Rarity smiled with excitement as she slid the wedding dress into Applejacks closet. It had fit like a glove and she had looked absolutely beautiful in it, that’s all that mattered.

“Ah can’t thank you enough Rarity, really.” Applejack said as she sat on the bed and watched her friend.

“It was nothing darling, I was happy to!” Rarity replied as she walked to the bed and sat down next to her long-time friend.”Now, what is left on the agenda?” she asked.

Applejack went over her mental checklist again. “Ah think we’re good. Food’s ready, friends are invited and the barn is set up for the whole shebang.”

Rarity put a perfectly manicured finger to her lip as she also mulled over what needed to be done. “Did you write your vows?” she asked after a moment.

“Yep, finished ‘em weeks ago.” Applejack said happily.

Rarity clapped her hands together in joy. “That’s wonderful darling! And how will they be exchanged?”

“What d’you mean?” Aj asked in confusion.

“Will you be reading your own vows, or will you have a third party do it?” Rarity said, simplifying her previous question.

“Oh!” Applejack stated in understanding. “We’re trading with each other. Ah’ll read hers and she’ll read mine. Simple.” she said with a slight smile as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Rarity clasped her hands together in excitement. “Oh, how romantic!” she exclaimed excitedly. “Has Rainbow Dash mentioned hers at all? As in, has she finished them?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“Ah don’t rightly know, she should have. The wedding is tomorrow.” Applejack stated matter-of-factly.

Rarity hung her head in disappointment. “Give me a moment dear,” she said as she stood up from the bed and walked to the door “I have something to do with your wife to be.”

The fashionista opened the door and stepped out, making sure the door closed behind her. It was a good thing that the hall was vacant of life, because any living being would have frozen momentarily in fear after seeing the steely gaze that occupied Raritys’ eyes.

She walked the few steps to Rainbow Dashs’ door and pushed it open without warning. The girl inside the room jumped up from her position on the bed.

“Uh, hey Rarity.” Rainbow said, not really knowing what brought about this sudden visit.

Rarity was eerily quiet as she closed the door behind her and walked up to her Rainbow haired friend. Without warning, she grabbed the tomboy by the shirt and pulled her so they faced each other eye-to-eye.

“You are getting married tomorrow. You know what else is tomorrow? Christmas. That is the most wonderful thing I have ever heard and it is happening to two of my best friends. I won’t let you mess this up for me!” her words were pointed.

Rainbow quirked an eyebrow, both due to the situations and Raritys’ choice of words. “Ruin it? For you?” Rainbow asked as she released herself from the grasp of her bejewelled assailant.

Rarity leaned in closer. “I live for this.” she whispered into the woman's ear. “Now, you are going to sit at your desk and write your vows. They better be heartfelt and they better make her cry. Or else.”

Rainbow let a smile grace her lips as she released herself from the grip that had held her in place the whole conversation thus far.

“Or else what Rarity.” Rainbow sarcastically asked the dainty girl standing before her.

Rarity let her eyes come to a slight squint and spoke slowly. “I am a black belt. Do not test me.”

A shiver ran up Rainbows spine as she gulped down the sudden fear. “Uh, yea, sure. I’ll do it right now.” she spoke shakily as she stood up from the bed.

It was amazing to see the change in attitude that Rarity had. When she came into the room, she was almost like a hardened gangster looking for a lost payment, but now she was back to her old self, looking around the room and judging the choice of bed sheets and curtains.

“That’s wonderful to hear darling! Now go on and get to it, I’ll stay here to watch and keep you company.” Rarity said innocently as she took a seat upon the bed. With a roll of her eyes, she stood back up and began to fix the jumbled sheets up before taking a seat again.

Rainbow sat down in front of the small desk that was in her room. She looked around at the familiar scenery that hadn’t really changed much over the years. Her mind began to wander, recalling all the times she had been here, all the nights she spent with a lovely blonde woman by her side. A cough brought her mind back to the present though, and she turned to see Rarity staring at her with an impatient look on her face.

“Alright alright, I’m doing it!” Rainbow said with laughter in her voice. She turned once again and grabbed the pen that had been placed on the desk for her. She planned to write from the heart, it was the only way to be sure that it felt real. Putting pen to paper, she began.

Applejack, I’ve never been very good at speaking my mind. Well, I guess that’s not completely true actually. Everyone knows I’m a loudmouth. I’m hardheaded, cocky, daring and I can be pretty inconsiderate at times. But I must have done something right in order to be where I am right now, with you by my side. I can’t believe this is finally happening! We’re going to get married! Well, we’re already married but this will be the big show-offy wedding.

I’m getting off topic though, there’s a purpose to these words, they’re my vows to you after all. I have so much that I want to say, and I wish I could just sum it up as fast as possible. I don’t think it does justice, but it’ll have to do until I can find better words.

I love you.

Plain and simple as that. Ever since we were kids. You were my first friend, the first person to ever actually want anything to do with me. Moving away back then crushed my little heart. But then, when we were teenagers, we met up at that park for the race. We were friends again, like nothing! Well, we were rivals too I guess. I guess what I’m trying to say is, even though I don’t believe in fate or anything like that, we were meant to be together.

I promise that I will never stop loving you. You are everything that I have ever wanted and more.

She let a single tear roll down her face at this point. It was one of pure happiness, and she wouldn’t fight her tears for once. It slid down her cheek and, when it had nowhere else to go, it fell and found itself being soaked into the sheet of paper.

I promise to always be there, no matter what happens, I want you to know that I will always be by your side. We’re going to get all old and wrinkly together, and I honestly couldn’t be happier. I can’t wait.

With that, she placed the pen down and grabbed the paper. She didn’t need to read it over, it was perfect. She folded it and placed it into the envelope that Rarity brought, which she wrote “To Applejack” on. They would exchange these vows tomorrow morning at the wedding. She glanced at the clock, it was only 6 p.m but the winter sky was already dark as midnight.

She turned around to the girl patiently sitting on her bed. “Ok, I finished.” she said with a sigh and a genuine smile on her face. “How about we all go watch a movie downstairs? You, me and the Apples. It’ll be a nice way to spend the last night before the wedding.” she said.

Rarity smiled, but shook her head in the negative. “It sounds like a wonderful idea dear, but I do have some things I need to do before the night is over. Both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie should be making visits to the boutique tonight to get their dresses. Then, I have to keep watch over Sweetie Belle. It’s a full-time job. It’s worth it though.” she replied with a soft smile on her lips.

Rainbow gave a nod. “Alright, just make sure you get enough sleep, we start at 9 a.m.” she said. Then she adopted a sly smile, one that made Rarity feel beyond uncomfortable.

“Are you ok?” she asked as she felt her discomfort grow.

Rainbow crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “So nobody is coming by, which means we’ll be alone right?” she asked, receiving a nod in response. “Aw yea, we are so gonna-”

“Well I’ll be going now!” Rarity exclaimed quickly as she all but ran from the room.

Rainbow chuckled as she watched the door to her room close on its own. She knew nothing was going to happen tonight, especially with her family on the way. ‘Speaking of which,’ she thought to herself as she looked at the time ‘they should have been here already.’

She pulled out her cellphone and dialed her fathers number. It rang a few times before she heard an answer.

“Hello?” came the familiar voice of her father.

“Hey dad, it’s Dash. Where are you guys at?” Rainbow asked her father. “You should have been here already.”

“Oh, hey Dash. We should be there...soon-ish.” her father replied, a nervous chuckle in his voice.

Another, angrier, voice came from the phone. “Just tell her that you got lost in all this snow and rain! My god, you men! What’s so hard about asking for directions?! Honey, you made the right choice when you decided to marry a woman.”

‘Mom.’ Rainbow mentally noted. It had been a while since she had seen her mother. After her parents divorced, she just went on with her own life. “Dad, where are you now? Give me some landmarks.”

“I don’t need directions sweety, I know where I’m going.” came the kind and not-so-patient voice of her father.

Rainbow smiled and let out a sigh. “Do you really want to be stuck in the car with her for longer than you need to be.?”

There was a silence from the other side of the call for a few moments before she heard any response. “Ok, I give.” her father said before listing off a few of the things he could see.

“Ok, I know exactly where you are. Park the car and try not to kill each other. I’m on my way.” she said before she ended the call. She took a peek out of her window. The weather was pretty shitty at the moment, rain and snow had mixed into a slush and it was coming down hard.

She sighed as she began to get dressed. She loved her parents but seriously, it was too cold for this shit.

“Where you off to?” Applejack asked as she saw her lover come down the stairs fully dressed.

“My dad got lost, I’m gonna grab my bike and meet up with them.” she said. “Mind picking out a movie to watch when we get back?”

Applejack nodded. “Sure, no problem.” she said before she placed a small kiss on Rainbows lips. “Be careful, ok?” she said.

Rainbow laughed. “No problem babe, I’m a trained professional.” she said before opening the front door. She was immediately met with a violent blast of cold wind that almost prevented her from closing the door behind her. “Holy shit it’s cold.” she said as she trudged her way to her bike.

The roads were clear for the most part, just slippery. Snow had been pushed to the sides of the road when the last plow had been through. Only a thin sheet of snow and slush remained at this point, but Dash didn’t worry much about that. She sped up a bit since there was hardly anybody else on the road.

“Can’t let dad deal with mom for too much longer, I’d like him to be sane for the wedding.” she said to herself with a chuckle.

The thing that every child knows about cold weather is that you can see your breath in the air. When Rainbow spoke, her breath rose and clouded the visor to her helmet, blocking her field of view. She quickly flipped the visor up and her eyes were quickly attacked by the cold winds and painful rain Then she felt it, the bike was gliding. The tires were moving and the engine was running, but she couldn’t control the direction she was heading. Everything seemed to be moving slower, yet she had no time to react to anything. She could only watch as she began to drift into oncoming traffic. She could hear the slow groan of a horn in the distance, and a bright light filled her eyes, effectively blinding her.

Her thoughts began to race. Applejack, the wedding, their future, her career. She could remember ever smile the farm girl had ever showed her, every kiss that they had shared and every moment they had spent together. She had a this moment of enlightenment. She didn’t regret a moment of her life, besides this one. Her last thought was a somber one.

‘Sorry Applejack, I wish we had more time.’

The winter sky is a widow’s sky, dark and weeping. The clouds are churlish and cruel. They cough out great gouts of water and thunking balloons of sopping moisture. It teems down in a biblical deluge, flooding rivers and overflowing dams. Yet none of this mattered to Applejack as she stormed through the hospital doors, her clothes soaked through yet she paid no mind to them at she shakily approached the woman at the front desk.

Her words were difficult to form, but she managed to rush them out. “Where is she?!” she questioned, her mind was racing to the worst possibility.

The receptionist raised an eyebrow. “Calm down ma’am, who are you looking for?” she asked politely. There were hundreds of patients in the hospital around this time of year, she couldn’t just narrow it down without any name or description.

“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack yelled, tears adding to her already wet face. “Where is my wife?!”

The doors to the hospital opened again and in walked Big Mac, clothes also drenched but an umbrella in his hand.

The receptionist typed the name into her computer and waited a moment as it searched for a room registered to that person. The page finished loading and her eyes widened. “One floor down. Room B-101. I’m so sorry.” the lady said as Applejack ran off, her brother hot on her tail.

She wasted no time with the elevator as she thrust the door to the stairwell open, her legs rapidly moving as they carried her down the looped stairs. She reached a door with a glass window that read ‘Basement’ and she twisted the handle.

The door gave way and she looked both ways. The numbers to her left were increasing from 105 on, but to her right, they decreased. She bolted to the right, frantically looking for the room labeled B-101. Her heart froze when she did.

Applejack had her hand on the doorknob as her eyes traced the words printed upon the door.

Room B-101
Morgue

She tried to deny it, but she couldn’t hold the torrent of tears as she pushed the door open and saw a woman with rainbow hair laying on a cold steel table. Her skin was bruised and cut in various places that could be seen, but she was covered up for the most part. Applejack felt like she was going to throw up. Her vision was dampened by her watery eyes. Her knees began to buckle and her lip quivered. There was only one word that came to mind, and all she could do was scream it.

“No! No no no no no! Nooooooo!” she screamed over and over as she fell to her knees and pounded the floor. Her tears fell down her face like a mighty river.

Big Mac didn’t need to go into the room to know what was in there, but he did anyway. He had to be there for his sister in her time of need. He knelt down and wrapped his arms around the quivering form of Applejack, who promptly turned around and buried her face into his chest.

“Not again, not again.” she said as she continued to sob.

Mac felt the tears begin to form in his own eyes, and did his best to fight them off as he turned to look at the doctor who stood silently next to the steel table.

“What happened?” he asked with a ragged breath.

The doctor stepped forward slightly and his face became more visible. He looked old and tired, his eyes were red and puffy, as if he’s been crying himself.

“She was driving down the highway it seems, when she hit a patch of black ice and swerved into oncoming traffic. She suffered a few fractures and various lacerations, but it seems like her helmet fell off at some point or was removed. She died of concussive force to the head. I’m sorry there was nothing we-” he paused for a moment before lowering his head and staring at the floor. “I’m sorry, there was nothing I could do.” he said firmly before he turned and left without a word or glance back.

Mac felt the tears begin to slide down his face. This had felt all too familiar. He remembered standing in this same hospital when his parents had their accident. He had wished his sister would never have to feel a pain like this again, and he had failed.

The brother and sister duo sat on the floor, holding each other and crying. They didn’t know how long they had been there, and it didn’t really matter at this point. They needed this, more than anything.

Applejack was the first to get up, eyes red and wet as she shakily walked towards the table. She leaned down and placed a kiss upon Rainbows lips, fighting back another torrent of tears as she felt their chilling coldness. “Ah will always love you.” she said to the body before her. “Nothing will ever change that. Ah promise, Ah’ll be with you. Wait for me, y’hear?” she asked, before turning away and facing Mac. “D’you mind waiting for the doctor to come back? Ah gotta go do something.” she asked, finding it incredibly difficult to form the words.

Mac used his sleeve to wipe away the remaining tears in his eyes. “Sure, where’re you goin’?” he asked, honestly curious about what could be so important right now.

Applejack felt her lip quiver and an icy sensation grabbed hold of her heart. “Ah have to go make my wedding into a funeral.” she said as she slowly walked out of the room, her body slightly swaying as if she would collapse at any second.

Mac felt his own heart drop as he turned to look at the girl on the table. He stood up and placed a hand on her cold cheek. “Ah’ll take care of her, Ah promise.” he said, before turning and taking a seat, waiting for the doctor to return.

Author's Note

Sorry...