Red June hurriedly glanced over the crowd from beyond her Gibson ES-345 banjo. The Rodeo Under the Moon dance was in full swing, with Ponyville's numerous citizens dancing the night away on the open patches of Sweet Apple Acres. Princess Twilight's attempt to speed up the Apple family's deliveries by modifying their carts to warp relative time ended in troubling success, once Red June accidentally hit eighty-eight miles per hour while running down a steep hill. With a flash and a pair of burning tread-marks, Red June had found herself thirty moons in the past, just two days before Hearthswarming Eve.
The first day she reflexively saved her father from impacting with an out-of-control mail-mare. The second she spent convincing past Princess Twilight of her situation, and realizing she probably shouldn't have done what she had on the first day. Her father had stayed home, that Hearthswarming Eve, after Cheerilee found him injured in the street and nursed him back to health. The two fell in love; or rather, they were supposed to. Twilight assured her that time travel is usually self-correcting, so long as no dramatic altercations occur. Unfortunately, Marble Pie became an altercation.
Suddenly Big Mac was infatuated with her, as Red June noticed over the course of socializing with him post-rescue. She'd sneak in a question about how Cheerilee was doing--and he would respond amicably--but soon he'd be back on Marble with a romantic sigh, followed by a 'eeyup'.
However, Red June did not lose hope. When she'd asked her parents in her own timeline the exact moment they fell in love, they told her it was at the Rodeo Under the Moon dance, during which Big Mac and Cheerilee shared their first kiss to the smooth country folk of Marry Berry & the Moonshiners. Red June was set. She and Twilight formulated a plan, and after she managed to get the two together in that dance, Twilight would send her back using a similar spell. Then her existence, and her parents' relationship, would be secure.
She spotted him. Big Mac, talking with Cheerilee, standing at the edge of the crowd by the punch bowl. She sighed with relief, then whispered to the band. They nodded, and Marry Berry turned to face the crowd. "Excuse me all you fine ladies and gentlecolts," she spoke. "We got a special somethin' for all you lovers and lovelies out there, so come grab your special somepony and head on down to center stage. This is... 'Earth Alicorn'."
The crowd cheered. Big Mac and Cheerilee seemed to grin at each other, then made their way to center stage to dance with the crowd. Red June smiled, but as she started playing, noticed a sudden fatiguing. She checked her tail; it was half-gone, evaporating into a glowing fade. She looked desperately back to her parents, seeing them caressed in each others' hooves as they slow danced. That wasn't enough. They had to kiss!
She felt her hoof slip as she fell back to her knees. The piano player leaned over. "Hey hun, you okay?"
Red June glanced between her and the banjo. "I-I can't play," she said. She felt herself grow weaker, gradually leaning to the floor. She checked the photo she'd tucked between the strings of the banjo's base. What was once a photo with her and her parents standing in front of the Apple family house was slowly fading to just a background. She looked up to her parents.
Big Mac and Cheerilee seemed to pause a moment, then lean in. Yes. They wrapped their hooves around each other. Yes. They stared longingly into each others' eyes. YES! And... they hugged. They hugged.
Red June stared in stunned disbelief as her parents shared a friendly hug, then watched as they detached from one another and walked in opposing directions. That wasn't supposed to happen. That wasn't supposed to...
Red June brought her hoof in front of her, watching it as it slowly disappeared. Big Mac continued walking, before stopping at a small, gray mare. It was Marble Pie. Red June breathed hard. Her front hooves were nearly fully disintegrated. Marble followed Big Mac to center stage, and the two began dancing. Red June resigned herself to watching, shedding some disheartened tears as she watched her father dance with a mare that wasn't her mother. The two blushed, now dancing closer than before.
Red June wished them all the happiness in the world. With her last thoughts, she wished their future child the best life he or she could possibly have, and Cheerilee's child the same. Big Mac and Marble Pie leaned in to each other, puckering their lips. Goodbye, Red June thought. So long, and please, take care of the family while I'm gone.
They kissed. They kissed, and Red June felt rejuvenated. She burst up, suddenly catching up to the pace of the song. She looked wide-eyed at the crowd. Big Mac and Marble were still kissing, embraced in each others' presence, yet Red June was still here. She looked down at her hoof. It was there again, but... different. It was a lighter, grayer shade of magenta. She checked her photo, finding her, her father, and Marble standing in front of the farmhouse, both her father's and Marble's hooves resting around her. There were some other figures there as well, sitting on either side of her. She didn't question it. Not now. Now, she simply smiled at the couple embraced at center stage.
They continued embracing, and the song slowed to an end. Red June unwrapped the banjo strap from around her gaunt shoulders and made to exit to find Twilight, but Marry Berry turned to her.
"Phoo-wee! That was great!" she hollered. "C'mon! Let's do another one. Wadda ya say?"
Red June checked the clock. Still an hour from Twilight's set meeting time. She wrapped the banjo back around her, then walked to the edge of the stage.
"Alright y'all," she beckoned. "This one's an Apple family classic. Er--at least it is... where I'm from."
She turned back to the musicians. "Okay, it's a country riff in C, watch for the changes, and try to keep up, okay?"
She cleared her throat, then faced the crowd, displaying a light smile in the direction of her father and his love. "One, two, three, four..." She inhaled, then began playing.
"...We traveled the road of ge-nerations! Joined by a common bond! We sing our song across the pony nation from Equestria and beyond. We're Apples forever, Apples together! We're family but so much more! No matter what comes we will face the weather, we're Apples to the core..."
Author's Note
Feeling kinda conflicted about Big Mac shipping, but so long as Red June still gets to exist, I'm good either way. Let me know what you think! I probably missed a good reference opportunity somewhere in there.
