Applejack had a small idea what to expect up in Cloudsdale; up until a few days prior she had seen Rainbow Dash frequently and through her received some news. She knew that Princess Luna, the last of the alicorn princesses, was there, having barely escaped the fall of Canterlot, and that she was proving an excellent wartime Princess under the circumstances. Rainbow and the other Wonderbolts were quite devoted to her. She knew that Shining Armor had retreated there with Flurry Heart when the Crystal Empire crumbled. She knew the Pegasi and several Earth Pony and Unicorn refugees were hastily reinforcing the areas around the runway and the Wonderbolts Arena in preparation for more evacuees. And she knew the number of survivors, though enough to strain the resources of the city in the sky, was still desperately, tragically low.
Her ears were ringing oddly as she was gently lowered to her feet. It was brighter up here, closer to the sun. And bustling with construction, confusion. A couple Pegasi in uniform were frantically trying to clear that end of the runway, a couple civilian volunteers trying to direct the arrivals, triage the injured. Her Wonderbolt was speaking but she couldn’t hear the words. She squinted in the bright sunlight and looked for familiar faces; there were pitifully few. She jumped a mile when a wing touched her back, turned to look for the first time. It was Soarin, peering at her concernedly. “Are you okay???”
She shook her head briskly to clear the ringing. “Yeah.” No.
His look was kind and sympathetic. “You should go check in at the field hospital at the other end of the runway,” he reiterated. “I’ll check on you later, ‘kay? And I’ll tell Dash you’re here.” A couple pats on the back with his wing and he was off. She headed down the runway. Several citizens of Cloudsdale and the refugees who’d been living there for a while were making their way amongst the new arrivals, looking for loved ones. That’s where she spotted Scootaloo.
All the loss of the last few weeks and yet the single most tragic thing she ever saw in her life was the look on the young filly’s face when she saw Applejack there all alone, and the full implication of her solitude registered in her heart and soul. Her little face crumpled and so did AJ’s heart. She could do no more for her than to hold her close and tight as she wept, and to try to be strong for her, to not cry herself lest she not know how to stop. That is how Shining Armor found them. He was a broken stallion, a shell of his former self. It hurt to look at him but Applejack did anyway. With a sigh he lowered himself to his haunches beside them, and did not speak or try to offer comfort where there was none. They were three ponies torn out of context, without the families and friends who had defined them. Who were they now?
The harried Doctor on site was only delighted by the arrival of a strong, healthy evacuee with a reasonable skill in first aid. He paired her up with Lyra Heartstrings, who Rainbow had brought in about an hour ahead of Applejack. They didn’t speak much, but got right to work, finding in each other a similar efficiency and focus on the tasks at hand. Scootaloo remained glued to her side. It concerned her that she might be seeing things here a little beyond her years but she didn’t have the heart to send her away.
After a long day Luna and Spitfire decided to recall the Wonderbolts; there would be no night flights that evening. Luna raised the moon and the weather Pegasi banked the clouds. Shining Armor cast his protection spell. The Doctor dismissed the volunteers; he himself would stay all night to watch over the wounded.
“There are dorms for the refugees at the Cloudeseum,” Lyra said. “I’m headed over. Are you going to stay with Rainbow Dash?”
“I don’t know.” Applejack admitted. “I at least have to get Scootaloo back to her.”
She glanced over to the quiet corner where Scootaloo had curled up and fallen asleep . When she looked back at Lyra, it struck her for the first time how infrequently she saw her alone, without Bon Bon. She was chagrined to only be realizing now what that must mean. Her hoof still reached instinctively to fiddle with her hat but she’d lost it days ago and she rubbed her ear awkwardly instead. “Lyra, I...”
“Please don’t.” It came out sharply but AJ understood, and wasn’t offended. More softly she added “Look, Applejack... I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“See you, Lyra.” She busied herself organizing supplies, waiting for Rainbow to arrive, but Rainbow went straight home and Soarin came instead.
“I think she didn’t want to see you for the first time in front of anypony else,” he murmured softly as he helped lift Scootaloo, still sleeping, onto AJ’s back.
“I get it,” whispered Applejack. Soarin took Scootaloo’s little scooter from her and tucked it under a wing.
“The paths around here are well lit and there are usually signs where you shouldn’t walk, but it’s not as clear in the residential areas. Stay close, okay?” Applejack nodded and he led her outside, where it was darker than she expected, the cloud banks muting the glow of Luna’s moon. She was grateful to have an escort. They walked quietly for a while but she was aware of him studying the side of her face, regarding her quizzically.
“Is that it, then?” she finally asked, jerking her head back in the direction of the hospital and the dorms. “Is Ponyville....?”
“Yes,” he said sadly. “There’s nopony left there. I’m sorry.” Applejack looked over but he had lowered his head and was focused on the ground now.
“I’m sorry, too. I know it can’t be easy for y’all..... I’m sorry I brought it up.”
“Hey, no worries. It’s natural for you to wonder.” He let out a shaky sigh. “You’re right though, it’s not easy. Those things are next to impossible to kill. It seems like every time we go down there’s more of them and fewer survivors. I think Cloudsdale should have been taking ponies in much earlier. The evacuations didn’t really pick up until Luna arrived and took over. At least now the team feels like we’re helping... a little.”
“Helping a lot.” Applejack stated emphatically. “I can assure you, y’all gave us a lot of hope and reassurance while it lasted. A lot of us just weren’t ready to give up and go yet. I for one never intended to leave my farm until, well - you know. It’s lucky Cloudsdale is still safe. It’s good of the Pegasi to share your home with us.”
He was back to studying her with quiet intensity. “You know, the Wonderbolts were always home for me, more than Cloudsdale in general. And for what it’s worth, since you’re like family to Crash, that makes you family to the rest of us, too.” He bumped his shoulder against hers gently. Applejack smiled a little and bumped him back. He was sweet to try and comfort her.
“Well,” she said as they reached Rainbow Dash’s place, “thanks for seeing us home.”
“You’re welcome!” He tried for a grin but it faltered and he blurted “I wish I could do more.” His eyes were so tired and sad and AJ wanted to reassure him somehow.
“Well you also saved my life today,” she pointed out. “That ain’t nothing. Thanks for that too, by the way.”
“Of course!” His expression relaxed slightly, and when Scootaloo gave a little snore and shifted slightly on AJ’s back they shared a genuine smile.
“I’d best get her in to bed.” Impulsively she hugged him, and he returned the hug warmly with a leg and both wings. “Get some rest, Sugarcube. And thanks again.”
Rainbow Dash had long since reinforced her home so that her friends could come and stay. Applejack climbed the steps and let herself in. She found Dash sitting quietly in the dark. Tank was there, and a black kitten name Scratch, which Thunderlane had rescued and brought back for Scootaloo. She was the stand in younger sibling for several on the team now. Together they settled Scootaloo into her bed and tucked the blanket around her, then went and sat at the kitchen table, still without speaking. Applejack sensed Dash was searching for a way to tell her something and intended to wait her out.
“I saw Rarity,” she began haltingly. “I tried to get to her but I...” she squeezed her eyes shut but a single, heart breaking tear leaked out.
“It ain’t your fault, Sugarcube.” Applejack whispered, reaching for her friend’s hoof “It ain’t.” Rainbow let loose a sob and then AJ did too, and then they were holding each other close and sobbing their hearts out, two Elements where once there were six.
Princess Luna sent for her the next day, and showed her to a large open area that had recently been reinforced, and which lay between the Wonderbolts Arena and their training grounds. As mortal ponies went, Luna knew Applejack well and felt comfortable around her, so she indicated they should sit and did little to conceal her exhaustion. In addition to raising both the sun and the moon, ruling what was left of Equestria, and helping to plan both attack and rescue missions, Luna was still being called by ponies’ dreams. And she was unable to bear leaving any of her remaining subjects to face their nightmares alone. When so much of reality and recent memory had also become nightmarish, she felt doubly obligated to try and ease their sleep. All of which combined meant little rest for Luna herself.
“How can I help, Princess?” Applejack asked, after they had exchanged sympathy over their respective losses.
“We are running out of food.” Luna replied plainly. “Cloudsdale has no farms, no means of growing on a large scale. At least, not yet.” She gestured across the open area before them. “Dr. Whooves and Shining Armor believe they have devised a way to assemble a greenhouse and install some deep troughs of dirt -“
“Where from?” Applejack interrupted.
“We’ll have to bring it up from below. Find some - “
“A lot.”
“Yes, a lot, that remains... uncorrupted. And seeds, of course, where any remain. There are a handful of Pegasi who gardened as a hobby and who will contribute what they have. Applejack, I will need, Equestria will need, your skill and your Earth Pony magic in order to make a farm here. We need you to feed, well - everypony.” She offered up a hesitant smile. “I can, of course, promise you exactly the weather conditions you desire. But not much more than that.”
Applejack was never one to shy away from hard work or a challenge. But as she surveyed the area before them, the majority of which was still largely cloud, the last thing she felt was optimistic. It had to be done though, right? Luna was looking at her anxiously.
“We’ll get it done, Princess,” she promised. “I won’t let you down.” Luna fairly beamed with relief. Applejack was the Element of Honesty, and if she said it would be done then it would. Luna felt much reassured.
Over the next few days, a modest community farm and garden began to take shape. Dr. Whooves and Shining Armor wrestled a decent sized greenhouse into place. Spitfire assigned Thunderlane and Blaze to seek and retrieve anything from below that could be helpful: tools, seedlings, enormous buckets of soil that hadn’t been poisoned by the creatures’ onslaught. Applejack described as best she was able what to look for but where dirt was concerned only an Earth pony knew for sure. They competed good-naturedly to bring her the best of what she was looking for, not that she was in a position to send anything away. She was out there early every morning, with Scootaloo at her side when she didn’t have school. When Rainbow Dash didn’t have to fly at night, AJ would leave after dinner to help out at the hospital until late, then back home for a little sleep before waking up in time to see Dash off for the day, get Scootaloo’s breakfast, head over to the farm. Sometimes it was hard watching Rainbow fly off to deal with what seemed to be more pressing, life or death matters, while she was literally sifting through dirt. One day she couldn’t help but comment bitterly about it to Shining.
“Believe me, I know,” he agreed. “I wish I could be down there, too. I wish I could fight. I wish I could gain some sort of... I don’t know, revenge? Closure? Satisfaction?”
“All of that!” Applejack nodded.
“But we have work to do here. You have to find a way to feed, I mean, literally the entire pony nation. And Scootaloo needs you. And Flurry needs me, and I have Cloudsdale to guard. And yaks to befriend.”
“And how are the yaks?”
“Surviving. Maybe barely. I don’t know; they don’t really like me and they won’t let me in. But Luna wants to keep the lines of communication open.”
“She’s right, I’m sure. The yaks and we ponies, we may be all each other have left.”
After about a week they were ready to start planting. Several Earth pony refugees were there to assist, and a handful of Pegasi who liked to garden as a hobby. Amongst them were Fluttershy’s parents.
Applejack had to turn her head for a moment to hide her emotion before walking over to embrace them both. “I am so glad y’all are here. Thank you so much for coming.”
“Oh, Applejack, I’m so afraid we just won’t be any help!” said Mr. Shy in his voice barely above a whisper. “But we wanted to be her for you.”
“Don’t you worry about a thing. Just having you here makes me feel better about the whole enterprise. I just know everything’s going to go okay.”
Dr. Whooves waited nervously, shifting from hoof to hoof, for her to give instructions and the signs to begin. “Here goes nothing,” he whispered when she joined him.
Applejack gave him a hoof bump. “Celestia help us to live up to all this.”
“Indeed!”