Rated PonyStar and TwilightUCrazy
Our Tree, by Rated PonyStar
It was almost time. The weeks of planning and gaining courage were about to pay off tonight. It would be the hardest thing she would ever say, but if everything turned out right it would be worth it. At best, their relationship would go further than she ever dreamed. At worst, they would never speak to each other ever again.
Applejack wished she had a watch or even an hourglass. The passing seconds were unbearable. How long till nine o’clock? Would she even come or remember that Applejack wanted her here? Maybe it would be best to postpone her plan for another night? All these doubts and more made Applejack cursed herself for being such a coward now of all times.
Her eyes glanced over to the tree that stood only a hoof away from her. It was different from all the other trees in their orchid, no apples or other types of fruit grew on it. Yet it was special to not only her, but to her entire family. On the trunk, in the light of the full moon above, there was a carved heart with an arrow going right through it. Inside that heart were initials: “CA + GA 4+ever.”
The initials stood for Cortland Apple and Ginger Apple.
Her parents.
Applejack heard the familiar sound of wings flapping through the air that made her heart pump faster than any rodeo ever did. She resisted the urge to turn around, even when she heard the owner of those wings land behind her. She really came…
“Hey, AJ. I’m here like I promised. So why did you want me to come all the way over here this late at night?”
Applejack gulped and turned around; coming face to face with a mare she had grown to know over the years quite well. Rainbow Dash, the self-proclaimed fastest pegasus in Equestria. A friend, rival, and comrade when the Elements of Harmony were involved in some saving Equestria adventure they always seemed to have every year or so. But besides all those titles, she was more than that to Applejack then that, much more.
“Hey… Rainbow Dash… glad ya made it,” Applejack answered, fumbling with her hat. She kept silent for a short while, her nerves only increasing as was the bored expression on Dash’s face. Clearing her throat, she said, “Ah wanted to show ya somethin’… take a look.”
She stepped back and presented the tree like it was a prize won at a fair. Rainbow Dash tilted her head and walked up to the tree, leaning closer to see what made it so special. Her magenta eyes then landed on the carving and she snorted. “Who’s the cheesy couple that made that?”
“That would be me mah Pa and Ma,” Applejack answered, deadpan.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widen and she quickly turned around, her face apologetic. Scratching the back of her neck, she looked down regrettably, and muttered, “Sorry… didn’t mean to… you know…”
Applejack sighed. She was a bit peeved that Rainbow had said what she did, but remembered that nopony besides her family had known about this. And she knew Rainbow Dash would never intentionally say anything bad about her departed folks. Keeping her mind focuses, Applejack said, “It’s alright, sugarcube. No harm no fowl. But there’s a reason why Ah brought ya to the farm and why Ah wanted to show this here tree.” She took a big breath. “This here is where mah Pa confessed to mah Ma that he loved her. They came here every night since then as their special place, even when they got married.”
“Okay, I get that but what does… this have… to do with me?” asked Rainbow Dash nervously as her cheeks began to turn red.
Seeing no point in delaying the inevitable, Applejack turned to Rainbow Dash and stared at her straight in the eyes. “Because Ah promised mahself Ah would do the same thing to the pony Ah fell in love with. At this very tree too.”
To Applejack’s credit, she kept her cool instead of just trotting up to her crush and kissing the life out of her like those romance novels Rarity always went on about. Instead, she waited for a reply as Rainbow Dash expressions changed from shock to confusion. Her worries only increased as she begged for a sign, even a small one that showed Dash felt the same way.
Finally, Rainbow Dash opened her mouth, “Applejack… I… I don’t know… I need to think about this.”
Feeling the bottom of her chest slowly turn into ice, Applejack reluctantly nodded. “O-okay. Go ahead. Take all the time ya need. Just… meet me here when ya got an answer.”
“R-right,” Rainbow Dash answered. With that said, she was gone in a flash, a streaking rainbow left behind her wake. Applejack sighed and held back the tears that were threatening to break through. She wasn’t rejected, but just the look in Dash’s face as enough to make her worry.
All she could do now was wait and hope.
Since her confession, Applejack had waited by the tree for the past three nights, hoping that Rainbow Dash would come by and give her the answer she wanted to hear. She hadn’t even seen Rainbow Dash during the day when she went into town. She had asked her other friends if they had seen her too, but they were just as clueless as she was. It seemed Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to have spread the word of her secret, and Applejack was grateful for that.
A yawn escaped Applejack lips as she struggled to keep her eyes open. Her late night waiting was starting to become a toll on her work effort. Just today alone she missed ten trees during her applebucking rounds, resulting in a harsh landing. Thankfully, nopony else was there to notice or else they would start asking questions. Applejack hated how her feelings were messing with her work effort, but she couldn’t help it. The question had been nagging in her mind almost all the time and only by sitting near the tree, pretending her parents were watching over her, did she feel some ease.
Right when she was about to fear that it would be another vain night, Applejack’s ears perked up upon hearing somepony flying overhead. Holding her breath she looked up and saw a blue set of wings, surrounded by the moonlight. It was as if an angel of the night had come down to bless her. Applejack continued to watch in fascination, even when Rainbow Dash touched down on the ground right in front of her.
Realizing she was staring, Applejack gulped and forced a smile. “Hey, Rainbow… Ah… Ah guess ya got yer answer, huh?”
Rainbow Dash continued to look at her, unfazed and emotionless. This only increased the amount of sweat dripping from the farmer’s brow as the silence continued. For what seemed like years, the two friends continued to focus on one another, trying to get a read on what the other was thinking. Finally, Rainbow Dash sighed and closed her eyes. “I want to know something…”
“Y-yes?”
“… why me?”
Applejack blinked and saw the careful look in Rainbow Dash’s eyes. Knowing that she had to be honest, Applejack took a deep breath and let out her answer from the deepest part of her heart. “The sonic rainboom. That was the day a lone, sad, little filly realized, thanks to a miracle, that she always had what she needed back home. That miracle saved her from makin’ the worst mistake in her life, and gave her purpose. She thought it was the most beautiful thing she ever saw, and never forgot how grateful she was for it. Not a single day.”
With a warm smile, Applejack continued, “Imagine how that filly, all grown up, learned that it was all thanks to a good, loyal friend. A friend who has the most beautiful of manes and the strongest spirit that puts any of them heroes of old times to shame. And that grown up filly began to fall for that mare until she was hopelessly in love with her.” She closed her eyes. “That’s why Ah love ya, Rainbow Dash.”
Keeping her eyes shut, Applejack let the silence take over her as she waited for a single word to come out of Rainbow Dash. Instead, she felt something brush against her lips. A wave of pleasure and warmth overwhelmed her as the sweet tasty lips of Rainbow Dash left her mouth and started nibbling on her ear. A coo resonated from Applejack as she heard her crush whisper, “What if that friend also thought the grown up filly was amazing? Strong. Brave. Honest,” Dash listed, biting harder with each quality. “And what if that friend realized that maybe there was something between them? Something, which was more than friendship and a love for athletics? More than just some fancy magical stones? A bond that she had always felt but never knew what it was until three days ago.”
Opening her eyes, Applejack looked into Rainbow Dash’s eyes and felt her own starting to mist. With a small chuckle, Applejack answered, “Ah think Ah’m gonna have to put a new carving up on that tree.”
If you had told Rainbow Dash that kissing would be almost as thrilling as flying, she would have laughed. Now, it was all she could think about the moment as she assaulted Applejack’s lips with vigor. You’d think she would have been bored with this after nearly a month of lip sucking, tongue tasting, and neck biting. Yet every kiss felt like a brand new one fresh from the hottest mare Dash knew.
She pressed Applejack against the tree, right next to where their own carved names were on the trunk. Their lips were locked as usual, but something was different. Applejack wasn’t showing the same effort she always gave as Dash felt her domination over her marefriend was too easy. Something was wrong.
Removing her lips from Applejack’s, Rainbow Dash pressed their foreheads together and gave her special somepony her usual cocky grin. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothin’,” muttered Applejack. She tried to end the issue by moving her muzzle forward, but Rainbow Dash stopped her with her hoof.
“AJ, even before I became your marefriend I could tell when something was bothering you,” Rainbow Dash pointed out. She backed off, letting them fall back to four hooves. Applejack was staring at the ground, pawing at it while Rainbow Dash sat on her haunches and crossed her hooves. “Come on. Tell me.”
Applejack sighed. “Big Macintosh is gettin’ suspicious. Ah’m thinkin’ we may have to be on the low for a while.”
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes as she fought the urge to tell Applejack to pony up. It was ironic really. Applejack was the one who confessed and yet she wanted to keep it as secret from everypony. Rainbow, meanwhile, was ready to make the whole world know with some cloud writing and a sonic rainboom. “Come on, Applejack! What is there to be afraid off? Your family will love you no matter what and so will our friends! Don’t you want this relationship to go somewhere?”
“Of course Ah do!” Applejack shouted, stomping her hoof. “Ah want to take ya on a real date. Kiss ya in public. Walk under the moon through the park while findin’ a nice spot to hold on to ya like it was our last day alive!” She lowered her head, hat covering her eyes. “It’s just mah family…”
“Even if they’re against you like mares, they’ll still love you!” Rainbow Dash reassured.
“It’s not that. The Apple Family has always supported fillyfoolin’ and coltcuddlin’. It’s just… well,” Applejack fumbled around her words a bit, “we’ve always married earth ponies. No Apple had ever fallen for a unicorn or a pegasus or any other being that wasn’t an earth pony. Some of mah more… conservative family members are against the idea of inter-race marriage in general. Ah just don’t want any trouble to come to ya if they get word of this.”
Resisting the urge to smack herself with her own hoof, Rainbow Dash instead placed it under Applejack’s chin and lifted it up. She looked deep into those emerald eyes she adored and gently kissed her on the nose. “I can handle it. Don’t worry about me; I can take on whatever hate they give me. I just want us to be happy? Don’t you love me?”
“Yes.”
“Then you have to trust me,” Rainbow said, “trust me and be honest. That means telling your family and letting them know who you are dating. Say you’re in love with a sexy and awesome pegasus who loves you every waking moment of her life. Do it not just for me, nor for you, but for us.”
A smile slowly stretched across Applejack’s muzzle. “Alright, Ah’ll tell them. There’s gonna be a reunion next week. Ah’ll tell Granny Smith, Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh before tellin’ the rest. So Ah’ll see how things turn out.”
“Don’t you mean ‘we’?” inquired Rainbow Dash with a sly smirk. Giggling at Applejack’s surprised reaction, she answered, “We’re gonna do this together. I’m not going to let you face the lion’s den alone without me.”
Applejack’s answer was a hug that knocked her off her hooves and onto the ground. She groaned but soon found herself silenced when Applejack took of her hat and her hair braid. The long, golden mane flowed through the breeze like waves of fresh grain, memorizing and full of life. The leering glare in Applejack’s eyes was enough to flare out Dash’s wings against the ground as her love slowly crawled her way towards her face and started kissing her. This time she was using the passion Dash craved.
No words needed to be spoken as the two let that same passion expand further that night.
The rain was getting worse, but that wasn’t going to stop Rainbow Dash. Big Macintosh told her how spaced out she had been since the funeral, and it was starting to worry everypony. Rainbow Dash wanted to kick herself. She kept herself distant from Applejack because she figured she needed time to mourn. A lot good that had been. According to Macintosh and Apple Bloom, she had been missing in her bucks, eating less, and going to the grave every day for hours at end.
They had tried to get her to talk, to open up and talk about what happened, but she refused to talk about it. With no other choice, they turned to Dash, her marefriend, to get her to finally open up and talk about what happened. So far she had checked most of the farm, leaving only one place left for her to check.
Arriving at the tree, she spotted the downtrodden Applejack starting into the sky, her eyes bloodshot with tear marks decorating her cheeks. Forcing a smile, Rainbow Dash walked towards her marefriend who didn’t even acknowledge her.
“Hey,” greeted Rainbow Dash.
“Hey,” replied Applejack, emotionless.
Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her neck and cursed herself for not knowing what to do. This was more along the line of one of her other friend’s field of expertise. Still, she had to give it a shot. “Look, I’m not gonna soft talk you or try to steer this in any other way, AJ. She’s gone. You have to accept that.”
To her credit, Applejack wasn’t bawling tears or even asking not to talk about it. She was just busy staring into the stormy sky, silent as a grave. Closing her eyes, Applejack took a deep breath. “Ma and Pa only raised me six years of mah life before they died. Apple Bloom was only a newborn around then. Big Macintosh knew them longer, but he took such a hurtin’ back then it’s a miracle he recovered. If it wasn’t for Granny Smith… Ah’d hate to think what he might have done to deal with the pain.”
“Applejack…”
“She was more than just a grandma, Dash,” said Applejack, opening her misting eyes and staring into Dash’s soul. “She was our foster mother. She raised us, not Ma or Pa, but her. She was always there for us, durin’ both good and bad times. She never spoiled us and always taught us good virtues. Ah knew she was old and Ah knew one day her time was gonna come, but now that it has…” she took off her hat and cried into it, “… Ah don’t’ know what to do.”
Rainbow Dash sat down beside her lover and hugged her, letting her tears fall upon her shoulder. It was hard for everypony to see Granny Smith, Ponyville’s oldest member, finally pass away a few days ago. The entire town was there for the funeral, even friends from outside came to say goodbye. For Rainbow Dash, she only got to seriously know the old mare after she and Applejack came out with their relationship. Since then, Granny had been adamant in treating Rainbow Dash as one of her own. She could still remember Granny Smith’s words when they had a private moment together:
“Y’all better take care of mah Jackie. She’s a good girl who deserves happiness and Ah feel ya can give that to her, Rainbow Dash. Make her smile when she’s sad. Stop her from bein’ too stubborn. Never leave her, even if ya fight. But if ya ever hurt her Ah’ll send ya to the grave before Ah do and carve yer tombstone with yer teeth!”
Dash had a feeling that threat still applied even now. Holding Applejack closer, she whispered, “Applejack, I know it’s hard, but what do you think she would say if she saw you now?”
Applejack sniffed before whispering, “She’d tell me to get off mah butt and sob up. There’s work to be done tomorrow and Ah need to be mah best.”
“You think moping about her all day is gonna do that?”
Breaking away from the hold, Applejack turned away and sighed. “No, but… but it’s just so hard to let go.”
“Moving on doesn’t mean letting go. It means accepting what’s happened and continuing your life,” replied Rainbow Dash, memories of such feelings resurging inside her. Of a time when she was little, just around Apple Bloom’s age, and what she lost. “I never told you about my folks, right? There’s kind of a story that I rarely tell ponies, only Fluttershy knows.”
Applejack wiped her eyes and turned around, watching her marefriend look down at the ground with a sad expression. “My folks were always there for me, kind of spoiled me really since I was their only filly. They both were top workers at the weather factory, that’s how I was able to get us inside when I was showing you around Cloudsdale the first time, they employees see me as family.” Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and sniffed. “One day, there was an accident… a lot of ponies were hurt and… my parents were of the victims.”
“Dash,” muttered Applejack as she stroked Dash’s cheek. “You don’t have to say anymore.”
“No, I need to, it’s okay.” Dash rubbed her nose before continuing. “Dad died on the way to the hospital, while Mom was on her last legs. She was smiling, even on death’s door, she smiled and held onto my hoof despite my tears and pleas for her to stay with me. She said she had to go, Dad was waiting for her, and told me that she was confident that I would be alright.” Rainbow Dash then lifted her hoof and placed it on Applejack’s heart. “She told me that Dash’s always move forward, never looking back. I told her I would be strong just as she died. It… it’s something I always remember, every day. Keep moving forward, but never forget.”
“… she sounded amazing,” muttered Applejack, lowering her head as the two slowly wrapped their hooves around each other. “Just like mah Ma…”
“Yeah…” said Rainbow Dash, nuzzling her lover. “I moved to Ponyville soon after, to get a fresh start and make my parents proud. And I wasn’t alone. I had Fluttershy to help me and I want to do the same with you. I want to help you keep moving forward with your life, Applejack. I want to be there for you. Always, now and forever.”
Applejack’s response was a kiss on the lips. That was all that was needed to be said. Still crying, Applejack wrapped her neck around Rainbow’s neck, who in turn wrapped her wings around her for protection against the rain. A part of Rainbow Dash wanted to get out of the storm, but she couldn’t help but find this situation right. So they stayed by the tree throughout the storm in each other’s embrace, letting the memories of the fallen pass them by.
The silence was just killing Applejack. A part of her was worried as Rainbow Dash continued pacing around, biting her lip. Rainbow Dash had been acting strange ever since last week’s Wonderbolts Trials and she had been acting strange ever since then. The other part of her was annoyed because Dash had decided to wake her up early in the morning on her day off from work. A yawn escaped her lips, eyes barely opened as she asked, “Is there some reason why ya decided to bring me all the way out here, Dash? Ah got a lot of work to do.”
Rainbow Dash stopped her pacing and sighed. Facing Applejack, she said, “Remember when I went to that Wonderbolts tryout last week?”
“Yeah, ya said ya did good despite being more scared then Fluttershy on Nightmare Night,” commented Applejack, shaking her head to keep herself away. “What about it.”
“… I’m in.”
Immediately, Applejack’s eyes widen and focused on her blushing Rainbow Dash. “Sugarcube… ya mean yer…”
Tears of joy dripped down Rainbow Dash’s eyes as she nodded. “I’m in the Wonderbolts, AJ….I got the letter and… I finally did it.”
A big whoop ran out as Applejack hugged her marefriend and kissed her straight on the lips. She let her tongue flick out and went to work inside Rainbow’s mouth, exploring every nook and cranny she could find. Rainbow Dash returned the favor, sending shivers down Applejack’s spine as she felt her heart increase with each passing moment. Despite the desperate need for air, she continued to reward her marefriend with all the strength she had. Eventually, her mouth explored other regions of Dash’s body, each fulfilling her lust and inner animal.
Naturally, Rainbow Dash returned the favor, making Applejack howl louder than Winona during her moon barking. She made a note to have early morning sex more often. An hour of love making later, the two were huddled against their sacred tree, Rainbow Dash wrapped around Applejack’s waist as she continued to nibble on her ear and caress her wings.
“That… was just awesome…” muttered Rainbow Dash, a smile on her face. “I love you, Applejack.”
“Ah love ya too, Rainbow Dash,” replied Applejack, finishing her sentence with a kiss on the nose. “Ah’m not sayin’ that Ah didn’t enjoy this, but Ah kind of wish that ya told me when Ah had enough shuteye.”
Rising up to her haunches, Rainbow Dash scratched her head and nervously chuckled, “Well… I didn’t know how to tell you what’s gonna happen now that I’m a Wonderbolt.”
Applejack tilted her head and asked, “What do you mean?”
Frowning, Rainbow Dash lowered her head, ears falling flat, as she answered, “The Wonderbolts tour around the world, Applejack. I’ll be gone for… a really long time. Months even.”
“Then…” whispered Applejack as she straightened her stance, “that means…”
“Yeah…” muttered Rainbow Dash, a tone of regret in her voice.
The two lovers looked at each other, eye to eye, in deep silence. Applejack tried to imagine even spending one day without Rainbow Dash and found herself torn apart. What started as a simple crush had turned into a bond that Applejack believed, deep in her heart, was true love. She had heard about soulmates before and believed that she and Rainbow Dash were such. She couldn’t imagine life, or even one day, without her love. But this was Dash’s dream. The one thing she had been chasing her entire life. She had practiced every chance she had to achieve the speed and skills that would let her join the group of heroes she worshiped. Much as Applejack wanted to say no she just couldn’t.
“Yer goin’ to join them,” stated Applejack. Rainbow opened her mouth to say something, but she held her hoof out. “Listen to me, Dash. This is what y’all have been livin’ for and ya just can’t let this chance go. Ya go out there and live that dream that y’all been dreamin’ off since y’all were a filly.”
“But what about you?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Ah don’t want to leave you.”
Applejack chuckled. “Shucks, Rainbow Dash. It’s not like we’re never gonna see each other again. If anythin’ it will just make each moment we have together even better.” She reached out and lifted the pegasus’ head up, kissing it on the lips with a gentle yet fiery touch. “Ah’ll wait for ya every day, Rainbow Dash. Ah love ya too much to let ya just be held back by me. So go join them Wonderbolts and show them what ya got.”
Rainbow Dash divided into Applejack’s arms, knocking her to the ground. She felt her muzzle rub against her shoulder, her pelt damping from the tears falling down. She raised her head and pressed it against Applejack, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “You’re the most awesome marefriend ever, Applejack.”
A smile stretched across Applejack’s muzzle as she felt her worries wash away. “Come on, let’s head back to mah place an—“
“Remember that sleepover a long time ago, when you told us that your dream was to be a bride and settle down?” asked Rainbow Dash.
The question took Applejack by surprise. She remembered that day and was a bit embarrassed when Rainbow Dash started making fun of her while Rarity and Pinkie kept asking questions about what she wanted for her reception and dress. Good thing she wasn’t the only one with such a dream as Fluttershy admitted the same thing soon after. “Ah remember, but what does that have to do wit—“
“Marry me.”
For a second, Applejack felt like she had a stroke as she felt her heart come to a complete stop. Her brain shut off like a light switch as she tried to open her mouth, but nothing came out. For a long time she stared at a cocky, grinning Rainbow Dash as her mind tried to restart. When it finally kicked in, she finally asked, “W-what… did ya say…”
“Marry me, Applejack. I love you. You love me. And if you’re going support my dream, then I’m gonna support yours,” said Rainbow Dash, eyes shimmering with only the truth and love. “I can’t think of any other pony in the world that is so amazing, so awesome, that I wouldn’t want to spend my life with. Please, say yes, Applejack.”
A tear dripped down Appejack’s cheek as she gave out a small laugh. She glanced at the carvings of her parents and wondered if it was fate that the very same spot her father confessed, and later on proposed, was now also her spot as well.
“Yes, Rainbow Dash. Ah’ll marry you.”
“Hey, Scootaloo! Bet you can’t catch me!” shouted a light blue pegasus colt, flying low against the ground.
“Oh it’s on, Riot!” shouted a much older pegasus filly, who was now proudly supporting her own cutie mark, a wheel on fire with two wings. It was only one of the many blessings in her life ever since she was adopted three years ago along with her new step-brother.
“Don’t ya run into those trees out west y’all! Ah haven’t forgotten how much a pain it was gettin’ that sap out yer hides!” shouted their step-mother, Applejack. She huffed as she slowly walked towards the tree and gently put down the baby seat she had for her new adopted foal, an earth pony filly with a blond mane and orange coat. She smiled before making a few funny faces that made her daughter giggle and laugh.
“I wish I had a camera, that way I can blackmail you,” said Rainbow Dash, landing and putting the picnic basket before pecking her wife on the cheek.
“Oh you’re just upset that Ah managed to snap a photo of your first time changin’ a diaper. Ah swear Ah thought y’all were gonna turn green permanently,” laughed Applejack, while Rainbow Dash huffed and crossed her forelegs.
The two of them got to work setting up the picnic while keeping an eye on their other two adopted kids, who were both known for their rough housing. Applejack couldn’t believe how things had changed so quickly for her in a short span of time. Marrying Rainbow Dash was the best day of her life, next to welcoming their new children into their new home on the farm. Riot had been their first choice off an orphanage in Canterlot, but then tragedy had stuck home for Ponyville.
A timberwolf attack came out of nowhere, and although they had managed to fight them off, there were still many ponies that had died as a result; including Scootaloo’s parents. Rainbow Dash couldn’t stand there and let her number one fan, and little sister figure, end up as an orphan and asked Applejack if they could adopt her as well. Applejack had no intention of saying no and they adopted both of them at the same time. Only just a few months ago did they adopt a new baby, Little Limelight, and made themselves a family of five.
For Applejack, she felt more blessed than any pony in Equestria. She had everything she had ever wanted in life and more. Resting beside the tree, right above the carved initials of her and Dash, she watched her children tagging each other while Rainbow Dash cradle Little Limelight. The littlest one cooed before closing her eyes and entering into a deep sleep. Finding the scene cute, Applejack leaned over and kissed Rainbow Dash on the cheek. “Now ain’t that somethin’? Cool and awesome Rainbow Dash actin’ like a proper mommy.”
“S-shut up,” said Rainbow Dash, sticking her tongue out. “Just because I’m the ‘Dad’ of the two of us, doesn’t mean I can’t like the ‘Mom’ once and awhile.”
“Ah’m just messin’ with ya, honey,” said Applejack, taking on of the apples they had brought on the trip and ate it. “Harvest is gonna be good this year. With our kids, Apple Bloom, Big Macintosh and his marefriend helpin’ out this year we’re gonna have an easy time with the six of us.”
“Seven you mean,” said Rainbow Dash.
Applejack raised her hat and looked at her wife, perplexed. “Seven? Um, Dash correct me if Ah’m wrong, but didn’t ya say that the Wonderbolts have another tour next month?”
“Yeah, but I’m not going,” said Rainbow Dash, sighing. “I was gonna tell you this later tonight, but I might as well say it now. I’m retiring.”
The apple in Applejack’s throat got caught in her windpipe as she tried to cough it out. Rainbow Dash patted her back and helped breathe again before Applejack whipped her head around and shouted, “What in tarnation?! Why are ya doin’ something like that!”
“WAAAAAH!”
Both of them looked down and saw Little Limelight crying her eyes out before Rainbow Dash gave a scolding glare at Applejack, who blushed. Taking her baby into her hooves, Dash rocked Limelight back to sleep. When the baby had been delivered back to dreamland, Applejack whispered, “What in Equestria’s name are ya sayin’?! You’ve only been a Wonderbolt for a few years and now ya tellin’ me yer quittin’? Why?”
Rainbow Dash sighed and stroked their sleeping daughter’s face. “Because I miss all this. You, the kids, my hometown. I miss everything so much that it’s all I think about anymore. I want to be here to help Riot with his flying, see Scootaloo do more tricks, and even watch Limelight here grow up. I want to see our friends again, and hang out like we use to. I want to wake up and smell the fresh farm smell I’ve grown to love.” She then turned to Applejack and smiled. “And I want to wake up with you in the morning and kiss you. I want to spend time with you again. The way I see it, I’ve accomplished my dream and I’ve broken every record the Wonderbolts had. It’s gonna be decades before somepony comes and breaks even half of them. What else do I have to look forward too. Captain? No way, I can’t handle all that paperwork and kissing up to my superiors. I miss flying free and performing in Ponyville. I just…” Rainbow Dash sighed and looked up to the sky. “I just want to come home.”
Applejack never thought she would hear Rainbow Dash even say such a thing. She thought Rainbow Dash would want to be a Wonderbolt for life, but he was actually putting her family and friends first before her dream. Wiping a tear from eye, Applejack felt like she was falling in love all over again as she leaned forward and kissed Rainbow Dash on the cheek. “Guess Ah’d better tell Pinkie Pie to make a ‘Dashie’s home for good party’, huh?”
Rainbow Dash kissed her back and gave a leering grin. “Only if the after party is just as wild.”
The two continued to kiss each other, earning a series of ‘Eww’s’ and ‘Gross’ from the older children. The married couple only laughed before telling them to sit down and shared the good news.
It hasn’t changed, not even after thirty years… thought Rainbow Dash, staring at the initials of her name and Applejack’s.
She could still remember the day they carved into the bark, promising to love each other forever, a similar speech they used for their wedding vows. There had been so much since that day, both good and bad. Now here she was, in her final mid-years with all her children grown up. She saw a few more names added to the tree over time, making the tradition still live, even in their own children.
Rainbow Dash sighed and leaned on it. A part of her wished she could go back to those days of her youth, when there was so much to do. She was too old for the Wonderbolts now, it was time for a younger generation to take control of them. She still did her performances, but mostly settled on teaching new fliers like she had done for Scootaloo and Riot. And her children, and their children, were handling the farm better than she or AJ ever could at their age. Even the Elements of Harmony had chosen new bearers who were out fighting evil whenever it poked its ugly head.
There was no other way in putting it. She was getting old and she didn’t like it. Dash and her friends were no longer the youthful mares they were so long ago, even Twilight was aging despite being an alicorn. She kicked the tree in frustration and bitterly spat on the ground. “Dammnit.”
“Goin’ through another mid-age crisis?” asked a voice, coming forward. “Yer not gonna try another Sonic Rainboom and nearly break yer body again, are you?”
Rainbow Dash turned toward her wife, now supporting glasses while she kept her graying mane open and free, the hat she once wore every day now given to the youngest of their children. Even though she no longer looked like the mare she once was competing against in races and sports, she was still beautiful in Dash’s eyes. Applejack nuzzled her love and asked, “What’s wrong now?”
“I just… I feel old,” muttered Rainbow Dash.
“Well, naturally, yer getting’ gray just like me,” answered Applejack with a chuckle.
Dash, however, didn’t share the amusement. “AJ, I’m serious. This isn’t supposed to be me, taking things so easy and letting others take care of me. I’m supposed to be the fastest pegasus alive, but I can’t do even half the tricks I can do anymore! I’m no longer the Element of Loyalty, some unicorn in Trottingham is! And I just… I’m just afraid that I’ll have to be wearing diapers and dentures soon! I’ll look so uncool!”
Applejack sighed and shook her head. “Dash, yer not the only one feelin’ such worries. It takes me longer to buck apples now and Ah can’t even do half the chores Ah can do anymore. Ah often wonder if this is how Granny Smith felt back in her days, takin’ care of us.”
“But I don’t want to be Granny Smith! I want to be Rainbow Dash!”
Applejack nuzzled her love again and whispered, “Ah know, Dash. Sometimes, Ah wish things were different, but ya know what? Ah think it was all worth it.”
Rainbow Dash tilted her head.
“Meetin’ the girls, our adventures’, fallin’ in love with ya? Our family and all the times we’ve had together watchin’ them grow up here on the farm? Ah don’t think Ah would ever want to redo mah life or even be young again if it meant tradin’ all that. Sure, Ah’m gonna grow old, not do as much as Ah used to do, and eventually kick the bucket, but ya know what Ah’ll still have?” Applejack leaned over and kissed Rainbow Dash on the lips, the energy from it made the stunned pegasus feel like she was twenty again. She returned the kiss, with equal vigor. The two held each other in lip lock for a long time as they sat in the shade of the tree they confessed under so many years ago.
They broke the kiss as Applejack whispered, “Ah’m still gonna have ya, Dash. No matter what Ah’ll still have ya. And that’s enough to keep me happy.”
“AJ,” muttered Rainbow Dash, a smile growing on her lips. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”
“Ya made that pretty little rainbow that sent me home, Dash,” answered Applejack who leaned on her wife. The two held each other, no longer afraid of their future as long as they could still have each other.
Rainbow Dash once heard somepony speak a poem about how life was like the sun. Every day it came up from the east, it felt like something new, like a newborn coming to life. The sun rose higher and higher until it reached the middle, the pinnacle of a pony’s life when he or she had done all that they needed to do. And finally, the sun would soon set, indicating that the life had come to an end and had to be put to rest. Then a new sun, a new life, could begin again.
Now, it’s time for my sun to set… thought Rainbow Dash as she and Applejack, both old and fully gray, walked one more time to the tree that they had loved like their own child. They stopped in front of it, staring at the initials they carved decades ago, back when only one pair of initial was carved on the tree. Rainbow Dash put a wing over her wife for nearly 65 years as she was nuzzled by Applejack.
“Are you sure you want to be here? We can wait in bed, like most ponies are age due when its time,” said Rainbow Dash, looking at her wife with a smile.
Applejack shook her head. “No, Ah want it to be here. Ah want my last moments to be with ya, watchin’ the sunset like we use to do when we first started.”
“As my lady commands,” joked Rainbow Dash.
The two of them sat down, watching the sunset in the distance. They talked of the memories they had, of ponies still here or long gone, and of the days when everything seemed to be moving at a pace they could keep up. But now all they had was these final moments, together as they had wished it to be. ‘Till death do us part, huh? thought Dash, chuckling. Funny, I always thought I’d die in my forties with the lifestyle I had.
“Somethin’ funny?” asked Applejack.
“It’s nothing…” whispered Rainbow Dash, sighing. It was any time now. The next big adventure. “Are you scared?”
“Not a bit,” answered Applejack, whose eyelids slowly began to lower themselves. “Ah’m lookin’ forward to seein’ everypony again. Fluttershy, Pinkie, Ma and Pa, Big Mac, Granny Smith… all of them are waitin’ for me…”
“Waiting for us,” whispered Rainbow Dash, kissing her on the cheek. “I’m not letting you die alone you know?”
Applejack smiled and kissed her back. Even now, the kiss from her beloved wife was still as refreshing as the breath of life. “Dash, no matter what happens, Ah love ya. Always will, even in eternity.”
“I love you too, Applejack.”
The two snuggled next to each other for one last embrace. They didn’t speak a word for a long time, just watch the sunset in silence. Near the end of it Rainbow Dash found herself getting more and more tired, and it was getting harder to breathe. She rubbed her eyes, trying to fight the fading colors surrounding her, but she knew it was futile. It was time. She wondered who would find them first, their children, grandchildren, or would Twilight and Rarity sense their passing like they had with Pinkie and Fluttershy?
Knowing that this was the end, Rainbow Dash slowly turned her head to get one last look at Applejack before it was over. To her surprise, Applejack was already resting on her hooves, her eyes closed and her face peacefully looking. A twinge of sorrow entered Rainbow Dash but it faded knowing that they would be reunited soon.
Kissing her departed lover on the cheek one more time, Rainbow Dash rested her head on Applejack’s mane and whispered, “Stupid, going on first without me…. Guess I… can let… you win… this time…”
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes for the final time, just as the sun gave way into the night.
Golden Girl, by TwilightUCrazy
Applejack's hooves met the last tree with a satisfying SMACK!, and the pleasing rapid-firing thud of dozens of apples falling ever-so-neatly into their bushels sounded behind her.
"Pretty as a paintin'," Applejack whistled happily as she trotted back to the farmhouse.
The orange mare sighed wearily and brought a hoof up to her hat to remove it. She wiped away some of the sweat dotting her brow, and smiled gratefully up at the great day she'd been given – and the pegasus ponies that'd given it to her. The sun was shining brightly, but the skies were patterned with fluffy white clouds drifting along on the intermittent cool breezes. It never got too hot, and the breeze never became insistent enough to make things cold. And every now and again, a cloud would sneak over the sun and provide at least partial relief from its rays.
Applejack was plenty used to the at-times unpleasant weather conditions. But in such prime working weather, all she could think about was taking off for the rest of the day for some quality Applejack time.
She couldn't even remember the last time she'd actually taken an unscheduled day off. Certainly there was no harm in allowing herself just one. Besides, weather this nice didn't pop up every day!
"Howdy, Big Mac," she said merrily as she trotted by her big brother. She marched inside without stopping to chat and made straight for the kitchen.
Granny had been napping in her rocker, and stirred awake at the sound of the door closing behind her granddaughter.
"Sorry, Granny. Didn't mean to wake ya."
Applejack smiled and pulled out a picnic basket from under the counter.
Granny grunted disapprovingly, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. "Wassat? What time is it?"
"It's okay Granny. Applebloom don't need to be picked up for a couple hours yet."
"Still that early?"
Granny yawned and looked at the clock on the stand next to her, and dragged herself out of her chair, crossing the living room to the kitchen. "Why'd you not come in for lunch, Applejack? Ain't like you to go without."
"Just gettin' a little extra work done in. Ah figure, with the weather bein' all nice like it is, Ah might go for a walk. Settle in for a picnic maybe."
"Oh, goin' to visit everypony, huh?" the Apple matriarch asked, giving her granddaughter's hat and hair underneath a little ruffle with her decrepit hoof.
Applejack didn't answer.
"Where did we put all the honey? Ah coulda sworn to high Heaven that we'd just bought us some."
"Ran out yesterday makin' all ah them fritters. Why doncha just take the last few and share 'em with yer friends?"
"Thanks, Granny," Applejack smiled, wrapping up the treats and pitching them in the basket. Applejack plucked the seasoning and retrieved a bundle of carnations for sandwiches, and grabbed a couple jars of cider.
"That gonna be enough, now?" Granny asked with a perk of her aged brow.
Applejack beamed.
"Plenty! Thanks!"
Applejack had left the farm an hour earlier and taken various routes into the open wilderness. On her back was perched her picnic basket, crowned by a folded red blanket.
It wasn't often that Applejack got to wander out into the grasslands – usually she was too busy, or got drug off to her friend's activities. Much as she loved her five gals, Applejack also recognized the value of being alone.
Pinkie Pie was probably throwing a “beautiful weather party” or something similar. Applejack swore that pony could turn a rainy Tuesday into a party somehow...
"Probably a 'be-thankful-for-the-rain' party." Applejack said to herself.
Applejack trotted over wooden bridge after wooden bridge, over brook after brook, past the delicately-waving green meadows, and over rolling hills and shallow vales. Her perfect place for a terrific day like today was a ways off if a pony followed the paths, probably an hour and a half from town even at a brisk trot. It was well past where most ponies would tread alone, but for her, the view was the best that Equestria itself – maybe the whole world – had to offer.
As she approached the steep incline she sought, Applejack reached back and took a hold of her basket with her teeth. The hill was too steep to find purchase with her hooves on the slanted grass, putting a few stones to use instead.
As Applejack crested the hill, the wind swelled and tugged at her mane and hat fiercely. She placed a hoof on the top of her Stetson and waited for the wind to die back down.
She set down her basket for a moment and looked around at her surroundings. It was Applejack's view of the whole Equestrian Valley, and everything precious to her – her own little piece of Heaven. As Applejack settled out her blanket and took a seat, she smiled and took a deep breath of the sweet-smelling air. There was no bustle or hustle or urgency here. There was only calmness and quiet.
The surroundings were the best part of the whole trip. The journey through the meadows and fields between here and home freed her soul from the constraints of life. Their delicate scent gave her a chance to feel like she was back in the days where she really was living again, instead of treading water to keep the farm afloat. The sentimental meaning, though, was what she came for – she had spent many evenings camping with her family on this hilltop in the past, and memories both happy and melancholy flooded back to her with every visit. It wasn't so much a family place anymore after her parents had passed away. It had become Applejack's own spiritual refuge. Peace always found her out so far from civilization, despite any of the day's hardships. Aside from Canterlot on its purple mountainous perch, Sweet Apple Acres was the only visible reminder it existed. Her farm sat in the middle of a distant landscape portrait. Her barn was highlighted as a bright red speck against the surrounding farmlands. The orchards on either side of the barnyard grounds flowed together with the Everfree Forest, forming a nice, picturesque little view. Ponyville lay somewhere beyond obscured by trees.
Applejack sometimes wondered what lay beyond the valley – it was rare she ever left it. Her thoughts would then drift to travel, seeing the world and all it had to offer. But then her thoughts would be drawn back to where she was, and the work at hand. Who knew what else there was? It didn't matter much. Everything she loved and needed was right here, and it would always be where she returned to when her legs became travel-weary.
Applejack took off her hat and fanned herself briefly with it before weighing it down with the picnic basket she'd brought. She pulled the red bands out of her mane tail and ditched them as well.
On the farm and in-town, having such untidy hair as hers was a royal pain – the individual strands were so long that she was constantly stepping on them while running or applebucking. And even on the softest winds, her hair just wasn't controllable. It regularly blew into her face, blinding her, or making her almost unrecognizable. Yet despite the inconvenience, she could never bring herself to cut it. She had her mother to thank for her unruly mane, according to Granny. She liked to think that part of her mother lived on in her in that way. Only difference was, Mommy's hair was beautiful. Applejack on the other hand just looked a fright whenever she looked into a mirror after a blustery day.
Even so, it always felt special whenever she got the chance to let everything loose. It felt like an occasion, or a metaphor for letting all her problems fall away, and a chance to renew herself.
The day felt like one in which nothing could go wrong. The weather was terrific, the setting was spectacular, and she had packed enough food to not need to go home all day. She could lounge around until the late evening hours, and catch up on some badly-needed personal time.
Fate had other plans, though.
Applejack reached into the basket and pulled out a book she'd retrieved from her room before she left. She had just sat down and flipped to the bookmarked page when she heard a faint whistling sound. Her ears pricked, and her eyes peered around for the source.
“Look out below!” came the sudden, broken cry from above.
Applejack barely had enough time to look upwards and see a rainbow-maned pegasus spiraling down at her at a steep angle relative to the ground.
She did have time to gasp in surprise, only to have the wind knocked right back out of her as Rainbow Dash plowed into her side at bone-crushing speeds. Both mares went for a tumble together for quite a substantial distance. Applejack was amazed they didn't just keep going forever.
Both ponies came to a stop on their sides, with Rainbow Dash draped limply over Applejack.
Pushing herself up from her side into a laying position, Applejack groaned, held a hoof to her head, and shook the kinks out before glaring at the pegasus laying on top of her.
Rainbow shook her head out as her daze came to an end and spat out the grass sticking out of her mouth. “Hey Applejack! Weird running into you all the way out here.”
“Yeah.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Fancy that.”
Rainbow Dash pushed herself off the ground and offered Applejack a helping hoof. She accepted the assist wordlessly. “I was just out here practicing some tricks for the next Junior Flier Competition. Spun out, lost control, crashed. You know how it is,” Rainbow said with a shrug.
Applejack trotted over to her blanket again, followed closely by her friend.
“Uh huh. An' of all the great big blue skies in Equestria, and all Celestia's great big green earth, ya still manage to crash right into me, doncha?”
“Hey, weirder stuff has happened!” Rainbow countered with a huff, crossing her forelegs one over the other as Applejack recovered her book and resettled her picnic area. Rainbow just watched the goings-on. “I mean, how should a pony say hi anymore Little Miss Pricklypants?”
Applejack looked over her withers to Rainbow Dash and made a face. “She should just open 'er big yap and say 'hello' fer starters.”
Rainbow brushed off the remark and took a look around at the scenery.
“So, what're you doing here anyway? Where is everypony? Did you come out here all by yourself?”
Applejack sighed.
"Would you like all those questions answered in a neat little package or one-by-one?"
"Whatever works."
Applejack settled back down on her blanket. Rainbow went over to join her, standing on the giant red cloth.
"Ah'm here tryin' to relax, Ah assume the girls're still back in town, and yes, Ah'm here all by mah lonesome. That clear everything up fer ya?"
"... Sorry, I can't remember what I asked."
Rainbow could practically eat Applejack's agitation it was so thick. At least it was happy-food for the soul, and there was nothing more fun than getting a rise out of her best friend.
Applejack calmed her tone with a cycle of breathing.
“It's a nice day, and this here's mah favorite spot to enjoy it from. Ah figure that's a good enough reason to be here.”
“No, no. I mean, what are you doing... not working?” Rainbow asked, trying to make words that would make more sense given the context.
“Oh. Well, like Ah said, it's nice weather and-"
"You're welcome, by the way!"
"-and it's not like Ah work all the time fer yer information! Sometimes Ah feel like runnin' off and doin' somethin' by mahself too y'know.”
Rainbow blinked and looked around for anypony else – aside from herself, of course – who might've come out with Applejack to spend some time with her. She knew Applejack wouldn't directly lie if she didn't need to. It just seemed so boring to be all by herself, sitting alone in a field.
“Oh. All by yourself, huh?”
"What was yer first clue? The lack of other ponies, or the fact that Ah said 'by mahself?'" Applejack smiled smugly.
Rainbow let her ears fold against the back of her head and her wings droop. “I gotcha,” she said. “I won't bug ya anymore.” Rainbow Dash threw a melodramatic pout Applejack's way. If there was one thing Rarity was good at besides design and style, it was being a ham. Mentally, she thanked the white unicorn for her numerous dramatic demonstrations.
Rainbow stared at Applejack with those glittering magenta eyes and a quivering lip.
Applejack's rather hard-edged face softened as Rainbow turned to leave. A gentle smile blossomed on Applejack's lips. Sympathy card! Easy-peasy mac-'n-cheesy!
Applejack had a surprise for her though.
“Well alrighty then! See ya later!” She lowered her eyes to the pages of her book once more.
Rainbow blinked and made a face. Curses! Foiled! If Applejack weren't so much fun, she probably would've just found somepony else to bother. Her friend was really playing hard-to-get today, though – that was a challenge in her book. Rainbow immediately sprang back to life with her more typical vim and vigor, and hovered right in her friend's face.
“Oh come on! Lemme stay! Please? I promise I won't ruin your afternoon. We can just sit here, chat, and have fun and munch all that good-tasting stuff you brought with you!”
Rainbow's belly grumbled.
Applejack regarded Rainbow Dash with a calculating gaze, and an ever-growing curve of her lips.
“Ya promise, huh?”
“Pega-Scout's pride!” Rainbow held up a hoof in salute.
Applejack's eyebrow twitched humorously.
“You weren't even in the Pega-Scouts, were ya?”
This pony knows me too well...
“Tch! Are you kidding?”
Applejack laughed before she reached over and patted the spot on the blanket next to her. She tossed her book in the direction of the basket and settled down. Yeah! Who needed to read when you had the awesomeness that was Rainbow Dash in your presence?
“There's sandwiches, cider, and fritters in the basket if yer-”
Before Applejack could finish her statement, Rainbow already had her head in the wicker carry-all, and was rummaging around for something to eat. She emerged with two carnation sandwich-halves sticking out of her face and a glass jar full of scrumptious cider under her wing. She trotted over next to Applejack to take her place on the quilt.
“Foo fay fomfin'?”
Applejack smiled and shook her head. Many ponies weren't very tolerant of Rainbow's "charms", but Applejack was the eternal exception to that rule. She was the one pony above all other ponies she could be herself around, and not worry if she was being judged.
"What'm Ah gonna do with you?"
Rainbow gulped down her sandwiches without finishing chewing, and used her teeth to pop the top off the cider jar. She didn't waste a moment putting away about half of it.
Applejack raised her brows and smirked.
“Ahh!” Rainbow sighed happily and licked her chops clean of the beverage.
“Settle down, hon. You're gonna make it.” Applejack smiled.
“Your family makes the best cider ever. You could tell me you made it with ground-up dried bird droppings as a special ingredient, and I'd still chug it like water.”
Applejack turned to her with one of those sly smiles of hers.
“Well, funny you should say that, 'cause actually...”
Rainbow's eyes became wide as dinner plates and her ears flattened against the back of her head, her hooves lowering the glass to the ground. She didn't believe it. She couldn't believe it. But the bomb had been dropped, and she had to know for sure...
“You don't.”
"Sure do! Adds vitamins and nutrients and... that... special... aftertaste..."
Applejack's facade collapsed and she chortled merrily on her side.
"You are seriously twisted, AJ..."
“And yer the definition of gullible, Sugarcube. But no, we don't,” Applejack said and got up. Her tail gave a majestic swish and bapped her silly friend on the nose as she went over to the basket herself.
Rainbow sighed in relief and tilted her head back for another gulp of the stuff. She blinked at Applejack's tail as she rummaged for food, wondering what seemed different. The cowpony seemed... brighter, happier somehow. She settled back down in her spot, and began enjoying her overdue lunch.
“So, watcha reading?” Dash asked with a gulp of her jar. “Daring Do? Pony Wars? … Not Mallard the Buck...”
“No, no, and... Mallard-the-what-now?”
“Okay, good. You haven't even heard of it. Worst work the author's ever done. It's about this elk, right? And he's sucked through this dimensional portal-”
“Aaaand just like that ya went and lost me.”
Rainbow shrugged and glimpsed at the black book that Applejack had brought along with her. The cover was bound and had a silver rose stamp on the front, but no title to give away it or its subject matter. She considered the book curiously and rubbed her hoof against her chin.
“So what's your book called, anyway?”
“You wouldn't be interested,” Applejack answered her shortly.
Rainbow became interested.
“Oh, wouldn't I?”
Narrowing her eyes at her friend, Applejack muttered, “It's nothin' like yer Darin' Do books so just leave it alone.”
Most interested!
“Oh, isn't it?”
“Rainbow, don't you dare...”
Skip the whole 'want-to-know' – that book had just nose-dived into the deep end of need-to-know!
"I think you protest too much!" Rainbow cursed her inability to remember the sayings Twilight fed her exactly, but was pleased she managed to hold onto it at least in partial form.
Applejack thought ahead of her, and jumped onto the nameless novel that she'd brought along.
Huh... I must be getting predictable...
“Rainbow...”
The pegasus grinned evilly, setting her eyes on the book.
Applejack clutched it to her chest with both hooves.
Faster than the eye could follow, Dash jumped up and bolted over behind Applejack, giving her loose mane a gentle tug with her teeth.
Applejack squeaked in surprise and reflexively reached up with a hoof to knock away her attacker. Rainbow Dash used the opportunity and leaped forward, grabbed the lightly-held novel in her mouth, and took off in a run. Applejack yelled in surprise and protest and gave chase.
“You blue varmint! Knock it off! Give that back!”
Rainbow took a leap into the sky and hovered tauntingly just overhead. Applejack tried several times to push herself up high enough in the air to grab her friend's tail and yank her back to the earth, but she was just a few inches short with every jump. Rainbow flipped to a random page in the book and pondered aloud. “Let's see what kind of junk ya read!” she said with a playful grin to her friend. Applejack gritted her teeth angrily up to her, and plopped down on her haunches in defeat, awaiting the inevitable ridicule. Her face was painted a deep scarlet, and her lower lip twisted into a pout.
“Rainbow Juniper Dash! You gimme back that book right now!”
Ooh! Applejack had used her middle name! This was gonna be good, she could tell! Rainbow tuned her out and read aloud to the chagrin of her friend below.
“'... as her hooves could barely take the weight of life anymore, Firemane collapsed onto her flank. She let out a sigh and looked on helplessly as the object of her desire vanished into the distance...'”
Rainbow quirked her eyebrow as she read and smirked playfully at Applejack. “'Object of her desire', huh?”
Applejack seethed as Rainbow turned back to the book, seeking another page.
“'As she gazed upon the mare she hadn't seen since her days at the university, nostalgia bubbled up from under the surface. Tundra Loft was still the same gorgeous shade of soft blue as she was way back from older times... happier times. Her short and expertly-combed black mane was still the stuff of beauty, even in the intervening years,'” Rainbow continued to read, putting an overly-dramatic spin on the story with her narration.
Flip. New page.
Rainbow bit her lip in a grin. “I never took you for a sappy one Applejack!”
In all seriousness, Applejack just didn't fit the bill for somepony who would like those kinds of books. Rainbow had always imagined Rarity being into them, Fluttershy sure, and maybe even Pinkie and Twilight. But Applejack? That was completely out of left field. But that made it all the better!
Applejack glowered. “Dangit Rainbow! Ah want that book back ya dang thief!”
Rainbow ignored her and flipped to another page for one more passage. The defensiveness of her friend brought a wide smile to her face that made her cheeks hurt.
Rainbow let out a highly-dramatic gasp and carried on. “'She felt Tundra's wings encircle her from behind, her heart skipping several beats as the mare wrapped one hoof around her chest, and ran the other through her long and unruly mane. 'Hey, now, where's the snappy little pilot light I used to know?' Tundra Loft asked as one of her wings stroked down along her side. The wingtip brushed past Firemane's stomach, up over her flank and against her-'”
Rainbow paused, her magenta eyes widening. Her ears and cheeks went red-hot.
“Whoa. This Tundra Loft is a smoothie!”
One glimpse down to Applejack told her that this was as far as her teasing went before she started taking things personally. Applejack's eyes had slanted into a deeply angry glare and her ears had slid back along her head irritably. Her wild-style tail twitched back and forth in mounting aggravation. Rainbow quickly came to realize that if she teased any more, there could be actual consequences. Reluctantly, she returned to the ground with her prize.
The fun went out the window whenever real anger entered the equation. Rainbow's mind drifted over to thoughts of defusing the situation she might have pushed too far.
“So... what's it all about?”
Applejack snatched the book back and returned it to the basket between the food items.
“It's just a love story. That's all,” she said shortly.
Rainbow was hoping for something more elaborate than that.
“Yeah – I got that much,” she smiled. "I mean, what's the plot like? What's the story?"
Applejack stared back at her with a simmering suspicion towards her friend and flopped down at her spot once more.
"It's... it's about a pony who feels unloved and... unappreciated. So when she sees an 'ol friend of hers at a party one night, she... starts feelin' things and... feelin' happy again Ah guess."
Rainbow smirked.
“I'll say! Felt like Tundra was starting to put the moves on Firemane there, huh?”
“Eeyup,” Applejack replied with a mild huff.
Rainbow was hesitant. She wasn't sure if she was quite out of the chicken coop yet, and considered her next words carefully. While she didn't care much for all the mushy stuff in her personal life, she didn't mind if it was confined to a book. And hay, if Applejack liked that kind of stuff, it couldn't be all that bad!
"So, uh... do you mind if I read it sometime?"
Applejack blinked and stared at her.
"You wanna read it? But it's got all that romance and lovey-dovey stuff ya always say ya hate."
"Well... what can I say? Tundra Loft sounds like a pretty cool character!"
Applejack's smile was slow to blossom; it always was when Rainbow was involved. But she always made it worth the wait with that great laugh of hers that could cheer up even the bluest pony (no pun intended). It always made Rainbow laugh in kind, and made her feel better about... well, things.
"Alright, alright. Ah guess Ah can let ya borrow it one of these times, featherbrain." She paused a moment. "And it's called Golden Girl, if ya really are interested..."
Rainbow sighed inwardly with relief.
Well, that could've gone worse.
Applejack dug into her fritter while Rainbow finished off her jar of cider. A comfortable silence settled like a blanket over the both of them. Only the wind blowing across the prairies and making a soft hiss through the grass made it feel like the world was even there at all. The silence seemed to bring Applejack peace, and reined in the annoyance she had expressed towards Rainbow Dash earlier. That, or Rainbow was more charming than even she could have ever imagined! Yeah, she liked the sound of that one.
“So, uhh... is a book all you brought to do out here?” Rainbow finally asked. She had started to become concerned over how long Applejack had kept quiet. It wasn't like her in the least, unless some anger still lingered there under the surface. The silent anger was the worst kind. Rainbow would rather take somepony yelling at her any day. She knew how to deal with that kind of mad. But the quiet type that soured under the surface? That kind was weird and kind of spooky. It was the kind that wasn't fixed with "I'm sorries" or a fight.
“Well, Ah ain't a very quick reader. Ah was thinkin' about a nap after a couple chapters,” Applejack said, emphasizing with a soft yawn. “Ah'm a mite tuckered out after walkin' all the way out here.”
“Sleep?” Rainbow frowned. “That's not very fun...”
“Sorry,” Applejack said, rubbing her eyes on the back of her foreleg. “Sometimes Ah gotta be the borin' pony.”
“Well, we could always just go for a run or something.”
An enthusiastic glimmer lit up in Rainbow's eyes and a moon-like smile wrinkled her complexion. If there was anything that could rouse Applejack from her off-mood, it was a good romp. Out here, they had space and privacy and time, all things that they kind of lacked back towards town. How could she possibly resist the offer?
“Oh Rainbow, Ah ain't done up proper fer that kinda thing. Ah mean, wouldja lookit me?”
Applejack motioned to herself. Her free-flowing mane and tail were both a beautifully disastrous mess. Such long hair had to be contained to be controlled – and she remembered the last time she tried to help Applejack tie it up. Doing it with Rainbow's help those few times had been a chore. She could only imagine Applejack's nightmarish task of doing it on her own. A stiff breeze blew through and tussled the strands about like leaves.
“Oh. Yeah. Sure,” Rainbow blinked in response, tilting her head. She'd lost her train of thought. She was quiet for a few moments while she tried to track that stupid train...
Applejack took notice, apparently.
“Oh hay, darlin' – if Ah'da known ya were gonna drop in on me like a wild raccoon, I woulda just invited ya along in the first place. We coulda made a day of it, you 'n me.”
Wild raccoons drop in?
Applejack looked up to the eye-wandering Rainbow Dash. Admittedly it wasn't like her to contemplate or enjoy the sights, unless those sights happened to include the Wonderbolts. Cloudsdale wasn't too terribly far, but Rainbow highly doubted the decorated fliers would practice all the way out here.
She was still trying to figure out the whole 'dropping raccoons' thing when Applejack interrupted her thoughts.
“Somethin' wrong? Ah didn't turn ya offa mah cider with mah joke, did Ah?”
Rainbow couldn't help her smile.
“Well, now that you mention it, the cider does taste a little off...” she said, letting Applejack know with a soft jab of her hoof that the comment was playful in nature.
“Now yer just bein' a silly filly,” Applejack said as she sampled her apple fritter further. She swallowed and stared suspiciously for an awfully long time at Rainbow. The look was a hard one to read; Applejack was either studying her, or trying to start a staring contest. Rainbow would have believed either explanation.
“Somethin' ya wanna talk about?”
Rainbow got a chill when Applejack called her that.
“No. Well, yeah, but... I dunno.” Rainbow's thought process had spun off in every which direction, and trying to piece together the fragments was like trying to put back together a shattered mirror.
“You know ya can talk to me about anything you want, right?”
Rainbow blinked at Applejack, like she'd just been suddenly broken out of a trance by some... trance-release spell of some kind – Twilight would facehoof if she knew Rainbow had been so crude with her spell names.
“Oh! Yeah, totally. Same to you, AJ,” Rainbow smiled happily. “Ya sap.”
“Hey, pardner,” Applejack smirked, “them's wrasslin' words.”
Rainbow's adrenaline spiked there for a moment as she thought back on their last match.
“No, no. I don't 'wrassle' with you anymore. Last time it took me a month to get all the mud out of my feathers.”
“Heh. So much for the mighty Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said with a giant grin. “'Fraid a little mud'll get on 'er wings. Next thing ya know it'll be hooficures and goin' off with Rarity and flirtin' with princes in Canterlot!”
Rainbow felt a bit of anger build up unexpectedly. She wasn't exactly sure what to direct it at, though Applejack was the only convenient target. A surge of cold radiated from her as those purplish eyes of hers glared sharp daggers Applejack's direction. “Hey, I don't make fun of you for being obsessed with that hat of yours. And hay, my wings are a part of me! Besides... princes?! Really?”
Applejack's ears lay flat against her head and she shrank defensively. She hadn't meant it as an insult. Rainbow knew that. Hay, normally Rainbow was a better sport about such things than that. Something was breaking her stride, though, and messing her thoughts up, and it was frustrating her to no end.
“Ah'm sorry. Ah didn't mean it that way... But ya did seem like you wanted to talk about somethin'... Yer startin' to make me worry a wee bit over here.”
“I don't wanna talk! I just... well, I kind of wanna talk. But not really, either.”
Applejack's eyes slanted to the side, and her frown deepened as she swallowed the last bite of her fritter. “A bronze bit fer yer thoughts, Sugarcube?” she offered.
Rainbow sighed and reached up with her hoof to scratch her neck. How was this gonna work?
"How do wild raccoons drop in?"
Applejack made a face.
"Rainbow..."
Rainbow Dash pouted. Confound this pony! she thought, taking a swig of her cider.
“Okay, okay," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "I guess it's just... I don't think I've ever seen you without your mane and tail let out,” Rainbow said, her ears perking as her eyes ran over Applejack's golden hair, running in spiraling rivers off in every direction. “I mean, I was thinking I had at some point, like when we were really little or something. Maybe we were taking a bath or something... I dunno. It's been so long. I just can't remember anymore... It's no big deal, okay?”
There was a pause as Applejack looked back at herself. A gust of wind caught her mane like a kite, and blew it all around her face, blocking her vision. She spat it out and brought her hoof up to brush the hair aside. Applejack blushed for reasons only Faust knew, and Rainbow just kept staring at her like an idiot with her head screwed on crooked.
“Yeah?” Applejack replied as she sipped her cider. “Well, you don't need to get used to it none,” she said softly. “It's a mighty big pain to do anything with it. Gets all matted when Ah run – 'specially when it's muddy. It all just likes to do its own thing. Makes me look like some pony from the wilds done blown in from outta town.”
“Whaddya mean?”
“Ah mean that Ah can comb it, Ah can towel it, Ah can dry it, hay, Ah can even gel it – but Ah just can't seem to make anything about it stick. Ah just look like some filly whose never heard of lookin' halfway decentlike... or a brush.”
Rainbow looked her friend over.
"Yeah, I can see that... you're kind of all over the place."
Applejack sighed and sampled her drink.
“Okay, yeah, maybe you've got that wild-girl look. But so what? You look like some sort of untamable mare from way back before Equestria even existed. You should totally walk into Rarity's boutique sometime and say 'hi' like that,” Rainbow grinned.
Applejack chuckled and lay on her full belly again.
“Yeah. Ah can see 'er now: 'Of all the worst things that could happen to hair, this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!'” Applejack said dramatically, doing a rather spot-on impression of Rarity. She apparently thought it was humorous.
Rainbow didn't laugh though. Instead, she felt an unpleasant pit develop in her gut, heavy and unpleasant. Her ears curled flat again and her brow fell off to the sides. "That's... not what I meant."
Applejack looked up at Rainbow and fidgeted.
“You don't really think that, do you?” Rainbow asked with a frown.
Applejack's eyes softened and her head angled to one side.
“H-how do ya mean?”
“I mean you... th-thinking that... y'know! Thinking like you're not pretty, or something!” Rainbow forced herself to say with a shrug. She tried to be casual to avert the awkwardness.
She failed.
Applejack blinked at her.
Rainbow quickly realized as her friend brushed her mane with her hooves that she was trying to avoid blushing. Maybe pretty hadn't been Rainbow's best choice of words, but either way, there it was. Nothing Applejack did, though, averted the red haze drowning out her freckles. And was that a smile she was trying to hide as she bit her lower lip? The more she thought about it, the more she began to realize that she'd never heard anypony actually call Applejack pretty or beautiful or whatever.
That boiled her blood more the more she thought about it.
“Oh, Rainbow...” she said, giving a gentle tap of her tail against Rainbow's flank. “Don't worry 'bout it none. Ah ain't all worried about lookin' fancy fer some stallion. And it sure don't matter to me none if Ah ain't gonna be on the cover of a magazine,” she assured her friend with a wink.
Rainbow frowned at that and let out a frustrated huff. Which pony had planted such a poor self-image in Applejack's mind? She felt like finding them and planting them.
Applejack scooted a bit closer, and softly nuzzled the unreceptive Rainbow's neck. “It's okay, Sugarcube, really – Rarity's the one who cares about bein' the bombshell. She can be as pretty as she wants – 'long as Ah'm presentable, that's all Ah care about,” she assured her friend.
Rainbow looked down at the blanket between her forelegs and turned her glare to Applejack, though somehow the look was directed past her at some unknowable entity. She felt a protectiveness towards her old friend. An anger on her behalf – fury even.
“So what does Rarity know anyway?! I think you look awesome! I think Rarity would too if she had a clue what she was talking about!” Rainbow blurted.
Applejack recoiled visibly at the sudden outburst. Rainbow wasn't one to mince words, but she usually wasn't so... blunt.
“Ah didn't... uh...” was all that came out of her mouth before her vocabulary failed her.
“I mean, come on, Applejack! You're seriously one of the hottest ponies I know! I bet if you stopped working so hard and hanging by yourself all the time, you could have an awesome marefriend if you wanted one!... er, coltfriend I mean.”
Rainbow's eyes widened at the words that left her own mouth, and started falling over her own speech, trying to think of something, of anything to save her. She gulped.
Open mouth – insert hoof.
Applejack stared at her with wide emerald eyes. There was nothing but surprise in them, but Rainbow averted her gaze anyway.
“R-Rainbow, Ah...” Applejack's voice tremored, and her eyes and face were highlighted by a quaking bite to her lip. “You... Do you really think Ah'm... pretty?”
Rainbow Dash's eyes fluttered a few times. All of a sudden, it felt like what she said wasn't all that big a deal. The Opalescence was out of the bag now anyway, so why not?
Rainbow grinned sheepishly and blushed. “Well, yeah! I mean, sure... you know me. I call it like I see it,” she grinned warmly to Applejack, rapidly regaining her composure and crossing her forelegs coolly.
There was a stunning vacuum of silence – it was like the world had stopped to catch its breath for a second. Rainbow Dash thought she'd gone deaf as Beethoofen for a second. The sunlight played across the individual strands of Applejack's gorgeous mane and tail, making it look like it was dusted with stars from the night sky. The way the breeze played with the individual strands reminded her of lakes of sunlight pouring into the sky and dissipating on the wind.
Applejack turned her head away, the faint sound of a sniffle punctuating the atmosphere.
Rainbow gaped. Aw horseapples! Had she really screwed up after all?
“Applejack...? Are you... are you crying?”
She was.
Streams of hot tears ran down Applejack's freckled cheeks and stained her coat a darker shade of orange. “No...” she squeaked out, covering her face with one foreleg.
“Applejack...?” Rainbow's voice broke as she pressed against her friend.
The orange-hued mare brought a hoof up to her eyes and softly rubbed away some of the excess moisture.
“AJ?” she prodded gently.
Her friend responded by facing away from her.
“Applejack? What's wrong? I didn't say something stupid did I?” Rainbow asked, resting a leg around her friend's withers. Rainbow knew she wasn't very good at the 'friend-to-lean-on' thing, but she couldn't just leave Applejack be while she was... while she was crying. Rainbow wasn't even aware until then that Applejack was able to cry. The fact that she could sent icy chills up her spine like she'd never felt before.
Applejack shook her head firmly side to side. She wouldn't look at her.
Rainbow wasn't sure what to do. All she knew was what she was known for doing: action. To her, that spoke louder than she ever could with words. She scooted closer and reached with both her legs, wrapping them around Applejack and nestling her chin down onto her mane.
Applejack's gentle movement the next moment surprised Rainbow, as she returned the gesture, wrapping her legs around Rainbow as if she were a life preserver.
Rainbow blinked confusingly.
“Ah'm...” Applejack sniffed, her voice breaking. “Ah'm sorry, darlin',”
What was wrong with this pony? How many conflicting messages could one mare send?! Her voice didn't match the one like you'd hear from somepony who was sad or depressed or something, but there were tears in Applejack's eyes, and her voice had broken like she'd had her heart ripped out, trampled, and torn in half.
Rainbow softly draped her wing over Applejack, and used its strength to pull her closer.
Applejack nuzzled her cheek against Dash's neck. Her pegasus friend could feel the breeze of Applejack's tail waggling back and forth happily behind them.
Wait. What?
“Ah didn't mean fer ya to see me cry like this. Ah don't know what's gotten into me!” Applejack wept happily, her sobs mixed with an elated laugh. Rainbow stared dumbly for what felt like several minutes as her brain ground into gear. At last everything clicked into place for her. Part of her wanted to laugh. Part of her wanted to cry too – but awesomely, of course.
"What?! Has nopony ever told you you were pretty before?" she grinned.
Applejack looked up at her. Her green eyes swam with emotion, and the tears on her cheeks clashed with the bright smile on her face.
"Y-you mean 'sides Granny or Big Mac or Applebloom? ... Shoot, Ah don't think so."
Rainbow snorted and leaned into the embrace with a gentle nuzzle to Applejack's forehead. She ran a hoof softly through that long and beautiful platinum mane.
"Sorry. Ah didn't mean to cry like a little filly."
“Heh, it's no big deal Applejack. Sometimes even the best of us – no, especially the best of us need a good cry sometimes,” Rainbow encouraged her friend. The two sat there for awhile, letting Applejack happily let things out for as long as she needed. “We bottle up too much awesome inside us and have to... let it out as liquid pride,” the prismatic pegasus chuckled, borrowing a page from Shining Armor. She probably owed him royalty for that or something... (Again, no pun intended.)
Applejack sniffled and squeezed Rainbow Dash with those mighty hooves of hers.
Rainbow turned her head away instinctively – nopony could see Dash blush!
“Ugh! I'm starved!” Rainbow said all of a sudden. She wasn't exactly sure how her belly could be empty after eating a whole sandwich not half an hour ago, but that was what had come out of her mouth. “Hey! Wanna split the last fritter with me?” Rainbow asked, grinning to her still-awesome best friend, her wing giving a tight squeeze.
Applejack rubbed one last tear away with her foreleg and giggled softly.
“Sure, darlin'. Ah'd be happy to."
Rainbow regretted that her wing embrace had to end. It felt kind of nice having Applejack all close to her like that. Rainbow unfurled her wing from around her friend as she began to pull away.
As she did, though, that roguish wingtip of hers dipped a bit low on Applejack's flank, and elicited a girly squeal from her as it brushed along her cutie mark. Applejack's face lit up like a late evening sun.
So she copied Tundra Loft a bit. Like it was so horrible? Applejack's reaction was way worth it!
As Rainbow casually got up and moved over to the picnic basket, she spared a look over her shoulder. Applejack couldn't have been more rooted to the spot than if she'd been planted and watered. As Rainbow rummaged, Applejack gradually roused herself from her little stupor and fidgeted with her mane once again. Clearing her throat, she waited patiently for her ill-behaved friend.
Silence was a deplorable offense in this situation, though, and had to be cured.
“Sooo, split it sixty-forty?” Rainbow grinned at Applejack as she trotted back over and retook her spot.
Applejack's face contorted. “Why sixty-forty?” she asked.
“We'll split it by degrees of cool – you get forty, I get sixty, see?” Rainbow smirked.
Applejack furrowed her brow. “Hey now, you said 'especially the best of us need a good cry every once in awhile', and Ah ain't never seen you shed a tear in mah life. Why do Ah get the forty?”
“Well, look on the bright side! You only would've gotten thirty before. But, y'know, 'cause your mane and tail make you look cooler, I decided to spot ya an extra ten. Aren't I an awesome friend?”
Rainbow didn't give compliments out like candy. She gave them out like roses. Candy was for little fillies and wimps!
“So how am Ah s'posed to be the best and still not get the lion's share?” Applejack smiled.
“Well, yeah, you might be the best but...” Rainbow thought about her answer for a moment. “That's 'cause I'm the best of the best, and the best of the best don't need to cry – we know how to hold our awesome better than you common ponies do.” Rainbow poked her tongue out at Applejack playfully.
Applejack stared evenly at Rainbow. Despite her rather devious comment, Applejack sighed and leaned against her side with a nuzzle. “Alright... deal.”
Rainbow smiled and draped a wing over her friend once again. So maybe it was a bit of a mushy gesture, but it felt like a cool thing to do too.
“Keep it up though! Maybe one day you'll be just as amazing as I am!”
Applejack smirked up to her. “Maybe we should hang out more so yer awesomeness can rub off on me a bit.” Her tail flashed to the side and whacked against Rainbow's flank softly.
The two shared a moment of silence.
Then, Applejack blinked and narrowed her eyes into slits as she turned up to face Rainbow Dash.
"Say, just what did ya mean by 'marefriend', anyway?" Applejack asked suspiciously. "You tryin' to imply somethin'...?"
Rainbow's everything seized up, her coat paled a few shades, and her wings expanded in an explosion of feathers.
Oh crud... Stupid book.
HoofBitingActionOverload and Tchernobog
After the Flame, by HoofBitingActionOverload
Rainbow Dash looked in the mirror, and she didn’t recognize the mare who looked back. Deep, lines traced along that mare’s face and chin and neck. She looked back out at herself from a face that had once been bright, flushed, and full of life, but that was now wrinkled and spotted. The skin under that mare’s eyes sagged and creased when she blinked, and her eyes, that had once been vivid, that had blazed with an inner intensity, stared dully back at Rainbow Dash, tired and old. Their flame had long since been choked out. Rainbow Dash had trouble reading without her glasses nowadays, and nothing looked as clear as it once had, even the mare in the mirror.
She stood in the upstairs bathroom of the same home that Granny Smith had lived in years before, peering with a kind of macabre fascination at the mare in the mirror. That mare’s coat, that had once been sleek and had shone in the sunlight, had become rough, splotched, and would never again shine as it once had. Her muscles, that had once been strong, taut, lithe, now hung loosely over her bones, flabby and weak. She, who had once journeyed to the summit of a mountain to a dragon’s lair and kicked that dragon in the nose, could barely kick open a door on her way to the kitchen anymore. Her figure, that had once turned the heads of mares and stallions alike, had spoiled as she became more tired and less active. Her stomach bulged slightly and each of her limbs had an extra layer of padding that would have embarrassed her as filly. Her mane, whose colors had once flared so vividly, that had been so distinctive, that she had been so proud of, had faded and grayed. Its colors were gone, and she felt as if she were being mocked every time somepony called her Rainbow.
Her wings—she unfolded them, slowly, and watched them rise on either side of the mare in the mirror—her wings were the worst of all. They had been beautiful once, resplendent, perfect. When Rainbow Dash had noticed her first gray hair, her first wrinkle, so many years before, she had begun to meticulously, obsessively preen her wings. From morning till night, she had spent more time preening than she had spent flying, in a futile attempt to postpone the inevitable, to care for them as she had never cared for them in her youth. She tried to save them, but too late. No amount of preening could stave off the merciless march of time, and her wings had been the first to truly succomb to her age. Twilight had explained to her that their rapid deterioration had been a result of the tremendous stress she had subjected them to over her lifetime, and it wouldn’t make any difference how well she took care of them now. Apparently it happened to most former Wonderbolts. She had simply worn them out.
Some of her primary feathers began to stop regrowing after molting, and their absences showed as great gaps in her wingspan. The downy feathers underneath had become matted and tangled. They would never feel as soft to the touch as they had in her youth. No matter how long she preened, her feathers would no longer all stay in alignment. Always, some would stick out at odd angles from the rest. Flared out at her sides, her wings looked more like raggedy, torn sheets held up with sticks than a pegasus’s wings. Unable to support her own weight as she had before, she couldn’t fly on them for more than short distances or short periods of time. She could barely manage a flight from one end of the farm to the other. She couldn’t call herself Rainbow or Dash anymore.
She sighed and lowered her wings. She kept them folded at her sides most of the time now, always when in public. The only other pony she ever allowed to see them was Applejack, and Rainbow Dash took great pains to make sure even she never discovered the true extent of their degradation. Dash only ever fully unfolded them after she had made certain she was alone, and then only to make a few short laps around the barn.
She had once been the fastest pegasus in Equestria, and now she was old. And everyone else knew it. The foals called her Granny, the little bastards. But she knew that name fit her better than her own did now.
“Rainbow Dash?” Applejack’s voice called from downstairs.
Dash didn’t answer. She heard the sounds of the family reunion outside, the one she should have been attending. She didn’t want her family and friends to see her like this. She didn’t want to be remembered like this. She wanted them to remember her as she had been. She wanted them to see her as the bright, happy, strong, agile pegasus who had stood down dragons, changelings, manticores, and even fallen tyrants without so much as flinching.
Not like this. Not this washed out, lost-looking, pitiful old mare she saw in the mirror. That wasn’t her.
She heard the clomping of what must have been Applejack slowly climbing the stairs of their home. Dash contemplated running back into their bedroom, throwing the door closed, and locking it behind her. She could close out the blinds. She could fall into the bed and pull the covers up over her head. She could shut out the whole world, if she wanted. No one would ever have to see her like this again, and she would never have to hear another bratty little foal call her Granny.
“Rainbow?”
There was that name again. Dash knew Applejack had reached to top of the stairs. She must have been in the hall, looking into the open bathroom door at the lonely old mare standing within.
Rainbow Dash didn’t feel like Rainbow anymore. She felt old, used up, and the mare in the mirror looked it, too. She closed her eyes. She didn’t want to see herself like this anymore. She wanted to go back and be the Rainbow Dash she had been before, or to simply lie in bed and forget about the reunion outside.
Suddenly, a hoof reached beneath her chin and turned her head. She opened her eyes just as Applejack’s lips met her own. She squeaked in surprise, but Applejack held her mouth with her own. Applejack pressed forward, and the kiss deepened. As pleasant warmth spread through Dash’s chest, she lost herself in Applejack.
To Dash’s surprise, the kiss, Applejack’s lips, didn’t feel old like everything else. Applejack didn’t feel old. It still felt the same as the very first time she and Applejack had kissed.
It had been so long ago, the same day she had become a Wonderbolt. After years of striving, practicing, and working, she had finally been welcomed into the ranks of the Wonderbolts by way of a simple letter. Later that same night, after the celebration with her friends, high on success and drunk on triumph, she took Applejack into the air and introduced her to the sky. She carried her into the cool breeze and the stars. In the glowing moonlight, she rested Applejack on a cloud and awkwardly, clumsily, kissed her for the first time. Applejack, finally, after so many tries, accepted her advances. Their love sparked then, burned as an open flame that shone in the night sky like a newborn star. They burned together on that cloud, chased away the night’s cold, and lost themselves in each other.
This kiss felt just the same. It felt young. Dash began to feel like herself again, like Rainbow Dash. With Applejack, her coat felt fresh again, unblemished. Her vision cleared, her muscles strengthened, her figure thinned. She was who she used to be.
She felt like the same filly who had moved to Ponyville so many years before, away from her parents and the mare they wanted her to become. On her first day in town, she had met a farm pony mare, Applejack, and she was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Rainbow Dash had always wanted the best. She wanted to be the best and she wanted the best for herself, and she had been so certain then that she would get it. It seemed natural to her that she would get Applejack, too. Rainbow Dash had openly and excitedly pursued her, only to be turned down again and again. Applejack, it had seemed, didn’t have any interest in being hers. Eventually, Rainbow had given up, and she developed an amiable, if cool, friendship with Applejack instead.
Applejack moved from Dash’s lips down to her neck, and Rainbow Dash let out a strained gasp of pleasure. With Applejack, she felt like herself again. She felt like the same filly who had journeyed into the Everfree Forest with five friends in search of the sun, and then there accepted her role as the Element of Loyalty. From that night on, her friendship with Applejack had changed, become warmer. They spent more and more time together, learned together, played together, fought together, and grew together. They, along with their other friends, sealed Discord away together, battled against the changeling army together, faced and overcame innumerable other obstacles together, and ultimately watched their friend ascend to Princesshood, together.
Applejack’s lips glided back up Dash’s neck and found her lips again. She gripped Dash in a heady, intimate embrace. Dash felt Applejack’s hooves reach out and brush her wings. Applejack gently kneaded her wings, caressing up and down their length. Rainbow Dash didn’t pull away.
With Applejack, her wings became beautiful again, strong, soft. They were the same wings of the mare who had been a Wonderbolt. She had streaked through the skies, through loops and twirls and dives, in tight formation with her teammates. She had heard the cheers of her friends among the cheers of a thousand other ponies in the crowds below.
Rainbow Dash slowly unfolded her wings and wrapped them around Applejack. She let Applejack feel them and see her as she was, and still Applejack didn’t back away. With her wings, Rainbow Dash pulled Applejack closer to her, never once breaking the kiss. She was young again, strong again. Applejack showed her, told her without words, that it hadn’t all changed. She was still Rainbow Dash.
She was the same mare who had later been named the new captain of the Wonderbolts, the youngest in their long history. She still streaked through the skies in tight formation with her teammates, but she flew at the front of the formation from then on. Immediately after leading her team through her first performance as their captain, as the crowds applauded, she flew into the stands, straight for Applejack. There, among the cheering crowd, she proposed to her marefriend. Then, later, she married her in a quiet ceremony in Sweet Apple Acres in front of their friends.
That life had been hard on her, traveling between the Wonderbolts and family, which became more than just Applejack, eventually. She went months at a time without seeing either, and she always missed both. She found ways to make make time for both. She made mistakes, stupid, young mistakes. She had to apologize to Applejack more times than she could count. Still, their love had burned as a pyre then, whose flames licked the sky, burned so fiercely and so high that everyone could see for miles around.
She was the same mare who had grown older and wearier with each circuit of performances. She didn’t notice then, but the fire behind her eyes dulled with each passing year. Finally, when her long tenure as captain had come to an end, she happily retired and returned home to Applejack. She never left again.
Applejack pulled back, breaking the kiss but still holding her close. Rainbow Dash screwed her eyes shut. She clutched the feeling the kiss had brought her close to her chest so she wouldn’t lose it. Inside, with Applejack, she still felt like Rainbow Dash.
She opened her eyes.
She glanced at the mirror, and an old mare glanced back, tired and gray. She sighed. It didn’t matter how she felt inside. Outside, she was still old, and that was what everyone else would see.
Applejack nuzzled her neck. “You know you’re still the most beautiful mare I’ve ever seen, right?”
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “But… look at me. Look at my wings…” She raised her wings for Applejack so she could see clearly what they had become.
Applejack grimaced, reaching out and touching one of them. She held the wing in her hoof as gently as if she worried it would shatter into dust at the lightest touch. “Why didn’t ya tell me they’d gotten this bad?”
“Because it doesn’t matter.” Rainbow sniffled. “I talked to Twilight. She said there’s nothing I can do.”
Applejack dropped her wing and wrapped her forelegs around Dash’s neck. “I’m sorry.”
Rainbow Dash leaned into the embrace. She simply enjoyed the feeling of being warmed and comforted by another pony for a time. She cherished feeling Applejack’s still-strong forelegs hold her. She knew that at least one pony still saw her as Rainbow Dash.
“Is that why you don’t want to come out?” Applejack asked, whispering.
Dash tilted her head in the barest of nods.
“Is that all?” Applejack chuckled, her laugh creaking a little. She pulled back. “Sugarcube, you know no one cares about that. No one out there cares how you look. They just want to see you—”
Dash pushed her away. “If this is some speech about how all that matters is what’s on the inside and not what’s on the outside, save it. I’ve heard it before and we both know it isn’t true anyway.”
Applejack frowned. “Hey, just because you’re in a sour mood, doesn’t mean you should go ignorin’ good advice.”
“I said save it, Applejack. No one wants to see me like this, and you know it. I don’t even want to see me like this.” Dash halfheartedly kicked at the floor. “I look terrible, and I wish I was back how I was before.”
“Hush now. Don’t talk like that.”
Dash shook her head. “I hate this. I hate who I’ve become—”
“I said hush!” Applejack shouted. Her mouth formed a thin, wrinkled line and she gave Rainbow Dash a look that dared her to see what would happen if she didn’t comply. “Now, you’re gonna be quiet and listen to what I have to say, and you’re not gonna say one more thing like that ‘til I’m finished.”
No matter how old they both might have been and how laughable the idea of either of them physically hurting each other was, Applejack still scared Dash when she got angry. She nodded dumbly.
“Good. I swear, you’re thicker than a barn door sometimes.” Applejack’s face softened a little. “Do you really think me or anyone out there cares at all about how you look? Do you really think that matters at all? When I turned you down all those times way back when ya couldn’t keep your hooves off me, do you think it had anything to do with how ya looked? ‘Cause I can tell you this, you didn’t look any different that night you got that letter from the Wonderbolts than ya did back then. So, do you know why I turned you down?” Applejack glowered at her. “Well?”
“Um…” Rainbow Dash didn’t have the faintest clue. She had never fully understood why Applejack rejected her.
“I’ll tell ya why!” Applejack declared, pressing on before Dash had a chance to think of an answer. “You were good lookin’, there’s no denyin’ that. You looked good, and we both knew it. But I didn’t care about that. I turned ya down because I didn’t like you. Sure, I liked how ya looked well enough, but I didn’t like who you were on the inside.” Applejack punctuated her statement with a jab to Dash’s chest. “You understand?”
“Um…”
“I didn’t like you, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack repeated. “You were selfish. You were full of yourself. Your head was so big I couldn’t even figure out how ya were able to keep in the air with that big weight stuck on your shoulders. You only cared about yourself and where you were goin’ and what you wanted. You didn’t care about anypony else. I didn’t like you.”
“Gee, thanks,” Dash muttered.
Applejack shushed her again, but then her face softened. “Ya know, most ponies never change. Most ponies would have stayed that way for their whole lives. They would have stayed selfish and big-headed. But you never stopped changing. Like no pony I’ve ever met, you always wanted to be better. You always tried to be better. Every year I knew you I liked ya more, because after every year you were a new pony.” Applejack reached out and touched Dash’s cheek. “That night you got your letter from the Wonderbolts, I saw how far you’d come. I still didn’t care anymore how ya looked, but I loved the pony you were on the inside. And even after that, you didn’t stop growing.”
Applejack’s face hardened again. “So, don’t you tell me that you hate the mare you’ve become, because I love the mare you’ve become, and so does everypony out there. Don’t tell me that you want to go back to bein’ the pony you were before, because I wouldn’t trade the Rainbow Dash you are now for the Rainbow Dash you were then for all the years I have left, and neither would anypony else.
“I love the mare you’ve become.” Applejack smiled and gently nuzzled her cheek. “The mare you’ve become is beautiful, inside and out. The mare you’ve become is caring, and thoughtful, and kind, and smart. You are beautiful, more beautiful than you’ve ever been before. Everypony sees that. When they look at you, when I look at you, we don’t even think about the mare you were before, we only see ya how you are now. That’s the mare they love, not the mare you were before. And I can’t wait to see who you become next, because I know you’ll never stop growing.
“Sugarcube”—Applejack leaned forward and kissed her on the tip of her muzzle—“can’t you see how wonderful the pony you’ve grown into is? Please don’t take that pony for granted. Please don’t sell that pony short by wishing she was somepony else. I’m tellin’ you, I love who you’ve become, and so does each and every single pony outside right now.”
Rainbow Dash rested her forehead against Applejack’s. Wet tears slipped down her cheeks, and Applejack held her. “Thank you,” she finally managed to whisper.
“Anytime, sugarcube.” Applejack smiled and wiped her tears away. “You get so caught up thinkin’ ‘bout who you used to be, ya forget how wonderful you are now.”
Rainbow Dash sniffled. “I’m sorry.”
Applejack laughed. “Nah, s‘nothin’ you need to say sorry for.”
“Thanks,” Dash said, wiping her eyes. “I, um, think you’re really beautiful on the inside, too. And I love who you’ve become, too.”
Applejack kissed her, lightly, warmly. She pulled back, and Dash saw that her face was just as wrinkled as her own. “Now c’mon. Everypony’s still waitin’ for ya outside.”
Rainbow Dash glanced back at the mirror. She saw herself, Rainbow Dash, look back at her. She was old, but she was so much more than that. Her eyes might have been a little blurry, but behind those eyes she saw all the lessons she had learned, all the friends she had made, all she had accomplished, all the good she had done.
Her muscles might have been weaker, but they were still the same muscles that had carried her across Equestria on more adventures than she could count, up mountains, deep into forests, and across oceans. Those were the same legs with which she had kicked a dragon in the nose, thrashed changelings, and done battle with ancient despots. Those were the same legs with which she ran alongside Applejack each and every year for the Running of the Leaves.
Her figure might not have looked as good as it once had, and her mane might not have shone with as many colors as it once did, but it was still the same figure of who she was certain was one of the greatest looking mares to have ever flown in the skies of Equestria. Her colors hadn’t faded and disappeared, she realized. She had simply given them to foals and grandfoals. She still had every color of the rainbow, but they had spread out some over the years, passed over to other generations.
Her wings—she flared them so they rose high over the mare in the mirror’s back—her wings were the best of all. They might have been a little worse for wear now, but those were the wings of a Wonderbolt. No, not just a Wonderbolt, she reminded herself. The captain of the Wonderbolts. Those were the wings that had led the greatest, most famous flight team in the world through their performances. Those were the only wings in the history of Equestria that had ever performed a Sonic Rainboom. Those were the wings of the fastest pegasus in Equestria. Those were the wings of Rainbow Dash.
Applejack jabbed her in the chest, disrupting her thoughts. “Y’know, Appleseed is out there sayin’ the reason you won’t come out is because you’re afraid he’s finally gonna beat you at horseshoes this year.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes went wide. “What?! He couldn’t beat me at horseshoes even if I was tied down to a board and blindfolded. He’ll never beat me!”
“What are ya tellin’ me for?” Applejack smirked. “Go tell him that.”
“I will!” Rainbow Dash declared, stomping to the stairs.
Applejack laughed and followed after her. They took the stairs together, slowly, one step at a time.
Homesick, by Tchernobog
I miss the farm, Dash.
It’s funny how easily you can miss things. Things you’d think you’d have learned to notice.
I mean, I’ve been with Applejack for a while now. A good while. An awesome while, really.
We first met when I came to Ponyville after, uh, skipping on flight school. High speed apples were involved, and I don’t mean the four legged kind.
Hey, I was hungry.
Still, we started talking, and we hung out a bit after that. That was once I paid for the apples I’d eaten. After Twilight started living in Ponyville, we hung out even more. Dunno what it was about her but, it just drew A.J. and me even closer.
Probably that whole life-in-danger-but-save-the-world thing, actually.
Anyway.
It was about a year after Twilight turned into a Princess. That’s when Applejack got me out of some bad times. I mean, all the girls were there, even Spike and the Crusaders were trying to cheer me up, and it kinda worked, but Applejack’s the one that really got me back on my hooves.
I kinda needed it, too. It’s not every day you do your best, and try for your life’s dream, but fail.
I was so close. My scores were perfect. But they didn’t choose me.
Instead, the Wonderbolts picked some nobody. Somepony I’d never even heard of before, who hadn’t done anything even close to as awesome as what I’d done, and he still got in instead of me.
I know, I know, I shouldn’t be angry. I’m not, really. I’m past that. I can’t help but still be a little ticked off though.
But back then, I was ticked off. No, I was pissed. And I was horrible to my friends because of it. I stayed at home for a week, barely going out for anything. And when I did, I was a total… well, I won’t say it. But it wasn’t pretty.
I even snapped at the Crusaders, which pissed off Rarity and Applejack.
That day was awesome.
Hah, you thought I’d say it was the worst day ever, right? Well, it was for a while. I hated the ‘Bolts, I hated everything, and I was getting yelled at. I flew off before I hurt somebody.
I still don’t know how, but Applejack tracked me down. And we talked. Or rather, I talked, and yelled, and maybe shouted a bit, and she listened.
And then she just belted out this line.
Your value doesn’t decrease based on somepony’s inability to see your worth.
I think I stared at her for a good minute, then I nearly died laughing. Okay, it wasn’t really all that funny, but I totally thought Applejack had turned into Twilight or something. Turns out she’d just been borrowing a few books instead, and she’d seen it in there. Once she stopped glaring at me for laughing at her, she explained it in her usual way.
If somepony can’t see that you’re worth somethin’, that don’t mean that you’re worth nothing.
The only pony who truly knew what I was worth was myself. Applejack showed me that, and I think it’s at that point where I started looking at her differently.
Really differently.
I kinda forgot about the ‘Bolts completely for a while. My head was too filled with Applejack. I guess I was filling hers too, ‘cause it turned out she had the same feelings I did.
Our so called friends teased us for weeks. Saw it coming miles away, they say.
Yeah, well, I bet they didn’t see the engagement coming like a year later. Ha! Actually, neither did Applejack. I guess that’s kinda the point, surprising your partner with the proposal.
She said yes, of course. Best day of my life. Until the wedding day. Which was also the best day of my life, and the most terrifying one too. Not that I’d ever admit that to anypony. But yeah. Nightmare Moon? Discord? Sombra?
Nothing compared to this.
But I wouldn’t change it for anything.
The letter from the Wonderbolts asking me to try again came out of nowhere, though. That was a big shock.
I kinda figure Twilight had a hoof in that, but whatever it was, they asked a few ponies to try again.
AJ and the girls came to watch me again. I guess it really made a difference this time, ‘cause it was an absolute breeze.
Soarin’ later told me that the only ‘Bolts that got in on the first try are the ones who created the Bolts in the first place. Any new recruit only gets in on the third or fourth try. Shows your determination or something.
Only the best get in on the second try.
After that second try, I was - am - a Wonderbolt.
A freaking Wonderbolt!
You wouldn’t believe it but, it actually got even better after that.
Rookie training was tough, even for me. It took a while to get the routines down, but after a few weeks I was ready for my first show.
Fifteen minutes before showtime, Spitfire pulls me aside and tells me I have a special guest. Which was really weird, usually we keep them away for a good half hour before going out.
I don’t know how she did it, but when I saw that stetson, you couldn’t have wiped the smile off my face if you tried. She gave me a kiss for good luck, and a quick nuzzle (which feels weird with a flight suit, lemme tell you), and told me she had another surprise for me after the show.
My wings had never felt lighter. They never saw that Rainboom coming. The crowd went wild.
She was waiting for me when I came back. Put her hat on my head and gave me another kiss while my teammates were whistling at us.
And then she tells me she’s joining me.
What, for this show? I asked.
Nope. She was gonna spend the next few months with us. Since I’m sending most of my bits back to the farm, we can afford a few helping hooves while AJ took some time off. She said she was doing it for me.
That, and time off never hurt nopony.
You’d think she’d get bored while I’m training and stuff, but nope. While I was busy, she’d be visiting family. Like, all the Apple clan members throughout Equestria. They’re everywhere. It’s like you throw an apple in any direction and you’ll hit an Apple. It’s like a law or something.
I even got to visit them too when I had time off. Not that I hadn’t met them before - the entire clan came to the wedding - but it was really fun hanging out with them. I gotta do that more with my own family, now that I think of it.
So, yeah. The last six months have been awesome. With A.J. there, I’ve never flown better. When I tell her it’s because of her, she gets the cutest blush on her face.
But…
I miss the farm, Dash.
I gotta admit, I do too. I miss seeing Big Mac, Granny, and Bloom. Heck, I even miss Winona and Tank. And I miss the other girls too.
But I think it’s different for Applejack. She makes… she makes a face when she talks about them. About the farm, and her - our- family. I don’t know how I missed it before, but it’s there.
I don’t know what it is though. I tried asking, but she said not to worry. I let it slide for another day or two, but then I saw her looking sad and I asked again.
She kept saying not to worry again, and even pushed me away.
That hurt. And I couldn’t get it out of my mind.
That was Sunday. I guess that was part of the reason why I was looking at Spitfire’s office door Tuesday morning. I didn’t really mess up the routine the previous night, but I wasn’t anywhere near my best. I think most of the audience couldn’t tell, but Spitfire and the others sure did.
I knocked, waiting for Spitfire’s “Come in,” then pushed the door open. She looked up from all the paperwork, and frowned as she saw me. I don’t think that’s a good sign.
“I’ll be blunt,” she said. “What the hay was that all about, Rainbow?”
“I dunno,” I said. That just earned me a glare.
“Oh for-Do not do this, rookie,” she said, practically growling the last word. “The entire team could see it, and I bet a few tabloids did too.”
My ears went flat, and I couldn’t help but look down at the floor. “It’s private, Ma’am.” I mumbled.
Apparently I was channeling Fluttershy, ‘cause Spitfire clearly hadn’t heard me. “Louder, rookie. I can’t hear you.” When I didn’t say anything, she started tapping a hoof on the table. “I’m waiting.”
“It’s private, Captain.” I growled back, glaring daggers at her. To my surprise, her eyebrows went up and her expression softened. She glanced behind me, and seemed to make a decision.
“Close the door, Rainbow,” She ordered. I blinked, but did it anyway. When I turned back to her, Spitfire had gotten much closer. Practically within touching distance. “Off the books. Mare to mare. What’s going on?” She asked. “Is Applejack alright?”
If my ears weren’t already flat, they would have been now. I should’ve figured that wouldn’t throw her off. Applejack had gotten to know the rest of the team after a while - it was kinda a given, since we were married, and she followed me - and the team - to every new venue. She’d hit off really well with Spitfire, something about a shared farming upbringing. Never would’ve figured a flying ace would have come from farmers, but hey. Weirder things have happened.
But anyway, she’d zero’ed in on the issue pretty quickly. “Sh-she’s fine.” I said. I was still hoping I could still walk out and deal with it myself.
No such luck, though. “Yeah, and my name is Soarin’.”
I couldn’t help myself. “What, he finally proposed?” I asked. The blush on her face was worth it. They’d been dancing around the subject for years, and the rest of the team heckled them all the time. Heck, I was guilty of it myself.
“Oh, shut up,” she said, stomping the floor with a hoof. “Focus.”
“I…” Okay, this wasn’t easy. I barely even knew what was going on myself, much less trying to explain it. “She’s kinda clamming up on me.”
“Really?” Spitfire asked. Her eyebrows had shot up. “You guys are usually so disgustingly happy with each other,” she said, grinning as I stuck my tongue out at her. But the grin vanished as she kept looking at me. “Did you guys fight?”
I shook my head. “No! Well… No. Maybe? I dunno.” I shrugged. I still didn’t know how to describe what that was.
Clearly, I hadn’t done a good job describing it to Spitfire either, because she just gave me a flat look and scooted closer. “Okay. Just start from the beginning. Figure this out.”
So I did. Or at least, I tried. “She said she misses the farm.” Spitfire raised an eyebrow. “I know! That’s all she’s said! But…”
“But?”
“She makes this face when she’s talking about it. It’s like she’s… sad, I guess.” I shrugged. “She won’t tell me why. Kinda pushed me away too,” I said, looking away.
“Well, that’s easy,” she said. “She’s homesick.”
I stared at her in annoyance, my ears twitching. “Duh. I got that. I miss the place too, but I’m not moping. There’s something else.”
Spitfire was silent for long enough that I turned back to look at her. She was just staring at me with this… contemplative expression.
Yeah, yeah. I hung out with Twilight just as much as the rest of the girls. Between her and Rarity, it rubs off on ya.
Anyway. Spitfire just looked at me, then leaned back, tilting her head back to stare at the ceiling. She had this far off look, like she wasn’t actually looking at the ceiling, but something else.
“When I first started as a ‘Bolt, I was completely dedicated to the job.”
“Like you aren’t now?” I asked.
She just chuckled, and glanced at me. “I’ve mellowed out some. Trust me on that.”
“I’d pay to see you mellowed out,” I said, grinning. But I frowned right after. “Wait, what’s this have to do with-”
“Humor me, Dash.” She interrupted, straightening herself to stare at me. “Just listen.”
As much as I wanted to quip back at her, I kept my mouth shut. Seemed like a good idea.
“Like I was saying, I was completely dedicated. I stayed on board for months and months. Years.”
I wanted to interrupt. Say something about-
“I even skipped vacation time.”
… Yeah. That. Every ‘Bolt, from the seniors to the rookies, and even the academy cadets, got some vacation time during their tours. Usually enforced, even if you didn’t want to.
Spitfire just grinned at me. “I know what you’re thinking. I’m the reason they’re enforced now.” She closed her eyes, smirking to herself. “I ran myself ragged. D’you know why?”
I shook my head. She’d never talked about this before.
“I thought I was doing it to be noticed. To be the best. And I was,” she said, puffing her chest out a teeny bit. “But the longer I did it, the more it was to try to get away from this… this ache.”
“Ache?” I asked, unable to hold it in anymore.
She nodded, pointing at her chest. “Yeah. Right there. Just got stronger with time. Only went away when I was exhausted. Docs said I was in perfect health though.” She shrugged. “At least until I showed up so tired I fell asleep on my hooves.”
She chuckled, and I fought back a grin of my own. I knew exactly what she meant.
“They sent me home for a week. Forced vacation under threat of expulsion, actually.” Okay, maybe I didn’t. I’d never taken it that far. “So I visited my family, back at the farm.” She smiled, staring me in the eye. “And just like that, the ache went away.”
I blinked, and tilted my head at her. “Wait, how? I don’t get it.”
She stared at me incredulously, and I had to duck to avoid a hoof swatting my head. It still flicked an ear though. “Damnit Rainbow, think. How long has Applejack been following us?”
“Uh, six months? Give or take a few weeks?”
“And how often has she gone home?”
I shook my head. She knew as well as I did. Why was she even asking? “She hasn’t.”
“There’s the problem, then.” She said. “She’s just reached the end of her rope.”
This was just confusing me even more. “But why now? What’s different?”
Spitfire shrugged. “She’s not you, Rookie. Different ponies act differently.”
“I could’ve figured that part alone, thanks,” I said, earning an eyeroll from her. “I just… why isn’t she talking to me?” My wings twitched, as I fought to keep them from flaring. “She could go home if she’s hurting!”
Unfortunately, Spitfire didn’t have the answers. As much as I wanted her to. “Don’t know what to tell you. She’s probably got her reasons.”
“Yeah?” I grunted. “What are those?”
“That’s not my job to find out, Rookie.” Spitfire smirked, and made a shooing motion with a hoof. “You go figure it out. With your wife.”
“But-”
“Dismissed.”
I ground my teeth, but snapped off a salute and marched off. I had a mare to find.
I giggled to myself as I flew to the hotel room Applejack and I shared. I’d just realized I’d just left an orange-maned yellow pony to find a yellow-maned orange pony. No wonder they’d hit off so well.
Once the hotel came into view, I sobered up pretty quick. For the second time that day, I was rooted in front of a door. Part of me hoped that she wasn’t there, maybe still off with some of the other Apples. I never liked arguing with her.
The other half yelled at me to face the problem. We’d gotten through so much together, this wouldn’t be that hard to deal with.
Right?
My hoof definitely wasn’t shaking as I grabbed my key and let myself in.
There she was, lying on the bed. She’d been reading a book, but was smiling at me. Must’ve heard me come in. “Howdy, Sugarcube.”
I couldn’t help but smile back. Her voice just did that to me. “Hey.” She leaned in as I trotted closer, nuzzling into my neck as I returned the favor. But all too soon, I pulled back and stared her in the eyes. She looked curious, and a bit confused. “What’s going on back home, Applejack?”
The confusion vanished as her eyes widened. “Wh-What’re you talkin’ about?”
I stared at her and huffed. “Oh come on, we both know you’ve been clamming up about it. I even had Spitfire on my backside about it.”
“What?” Applejack gasped. “Oh horseapples, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get you in tr-” I stopped her with a hoof, shaking my head.
“She’s the one who figured it out, dummy. She’s cool.” I dropped my hoof and looked into her eyes. “You weren’t this bad until recently. What happened?”
She broke eye contact as she looked down. She took a moment to speak, then nodded towards her hat, sitting on the desk. “I got a letter from Apple Bloom a few days ago.”
Immediately, my eyes went wide. “Is she okay? Big Mac? Granny?” I grabbed her by the shoulders. “Oh Celestia, Granny’s finally bought it?”
“Wha-No!” she said, pushing my hooves off. “Dash, d’ya think if that happened I’d still be here?”
I blinked, and actually thought about it. “Huh. Probably not.”
“Nice to know y’worry.” She smirked, punching me lightly in the shoulder. “Everyone’s fine. Better than fine, even.”
“Eh?”
“Sweetie Belle got her cutie mark.”
My mouth dropped open, then split into the biggest grin. “No way! How’d she get it?”
Applejack gave me a strange look. “Really, Dash?”
“Oh. Right.” I grinned sheepishly. “I kinda meant where! Gimme details!” I said, jumping on the bed and leaning into her.
“Some school thing. A fundraiser concert or somethin’, and she got the main event. Bloom said the crowd went wild when she finished.”
“About time!” I cackled. My laughter died as a thought struck me. “What’s that gotta do with you moping?”
“I wasn’t mopin’!” She glared at me, but it faded as I stared back with a deadpan expression. “Okay, maybe a lil’,” she said, a sheepish grin on her face. “It’s just… I don’t wanna miss Apple Bloom’s. Feels like I’m missin’ so much.”
“That’s it then. Y-you’ve gotta go home,” I said. My voice hitched a second, but I hoped she wouldn’t notice. I didn’t actually want her to leave.
Unfortunately, she knew me too well to let that slip. “Ya sure you want me to go?”
“Yeah… Totally sure.”
She stared back at me. “That don’t sound too sure, hon.”
“I-I just want you to be happy, A.J. You gotta go.” I tried grinning, but it felt weak. She just shook her head, looking determined. I knew that look.
“I ain’t going.”
I couldn’t stop a frustrated sigh. “Why not?”
She poked me in the nose with a hoof. “‘Cause you need me here, silly.”
“I don’t! I’m fine without you!” I said, before my brain caught up to what I said. “That didn’t come out right.”
“No, really?” Applejack asked, smirking at my slip up. I smiled back, thankful that she understood me even when I ran my mouth off.
“I can be on my own, A.J. I’m a big pony.”
“I always thought you were kinda lanky and petite, m’self,” she said, nudging me in the side.
I smirked back, swatting her in the cutie mark with my tail. “Yeah, well, one of us’s gotta be skinny. All those apple fritters go right to your flanks.”
“Are you callin’ me fat?”
“I was thinking ‘cuddly’ instead.”
That got a chuckle out of her. “I’ll take that.”
My smile faded as I looked at her. “Seriously, though. I’m okay. I just want you to be happy.”
I could see she was still conflicted. “Y’sure? I feel like I’d be leavin’ you behind.”
“I’m okay. Your-” I paused. “Our family needs you.”
She frowned again. “I’m your wife, Dash. I gotta be there for you.”
“And I’m your wife too, A.J. And I gotta make my wife happy.”
“I dunno…”
I huffed. “Look, I get ya. I really do.” I looked at her, hoping she’d understand. “I don’t want to miss Scoots getting her cutie mark either. But I will, and I’ve accepted that. Doesn’t mean you have to, though.”
“Dash…”
“One of us should be there. And I’m kinda busy here,” I said, pointing a hoof at the goggles that still hung from my neck. I’d just realized I still had them on. “Please, A.J.? For me?”
Applejack sighed and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, I knew she’d made a decision.
“Okay. I’ll go. But just promise me one thing?”
“Anything!” I said, smiling wide. She caught me by surprise as she leaned in and kissed me again, even harder than before. We were both breathless when it stopped.
“Come see us as much as you can.”
I nodded. “Every chance I get.”
“Good.” She smirked, and stood up on the bed. Before I could say anything, she pushed me over until I lay on my back, staring up at her. Her eyes were half lidded as she grinned down at me, straddling me. “Lemme show you what’ll be waitin’ at home…”
And she did.
Lemme tell you, my next vacation couldn’t come soon enough.
