Applejack's First Crush

The porch creaked softly under the weight of two old ponies on a swing bench, wrapped in warm blankets. The late autumn wind carried a chill, and the orchard was quiet except for the gentle rustling of leaves. Applejack gazed out at the trees, where the youngest of their many adopted foals, now a fully grown pony, was clearing fallen leaves from the orchard floor. The strong stallion worked methodically, sweeping the colourful piles into neat rows. Applejack watched with quiet pride, seeing the same determination she and her kin had always put into tending the land.

Beside her, Rainbow Dash slept, her head resting on Applejack’s shoulder. The pegasus’s breaths were slow and deep, her wings tucked tightly under the blanket. Applejack leaned over and gently brushed a strand of Rainbow’s mane out of her face. She paused for a moment, noticing how much grey had overtaken those once vibrant colours. Rainbow’s mane was completely streaked with a spectrum of silver now—so much so that Applejack couldn’t help but think of Daring Do, the adventurer from the books Rainbow Dash still loved to re-read when snuggled in bed. A soft smile tugged at the corner of Applejack’s lips, bittersweet in its warmth.

With a sigh, she glanced down at her own mane. It had faded too and where once it had been like spun gold, bright and shining, it was now a soft ash blond, dulled by the years. Time had worn them both down, taking away the lustre of their youth. But Applejack didn’t mind. Each strand of grey was a reminder of the life they had lived together, a life filled with love, laughter, and more memories than she could count.

The wind shifted, whistling across the porch, and beside her, Rainbow Dash stirred. Her eyelids fluttered open, but her gaze was distant, confused. She blinked rapidly, her eyes wide, darting around as though she couldn’t recognize where she was. There was a flicker of fear in those magenta eyes, something raw and panicked, as if for a moment she had forgotten who she was, where she belonged.

Applejack’s heart clenched painfully at the sight, one that tore at her every time she witnessed it. She pulled Rainbow a little closer, speaking softly. “Yer safe, sugarcube. Right here on the porch, with me.”

Rainbow's eyes slowly settled on Applejack, the confusion still lingering but dimming in the face of her wife’s familiar features. She blinked a few times, the fear in her eyes slowly subsiding. She straightened up, sitting a little taller on the bench, puffing out her chest and putting on a confident smile to show that everything was fine as her eyes roved over where the blanket had fallen away from Applejack's haunches.

Applejack watched her, feeling that old flicker of admiration rise in her chest. Even after all these years, Rainbow still had that spark, the fire that had always set her apart from all others. The petite blue Pegasus never diminished as the sole object of her desire. Applejack knew this former Wonderbolt could still make the trip to Canterlot and back faster than pegasi half her age. But as she admired her wife, a darker thought crept in, uninvited and unwanted what if, one day, Rainbow couldn’t find her way home?

The thought weighed heavy on her heart, but Applejack quickly pushed it down, determined to focus on the present moment. She chuckled softly, hiding the worry behind a teasing grin as she tucked the warm blanket snuggly around herself. "Landed on that stubborn head o’ yours one too many times." she said gently, though the teasing lacked its usual spark.

Rainbow Dash sighed, leaning back into the bench with a proud, Tirek-may-care grin. "Yeah… I guess so." After a beat of silence, she tilted her head, resting her cheek against Applejack’s. "You’re always here though, aren’t you?"

Applejack swallowed hard, her throat tight as she momentarily imagined life without her partner. "Always," she whispered. "As long as the sun rises and the apples grow, Ah’ll be here."

For a moment, the porch was quiet, the gentle wind rustling the last leaves of autumn from the worn wooden deck. Rainbow's gaze drifted across the fields, her thoughts wandering as she settled back into the warmth of Applejack’s presence.

"You think Scootaloo will come to visit soon?" Rainbow asked quietly, her voice filled with hope. "I haven’t seen her in a while."

Applejack’s chest tightened. She couldn’t stop her eyes from drifting toward the gate at the edge of the property. The familiar signs swayed gently in the breeze—on one side, the proud hoof painted words read "Sweet Apple Acres," and on the other, in neatly printed but no less significant letters: "Scootaloo Memorial Foster Home and Summer Camp."

She turned her gaze back to Rainbow, her face softening with a tender but sad smile. "Maybe," she whispered. "Maybe she will."

Rainbow Dash sighed contentedly, her wings twitching beneath the blanket. She gazed out over the bare trees of the orchard, her eyes soft as lost memories danced just behind them. "We’ve got a good life, haven’t we, AJ?"

Applejack, who had been quietly watching her wife, felt a wave of warmth flood her chest. Slowly, she leaned into Rainbow Dash’s side, her head resting gently against the pegasus’s shoulder. The familiar scent of wind and sky mixed with the comforting earthiness of the farm surrounded her and she allowed herself to just be there, in the moment, breathing in the warmth of her wife. "Yeah, sugarcube," she whispered. "We sure have."

For a moment, they sat in silence, wrapped in their blankets and the quiet communion only years of love could build. A chill breeze chased the last of the leaves, carrying with it the scent of bare earth and the faintest hint of winter.

Applejack’s smile softened. “Reckon we’ve seen more than most ponies could even dream of. The best friends a filly could want, raisin’ all them lost foals, savin’ Equestria—shoot, we’ve done it all.”

Rainbow chuckled, though the sound was weaker now with just a little wheezing. “Yeah… we were awesome, huh?”

Applejack glanced up at her wife, at the pony who had once been so full of boundless energy, and saw the weariness in her eyes. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to smile. “Still are, darlin’.”

Rainbow Dash shifted, resting her head on top of Applejack’s. “I don’t remember all of it, you know,” she admitted quietly. “But… I remember you. I always remember you.”

That broke something in Applejack. She blinked rapidly, but tears escaped anyway, rolling down her cheek. She wiped them away quickly and pulled Rainbow Dash closer under the blanket. “An’ I’ll always be here for ya, Dash. Always.”

The two of them sat quietly together for a time, wrapped in their shared blankets, as the last of the day’s light faded. Though time had taken its toll on them both, the love they shared remained as strong as ever. As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a golden-orange glow over the farm, Rainbow Dash’s eyes followed the fading light. "Twilight’s hard at work like always. Poor filly doesn’t get to watch the sunset anymore.”

Applejack shifted, leaning a little more into her wife’s side. She gazed up at the sky, the familiar routine of nightfall a reminder of their friend’s eternal duty. "Yeah, Twilight’s got her hooves full with all that now," Applejack said softly. "And Ah reckon… even with all that power, all that responsibility, Ah'm sure she misses her friends something wicked. Reckon one day she'll miss us in a way that can’t be fixed."

Rainbow Dash’s ears twitched, her brow furrowing as she gazed in the direction of Canterlot, though the grand mountaintop castle was hidden in the gathering gloom "She’ll live forever, but… I guess forever gets lonely in the end." Her voice trailed off, suddenly uncertain of what she was saying.

Applejack gently put her hoof to Rainbow’s muzzle, guiding her head around to meet her eyes. The farmer gave a small, reassuring smile to ground her wife in the moment. "She’ll have Spike for a good long while," she said softly, her voice full of calm certainty. "That’ll make things a bit easier, when we've… gone.”

Rainbow’s confused expression softened, as she took Applejack's hoof with her own. "Yeah, he'll help, won’t he? He’s her family. Having family around will make it less painful, I guess."

As the cool of night crept in, Applejack pressed a gentle kiss to Rainbow’s fuzzy cheek, whispering, “I love you, Dash.”

Rainbow smiled faintly, her eyes closing again as she nestled into the warmth of her wife under the lamplight being cast from the farmhouse kitchen behind them. “I love you too, AJ.”