys come look at this!" Twilight called down the alley and waving her friends over.

Applejack walked over, crushing cans under her as she went, she had a bad feeling in her gut. She just didn't know why.

She met Twilight and turned to face what she was staring at.

It was a Rainbow.