Dreaming of Stars
By Wanderer D
Applejack turned around and slammed her hooves on the tree’s trunk, shaking loose all the apples it contained, which landed in carefully placed baskets.
She smiled and sighed, looking over the area she had been working on. “Just a few more to go and then I can go t’ the eastern field,” she muttered to herself before turning around and approaching the next tree.
She was about to make a running start when she noticed some leaves shaking and falling. Her smile grew. That could mean only one thing.
“This time Ah’ll tell her,” she promised. “Ah’ll ask her to just come an’ sit down with me an’ Ah’ll tell her exactly how Ah feel.”
She made her way up to the tree and listened carefully, confirming the sounds of snoring coming from among the branches. It was still early in the morning, so there was a chance that a certain pegasus had spent the night in there.
Grinning, she turned around and bucked the tree as hard as she could. “Time to wake up, Rainbow... Dash?”
“Meep! Oof!”
“F-fluttershy?!” Applejack stammered, as disappointed as she was surprised, offering a hoof to the downed pegasus. “What in tarnation are you doin’ sleepin’ in one of my trees?”
“Oh... I’m so sorry, Applejack,” Fluttershy apologized, accepting the hoof and getting up. “I was helping Mr. Squirrel settle down in his new home in the Everfree and it became really dark and well... I just had to hide. I’m sorry.”
“Never mind that,” Applejack sighed. “Ah’m sorry Ah kicked you down. Ah was expectin’ it to be Rainbow Dash.”
“Sorry.”
“Stop apologizin’!” Applejack groaned. “It’s fine, Ah tell ya.” She sighed. “Ah do wonder where Rainbow Dash has been lately. Ah haven’t seen her sleepin’ in any of my trees in more than a week!”
“I um, thought you didn’t like her doing that?” Fluttershy looked at Applejack with a bit of confusion.
“Ah honestly don’t mind that much,” Applejack confessed, moving up to the next tree and giving it a buck, watching in satisfaction as all apples fell into their correct baskets. “Ah really enjoy her company, and Ah think it’s kinda cute when she gets startled by one of my...” she trailed off, blinking and looking over to Fluttershy. “You ain’t gonna repeat that to anypony, got it?”
Fluttershy, who had developed a small smile quickly suppressed it, shaking her head. “N-no, I won’t!”
“Good,” Applejack’s eyes narrowed. “Ah know Ah can trust you, Fluttershy, but Ah ain’t gonna count on everypony else to respect that.”
Fluttershy nodded, silently following her friend as she bucked away at the trees.
“Ah just don’t get why she’s not stoppin’ by anymore, y’know?” Applejack groaned, kicking another tree. “Ah miss her. Ah kinda need her energy, she gets me all riled up and Ah can work harder and sometimes she even helps me!”
Fluttershy blinked. “You mean that she makes you want to get into a fight and that helps you work?”
“Well, yeah!” Applejack laughed. “Can you imagine repeatin’ the same thing over an’ over without it getting mountainous?”
“Monotonous.”
“That’s what Ah said.” Applejack nodded. “Anyway, Rainbow Dash makes me think about other stuff without gettin’ in the way, y’know? Ah can still finish workin’ and feel like Ah can race her t’ the barn—”
Fluttershy squeaked and blushed.
“...to roll the hay...”
Fluttershy’s blush increased.
“...and... what exactly are you thinking we’d do there?” Applejack asked Fluttershy. “You look as red as a Gala Apple.”
“N-nothing...”
“Darn tootin’ we’re not doin’ anythin’!” Applejack nodded. “Just putting the hay away and workin’, and gettin’ into little fights.”
“Right,” Fluttershy said, nodding firmly, but then she hesitated. “Um... well, I... does Rainbow Dash know how you feel?”
Applejack stopped cold, and didn’t turn to look at her at all. “Ah ain’t gonna tell her,” she said. “Rainbow Dash will definitely not like it if Ah do.”
“But—”
“Fluttershy,” Applejack spoke in calm voice, completely silencing her friend. “Ah won’t tell her. Ah won’t risk my friendship with her.”
Fluttershy nodded and sighed. “I’d better go home,” she cringed. “I made sure there was enough food for all the animals, but they must be worried...” she gave Applejack an apologetic look. “I’m sorry.”
Applejack snorted. “Never you mind that,” she laughed. “We all have things to do. Now, git.”
Fluttershy nodded before trotting away, leaving her to buck apple trees in silence.
Applejack gave one final buck before sighing and sitting down. The absence of Rainbow Dash was bothering a lot more than she was willing to admit to Fluttershy.
“Maybe Ah should go find her.” She stood up and looked towards Ponyville, barely visible from her position among the trees. “Figure out what’s happenin’ and why she hasn’t stopped by.”
o.0.o
Applejack fidgeted in front of the library door. “Ah can’t believe Ah’m nervous about this.” She shook her head. “Come on, Applejack, git your head together!”
Taking in a deep breath, she knocked on the door and only had to wait for a few moments before it was answered by Twilight Sparkle herself.
“Oh, Applejack!” Twilight smiled. “How are you today? Come on in! Spike and I were just re-organizing the fiction section!”
Applejack stepped into the library and gazed in bewilderment at the huge pile of books on the floor. “Twilight, Ah’ll never figure out how you can get that many books into small stands like that. It don’t make any sense!”
“Of course it does!” Twilight giggled. “We just do it carefully! So, what can I help you with today? Do you need a book on some obscure form of farming? A guide for international competitions? 1001 Hay-rolling techniques?”
Applejack shook her head. “Nah,” she waved her hoof dismissively. “Ah’m not here for any of that. Ah’m just wonderin’ if you’ve seen Rainbow Dash ‘round.”
Twilight looked up at her from the pile of books. “Oh... you didn’t get into a fight with her, did you?”
“Not at all!” Applejack said, raising her hooves placatingly. “Ah just haven’t seen much of her lately, and Ah know she enjoys readin’ them ‘Daring Do’ books with you, so Ah wanted to check if she had been here lately.”
Twilight shook her head. “I’m afraid she hasn’t, Applejack.” She tapped her chin with her hoof. “Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen much of her either, she just clears the sky and then pretty much disappears lately.”
“That’s what Ah thought,” Applejack sighed. “On th’ way here Ah met Derpy and she told me just about the same thing.”
“I wonder what has her so busy that she cannot hang around?” Twilight mused, levitating some books. “Maybe another Wonderbolt training camp is coming up?”
“Ah doubt it,” Applejack grumbled. “She’d be so excited she’d tell us all about it. No, it has to be somethin’ else. But what?”
Twilight shrugged. “I’ll help you out if you want, just let me finish putting these away...”
“Nah, don’t worry, Twilight,” Applejack said, shaking her head and waving a hoof dismissively. “Ah’ll find her. Ah’m sure she’s fine, and Ah wanna talk to her anyway.”
Twilight paused but nodded after a moment. “Okay, if you say so, but don’t forget to let me know if you do need help!”
Applejack chuckled. “Ah won’t forget to do so, Twilight,” she said, tilting her hat at her. “Ah’d best be goin’, it’s ‘round the time for Rainbow Dash to by flyin’ cleaning them clouds, and Ah don’t intend to miss her.”
“Good luck!” Twilight called, waving at her departing friend.
o.0.o
Applejack kept her eyes in the sky as she made her way through Ponyville.
“Oops!” She chuckled when she slammed onto a random colt. “Sorry there, partner.”
She decided to look where she was going, but still kept glancing up. That little stumble almost cost her her chance.
As her eyes went to the sky, she caught, just off the corner of her eye a rainbow contrail.
It was pure luck that she faced east when she did, or she would have missed the tell-tale rainbow heading out of Ponyville.
Not pausing to give a glance around, Applejack barreled her way through everypony or anything that stood in her way. She was not letting Rainbow Dash get away without figuring out what was happening.
She dodged, jumped and rolled around, over and under the multitude of ponies that lived in Ponyville, eliciting protests of surprise and more than once somepony shouted “Apple Bloom!” before they realized it was the elder sister causing the chaos.
Applejack silently promised herself she would cut her sister some slack just once to atone for the chaos she was causing. But that would be later. Her objective was almost completely out of sight, and her trail was disappearing.
She increased her speed until she finally lost sight of Rainbow Dash. But she had marked the direction the pegasus had been flying and her chances were pretty good at finding her again. Except for one problem.
She was on the edge of the Everfree Forest.
Applejack shook her head. “Well, ain’t like Ah’ve never gone in by myself before,” she muttered and stepped in. “Ah do wonder what she’s lookin’ for here. That ain’t the way to Zecora’s hut.”
The daylight faded away as she made her way deeper and deeper into the forest. The forest had an amazing way of dulling the sounds all around her, until she was walking in almost complete silence, broken only by her hooves stepping on dried leaves.
The forest itself didn’t seem that dreary during the morning; it had the feel of subdued calm, as if it were asleep. Which made sense, since most of the creatures that inhabited it were nocturnal. Still, Applejack did not fancy staying too long in there.
She kept her eyes straight, her ears perked and her muscles tense. At first she had thought Rainbow Dash might have headed to Zecora’s, but she had left behind the trail that would lead her there.
The deeper she went, the more she realized she had never stepped into this area of the Everfree Forest before. Never before had she considered the most dangerous place she knew... calm. Relaxing even. There seemed to be a little mist rising between the trees, but not dense enough to make her nervous. She slowed down, taking it in. In an almost dream-like state, she barely noticed the sound of water splashing nearby, but when she did, she didn’t hurry. There was no need to hurry.
Each stomp of her hooves on the soft ground barely made an audible sound. The vibrant colors around her seemed eternal and deep. The trees, bushes and moss pulsated with life. It felt ancient. Forgotten, even. This was... this felt like the oldest place she had ever been to. Far older than the Sister’s Castle. Older, even, than the Crystal Empire.
She eventually reached the shore. The treeline receded several meters behind her, the wild grass extending a little past the trees before it turned into soft sand.
The lake.
This was the place. The most ancient and sacred place she had ever witnessed. So beautiful. So big! She had never known this was here. The crystalline water licked the shore, which extended just out of sight in both directions, in silence. The lake itself was covered by a slight mist, just like the one among the trees. Floating just over the water, not high enough to hide anything, but there, always present.
Applejack could see the shore on the other side. The distant pointy tops of the trees marked the sheer width of the lake. To her left, she could see a large rock, jutting out of the trees, covered in moss, it’s lower part looking like a wolf’s muzzle over the edge of the lake.
Something moved there, snapping her out of her reverie. A flutter. A blue figure. Applejack frowned as she concentrated on it. It was... “Rainbow Dash...” she whispered. Slowly she skirted the edge of the shore, careful not to let the water touch her hooves.
She paid it no heed. It was instinctual. Just as that deep, nagging feeling that she shouldn’t be there. And neither should Rainbow Dash.
Applejack made her way to the rock, which stretched down in a slope to the edge of the woods, allowing her to climb onto it with ease. She made her way up, slowly, to make sure she wouldn’t slip on the moss.
She stopped a few steps behind Rainbow Dash, who was simply looking down into the lake. Curious, she made her way to her friend’s side, looking askance at the pegasus, who ignored her, although the twitching of her ear indicated she was aware of Applejack’s presence.
When she looked down at the lake, she couldn’t help but gasp. Immediately her eyes went to the sky, which was as blue and sunny as when she had left Ponyville. She looked down at the lake, which reflected a night sky, full of sparkling white stars and constellations. Even a falling star!
Applejack looked up again, mouth agape. Nope. It was still daytime.
“It’s... amazing, isn’t it?” Rainbow Dash whispered. The hushed tone sounded strange coming from such a boisterous mare, but the forest... the lake... the stars seemed to demand and inspire silent awe.
Applejack gulped. “It is...” she whispered back. “Wh-what is this place, Rainbow Dash?”
“I don’t know,” the pegasus replied, not taking her eyes off of the water. “I found it just last week. I thought this was where Luna stored the night sky but...”
“But?”
“I came here late at night, to see if it was... and...” Rainbow Dash finally tore her eyes from the water to look at Applejack. “They were still here...”
Applejack shuddered, not knowing why. “Ah don’t know, Rainbow Dash, maybe it was reflectin’ the stars from that night?”
Rainbow Dash shook her head and motioned at the water. “Look carefully,” she instructed. “You’ll see what I mean.”
Applejack frowned and looked straight down at the water. It took her a minute to figure it out, but once more her eyes were wide. “There ain’t no reflection!” she gasped, looking to the water then back to Rainbow Dash. “That ain’t reflectin’ the rock we’re standin’ on, nor me or you!”
“That night, I also realized that those are not our stars,” Rainbow Dash added. “In flight school we were taught to navigate by the stars, in case we were lost at night,” she explained. “But those stars...” she shook her head.
They remained in silence for a little while, looking at the lake and the forest around them.
“Is this where you’ve been comin’ these last few days?” Applejack finally asked.
Rainbow Dash snorted. “Yeah, it’s not like I’m missed or anything. You all have stuff to do, and at least you don’t have to kick me off of your trees anymore, right?”
Applejack didn’t meet her eyes. “Ah...” she shook her head.
“Besides,” Rainbow Dash’s voice lowered again. “They’re calling me.”
Applejack blinked. “What? Who?”
Rainbow Dash did not answer, merely nodding towards the water.
“Rainbow Dash, the water doesn’t speak,” Applejack said, her tone worried.
“Not the water,” the pegasus replied. “The stars.”
“What?”
Rainbow Dash nodded, locking eyes with Applejack, who leaned a little, entranced by those reddish-pink irises. “The stars... not all of them, just a few,” she shook her head, trying to express what she could hear. “A constellation... it calls itself ‘pegasus’. It... he...”
Applejack frowned when Rainbow Dash pulled away. “What does it say?”
Rainbow Dash sighed. “He says I belong with him.” Her eyes met Applejack’s again. “When he talks... I feel like I’m flying at maximum speed. Like I’m doing a sonic rainboom. There’s nothing but me and... and flight.”
Applejack shook her head. “Ah can’t say Ah understand that,” she confessed. “Ah’m just an earth pony, Ah feel the earth under my hooves, and the life of plants... but ah never been able to... imagine what flight is like.” She sighed, nuzzling Rainbow Dash. “Come on, Dashie. Let’s go back to Ponyville, Ah bet Pinkie has some new pastries for us to try, an’ the stars will still be here tomorrow.”
Reluctantly stepping away from the edge, Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah, sure.”
The pair slowly made their way down the rock and headed home.
o.0.o
“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack called, bucking the apple tree where the pegasus lay as hard as she could. “Ah’ve told you that you’re welcome to come help, but our trees ain’t beds!”
“Sorry! Sorry!” Rainbow Dash shouted, holding on to the branch she had been lying on reflexively. “Geez, Applejack! I only needed a nap!”
“In exactly the same tree Ah left you next to last night, when you were supposed to go home?”
“Hey, it’s not like I’m hurting anypony by sleeping on a tree!”
“It’s the principle of th’ thing!” Applejack couldn’t stop grinning. It was then that she noticed Rainbow Dash’s furtive glance towards the Everfree and she felt her blood run cold. “Did you really spend the night here?”
“Y-yeah!” Rainbow Dash smiled uneasily. “You know, we were hanging out, you kicking trees, me kicking flank through sheer awesomeness... and you went home, and I laid down on the branch and gazed at the stars,” she elaborated. “And I fell asleep.”
She was lying. And it felt to Applejack like she had been stabbed in the gut. “Ah see,” she managed to mutter through the hurt. She put up a brave smile. “So what are yer plans for today?”
“Oh, not much,” Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, resting her back against the tree trunk and waving her hoof around. “Need to clear up the sky over Ponyville, make sure the scheduled storm clouds are where they’re supposed to be and not dripping their cargo in the wrong place, visit Twilight for the latest Daring-Do and...”
Applejack raised an eyebrow when Rainbow Dash trailed off. “And?”
“A-and head home, it’s a mess.” Rainbow Dash finished, opening her eyes and standing up. “I’d better get going, lots to do.”
Applejack watched Rainbow Dash fly up and do a sharp turn, heading towards Ponyville. Shaking her head she started bucking the trees again. At least Rainbow Dash would spend most of the day cleaning up clouds. Maybe in the meantime she could figure out how to get the pegasus to abandon that place and—
Her thoughts were interrupted by a glimpse in the sky of a rainbow mane. She frowned and looked carefully at the clouds. Had she just imagined it? There were no more sightings, and she finally shook her head, heading back to work.
The day passed as usual. She filled all the baskets she had brought with her, loaded them up in the cart and pulled them to the barn, before heading out again two more times. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo returned from school, rushing past her towards their hideout to plan another foolhardy attempt at getting their cutie marks, no doubt.
“Applejack!” a familiar voice called, and she turned to face Twilight and Fluttershy, who were galloping as fast as they could up to her. She noticed Spike holding on to Twilight’s mane.
“Why, hi there, Fluttershy! Twilight! And Spike!” She nodded. “What brings y’all here?”
“We’re looking for Rainbow Dash,” Twilight explained, panting slightly. “Her weather team is looking for her as well. They have a bunch of paperwork, but nopony can find the orders for the week, they don’t know what to do!”
“Yeah, you should have seen them!” Spike added, eyes wide. “I think Blossomforth and Blue Skies smacked onto each other while rounding up a cloud!”
“What the hay?” Applejack exclaimed when she looked up, and noticed that none of the clouds over Ponyville were gone. “Wasn’t Rainbow Dash supposed to have cleaned those up?”
“She was?” Fluttershy muttered. “Oh my, I better tell the team before they are delayed even more.” With that she was flying as fast as she dared back to Ponyville.
“Fluttershy!” Applejack called. “She also said somethin’ about some storm clouds comin’ this way!”
She couldn’t be sure whether the shy pegasus had heard her or not, but her attention went back to Twilight.
“So you talked to her today?” Twilight asked.
Applejack nodded. “Yeah, she slept all night in the eastern field,” she said, pointing with her hoof. “When Ah woke her up she said she had a whole lot of stuff she had to deal with so she went ahead and left.”
“I see,” Twilight said. “Well, this isn’t good. Her team is desperate, she hasn’t been to work in the last few days and she misplaced the paperwork! She’ll lose her job!”
Applejack shook her head, and frowned. “That ain’t all she’ll lose if ah’m right.”
Twilight Sparkle blinked. “What do you mean, Applejack?”
“She found this place in the Everfree... it’s a pool, but it don’t reflect the sky or anythin’, it just shows th’ stars.”
“The stars? At night?” Spike scratched his head. “That’s not unusual.”
“No,” Applejack shook her head. “Not at night, durin’ the day, it shows stars that Ah’ve never seen before... Rainbow says they talk to her.”
Twilight grew worried. “But... that’s... Applejack, that’s not good at all! If it’s in the Everfree, it is probably dangerous!”
Applejack nodded. “Well then, follow me!” she ordered galloping off.
After barely a second of gaping, Twilight set off as well, with Spike holding on for dear life. “Where are we going?”
“Ain’t that obvious?” Applejack shouted back over her shoulder. “T’ the pool!”
The trio went into the forest, following Applejack’s half-remembered route, which made her slow down enough to give Twilight a chance to catch up.
As they approached, the feeling of calm and silence seeped into the forest around them, just like that time Applejack had first followed Rainbow Dash.
“Twilight... I don’t like this,” Spike whispered. “It feels... odd.”
“There’s something strange here, that’s for sure,” Twilight whispered back. “This silence isn’t natural.”
Applejack nodded. “This is what it felt like the first time Ah followed her in as well,” she whispered. “Ah thought there might’ve been some predator around but...” she shook her head. “It almost feels impossible to have anything disturb the peace here.”
Twilight nodded absently.
Applejack finally lead Twilight and Spike to the pool, where they stood, gaping at the beauty of it all in silence, until she nudged the unicorn. “Come on, Twilight, Ah think Rainbow Dash should be over at that rock.” She pointed to the last place she had seen her friend and barely waited for Twilight to nod before starting to walk towards it.
The trio made their way up the outcropping rock and looked around in confusion.
“Well, she’s not here,” Spike pointed out.
“But... Ah’m sure... she should be...” Applejack shook her head in confusion, looking around the area with narrowed eyes. “Ah swear to y’all, this is the place!”
Twilight patted her shoulder. “It’s okay, Applejack, at least we’ve gotten one place out of the possible places she could—”
“No, Ah know she’s here!” Applejack insisted, eyes searching the area quickly. “Ah can feel it!”
“But, she’s kinda hard to miss,” Spike pointed out. “We would be able to see her unless she’s hiding.”
“No... not hiding,” Applejack said slowly as she felt dread settling in. She walked up to the tip of the rock and looked down at the pool. “She... she’s down there.” She gulped.
Twilight carefully walked up to her and looked down at the pool, gasping at all the stars. “But... wait, you can’t be serious! You think she’s—”
“Don’t say that!” Applejack snapped, glancing at the unicorn fiercely. “She ain’t... she wouldn’t do that! And this place! It’s magical in a weird way...” she glared at the pool. “It called to her.” Her eyes traced the constellation. “It caught her... and Ah’m getting her back!”
“You can’t possibly be thinking of—” Twilight began, but with a mighty jump, Applejack dove into the pool. “Applejack!”
o.0.o
She swam in a sea of stars.
Past the initial ice-cold feeling of the water, she had suddenly found herself floating in dark, velvety darkness that pulsated with life, while stars twinkled and winked at her all around.
Something felt familiar about the place, and she soon realized that it was the same silence and sense of calm that had somehow reached out of the pool and into the forest.
“Rainbow Dash!” she shouted, and it seemed like the emptiness absorbed most of her voice, she was barely able to hear herself!
And then she felt it. As if the stars themselves were looking upon her and a terrible, huge intelligence was suddenly aware of her.
Applejack cringed as feelings not her own invaded her soul. And although they carried no words, she could understand what they wanted. Why are you here?
“Ah-ah came for Rainbow Dash!” She forced herself to speak up, glaring fiercely at... nothing.
More feelings invaded her. Why? She’s happy here.
She was suddenly floating in front of a slightly glowing Rainbow Dash. Her friend seemed asleep, and the light seemed to emanate from within her, the same color of her coat, mane and even cutie mark.
“Why do you want her?” She asked, brushing with her hoof the strands of chromatic hair from the sleeping pegasus’ face. “She could hear y’all callin’, she don’t belong here!”
More feelings. Because she belongs. She’s ours. She hears my voice, the voice of the air and speed and dreams.
“But... Ah don’t understand!”
And then she felt it. Understand then.
She was in the air, flapping her own wings, as currents of wind swept around her. She could feel it all. The pull of gravity... her defiance of it. The warmth in the updrafts, the coolness of the downdrafts... it was freedom on a level she could barely comprehend.
There was no up or down, not here. There was only her will and her wings. She was where she wanted to be, went where she wanted to go. She wasn’t tied to the ground. She wasn’t limited to the oceans.
But then, what remained? Her eyes looked up into the impossibly immense sky, where stars twinkled and shone, promising more than she could ever see in the air, water or earth of Equestria. Something that couldn’t be replaced by anything else.
Unlimited freedom. From everything.
The presence made itself felt again. Feelings invaded Applejack. Now you understand. Now you wish to be like her. With us.
Batting her wings to keep aloft, Applejack slowly pulled down her hat until it covered her eyes. “Is this what Ah want?” she wondered. “Feelin’ like Dash, and having nothing to attach mah self to?”
She gazed into the vastness of space, and then, at that moment, felt terribly and utterly alone.
“Is this what Rainbow Dash feels?” Applejack gasped into the darkness. “But... we’re all there for her, friends an—”
Warmth. But the loneliness remained. Longing and acceptance... no, not acceptance. Resignation. Alone and yet not.
“You don’t have to feel like this, Rainbow Dash!” Applejack shouted, turning around in place. “Ah swear! There’s more waitin’ for you, girl! Come on back!”
Everything around her disappeared and she found herself floating alone in space, once again an Earth Pony.
The alien feelings returned, angry. You deny us. You will not take from us. I own Rainbow Dash now.
“Nopony owns her!” Applejack shouted defiantly. “Ah dare y’all to tell that to her face!”
It seemed like the stars shifted. It was as if they were glistening sparkles inside a huge tentacle made of dark, liquid emptiness... and it reached for her.
“Rainbow Dash!” She shouted desperately. “Come back!”
And just as the star-creature was about to grab her, she was being yanked out of the way in a rainbow trail of speed.
“Applejack?! What are you doing here?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking down at the mare in her forelegs.
“Ah came for you, ya dimwit!” Applejack shouted at the still-glowing pegasus. “How could you jump into the pool and leave us all behind?”
Rainbow Dash shook her head and sped away faster from the tendrils of stars that were trying to get to them. “You know it’s not like that!” She spat after a moment. “I’m not simply abandoning you, but... I just don’t want to feel trapped!”
“We’re trapping you?” Applejack asked, holding onto her hat.
“No, no... I just...” Rainbow Dash sighed. “I care about all of you, and you’re all my best friends, but my only love is flying and I want to take it to the next level... where there’s nothing holding me back.”
“And you think the stars will help you?”
“They do!” Rainbow Dash retorted. “When I’m flying I’m not alone anymore an—”
Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by Applejack’s lips on her own. Rainbow Dash’s eyes snapped open wide and her wings stopped beating, sending them both pummeling down into the vastness of space and incidentally dodging the star-tentacle that had been about to catch them.
When the kiss stopped, green eyes met pink for what felt like an eternity.
“Come back, ya silly mare,” Applejack whispered, her hoof gently tracing Rainbow Dash’s jaw. “There’s no need t’feel lonely.”
“But... but I...” Rainbow Dash stammered before she gulped. “How long?” she finally squeaked.
Applejack looked away. "A couple o’months.”
“Oh.” Rainbow Dash looked down towards the empty space where they were falling deeper and deeper. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Ah... Ah was nervous,” Applejack confessed. “Ah didn’t want to lose ya over this an’ well, Ah just thought that if this could be the last time we were together... Ah wouldn’t have much t’lose... you’d be gone anyway.”
Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment. “I wish you would have told me sooner.”
Applejack sighed. “Ah know, sugarcube, and Ah’m sorry. Ah felt what you feel when flyin’, and Ah can understand if—”
“Nah,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, rolling her eyes. “It would’ve just saved us some time from trying to outfly these jerks!” she snorted, giving her wings a powerful push, driving them out of the way and then correcting her flight so that they were heading upwards.
“Y’all mean you... y-you also felt the same way!?” Applejack stammered. “Why didn’t you say anythin’!?”
Rainbow Dash smirked. “It was just too cute to see you get upset over stuff and then think of some competition to even us out!”
“You mean you annoyed me on purpose?!”
“Eeyup!” Rainbow Dash grinned.
Applejack stared for a moment before planting another kiss on the pegasus’ lips. “You don’t have any idea what that did to me!”
“I do now!” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Hold on!” She veered to the right, avoiding another tentacle as it shot past them. “And I’m not gonna stop!”
“You’d better not!” Applejack growled, poking Rainbow Dash in the ribs. “Ah happen to enjoy getting annoyed at ya!”
“I can tell things will be a lot cooler now!” Rainbow Dash retorted.
“‘Cool’ ain’t the word y’all be using when we get some time alone,” Applejack promised, witnessing the unique sight of a cyan pegasus suddenly turning crimson all over.
“Y-yeah!” Rainbow Dash stammered. “We’re almost there!”
Applejack looked up, holding her hat on her head with one hoof. They seemed to be approaching a mirror of some sort. She could see their reflection approaching faster and faster. “Uh, Dashie? Are you sure that’s safe?”
“Nope!” Rainbow Dash grinned. “But I’m pretty sure that’s the way out!”
“How do you know that?!”
“It’s the only thing that looks different!” Rainbow Dash replied. “Now, hold on tight!”
Applejack couldn’t help but cringe as she pressed her forehead against Rainbow Dash’s chest the moment the pegasus’ mane made contact with the reflective surface.
And then suddenly, she felt the cold breeze and droplets of water on her coat! She opened her eyes and stared down at the lake below her. The alien stars still being reflected out of the empty sky above.
“We’ve made it!” She shouted, laughing and hugging Rainbow Dash harder. “We’ve made it, sugarcube!”
“Don’t speak too soon!” Rainbow Dash hollered.
With an icy feel settling in her stomach, Applejack looked down again to about five thick tentacles made out of stars shooting out of the water after them!
Rainbow Dash turned and twisted as the tentacles rose around them, trying to trap them and drag them down into the water again. Whenever she seemed to have a clear way out, a tentacle would be there, making her steer out of the way. Soon they wouldn’t be able to escape at all.
“DOWN WITH YOU!” A familiar voice cried, and the tentacles spasmed as blue energy covered the whole lake. “Down I say!” Princess Luna insisted, her magic pushing the tentacles apart long enough for Rainbow Dash to slip through them and rise beyond their reach.
“Rainbow Dash! Applejack!” Twilight called, waving her hoof from the top of the rock where Applejack had seen her last.
Carefully depositing Applejack next to Twilight and Spike, who had been hiding behind Twilight’s hind-legs, Rainbow Dash turned to look at Luna, as she blasted the tentacles over and over, until they had submerged completely. “W-what happened?”
Twilight sighed. “As soon as Applejack jumped into the lake to find you, I sent a letter to Princess Celestia about this,” she said, looking with worry at the water as it stilled completely under Luna’s watchful eyes. “I had never heard of this and I didn’t know what else to do!”
“You did the right thing, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna declared, slowly lowering herself to stand next to the three ponies. “This is where I trapped the most dangerous of constellations, willing to abuse the wishes of the heart to trap ponies and feed off of their souls.”
Twilight blanched. “Stars can do that?”
Luna shook her head. “Not anymore, I trapped those that could, long before I became the Nightmare... and even in that state I knew better than to release them. Nay. The stars above are gentle and kind... these...” she frowned. “Are most definitely not. I was not aware that their seal had broken. It was a true danger to everypony. I shall make sure to strengthen the warning spells, lest this happen again.”
Having said that, her magic enveloped the lake, and soon, it seemed to become solid, like onyx, still reflecting a sky that wasn’t there, but immobile. The sounds of the forest suddenly flooded the area around them, making them remember just how quiet the place had been.
“T-they would have sucked my soul out?” Rainbow Dash whispered faintly.
Luna nodded, turning to look at her and Applejack with a bit of admiration. “Truly, I have never heard of anypony escaping them as you two did. Once a pony is trapped in their dream of emotions, there is almost no chance to escape,” she said, eyeing them. “Up until today, I thought it impossible.”
Rainbow Dash grinned and nuzzled Applejack, much to the surprise of the gathered ponies. “I guess they hadn’t thought of the one feeling I wanted but hadn’t experienced. Everything else, the freedom, the loneliness... I had.”
Applejack looked into her eyes. “But not love?”
Rainbow Dash’s grin became a softer smile. “No... not love.”
Luna smiled. “Interesting. Perchance the stars of old do not account for everything. Or maybe they simply don’t know as much as they would have us believe.”
Twilight sighed. “At least that’s done for... come on girls, it’s time to go home.”
Rainbow Dash glanced at Applejack. “I bet I can beat you to Sweet Apple Acres, no wings.”
Applejack smirked. “Yer on, sugarcube! Be ready to eat my dust!”
“As if!” Rainbow Dash laughed, galloping away.
“Hey! That’s cheatin’!” Applejack shouted, setting off after her. “Get back here, you cheatin’ varmint!”
“And thus, it begins,” Luna chuckled, glancing at Twilight Sparkle. “Would you care for a lift home, Twilight?”
The unicorn smiled at her departing friends, before nodding. “Thank you, Princess. I’m sure they’ll need some time alone.”
o.0.o
As she galloped, side-by-side with Rainbow Dash, grinning so hard her cheeks hurt, Applejack could only shake her head.
“Ah can’t believe Ah waited this long,” she muttered.
“I can,” Rainbow Dash replied, smiling at her surprised look. “Pegasi have pretty good hearing,” she explained, smile never fading. “But yeah, about why you waited this long?” she put on some speed, starting to leave Applejack behind. “It’s because you’re a slowpoke!” she shouted over her shoulder.
“Oh, yer gettin' it now!” Applejack laughed.
Maybe next time Rainbow Dash felt like looking at the stars, she could do it with her. From the ground.
o.0.o The End o.0.o
Author's Note
A/N: This story is dedicated to DbzOrDie; thanks for your patience and help, dude! I hope you like it!
