Our Tree
By Rated Ponystar
***
It was almost time. After weeks of planning and finding her courage, Applejack was about to do the hardest thing she had ever done in her life. 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 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 she could count on, a rival she competed against in everything, and a comrade when the Elements of Harmony were involved in some 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. Applejack’s worries only increased as she begged in her head 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 seen Rainbow Dash during the day when she went into town either. Her other friends 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 few harsh, and embarrassing, accidents. 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 constantly 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 from above. 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 analyzing glare 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 that 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 the matter?”
“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 getin’ 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 a 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 liking 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.
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 mouse. 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 time and bad. 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? That’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. “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, the 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 some of the victims.”
“Dash,” muttered Applejack as she stroked Dash’s cheek. “You don’t have to say anymore.”
“No, I need too, 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. 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 stranger 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 brin’ me all the way out here this early, Dash?”
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 caresses 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’ of 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’s 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 her heart come to a complete stop for a few seconds. 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 on the ground 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 one 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 quitin’? 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 to? Captain? No way. I can’t handle all that paperwork. 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 she 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 lips this time. “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 them 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, the tradition passing on over time.
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 used to 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 used to 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 laned 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 was 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 it to be here? We can wait in bed, like most ponies do 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 and 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 day 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 gone, her eyes closed and her face peaceful. 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 for the night.
Author's Note
This was done for the Anthology fic for the AppleDash group. It's not my best work, but I liked it alright. Figured I might as well but it up as well.
Also this is the better edited version. Be sure to check out the anthology with work done by others, including a comic I made with RatofDrawn.
