//------------------------------// // Romantic Fall // Story: Sweet Caramel Apple Story // by Majestical4729 //------------------------------// After their Hospital visit, the Apple Family returned home to sleep through the night. The next morning, Rainbow Dash visited the farm, to see Caramel once again, telling him, "Guess what? Your house is all in top shape and ready to go!" "That's great." Caramel commented, before Applejack approached him sadly. "But, that means that it's time for you to go." "Applejack, " Caramel comforted, "I'll always be nearby. I live in Ponyville, just a few hundred metres away from the farm! We'll see each other. When we can." "Please remember what we did for you," Applejack pleaded the stallion in front of her. "I always will," Caramel replied, before sharing a hug with the farmer. The rest of the Apple Family residing at Sweet Apple Acres then arrived at the scene to say goodbye to their guest. Apple Bloom handed him a photo of him and the family, Sugar Belle gave him a delicious Caramel Apple, and Big Mac gave him a pillow with an apple pattern. Caramel thanked the whole family for their kindness and shared one last hug with them before leaving. The following days, Applejack got many visits from Caramel, whenever he bought some apples. They soon started to grow closer and closer, as they participated in public events together. They eventually winded up confirming their romantic relationship by dating as girlfriend and boyfriend. During the events of 'A Cloudsdale Wedding'... At the Train Station, Caramel waited for his girlfriend, as they had promised to meet at the location. "Caramel!" Applejack called, running towards him. "Applejack! You made it!" he responded, hugging her. "Of course I have! But unfortunately, I can't spend much time with you; being the Head Chef and one of my best friend's bridesmaids will keep me apart from you!" Applejack sadly stated. "Calm down, AJ! We really don't need to be close all the time to maintain our relationship, plus, we'll get plenty of time to be close at the Reception," Caramel assured her. "Right, thanks, Caramel, see you later," Applejack winked "See you later, too, apple of my eye." Caramel winked back. That night... "Applejack! There you are!" Caramel gallops towards his girlfriend, when she reached their Hotel Room. "What's wrong?" he asked her, noticing her frown. "Rainbow Dash decided that she doesn't want me to be one of her bridesmaids anymore! She replaced me with my little sister Apple Bloom, and placed me in front row because she figured that I should take a break!" Applejack answered. "That doesn't sound very nice of her," Caramel commented. "Do you think I should just...accept it?" Applejack asked. "Well, I can tell that you're upset, but cheer up, be positive. Maybe your friend just figured that you need to take a break from being a bridesmaid; I mean, you've been a bridesmaid for three times already!" Caramel responded, "Beng a bridesmaid at Cadance and Shining Armor's Royal Wedding, Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich's wedding, Fluttershy and Discord's wedding, that's a lot of times!" "Thanks for cheering me up, Caramel." Applejack thanked her boyfriend. "Anything, Sugarcube," Caramel replied in a romantic tone, as he and Applejack stared into each other's eyes. The next day, when the wedding was taking place... "You're here!" Princess Twilight Sparkle greeted her best friends, when they arrived. "Of course we are, darling!" Rarity claimed. "Why wouldn't we be here for Rainbow Dash's wedding? It's her best day ever!" Fluttershy added. "Even though she decided to replace us with the CMCs?" Applejack asked, reminding the group of what their 'friend' did. "I know it doesn't sound nice of her to do that," Twilight commented, "But look on the bright side, she gave you all front row seats, next to your loved ones. And, she only did so because you all have been bridesmaids for a lot of times," "That she figured that we should take a break, which is very thoughtful of her," Fluttershy commented. "Pinkie Pie!" Cheese Sandwich called. "Cheese Sandwich!" Pinkie rushed to her beloved husband, "Oh, cheesy! Can you believe that this time, for the first time in forever, I get to attend a wedding with you, sitting right next to you?!" "Yes, and I'm all ready for it, with extra cheese!" Cheese Sandwich joked, causing the party pony couple to laugh. "Fluttershy!" Discord called, appearing out of nowhere. "Discord! You made it!" Fluttershy hugged him, before they flew off to their seats. "Rarity!" Spike approached, "There you are! Are you ready to sit together with me for the first time at a wedding?" "Of course, Spikey-Wikey! I've waited for years to do so!" Rarity dramatically exclaimed. Applejack felt happy for her best friends, watching them sit with their special some creatures at a wedding, for the very first time. Suddenly, she felt a warm familiar hoof touching her shoulder. She turned to see the handsome stallion of her dreams, her boyfriend, Caramel. "Applejack, here you are. Are you ready to attend a wedding with me, for the first time?" he asked, reaching out his hoof. Blushing, Applejack took his hoof and responded, "I am." The Earth Ponies then walked to their seats in the front row. together to join their friends, before more creatures arrived. "So, are you still upset about being replaced?" Caramel asked his girlfriend. "To be honest, I am still a little upset, but being with you had really lifted up my spirit," Applejack admitted, "It's like...you know what they call...a blessing in disguise." "So you're saying that getting to sit next to me is better than beng Rainbow Dash's bridesmaid?" Caramel asked. "In a way you can say it..." Applejack blushed, "And it really warmed my heart." The music then started, as the doors were opened to let the newly weds enter. Applejack let out a tear of joy, watching how lucky her 'Best Friend' was at that moment. Caramel placed his hoof onto hers, before she romantically leaned against him. However, not long after the newly-weds reached the platform... "STOP!" Scootaloo shouted. "YOU'RE MAKING A BIG MISTAKE!" Gilda the griffon added. "Uh, can't those two jerks ever stop being so rude?!" the annoyed and frustrated 'bride' blurted out, causing every creature to gasp in shock. Applejack could not believe what she was seeing and hearing, "Did RD just called two of her friends jerks?!" "I mean, why do they have to ruin my best day ever?!" the 'bride' began to fake her despair, before a voice said: "Because it is not YOUR best day ever! It's MINE!" The real Rainbow Dash appeared, giving every creature a shock. "What?! Rainbow?! Urgh, I never should have trapped them near you!" the 'bride' angrily blurted out, causing the crowd to stare at her in shock. "I don't understand; how can there be two Rainbow Dashes?!" Applejack asked. "What is going on here?!" Twilight demanded to know. "She's Lightning Dust!" the real Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "She dyed her coat and mane to impersonate me, tricked me into chasing her to a hidden crystal cave maze where she trapped me and hurt me, and is doing all of that for her own amusement, just like old times!" The crowd watched in horror as Rainbow's imposter revealed her true appearance to them, with Rainbow's best friends huddling close to their love interests. "Right you are, RAINBOW DASH!" Lightning sneered, "I told you that we are rivals for life, and I kept my word. We're still rivals, and since you still criticised me even when I changed my ways to endangering only my fellow Washouts and myself, I figured to take it to EXTREME, this time!" Hearing what Lightning threatened, Caramel stood in front of his girlfriend, with the intentions of protecting her from harm. Every creature whimpered upon hearing what Lightning threatened, before she continued, "I actually wanted to hurt JUST YOU, but then I figured it was so not worth it since you're the Element of Loyalty, and the fact that there's nothing more loyal than sacrificing yourself to save who you're loyal to, so I figured," She stopped for a second, before using her most wicked, threatening tone,"That the only thing that can make you miserable the most is HURTING EVERY CREATURE YOU LOVE AND CARE ABOUT! STARTING WITH YOUR SPECIAL SOMEPONY!" Rainbow Dash gasped in horror before crying, "NO! NOT SOARIN!" Applejack was furious with Lightning Dust at that very moment, to the point that she attempted to march towards the horrible pegasus, but Caramel held her back. "What are you doing?!" Applejack angrily asked her boyfriend. "What's best for you!" Caramel replied. Before Applejack could respond, Twilight confronted Lightning Dust, "You may have succeeded in deceiving us all this time, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self, you're going to have to fight ALL of us," Twilight declared, before every creature at the wedding joined her standing up against Lightning. However, Lightning was not scared one bit, she laughed, "Oh, please! You creatures should have been wiser about where you choose to have big events!" With that, the wicked pegasus took out a small but powerful marble and threw it to the floor made of clouds. Seconds later, the clouds became extremely soft, before every creature standing on it fell through! Applejack and Caramel screamed alongside their friends, while the creatures capable of flight tried their best to catch every creature in time. Spike managed to save Rarity, while Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich saved themselves by using their clothes as parachutes. Fluttershy flew through the chaos, catching every creature she could save. During the fall, Caramel tried to get the rescuers' attention by waving and shouting, "Hey, over here! Help!" Unfortunately, the savers were too overwhelmed by the situation and still could not save him and Applejack. As the Earth Pony couple got closer and closer to the ground thanks to their gravitational potential energy converting into a lot of kinetic energy, they began to fear that they would wind up as the unlucky unsaved creatures. Applejack was terrified to the point she began to cover her eyes, a moment before Caramel's hooves touched her. "What are you doing?!" the farmer asked. "In case we don't get caught, at least you'll have more chances of survival," he told her, placing himself right in front of her, so he could be a landing pad for her. "No, you already sacrificed yourself to save me once, I don't want it happening again," Applejack told him. "It's worth it, Applejack; you deserve to live more than I ever do, you saved Equestria a dozen times, you're a beloved heroine, and Leader of the Apple Family. You're a lot more important than I am!" Caramel explained. "But, you're important too!" Applejack told him, "Hero or not, you're still important to some creatures! Every creature's life is precious to some creature else! And yours...is the treasure of mine." The couple looked into each other's eyes for a moment, before they were caught by Twilight's magic. "Hang on!" the alicorn shouted, before levitating the ponies to safety. Looking up, they saw a huge blast of magic that sent Lightning Dust far away from Equestria, for good. Upon being saved, Applejack and Caramel shared a hug to express how they were to survive, alongside every creature else. Later, at the real wedding, Applejack shed a tear to see her real Best Friend getting married. Caramel looked at his girlfriend lovingly for a brief moment, before they turned their attention back to the newly-weds. At the reception, the Earth Pony couple watched as the newly-weds embraced each other from a distance, before Sweetie Belle sang, "Love is in bloom. A beautiful bride, a handsome groom. I said, love is in bloom. You're starting a life and making room for us." The guests all begun to pair up and dance, causing Caramel to ask Applejack, "So, now that every creature's dancing, will you like to dance with me?" Applejack blushed before taking Caramel's hoof, "I do," The Earth Ponies then broke into a dance alongside their friends, with Applejack's best friends watching her. "It's finally happening!" Rarity exclaimed, "Applejack's got her true love!" "They're so cute!" Pinkie squealed, before taking a picture of the couple, surprising them. "Here you go, AJ! A photo to remember this moment!" Caramel and Applejack blushed for a while to see the photo, and know that their friends were watching. But they quickly got by it and thanked their friends for their support.