Epilogue: All's Well That Ends Well
Chasing Rainbows
by Gallifrey
Epilogue
All's Well That Ends Well
My faithful student,
It has been a few months since we last corresponded, how fairs your delightful relationship with your pegasus friend, Rainbow Blitz? Still going strong I hope? If you need any advice, you know I'm always here, I perhaps know you better than anypony in the kingdom after all and have had past experience in these matters.
Your mentor and friend,
Solaris
Dusk read the letter slowly and drearily. It was early in the morning and had been rudely awoken by Spines poking him in the rump. After several false starts, Dusk eventually sat up and accepted the royal letter that was being presented to him. After reading the words, he gave his sleep addled brain a minute to digest the information.
"Experience in these matters? But that makes him sound like he's..." His mouth formed a perfect O as realisation dawned upon him. "Well, that's... to be expected really, thinking about it. I'll write back later."
He fell out of bed and stretched his limbs, his bones cracked and he hummed in satisfaction.
Along with falling out of bed he veritably fell down the stairs. His eyes glanced to his front door and he deviated from his date with destiny that was the fridge, to retrieve that day's copy of Equestria Daily. Upon picking it up, he saw there was another piece of mail awaiting his attention.
"But I never get other mail through that door," he said curiously, picking up the letter and trotting to his kitchen.
He took a few apples and some lettuce out of his fridge and sat himself in his living room, opening the letter as he munched on his breakfast. He unfurled it, flattening it out against his legs, it was written in a rather untidy scrawl, and at times was difficult for Dusk to read.
Dusk
This letter shouldn't ever have had to be written, but I ask of you to meet with me outside the town hall at midday today. I will explain everything when I see you.
Dusk turned the paper over, looking for any more information but that was all there was to it. Eyes furrowed, he chomped on his apple.
"Spines!" he called. "We're gonna have to do some serious rescheduling today!"
----------
After miraculously managing to squeeze in most of his day's activities into five hours, he left his house, on his way to the town hall to meet with his mystery letter sender. He meandered his way through the bustling streets of Ponyville and arrived at the town hall with five minutes to spare. As he drew closer he saw a very familiar somepony.
"Blitz!" he cried happily, running up to him "it was you?" He suddenly felt fearful, the letter didn't have very promising tones if it were Blitz who had wrote it.
"Hey Dusky!" he said, nuzzling his coltfriend affectionately. "What are you talking about? Did you get one too? I thought you got drunk last night or something and wrote it to me. I was a little worried."
"Nope, wasn't me."
"Then who?"
"I think that might be our answer," said the unicorn, looking over the unicorn's shoulder. Blitz turned, and his eyes fell upon the last pony he expected to see. Applejack.
Ever since Dusk and Blitz got together and the conflict with Applejack just over five months previous, neither party had seen eye to eye with each other. Dusk was civil with the farm pony but rarely spoke to him anymore, whereas Blitz refused to speak to him at all. But now that all seemed about to change.
"Afternoon, Dusk- Blitz," he said, nodding curtly to each of them.
"What do you want?" Blitz growled.
Applejack paused, considering his words carefully.
"There's something ah want to talk about with y'all, if that's okay?"
Dusk nodded but Blitz was too busy glaring to answer. The unicorn nudged him lightly and Blitz turned his head, getting a blast of Dusk's best 'please?' eyes.
"Okay," he sighed.
"'Kay, Dusk, would it be alright for ya to teleport us to mah house? Ah don't wanna talk about this walkin' and I'm sure y'all don't wanna have an awkward walk back." He looked sheepish.
Dusk nodded again and his horn blazed; the next moment, they were outside the farmhouse of Sweet Apple Acres.
"What do you think this is about?" whispered Blitz as Applejack lead the way into the house.
"I'm not sure but a certain thought springs to mind..."
"Is there anything ah can get you?" he asked politely, opening a kitchen cupboard.
"Please stop this," said Blitz abruptly, "it's freakin' me out."
"What is?" asked a confused earth pony.
"This being nice business, it's weird."
"I'm not a bad pony, Blitz," he said, not quite meeting Blitz's eye and shutting the cupboard.
"Yeah, tell that to the scar I have on the back of my head, or even better, the scars inside," he snarled, unconsciously rubbing the back of his head where it had struck the floor when he was being beaten up.
Applejack closed his eyes slowly and sighed wearily.
"Ah got ya some biscuits, ah know you like biscuits, the both o' yers, please, take a seat, and ah'll explain."
He motioned to his living room, and they sat down in the squashy chairs it provided.
There was a moment of silence and Applejack took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled, looking at the floor.
"What?" asked Blitz, not hearing him.
"Ah'm sorry," he said a little louder, looking him in the eye.
"What?" asked Blitz, now in disbelief.
"Ah'm sorry for what ah did to you, to both of yers. I-I've been a terrible friend, no, just a terrible pony, and I really regret everything I said and did to you both."
"Woah woah, what's brought this about?" asked Dusk, speaking directly to Applejack for the first time.
"Mah sister," said the cowpony evasively.
"What did she do, beat some sense into you?" said Blitz shortly.
"No, more of a uh, coming out..."
"What," both the unicorn and the pegasus deadpanned at the same time, meeting each others eyes and both blushing.
"But she-" began Dusk.
"Is so hot," concluded Blitz bluntly, vocalising what Dusk was thinking.
Dusk and Blitz we both well aware that they both thought Applejack's sister was very attractive.
"But does being a lesbian make her more hot or not?" questioned Blitz.
"Hmmm, lemme factor in the variables-"
"Do you quite mind?" asked Applejack, nose wrinkled.
"Ahem, sorry AJ," said Dusk, looking down.
"Thank you. As I was meaning to say, yes, she has come out as a lesbian, and that put the whole family on its head to tell the truth, grandpa nearly had a heart attack, and I didn't believe it mahself, it's been hard, but we have adjusted to it."
"What are you talking about? You were beyond reason when we tried to explain it to you," said Blitz. "You also had no issue with lesbians."
"Yeah, well, it's different when it's family ain't it? I finally decided to take a leaf out of Dusk's book, quite literally in fact; I started reading some books on the subject, add that with livin' with one, and well, you started to make sense. I was particularly shocked when she told me she'd been hiding this away for years an' years, living in fear with what ah and my grandpa would think of it. That cut me deep, that's when ah finally realised what ah had been doing, not just to her, but to you too. Ah may be straight, but ah think I understand y'all a lot better now."
"So you understand it's not a choice now?"
Applejack nodded.
"And that we don't deserve to be victimised?"
Nod.
"And that we are not hurting anyone with this lifestyle?"
"Aye. I still find the thought of two stallions a lil' weird, but I don't hate you no more, you're right, s'none o' my business."
"So," said Dusk, "how long have has it been since this rather spectacular u-turn?"
"'S'been a few weeks now, but it's taken me this long ter pony up and apologise to be honest. Ah really am sorry guys, I don't expect ya to forgive me, but at least you know ah'm sorry. I made a grave mistake, and feared I'd lost two good friends because of it."
Applejack looked up and met Dusk's gaze. The unicorn searched the bright green eyes and saw nothing but sincerity and regret. Dusk didn't say anything, he merely stood up and reared onto his hind legs, opening his hooves as an invitation to hug. The earth pony reciprocated, and they embraced each other.
"I'm sorry," the earth pony whispered, a single tear falling down his face, "I'm so sorry."
Dusk responded by hugging tighter.
Blitz looked on, still maintaining a faint air of skepticism.
"Come on Blitz," coaxed Dusk.
"I've suffered so much at his hooves" the pegasus said bluntly.
"But he's sorry."
"Yeah, I know, but... oh c'mere you idiot," he folded, all but jumping on Applejack. The trio fell to the floor, laughing. Applejack's sister walked into the room after hearing the commotion.
"You too now, AJ?" she teased in her southern drawl.
"No way, no how! But ah do have two of mah good friends back again, so call me gay if you wanna, j-jus' not in that way."
Blitz and Dusk fell about laughing, and the earth pony joined them heartily.
-------------
Dusk and Blitz were relaxing together in the late summer evening's warmth. Dusk's balcony faced westwards, which made it perfect for basking in the setting Sun's gentle rays.
Blitz spread one of his wings over Dusk's back and nuzzled him affectionately.
"You better write that letter," Blitz said, "the Sun's setting, you don't wanna be tardy now do you?" he teased.
"You're right, and shut up," he said, playfully batting him on the snout.
He levitated a scroll, quill and ink over.
Dear Prince Solaris,
Our relationship is as wonderful as it's ever been. Blitz is planning to sell his house so he can live with me! It's so exciting.
Anyway, today, we all learnt an important lesson in friendship, Applejack especially.
Today we learnt that if you take a little time to understand and learn about another pony's differences, you might surprise yourself in what you discover, and understanding is the first step towards enlightenment and acceptance.
If we all took a little time to see the world from another's opinion and put ourselves in their hooves, the world would undoubtedly be a better place for everyone.
I hope you are well.
Your faithful student,
Dusk Shine
"Add me too! Tell the Prince I said hi."
P.S Rainbow Blitz says hello.
"Thanks, you gonna send it now?"
Dusk looked up at his coltfriend. He looked simply gorgeous in the ruddy light of the setting Sun. The unicorn looked into his caring magenta eyes that were shot through with gold.
"I... I think it can wait," said Dusk huskily, his eyes half lidded. Blitz felt his heart beat step up a gear as the unicorn leaned towards him. Both stallions hummed as they pressed their lips together, and they sank into a deep and loving kiss under the dying light of the Sun, by the time they broke apart, the pale summer stars were starting to peak out from the abyss.
"I love you," murmured Blitz, stroking Dusk's purple bangs out of his eyes.
"I love you too," Dusk whispered. "With all my heart."
The End
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Redemption! Whoo!!
I really enjoyed reading this story.
Big Mac (feminized) coming out? To be honest, I didn't see that coming, I thought Applebloom/Applebuck was going to catch wind of AJ being so mean and chew him out or something, iunno. Good read none the less though
AJ kinda came off as an unsympathetic arse up until this chapter. I know it was based on stuff that actually happened, but AJ just seems a bit OOC here.
Don't get me wrong, it was a great fic to read. But that was the only thing that bugged me.
Hooray for happy endings!!
1254196
It's the universal problem with trying to do stories that call on normal tropes from stories about dealing with homophobia in our societies. Ponies are simply not portrayed as being that monstrous, particularly the Mane 6, so it always feels jarringly out of place.
1254227 You make a good point, sir (or Ma'am). That is a problem, and it is a big one. It makes for really good fic material, but a monster of a character change. Unless, of course, the homophobe was not a character previously fleshed out on the show. A friend from long ago, a background pony, etc.
I wanted to say that I truly enjoyed what you have written here. I'll admit I was a bit hesitant to read it at first because I'm not into M/M fics, so this was sort of an experiment for me to see if I could enjoy them just as much as I could every other ship. I have to say that after the entire thing I can easily call this fic one of my favorites and the ending is sweet and leaves you feeling fuzzy, which in my heart I believe every romance should because romance itself is such a wonderful thing.
Thank you for writing this, it's been interesting and entertaining.
1254191
I hope it worked.
Heh, I considered the chewing out scenario, but Dusk had already attempted that at the end of Ch.5. So I did something a bit out of the blue instead.
1254227
As you say, I didn't anticipate this when I began, and may have bitten off more than I could chew in hindsight. Ya live and learn.
1254281
I'm super happy that you enjoyed it, I love sweet and fuzziness too, they're the best endings. 
I'm always a fan of someone trying new things, so kudos on that.
1254274
You're missing part of my point. Ponies in general simply aren't portrayed as the sorts of folks that make for convincing virulent homophobes - they're not violent enough, for one thing.
1254320 Maybe I missed that, and I'm sorry. I was thinking of the bullies from "Sonic Rainboom" and Fluttershy's tormentors in hee flashback scene in "Hurricane Fluttershy". Looking further, though I can see what you mean - they only pointed, laughed and made some rude comments. No violence whatsoever from their side.
Yay for happy closure
, but the 'it hits closer to home than expected' route was effective
)
I, too, didn't expect that from Big Mackenzie
(There's a 'most' in place of a 'lost', but whatever
Guess I'll try out another one of your stories
1254565
Fixed, thanks for pointing that out.
And thanks for reading and enjoying!
That was a great ending.
Well done on a wonderful fanfic.
Sequel. With Prince Solaris, you know, with... somepony.
The Applejack Redemption.
And now, whenever you read this, it will be in Morgan Freeman's voice, but that won't affect the huge amounts of awesomeness already contained within.
1255104
If anything it will increase the awesomeness factor by at least 15.8%!
1255645 Touche, my friend.
1255230>>1255975
I had a longer comment but tablet OSes make a poor substitute for a real DE.
Anyway, I kinda thought of this as an extension of cutie mark failure - AJ tried to enforce what he thought was self-honesty in Rainbow, when in reality he was the one lying to himself.
As for IRL, some people are bigots thanks to deeply rooted habits/misconceptions rather than personality flaws. Heck, my parents are like that thanksto 30 years in one of the most conservative nations on earth (good thing we moved f.
Wohoo!
I love this! Should we expect to see more of Blitz and Dusk in the future? Oh please say yes 
1256982
This isn't a yes, but if I have an idea for them, expect them to return.
1257736
aww yeah! You are Awesome!
Wow, this was great! Was really wanting an ending like this and you did it
Thanks for the great read.
I bet Macareina was fooling around with Toffee in the barn at Winter Wrap-Up. "Lost the grass seeds again," indeed.
Great ending! I was really worried that Applejack wasn't going to come good in the end. Even if he doesn't approve as such, he's realised that his love for his friends and family is far more important than whether or not he approves of their choices, and I like that.
I also really love the way you write Dusk and Blitz together. Some of their scenes are really romantic. I usually have trouble believing in Dash and Twilight being a couple, but here it's credible and really rather romantic. Well done!
nicely done sir, nicely done.
Finally, got to read this story, it's been in my read later list for such a long time. I'm starting to like r63 stuff so I need moar of these kinds of stories. Hope there's a sequel in the future *crosses fingers*
I don't think I've seen this well-developed of an R63 story since On A Cross And Arrow. Kinda makes me want to see more attempts at it that aren't just one-shot clopfics. It was well played, keeping them all in character while also feeling appropriately like males rather than mares with different names.
As for the story itself... it was good. The narrative sacrificed a bit too much for the sake of the message for it to be great, but the message was important (and I assume personal) enough that I understand. My only real complaint from a narrative standpoint is that Applejack was not a character in this story, he was a caricature. His entire character was a sacrifice of narrative for message because you needed a hateful figure to drive home the stigma and persecution, and seeing Applejack reduced to that just left a bad taste in my mouth (moreso than a typical hateful homophobic prick would).
That aside, this was a very enjoyable read, and I'll definitely be taking a look at your other works.
This story reminded me of the first time a bi friend came out to me. Awkward and rejection ensued 'cause of compatibility, but not hate. I didn't even give the guy time to recover before taking a "business as usual" attitude.
that was the best story i have read so far
Beautiful, just beautiful.
I absolutely adored this fic
I'm a huge fan of R63, and a Coltcuddler as well. Finding R63 shipfics is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, trying to find R63 shipfics that are on par in writing and story development with the better TwiDash and AppleDash fics is like trying to find a needle in a galaxy! And it's complete by the time I read it! Needle in a universe!
The way Dusk handles the initial news was very believable, I commend you on the realism, and Rainbow's reaction is expected. The conflict with Applejack added another layer of realism to it, of the Mane Six I'd expect him to be the homophobic one, and it really made me furious at him
good job.
Then the way blitz feels heartbroken and betrayed. I felt for him, I really did. I know how it feels when your friends react with hostility to you coming out of the closet,
Thankfully they didn't beat me up, and they got better eventually.
When Blitz and Dusk are together. Let me just say "Awwwwww"
Loved it
And AJ's eventual redemption. While I wasn't expecting Macarena to come out lesbian, I should've seen that coming. Often it takes for someone you've known for years to be gay for your opinion to finally change of homosexuality
Congratulations, absolutely loved it
1598402
Thank you so much for your kind words.
You've made my day of tedious work much more bearable and less stressful.
Thanks for reading!
neat story
Cheers for us queers!
I get what you meant to do with this chapter. Really, I do. The only problem is that it completely falls flat.
Yeah, AJ finally stopped being two-dimensional. Yay. The only problem is that he never should have been that way from the start. The one, single, enormous issue with this fic; the issue which nearly ruins any kind of enjoyment, is that it tears apart AJ's character, turns him into a horrible caricature, and then throws him in as the "bad guy." And nothing is ever done about this.
Oh sure, there's this chapter, but really, it doesn't help any. The entire thing felt forced, especially after how horribly OOC he was up to this point. To be honest, no apology chapter can work, because it never should have been needed. The only way this could have worked would have been to have an OC instead (actually, that's still suck), or have AJ be hesitant about how he should feel. Then Rainbow goes, gets attacked by those badly done OCs, gets saved by Applejack who doesn't sit back and watch his best friend get beat up, and then the rest of the story continues as normal.
What's that? Did I just give the plot for a story that is exactly like this one, only it doesn't force a character like AJ to become a cliche caricature in order to force unneeded drama into the story?
Look, I'm sorry for being harsh to the story, but it pretty much deserves it after the complete rape of AJ's character.
I honestly don't know how to rate this. On one hand, the writing is great for most of the characters, the feelings of those characters are described well, and I don't see many mistakes. On the other hand, the one character who wasn't in-character was so OOC that it nearly out-weighed any of the positives. And that negative is then multiplied when I take into account that you did the worse thing an author can do (in my opinion), and did it on purpose for the sake of drama. The only thing you accomplished with that was to make me nearly hate this entire thing, and nearly ruin any enjoyment I got from the rest. That said, I still can't deny the rest was great, so I have no idea whether to like, or dislike this story.
1748934
Since you seem to be more lucid than most on this site, I guess I should respond.
I have long since learnt that I fucked up on this one, and saying that, you will not catch me doing it again.
I much prefer this sort of feedback, where if it's shit, I'll know about it, unlike so much of this fandom, where content is praised regardless of its actual quality, so thank you for telling me how it is. XD
We all learn from our mistakes, but only if those mistakes are pointed out to us.
I don't care whether you like it or not, I'm just sorry I fucked up so that you couldn't enjoy it properly.
Before I say anything else, I want to apologize for how harsh I probably sounded in my comments. It was late, I was tired, and I had a bad taste in my mouth after reading the parts containing AJ. That still doesn't mean I had any right to come off as rude as I probably did, so I'm sorry for that.
1749388
That's just it though, you didn't make a bad story or anything like that. Like I said, this story is good. The writing is good, the characterization for everyone who isn't AJ is great, and the descriptions are great. Literally the only problem in this story is where you forced AJ to be the bad guy for the sake of having one.
If you wanted to, you could go back and do a quick edit (I doubt it'd take more than 30 minutes) and have AJ be hesitant about whether he supports Rainbow or not. Rainbow then leaves (like in the story), goes to the bar (again, like in the story), and meets those two guys. Unlike in the story, AJ simply tells them about Rainbow and Dusk (and not in an antagonistic way, either), and they try to beat him up. This time, AJ helps Rainbow beat the mess out of them, because AJ would never just betray his best friend like that. After that, the rest of the story can remain unchanged (except for the part at the end where AJ shows up to be a jerk again).
If you did something like that, then this would be great. Everyone would be in-character, you would show AJ going from being hesitant to supportive after he realizes the crap Rainbow is going to have to put up with (which AJ realizes after he has to help save his friend), and the story ends the same way, with Rainbow getting with Dusk. That gets rid of the only problem in this entire story, which is how OOC AJ is.
I hope that helps you.
1750372
There's a definite difference between harshness and reality.
If I can find a spare thirty minutes I'll have to have a good look at it. XD
I guess I got carried away with the pure hate AJ seems to harbour, but then again, that's just me relating to my own experiences. Having said that though, it doesn't give me licence to make him an entirely different character.
You have definitely given me a lot of help, thank you!
1750459
You're welcome, and I can see you know what to do now.
After a quick look on tvtropes I've found a trope that describes what happened to AJ perfectly. AJ in this story was given a large Conflict Ball. Basically:
Get rid of the conflict ball, and the entire issue (AJ being OOC) goes away.
So much d'aww! I'm bi but in the closet and this is exactly what I'm worried about people doing if they find out about it. Story really spoke to me. Great romance as well
1783394
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
It's unfortunate that we live in the twenty first century and people will still condemn you for who you are.
I hope one day you'll be able to come out of the closet without fear of ridicule.
1783444 yeah, my mum was talking to someone the other day saying that bisexual people should just make up their minds (a lot like applejack in your story) and i was just sitting there with my best poker face and trying not to have a panic attack
1783482
I feel for you dude, I really do.
Oh man...this hit way too close to home. The ending was nice.
I re-read this story now that I have experience coming out of the closet. I've dealt with homophobia (mostly from my dad, who luckily I disowned long ago) and it is one of the most crushing things that's ever happened to me. This story is fantastic and I can relate to it so well. My only complaint is the most common one, that AJ is way out of character. It doesn't stop this from being one of my favorite gay shipping stories on this site. All I can say is,
1910981
I'm glad you found this worthy of not just a read, but a reread!
And I'm glad you enjoy it so much despite Applejack's rather... aggressive portrayal...
1911078 well every story has it's faults, as I say. 'The two most boring things in life are sanity and perfection'
Wow. I rarely post comments, but I just have to here. I have no complaints about the story, making Applejack a raging homophobe was not a problem in my book. I just wanted to say I loved this story. There are many reasons for this, but one stands out: You made Blitz BI.
I am a Bi guy myself, and I have heard every line you mentioned in the story about being confused, greedy, or afraid. Biphobia exists on both sides of the fence and it was really cool to see you tackle it as you did. When Blitz was getting frustrated with AJ about him not understanding, or just writing him off, I completely empathized.
You earned yourself a favorite, and a follower. Thanks for your story.
1938192
Thank you, kind sir!
I'm glad you enjoyed my story, I'm also bi, so I incorporated some of the more... unsavoury reactions I've received upon people learning this.
Again, thanks for reading, the fav and the follow!
Freaking loved this story and even more so (in a conflicted way) that it was based on a true story...your story
I'm opend minded but the only relationships i've ever had where with wome...well just 2 times XD
But i just hope that everything just turns out well for all the people that are bieng harmed by narrow minded people
So good luck and good vibes,,,good job
I have no idea why, but I keep imagining the genderbent versions of the ponies with british accents. And Solaris always has this deep rumbly british voice with a tiny hint of jamaican thrown in.
Anywhoo, great story, faved, thumbed and commented on with a positive attitude and a helping of silly.