The morning sun shone brightly on the windows of the Apple farmer's residence. Applejack slowly opened her eyes, climbed down the bed and stretched her limbs with a satisfactory "aaahhh". She then turned her head towards the mare on the other side of the bed. The earth pony smiled gently at her wife. Her beautiful, generous, amazing...and paralyzed wife.
"Mornin' sleepy head", said AppleJack while circling the bed and posting herself in front of Rarity. Instead of greeting her wife, the white unicorn just scowled at her.
"Please just kill me", replied the mare. The farmer pursed her lips and cocked an eyebrow at her partner. She ignored her wife's plea, because she knew what Rarity needed right now.
"Hmm. Come on sugarcube, I think a stroll will brighten your mood a bit", said AppleJack while going towards a corner of the room to bring Rarity's wheelchair. Even though it was routine for her at this point, AppleJack still shuddered when she looked at the wheelchair, simply because it reminded her of the accident that crippled her beloved for life. All it took was a moment of negligence: the six friends were on an adventure when they encountered a huge chimera. The creature hit Rarity so hard that it broke her horn. Another hit send her flying towards a rocky wall, and everypony's heart almost leaped out of their chests when they heard a sickening crack. They all ran towards the fallen unicorn, fearing the worst, but breathed a sigh of relief when Rarity opened her eyes slowly.
"Rarity! Are ya ok?", managed AppleJack to ask, while trying her best to lift the unicorn up. But no matter how hard she tried, the white mare felt extremely heavy, as if she was made of lead. Rarity frantically moved her eyes left and right, then told them something that chilled the other friends to their bones.
"I can't feel anything below my neck!"
The farmer shook her head firmly and plastered a smile to her face. "No need to dwell on the past. At least she's still alive and still here with me", she thought. She started pushing the wheelchair towards the bed, much to Rarity's disdain.
"Cooome on sugarcube, nice and steady", said the strong orange pony while lifting the other mare and gently putting her on the wheelchair. She went to the dresser and retrieved a beautiful blue shawl, one that she knew Rarity used to love, and draped it along her wife's shoulders. She smiled, pleased with herself, then started pushing the wheelchair outside.
The two ponies strolled leisurely through Ponyville, AppleJack with a relaxed, slightly smiling face and Rarity with a miserable expression on hers. Some time ago, she loved when ponies looked at her, because she knew they admired her. Now, ponies looked at her with pity and concern, and Rarity hated it. She just wanted to die and be at peace. Her thoughts were interrupted by the mare next to her.
"How about we go and visit your lil' sister at the Boutique?Would ya like that?", asked AppleJack with hope in her voice. Rarity just hmphed, but AppleJack took it as a yes.
Sweetie Belle was busy modifying some dresses, since she lived alone now at the Boutique. She felt extremely sad for what happened to her sister and tried her best to make her feel good. She even tried creating a dress of her own for her dear sister, but Rarity just looked at it and replied with an apathetic "thanks". Fashion was not exactly her passion or calling, but she tried her best to keep the Boutique as her sister loved it as a form of respect for her, but also because Rarity told her that she can sell every item from the store and keep the money. Even though her sister had her life turned upside down and it was extremely difficult for her, Sweetie was very impressed by the fact that Rarity still possessed her generous spirit, even if it may have been unintentional, since she couldn't design or work on dresses anymore.
"Heeyy Sweetieee, are ya there?", called AppleJack while knocking on the door. She waited a little bit before she knocked again, and then heard hooves approaching the door.
"AJ! Rarity! It's so good to see you two!", replied Sweetie in a cheerful tone. Too cheerful, believed Rarity.
"Well, ya sister really wanted to see ya today, so we decided to pay ya a visit".
"Really? I'm so glad! Do you wanna enter, have some tea?", Sweetie Belle asked them politely. But just before AJ could respond, Rarity intervened.
"Yes, I am very happy to see you Sweetie, but I'm afraid we can't stay for tea. So please, AppleJack, be a dear and take me back to Sweet Apple Acres". Even though Rarity tried to sound as polite as she could, her sister could still notice the bitterness in her voice. She sadly waved the two mares goodbye as they left and turned back to her dresses.
At night, the two mares were sitting on the bed, staring at the ceiling. AppleJack knew Rarity was mad at her, since Rarity was almost all the time mad at her, but now it was more obvious since the mare was giving her the silent treatment. AppleJack knew it was hard for Rarity, and she couldn't hold it against her wife. She tried her best to remain calm and reasonable, but this facade was slowly deteriorating, simply because she was tired of constantly hearing Rarity beg her to be killed. Even though the farmer tried her best to empathize with her wife, deep down she was a bit disgusted that Rarity wanted the easy way out. Sure, she was paralyzed from the neck down. But she was still alive, right? She could still see the beauty of the world, she could still eat delicious food and even wear beautiful clothes. So in a way, AppleJack didn't understand her.
"AppleJack, please kill me"
"Here it goes again", the orange mare sighed while turning towards her wife.
"Ya know I'm not gonna do that, darling. Why do ya keep insistin'?"
"Don't darling me, AppleJack! Why do I keep insisting?? WHY DO I KEEP INSISTING??? I am literally a burden, AppleJack! I can't move anything besides my head, darling, and even that just barely! I can't work, I can't pamper myself, I can't strut! I may be the element of Generosity still, but I am useless to all of you! I hate this life, I just want to die! Is that so much to ask?"
"Rarity, you're not a burden, I-"
"Listen, darling. I know that what I'm asking you is hard. You can even call it selfish. But understand this: I can't live like this. I DON'T want to live like this. I'd rather die", replied the white mare calmly. She thought that if her wife at least realized that she was not insane, maybe she had more chances by pleading in a reasonable way. Rarity knew she was not insane, just desperate, miserable and pitiful.
"Rarity, please don't say that! I...I love ya", said AppleJack while holding back tears and sobs. Her heart broke for her poor wife.
"I love you too AppleJack, but you need to face reality: what you're having now is not a wife, is a burden. Please, do us both a favor and kill me. Do you honestly enjoy hearing me ask that daily? Do you get off on my begging?", asked Rarity with an air of finality and sadness. AppleJack looked at her, tears in her eyes. Then she sighed, hugged her wife and kissed her forehead.
"Goodnight, Rares", said the orange mare, then turned her back on her wife and tried to sleep, knowing that tomorrow she had a task to complete. It took a while, since she kept hearing Rarity begging for death and crying. AppleJack finally fell asleep with the hope that tomorrow, all of that will be over.
"Are ya sure y'all can look after her while I'm gone?", asked AppleJack with worry. Her other four friends nodded. Twilight approached the worried orange mare and put a hoof on her shoulder.
"Don't you worry none, AJ. We will take good care of her while you're gone", said the alicorn assuredly.
"Twi is right, AJ. But by the way, where are you going exactly?", asked curiously Rainbow Dash.
"Oh um, I need to go to Appleloosa to help my cousin Braeburn with some problems regardin' a few apple trees". While she was the element of Honesty, AppleJack didn't find it too hard to lie now.
After she returned, the orange farmer thanked her friends and waved them goodbye. She was forever grateful that they helped her with Rarity while she was away. Now, it was only her and her wife. She plucked a small bottle, full of a transparent liquid, from her saddlebags and presented it to Rarity. Suddenly, the white mare widened her eyes when she saw the small bottle. Bitterly, AppleJack noticed that this was the only different expression her wife made in the past months, besides her usual scowling.
"Hey, Rares. I came back with something for ya", said AppleJack while approaching the bed slowly, the small bottle still in her hoof.
"Darling, what is that?", asked Rarity, even though she had her suspicions, she still wanted to hear her wife say it.
"It's...um...a poison. I've been thinking, and you're right, I can't stand hearing you beg all the time for death". Even though it wasn't a gift, Rarity smiled as if she just received one.
"Darling I...thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me", said Rarity, tears brimming in her eyes. AppleJack smiled at her and opened the small bottle.
"Before I drink it though, can I ask what kind of poison it is? And..if it will be painful?"
"Nah, don't worry about it, it won't be painful, I assure ya. But...I just wanted to say that I love ya Rares, I will always love ya, no matter what. It is wonderful having ya as my wife, and an honor too ".
"I love you too AppleJack. Thanks for making my life wonderful". AppleJack nodded, then leaned down and kissed her wife passionately on the lips. Then, she put the bottle to Rarity's lips, and the mare somewhat fearfully drank all the liquid.
The earth pony watched in silence as her beloved wife choked and widened her eyes in a panic. Then, she gently put a hoof on Rarity's cheek, noticing how it got wet with the other mare's tears. AppleJack smiled broadly when she saw Rarity's expresionless face, apathetic eyes slowly rising to meet hers.
"So, it appears that the water from the Stream of Silence worked wonders".
