Always connected

by The-rogue-shadow

Rating: teen
Tags: Derpy Hooves, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Other, Romance, Adventure
Length: 11020

Applejack struggles with new feelings while Rainbow Dash struggles just to survive

What happens when a certain griffin returns to seek revenge on the pegasus that abandoned her, and what lengths will a pony go to in order to save the mare she loves.

Published 2012-05-24 13:24:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-05-26 05:24:51 UTC

Chapter 1

The midday sun shone through the branches of the apple tree that Applejack was resting under. She had spent the whole morning bucking apples from the trees of her family’s orchard and had decided to take some time for herself. Just as her eyes began to drop, an enormous gust of air knocked the tan Stetson she wore straight off her head.

“How do you expect to beat me at the next iron pony competition if you can’t even handle this orchard?” asked the cyan Pegasus with the hexachromatic mane.
“Rainbow Dash! How dare you! Ah woke up at the call of the rooster this morning just so ah’d be able to get this work done before the sleepover at Twilight’s tonight,”
“Hey, hey take it easy AJ, I was only teasing, besides the reason I’m here is to show you this awesome trick I came up with,” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “It will have to impress the wonderbolts with its awesomeness.” Applejack rolled her eyes.
‘Great, another attempt to kill yourself, why can’t you just come here and hang out with me, or maybe… Wait!! No Applejack, keep it together, you ain’t no fillyfooler,’ Applejack shook her head in an attempt to get those thoughts out of her head, thoughts that had been invading her mind more and more lately.

“Okay then Rainbow, but make it quick, ah’ve got work to do.”
“Yeah, you seem SO busy,” Rainbow dash sniggered. Then she sped off up into the sky, and began to do spins and flips.
‘Wow,’ thought Applejack, looking up at the spectacle in awe. ‘She has got to be the most graceful pony ah know.’ As Applejack watched the amazing display of flying ability, she became even more engrossed in the cyan pegasus. Then, as Rainbow dash flew through a cloud and up in front of the sun for her patented “Raindash Twirl” in which the water collected from the cloud reflects the sun’s rays and creates a rainbow aura around Rainbow Dash, Applejack noticed a white and Brown streak heading straight for Rainbow, and could only watch in horror as it collided with her and forced Rainbow to the ground with a resounding BOOM.

“OH MY GOD! RAINBOW!” Applejack screamed as she galloped in the direction of the impact. When she got there, it took her a second to take in the scene. The tremendous impact had created a crater and forced apple trees and rocks to be destroyed in the impact zone. Then Applejack saw what was at the centre of the crater, a broken and bloody Rainbow Dash, having more punishment thrust upon her by a large griffin that Applejack suddenly recognised.

“Gilda! What in the Hay are you doing! That there is Rainbow Dash, ah thought she was your friend!” she screamed, too stunned to move against Gilda.The enraged griffin looked up, Rainbow’s blood dripping from her talons.
“Your right, Hick, she WAS, but since she choose you lame ponies and not me, well… I couldn’t let that go unpunished,” Gilda gloated, rage all but dripping from her voice. She stood up from the carnage that she had created
“And now that the traitor is dealt with, I think it’s your turn.”
“And ah think that ah’ll make you work for this one,” said Applejack, struggling to hold back the tears that had entered her eyes and taking up a fighting stance.

“Good” growled Gilda and leapt at Applejack, talons raised, Applejack focused intently on the task at hoof, ready to defend both herself and Rainbow. Just as Gilda began her murderous descent on Applejack, a giant red mass appeared in front of her and caught Gilda’s talons in his hooves.
“Big Mac, what are ya doing?” asked Applejack, bewildered.
“Stop talking and check on Rainbow AJ,” Big Mac ordered, struggling against the enraged strength of Gilda. Applejack just stared at her brother as he pushed at the griffin with his great strength. “Move AJ! Now!” Applejack realised what he meant and galloped over to Rainbow.

“You would risk yourself for these lamos?” Gilda asked, not taking her eyes off Big Macs.
“Eeeyup,” was his only reply and he pushed harder on Gilda and forced her to the ground. She began to slash his leg with her talons as he put pressure on her throat with is front hooves.

“Ah’m goin ta let you up and give ya a chance ta leave. But just know that if ya ever threaten ma family again, ah will not be so merciful.” Gilda, knowing she could not compete with Big Mac’s strength, nodded begrudgingly and as Big Mac relaxed the pressure on her throat; she shot out from under him and flew off as fast as she could.

“AJ, How’s she doin?” asked Big Mac, walking over to the grim scene. But the look on Applejack’s face said it all.
“She ain’t breathing big brother,” she told him with a cracked voice. Tears were flowing freely down her face. Big Mac put his head to Rainbow’s chest.

“Yes she is AJ, but it’s weak, so is her heart beat, quickly, help me get her onto my back.” Big mac instructed, and together, they hoisted Rainbow Dash up onto Macintosh’s back and carried her to the nearest hospital. Applejack all the while hoping against hope that Rainbow would be okay, just so she could look into those magenta eyes once again, and regretting that she never told Rainbow about the feeling she was having.

“Please be okay,” cried Applejack.

Chapter 2

Rainbow Dash awoke in her cloud bed, after a night full of confusing dreams and restlessness. She rubbed her eyes and looked at her clock.

‘What! I’m never up this early on my days off,’ she thought, but she knew that it wasn’t true; for the past few months she had been struggling to sleep and even not wanting too at all.
‘Why am I thinking these things, having these dreams, Applejack is my best friend, this..is..wrong.’ These thoughts kept going through her mind as she struggled to make sense of them.

‘I-I need to tell Applejack about this,’ and with that thought in mind she opened her wings and flew at top speed out of her house, leaving her signature rainbow trail behind her. She never got tired of flying, the speed, the adrenaline, the unerring freedom, but today she had trouble enjoying herself, not with this huge weight hanging on her shoulders.
As she approached Sweet Apple Acres, a smile came over her face, with a yearning that only confused her more. She spotted Applejack lying down underneath a tree, her straw coloured mane shone in the sun and Rainbow couldn’t help but be taken aback at the beauty of the moment.

‘Okay Rainbow, focus, how are you going to say this’ she thought, clearing her throat for a practice run.
“Applejack, we’ve been friends for a long time and there is something I need to tell you,” she said aloud, before taking a deep breath and half-yelling;“I think I’m a fillyfooler and I’m in love with you.” The sentence seemed to come out as one long word. Rainbow facehooved at the absurdity of the speech.
“You know what? I’m just gunna wing it,” she finally decided and flew down from the cloud she had been sitting on, straight for Applejack. When she reached her, Rainbow opened her mouth, but when she was actually there, she choked on the words and instead, on the spur of the moment, could only say;

“How do you expect to beat me at the next iron pony competition if you can’t even handle this orchard?”
‘What!! Why did you say that!’ she scolded herself as Applejack looked at her with annoyance. ‘All you had to do was tell her that you had feelings for her and now look what you did, you made her angry.” With no other options left to her Rainbow told Applejack she was only there to show her a new flying trick, and shot off into the air at Applejack’s approval. While in the air, she did some spins and flips, never taking her eyes of Applejack for more than a moment.

“She’s just…so beautiful,” said Rainbow. “Maybe I can make her see me the way I see her.”
With that, she flew into cloud after cloud, gathering water droplets and then, with a very calculated move, she flew in between Applejack and the sun, knowing that an aura would form around her, finishing off her patented “Raindash Twirl.” Rainbow looked down at Applejack, and the smile she saw on Applejack’s face was entrancing.

“Hey Rainbow!” yelled a voice from beside her and she turned just in time to see a huge mass of feathers coming straight at her.
“Gil…” Rainbow tried to exclaim before all of the air in her lungs was forced out by the griffin slamming into her.
“Shouldn’t have chosen them Dash,” she screamed above the roar of the wind in the descent.
Rainbow knew what was coming but couldn’t prepare for the sheer force of the impact. She felt it through her whole body as her left wing crumpled underneath her, every fragile, hollow bone shattering. She opened her mouth to cry out but no sound came.

“Always had to be the hero, didn’t you Dash,” Gilda yelled as she slashed at Rainbow’s body with her talons. “Always had to be weak like them.” Rainbow struggled to keep conscious, but the pain was too much. As she passed out, she heard Applejacks voice, first softly, and then right next to her a few moment later.
“Ap-Applejack” she groaned out, her whole body in protest.
“Shhh don’t talk sugarcube, save your strength,” said Applejack, her voice was cracking.
“No, you need to hear this,” begged Rainbow. “Applejack… I… Love… You.” Her voice trailed off at the end as she passed out. But she did hear Applejack reply with “I love you too Rainbow.”

Chapter 3

Applejack had barely slept since that fateful date two weeks ago, when the cyan pegasus Rainbow Dash, Element of loyalty, friend to all, and secret love of Applejack’s, had been brutally attacked by a former friend of Rainbow’s; Gilda, a griffin. Since then, Rainbow had been fighting for her life in the Ponyville general hospital. Applejack had been at the side of her comatose friend since she was admitted, and refused to leave under any circumstances.

“Ah just can’t leave Rainbow alone, she needs me, don’t you understand Twilight?” Applejack told her friend, the unicorn Twilight Sparkle.
“No, I don’t AJ. I can’t understand why you blame yourself, when you had no way of knowing or stopping Gilda,” Twilight replied, trying to console her friend. “Look, I know you and Rainbow were close but-“
“CLOSE! Close doesn’t even describe me and Rainbow,” snapped Applejack.
“Why are you yelling at me, what did I say?!” Twilight said, taken aback at Applejack’s outburst. Applejack sighed, looking down at the floor.

“Twi, there’s something I gotta tell you, I-I’m in love with Rainbow Dash,” she told her. She couldn’t meet her eyes, worried that she would be met with disapproving looks.
“Ooohhh, AJ, why didn’t you just say so before?” Twilight asked, making Applejack look up with a stunned look on her face.
“Wha-What? You don’t mind?” Applejack asked. Twilight just smiled and gave her friend a caring look.
“AJ, you forget that I’m from Canterlot, fillyfooling is very common there. I’m used to it, besides, you and Rainbow are my friends, I just want you to be happy.”
“Wow, thanks Twilight, that makes me feel a bit better,” said Applejack, giving Twilight a small smile, just knowing that one of her friends didn’t mind was going to make the waiting easier.
“So are you coming to lunch with me or not?” Twilight asked with a slightly pleading tone.
“No Twi, ah’m sorry. Give the other girls my love okay?” Applejack said, looking at Rainbow once again.

“Okay AJ,” Twilight relented. “Yell if you need me okay?” Applejack just nodded and Twilight left the room, worrying about her friends. Before she left, Twilight stopped in to see Rainbow’s doctor; a grey earth pony by the name of Doctor Neuron.
“So Doctor, any news on Rainbow?” Twilight asked. The Doctor looked down at his notes on Rainbow Dash.

“Well, the injuries she sustained have mostly healed up, except for the wing of course, that will take months of healing and rehabilitation before it’s usable again. But the coma, that’s another story entirely. Rainbow seems to be…not…wanting to come out of the coma,” he explained and the look of puzzlement on Twilight’s face was enough for the Doctor.
“You see, Miss Twilight, the brain is a fragile thing, but the mind inside is even more so. When the mind is in trauma, it tries to protect itself from the trauma in different ways, sometimes it just refuses to accept what has happened to it, or creates amnesia, but in Rainbow’s case, well, it’s just retreated into itself.”
“But Doctor, we were told that she was fighting for her life, but what you’re saying is that’s it’s all just in her head,” said Twilight accusingly.

“Hey, don’t mistake this as not serious, she IS fighting for her life. Her mind is so far retreated into itself that it has become almost completely separated from the body. Miss Twilight, the body cannot live when the mind is not there to help. Look, we are keeping her on a steady drip of stimulants, in the hope that she will wake up, and that orange pony has been talking to her.”

“Applejack has been talking to her?” Asked Twilight, unsure of how that would help.
“Yeah, and not just that, singing, she does have a lovely voice,” said the Doctor, smiling.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Twilight inquired, ignoring the Doctor’s daydream.
“Not unless you have a spell that allows a pony to walk in the mind of another,” he said, giving her a defeated shrug. Downtrodden, Twilight just turned and left the room, leaving the hospital.

Back in Rainbow’s room, Applejack was singing softly to her friend, in the hopes that her voice would bring her back.
“…Because ah cannot live without yooouuu,” Her voice was soft, and broken up by sobs that threatened to turn into screams of anguish. She leaned down and gave Rainbow a kiss on the cheek.
“There will be more of that if you wake up sugarcube,” she whispered into Rainbow’s ear. Rainbow stayed motionless, except for a twitch that formed at the corner of her mouth.

Chapter 4

The endless sky opened up, the wind was strong, but not so strong as to throw off any flying. Rainbow Dash smiled as she looked at the ground below, Equestria, in all of her timeless beauty lay beneath her. Rainbow saw Ponyville in the distance, as well as cloudsdale and the royal city of Canterlot which was a dot on the side of a mountain. She dropped into a steep dive, placing both hooves out in front of her, gathering speed. Rainbow felt the intense pressure build up inside her head, then, when it seemed like it was too much, Rainbow broke the sound barrier and the pressure subsided. The sonic rainboom tore through the sky, vaporising any clouds that it hit, while behind the cyan Pegasus, a beautiful and perfect rainbow was drawn. Using this, Rainbow quickly started her complex pattern; zigzags, loops and flips. When the trail ended, Rainbow flew down to the stage on the ground, striking a pose as the replica of her cutie mark branded into the sky shone in the light of the sun. The crowd screamed her name;

“RAINBOW DASH…WONDERBOLTS…RAINBOW DASH…WONDERBOLTS”. The show now over, Rainbow’s wife Applejack ran onto stage and planted a huge kiss on her. The crowd cheered even louder, as Rainbow allowed herself to melt away her exhaustion in the embrace of her beloved. The kiss ended, with Applejack whispering the nights ‘activities’ into Rainbow’s ear, making her blush.

Rainbow looked up and saw Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria walking up the stage toward her, followed closely by her sister; Princess Luna. The wonderbolts, Applejack and Rainbow all bowed, showing their respect for the alicorns.
“Rainbow Dash, your daring aerial skills have impressed me and my sister, you are to be congratulated on a wonderful show. We wish to offer you a reward for your efforts, what is it you desire?” said Princess Celestia, giving a warm, mother-like smile. Rainbow Dash thought hard, before finally coming to the conclusion.

“Thank you, your highness, but I have everything I always wanted right here. My dream of flying with the wonderbolts, my friends are all happy, and I’m with the mare of my dreams, I don’t need anything else.” Rainbow told Princess Celestia.
“Rainbow, your humility is refreshing, not many ponies would turn down an offer like this,” said Princess Luna.
“That’s because Rainbow ain’t just any pony,” said Applejack, kissing Rainbow on the cheek. “And there will be more of THAT later sugarcube.” Rainbow’s face spread into a grin that encompassed her whole body.

“Are you absolutely sure there isn’t anything Rainbow Dash?” asked Celestia, almost pleading for Rainbow to ask for something. Rainbow looked at Applejack, and a thought occurred to her.
“Princess, I was wondering. Do you think that you could help me share my life with Applejack even more?” The puzzled look on Celestia’s face made Rainbow falter. “What I mean is; can you give Applejack wings?” Applejack gasped and hugged Rainbow.
“Your serious sugarcube?” she asked with the biggest grin on her face, tears of happiness forming in her eyes.
“Absolutely, I want to share my whole life with you, that includes the sky” said Rainbow, kissing Applejack. Princess Celestia just nodded her head.

“Stand back Rainbow, this will take a lot of power,” warned Luna. A single spark shot out of the end of Celestia’s horn, hitting Applejack square in the chest. She was lifted into the air, a shining white aura surrounding her and her eyes glowing white. Celestia concentrated as power flowed into her horn, making it glow brighter and brighter. Finally, after about two minutes, a beam shot out and hit the floating Applejack, who screamed out in pain. Rainbow took a step forward, concerned for her wife, but then noticed small lumps growing out of Applejack’s back. They kept growing, slowly becoming recognisable as wings. The beam stopped and Applejack was slowly lowered to the ground by Princess Luna. Applejack opened her eyes and looked up at Rainbow, who was completely speechless. Applejack stood and inspected her wings, which were a slightly darker orange than the rest of her coat.

“Thank you so much your highness,” said Rainbow eventually.
“It was my pleasure Rainbow Dash; however, you and Applejack must promise me that you will love each other unerringly for the rest of your lives,” Celestia replied, looking at the couple with a serious expression.
“Ah don’t think that’s going to be a problem Princess,” smiled Applejack, tentatively flapping her wings for the first time, getting used to controlling the new limbs. Rainbow walked over to her and held out her hoof.
“Here, let me help you,” she said. Applejack put her hoof in Rainbow’s and together, they slowly ascended into the sky. Rainbow holding onto Applejack the whole time, they soared through the skies of Equestria, weaving between the mountains, skimming the surface of lakes, before finally stopping at rainbow’s cloud house. Rainbow landed onto the cloud, and turned to see Applejack still hovering in the air.

“What’s wrong AJ?” asked Rainbow. “Come and take the grand tour, it includes the bed.” Rainbow smiled seductively. Applejack licked her lips but didn’t move.
“Ah don’t know sugarcube. Ah may have wings now, but I wasn’t born a Pegasus, how do you know that I can walk on clouds?” Applejack asked nervously. Once again, Rainbow held out her hoof.
“Do you trust me AJ?” Rainbow asked, to which Applejack just nodded. “Then come here and kiss me.” Applejack took a deep breath and sheepishly set down on the cloud, finding a feeling of solidity under her hooves. She let out a huge laugh and jumped into Rainbow’s embrace, kissing her with fierce passion and deep love.
‘I hope my life stays like this forever, this is perfect,’ thought Rainbow, and lost herself in Applejack’s kiss.

Chapter 5

Applejack’s eyes were red from crying, and her mane was dishevelled and unwashed. She ran her hoof through the mane of a comatose Rainbow Dash, her true love and best friend.

“So the girls told me that Big Mac and Fluttershy are getting close, which is good, they both deserve to be happy,” Applejack told her, hoping that her voice would bring Rainbow back into reality.
“And apparently, Spike and Rarity and been seen together a lot,” she smiled weakly at the thought. “Oh Rainbow, ah wish you would just come back to me.” Realizing just how tired she was, Applejack laid her head down on Rainbow’s chest, but as her eyes began to close, she was startled awake by the excited calls of Twilight.

“Applejack! Applejack! Guess what! I think I may have found a way to bring Rainbow back to us,” she smiled, a look of pride upon her face. Applejack sat up straight and looked at Twilight in disbelief.
“Slow down Twi, what do ya mean?” Applejack asked, trying her hardest to keep relatively calm, while inside, she just wanted to shout out with joy.

“Well, the doctor told me that Rainbow is just trapped in her own mind, and if she’s not willing to wake up herself, we would have to go get her. Even though I think he was joking, it got me thinking. So I searched the whole library, nothing, but then I asked Zecora and she had the book that explained it all!” Twilight said, talking almost too fast to make sense.
“Explained what!” snapped Applejack, eager to get Rainbow back.

“Dream walking AJ,” Twilight exclaimed, before explaining at Applejack’s behest. “Okay, so when a unicorn uses this spell on a sleeping pony, it allows them to astrally project themselves into the subconscious of the pony in question.”
“Wait, so you mean that somepony could actually go into Rainbow’s head and physically drag her back?” Applejack asked, the cogs turning in her mind were almost visible. “Have you told the other girls about this?”
“Yeah, they’re on the way here now, we have enough time to get everything ready for me to go in bef-“ Twilight started before Applejack interrupted.
“You? You are not goin anywhere, ah’m going to go get her,” said Apple jack, ignoring Twilight’s protests. “Twilight, what happens if there is a problem and you can’t get out? We need you on the outside in case there’s a problem, don’t ya see what ah’m saying?” Argued Applejack, and eventually, Twilight relented.
“Fine, you can do it AJ” sighed Twilight.

“Do what! Eat cake! Where’s my cake?” The girls turned to see their friends enter Rainbow’s room; The party obsessed Pinkie Pie, fashionista and drama queen Rarity and finally, The yellow Pegasus Fluttershy, followed by her coltfriend and Applejack’s brother Big Mackintosh.

“No Pinkie, ah’m going to be the one to bring Rainbow back,” Applejack explained to the group.
“But why AJ?” asked Big Mac, concern was in his eyes as he looked at his little sister.
“Ah’m sorry big brother, but it’s just something ah’ve gotta do,” Applejack said as she walked over to him and put her hoof on his shoulder. Big Mac said nothing, just nodded his approval.

“Okay then, let’s get started” said Twilight, and the group began making preparations for the event. They had another bed brought into the room, and the lights dimmed, as Twilight explained exactly what Applejack was in for.
“In a moment, I will cast the spell, and your mind will merge with Rainbow’s. Inside her mind, it’s going to be dangerous, her mind will try to stop you if it sees you as a threat, so stay hidden. Also don’t forget that this is Rainbow’s version of reality, so some things might not make sense, or might be completely different to the real world. Oh! And one more tip, remember that it is going to be like a dream, if you concentrate hard enough, you should be able to do things that are impossible here.”
“Like what? Flying without wings?” asked AJ, she was beginning to get nervous, but her determination outweighed her fear.
“Potentially” Twilight said. “Now, the spell only lasts two days, so that’s how long you have to find Rainbow and convince her that she’s living in a dream.”

“What happens after the two days?” Applejack enquired, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.
“Well, either you’re trapped in there forever with her, or you could get forcibly pushed back into your own mind, which may cause serious psychological trauma.” replied Twilight, she held Applejack’s hoof in hers, comforting her friend. “Are you absolutely sure about this?” Applejack nodded once.

Twilight sat between the two beds and concentrated. Applejack’s and Rainbow’s heads began to shine with a purple aura and for a minute or two, nothing happened, but then a bridge of purple light connected the two ponies. Applejack grunted as she felt her mind shift and merge with Rainbow’s. She closed her eyes as it started to hurt, but then the pain stopped and when Applejack opened her eyes, she found herself not at the hospital, but instead in the barn on Sweet Apple Acres. It looked the same, but there was something off about it, it was brighter than usual and nature seemed to be moving faster than it should. Applejack looked around for something to disguise herself with, and decided on a hood and cloak that covered most of her face and discarded her Stetson.

‘This place is really creepy, everything is too… happy’ she thought, beginning the long walk into Ponyville that didn’t follow the main road. Upon getting there, she started searching the town for signs of Rainbow. She became uneasy around the other ponies, they seemed too artificial, soulless, and whenever she asked about Rainbow, using her upper class Manehatten voice so as to not make them suspicious, she always received the same answer.
“Rainbow Dash is wherever she wants to be, she is the greatest pony ever, I want to be just like her.”

Applejack began to grow frustrated with the ponies, all except Derpy, who strangely enough, was very similar to her real life counterpart. Derpy told Applejack that Rainbow Dash spent most of her time in her cloud house just outside of Ponyville with her wife Applejack. Applejack’s grew wide at this latest revelation.

“Ah’m married to Rainbow?’ she thought, completely shocked as she left Ponyville and started the walk to Rainbow’s house.
She stood there, looking up at the majestic mansion, rainbow waterfalls cascaded off the side and the multiple stories reminded Applejack that she was in Rainbow’s interpretation of life. Her house in the real world was large, but this was ridiculously over the top.

Applejack came to the unfortunate realization that there was no way for her to reach the house, she tried concentrating, like Twilight said, but just couldn’t get her head around the fact of flying without wings, so instead, she tried the only option left to her.

“Rainbow Dash! Hey Rainbow Dash! Ah got a message for you” Applejack yelled at the top of her lungs. After a few moments, Rainbow Dash shot down from her house and landed in front of her.
“Hi there, you said you had a message for me?” said Rainbow. Applejack lowered her hood, giving Rainbow a happy smile.
“Yes, ah want you to wake up” she said quietly. Rainbow suddenly tackled Applejack and pinned her down.
“Who are you, imposter, APPLEJACK! APPLEJACK!” she yelled, calling for her wife.
“Rainbow it’s me, ah’m Applejack” she said, trying to convince her, but Rainbow just shook her head.
“No, THAT’S Applejack, the real Applejack,” Rainbow said angrily and Applejack gasped when she saw her doppelganger, completely identical in every way, except for the dark orange wings that she had.
‘A… Pegasus Applejack?’ she wondered. Pegi-jack landed and walked over to Rainbow.
“What’s all this ruckus sugarcube?” Pegi-jack asked, before noticing Applejack, her eyes blazing with anger when she saw her.

“I found this imposter trying to trick me, didn’t do a very good job did she babe?” Rainbow said pressing harder on Applejack. “Forgot MY wife has wings huh?” Applejack struggled against Rainbow, but she was stronger than in real life.
“Please listen to me Rainbow, this is all a dream. You’re in a coma, ah’ve come to bring you back to us, ah’m the real Applejack,” she told her, only to have Rainbow drag her to her hooves and throw her against the nearest tree.

“Shut up! You come here, try to impersonate my wife, and then try to tell me that my whole existence is a lie. How dare you!” she shouted and continued to lecture Applejack, yelling at her, telling her that she is going to hurt, that she’s going to suffer because of the insult. Applejack started to get frustrated, then angry and finally, when she had enough of Rainbow’s verbal assault, she got to her hooves, opening her mouth and yelled.

“RAIN-BOW-DASH!!!!” But it wasn’t what she expected; instead of just interrupting, Applejack’s voice hit Rainbow like a speeding train, and threw her backwards. It gouged a trench into the ground as Rainbow was forced onto her back. Applejack’s throat burned as though she had been yelling for days. Rainbow stood, taking up an aggressive stance and stareing daggers at Applejack.
“Oh IT…IS…ON” said Rainbow.
.

Chapter 6

Rainbow Dash stood enraged against the imposter; an exact duplicate of her wife, in all ways but the dark orange wings that Applejack now had. What was worse, the imposter had attacked her at her own home, an act of war in Rainbow’s book.

“Oh IT…IS…ON,” threatened Rainbow, the imposter was rubbing her neck after the strange attack that had knocked Rainbow onto her back.
“Please Rainbow, it’s me, Applejack, your best friend,” pleaded the imposter, beginning to tear up. “Ah know that this is hard to believe, but ya really are in a coma. Me and Big mac saved you from Gilda. You are in the Ponyville hospital, surrounded by your friends.”
“I’m gunna stop you right there, Gilda? You think Gilda attacked me. Wow she must be pretty determined to have come back from the dead,” said Rainbow mockingly.

“What do you mean dead?” asked the imposter, her eyes had widened and she began to back away from Rainbow.
“See… You really should have done your homework. Gilda died years ago, when she went on a rampage in Ponyville. Pinkie Pie tried to stop her, and paid for it. So… I hunted Gilda down and avenged Pinkie, because that’s what friends do,” Rainbow explained, struggling to keep her eyes dry as she remembered. Applejack walked up to her and draped a wing around her.

“It’s okay sugarcube, we all understand why you did it, and we love you for it,” said Applejack, giving Rainbow a kiss on the cheek. Rainbow cleared her throat, stood up straight and looked at the imposter.
“You now have a choice, either you leave now, and I forget this, or I make you regret coming here today.”

Applejack’s heart had sank, Rainbow refused to believe that she was in a coma and what was worse, was even willing to attack her to protect this dream reality. Applejack remembered what Twilight said;

“Things might be completely different to the real world” Applejack realised just how true this was when Rainbow revealed the news about Pinkie and Gilda.
‘Ah can’t believe it, Rainbow killed Gilda! Is this what she’s really like?’ thought Applejack, almost disgusted at the new Rainbow. But then she saw the look of regret on Rainbow’s face, and her doubts were washed away, this was the same Rainbow, just reacting to new, false memories.

Rainbow gave Applejack a choice; to leave, or get hurt. Applejack decided on coming back when she had a more tangible and solid plan. She ran off in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, thinking to hide in the barn until she could come up with an idea. As she used a shortcut that cut through the orchard, she was suddenly stopped by the Pegi-jack.

“Ah know what you’re doing here, you are tryin to take Rainbow back, but she can’t go back, it’s too dangerous out there. She needs to stay in here where it’s safe,” said Pegi-jack. Applejack looked at her in disbelief.
“What? You know that this ain’t real? How?” she asked, slyly looking around for a way out.
“You simple minded pony, of course ah know. Ah am Rainbow’s Intelligence, her logic, her lover,” she said, having an obvious dig at Applejack.

“Well then, if you’re so smart, you should know that she is perfectly safe to wake up, the dangers over,” said Applejack, her voice full of venom as the Pegi-jack hovered above her.
“No, it won’t be safe until Gilda is dead, otherwise this could happen again. Ah cant, ah won’t let it happen again,” the Pegi-jack replied angrily, her coat turning a redder shade and her mane began to smoke like it was about to catch alight. “Ah suggest you leave now, before I do something you will regret.”
“Ah’ll regret, look at what you’ve done to Rainbow. She was a broken down half version of herself back there,” shouted Applejack, feeling the same strange sensation in her throat as before. “The memory of Killing Gilda is causing more damage than the attack itself.”

“You just don’t get it do you. Ah love Rainbow! More than you ever could!” said Pegi-jack. Applejack yelled at the top of her lungs, no words, just noise. The same strange vocal power came out, cutting sections out of the trees on either side, but Pegi-jack didn’t move. Instead, she let out a laugh that cut deep into Applejack’s soul.
“You have no power against me. Ah’m the strongest mental construction in here. You’re not going to win if you continue down this path,” she told her, a look of amused anger on her face. She then flew off, leaving Applejack alone. Applejack sat down and cried; hopelessness washing over her.

‘But ah love Rainbow,’ she thought to herself, and allowed her mind to wander through the memories of her and Rainbow; competing in the running of the leaves, spending time helping each other do work, and the time they told each other how their parents had died, secrets they had never told anypony else.
“No! ah will not give up. Ah’ve got a whole day to try again, and ah’m not going to let some winged polecat take her away from me,” she vowed. Then a voice behind her made her jump.
“Good, I think I can help.”

Rainbow laid down on her cloud bed, depressed over the day’s events. The imposter seemed so sure that she was Applejack, her eyes had seemed more honest that her wife’s had ever been. Applejack walked into the room and lay down next to Rainbow.

“What’s wrong sugarcube?” she asked, nuzzling into Rainbow’s neck.
“Would you ever lie to me?” asked Rainbow, turning to look straight into Applejack’s eyes.
“Are you kiddin, of course not, ah’m the element of honesty don’t forget,” said Applejack.
“Then tell me, was the imposter right? Is this all just a dream; am I really in a coma?” Rainbow asked, staring intently into Applejack’s eyes.
“Of course not ya silly filly,” she told her. “Does this feel like a dream?” With that, she began to kiss Rainbow, who kissed back just as hard. But Rainbow still had this lingering doubt in the back of her mind, a doubt that stopped her from enjoying the feeling of Applejack as much.
‘What if the imposter was right?’ she thought. ‘And this IS all a dream, why don’t I know that it is, and why don’t I remember falling asleep.’

But she did remember. Almost every night, Rainbow had been plagued with dreams about Gilda somehow returning and brutally attacking her, but she always woke up before Gilda finished her off. She wanted so hard to believe that her life was perfect, but the truth was, she hadn’t been truly happy for a long time. The guilt that killing Gilda had brought haunted her waking hours and her dreams, so she kept retreating into Applejack’s arms as it got harder to bear. Applejack was the one who had encouraged her to try out for the Wonderbolts, had cheered the hardest when she was accepted and came to every one of her shows, regardless of her duties on the farm. But still something felt wrong, and Rainbow couldn’t shake that feeling.

Rainbow broke off the kiss and told Applejack that she was going for a fly, to try and forget the day’s mess. She stretched her wings and dove off the balcony, letting herself glide for as long as possible before actually beating her wings. She flew gradually higher and higher, where the air became thinner, and it was more difficult to keep aloft. She landed on one of the light, wispy clouds that form at that height, and started to think as she surveyed Equestria below her.

Applejack sat in the barn eating an apple as she talked to her unlikely ally; Derpy Hooves, the grey mail-mare of Ponyville. Derpy explained that she was actually Rainbow’s courage and loyalty, the very traits that make Rainbow an element of harmony.

“But how can Rainbow’s intelligence be the strongest thing in here then?” asked Applejack, confused and feeling sick, the dream apples tasted nothing like real ones. They tasted more like pears.

“She just thinks she is because she knows how to manipulate others, there are much stronger constructs in here than her or myself even, Rainbow’s rage for example,” Derpy explained. She talked nothing like her real life counterpart, but looked exactly the same.
“Hey how come y’all didn’t just help me when ah talked to you in Ponyville?” Applejack asked Derpy, who smiled and looked at her with the wisest eyes she had ever seen.
“I needed to know if you were serious about being in love with Rainbow, and from what I saw, that you are willing to risk yourself for her, well... it convinced me,” Derpy replied.

“You could have just asked,” said Applejack in an annoyed tone.
“And what would you have told me? Yes? Probably, but I would have no way of knowing how serious you were…”
“Serious! Of course ah’m serious, ever since the attack ah’ve been spending all my time at Rainbow’s side, barely sleeping, barely eating. Crying almost non-stop and you dare question my commitment to her. She means the utter world to me and that’s why ah came to get her, rather than leave it to Twilight. AH did, ME.” Applejack began to cry out of emotional exhaustion. “AH just want her back”

She finally broke down and cried openly, letting all of the emotions that had pent up during her stay in Rainbow’s mind come out in full. Derpy walked over and hugged Applejack, stroking her mane.
“It’s okay Applejack; I don’t doubt your commitment to her anymore and I’m glad you feel that way, because together we WILL get Rainbow back and you can spend the rest of your lives together,” said Derpy, giving her a warm smile as she comforted her.

Chapter 7

Rainbow Dash woke up on the wispy cloud she had come to rest on, with Celestia’s dawn sun warming her back. She dropped down from her high perch and flew back to her cloud home, and to her wife, Applejack. On the way there, her mind went back to the day before, and the imposter that had tried impersonating Applejack. The news that the imposter had brought her was troubling, distracting and hard to swallow. The imposter had told Rainbow that her whole world was a lie and Rainbow was beginning to doubt herself. The imposter had seemed so sincere, so genuinely concerned about Rainbow that she couldn’t get her out of her mind. She arrived at her home to find Applejack making a batch of Apple pancakes, Rainbow’s favourite.

‘Yuck, I wanted blueberry,’ thought Rainbow for a fleeting moment. She sat down and ate without talking to Applejack. Applejack however, talked the whole time; about the girls, the farm, how much she loved Rainbow. Rainbow was only half listening, her mind was still thinking about the imposter.

‘Not imposter, the real Applejack,’ Rainbow’s thoughts jumped again. But it sounded different, the voice was hers, but deeper, and talked faster.
‘Is Applejack lying to me, and if she is why?’ she thought to herself.
‘Because she’s not Applejack Rainbow,’ this new voice said. Rainbow tried to force these thoughts out, but they forced themselves back.

‘Don’t fight me Rainbow, you won’t win,’ said the new voice. Rainbow excused herself and went to her bathroom. There she stared at the mirror, suddenly wondering who she was.
‘I’m you Rainbow,’ said the voice; this time however, it came from Rainbow’s reflection.
“What are you?” Rainbow asked her reflection, scared that she was going crazy.
“I’m you Rainbow. Well, a part of you anyway,” said her reflection.
“What do you mean?” Rainbow asked, breathing heavily with fear.
“I’m your doubt, the part of you that knows that this is all fake, that your beloved Pegasus Applejack is nothing more than a fantasy,” it said, smiling.

“No…No, you’re lying, I’m just going crazy, that’s all,” Rainbow told herself, laughing meekly.
“RAINBOW DASH, listen to me, you have to trust Applejack, the REAL Applejack. And you know which one that is.” Suddenly, the bathroom Door burst open and Applejack walked in. She looked at Rainbow, then at the mirror, scowling before she broke it with her hoof. She looked down at Rainbow and with anger in her eyes said;
“Are you okay sugarcube, you look like you need to get some sleep.” She then touched Rainbow’s forehead, and Rainbow slumped forward, asleep.

Applejack woke up early along with Derpy and began to train in empowering herself in Rainbow’s mind.
“So, as we’ve seen, when you get angry, you get a voice power. Now that is the physical output for you expressing that emotion, so what we need to do is find out how other emotions are expressed in this reality,” Derpy explained, Applejack was still upset about Rainbow’s rejection, but knew that Derpy’s plan was solid, providing that Applejack could handle herself.
“So we are going to start off with sadness, since your pretty much in that state now,” she smiled, insensitively. “So think of something that makes you completely depressed and then try and express than emotion physically.”

Applejack nodded and closed her eyes, thinking back to the Canterlot rodeo, it didn’t help; Rainbow had helped her through that. Then she thought of the time Sweet Apple Acres was almost taken by the Flim-Flam brothers, but even that had turned out well. She decided that the only way to go was to think right back, to what she considered her first memory; the death of her parents.

It had been a difficult time; Applejack’s father had died protecting Applejack’s heavily pregnant mother from a trio of vicious griffins while in Manehatten. They had gone there to see a specialist, Applejack’s mother was having a very difficult pregnancy and they were checking to see if the foal was safe, as she had begun to vomit blood a few days earlier. At the funeral for her father, Applejack’s mother started to go into labour, and after a twenty hour birth, Applebloom had been born, with her mother just getting time to name her before her body gave out from the strain.

Applejack was crying as she remembered to pain of the moment, and then she reared up, bringing her hooves down onto the ground hard and it cracked at the impact zone. Applejack then kicked out at the side of the barn, the wood splintering with the force.

“Righto, so sadness equals super-strength,” said Derpy. “Okay, let’s move on.” Applejack took a deep breath and pushed the sadness back, focusing on one thing; Rainbow.

They spent the rest of the morning going through the various emotions and Applejack only had a physical reaction to five of them; Anger gave her a mighty voice, sadness gave her super-strength, happiness allowed her to run at super speed, fear gave her ability to teleport and hate charged her body with electricity. Emotionally exhausted, she laid down on some hay, tired and out of breath.

“Take a quick rest AJ, Don’t forget, we only have until midnight to get you and Rainbow back out,” Derpy reminded her. Applejack barely managed to nod before passing out from exhaustion.

Rainbow woke up in her bed, lying on her back, tied to the bed with Pegasus rope; she struggled against it but knew that it was no good. Pegasus rope was the strongest in Equestria, made from hundreds of cloud strands all coiled together and compacted until it became hard as diamond, but as light as a strand of hair.

“Applejack, Applejack,” she called out, scared and confused. Applejack walked in, sat down on the bed next to Rainbow and stroked her mane with her hoof.
“What’s wrong sugarcube? Ah thought you liked it when ah played rough,” smiled Applejack.
“What is this Applejack? What are you doing?” demanded Rainbow; her voice was cold and full of anger.
“Well… you found out the truth, didn’t you?” said Applejack, disappointed.
“Yeah! I know this is all in my head, so just let me go back to the real world.”
“No! The real world is a dangerous and chaotic place, full of danger that ah have to protect you from,” Applejack yelled, her coat turned another shade of red and her mane and tail glowed with heat.
“But this is my head and I demand you let me go!” yelled Rainbow, Applejack just laughed.
“Don’t you understand, you have no power here. When you’re in the real world, well, then you’re the head honcho, as it were. But here? This is my domain, so my rules.”

“So what are you going to do with me?” Rainbow asked, absolutely terrified. Applejack turned to her and smiled malevolently.
“Rainbow, what do you remember of your parents?” she asked.

“My parents, I…I don’t know, I don’t remember them at all,” Rainbow said, tearing up, “What did you do with my parents?”

“Would you like to know how they died? Your father… was a drunk and one day, he got particularly intoxicated and decided to go for a fly. Unfortunately, he was too out of it to know how to even use his wings and fell out of Cloudsdale to the ground below. Your Mother on the other hoof was a lot nobler. She was a royal guard, protecting Princess Celestia from any threat that stood in her way. Until one day, when a group of Minotaur trying to undermine Celestia’s rule attacked the castle. Your mother was the last one of her platoon left standing after killing six of the Minotaur. She stood still prepared to fight the horrid beasts, but she was stabbed in the back by young private who the Minotaurs had paid off to let them into the castle. Princess Celestia showed up and vaporised the whole party of Minotaur, as well as the young private. Which is why your father started drinking and you ended up all alone.” Rainbow was crying now, and continued to struggle against the ropes.
“So, since you barely had a memory of them to recreate, ah just made you forget them, problem solved. And it looks like I’m going to have to do that again, but maybe this time, you become a bit… more… dark,” she once again touched Rainbow’s forehead, and Rainbow’s memories faded away. She forgot her reflection, the imposter, the wonderbolts, everything except how much she loved Applejack and wanted to do anything for her. On the outside her coat became a dark blue, the colours of her mane darkened as well and her eyes went from beautiful magenta to a blood-red.

Chapter 9

Rainbow Dark lay on the ground, the surprising strength of the orange pony had caught her off guard, and now she was hurting because of it. She looked up to see the pony’s accomplice, a grey Pegasus entirely clad in silver armour, come hurtling out of Rainbow Dark’s cloud mansion and crash in front of the orange pony. Following her was Rainbow Dark’s wife, Applejack, her mane and tail ablaze.

‘Oh you two are going to get it now,’ she thought, smiling to herself. She looked down at the orange pony, who suddenly vanished and reappeared in the air next to Applejack. The orange pony punched Applejack, who fell to the ground, followed by an enormous bolt of lightning that seemed to come from the orange pony’s hoof. The light was blinding and Rainbow Dark had to turn away to protect her eyes and when she looked back, the orange pony was on the ground, one of her front hooves was blackened from the heat of the lightning. Rainbow Dark stood, ready to charge at the orange pony, who looked at her and then ran in the direction of Applejack. Rainbow Dark began to follow but was stopped by the grey Pegasus.
“Hi there, I need a word with you,” she said and made a grab for Rainbow Dark. Rainbow dodged the grab and hit the grey Pegasus.

“Fine! If that’s what you want, so be it!” she told Rainbow Dark and began throwing punches herself. A complex martial arts pattern that Rainbow Dark was barely fast enough to dodge or block, a few of the punches hit her and she was surprised at the intensity of the pain she was feeling. The grey Pegasus ended the pattern with a swipe from her bladed wings and Rainbow Dark managed to get her hooves up to block her face, but even then, the blades cut deep into her forearm, making her cry out in pain. Rainbow threw one last desperate punch at the grey Pegasus, which got contact just under the chin and sent her reeling.

“What do you want?!” Rainbow Dark yelled, bleeding profusely from the wounds in her arms. The grey pony checked her bleeding lip and told Rainbow Dark;
“I want you to remember who you are Rainbow.”
“And who is that?” Rainbow Dark asked mockingly, the grey Pegasus smiled a half smile and said;
“Not this.” She charged at Rainbow Dark and knocked her onto her back. The grey Pegasus sat on top of her, pulled one of the armour plates off her hoof and placed it on Rainbow Dark’s forehead.

“Loyalty,” she breathed. Rainbow Dark began to feel sick at the energy started to course through her body, some of her memories started to come back, flashes, nothing coherent. On the outside, her eyes slowly faded from blood red back to the natural magenta, but her coat stayed dark blue.
“Oh no, I’m not enough,” she heard the Pegasus say. “She needs Applejack.”

Applejack was suddenly right next to the Pegi-jack, hanging in mid-air; the Pegi-jack’s astonished look was taken away from her by Applejack.

Hate. Applejack punched Pegi-jack, feeling electricity course through her limbs. Pegi-jack’s head snapped back and she started to fall, a tiny spark of electricity clung to her face, which grew and grew as the Pegi-jack fell, becoming a massive bolt of lightning. Applejack’s hoof glowed red from the heat, but there was no pain. The Pegi-jack hit the ground and bounced slightly. Gravity began to take hold of Applejack, fear of falling allowing her to teleport back to the ground. Derpy was there waiting, watching the awesome display of power.

“Impressive,” she said, smiling. “But like I was saying, that construct is actually Rainbow’s deceit, her ability to lie to herself or to others. Which is where you come in, the element of honesty is probably a bit more geared up to fight deceit than I am. So what we have to do now is switch opponents.”

Applejack nodded and looked at Rainbow before charging at Pegi-jack. The Pegi-jack stood; half of her face had been scorched off by the bolt of lightning. Muscle and bone showed on the right side of her face. Blood wasn’t flowing due to the heat of the lightning cauterizing the blood vessels.

“Wow! You are one mess of ugly,” Applejack said, laughing at Pegi-jack. The Pegi-jack rose up into the air above Applejack.
“Why don’t you see what ah’m tryin to do!” it screamed and came rushing at Applejack. She couldn’t think of a memory in time to dodge the attack and was carried high up into the air. Pegi-jack punching her in the stomach, so as to not give her time to concentrate. They flew higher and higher, to where the air became thin and it was hard to breathe.

“That’s the great thing about being a Pegasus, we have spent so much time in the air over the centuries, that we evolved to a point where we don’t need much oxygen to survive,” said Pegi-jack, gloating over Applejack as she started to turn blue. Applejack struggled, throwing random punches as her vision went black. The struggling stopped; Applejack’s arms went limp at her sides. The Pegi-jack smiled and let go of Applejack’s lifeless form.

Derpy watched as Applejack fell, an idea quickly forming in her mind. She grabbed Rainbow Dark, a contorted mix of her good and evil selves and forced her to look at the free falling Applejack.

“That’s Applejack Rainbow, save her,” she whispered into Rainbow Dark’s ear. Rainbow stood, and with an enormous gust of air, she blasted upwards, hooves stretched outwards, reaching for Applejack and when she was a mere twenty meters off the ground, Rainbow caught her and slowly descended to the ground. Rainbow laid Applejack down, she was completely motionless. Tears formed in the corners of Rainbow’s eyes and small cracks appeared all over her body. She pushed on Applejack’s chest, trying desperately to get her heart beating as Derpy flew over, but to no avail. The cracks started to get larger as she remembered her friend and with a cry of anguish, she gave up.

Crying openly now, she bent down and gave Applejack a kiss on the lips. But something was different; this was nothing like kissing the other Applejack. Rainbow kissed harder, before breaking it off and whispering into Applejack’s ear;
“Applejack, it’s me, Rainbow, please wake up, please don’t leave me alone, I love you.” A single tear fell from her face into Applejack’s mouth and a few seconds later, Applejack sat up straight, taking a huge, deep breath. Rainbow’s eyes went wide and her face went from a look of utter shock to one of complete joy, she embraced Applejack and was ecstatic to feel the embrace being returned.

“Ah love you too…Sugarcube,” Applejack said, still breathless but her voice was full of love and joy. A pain shot into Rainbow’s chest and she released Applejack before letting out a cry of pain. The cracks that had appeared on her body now began to break off. Scales of dark blue fell off her as though a porcelain cup was breaking and with one final scream, the remaining pieces were blasted off by some unknown light that came from within Rainbow. She panted heavily, before looking at Applejack, who smiled. They kissed again, but this time, it was as though they became one pony, like nothing else mattered in the whole world.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me!” screamed a voice from above them. Rainbow and Applejack broke off the kiss once again and looked at Pegi-jack. “How did you steal her from me?” Rainbow stood and stared angrily at Pegi-jack.
“Oh it was easy,” said Rainbow. “There’s one thing you didn’t think of when you impersonated Applejack.”
“And what pray tell was that?” asked Pegi-jack,
“You don’t taste like apples,” said Rainbow, giving her an arrogant smirk.

“Arrgh,! Well it doesn’t matter, there is no way that you can get out of here alive. Ah am going to crush you into dust with my bare hooves, and then burn the dust,” Pegi-jack ranted. Rainbow sighed, before turning and tearing one of the blades off Derpy’s wings. She hurled it at Pegi-jack, the blade embedding itself in her throat.
“You talk too much,” said Rainbow. Applejack turned to Derpy as Pegi-jack fell to the ground, choking on her own blood.
“That seemed too easy,” Applejack said and Derpy laughed.
“It seems like it now, but there was no way either of us could do that. It had to be Rainbow. This is her mind; ultimately, SHE had to make the decision to stand up to Pegi-jack.”

“And I DID make it, that’s what’s important,” said Rainbow, helping Applejack up.
“Wait, then how come ah had to fight Pegi-jack while you tangled with Rainbow?” asked Applejack angrily.
“Applejack, I had to give Rainbow something to fight FOR, otherwise it wouldn’t have worked,” Derpy explained. “Now, don’t you think you should be getting back to the real world?” Rainbow and Applejack both nodded. They stood together and Derpy walked over and put her hooves on their foreheads.

“And don’t worry, when you wake up, all this will be is a bad dream.” There was a flash of light and Applejack felt herself separating from Rainbow’s mind and once again, just as the pain became too much, it stopped. Applejack opened her eyes and looked over at Rainbow, whose eyes snapped open and she sat upright.

Applejack jumped out of bed and landed on Rainbow’s, who smiled with a light that Applejack had never seen. It was then that they shared their first REAL kiss.

‘Apples,’ thought Rainbow.

Chapter 8

Applejack was shaken awake by Derpy, who had clad herself in shiny steel armour. Her cutie mark was made of gold and her wings were bladed.

“Wake up AJ, it’s time to go,” she said, with a seriousness in her voice that unnerved Applejack.
“Hey Derpy, do you really think that armour is necessary? “asked Applejack. Derpy looked at her with a small smile
“Applejack, you don’t really think I’d go into a fight without armour, especially a fight like this do you?” she asked jokingly. A thought occurred to Applejack, one that made her feel sick.

“Derpy, what happens to you if you don’t survive this fight?” she asked, suddenly becoming worried when she saw Derpy’s head dropped.
“If I don’t make it, Rainbow’s mind will just choose a new avatar for me, but in real life, Rainbow won’t know who I am, and the aspects of her I represent may be diminished,” she replied quietly.
“You mean that Rainbow will lose her sense of loyalty and become a coward?” Applejack asked shocked that Derpy would take such a risk.

“Not as dramatic as that, just maybe a little more likely to run away from a fight. The worst thing about it all is that she may not represent the element of loyalty anymore,” Derpy explained, before taking a deep breath, straightening up and saying; “Okay let’s move out.”
Applejack nodded and started to think of a happy memory; running side by side with Rainbow at the running of the leaves. The happiness flowed through her all the way from her chest to her legs, as she ran off at super speed, leaving an orange and gold trail as she went. Derpy said a silent prayer to herself before she opened her wings and took off in the direction of Rainbow’s cloud mansion.

Rainbow Dark snorted as she surveyed her wife’s kingdom, the happy ponies that were everywhere made her angrier than she already was.
“Applejack, my love, have you ever just wanted to kill everypony?” she asked of her wife Applejack.
“Occasionally sugarcube, but then ah think, who would we rule over then?” said Applejack, her red coat bristled with heat, and her mane and tail burned with golden fire. She looked at her creation, at Rainbow Dark and smiled; she would never leave this place, and would be safe forever at Applejack’s side. Applejack stretched her wings and motioned to Rainbow dark.

“Sugarcube, I feel bored, pleasure me” she ordered and Rainbow bounded over to her with an angry passion. Kissing her and stoking her with her wings. Applejack giggled with delight, she liked this new Rainbow.

They spent the morning together, releasing the full might of pent up energy and lust onto each other. Eventually they wore themselves out and just lay there, looking at each other. Rainbow Dark looked into Applejack’s eyes. They were different to how she remembered, but it was Applejack all the same. Rainbow Dark got out of bed and went back over to the window.
‘What happened to you Rainbow?’ asked a voice in her head, faster and deeper, but still her own. ‘That silly thing thinks she can get rid of me that easily, HA, not likely.’

‘Please leave me alone, you vile voice,’ thought Rainbow Dark, responding to the voice.
‘Why? Do I make you uncomfortable?’ asked the voice, it giggled with delight. ‘Good! You have to get out of here and find Applejack.’
‘I Know where Applejack is, I just got out of bed with her,’ responded Rainbow Dark dryly.
‘Oh no! She wiped your memory of her didn’t she? One hundred per cent gone and replaced the image with her own,’ the voice sighed, knowing it had been defeated. ‘Maybe she’s finally won.’
‘Yes, she has, now get out of my head you annoying pest.’ Rainbow Dark told the voice, completely oblivious as to its actual intent.

‘Fine! I will, let yourself die while you stay trapped in this dream world, see if I care!’
‘Good, now leave,’ Rainbow Dark said, the voice faded away and Rainbow Dark no longer felt its presence in her mind. She looked out of the window and saw a pony staring up at her, a brown pony that had an hourglass cutie mark. Rainbow dark dived out of the window and landed in front of the pony.

“What are you looking at?” she yelled. The brown pony just looked at her with a calm expression and said;
“Somepony that needs to remember.” Rainbow Dark flew into a rage at the answer.
“REMEMBER WHAT?!!” she screamed into the pony’s ear.

“You have to remember me sugarcube,” said a voice behind her softly. Rainbow Dark turned to see an orange pony with a golden mane. The look on the pony’s face was one of concern and an emotion Rainbow dark was not expecting; Love.
“And who…are…you?” she asked, lowering herself into a fighting stance, slightly thrown off guard.
“Me? Ah’m Applejack, Ah’m your best friend, Element of Honesty and Ah’m here to bring you back to me!” said the pony, her voice getting steadily louder.

“Why?” asked Rainbow Dark, shocked when the pony said her name.
“Because Ah love you,” she said. Rainbow Dark took a step back and looked around, the brown pony had vanished. She looked back at the orange pony; her coat began to turn lighter in colour, until she heard a voice beside her.
“Rainbow! What are you doing? Are you just going to stand there all day or are you going to kill her?” Rainbow Dark looked beside her and saw Applejack, her coat went back to dark blue and all she did in response to Applejack was nod.

Applejack watched as this twisted version of Rainbow stared at her, the Pegi-jack beside her, coaxing her into fighting.
‘Derpy if ya gunna do something, it had better be soon,’ she thought as Rainbow Dark snorted at Applejack. The Pegi-jack increased its altitude, hoping to get a better view of the fight. Out of the corner of her eye, Applejack noticed a silver and yellow flash tear past her and crash into Pegi-jack, sending her careering upwards into the cloud house. Rainbow Dark gasped at the sight of Pegi-jack being hit, faced Applejack once again and charged toward her at top speed. Applejack cleared her mind, letting memories flow freely, and began focusing on the ones she needed.

Happiness. Applejack super speeded to dodge Rainbow Dark’s attack, dashing around behind her.

Anger. She let out a piercing screech, throwing Rainbow Dark backwards. Rainbow Dark quickly recovered and came at Applejack again, slamming into her and knocking her down, beginning to hoof punch Applejack, who started to cry with the pain.

Sadness. Applejack put her hooves on Rainbow Dark’s chest and pushed. Rainbow Dark was forced into the air. Too shocked at the display of strength, she forgot her wings and fell to the ground hard. Both ponies lay on the ground, groaning with pain. Applejack looked up and saw the same silver flash coming the other way, being forced to the ground. Derpy crashed next to Applejack, turned and told her;

“Good news, it’s not Rainbow’s intelligence we’re fighting, it’s her deceit. So we already have the upper hand.” Applejack gave her a confused look.
“Rainbow’s deceit? How is that better?” Applejack asked as she looked up to the sky and saw the Pegi-jack floating down toward them, Mane and tail ablaze with gold fire and a look of pure rage upon her face. With that sight, Applejack could only feel one thing;

Fear.