Clanless
By The Rated Ponystar
Edited by: Claiver
Pre-read by: Tchernobog and Unnamed Pawn
***
The small puffs of vapor brushed past my cheek as I kick another cloud out of existence. By the time it disappears, I’m already getting rid of the next one. Kick after kick the sky gets clearer, allowing the bright sun to shine upon Ponyville. Normally, I would just sit back and relax on a cloud for a few hours before taking them out at the last second. Most ponies would call that procrastinating, but when you can clear the skies as fast as I can, it’s not a big deal.
Today, however, is different. I need to get all my weather duties cleared as fast as possible if I’m going to see Applejack. She had been gone all week for the Apple family reunion, forcing me to wake up in my bed without her warm coat touching mine. My hooves had to wrap around a pillow instead of her waist like usual. No morning kiss. No nuzzle. Not even a challenge to see who could get down the stairs fastest.
Now I’m a grown mare and it’s not like I can’t sleep alone. But when you’ve been together with somepony—especially somepony you love—for six months, you tend to miss the simple things. I’m just glad she’ll be coming back and we can make up those seven lonely days.
With the last of my clouds gone, I turn towards my partner for the day, Raindrops, and groan. She’s only halfway done with her share of the clouds! “Come on, Raindrops! Move your flank! I need to get going!”
Raindrops faces me with knowing smirk. “Relax, Dash. I know how much you want to see your marefriend. I’ll take care of this on my own and deal with the paperwork, you just go see her.”
A smile threatens to split my face in two. I rush towards Raindrops and shake her hoof, my excitement fueling my strength as she wobbles in the air like jello. “Thanks, Raindrops! I owe you big time!”
I don’t wait for a reply. The minute I let go I speed off towards Sweet Apple Acres. Halfway there I can feel my heart beating even faster then I’m going. It’s funny. Six months ago I wouldn’t be feeling like this. I would have been treating this as another friendly visit, but now I feel so excited I’m ready to shoot off into the stars.
I soon spot the famous apple trees of the farm I’ve come to consider a second home. Flying towards the south field, I land near an apple tree with two carved markings on the trunk. I’m disappointed that Applejack’s not here yet, but that’s fine by me. Maybe I can surprise her before giving her a quick kiss on the lips from above. Turning towards the trunk, my hoof trails over the carvings of my initials and Applejack’s inside a heart. Right beside it is another heart, but with two initials of ponies I’ve never met, but Applejack’s told me plenty about them.
I thought it was cheesy when she suggested doing this, but Applejack said her parents used this tree to carve their names and she wanted to do the same with us. How could I say no after that? Since then, we’ve used this place as our meeting spot. I sat down and did my best to wait, but that didn’t last long. What can I say; I’m not one to stay still.
I get back up in the air and do a few practice moves, resisting the urge to do my bigger and flashier techniques. I don’t want to face another nagging Applejack and Granny Smith for doing a Sonic Rainboom near their fields again. How was I supposed to know it would cause every apple tree in a fifty mile radius to suddenly be blown off their roots?
I was just about to do the Ixion Triple Corkscrew when I spot somepony near the tree. Grinning, I dive down and hit the ground with a thunderous landing, proudly hanging my head up as the wind blows against my mane. Unfortunately, my awesome performance is wasted. Instead of Applejack, it’s her brother, Big Macintosh, who's there to greet me with his usual stoic look. Seriously, he reminds me of the guards except less angry looking.
“Thought it was y'all when Ah saw some pegasus flyin’ around here,” he said, chewing on his strand of hay.
“Hey, Mac,” I say, my wings flapping in anticipation. “Have you seen, AJ? I’ve been waiting for her to come over like we promised.”
A sigh escapes from Big Macintosh’s lips as his head lowers to the ground, ears flat. He’s all slouched over and looks completely tired, like he just did three rodeos in a row. Something’s up and I can feel myself getting worried as my wings slowly start to flap less.
“She’s in her room…”
“Doing what?”
“… cryin’.”
The wind blows as leafs scatter into my face, but my stunned expression still remains. Applejack… is crying? The very notion is enough to make me speechless. The protective side of me wants to be in her room right now, sitting beside her as she cries on my shoulder. The pissed off side is already howling for blood and the wants a number for the amount of tombstones I’ll need for the bodies.
“What happened?! Who made her cry?! I’ll kick their sorry flanks for whatever they did to her! Tell me!” I demand right up in his face. My nostrils are flaring and my teeth are gritting together so hard they could crack at any moment.
Closing his eyes, Big Macintosh shakes his head with a scowl. “She told them the truth.”
My fury soon fades upon hearing this. Every part of my body feels like it’s been dipped in ice cold water as the realization slowly sinks in. I already knew who “them” is. I’ve been to a few reunions here at Sweet Apple Acres myself. They were all kind and simple folk. The fact that they could be anything less was mind boggling.
Applejack warned me that we had to be careful about our relationship when dealing with them. I thought she was being paranoid, but if this is as bad as it sounds…
“H-how bad is it?” I ask.
A single tear from his eyes was enough to get me flying towards the farm like my tail was on fire. Thousands of thoughts raced through my head: What happened? Why did she tell them now? Why wasn’t I there for her? It didn’t make any sense why she did this alone. We told our friends our relationship together. Hay, we even told my parents together. Why didn’t she let me be there for her this time?
I land on the front porch of the house and barge in without hesitation. I’m ready to make my way up the stairs when I hear somepony crying. Thinking its Applejack, I peek into the living room and spot Apple Bloom being held by her grandmother.
“W-why?! Wh-why did they… did they do this?!” Apple Bloom moaned as her granny rocked her back and forth. “Y-a… ya told me family always… s-sticks together n-no matter what!”
“Ah did, Apple Bloom. Ah did,” mutters Granny Smith, stroking Apple Bloom’s mane.
“… th-then why… did this happen?”
Her crying has now become gentle sobs, barely bearable. My heart sinks lower into my chest as I begin to wonder if this is what Applejack is feeling as well. Granny Smith raises her head, looks at me with a knowing stare and nods. Originally, she wasn't sure about me and Applejack together and wasn't too keen on the idea. But I eventually won her heart and she accepted me as one of her own. Of course she threatened that if I hurt Applejack in anyway she would make sure my remains were fed to the pigs, but at least I won her trust.
I nod in return and quietly make my way up the stairs, the floorboards creaking as I try my best not to rush without making a sound. I can already put the pieces together on what’s happened, but I don’t want to believe it. Applejack always made her family sound so perfect and lovable despite some of their stricter beliefs. I chalked it up to the stubbornness every Apple seemed to have. If what I’m thinking actually happened…
I increase my pace a little more.
Arriving in front of Applejack’s room, I knock on the door. “Applejack? It’s me, Rainbow Dash.”
At first I hear nothing. Then a weak voice says, “Come on in…”
Pushing the door open, I spot Applejack, sitting on her bed and gazing upon Sweet Apple Acres from her window. Her hair isn’t braided, but long and flowing as her favorite hat lies beside her. I’m mesmerized by it for a brief second until I remember why I’m here. Her back is turned against me, but despite her attempts to sit still I see her shivering. I walk in a bit closer, each step causing a break in the grim silence.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” asked Applejack. “Four generations mah family’s worked on this land. Mah aunts, uncles, and cousins all used to say how proud they were of us for maintain such a successful farm. Even the patriarch, Emperor Apple, called it one of the best farms in the family.”
She slouches over and shakes her head. “Now? They don’t want nothin’ to do with it anymore. After everythin’ the four of us have done, they just kick us out like trash! All because they’re nothin’ but a bunch of narrow minded, backstabbin’ snakes!”
Her hoof slams against the mattress, sending the hat flying off the bed before landing near me. She turns her head just for a second to glance at it before turning back. It was enough time for me to see the look on her face. My mother use to tell me that when my father was sad or crying, she would feel the same way too. She told me that’s what happens to ponies who love each other very much. Now I understand what she meant. I’m ready to leak tears myself just seeing the pain-filled defeat written on Applejack’s face.
I pick the hat up and place it on the dresser next to me before turning back to my marefriend. “Why didn’t you let me tell them with you?”
“Ah’m sorry, Rainbow…” Applejack says, turning around and facing me. Her eyes are still dripping with tears as she struggles to continue speaking clearly. “Ah-h just… didn’t want to y-ya to face… their wrath as well.”
Stupid. She’s so stupid. I don’t waste any more time. I embrace her with both my front legs and my wings, letting her head rest against me. Her final defenses break as she sobs into my chest. I can feel her sorrow with each wail. It’s like having a part of me slowly being torn apart. Her pain is my pain. Her tears are my tears. I want to cry with her, but I can’t. I need to be strong. I need to be the pillow for her to scream and weep on. I place a quick kiss on her cheeks, to remind her that I’m here for her. She lifts her face towards mine and places a hoof on my cheeks before our lips touch.
The sweet, apple tasting lips that I’ve longed to kiss for nearly a week raises every hair on my pelt. Every kiss was just like our first, when I confessed to her last Hearts and Hooves day. I was so nervous, but when I was done she replied back with her lips. And since then I’ve never regretted or doubted our relationship, until now.
If it wasn’t for me, she wouldn’t be in so much pain. Could I have prevented her getting hurt by her own flesh and blood if I just kept my feelings to myself? No matter what we have and no matter how special it was, it wasn’t worth it to see her suffer.
Pulling away from the kiss, I lower my head and prepare to apologize, but before I can say anything, her hoof is on my lips. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she gives me that familiar glare that I find both annoying and yet arousing at the same time. Already she knows what I’m about to say and already she’s giving me the back talk. “Now don’t ya blame yerself! Ah did this out of mah own free will and Ah knew this was gonna happen. Maybe not this bad, but it was never gonna end well. Ah got no regrets and Ah’d make the same choice all over again if Ah had too.”
“But…”
“Sugarcube,” Applejack sternly says before taking a deep breath. “Let me tell ya what happened…”
I shut my mouth, partly because I know better than to argue in this matter and partly because I’m curious.
“It was near the end of the reunion. Ah talked it over earlier with Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom and they agreed to be there by mah side when Ah did this. Granny wanted me to wait longer, she was sure they wouldn't understand, but Ah told her that they would find out eventually. Still, she told me she loved me and supported me despite her beliefs. Celestia bless them they were willin’ to walkin’ through hellfire with me and suffer just as much. A pony can’t feel more proud to have them as family. Well, supper came and we all went to gather, but Ah asked for everypony’s attention,” Applejack said, closing her eyes. “Ya don’t know how scared Ah was with all them eyes on me. It makes me wonder if that’s how Fluttershy feels with crowds all the time. Anyway, Ah struggled to say somethin’, sweatin' like a pig, until Ah finally told them I had a marefriend.”
A smile graced her face. “They were all whoopin’ and shoutin’ for joy. My cousins all came around askin’ questions about her. Was she beautiful? How did we meet? How long had we’d been together?” The frown then returned. “Then Braeburn asked what her special talent was.”
She opened her eyes and looked into mine. “Ah said she was the greatest and most beautiful flyer Ah had ever seen.”
My response was another kiss on the lips. Not just because of her compliment, but because I knew the next part of the story would be tough. We held it together to the point where my lungs begged for air. I didn’t care if I suffocated. Dying in Applejack's hooves would have been fine with me if it meant helping her feel better. Eventually, we did break it up and we waited awhile to catch our breath.
“Ah…”Applejack muttered as she regained her self. “Ah never heard such silence. For one moment it was like the world stood still...”
I drew her closer to my side, adjusting our position so that my right wing was covering her like a blanket.
“Then the insults came, all at once. Disgrace. Whore. Featherbucker. The family Ah loved and cared about, that Ah spent every workin’ day to support and love, turned against me like Ah was some abomination. Just cause Ah was in love with a pegasus and not an earth pony,” Applejack said, her tears dripping down once more. I raised my wing against her face and gently brushed her tears away with my feathers. She gave me a grateful nod before continuing. “Emperor Apple came up to me, called me a shame upon our family’s pure earth pony line.”
“That’s when Apple Bloom rushed over between us and said that Ah shouldn’t be ashamed. Ah was in love and that Ah was the best Apple there ever was for everythin’ I’ve done. She said they were the shameful ones for makin’ such a big deal out of a relationship.”
I made a note to treat the filly to an ice cream sundae sometime later in the week.
“Emperor called her just a filly who didn’t understand that this was a grown up manner. She replied saying they were the real foals, acting like children over something so stupid,” chuckled Applejack.
Make that two ice cream sundaes. “What happened next?”
Applejack shook her head and growled. “He said that if Ah wanted a lover he could arrange somethin’ with another earth pony clan, but Ah told him straight out that Ah loved ya only. He then gave me a choice. Either Ah break up with ya or… or…” she sniffled and choked a bit, eyes misting once more. “… or he would kick me out of the Apple clan, along with anypony else that associates with me.”
My eyes widen as I stared into her deep, warm, emerald eyes. “You… you choose me… over your family?”
Applejack nodded. “Ah love ya, Rainbow. Ah couldn’t stand to never be with ya… “
I hug her, nuzzling and kissing her neck as my own eyes start to mist. I’m not worthy of her. She’s sacrificed so much for me that I can’t help but feel like I don’t deserve her. I’m not even a tenth of what she is. “You’re so stupid… you didn’t have to do that…”
“No, Ah needed too…” Applejack said. “Ah needed to do this. Ah want to be with ya, Rainbow. Nothin’ was gonna change that. Nothin’.”
She lifts her head and smiles at me. Despite the sorrow in her eyes I can see the strength of her heart behind that smile. “Besides, Ah didn’t lose mah entire family. Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith all stood by mah side, ready to be kicked out as well. Ah think the family wasn’t expecting that. Emperor looked redder than even Big Macintosh as he kept cursin’ us, and declared us all rotten apples. He said some more words and it was official. We were clanless. Then he…” Applejack hides behind her bangs, but the utter hate in her tone of voice is enough to make my spine shiver. “… he said it was a good thing mah parents were dead. Or else they would be ashamed of us all.”
I was now glad this Emperor Apple wasn’t here. If he was I would be already heading to the gallows for murder. “I hope you bucked him in the face,” I hiss in disgust.
Applejack chuckled. “Ah didn’t, but Big Macintosh did. He moved so fast that Emperor Apple never saw it coming. Knocked him straight across the field and right into the wall of his very own barn, he did. His sons tried to make a move, but the look on Macintosh’s face was enough to make them nearly manure themselves. If looks could kill, we would have had an Apple family funeral instead of a reunion. After that, we said goodbyes and got on the first train home… clanless.”
When she finished, neither of us said anything. We just stood there, my wing over her and our hooves as one. I squeezed hers real hard as I let her rest on against my chest again, my chin on her mane. I wish I can find every one of those bastards, take them to the atmosphere, and drop them in a lake. Applejack had saved the world, worked nearly every day to support both her immediate and overall family, and went to every important Apple meeting from the weddings to the birthdays. And this is how they repay her?
“You don’t need them,” I say, stroking her back with my other free hoof. “If they can’t let you be happy, after everything you’ve done, then they don’t deserve you.”
“But… they’re still my family… mah clan…”
“You have another clan!” I say, grabbing her shoulders and looking into her eyes. “You have me. You have the girls. You have a town of ponies that care about you. You still have your brother, your sister, your grandmother. None of them judge you. None of them want to hinder your happiness. They just want to see that smile that makes you look like the sexiest thing this side of Equestria.”
“Rainbow…” she mutters, wiping her glittering eyes. It takes a minute, but she manages to give me a smile. I blush and gently kiss her on the lips again. It’s quick, but enough to make her moan in pleasure.
“And unlike those ungrateful jerks, we’ll never leave you. I’ll never leave you,” I whisper, drawing her closer. A wild thought suddenly comes to my mind. I only think about it for a brief second before I ask it. To hay with consequences, I want her forever.
“Marry me, Applejack.”
Her reaction is what I expect. She stares at me like I’ve gone crazy and maybe I look that way with the grin on my face. She opens her mouth a few times before finally managing to speak, “W-what?”
“Marry me,” I repeat. “I know it’s only been six months, but I want to be with you for the rest of our lives. I want to fly home from work or when I’m training to see you waiting there for me. I want to wake up every morning and go to sleep every night to kiss you. Even when I join the Wonderbolts, I’ll fly from whatever city I am to be by your side for even a short while. Besides, think of the look on those jerks when they hear about us as newlyweds?”
“It’s just… so sudden… Rainbow I…” She’s crying again, but with those eyes is a dreamy smile. “I know it sounds silly… but I’ve always wanted to settle down… have a family. Do … do you really want that?”
My response is the biggest kiss I can give her. I lick the edges of her lips with my tongue and soon enough she lets me inside. I explore her mouth with vigor, taking in every inch and rolling my organ inside it. I can taste the sweet apple taste that I adore. Her tongue flicks against my own, sending jolts of pleasure down my nervous system. I push down even further as my hooves wrap around her and bring her to the bed.
I lay on top of her, rubbing my hooves against her cutie marks, occasionally squeezing them. Her own hooves are going to work as well. One of them is pressed against the back of my neck, massaging it. The other is heading straight for my tail, wrapping it around the base of her hoof and giving a jerk. I almost give a squeal, but continue my kiss.
I so want her right here and now, but I want an answer first. I break the kiss, earning a little whimpering, and grin. “So what’s your answer?”
She whispers a single word in my ear before I pounce at her again. That night I loved her more than I ever had. That night everything changed between us. All because of a single word:
“Yes.”
Author's Note
This is actually a story I wrote about a year ago, but I didn't post it because I thought it was too cliche. After showing it to some of my friends, they suggested I post it so I did. Enjoy.
