//------------------------------// // What We Ain't Got (AppleDash, SoarinDash) // Story: Waxing Lyrical // by Imperator Chiashi Zane //------------------------------// Applejack stared at the cloud house floating on the outskirts of Ponyville. She couldn’t get up there, not without help. She didn’t know if she wanted to though. She hoped, she pleaded, she got down on her knees and begged Celestia to help her. She couldn’t get to what she wanted. Sure, she was happy living on the ground, in an orchard. It was her home, her family lived there. Everything she knew was there in Ponyville, on the ground. Everything but that one, single, rainbow maned Pegasus. She tried not to think about the day she had lost any chance of getting the object of her desires. The sun was shining, of course. Celestia and Luna were there, after all it was a big deal. It wasn’t every day one of the Elements of Harmony got married. Rainbow Dash looked so beautiful up there, garbed in a pearlescent white that was just barely transparent enough to allow her blue coat to shine through. Beside her, in a shimmering blue flight suit, stood Soarin. Applejack wore a golden dress that she wished was darker, that she was the one standing across from Rainbow, instead of the one behind her. All five of the other Elements stood in a row, dresses, made by Rarity, forming the colors of the rainbow, in honor of their friend. They were opposed by Celestial Gold and Lunar Blue suited stallions. Thunderlane, Macintosh, Shining Armor, and two Wonderbolts whose names Applejack had never bothered to learn. When Celestia had asked if anypony objected, she bit her tongue. Tried not to speak. It was painful, lying to Celestia, to Luna, to herself. But Rainbow was happy. She let the tears wander down her muzzle, the strain of the memory too much. She would give anything, now more than ever, to get one more chance. Her eyes rose, stared at the trees that her family had cultivated for four generations. Everything she had. Everything she needed. And she would give it all up for a pair of wings, and Rainbow Dash’s heart. She pressed her head against the nearest tree, forcing her head against it until the bark began to split, trying to squash the memories down once more. She survived without her closest friend by her side, but was she living? Rainbow had been so happy when Soarin had asked her on a date. Not because it was Soarin, but because it was a Wonderbolt. She would have been equally happy had it been Spitfire, or Fleetfoot, or any of the other numerous Wonderbolts Rainbow could name off like she had the whole roster memorized, which she probably did. The first date had gone well, as had the second. Three months of that, and Applejack began to realize that the little trysts behind the barn were less and less frequent, that the two were spending less time together. She had cried for hours. Soarin popped the question at one of the strangest places. Somehow, Applejack didn’t know how much time or bits he had spent, but he had somehow managed to get a significant portion of the crowd to hold up little letter signs spelling out the question. They had all raised their signs at the conclusion of a trick that ensured that Rainbow would see the question at the same time he asked it. She had almost dropped out of the sky, the suddenness overcoming her temporarily. Her response was too soft for anypony to hear, but the giant screen showing the moment made reading her lips easy enough. She said yes. Applejack wanted to bury her head in the cloud and never come out. Before, before all of that…She tried to think about how much fun the two fillies had had in the fields, hiding out in the barn. She remembered, in teary eyed recollection. ”Macintosh! Git outta here!” The Apple stallion had staggered out of the barn backwards on his rear hooves, his forehooves being too busy covering his eyes at what he had seen. Applejack pulled the barn door closed and looked over her shoulder at Rainbow Dash, “I swear, you knew he was coming. You did that on purpose.” Rainbow responded with a crude gesture involving her hoof and tongue, “You were having fun. Now I am too.” Applejack tackled her friend into the hay, pinning her down on the coarse yellow fibers, “My brother’s gonna be scarred fer life!” “BUT-“ Rainbow raised her hoof, like she was going to count off points. Applejack sighed, and motioned for the Pegasus to continue “-He’ll knock next time. And he’s not gonna try and check on us when we’re wrestling anymore.” Applejack couldn’t fault her for that. She just wished it could go back to the way it was. Back when Zap Apple Cider held more meaning and inside jokes than her brother could ever figure out, or ever wanted to. ”—and we’ll call our foal Zap Apple, ‘cause of course we’ll use your name, and they’ll definitely get my mane.” Eight year old Rainbow Dash was a prankster, sure, but she was unnaturally cool-headed about the orange filly she had become fast friends with after her family moved to Ponyville. Despite the luminescent blush on her cheeks that she swore could fry eggs, “Hopefully we’ll get a more-“ Two blue hooves air-quoted “-appley color than Orange. Some shade of red, or green. Maybe yellow, like your sister. Or perhaps even a bluish color, so it looks just like a Zap Apple.” Applejack just stared. As far as she knew, both from Granny and Macintosh, as well as the cows, two fillies couldn’t even make a foal. Then again, Unicorn magic could do a lot of things. Maybe they would figure it out when they were older. She smiled, head still pressed against the tree. Now that the source of those jokes was lost to her, all she had left were her memories, and her farm. But all of it meant so little compared to her cyan friend, no, lover.