Sweet Memories
Written by BronyDerp117/K.G. Sanchez
Inspired by Aviators' song, Applebuckin'
Chapter One: Vows
"The brides will now exchange their vows that they have written. Miss Applejack." The tall, formally dressed elderly stallion spoke in a rich, deep voice as he looked over at Applejack, giving her the cue to say her vows. His thick white handlebar mustache completely covered his mouth as he spoke. He was standing under a white metal arch that was thickly covered in a mixture of apple blossoms, red roses, white roses, and large pink zinnia flowers. To the right of the stallion stood Rainbow Dash, her rainbow colored mane not in its usual messy state. It was slightly brushed, but still her trademark mess. She even had a painted rainbow flower in her headband, courtesy of Rarity, who also made the two bride's dresses. Rainbow also boasted a necklace that had her cutie mark. The hairs in Dash's mane gently waved in the soft, cool summer breeze. To the left of the stallion priest, was Applejack, who had put her usual ponytail into a single braid. It laid idly down the right side of her neck, and her tail was done in a similar braid. Her usual red ribbons were replaced by a sky blue ribbon. Her dress was white, and had a slightly darker blue than the ribbons streaking up the fabric. She also wore a blue vest, which had a pin of her cutie mark attached to it. On her front hooves, she wore white and blue western boots with a black heel. Instead of her trademark, old dusty stetson, she wore a hat with the same color scheme as her boots; White and blue. Attached to the hat was a beautiful pure white apple blossom flower brushed in a soft pink. Apple Bloom had given it to her older sister as a premature wedding gift.
Apple Bloom felt like she needed to get something special, just for her older sister. The day before the wedding, she went to Fluttershy's cottage on the edge of Ponyville, near the entrance of the Everfree Forest. She told Fluttershy she wanted to get something special for Applejack, like a flower some sorts for her to wear on her wedding dress. The timid, butter yellow pegasus suggested an apple blossom, since Apple Bloom had been named after it. So Apple Bloom rushed back to Sweet Apple Acres. What better place to find an apple blossom than where all the apple trees grow? After an hour of searching, Apple Bloom found the perfect flower. It stood alone in the apple tree, like the last piece of cake on the table begging an already stuffed birthday pony to eat it. When Apple Bloom had given the flower to Applejack, she thanked her little sister and told her how blessed she was to have such an amazing sister.
Back in the present, Applejack looked into the eyes of her soon-to-be wife. She wanted to stare into the magnificent magenta eyes of her lover for hours. They glimmered in the beautiful twilight Luna and Celestia had created. They were attending the wedding, and for Rainbow and Applejack, they held the moon and the sun together in the air, which created a incredible mix of hot orange, cool purple, and soft pink, all blending together like grains of sand on a beach. The colors of the twilight were slightly similar to the magenta irises of Rainbow Dash. The eyes that housed pride, loyalty, confidence, and love. Applejack smiled warmly at Rainbow. The orange earth pony had never been so happy in her entire life. It was like somepony opened a window in a dull gray room, causing the bright warm sunshine to flood in and give an entire new meaning to life. Or maybe a Rainbow, rather than Celestia's sun.
Applejack took a deep, nervous breath. She wasn't the greatest writer, or most emotional pony in the world, but she would make sure Rainbow Dash knew she loved her. She would make everypony know. "Rainbow Dash, ever since we just first met, Ah'd known y'all were special. And it weren't just that rainbow mane of yours, it was how purtty Ah thought y'all was, and how your cockiness always found a way to bring on a fun challenge, and that warm, fuzzy feeling Ah got whenever Ah spent time with ya. Its not like me to get all mushy and stuff, but Ah just feel like I don't tell ya I love ya enough. We've been through thick and thin, and Ah don't regret a single thing. Rainbow Dash, Ah take ya to be mah wife, through sickness and health, forever and always. And if Ah'm lyin' when Ah say that, then Ah don't deserve to be tha' Element of Honesty."
Everypony at the wedding grinned contently at the honest emotions coming from Applejack. It was rare that these two mares expressed their true emotions, so it was nice to see such a raw display of strong love coming from the orange work pony.
The old stallion then turned to Rainbow Dash, and through his bushy, snow white mustache, said to her, "And now Rainbow Dash, you may recite your own vows."
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. She had never been emotional in front of her friends, let alone all of Ponyville, her family, and the Princesses of Equestria. She did have an image to keep after all. She had to stay cool. However, she couldn't back out now, and she honestly couldn't care now. Rainbow loved Applejack more than flying, and she wanted to make sure the earth pony knew that. She wanted all of Equestria to know that. The rainbow-maned pegasus stared into the orange earth pony's emerald green eyes. They shimmered in the stunning orange-pink light of the Princess's twilight. Those beautiful eyes were soft and loving, but tough and proud. However, it was the sparkle in her eyes that made Rainbow's heart flutter.
Rainbow Dash smiled contently at her soon-to-be wife and opened her mouth to speak.
"Applejack, I love you more than anything in Equestria. I love you more than flying itself. I don't tell you this nearly enough. For so long, I've been so insecure about myself that I thought if anypony saw any emotion other than pride and coolness that they would think less of me. I've let my pride get the best of me. And if this makes anypony stop looking up to me, then I don't care. I love you, and that's all that matters. I hardly ever say it, and I feel like you aren't sure. But now I'm going to make it up. I'm going to show you, and all of Ponyville, just how much I love you.
Heh, I remember how it all started, you and me. I remember that summer that I spent with you. We were working on the farm, and we didn't have much to do...
Chapter Two: That Summer
"I remember that summer that I spent with you. We were working on the farm, and we didn't have much to do."
Two years ago.
"Ugh, come on Applejack! This is soooo booooooring! Can't we do something cool? Like a race or something?" Rainbow Dash whined while hovering a few feet off the ground next to Applejack. The two were in the east fields of Sweet Apple Acres. It was late afternoon, the mid summer sun's rays were scorching and relentless. Rainbow's flapping wings provided very little comfort, but there was a very slight breeze, however just enough to tease a pony with its slight, godly coolness. The heat far outweighed the seemingly almost non-existent breeze. This was very unfortunate and frustrating, as the two mares had been harvesting apples all day.
"Rainbow, when Ah asked you if you would be so kind ta' help me on th' farm, Ah meant help," Applejack began as she rolled her emerald eyes, "Not whine about it bein' boring. Ah guess th' work's just too hard for y'all's little Pegasus body." She finished with a smug grin on her face.
Rainbow Dash's face expression turned into a scowl. She landed with a thud on the dirt path the two were on in front of Applejack. "Hey," she began with a voice crack, "I can handle the work! You watch, I'll clear this entire field all by myself without even breaking a sweat!" A prideful Rainbow Dash boasted as she puffed out her chest. She could take any challenge! Or so she thought...
Applejack flashed a complacent grin at her friend's overly confident defense, which made her fall into Applejack's trap. "Hehe," she began with a chuckle, "y'all go ahead and do that RD." With that, the work pony turned around to walk back to the farm house, but not without playfully flicking her tail in Rainbow Dash's face. Despite the intentions of the movement, however, Rainbow couldn't help but feel something....something different. She had felt it quite a few times over the course of her friendship with Applejack, but she just couldn't put a hoof on it.
As the orange earth pony trotted off to the farm house, Rainbow Dash yelled after her, "You'll see!"
A few short moments later, Applejack arrived at the farm house. She pushed open the dark oak wood door and stepped inside while wiping the sweat off of her forehead. She walked over to the faucet and poured herself a glass of cold water with ice cubes from the freezer. The heavenly cool liquid moisturizing her parched throat felt like somepony had just given her water after spending a week in a dry desert. The earth pony took a few more drinks of water, then placed the glass in the sink and trotted over to a small desk near the front door. From one of the drawers, she pulled out a dusty, large leather bound book. She opened to the first page of the book, which housed a tear-stained photo of two ponies. One was a mare, and the other one was a stallion. They were smiling at the camera, and the stallion had his hoof wrapped around the mare.
Applejack sighed. Ah sure miss y'all, ma and pa.
Distant memories started to softly float into Applejack's mind. Images of her parents together, happy and enjoying life. Images of her mother, Apple Blossom, chasing her around the farm while giggling and laughing when she was young. She then saw her father sitting on the edge of her bed at night, reading a bedtime story in a deep, calming voice. After a few more memories, they started to drift closer. Nine years ago, exactly; the day Apple Bloom had been born. She remembered the ear splitting cries of pain, the frantic panicking of the doctors, and the soft cries of a newborn foal.
"Come on honey, just push a little harder!"
"Shut up Big Mac!" Apple Blossom growled at her husband as she put a death grip onto her husband's hoof. Big Mac Sr. cringed in pain, however he said nothing because he knew that his pain was nothing compared to the pain his wife was experiencing. They were in a room in the Ponyville hospital. The room had a plain white wall with a single paining of a mountainous scene during a sunset, and there was a bed on the left wall. Apple Blossom was laying on the bed as her husband held her hoof and doctors in white coats were adjusting various monitors and buttons.
"Sorry Bloom!" Big Mac Sr. apologized. His crimson coat and blonde mane were drenched with sweat from rushing his wife to the hospital when she went into labor.
"Well you better be for making me go through this for a third time!" Apple Blossom growled again with the same volume and anger as before. She was panting heavily and was sweating pools of perspiration.
One of the two nurses in the room walked to the side of the bed opposite to Big Mac Sr. and said to Apple Blossom, "Miss Blossom, we need you to attempt to relax. Take deep breaths, focus, and listen to the doctors, okay?" The white-coated nurse said in a calming voice.
"Ok. Ok." Apple Blossom echoed. She inhaled slowly and deeply from her nose, and slowly exhaled through her mouth. She repeated this pattern.
One of the doctors working on the end of the bed looked up and said, "Miss Blossom, you're doing great. On my count, I want you to give a hard push, understand?"
Apple Blossom nodded her head as she continued her breathing pattern.
"Okay. Three...."
"Two one!" Apple Blossom frantically screeched as she screamed in pain. Sweat was pouring down her face, and she gave it a final push. She pushed hard and long. The pain was excruciating, but it was worth it. After the final push, the cries of a newborn foal could be heard.
The unicorn doctor carefully picked up the newborn foal with his magic, and examined the foal. After a moment, he turned to Apple Blossom and Big Mac Sr and said with a smile, "It's a filly, congratulations."
Apple Blossom and Big Mac Sr both looked at each other with the same grin of prideful accomplishment, and gave each other a loving kiss. The doctor wrapped the filly in a pink blanket and levitated her to her parents. Apple Blossom held her in her hooves and gave her a motherly smile.
"Hi there little filly." Apple Blossom sniffled as tears of joy built up in her eyes. She looked down at her third foal. The foal had a light buttery coat and a faded, smooth reddish-pink mane. Her eyes were a mix of fiery orange and red. She was the perfect mix of her mother and father. She had her mother's light buttery colored mane for her coat, and her father's faded crimson coat for her mane.
"What are we going to name her?" Big Mac Sr asked his wife as he remained eye contact with his second daughter.
"Apple Bl-..." Apple Blossom began, but she trailed off with a weak breath. Her head was spinning, and she had a look in her eyes that looked severely out of place. Her grip loosened on the filly, and Big Mac Sr had to catch his daughter when his wife's grip was completely lost.
"Apple Blossom! What's wrong?!" He panicked.
"Ap-" She began with a sickening cough. "Apple Bloom."
The doctors immediately rushed over to her side, and began frantically writing things down and adjusting knobs.
"Her heart rate is dropping!" That was all Big Mac Sr heard as he was being pushed out of the room by multiple doctors with a nurse carrying his newborn foal in a crib on its way to the Foal Care Unit.
Applejack skipped the next couple of pages to more recent photos of her friends. As much as she loved looking at her sister's foal pictures, they just brought too much pain. The pain of loosing her mother the day Apple Bloom was born, and the pain of loosing her father the next day after he had a heart attack, leaving an old grandmother, an adolescent Big Mac Jr, and a pre-teen Applejack to care for a newborn foal.
Applejack turned to the page after the last pictures of a newborn Apple Bloom, and she looked at the various pictures on the two pages. Pictures of her and her best friend: Rainbow Dash. There were pictures of them doing silly poses, giving each other mock death glares(except for one true one that Big Mac had taken while hiding), and a couple of them laughing together. Applejack found herself staring at the magenta irises of the rainbow maned Pegasus, like she did every time she looked at pictures of Rainbow Dash.
Applejack sighed and closed the book. She wanted to tell Rainbow Dash how she felt, she really did. But she was too afraid of the consequences to do it. She had asked Big Mac for advice multiple times, but he always said the same thing.
"Ah think ya should just tell 'er AJ. If ya like her so much, y'all should tell her."
The orange earth pony decided to check on Apple Bloom before going back out to the fields to check on Dash. She turned around and walked across the dark wooden floor and through the narrow door frame of the kitchen, which was the room that the front door was in. She trotted across the living room and to the back right wall, where the stairs were. She ascended the stairs and walked down the hallway at the top. At the third door on the right, she stopped to knock on her little sister's bedroom door. However, the door was slightly open, and she could hear two voices from inside of the room.
Applejack grinned at what she saw. Big Macintosh was sitting down on the floor in the corner of the room, and Apple Bloom was at her desk by the window with a rapidly moving pencil in her mouth. Apple Bloom and Big Mac were talking about something, but Applejack couldn't quite hear. She opened the door of the room and stepped inside quietly, so as to not interrupt her sister with whatever she was working on. Big Mac noticed his sister, and reached over to his youngest sister and nudged her on her shoulder, and pointed to Applejack.
"Hey there big sis!" Apple Bloom beamed with a large grin as she turned around in the chair she was sitting in.
"Howdy little sis. Howdy Big Mac."
"How you doing AJ?" Big Mac asked quietly in his usual deep voice.
"Ah'm alright. So what are ya workin' on Apple Bloom?" Applejack asked her sister.
The filly's eyes widened and and she quickly responded, "Oh! Err, just my...uh, math homework! Yeah, math. Big Mac was helping me, eeyup!" Apple Bloom put on a pathetic guilty grin and let a nervous laugh.
Big Mac chuckled and said, "S'okay Apple Bloom. Y'all don't have ta lie ta AJ."
Apple Bloom looked at her brother with a puzzled expression and replied, "Really? But Ah thought stallions and colts wanted to look," Apple Bloom paused and puffed out her chest and said in the deepest voice she could speak in, "manly!"
"There's nothin' wrong with a stallion learnin' to draw from his sister, Apple Bloom."
"Y'all are teachin' him how ta draw?" Applejack asked her sister.
Apple Bloom's expression returned to its usual happy self and she replied, "Yup! Before you came in Ah was showing him how to do shading!"
Applejack chuckled and said, "Well Ah'll stop distractin' ya now. Ah'm gonna go check on Rainbow Dash now. She said she could clear the entire fields herself, so of course Ah had to see if she could live up to th' chal-" Applejack immediately stopped as she heard a yelp outside, followed by a loud crash.
Applejack galloped down the stairs and out her home, and to the area of the loud crash. She zigged and zagged through rows of trees and galloped hard and fast. Her calves were burning and she was sweating by the time she got there, but she didn't care. All she cared about was her friend who was unconscious in front of her. There was a large branch on top Rainbow Dash's wing, which was bent forward in a way that didn't seem possible, and her head was bleeding. Applejack mustered all of her strength to lift the thick tree branch off of her unconscious friend. She lifted the knocked out Pegasus onto her back, and she began to gallop as fast as she could back to the house. As she drew near to the house, Big Mac and Apple Bloom were standing near the entrance of the house.
Applejack spotted her siblings and yelled out to them, "Go get a doctor! Ah think her wing's broken!"