Chapters Just Another Friendship Mission
It wasn’t a particularly difficult mission, they’d visited the reindeer of the Everfree forest before. But did it really have to be now of all times? And with her specifically?
Applejack felt the crunch of snow beneath her hooves, her tail flicking in annoyance as the pegasus swooped and swerved carelessly through the sky above her. “Can ya get back down here, Dash?”, Applejack demanded. “Yer gonna hurt yerself flyin’ around in this dense of a forest”.
“Pff, you know I’m a better flier than that”, Rainbow said, shrugging mid air and slowly fluttering backwards above the country mare to prove her point. Applejack shot her a dour look. Rainbow sighed and landed, starting to trot at a steady pace beside the country mare.
It wasn’t so bad, she supposed. The snow covered forest was beautiful at least. Applejack enjoyed most of the seasons for different reasons. And though being a farmer gave her a bias for fall, her close second was winter. Beyond the fun of sledding and making snow cream with her little sister, she also loved Hearthswarming, getting together with family, and opening presents by the fire, it was coming up soon. But thinking about it caused a pit of sadness to begin forming in her gut, which only gave way to more anger and distrust towards the mare that walked beside her. She had been so excited for it this year, her first Hearthswarming with her marefriend. But she wasn’t even in the mood to be around her right now.
"Something wrong?”, Rainbow Dash slowed her already restrained pace to let Applejack catch up beside her.
After a long pause, Applejack answered, “Y'all could say that, yea”.
“Uh-huh…”, came Rainbow’s response, followed by more awkward silence, only broken by the sound of hooves trotting through snow. Eventually, Rainbow breathed an exasperated sigh, “are you still upset about Apple Bloom?”.
Applejack’s stoic demeanor almost cracked to reveal the scowl underneath, giving a huff in response, “Nope, but Apple Bloom ain’t the one that gave me a reason to be upset“. Applejack paused, huffing out another snort, “Let’s just get to this darn village”.
The two entered the small Reindeer tribe’s village. Fawns, playing in the snow, paused from their games to look at the unusual guests. An old reindeer greeted them. He was dressed in a robe, with bells down the sides of the expertly sewn fabric, and his antlers were adorned with feathers of all different colors. Bowing his head to them as he greeted, “Applejack The Honest, and Rainbow Dash The Loyal, I welcome thee to our humble village.”
The two ponies looked a bit puzzled. “Y'all know us?”, asked the country mare.
The deer chuckled, "Oh, thou dost jest with me, illustrious one! What manner of poor unlettered lorekeeper deemst thou me, that I should know naught of the deeds ye have writ upon not only our realm, but all realms in this vast world? Nay, thy names are as whispers on the wind, tales spun by firelight, too grand to escape the ear of even the most witless wanderer. Yet as we stand unacquainted, I shall forgive ye this slight—forsooth, 'tis not every day that legends find themselves unaware of their own song."
Applejack, even more confused by the old deer than before she had asked, stayed silent. Meanwhile, the pegasus stifled a laugh. “You’re nutty, old timer, I like it”.
Applejack was about to hoof the pegasus in the shoulder for her blatant disregard for basic etiquette. But before she could, the reindeer smiled warmly, “I know not of thy youthful vernacular, but regardless, praise from one such as yourself is high praise indeed!”.
“Right, well, let's not forget we have a job to do here”, Applejack interjected, shooting the notoriously praise-loving pegasus a glance, before turning her attention to the old buck before her, “Ah assume since y’all know us, Y’all also know what we do, y'all had any problems ‘round here lately?”.
“Ah, yes! Tis’ a terrible thing, our prince and his bride-to-be hath been having a terrible time. The two who seemed so deeply in love hath not been acting as such, and so close to their coronation...”. The shaman paused to take a breath, “I know of thy map and its portents, perhaps this is what thou hath been sent here to a remedy?”
“Thank ya, sir, we’ll talk to em’”, Applejack responded with a nod.
The two mares made their way to the large house that clearly served as a royal palace for the village. The house was fairly modest compared to most palaces, it had a rustic feel that Applejack respected. The leaders of the tribes lived in a house that was simply a larger version of what their subjects lived in, no more, no less.
In a room off to the side was the doe they were looking for, her status made obvious by the golden tiara she wore, and the ceremonial wedding dress that a few others were working on nearby. Applejack and Rainbow Dash greeted her with a formal bow. “Apologies fer the interruption, yer highness”, the orange mare began, “we’re here on behalf of the Princess of Friendship, we heard y’all had a friendship problem needin’ solvin’” .
The conversation was much more brief than either of the Elements of Harmony expected. And it revealed a simple problem with a fairly simple solution.
“He’s been acting like I don’t even exist lately”, the doe lamented, “I… wonder if he even loves me anymore…”
“Woah, woah, woah”, Dash cut in, “just because he’s been distant you think he doesn’t love you?”. The reindeer sniffled, and Rainbow breathed a sigh and patted her on the back, before continuing, “You can’t just give up on him like that! What if he’s just going through a rough patch right now? I mean, he’s about to become the ruler of your tribe! That can’t be easy. He probably needs you more than ever right now!”
“Ah don’t get this, Dash”, Applejack blurted as they made their way to the prince’s quarters, “Why would the map send us ? This ‘friendship' problem is about as deep as a kiddy pool. And fer it to call us now of all times… after what happened...”. Applejack trailed off, saying that last bit under her breath.
Rainbow just shrugged. “Maybe this is just the map telling you to get over it”.
Applejack’s glare quickly snapped to fix on her. “That ain’t funny, Dash!”
Dash grumbled, trying to suppress a venomous response, and failing. “Well, what if it wasn’t a joke? You keep holding this over my head, she’s fine , Applejack, you kn-”
She was cut off by the earth pony pressing a hoof to her chest, “And you know darn well that ain’t what I’m upset about!”. The earth pony paused as two reindeer, puzzled expressions on their faces, awkwardly walked past them. Applejack sighed, realizing her volume was getting a bit out of control “You lied to me, Dash…”, she continued quietly, before turning to continue their walk, her hat covering her eyes, “and it just feels like… oh, consarn it! This ain’t the right time nor place fer this kind o’ talk, we’ve got a job to do”.
The two found themselves in the main throne room next. Sitting upon a throne carved from a huge tree trunk, was the prince, he wore a gold necklace with a red jewel in the center, a long cloak made of leaves ran from his shoulders down over his flanks and rested on the ground around where he sat. They greeted the large, regal looking buck with another bow.
The deer ordered his subjects with authority befitting a king, the preparations for regal festivities getting on like clockwork at his command. But as the two ponies approached him, he ordered the other deer to halt and leave him to discuss matters with their unexpected guests.
The prince’s stoic demeanor quickly turned to one of frustration when his fiancée was mentioned, and then dropped all together, revealing a softer, more timid creature beneath all that regality he’d been taught to embrace.
“She keeps getting annoyed that I don’t spend as much time with her anymore”, the reindeer prince said with a sigh, “I’ve been so busy, ever since my dad stepped down from the throne, he thinks I’m ready, but I just don’t know, I wish I could tell her how hard it’s been… but, I have to be strong for her…”.
Applejack laid a hoof on his shoulder. “Sugarcube, ya gotta be honest with her. Ya ain’t her parent, she’s a full grown doe. If something’s buggin’ ya, she wants to stand by ya through it, she wants to be yer support. But she can’t do that if ya keep her guessin’”.
“I just don’t want to worry her”, he said with a sigh, “but, yea, I guess you’re right”.
The task was complete, the cervine pair reunited. “Well, that was easy!”, Rainbow Dash said, flying while in a stretched out lounging position, “Are we awesome or what?”.
No response, despite the comment pulling Applejack’s focus back from the job they’d done, the one that had managed to get her mind off her personal life for a mere few hours. Though one thing was off. No doubt the map had called them here, blinking cutie marks and all, but after solving the problem, the blinking would normally return to herald their success—but not this time.
Applejack just shrugged it off. She was exhausted, emotionally more than physically, she just wanted to go home, drink probably one too many ciders, and go to bed.
The reindeer shaman was there to meet the two mares as they were making their way out of the village. "My gratitude to thee, most discerning heroes, your tongues as deft in counsel as a gryphon's talons in battle.”
“Yea, we’re-”, Rainbow attempted to interject with her own self gratifying praise, but was cut off. Apparently the old deer had more to say.
“This venture, fraught with doubtful reckonings lay as a clouded mirror before your coming, yet upon your arrival, ye have woven harmony where none did hope it might be spun.”
“Yea, we’re awe-”, the rainbow mare’s interruption was once again interrupted by the old buck.
“Verily my thanks run deeper than words might tell.", he finally finished, giving the two a courteous bow.
“Yea…”, the pegasus paused, half expecting another interruption, “…saving the coronation of a new ruler for an entire village and all that, all in a day's work for us!”, Rainbow continued to gloat, causing Applejack to roll her eyes. For once, she wished the rainbow pegasus could just shut up and take praise with a little bit of grace!
Applejack paused, sighing heavily. That wasn’t true. Her spunky attitude was something she loved about her marefriend; it brought so much excitement to her life. Every time she came around with a new stunt or flying trick, every time she challenged AJ to a crazy test of skill to prove once and for all who was the best athlete in Ponyville—these moments were a spice in her life she hadn’t even known she needed. Rainbow pushed her buttons in a way no pony ever had before. That stupid cyan pegasus made Applejack feel like a foolish pubescent colt courting his first highschool crush.
But it didn’t matter, she didn’t care. No, that was wrong too. She didn’t want to care, she didn’t want to feel such disappointment, such anger, such emptiness. In truth her heart ached so much she wished she could tear it out of her chest and just leave it behind. She swore to herself she’d never do this again, stallion, mare, or Celestia-darned gelding, she had learned her lesson with Rainbow… Her heart should be with her family, with her farm, this sappy game called love just weren’t meant for mares like her.
Applejack sat down far ahead in the road leading out of the village. It took a lot to make Applejack wear her feelings on the outside. She was a lot like her father in that regard, her and Big Mac both, ever since their parents died. The orange mare shuddered as she sucked in a ragged gasp of air, holding back a sob. She shook her head, blinking back her tears and slapping at her cheeks. “Pull it together now”, she whispered to herself, “no need for Rainbow to see ya like this. She… she wouldn’t understand anyways…”
Applejack breathed a sigh and stood back up as she heard Rainbow approaching behind her, finally done tooting her own horn. “Ready to go?”, Rainbow asked as she stepped a few paces ahead. Applejack nodded, giving a small, “uh huh”, as a verbal response.
There was a chill in the air as they exited the village. Naturally, the temperature had dropped since the sun had started to set, but there was also an unexpected biting wind. A wind that seemed to permeate straight through your core. “Blizzard’s a brewin…”, Applejack shivered under her breath, peering ahead at the rainbow mare who’d taken the lead, “guess there ain’t no avoidin’ that now…”.
Applejack breathed a sigh. “Hey, Rainbow”. There was a moment of hesitation, but she had gotten Rainbow’s attention, so, unable to back out, she spoke, “We need to talk…”.
“Saving the coronation of a new ruler for an entire village and all that, all in a day's work for us!”, Rainbow said as she fluttered proudly above the old reindeer shaman.
He gave a merry laugh. "Thou dost puff and preen like a summer cock crowing afore the dawn! I may not but say this pride is meetly bought and paid for, yet prithee, think not that thy labors were for the pomp of crowns or the gilded wreath of ceremony. Nay, the coronation was but a trifle in this matter. The discord thou hast mended lay deeper, festering as a wound untended. Hadst thou let it linger, the rift betwixt hearts would have summoned shadows far blacker than any marring of our coronation could conjure."
Rainbow cocked her head, “uh, say what now?”.
The shaman fixed her with an appraising look. "Surely thou hast known—this forest, this Everfree, is ever watchful, and doth drink deeply of passions unbridled. Anger, despair, envy—it is of such feelings of ill will that it makes its banquet. Or hast thou ne'er felt their shadow looming when tempers fray?"
She'd been angry plenty of times before, but looming shadows didn't ring a bell, so she shook her head slowly. Even if she didn't buy any of what the shaman was saying, this was starting to sound like a campfire story, and she loved a good campfire story. She found herself leaning in to listen more closely.
Concern flickered across the elder deer's eyes. "Unknowing, I see. Then it is a mercy thou hast not yet met their icy wrath. Though thou mayst be shielded by thy virtue from the lesser perils, this is a doom that once encircled Equestria itself, and cares not a whit for any mortal power."
That did sound vaguely familiar, and not in a good way. "Those were the, uh… wind thingies? From the founding of Equestria, right?"
The shaman gave a serious nod, and there seemed to be a chill to his words as he spoke. "Mark me well, Avatar of Loyalty. The stronger the bond betwixt souls, the graver the peril. And the more their bonds be entwined with others, the further the ruin may spread its reach. Those who bear the will and hope of a whole village, if discord had befallen them, may have brought down a final blizzard to end its tale in the cruelest tragedy. And had greater mishap befallen the founders of our land, the breadth and span of Equestria would even now remain an utter desolation."
Rainbow chuckled nervously, noticing now that she could see her own breath. Buck, when did it get so chilly? The mare shivered, “well, anyways, we probably should get home before it gets too late”, she said, turning back to where Applejack was standing, only to see she had moved several paces ahead, sitting on her haunches.
The shaman gave a humble bow. "I wish thee well, loyal champion." Straightening up, he cast a quick glance between Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "I have but one parting word, if thou'rt inclined to hear it. I shall not gainsay thy mastery in matters of harmony, yet experience is a lens by which my aged eyes might alight upon dangers too distant to spy unaided. I pray thee, be ever wary of the weight of shame upon thy soul. Shame unspoken is a rot that festers unseen amid the roots, and when the branches begin to wither, the damage done is beyond all cure, for a wound unseen may yet be mortal. If you cannot find trust within yourself, then how may you expect another to place their trust in you?"
Rainbow’s hairs stood on end, it was definitely getting cold out now. A shiver ran down her spine and she promptly landed to conserve energy. “Y-yea... I mean, thanks, uhm...”, she responded, a bit shaken by the sudden personal change of topic, “I’m... gonna go now...”.
Without another word, she trotted to the orange mare. Applejack breathed a sigh and stood back up as she heard Rainbow approaching. “Ready to go?”, Rainbow asked as she stepped a few paces ahead.
Applejack nodded. "Uh-huh."
Rainbow took the lead as the two began to make their way through the forest. They didn’t get far before she heard her marefriend speak up.
“Hey, Rainbow... We need to talk...”
Rainbow cocked her head curiously, instinctively dreading the conversation to come. “Yea, what’s up?”, She asked.
“I...”, AJ paused, as if contemplating her next words carefully, making sure she wanted to say them at all, “Ah can’t do this no more...”.
Rainbow’s eyes widened, the only indication of her true emotions that she couldn’t stop. She knew exactly what Applejack meant, but still in denial, she asked anyway, “W-what are you saying, AJ?”
“Ah’m sayin’ this ain’t gonna work between us!”, AJ breathed a heavy sigh, creating a quickly fleeting cloud of visible vapor in the cold night air.
“B-but”, Rainbow’s voice faltered, her mind clawing for a proper response. “W-why!?”, is all she could muster, “Did I...”. Rainbow stopped herself, ‘Did I really buck it up that bad?’.
“Y’all know darn well why”, AJ responded with a melancholic but stern tone, not yet breaking her downtrodden expression..
“What, because of Apple Bloom? Because she fell? I’m a Wonderbolt, AJ! Saving falling ponies is part of my day job! Do you honestly think I’d let her get hurt?”, Rainbow released all of her frustration as she responded.
“I know darn well yer a good flier!”, Applejack’s somber demeanor quickly shattered as she retorted. “And woulda’ trusted ya if y’all’d just told me the darn truth!”, Applejack paused to catch her breath, “but naw, y'all were too caught up impressin’ the fillies fer somethin’ as silly as honesty!”
“Yea well… I...”, Dash exhaled, exasperated, “I’m sorry I lied, ok? Is that what you want? Nopony got hurt so can you let it go already?”
There was a howl in the wind. Even the pegasus, who was trained to fly through a vast array of climates, was starting to actively shiver and wince at the pelting cold snow as it struck like pin pricks against her face.
“No! That’s not what ah want, I want you to take responsibility for darn near gettin’ a filly killed! And it was mah sister no less!”, she galloped ahead, before turning and prodding Dash’s chest with her hoof, their forward movement halted as the earthmare unleashed her verbal assault. “How would y’all have felt if it were Scootaloo?”
“The exact same way!”, Dash was raising her voice now, the mention of Scootaloo striking a nerve, “Because I would’ve saved her the exact same way!”
“T’ch, figures...” AJ hissed, ”Y’all don’t care about nothin’ but yerself! Element of Loyalty mah left flank! Yer too darn full o’ yerself fer anypony to rely on!”
The pegasus stepped back, “I… I just…”. Before she could properly respond, there was a crack from the trees nearby, as an otherwise sturdy pine cracked under the weight of snow and pressure of wind. Rainbow felt frozen, both literally and metaphorically, able to do little more than raise her gaze to the falling tree.
‘Yer too darn full o’ yerself fer anypony to rely on!’, was it true? Was Rainbow Dash, bearer of the element of loyalty, unworthy of trust? Had she really bucked it up?
Rainbow was snapped out of her daze as a set of sturdy, orange rear hooves impacted the tree. The tree splintered, diverted from its path— a path that would have been lethal to the pegasus. The blue mare’s eyes were wide as her savior looked down on her.
“C’mon”, Applejack said, “it’s too dangerous to try and make it home in this weather, best find shelter and wait it out”. Applejack squinted, looking ahead through the blizzard the best she could.
Instinctively, Rainbow responded to the stress of the situation by attempting to take flight, but was quickly swept up by the wind, causing her to crash back down into the snow. She fell prone and grunted in pain. It was then she noticed the stump of the tree that had nearly crushed her. The stump and now log were covered in deep gashes, as if it had been crudely hacked at with some sort of blade or claw.
“Ah see a cave!” AJ said, her voice only barely audible over the howling of the wind. The strong and sturdy earth pony helped the lighter weight pegasus to her hooves.
The two made it through the dense storm together. Even adjusted to strong winds for her intense wonderbolt training, it was hard for Rainbow to keep her eyes open as the crystals of snow bit at her eyes whenever she’d let them. Rainbow let AJ lead, turning her head back the way they came, looking in the direction of the wind instead of taking its full winter's wrath straight to her face.
Rainbow saw them then, two pairs of eyes, beady with reflected moonlight hovering over the place where the tree had fallen. And as soon as they were noticed, they vanished into the storm.
Finally, Rainbow and AJ collapsed into the cave. “F-Fire”, AJ shivered out.
Rainbow nodded, She and AJ had been on enough camping trips to know, already, who would do what when getting a fire started as quickly as they could. Like well crafted clockwork, Rainbow gathered some leaves and sticks from around the cave, while AJ built the rocky fire pit. Leaves were set over small bits of log and sticks in the firepit, a meager collection, but one that would have to do. Rainbow quickly struck a flint and lit the campfire.
AJ slumped over as the light filled the cave, “Ah’m gonna try and get a few hours’ sleep, y’all probably should too”.
“W-what?”, RD stammered, her mind turning to the eyes she’d seen outside, “S-shouldn’t we keep watch?”
“Watch fer what? The fire’ll ward off any predators that can even survive in this storm”, AJ stated matter-of-factly, before flopping herself down into as comfortable of a sleeping position as possible on a dirt floor.
The pegasus hesitated, peering back out into the raging storm in the dead of night. AJ was right, they’d camped in the Everfree plenty of times, and they’d only ever needed a tent and a fire to keep safe. Still, Rainbow felt a sense of dread, those eyes wouldn’t leave her mind.
In the end Rainbow relented, not wanting another argument. “Alright...”, she said as she lay down on the dirt floor, and a deep, restless sleep quickly took her.
—--------------------
A scream echoed through the ghastly gorge, followed by a sickening wet crack. Rainbow Dash swooped overhead, a trail of dazzling rainbow following her. She wasn’t fast enough. Even with the speed boost of a sonic rainboom, she’d missed by a hair.
“Oh buck, oh no, no no no!”, She touched down next to the small form of the earth bound filly.
The filly had landed on a protruding rock. The position couldn’t have been worse. Already, blood rose from her throat. Her lower back twisted at an unnatural angle. The ribs in the area of impact were clearly broken, likely puncturing her right lung.
“D-Dash...”, Apple Bloom whimpered out, before a painful wet cough rattled her broken form. A torrent of blood filled her mouth and nose, before splattering out onto her snout and chest. She inhaled, painful and ragged, only for more scarlet fluid to pool in her throat.
“Hey, look at me, you’re going to be ok! Everything’s going to be fine!”, Rainbow said, more to herself as she attempted to pick up the filly in her hooves, only to feel her upper half wince in pain and a gurgling sob to escape the wounded pony.
“It hurts...”, her quiet whisper of gargled words was accompanied by even more crimson fluid. The air was filled with a harsh, metal tang as the earth filly’s eyes filled with tears. “Dash... ah’m scared...”. More painful coughs racked her tiny body, each one more painful than the last. “Ah... ah don’t wanna die, Dash...”.
The pegasus helplessly cradled the filly’s lightly spasming body. There was nothing she could do. Apple Bloom cried quietly in Rainbow’s forelegs.
“Rainbow Dash?”, Scootaloo asked, as she approached from behind on her scooter, “That was awesome! You swooped in at the last minute! Like a superhero!”
Apple Bloom’s fearful sobs started to become more forced and painful, her bloodied coughs getting weaker as she struggled to draw breath. Rainbow felt the small body’s spams become weaker, and weaker as the little filly drowned in her own blood.
“Rainbow?”, the smaller pegasus’ voice sounded a bit unsure now, “you did catch her, right? Dash... Hey, Dash?”
“Dash?”, suddenly the voice sounded different. The accent was enough to give away who it belonged to.
Rainbow turned back to see Applejack’s concerned expression. She was standing where Scootaloo had been only seconds before. Tears began to streak down Rainbow’s cheeks, “I didn’t mean for this to happen...”, she softly whimpered, “I’m sorry...”.
Applejack’s eyes went wide as she realized what was going on. She rushed to Apple Bloom’s side, roughly shoving Rainbow out of the way.
She gasped, the body of her little sister laying before her. She extended a hoof, caressing the small earth pony’s cheek. Apple Bloom’s eyes were unfocused, missing that sparkle that an excitable young crusader like her should’ve had. Dried tears left streaks down her face, and her maw and chest were a bloody mess.
She was still warm, but she wasn’t breathing.
Apple Bloom was dead.
“Dash...”, her voice was stern, but ragged, choking on unimaginable sorrow, she shuddered, “what did y’all DO?!”, she exploded on Rainbow.
“It... it was an accident”, Rainbow replied through tear-filled sobs.
“That t’ain’t what I asked...”, AJ gritted her teeth, righteous anger welling up in her, “Y’all said y’all were just gonna supervise some basic scooter tricks with her and Scootaloo...”. Her furyborn, mournful gaze snapped to the pegasus, “You lied to me, Dash!”.
Those words echoed in Rainbow’s head. She lied to Applejack, just a little white lie, and now Apple Bloom, her future sister-in-law, the little filly she had tried so hard to impress, who was so excited when she learned Rainbow was gonna be like a new big sister through her relationship with Applejack, was dead because of her.
“I’m sorr-”
“Sorry don’t raise the dead!”, Applejack yelled back at Rainbow, not even letting her finish her doomed attempt at rectifying the situation. “It... it shoulda’ been you! Hay, t’would’ve been easier if you’d just died too!”, the mournful farmpony began to sob, anger and sorrow clouding her judgment. She hoofed at the ground, the older sister’s tears mingled with the crimson streaks coming from Bloom’s nostrils and mouth.
The words struck Rainbow to her core, a shard of ice that started in her heart and spread through the rest of her body. The cold wasn’t exclusively metaphorical, however, she could feel the wind nipping at her tear stained cheeks as the sky darkened overhead.
Rainbow couldn’t bring herself to respond, what could she say? She imagined if it had been Scootaloo. She’d never trust herself around her surrogate little sister again, not after this, not after what her recklessness had done, what she’d done.
“Ah... ah never wanna see you again”, Applejack continued, her tone equally mournful and angry, barely able to speak between sobs, turning her back to the guilt stricken rainbow mare, “Don’t follow me, don’t come to Sweet Apple Acres no more, and, if you’re really sorry, get the hay out of Ponyville! We’re done, Rainbow Dash!”. She carefully hoisted her sister’s ruined body over her shoulder, and started to walk away.
Rainbow was left alone with her guilt, watching her rival, her best friend, her lover, walk away right before her very eyes. And the worst part was it was all her fault.
Rainbow wasn’t sure how long she sat there, long enough for the falling snow to leave a coat of frigid white fluff covering her cyan body. And soon she heard the clink of metal horseshoes behind her. “Guilt can truly cloud our vision, can it not?” The regal but calm voice filled Dash’s ears over the sound of whipping winds “It eats us alive if we let it, leading to nothing but shame and fear where our pride used to be”
Rainbow was silent, and Luna continued, “This nightmare is born of guilt, You torture yourself and are afraid to ask for forgiveness because you, yourself, don’t believe you deserve it, you cannot forgive yourself for fear of what could have happened, and what you believe may happen again. I know this feeling all too well.”
There was another moment of silence, a moment broken only by the howling of harsh winds. Rainbow turned and looked up at Luna. “I almost killed her… that could have been real, if I’d just been a few seconds slower.”
“But you weren’t”, Luna responded, “Do not misunderstand, I’m not saying to drop your guard, nor to let something like this happen again, but to learn from your mistakes, you must allow yourself to let go of the guilt they bring. Wake now, Rainbow Dash, and learn to make peace with yourself, so that you may make peace with the one you truly love the most”.
—--------------------
Rainbow opened her eyes and sat up. The fire was dying down and AJ was staring intently out into the blizzard.
“Y'all hear that?”, she asked.
Rainbow listened, hearing nothing as a few minutes passed. And then, barely audible over the storm outside, she heard it. “Hello? Anypony? Ah’m cold, and… Ah’m not sure where ah am!” a filly was calling out for help. The pegasus recognized the distressed voice immediately: Apple Bloom.
“Y'all hear that?”, Applejack asked. She watched as the pegasus listened and saw as recognition struck her.
“Apple Bloom...”, she trailed off. “Why’s she out here so late?”
“Ah don’t know, but we gotta go help her”, Applejack said, gathering her saddlebags and preparing to head out.
“Wait a minute”, Dash protested, “AJ, something’s off, can we stop and think bef-”
“No, we can not!”, Applejack interrupted sternly and matter of factly, “because every moment we sit here thinking, mah’ little sister is out there freezin’ to death!”
Rainbow stepped in the earth pony’s path as she went to exit the cave, “Applejack, listen to me! The shaman back at the village warned me about something, about feelings of strife, I didn’t take it seriously, I thought it was just an old buck’s rambling... but this blizzard, it came out of nowhere, and he mentioned those windy things, from the Hearth's Warming story, and-”
“So what y’all’re sayin’ is y’all wanna risk mah little sister’s life on the ramblings of some old deer?” she snorted, too lost in emotion to recognize the desperation in Rainbow’s voice.
“No! I love Apple Bloom! She’s become like another little sister to me... even if... I bucked things up…”. Rainbow averted her gaze, her words trailing off.
Rainbow’s stalling was whittling away at what little was left of Applejack’s patience. “This is ridiculous”, she said as she shoved her way past Rainbow.
“AJ, please!”, Rainbow pleaded as her marefriend quickly made for the exit into the howling storm outside, “just slow down for a second and-”
“That’s rich comin’ from you of all ponies! Ain’t y’all the element of loyalty? The one always ready to jump head first into danger to save yer’ friends?”, the tone of her response was venomous, daring the pegasus to rebuttal.
A moment passed, the pegasus fumbling over mumbles as her only attempt at response.
“Whatever”, AJ said, finally reaching the end of her patience, “it don’t matter, I’m savin’ mah’ sister, whether y’all join me er’ not!”. And with that she was gone, leaving the pegasus alone with the slowly dying fire.
Applejack took no time to brace herself as she trudged out into the snowstorm. A mistake that quickly began to cost her. The harsh, cold wind showed her no mercy as she plowed through the knee deep snow. For a brief moment she was reconsidering her choice to leave the cave, she peered back, and could still barely see the glowing entrance, but her attention was pulled back to Applebloom as she heard the voice again.
“A-Applejack? Is that you?”, the voice was more desperate now.
“Ah’m comin, Apple Bloom! Just stay where ya are!”, the orange mare yelled out in response, before picking up her pace with all the vigor she could muster.
Her pace wasn’t quick for long, however, as soon she found herself in near pitch darkness. She could see nothing beyond what little moonlight leaked through the canopy and reflected on the whipping flakes of snow. Her already fatigued state did her no favors as the blistering cold eroded past even the enhanced resilience she had as an earth pony. Already her legs were starting to feel numb.
The cold crept upward, every muscle locking up as she began to shiver uncontrollably. “Apple Bloom!”, she called out, her voice doing little to compete with the howling wind. “A-Ah’m h-here! Wh-where… a-are ya?”
A bit of moonlight reflected in the eyes of something in the corner of AJ’s vision, and her attention quickly snapped to it as she noticed.
The eyes were those of a pony, that much was clear, but she couldn’t make out the color of their coat or any other details in this darkness. “A-Apple Bl-”, she struggled to form the words, her tongue beginning to lock up as her shivers became uncontrollable shallow panting.
AJ stopped, trying to reorient herself. She blinked, and the eyes were gone. Puzzled, the mare stepped forward, but she felt her front legs give out. She stumbled, falling into the undergrowth where the eyes had been.
AJ groaned in exasperation. Surprisingly, she felt no pain, not from the fall or from the thorny briars she had collided with. She wasn’t sure if she blacked out, or how long she was out if she did. Why was she so disoriented? It was like reality itself was spinning around her. Was she drunk? She didn’t recall having any cider… not yet anyway…
She needed to reorient herself. Where was she? The Everfree Forest... right! She staggered to her hooves and stepped out of the underbrush. The moonlight reflected off flecks of blood running down her pelt, thorny briars clinging to her flesh and tearing her cold numbed skin. She stepped forward into the waning moonlight, and her eyes widened.
Figures moved in the storm around her, like the shadows had come alive and danced in the wind. She saw them overhead, twisting spirits of darkness and frost that coalesced into the stormy sky. Wind howled like the sound of a horse’s whinny.
With no other course of action, AJ stumbled forward. She felt something strike her back, opening three deep gashes that reddened the otherwise pure-white snow as the force of the strike sent her face first into the frigid fluff that coated the ground.
AJ forced her failing body to stand. The snow she was covered in burned. Her skin felt like it was on fire. Her saddlebags and hat felt hot against her skin. She quickly removed her saddlebags, and tossed them down into the snow, followed by her hat and hair ties.
Now completely bare, she breathed heavy, every frigid inhale felt like a torrent of menthol as the cold burned her mouth and throat. “H-Help!” She cried out, “Rainbow! Ah’m s-shorry, ah’ shouldn’t have rushed ahead… ah’ sss-should’ve lissshtend…”. The freezing mare’s cries were left unanswered, save for the howling of the wind… She was alone. She’d spurned the most loyal friend she had. What was she thinking? Rushing out here alone, with no plan, to find Apple Bloom just so they could both freeze to death.
But just as all hope was lost, just as the earth pony squeezed her eyes shut and braced for her rapidly approaching end, she heard a voice.
“Applejack?”, the voice sounded scared and unsure. And as Applejack turned around to the source of the voice, she saw her. The little yellow filly with a red mane and pink bow, looking ragged, and peering up at her big sister with a desperate expression.
There was a flash of clarity, it was Apple Bloom, the reason she had charged so recklessly out into the unrelenting storm.
Applejack pulled the little filly into an embrace. The warmth from her little body was enough to remind her how cold the storm around her was. She was shivering again, making her realize she’d even stopped in the first place. Her flesh felt like it was burning even hotter as her nerves suddenly flared back to life.
She clung to the younger mare, partially out of relief that she finally found her, and partially because she was the only source of warmth in the immediate vicinity. The little filly reached her hooves up and returned the embrace. “Yer cold...”, Apple Bloom said, her voice genuine and innocent, her hooves running over AJ’s thorny and bloodied hide, stopping on the three gashes down her back, “an’... yer’ hurt”.
The only response from the orange mare was the chattering of her teeth and shallow huffs of breath. She was barely pulled back from the icy precipice, but only for the moment.
“What happened to ya?”, the little forelegs squeezed tighter around Applejack.
AJ’s mind was now in a slight panic. Remembering where she was, she had found Apple Bloom, but what now? She felt the blood freezing to her pelt, and a cold numbness returning to the painful gashes in her back. The small amount of body warmth lent from her little sister was fading quickly and she felt herself start to slip back into that frigid abyss.
“Was it Rainbow Dash? Ah’ always knew she was bad fer’ ya… puttin’ me in danger, and then leavin’ y'all alone out in the cold”, Apple Bloom said as she nuzzled against Applejack’s chest, “Don’t worry though... ya found me”
The older mare’s breathing was quick, and she could feel her pulse in her ears. She couldn’t feel Apple Bloom’s warmth any more, not from her body, or her breath. She was clinging to something, she was sure of it, but it was as cold as the rest of the unforgiving tempest around her.
“Ah’ve got ya’... “, the little voice seemed to echo through the forest and mingle with the howling wind. Her tone was soothing and quiet, a calm demeanor that seemed unaffected by the storm, “Don’t worry, big sis, yer’ safe now”.
“What in tarnation do y’all mean ‘nopony got hurt’? Ah’ wasn’t aware that was somethin’ I should be concerned about”, Applejack’s hoof stomped on the hardwood of her kitchen. “Y’all told me it was just some simple scooter tricks, and now Apple Bloom’s tellin’ me y’all took her to the Ghastly Gorge and she darn near fell to her death!”
“It’s fine, AJ, she’s fine, she and Scoots were impressed, actually, swooped in and caught her at the last second!”, Dash took flight, and performed a little miniature swoop in the air to prove her point.
“Yea, Applejack!”, Apple Bloom chimed in, “ah’ can see why y’all like her so much now! She’s as awesome as Scootaloo says!”, the little filly’s innocent excitement clearly doing little to back up her older sister’s point.
Applejack breathed a heavy sigh, “Apple Bloom... Just go to yer’ room...”
“Wh-what? B-But-”, Apple Bloom’s lip quivered.
“Yer’ not in trouble, sugar cube, ah just need to talk with Dash here.” A peek up at the pegasus revealed her cocky resolve hadn’t faded, but had, in fact, only been strengthened due to Apple Bloom’s praise. “Ah’ need to talk to her... alone”.
Apple Bloom hesitated, her gaze of childish excitement turning to realization that this was a bigger deal than a bit of childhood rebellion or simple recklessness. She made her way to the stairs. She paused as she reached the first step, turned, looked at Rainbow, and said, “Fer what it’s worth, Dash, ah’ still don’t hold it against ya... even if ya’ weren’t entirely honest...”, before continuing up to her room.
Rainbow watched as she ascended the stairs, a pit forming in her gut as even Apple Bloom realized her mistake. The excitement and pride of impressing Apple Bloom started to fade into the pang of guilt she had felt ever since the near accident.
“Now, what in the hay were y’all thinkin’?!”, AJ continued as she turned back to the cyan mare.
“I was thinking you’re welcome for saving your sister from a lethal fall”, Rainbow rolled her eyes to look back at AJ, “you are welcome for that, by the way”.
The orange earth pony furrowed her brow, “she was only in danger cause’ y’all lied tuh’ me about where y’all were goin’! And then y’all didn't even have the decency to tell me she darn near died!”
A crack appeared in Rainbow’s cocky attitude, a glimpse past the facade of ‘awesomeness’ to the vulnerable, guilt-stricken pegasus that lay beneath. Applejack narrowed her gaze at her, awaiting a response. “yea, well... it won’t happen again, alright?”
AJ shook her head. “That ain’t good enough. Ya already lied once, so if yer’ gonna be part of this family, I gotta know yer’ not gonna let something like this happen again.”
Let something like this happen again? Of course she wouldn’t!... Or, would she? She’d bucked it up so badly, her mind dwelling on the image of what might have happened if she’d been even a few seconds too slow.
No! She was awesome! If this kind of thing happened again, she’d just be her awesome self and fly to the rescue again.
“Uh, duh!”, Rainbow shrugged casually, “Listen, I messed up by lying, I concede that, but the only reason I didn’t tell you was because I didn’t think it mattered that much”. Rainbow noticed AJ’s glare narrow in response, prompting her to continue, “She’s fine, AJ! Hay, she was even asking if she could go again! I saved her, she loves me even more because she got to see how awesome I was! Everything ended happy, let’s just put this behind us and let it go!”.
Applejack pulled back a bit, and there was a moment’s pause. She opened her mouth to respond, only to be cut off by a familiar chime and blinking light originating from their cutie marks.
—--------------------
“Whatever”, AJ said, finally reaching the end of her patience, “it don’t matter, I’m savin’ mah’ sister, whether y’all join me er’ not!”. And with that she was gone, leaving the pegasus alone with the slowly dying fire.
Rainbow’s first instinct was to rush after her marefriend, but she hesitated. The howling of wind made it clear she wouldn’t be able to safely take flight. Applejack had already disappeared into the stormy darkness. She’d likely die out there if she went out without proper preparation... She felt helpless, one buck up after another led her to this situation, if only she’d owned up to her mistakes before this mission, if only she’d heeded the buck’s warning, hay, if only she’d not lied in the first place!
“A-Applejack? Is that you?”, the little filly’s voice was more desperate now, and it was enough to pull Rainbow out of her stupor. What was she thinking? Her marefriend was out there, and it sounded like her little sister-in-law was too! Even with her doubts and guilt, she couldn’t just stand idly by and let them get hurt, or worse.
Rainbow searched over the little cave, Applejack had taken the saddlebags, leaving her with very little to equip herself to handle the harsh elements outside. She rubbed her wings together, exhaling warm breath into them. Flying wasn’t an option anyways, so she used her wings to cover her mouth to the best of their ability.
Rainbow Dash braced herself, and dashed out into the snow.
She couldn’t stop moving once she got out into the storm, if she did, the cold would quickly take her and she’d be as good as dead. Unlike Applejack, she had been properly trained on how to deal with frigid temperatures as part of the Wonderbolt academy’s training, but even so, spitfire herself wouldn’t last long so ill-prepared in a storm like this. She had to hurry.
Rainbow soon found tracks in the snow, deep ravines that were quickly being filled in by fresh white fluff. Quickly, she began to follow them, or, as quickly as she could, the tracks were hard to see in this darkness and blinding weather.
Soon the tracks led to a dead end. The mare’s rose colored eyes darted around the near pitch black forest, looking for any sign of Applejack.
“Apple Bloom! Ah’m here! Where are ya?”, Rainbow’s ears perked up as she heard the voice echo through the forest. It was Applejack, but where was she? The voice almost sounded like it was part of the wind, carried throughout the forest to echo off the threes. Was she just hearing things? The more she thought about it, the more likely that theory sounded. It wasn’t uncommon to hallucinate when hypothermia started to kick in. She didn’t feel overly cold yet, but then again, you never do when you’re staring down that frigid doom.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a crash that echoed through the forest, followed by an exasperated groan. This time she could hear where the sound was coming from, and turned to dash in its direction. “Applejack!”, she yelled out, “I’m coming, just st-”.
The mare was cut off mid-sentence, struck hard in the side and sent crashing into the ground. Rainbow was agile, however, and she quickly leaped back to her hooves, only to lock gazes with those beady pairs of eyes. Four eyes total, though it was hard to make out much else about the creatures. Their figures were masked by the whipping snow and dancing shadows.
“Just, what the buck are you?!”, she yelled out, knowing she was in no condition to fight and banking on the off chance these things could talk, “and what do you want, huh? What the hay do you get out of tormenting us?”. To her surprise, she got a response.
“What am ah’?”, The large silhouette said, the voice identical to that of Applejack’s, “Ah’m the lie that broke her heart”.
The mouth below the lower set of eyes opened, and a higher pitched voice, identical to that of Apple Bloom, spoke, “Ah’m the storm that y’all created”.
“So you’re what the shaman was warning me about?”, Rainbow spat on the snowy ground, “well I’m not afraid of you! I know I bucked up! And I intend to make it right!”
The howling of the wind warped into what sounded like a deranged cackle. “It’s too late for that”, the voice of Applejack said, “Do y’all really think she’d ever take you back? She’d rather run off into the storm alone than have to live with yer’ lies.”
Rainbow felt a knot form in her throat, her resolve wavering as the voice of Apple Bloom continued. “Besides, by the time ya’ find her, it’ll already be too late. I’m not sure what ya’ expected, letting her rush in there alone, it’s like y’all wanted her to freeze to death”.
Rainbow nearly felt her heart stop when she heard that, “W-what? No, you can’t fool me! I know how long a pony can last in the cold, it wouldn’t happen that fast!”
The two mouths on the two heads responded in unison, this time in a third voice, Rainbow’s own voice. “Oh, the cold’s the least of her concerns”, they responded, followed by a cocky chuckle befitting the voice they stole. “Not while I’m around, at least”.
Rainbow’s eyes widened in realization. “No! I won’t let you!”, she cried out, flaring her wings and flying directly at the source of the voices, rear hooves bared for a massive flying buck.
The expected impact with whatever was taunting her never came. Rainbow felt her stomach drop as she lost control and came to a graceless crash, slamming hard against a tree.
Rainbow’s head spun as she slumped down into the snow. And for a moment it all went black.
“Do y’all really think she’d ever take you back? She’d rather run off into the storm alone than have to live with yer’ lies.”
Rainbow staggered to her hooves, covering her mouth with her wing as she panted heavily.
“Besides, by the time ya’ find her, it’ll already be too late. I’m not sure what ya’ expected, letting her rush in there alone, it’s like y’all wanted her to freeze to death.”
The pegasus took a few moments to steady herself and listen to her surroundings. The storm still whipped brutally around her, but she was still, still enough to listen for any sound that she could use to locate Applejack. She was a Wonderbolt, and she’d been a weatherpony for even longer, she’d been trained to locate ponies in brutal weather conditions like this. She just needed a moment of calm to focus.
“Was it Rainbow Dash? Ah’ always knew she was bad fer’ ya… puttin’ me in danger, and then leavin’ y'all alone out in the cold”. Rainbow’s head snapped in the direction of Apple Bloom’s voice. It was barely audible over the wind, but enough for the pegasus to find its source.
The rainbow mare galloped quickly in the direction of the voice, ‘Don’t worry AJ, I’m coming’, she said to herself.
—--------------------
“Don’t worry, big sis, yer’ safe now.”, Applejack looked down at the small filly she held in her forelegs, who looked back up at her. Applejack’s blood ran as cold as the rest of her body, the pair of eyes that looked back up at her were... wrong. They were glazed over, like they had been dead for ages and preserved in frigid temperatures. Applejack staggered back.
“What’s wrong?”, the little dead filly asked, “Y’all did come all the way out here for me right?”. A grin spread across the small mare’s face as she started to approach the now panicking Applejack. It was then Applejack noticed the silhouette behind what she thought was her little sister.
The little mare’s smile spread far too wide, with teeth that were far too jagged, her head turned to the side until it made a sickening crack. The rest of her body contorted and collapsed inward as it was raised high over the dark form behind her.
The filly’s body dangled limply like a puppet from an appendage connected to the back of her neck, an appendage that Applejack realized to be a tail as the shadowy creature’s figure came into her field of vision.
Her panic spiked as the shadowy figure lumbered forward on all fours. Though its body suggested that it could stand upright, like a horse rearing up on hind legs, it now hunched low, its forelegs more like ape's arms ending in crude hooked claws, unlike anything one might see in nature.
Then came its face. It resembled a wolf's skull with flesh half-flayed and sloughing away, as refusing to cling to the bone. A pair of sunken, beady eyes bored into the frozen mare, and when it opened its maw, row upon row of jagged, oversized teeth glinted in the faint light—too many to fit comfortably inside, as if they would split its jaw at any moment.
AJ’s horror-filled eyes were drawn to the false Apple Bloom, she watched as the broken body that once resembled her beloved sister imploded in on itself and seemed to retreat into the tail it was attached too. The skin and flesh on the face rotted away, revealing a face that was similar to, but even more decayed than, the one on the creature’s muscular shoulders.
“What are you?!”, Applejack finally managed to yell out.
With a single, swift movement, the creature grabbed the wounded earth pony. Applejack could feel the claws piercing into her skin as it slammed her hard against a tree, pinning her there as it brought its grotesque face close to hers.
Cold, necrotic smelling breath licked her cheek as the creature spoke in an all too familiar voice—the gleefully insane voice of Rainbow Dash. “I’m your mistake, I’m the broken trust that you know can never be fixed, I’m the lie that’s going to suck the final breath from your lungs”.
Applejack cried out in pain as she felt the creature’ grip tighten around her. Unable to draw new breath as her chest was tightly restricted, she whimpered out with what she knew could very well be her final breath, “Rainbow, ah’m sorry”.
As if on cue, a raspy battle cry echoed through the forest, as a pair of cyan hooves smashed into the creature’s hideous face.
The creature staggered back, its gaze turning to fix on the rainbow mare. It simply chuckled, a myriad of voices filling the air as it did.
Rainbow’s gaze turned from the target of her buck, to what the creature held in its grasp. No! Was she too late? She couldn’t tell, but she pushed those hopeless thoughts and fears to the back of her mind.
The creature let out an otherworldly shriek as it reeled back and threw the limp earth pony at Rainbow. Quick as lightning, Rainbow took flight, catching her marefriend mid air and holding her tight as they were sent flying into the snowy forest. Eventually crashing and wiping out into a roll that prevented them from a lethal collision with the ground.
Pressing her ear to AJ’s chest, she heard a heartbeat, that was good, but in this storm, she couldn’t hear breathing. Holding firmly onto the earth pony, Rainbow spread her wings and took flight, there wasn’t time to lose, she needed to get Applejack to a hospital, and soon.
Zipping past trees as she held AJ close to her chest, she could feel the mare’s cold body against hers. She was almost there, she could see a familiar light in the distance, Fluttershy’s cottage.
But as she came ever so near to the edge of the Everfree, a shadow came crashing down in front of her. Rainbow averted her forward momentum into a backwards upward swoop, narrowly avoiding a swipe of the creature’s claws and flying through the air before landing a few meters away.
Rainbow gently laid Applejack down on ground, and stepped forward, hoofing at the ground and letting out a challenging snort. They were so close to safety, and she wasn’t willing to give up now.
The creature looked over the pair, speaking in Rainbow’s voice, “Really? You’re going to risk your life for a mare that’s just going to leave you behind after this? A mare that gave you so much grief over such a simple misunderstanding?”, The creature stepped forward as it spoke, “Seriously, we can do better than that! You know we can do better than that!”
“Shut up!”, Rainbow interjected, “I don’t bucking care if she takes me back! I don’t care if she forgives me! That’s not the point!”. She shook her head as exasperated tears of rage and fear began to fill her eyes and stream down her cheeks, “I’m protecting her because I’m loyal, I’m protecting her because I love her! I love her more than myself, I love her more than my stupid pride!”, Rainbow’s wings flared, readying herself for a lunge at the monster, dawn breaking in view behind it. “So if you want her, you’ll have to go through me!”, she shook her head again, “no... if you want her, you’ll have to kill me first!”
And with a flap of her wings, Rainbow kicked off the snowy ground and darted towards the creature, colliding with the center of its chest. The creature’s claws were bared, ready to grab her feeble attempt to damage it.
But unfortunately for the beast, Rainbow wasn’t done, and a massive rainbow-colored blast tore through the early morning air as she plowed into the monster’s barrel, the force of which took it off its hooves. A long trail carved through the snow as Rainbow carried the monster just over the ground, before swooping upward and into the sky.
Rainbow’s cry echoed through Ponyville that morning, as a second blast of rainbow spectra pierced the sky, a beacon of raw emotion, of the desire to protect and support the one she truly cared for the most, that could be seen all the way to Cloudsdale and Canterlot. The creature was blown to pieces, its flesh evaporating into frigid shadow that vanished in the early morning sun, and the sea of clouds hanging above them dissolved into shimmering, iridescent mist, enveloping the are in a warm and comforting golden glow that gradually faded to reveal clear skies behind it.
But as she pulled off this spectacular victory, she knew she had overdone it—, that second sonic rainboom had taken more energy than she could spare. Rainbow felt her wings give out, and she soon began to plummet towards the ground. Her muscles felt like jelly, and she watched as feathers floated down in her path as she fell.
It wasn’t the worst way to go out, she supposed, falling to her death after giving her all fighting in defense of the one she loved. She looked out over Ponyville, hoping her display would be enough to alert somepony that could help Applejack…
Rainbow closed her eyes, too exhausted to do anything but surrender to her fate, bracing herself for a fatal impact with the ground. But then something caught her.
Rainbow opened her eyes. She blinked. It took her a second to register what she was looking at; the strained and struggling face of a light-yellow mare, her wings flapping as quickly as they could, struggling to stay airborne as she carried twice the weight she was used to.
“Rainbow Dash!”, Fluttershy exclaimed as they reached the ground, “Are you ok? I saw the rainbooms and-”
She was cut off by Rainbow, “A-Applejack... she’s hurt bad...”, she managed to stammer out, staggering in the direction of the Everfree Forest, before collapsing into an exhausted heap in Fluttershy’s back yard.
—--------------------
Applejack sat and waited across the room from the hospital bed where a cyan pegasus lay. Bandages covered the earth pony’s wounds. Eventually, she perked up as she heard Rainbow stir.
The rainbow mare’s rose colored eyes fixed on Applejack, and her expression showed a wave of relief as she saw her. “Mmmh... how long was I out?”, she asked, clearly still groggy.
“Almost twenty four hours now, sugarcube”, Applejack responded, closing her book and approaching Rainbow’s hospital bed.
“Are you-”
“Ah’m fine”, Applejack didn’t even let her finish her question as she responded, “Doc said it was a close call, but honestly, he was more worried about you. Not many pegasi can do one sonic rainboom, and y’all were crazy enough to perform two back to back.”
“Heh, yea, I definitely overdid it, my wings are so sore I can hardly move them…” Rainbow sighed, “AJ... I’m sorry… I bucked up... and it won’t happen again, I promise”. Averting her gaze, Rainbow breathed out another heavy sigh, “but... I understand if you still don’t-”
Rainbow’s sentence was cut off by a small peck on her cheek. “Ya’ love me even more than yer’ pride, huh?”, Applejack chuckled, “That’s high praise coming from you”.
Rainbow blushed a bit at her own words. “Ugh, that sounds so sappy now that I hear somepony else say it…”, a pause lingered in the air of the hospital room, before Rainbow continued, “But, yea, it’s true. After you rushed out into the snow alone, I imagined you not making it back, I thought about what my life would be like without you, as a marefriend or not… and I couldn’t even let that be a possibility. I love you, Applejack, and I’m sorry if I ever made you doubt that.”
“Then consider yer’ apology accepted”, Applejack reached a hoof up and turned Rainbow to face her, pressing a kiss onto her lips. A wave of relief washed over the earth pony as their lips met; the two had survived the storm, and developed an even stronger bond because of it. The two held there for a moment, just wanting to enjoy the moment of reunion. Eventually, Applejack broke from the kiss, and said, “Because, Rainbow, ah’ love you too.”
