150 Proof

The morning sky, set ablaze by the burning sun, reflected the deep, burning compassion Dash and Applejack felt for each other since the night before. All their life, all their experiences, all their feelings, seemed to contract into a single point of unshakeable bliss as pure happiness poured out of their beings like waterfalls. The world was a simpler place, a happier place; for that point of feeling, that point of the known and the unknown, of passion and lust, of kindness and caring, imploded, creating a single point, which consisted of every known emotion they felt throughout the passing of the night, that took the form of a single thought, a single feeling. Love.

Any doubt, any subconscious thoughts of ambiguity, unknown, or apprehension, are no longer conceivable in the state the two mares were in. All those words suddenly held no meaning in time and space as they knew it; it was as if they had never existed, leaving the trail of stout love behind as a cushion to the world, a soft mattress of love that rested on an unshakable box spring of life.

The beautifully lit morning was uncharacteristically quiet; not a sound resonated throughout the house; the birds were interestingly quiet; it seemed as though the whole world stood still for them, bending to their unconscious will. Not a single disturbance presented itself as the two slept; not one.

The entire world corresponded as Applejack and Dash awoke without hinder, allowing their minds to become accustomed to the conscious world of Equestria. Their eyelids slowly parted, allowing the life-giving sun to flash soft, warm light to enter their eyes, giving them new perspective to the room, which was flooded with the same golden light, giving the room a Celestial-like aura. The room radiated with life, causing both Dash and Applejack to smile as they wakened, extremely happy for the day off.

The sharp, yet refreshing morning air was there to greet them as Applejack and Rainbow Dash walked outside, starting their new day together. The air reminded them of their own selves; they were both intense, yet caring at the same time. Their walk started their advance on the new days activities, which included a trip to the meadow outside of Ponyville. It had been a long time since Rainbow Dash had taken to the skies in a dangerous dance of aeronautics, and she yearned to feel the wind once more; but furthermore, Dash had noticed over the last few days that she had completed a succession of Sonic Rainbooms, a signature flying feat that only she, herself, could perform, one after the other without fault, and she intended to learn why. For she had only been able to do it a couple times before.

She had tried to learn to do her Sonic Rainboom at will multiple times, but it never quite turned out the way the mare had wished, pointedly because she ended up never actually performing it once at will. It had only happened under tremendous amounts of pressure and by accident, which she intended to rectify by learning to do it at her whim.

It wasn't exactly unexpected to Applejack as she learned of her lovers intent for the day. She too had noticed the abnormality in the frequency of the signature move and was also curious, and was delighted to help her love discover the origin of the Sonic Rainboom. She happily followed Dash to the meadow, casually conversing with the mare as they walked, sharing stories of years long gone, trying to pass the time as they neared their destination.

The green sea of the meadow finally rose from the horizon and met their eyes. Both Dash and Applejack stared in awe at the beauty of the flowing plains complimenting the sharp, green forest and the coincidental cyan colored sky. Dash continued to stare at the sky, glistening with a perfect hue that resembled the color of herself. Standing still, she relished as the soft, warm fall breeze made it's way across her sleek, slender body that was perfectly aerodynamic. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to indulge in the simple pleasure, and after a few seconds, proceeded with her partner down the hill into the green fields below.

***

High in the atmosphere, characterized by thin air and cold temperatures, a Cyan Pegasus, blended perfectly with the sky, was in her element. She flew across the aerial heights, showing her dominance as a flyer. This was her kingdom, her territory. No one else challenged her as she took hold of the caelum, the miles of atmosphere dedicated to be her grounds of property, and rocketed toward her goal, literally and figuratively.

Today solely existed for Dash to learn her trick at whim; it served no other purpose. She recollected all the information she could in regards to her previous experiences with her Sonic Rainbooms. She had always been flying at top speed and she only did it under pressure and when she had absolute determination.

'This can't be too bad to figure out...' she thought once again. She was too determined to let her previous experiences hinder her actions. With nothing in her mind except the overwhelming power of determination, she set off in high speed toward a general direction of east. She then turned and rocketed skyward, quickly gaining altitude and carving her way through the atmosphere. She flew as high as she was comfortable with and turned over, using gravity to help her reach past her terminal velocity and soar downward, her velocity slowly increasing.

The makings of her Sonic Rainboom presented themselves as she beat her wings furiously in an attempt to complete her aerial trick. The high speed caused the air particles to swarm around her, creating the beginnings of a mach cone; which, after longer exposure and increased velocity, took shape, and coated Rainbow Dash in a nearly transparent veil of white. She could hear the screeching of the air flying past her ears as she neared the sound barrier, steadily increasing in pitch like a teapot nearing it's full boil.

Applejack watched the whole scene in complete awe; it was just as exciting and stupefying as the first time she saw her beloved complete the move during the young flyers competition. The mach cone's degree had gotten considerably smaller as Rainbow Dash, still quite a ways from the ground, rocketed closer and closer. The white veil of the cone seemed to envelope her whole body; small sparks of electricity erupted around her and the cone slowly changed not to just one color, but to all of them as the hues of the rainbow swarmed around her. Applejack held her breath, knowing that she was close to the end result. She stood in silence, consternation, and utter respect as Dash came closer and closer to the completion she so desired; but it seemed fate had conspired against them that moment, for when she thought she was going to execute the move, the mach cone leveled out, slowing her down to a complete mid-air stop, then rebounded, propelling her into the opposite direction. Applejack, thoroughly frightened for her lover's safety, stole after her in a frantic chase.

***

If this situation hadn't occurred on the past, then it would be safe to assume that Rainbow Dash would be in considerable danger; however, under the circumstances that this had happened multiple times opposite of the future, Rainbow Dash had learned, with incredible precision, how to safely come out of the tailspin, resume steady flight, and safely land without any problems, and though Applejack knew this had happened many times without incident, her instinct still drove her to run after her.

Dash, who was moving across the blue plains of the sky, after noticing she was in a counter-clockwise tailspin, eased out her left wing and dropped her right wing to the side, which inevitably brought her spin to a stop, where she then proceeded to extend her right wing fully, bringing her into a steady glide, and after a few moments, she landed safely one half of a mile away from her starting position. She looked back, seeing Applejack quite a distance away, quickly making her way to Dash's current position. She slightly smiled, but something weird happened, she noticed that Applejack stopped moving, and was frantically looking back and fourth at what seemed to be dark figures that surrounded her. Dash was already flying toward her love before she even realized what she was flying to. A pack of wild wolves had surrounded Applejack, quickly closing in. She raced as fast as her wings would take her toward Applejack.

***

Dash had made her was into Applejack's view and she judged Dash to be approximately a half a mile away. From what she could see, Dash was in good health; she wasn't lying on the ground and she wasn't limping, to the great relief of the chaser. She bought her run to a steady jog, still making her way towards Dash, when her peripheral vision noticed a dark figure around fifty feet to her left. At first she paid it no mind, but after but a few seconds, it was clear it was heading toward her location. She reeled back, unsure of what the being was or it's intentions. She focused, and, upon further inspection, realized that she was being stalked by a feral wolf.

She'd heard many stories about wolves in her early childhood; they were dangerous, carnivorous wild dogs that hunted in packs ranging from six to over twenty and, if given the chance, would hunt nearly anything, including ponies. The only real experience she'd had with timber wolves was whenever they howled; it signified the harvest time of Zap Apples, a special breed of apples that were rather difficult to properly harvest, for just the slightest miscalculation, and the apples would cease to be ripe; however, other than that, she'd had no experience with a wolf, especially in person and the very idea frightened her a great deal. She quickly turned around to run, but found herself surrounded by the wolves on all sides. She looked around, trying to formulate a plan in the desperate situation. She glanced past the wolf and saw Dash flying fast toward her, but something else caught her eye about her flying; Dash had a sharp mach cone surrounding her.

The pack of wolves quickly closed the distance between them and their newly anticipated prey. A normal pony would have probably lost it from the fear, but not Applejack, who stood still and held her ground. As they drew nearer, she could hear there guttural snarls and noticed, with much concern, that the pack now blatantly showed her their teeth. She felt the color drain from her face and a chill run throughout her body; she had a difficult time keeping her misgivings hidden from her predators, who, after noticing this, growled all the louder. She glanced one more toward Dash, who was closing fast; she was taken aback in slight shock as she saw the mach cone rightly refined and acute, vivid with color, she stood, frozen in awe, for but a second as she heard a particularly loud snarl and turned to see one of the wolves airborne, closing in for the kill. The gravity of the situation didn't quite sink in until just now, as Applejack realized the fruitlessness of moving, for it was already too late, there was no time for defense, only bracing for connection of teeth and claws on flesh and fur; she closed her eyes, prepared for the attack

***

Rainbow Dash, full of adrenaline, sped away toward her lover in a fitful race between her and the wolves. She unconsciously thought of the mach cone around her; what had normally taken her a whole mile to form had been formed in well under half of a mile. She pushed the thoughts out of her mind, allowing only Applejack to dwell in her sub conscience. The circumstances from her previous attempt at the Sonic Rainboom reoccurred as the cone shrank in degree and increased in sharpness. The white veil once again changed into a swirl of color and enveloped her whole body as her wings propelled her at speeds that shamed all others. She noticed her beloved was staring at her in what seemed to be amazement, but more pointedly, she noticed one of the wolves closing in, then a split second later, he became airborne.

Dash was traveling at a velocity completely unknown to her. The air around her seemed to vanish, the sound was unbearable as it whistled past her ears, threatening to deafen her, and with a final push of her strong wings, Dash broke the barrier, sending a circular wave of vivid and spectacular color. It was unbelievably spectacular; her heart stopped, the color threw it's bright hues in all directions, enveloping to ground below in a bath of iridescent pigmentation that contained every tint that could be seen with the naked eye. Dash was propelled forward in a speed never seen before and she flew through the pack of wolves, past the rancid, airborne wolf prepared to attack Applejack, and in the blink of an eye, both Rainbow Dash and Applejack were well past the dumbfounded wolves who stared at the ground where their prey had been but a moment ago.

It had struck Dash in mid-flight as to the characteristics involving a successful Sonic Rainboom, and she smiled as she stared into the eyes of a frightened, happy, and loving Applejack, who clutched her in a powerful embrace in salute to her lovers action, which, according to Rainbow Dash, was unequivocally unnecessary, but, according to Applejack, it unequivocally was. She finally noticed, with great veracity, that the key to the completion of her signature move was, ironically, love! The love for her friends and the love for flying had driven her to success every time, it gave her a determination and a boost of adrenaline unlike anything she'd ever experienced in her colorful life. The two flew away from the scene, leaving a trail of brilliant coloration in their wake.

***

The two could barely speak a single word to each other as Dash softly landed on the porch of Applejack's farm house. The gravity of the situation that had just transpired still hadn't fully set in; Applejack's life was just threatened. The two did the only thing they could, which was hold each other and cry, expressing their feelings and throwing meaningless apologies trying to explain what had just happened. Dash just hushed her lover, saying, "It's ok, Apples. You're ok!" Applejack stopped her sobbing but continued to slightly cry. She was lost for words.

"Come on, Applejack, let's go to bed."

The manner in which she spoke would have reflected a situation that was in no way dire, but only the both of them needed to know the contrary. The bond that was strengthened that day needed no words of explanation; there were none to be found, so the two abandoned the fools errand of explanation and proceeded upstairs to their room, ready to retire. It was 5:30 pm, but both of them were completely exhausted after their ordeal.

The two climbed into bed, with remnants of tears in their eyes. They could not explain the feelings they felt, so they stopped trying. They assumed their signature hold, Applejack hugging Dash's waist while Dash wrapped her arms around Applejack's neck.

"I love you, Dashie." Applejack said softly.

"I love you too, Apples." Dash lovingly replied.

Fate has a funny way of always turning things around. They both turned in for a kiss, but stopped, and looked into the glistening orbs of the other; they then slowly closed their eyes, and felt their lips connect in a loving contract, forever bonding one to the other. Their field of dreams went undisturbed that night and many to come as the one dreamt of the other. Their souls had made a pact, and there was no turning back. After what had happened today, both Dash and Applejack knew that they would not and could not ever be separated from each other; their love bonded them together, in an infinite chasm of pure affection and need; they slept, knowing that their love for each other would last an eternity and beyond, challenging the test of time.