//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Applejoy // by BronyNeumo //------------------------------// Chapter 3 The thick, green blankets of the master bedroom rose and fell with the rhythmic motion of two ponies softly breathing in their sleep. The warm, insulating material shielded the ponies underneath from the chill that had overtaken the house in the early Equestrian morning, allowing them both to sleep soundly in one another’s embrace. Applejack, with her back to the window and her face buried deep into the crook of Rainbow Dash’s neck, did not wake with the first light as she had previously. She continued to breathe slowly and peacefully, each breathe ruffling the fur of Rainbow Dash’s pelt as it was exhaled, and unconsciously held onto her pegasus with an unwavering grip that served to prompt both of them into dreams of more romantic pursuits. Even in their sleep, both wore wide, giddy smiles on their faces – brought on by thoughts of each other. The bright rays of sunlight that signaled the start of another new day washed over them, yet they continued to slumber in blissful harmony. Gradually, as the sun rose higher in the morning sky and allowed more and more light to filter down from the heavens and fill the bedroom, the optical assault became too much for even the most resilient of eyelids to understand. Applejack’s eyes, being shielded by the shadow cast by Rainbow Dash’s head, suffered no such provocation. Rainbow, however, found herself blinking awake from the onslaught of celestial rays. Turning her head downwards to stave off the offensive, she was greeted by an unkempt golden crop of straw-blonde hair. As Applejack rested her head against Rainbow’s neck, her untied mane flowed freely across her lover and the bed, creating a glistening sheen on every strand from the sunlight. Rainbow Dash stuck her snout forward to meet the golden curtains before her, nuzzling her partner’s mane and kissing the top of her head until she began to stir. Rainbow Dash thrilled to the sight of Applejack’s head arching back; her eyes fluttering open as her sparkling emerald pools were revealed to the waking world. “Good morning, Beautiful.” Rainbow Dash smiled as she gazed at her lover’s face. “Aw, hush up, ya big sap.” “I love you too.” Rainbow leaned forward and the two shared a good-morning kiss, tongues meeting in a lover’s dance that had never lost any passion for the two of them through the multitude of times they had experienced it. Applejack pulled away with a fake grimace on her face. “Ya know, Sugarcube. You taste a lot worse in the mornings.” “I guess I tasted better last night, huh?” “Heh. Yeah. Much better.” Applejack smirked, giving her wife a loving nudge as she climbed out from under the blankets, shifting them ever so much so as to be just enough to let a rush of cold air underneath them. “Brrr. It sure is cold today. Come on back into bed AJ, we don’t need to go to work just yet.” “Sorry, Rainbow. Ah had enough rest already. It’s time ta get back ta work.” Applejack grinned as she headed for the window, her untied mane and tail hanging loose and trailing behind her. “Well I’m cold. You’re going to have to make me get out of bed if you want me to… AJ?... AJ? What’s wrong?” Trepidation gone, Rainbow Dash threw the blankets off of her and flapped across the room, settling at her wife’s side. Applejack, who stared out through the glass pane of the window, stood stock-still with a look of abject horror upon her face. Confused, Rainbow pushed her head in next to Applejack’s and took her own look out the window. The ground below them and seemingly every surface they could see was coated in what appeared to be a thin, white film. “Wha… how… how did this happen? There was no snow scheduled for weeks! This doesn’t make any sense…” Rainbow Dash suddenly felt Applejack leave her presence. She turned to see a golden tail disappearing through their bedroom door, and gave chase. The sound of their hooves on the staircase might have woken the youngest members of the household had it not been for the intoxicating bliss of deep sleep that held onto the three foals. As such, no sounds of crying children emanated from the nursery, the sounds of a stirring stallion, however, drifted across the house from second upstairs master bedroom. His senses aroused by the thumping of hooves against wooden steps, Big Macintosh begrudgingly pulled himself from slumber, groaning as he sat up in bed. Looking behind him, he saw his wife, blessedly still asleep. Her tired eyes were closed and her equally tired mind was resting – weighed down by the excessive labors of childcare. Blinking the sleep from his own eyes, he had the presence of mind to whisper to her still form before pulling himself from their bed and heading off in the direction from which the sound of hoof-falls now faintly rang. “Rest well, Dearest.” From the foot of the stairwell, Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s seemingly frantic galloping took them through living room, kitchen, and foyer. Neither the call of morning nourishment nor warming scarves faltering them in their haste as they careened through the front door and into the chilled morning air, skidding to a halt only as their hooves contacted frosty ground. For a long moment, neither said a word. They stood stock still, hooves chilling to the frozen touch of the ground beneath them. Both were breathing hard; looking right at each other; silent, as if the enormity of the situation they now faced was far too great for words to handle. Eventually, the chill of the frozen ground, the chill of the frozen air, even the chill of frozen time grew to be too much for either to continue to suffer wordlessly. It was Applejack who broke their unspoken vow of silence. “It’s not snow, Rainbow…. It’s frost. Frost everywhere.” “Yeah… I see that now…. That means that… that…” “… the ground froze. The ground froze last night.” Applejack picked up an orange hoof, scraping its leading edge against the solid turf beneath her. “The ground froze.” “A-AJ? The… the apples. The apples, AJ. Are they… are they alright?” “No Sugarcube. No they ain’t.” “Are… are you sure?” Silently, Applejack led Rainbow Dash through the orchard, finding a white-cached tree with limbs still heavy from the weight of apples they bore. Sighing in resignation, Applejack positioned herself pointing away from the tree and, lifting her well-toned hind legs into the air, delivered a resounding kick to the bark of the tree’s trunk. Quivering from the sharp blow, the tree’s branches shook, releasing from their grasp a shower of frosted, dead leaves and tiny particulates of accumulated ice. The pieces of frozen debris glittered as they fell, creating a sparkling shower around the two ponies as they began their journey towards the ground alongside several apples – which fell straight down after being shaken loose. A dull, resounding clunk broke from each as frozen apple hit frozen ground. Stepping into the glittering shower of loose frost, Applejack kicked one of the hard apples to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash tapped at the solid apple, rolling it about on the frosty ground before looking back up expectantly at her wife. “They’re as hard as rocks.” “Ah know!” Applejack snapped, whipping her head around to glare at Rainbow Dash, a scowl suddenly present on her face. Startled, Rainbow Dash stumbled backwards slightly before incredulously staring back. “All the juices inside are frozen solid! They’ll be frostbitten in a few hours’ time and then they’ll just rot right off the trees. These apples are worthless now! That’s almost half the crop – gone!” Applejack once again reared forward on her front legs, lashing out at the tree behind her with multiple strikes from her powerful rear legs, each hit bringing forth another glittering shower and even more dead leaves. “Half… the… entire… orchard… wasted!” She cried, delivering another hit with each word. “It’s Ok, AJ. We’ll get through this, we’ll think of something.” “No, Rainbow. This was it.” Applejack turned back towards her partner, shaking her head, “The renovations ta the farmhouse an’ Fluttershy’s hospital bills cost more than we thought they would. We were countin’ on profits from this harvest to pull us through, and now that’s gone. There’s nothin’ left. The farm’ll be bankrupt before winter is even out. We’ll have to sell it.” “No! Come on AJ, there’s gotta be something we can do. Anything!” “Oh, Ah don’t know. Maybe ya coulda tried ta keep it warmer just a little longer?” “What are you saying?” “Oh, nothin’. Ah just guess the Ponyville Weather Team was too busy this season ta notice that winter was comin’ a little sooner than expected.” “WE DON’T CONTROL THE TEMPERATURE!” Rainbow Dash leapt into the air, her wings flapping profusely with the sudden outburst of anger and shock at her wife’s unexpected words. “Really? Then what do you even do?” “We move clouds into position, we make it rain or snow, and we form storms. We control the weather AJ, not the climate. Didn’t you notice how there hasn’t been a cloud in the sky for the past week? That was us. The best we can do when it gets cold like this is move everything out of the sky and hope the sun warms things up. Newsflash; It didn’t work. What, did you think there was some big dial in the sky I could turn to raise the temperature?” “Well, considerin' everythin' that y'all showed us in Cloudsdale, Ah would think that there would!” “Well, too bad, AJ. It doesn’t work like that!” “Maybe yer just too lazy ta make it work!” “Lazy? I’ve been helping you applebuck all week, on top of my Weather Team assignments. Don’t tell me I haven’t been doing my fair share. I’ve done everything I can to help you and more!” Applejack opened her mouth as if to argue further, but no sound came forth. For several moments, both just stared at each other, no further words passing between the two, before Rainbow Dash spoke again. “I think you’re just blaming me because you’re angry with yourself.” Unwilling to press the issue further, Rainbow Dash turned around in the sky and began to fly away, stopping only to hear a voice call out to her from below. “WAIT! Rainbow!” As she turned back, Rainbow Dash could see tears welling in Applejack’s eyes as she called her. Applejack hung her head and began to sob. “Ah’m sorry, Sugarcube. Ah know this ain’t yer fault…. Ah… Ah just don’t know what ta do.” Rainbow Dash felt her anger melt away at the sight of her wife looking so downtrodden and beaten. Gathering up one of the significant bursts of speed for which she was known, she flew down towards her wife and embraced her, pulling Applejack’s head close in against her neck. Applejack buried her face into her lover’s mane, her tears beginning to mat the cyan fur they rolled onto. Rainbow Dash stroked her partner gently. “I’m sorry too, you’re under a lot of stress, I shouldn’t have yelled at you.” “Ah’m scared, Sugarcube. We’re gonna have ta sell the farm. Mah family’s been livin’ here fer years. Ah don’t want ta be the one ta lose it, but Ah don’t see any other option.” “Actually, AJ, I think I might be able to…” “You Ok, sis?” Rainbow Dash and Applejack turned to face the direction from whence the new voice had come. Big Macintosh approached them slowly, concern showing in his eyes. “Ah don’t know Big Mac. Any apples left out on the trees are ruined by now.” “Eeeyup. Ah saw that.” “It looks like we might have ta sell the farm.” Applejack sighed, leaning herself against Rainbow Dash for support, “None o’ us wanna do it, but Ah don’t see any way around it. What do ya think we should do, Mac?” “Ah don’t rightly know, AJ.” “Wait, AJ. I think I might have something that can help. How much money do we need for the winter?” “We’ll need a couple thousand more bits just to make it through the winter months and cover the costs of replantin’.” “Well… I’ve been saving up some bits for a long time now. I’m not exactly sure how much it is now, but I think it may be enough. I’ve been depositing part of each Weather Team salary I get into Ponyville Bank ever since Applejoy was born.” “Sugarcube… Ah don’t… Ah don’t know what ta say. Why… why didn’t ya tell me about this?” “I… I was saving it to surprise you by taking you and Little AJ on a vacation. I figured by the time she was old enough to bring her on a long trip, I would have saved enough for a carriage and a fancy hotel – just as a treat for my two favorite ponies. But this… this is more important.” Applejack turned to look at her wife’s face, Rainbow Dash’s eyes flickering to meet her own as they gazed at each other. Rainbow Dash grinned, her eyes seeming to brighten as she did so, a cloud of condensed breath rolling from her mouth. Applejack, seeing her wife’s smiling face, was overcome with a rising feeling of euphoria. ‘Maybe, just maybe, we’ll get out of this.’ She smiled as well as she thought to herself, before throwing her arms around the cyan pegasus before her. “Ah love you, Subarcube. Ah love you so much.” She brushed a last tear from her eye before leaning in and pressing her lips to Rainbow Dash’s smiling face – their muzzles becoming locked in a warm kiss that made the cold and every other sensory perception melt away. ======================================================================================== The dead leaves had long since fallen. The frozen apples had long since rotted away. Every tree in the orchard stood tall and bare, exposed branches left barren to face the chill. A ghostly silence had fallen over the orchard in the time since the first overnight freeze had heralded the arrival of a cold winter. No ponies worked in the shadow of fruit-laden trees. No birds chirped as they flew to and fro their nest homes. Barren trees stood alone to guard the frozen ground, the only noise the creaking of their stiff limbs as they bent in the bitter wind. From beneath a seamless grey sky of tightly-packed clouds, individual snowflakes rode the frozen breeze downward, dancing and twirling as they made their meandering journey towards the ground below. The few, sporadic falling flakes gave way to thicker and thicker gusts and billows of falling snow as the afternoon gave way to evening. Tucked away within the cozy farmhouse, enjoying the comforts and the radiating warmth of a roaring fire, a rather large family lounged about their dwelling. In the Living Room, Big Macintosh and Fluttershy slept peacefully in each other’s embrace on the couch – thoroughly exhausted from a long day of catering to the needs of their twin foals. In the nursery, Applejack laid her own head back against the comfortable cushions of her own couch, smiling warmly at her own foal who lay against her chest, feeding. Applejoy had her eyes closed as she nursed at the life source her mother provided, suckling gently and gratefully. Sitting before a steaming mug of hot apple cider, Rainbow Dash breathed in the delicious fumes, allowing the aroma of the soothing beverage to fill her mind before taking a sip. Lying on her stomach on the kitchen floor, poring over an open book, Applebloom busied herself with the homework she had received in school that day. Upon closing her first book, she pulled herself to her hooves and turned around in place, freezing in place when she saw the open floor behind her. Frantically, she swung her head around the room, her eyes darting back and forth; searching for something that could not be found. Presently, she looked towards her cyan sister-in-law and spoke up. “Rainbow Dash, Ah can’t find one o’ mah workbooks. Ah think Ah left it at mah clubhouse.” Rainbow Dash sighed, setting her steaming mug down on the table and turning to face Applebloom. “Are you sure?” “Ah’m positive. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle and Ah were doin’ our homework in the clubhouse this afternoon and Ah left mah workbook there by mistake.” “Alright.” Rainbow Dash set herself down on all fours and led Applebloom down the back hallway, past the closed doors of two new yet unoccupied guest bedrooms, and towards the nursery at the far end of the new addition. “AJ? Your sister left one of her school books in her clubhouse. Could you take her out there to get it?” “Gee, Ah don’t know Sugarcube. Ah’m not doin’ anythin’ important right about now. It’s not like Ah’m feedin’ yer daughter or anything like that.” Rainbow Dash managed to throw her hoof into the air just in time upon catching sight of her wife and daughter through the open doorway. Applebloom suddenly found her vision blocked by a cyan foreleg before she was able to see in. “On second thought, I think I should take you outside, AB.” Turning her around with another hoof, Rainbow Dash led her back down the hallway from whence they had come and back into the kitchen; making their way towards the foyer. “Don’t forget to bundle up.” Rainbow Dash threw her trusty purple and white striped scarf on and waited for Applebloom to apply her own winter gear. Presently, she opened the door and was greeted immediately by a light yet biting breeze. Bracing themselves against the cold, Rainbow Dash and Applebloom made their way down from the porch and into the shallow layer of snow that covered the yard. With their hooves making telltale tracks in the freshly fallen snow, they made their way across the yard towards the edge of the barren orchard. “Lead on, AB, I don’t know how to get there in the dark.” Scrambling to get ahead of the older mare, Applebloom made a furrow in the snow, which got deeper as they reached the groves of standing bare trees. With their hooves chilling from the frozen blanket, both opted to go faster, Applebloom picking up speed as she led her pegasus sister-in-law along a path she knew by heart. By the time that they were close enough for the treehouse, partially hidden in the night shadows, to be visible to them, both ponies had grown extremely thankful for the extra warmth afforded to them by the winter protection they wore. Their breath came in thick, billowing clouds as they neared the tree house. Eager to retrieve the book and return to the warm comfort of their cozy home, both wasted no time reaching the balcony that surrounded the clubhouse proper. It was outside the open passageway that led into the clubhouse itself that they halted, however, their ears perking to a sound that neither had expected to hear. Cutting through the absolute stillness and quiet of the orchard, clearly audible against the soundless curtain of falling snow, the low, labored, rattling sound of a pony’s breath emanated from inside. Applebloom, her eyes spiked with worry, silently glanced up to Rainbow Dash, who nodded down to her before taking an aggressive stance and slinking carefully towards the door. On the cusp of entry, she called out: “Who goes there!” before jumping into the doorway. She froze in shock at the sight before her. Huddled on the floor in the center of the small room, curled into a tight ball against the bitter cold, an orange filly lay, shivering, her purple tail wrapped around her for warmth. For several seconds, Rainbow Dash stood still in the open doorway, blinking in incredulity at what she saw. It was only when Applebloom stuck her head into the open space to gain a view into the room and gasped that the silence of the moment was broken. “Scootaloo? What are you doing here?” Scootaloo, lifting her head from beneath her tail, looked up towards her friend and her idol. Seeing the confusion in their gazes, she smiled weakly and began to speak through chattering teeth. “H-hey A-Applebloom… R-Rainbow D-Dash. I got s-s-stuck her by the s-s-snow after s-s-studying t-today. I c-couldn’t g-get home.” Applebloom rushed forward and hugged her friend, recoiling slightly from the shock of how cold she was. “Come back to the house with us, Scoot. Ah can’t let you freeze yerself out here.” “Th-thanks A-Applebloom.” Scootaloo stood weakly, walking towards Rainbow Dash as Applebloom grabbed her book, which lay nearby. Rainbow Dash, her face painted with concern, removed her scarf and wrapped it around the shivering filly when she reached her. “You’re always welcome in our home, Scoots; you should’ve come to us when you realized you couldn’t make it to your place.” “Th-thanks R-Rainbow D-Dash. I th-thought I was t-trapped.” Positioning themselves on either side of the freezing filly, Rainbow Dash and Applebloom tried their best to warm her as the three of them stepped down the ramp and back onto the snow-covered ground. They meandered their way through the silent orchard as fast as they could while trying to stay together – all of them eager to return to the house. They strode through the dark, snowy Equestrian night in silence, each contemplating their own thoughts as individual flakes swirled past their snouts. In the distance, the lit windows of a warm farmhouse were visible through the trees; squares of light shining against a dark background; light which beckoned them onward towards the warmth held within. Looking up at the gently swirled snowflakes, crisply painted against a backdrop of dark sky, Rainbow Dash had an idea. Both fillies sighed in relief when they reached the porch. Excitedly opening the door, they crossed the threshold and headed in the house, their pelts warmed by the heat given off from the roaring fire. Scootaloo brightened visibly as the waves of warmth rolled over her, her shivering stopping even as she removed her borrowed scarf. “Thanks Rainbow Dash!” Both she and Applebloom trotted into the kitchen, where they lay themselves alongside a trio of animals before the fire. The two friends, Angel, Winona, and Tank all basked in the orange glow of the flickering flames that filled the hearth. Rainbow Dash smiled at the heart-warming display, picking up her scarf where Scootaloo had left it and beginning her own journey down the rear hallway. She was still smiling as she pushed open the nursery door at the end of the hall. “Hey Honey. You’ll never guess who we picked up.” “Applejack turned to look at her wife as she strode in, a smile breaking out on her face. “Scootaloo? Ah heard you three when you came in.” “Yeah. She got trapped in their little clubhouse by the snow.” Rainbow Dash crossed the room and leaned down for a kiss from her wife. Applejack happily obliged, both of them closing their eyes for the experience. Rainbow Dash pulled her wife in close for a warm hug as they kissed, before finally pulling apart. “How is she?” Rainbow Dash gestured over to a crib, where Applejoy’s chest rose and fell with every breath of sleep she took. “She’s sleepin’ like an angel.” Applejack rolled off the couch and onto her four legs to lean against Rainbow Dash, letting her face be tickled by the six-colored strands of her lover’s mane. “Heh. She does like that, doesn’t she? She must get it from me.” Rainbow Dash turned to nuzzle her wife affectionately, receiving another kiss in return. “I had an idea when I was outside. You up for a little cold air?” “Depends on what ya have in mind.” “Let me show you.” Before she had time to protest, Rainbow Dash grabbed her around her torso and pulled her into another hug before leading her quickly out the door to the hallway. Applejack’s half-hearted attempts at protest were defeated before she even spoke them by the excitement and enthusiasm she could see in the eyes of her wife. Instead of question what she was doing, Applejack let Rainbow Dash lead her through the house and out the door, content to see where their little adventure would lead. Applejack shivered when the two stepped out onto the porch. “Where are we goin’ Sugarcube?” “Just trust me, AJ.” Rainbow Dash once again grasped her wife around her midsection, although instead of pulling her in for a hug as she had previously, she gripped her tightly and began to beat her wings in rapid succession, lifting the both of them off the ground and into the air alongside the falling snow. Applejack made to protest but Rainbow Dash held her close, nuzzling the top of her head as they rose. Gently, Rainbow set her partner down on top of the roof, settling next to her on the red shingles after having done so. Applejack shivered again, and without missing a beat, Rainbow Dash took the end of her long scarf and wrapped it around her lover’s neck, pulling her close so they literally pressed against each other, sharing the scarf and body heat as they gazed out across the winter wonderland the orchard had become. Above them, the deep blue and black hues of the night sky formed an all-encompassing dome that stretched to the mountains and forests on every horizon. In the distance, Ponyville could be seen. Behind them, a second-story window stuck out from the red shingles of the roof and the other farm building could be seen over their shoulder. Everything, from the farm to the town to the seemingly endless expanse of empty trees that stretched before them, was shrouded in the darkness left by the clouds which blocked the moon and stars from view. Applejack snuggled against Rainbow Dash, who did the same in return. Neither spoke as they swept their gazes across the dark scene in front of them. The only illumination came from the few lighted windows in the house, but what little light there was made its presence known by lighting up each individual snowflake that drifted past. Each of the many flakes that floated all around the happy couple sparkled with the light that reflected off of it, creating an animated scene of glittering, dancing, white snowflakes. Each breath exhaled by the two ponies rolled from their mouths in the form of billowing clouds of condensation, floating upwards as wispy fog that intermingled with the falling snow for a short while before fading away. The wonder and majesty of the scene, combined with the warmth of each other’s’ presence, allowed both of them to forget the cold and experience the thrill of the quiet, timeless moment. “This is beautiful, Sugarcube.” Rainbow Dash turned to face her lover, “A beautiful night for a beautiful mare.” And on a cold winter’s eve, perched on the roof, sharing a scarf for warmth, and with a ballet of frozen dancers performing all around them, they shared another kiss.