Bruised Apples, Lightning Storms

Unintentional

Rainbow's Pov:

"Alright, sounds awesome!"

I didn't really pay attention to the words coming out of my mouth, too busy trying to keep up with AJ's effortless social skills. Though she wasn't the friendliest, and her ink-black eyes were downright scary, she seemed to know exactly what to say to make any situation less tense, even if I was a total stranger.

She apparently had to go somewhere and do something, but still wanted to continue our conversation, and I was more than willing to comply.

"You don't even know what I do for a livin'."

"But we get to talk more, and I already know that's cool."

After betraying her stoic grimace with a tiny smile, AJ pushed open the wooden door and trotted ahead, possibly chatting to me, not knowing I wasn't there. I had stopped, frozen in shock.

It was the real thing. The Below.

The floor was green, composed of slips upon slips of long, thin blades. There must have been billions of them, stretching far out over hills and rising from the dirt, dozens of yellowing paths leading to places my sight couldn't reach. In the morning breeze, everything swayed and danced, the scent of true nature overpowering my nostrils. The sky was pinkish-blue with the rise of the sun, casting cotton-candy light on every area.

But the best part were the bigger stalks that grew high-and-low above the green medium. Their colors made the common blades even more special. I had to remember to ask AJ what they were later, but for now I just needed to soak it in. No place I'd ever been was so stunningly beautiful.

I subconsciously noticed AJ coming back from the path she'd been walking down. Her body language was panicked, but she kept her voice calm as she confronted my abrupt lack of movement.

"Rainbow? What's the problem?"

I couldn't speak, too enthralled in the new environment, all worries of tactlessness blissfully swept away.

She waved a hoof in front of my face, but I hardly registered it.

"Are ya havin' some sorta episode, or side effect of the concussion?"

Her thick accent heightened with worry, and I shook my head a bit. I guess I probably did look pretty glazed, staring awestruck at supposedly nothing, but I didn't care. It didn't feel like nothing to me.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, don't worry about it AJ." I mumbled. 

"You most definitely are not fine."

I ignored her, focused on some creature in the sky holding a stick in it's mouth, flying without a care in the world.

"What the fuck are you even looking at?!"

My attention snapped to the mare beside me, disapproving. There was no reason for the language, especially since I hadn't done anything. 

But it felt like I had done everything as my euphoria popped like a soap bubble. Her midnight eyes bore into mine; burning, as if they meant me every harm in the world. The infinite void began to draw me back, tearing my vision from anything else but the darkness. I couldn't think. It was nothing, but also everything. A flame roaring in an abyss with no oxygen. I was worthless, helpless. Nothing would change if I was gone.

I backed farther into the house I'd never left, shutting my eyes and clamping my hooves over my ears. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, screaming for an escape from the living nightmare.

Time halted, giving me time to breathe. Everything was normal, but it absolutely was not. Glaring upwards, I found her, trying to console me. Venom fueled my body, ready to lash out.

"Oh god, I'm so sor-"

I cut in. "Why did you do that!?"

The orange mare scratched behind her neck, a dull flush emitting from her tanned face. She looked away from the hatred in me, almost cowering.

"It's hard to control." She muttered.

"Is that so? I was minding my own business. Then you have the decency to cuss me out and do whatever that horrible thing was with your eyes."

"I wasn't doing any of that on purpose, I swear, Dash..."

"Then how come you didn't warn me earlier? I almost had another attack, all because of you!"

AJ looked up, visibly paling at my words.

A needle could have pierced my heart and it wouldn't have hurt any worse. It was still mostly her fault, but I was taking it too far. She did tell me it was difficult to control, and that made me think of everything she'd done to help me, and everything she would do in the future.

I took a deep breath, looking down. "I'm sorry."

It was weirdly loud, and we quickly realized why: both of us had spoken at the exact same time, with the exact same weak apology. After glancing up at AJ, my heart lifted to see her smiling at me. Her extraordinary, shadowy pupils were no longer ablaze. It was okay now. Maybe we'd have to talk about this later, but for the present, the tension was at bay.

I wanted to prove there wasn't bad blood, to bring us back to where we were before.

An idea struck me in the recovering silence. Crinkling my nose, I pretended to jeer. "You called me Dash? Really? If I didn't know any better, you'd think I was your dad."

"I mean, if you're into that."

She had stepped closer, wiggling her eyebrows and smirking. I, on the other hoof, was completely lost.

"No? I'm not your father, you were just being weirdly formal earlier."

A look of confusion, then dawning comprehension. "Ya seriously don't know..."

Whether she was talking to me or not, I didn't have a clue. She stood still, practically scanning me to determine if I was lying. My curiosity bubbled.

"I don't know what?" Her face shone with a combination of humor and disbelief.

"Rainbow, you are seriously one-in-a-million." She chuckled, shaking her head with a smirk and making her way back out into the world, waiting patiently for me to follow.

My cheeks felt heated and my insides were fluttery and light at what she'd said. A grin crept onto my face, and their was a tiny spring in my step as I exited the barn-house, side-by-side with AJ on the dirt road.

Maybe I was having some weird side effects from the concussion.