As Celestia's sun rose above Sweet Apple Acres, it's rays shone over two sleeping mares. One had a straw blonde mane and orange coat, while the other's mane was streaked with many colors, her coat a brilliant cyan. They were both fast asleep, unaware of the breaking dawn. Then, the cyan mare yawned widely, stretching her legs and wings, causing the orange mare to stir.
"Mmm, mornin' sugarcube." The orange mare whispered, a yawn escaping her as well. "Bit early for you, ain't it?"
The cyan pegasus laughed good naturedly, kissing the orange mare on the forehead. "You know I don't mind getting up early to help you out before I go to Cloudsdale for the day, Applejack."
The orange earth pony rolled her eyes. "Ah know, ah know. It's just, don't you need your sleep so ya have energy to help with the new flight patterns y'all are supposed to be doing today? Ya don't have to be in Cloudsdale for another three hours."
"Gotta help you make breakfast too though, don't I?" Rainbow asked, flying over to the curtains to allow more sunlight to filter in. "If I stayed in bed, you'd have to do it all yourself. And that wouldn't be right."
Applejack rolled out of bed, picking her stetson up from its hook. "Sugar Belle is just as capable of helping with the food as you are, but I appreciate the help. Ah still don't know how Granny, Celestia rest her soul, was able to do all this on her own after my folks passed."
Seeing the sad look on her face, Rainbow landed on the floor and trotted over to her wife, wrapping her in a tight hug.
"She'd be so proud of you, A.J." She whispered. "Just like I am"
Applejack felt tears pool in her eyes, and she hugged her wife tightly. "Ah-Ah know. I still miss her every day. Ah only hope I can do her proud."
Rainbow pulled away and grinned. "Wanna race down the stairs?"
Applejack chuckled. "What are you, a filly?"
Rainbow prodded her with a hoof. "So do you not think you can beat me?"
"Oh, I know I can. I just don't want you to get hurt." Applejack insisted with a smirk
"I think I can beat the mare with a bad back."
That did it. The two mares bolted out of the room, down the stairs and toward the kitchen, almost knocking over Big Mac as he was coming out of the downstairs bathroom.
"Woah there you two." He chuckled in his deep voice. "Careful now!"
Applejack grinned sheepishly. "Sorry Mac. I guess we got carried away. Where's Little Mac?"
Big Mac gave his sister a warm smile. "Already off to school. Says he has an extra credit assignment or somethin' like that, so he had to go early. Already got him some breakfast."
Applejack returned his smile, trotting toward the kitchen. "Sugarbelle take him?"
"Eeyup." Big Mac said in his deep baritone, following her. With alarm, Applejack started as she saw Rainbow Dash already in the kitchen, eggs and hashbrowns already cooking on the stove.
"What took you so long slow poke?" the pegasus said with a laugh. "Back give out on you already?"
Letting out a chuckle, Applejack trotted over to the table. "Alright, alright, You win Dash. Just make sure you don't burn anything this time."
"Hey now!" Rainbow huffed. "Not all of us are good at baking A.J. And besides I said I was sorry."
"Sorry for almost burnin' down mah kitchen ya mean." A.j. teased, her country twang becoming more pronounced. Rising from the table, she walked toward the stove . "Now move over so I can put the kettle on for some hot water."
Rolling her eyes, Rainbow smirked and stood aside, allowing her wife to start the kettle. A second later, the kettle went clattering to the floor, water spilling everywhere. Applejack was keeled over, one hoof on her chest.
"Applejack!" Rainbow shouted in alarm, rushing to help her. "Are you alright?"
Groannig, A.J. raised her head. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just a bit tired still I guess. I'll feel better once I get some tea in me."
Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Are you sure? Looked like something was hurting you. Do we need to take you to the doctor?"
Applejack shook her head profusly. "Now don't you worry none, Dashie, I'm fine. Besides, Mac and I gotta get started on the chores anyhow. Let's have breakfast, and then you can head to cloudsdale early if'n ya like."
"O...kay...? If you say so."
***
An hour or so later, Rainbow was off to cloudsdale for wonderbolt practice and Applejack was out in the fields applebucking.
The motions of applebucking had become so routine to her at this point that she hardly thought about it, save checking her surroundings before bucking. Today, she let her mind wander.
Mac and Sugarbelle have a foal of their own now... She thought wistfully. We talked about it once...obviously we can't...make a foal the same way they did, but still...
Crack! Her hoofs hit the tree, sending apples down into the waiting baskets below. Oh, they had talked about it alright. More like I begged and she made it clear she didn't care what I wanted...
Shaking her head, Applejack walked toward the next tree. She knew she shouldn't be this upset about it. The window for foalbearing had passed long ago for them both. Not only that, but there was so much good in her life! Why the hay was she complaining about this so much?
Without her permission, her mind began to wander back to that day...
***
Ten years earlier...
"So, what do ya think sugar cube? Can we give it a try?"
Rainbow Dash was staring at her, increadulous. "Wow...uh...I'm not sure, A.J. I can honestly say that I wasn't expecting that."
"I thought I was supposed to be the honest one?" Applejack taunted with a smirk.
"Well, yes...but...I mean...foals? That's a ton of responsibility. I'm...not sure I'm ready for it."
Without warning, Applejack let out an annoyed groan. "Consarnit, Dash! That's what you've said every time I ask you! I wanna know....gotta know...when will you be ready?! I think I've been pleanty patient about this already! When are ya gonna stop beatin' around the bush and tell me that you just don't want foals!"
Rainbow reeled back in surprise as A.J. put her face in hers. "C...come on A.J., I never said anything like that! It's just, with Spitfire retiring, and getting Scootaloo ready for taking over my Loyalty classes, I haven't had much time to really think about it."
"Ya never seem to be thinkin' about it at all!" Applejack cried, tears of frustration falling down her face. Realizing her volume, she sighed and took a few deep breathes to steady herself. "Look Dash. The idea of being a momma...it means a lot to me. I've been applebloom's caretaker for a long time, but now that she's grown, she don't really need me anymore. So I thought...." She trailed off.
Rainbow sighed, her ears drooping and her head lowered. "I'm sorry, Applejack. But....I don't think now's the time. We'll talk about it later ok..."
***
"Auntie Applejack!" A small voice cried out, startling her from her revery. "Daddy says it's time for your lunch break! I brought ya a sandwich!" Little Mac beamed up at her, holding the plate in his mouth for her to take.
"Aw, thanks, Sugarcude. I was just thinkin' about taking a little break anyway." Taking the plate to a tree to sit down, she couldn't help but marvel at how much Little Mac had grown. She had been there for his birth, watched him grown a bit more each day, and soon he'd be big enough to learn how to applebuck. But...
He's not my foal...
With her lunchbreak ended, it was time for Applejack to get back to work. She felt...not quite as rested as she should, despite the fact that she'd been sitting down for almost an hour. Could be that my age is finally gettin' to me after all these years. Shoot...now I know why granny napped so much. I'm more tired than a bear about to hybernate.
Rising from beneath the tree she had sat under all this time, she turned to Little Mac, who was fast asleep in the shade. "I'll let you sleep awhile longer, young'in. You've had a long day too."
The little colt curled up on his side, smiling to himself as he slept. Applejack couldn't help but smile too. "To be that young again."
Frowning, she walked back towards the next part of the orchard, where Big Mac was bucking trees too.
"Hey there Mac! You go ahead and take a little break. I'll take over."
"Eeyup." He said with a tired smile. Placing a piece of straw between his teeth and heading toward an already bucked tree, a couple of apples in his mouth for himself to snack on while he rested.
"Well, I'd better get to it." She said to herself. These apples aren't gonna shake themselves out of the trees."
***
"Come on, cadets! I've seen butterflies flap better than that!" Rainbow shouted. The routine was coming along nicely, but some of the newer bolts were having some trouble learning the new moves. Years of experience had taught her that not everyone caught on super quickly like she had, but it was still frustrating.
With a few short blasts from the whistle around her neck, the new wonderbolt cadets all landed before her, though not all of them landed on their hooves.
"You're all doing well so far." She announced, pacing before them all. "However, you'll need to be a lot better if you want to become a full fledged Wonderbolt. I crashed plenty of times in my day to get where I'm at." Pausing for dramatic effect, she continued. "But the most important thing is what you do after you crash. You either stay down and quit, or you get back up and do it again."
She grinned when she saw the cadets smile. She might have been the captain, but she never wanted them to think she didn't care. What kind of role model would she be if she did that?
"Now, I want all of you to go get some lunch in you and fuel up! Afterwards, we'll take it to the next level."
As her cadets flew off to get something to eat, Rainbow Dash took flight herself, heading for her office. Looking around it, she could hardly believe that it was hers. Long ago, she had been a cadet, just like them, and now...now she was the best of the best. Just like she'd always wanted.
"Ok," She said aloud, sitting at her desk. "Just a few bits of paperwork to take care of while I eat the lunch that A.J. packed me."
Lifting the paper sack from beneath her desk with her teeth, and opening the folder on her desk to read the paperwork. It was super boring, but she'd learned long ago that even paperwork had it's place...not that she'd ever admit that to Twilight. Didn't need anypony thinking she was an egghead.
As she lifted the sandwich from her bag, a small slip of parchment slipped out and landed on her desk. The words "Have a good day, Dash. I love you!" were clearly visible. Dash couldn't help it. Her eyes teared up and she set the sandwich down, holding the parchment to her face. How the hay did I get so lucky?
***
Applejack had just come in from the orchard, exhausted but pleased. She'd made great progress on the harvest. There's was a lot of work left, but she was certain that she and Big Mac would be able to handle it. Observing the angle of the sun, she realized that Rainbow would most likely be home soon.
Sighing, she made her way upstairs, filling the tub with water. As she cleased the day's work from her coat, she couldn't comprehend the feelings that were beginning to rise in her. Her stomach felt tight, and her mind felt heavy. Her chest, too, felt as though it was constricting, and she felt very anxious. Just need to rest a bit. That's all.
She thought she'd get comfortable in her rocking chair, maybe read the new Equestrian Almanac while she did so, but she hadn't even taken two steps out of the bathroom, when she felt her right front hoof go numb and give out on her. Her chest was tightening more, and she was having a lot of trouble catching her breath. She wanted to call out for help, but her vision was darkening. Then...she knew only darkness.
Author's Note
I realized that this fic had an unpublished chapter, so I thought I'd wrap it up and get it out. After rereading the first chapter, I knew I had to keep thus one going. The contest I was trying to enter it in is long over, but I still want to see it through til the end. More to come!
-Quill