//------------------------------// // Chapter 20 // Story: Always connected- Aftermath // by The-rogue-shadow //------------------------------// Applejack's eyes were watering as the air bit at her skin, becoming almost razor sharp as she ran faster than the speed of sound. Her vision was hazed, the landscape of Equestria and all of its varied colours melding into a beautiful cacophony of light and colour. Applejack knew that it was only a mixture of luck and reflexes that was keeping her from colliding with anything along the road and becoming just an orange stain on the ground. As she approached Maneflow Springs, she took as deep a breath as she could and shot through the small town, maneuvering herself so that she had more space by running along the docks. Behind her, light, random objects were being dragged along in her wake, along with the occasional pony. Applejack ignored it all, focussing on getting herself to Rainbow's side and rescuing her friends from the assault of diamond dogs. Breaking clear of the town's borders, Applejack slowed down just enough so that all of the objects that she had inadvertently collected were released. Increasing her speed once more, her thoughts started to drift toward a disaster scenario. 'What if I don't make it, then the entire war would be lost because ah couldn't get there fast enough.' She thought, pushing herself even harder as her limbs began to ache, and her breathing became heavy. She had fought diamond dogs, before, and knew that they were a vicious species with no regard for the lives of others, including their own kind. But she shuddered at the thought of dogs trained in military tactics. In the distance she could see the rows and rows of tombstones that indicated that she was getting closer to the battlefield. Her entire body ached, protesting her every movement with utter conviction. Applejack could feel herself slowing down, but kept pushing herself to continue with her goal in sight and her love even closer. 'Ah won't let you down Rainbow, not again.' Thought Applejack, entering the camp and looking around at all of the chaos that surrounded her. She caught the tiniest glimpse of a rainbow mane and made a beeline for it. Finding Rainbow surrounded by dogs, Applejack used a barrel as a spring board and launched herself into the middle of the group of dogs, feeling the super speed leave her as she did. Landing next to Rainbow, Applejack sent enormous bolts of blue lightening shooting off her body and into the chests of the hapless dogs, who were subsequently fried and kneeled over backwards, the fur on their chests glowing red and smoking. The last remnants of the electricity whipped off her body in small arcs. Breathing heavy, Applejack looked around, and saw that there were many dead ponies on the ground, but very few dogs. She was suddenly gripped in a great bear hug, which lifted her off the ground. Applejack smiled as the smell of Rainbow Dash's mane filled her nostrils. She put her arms around her marefriend, the pony that she had been through so much with. Together, they had fought Rainbow's deceit in her own mind, been given super powers that had transferred into the real world. Been displaced in time and seen the effects of horrible war and the way that it had changed their friends. Rainbow let go and Applejack saw that her eyes were filled with tears. The deep, magenta eyes that she had fallen in love with and the eyes that she hoped to look into for the rest of her life. "I'm so glad to see you AJ, I missed you so much… I… hurt so many… Lost control. I just need you to never leave me." Said Rainbow, and Applejack pressed her head against Rainbow's. "Ah love you Rainbow Dash. And once this is all over… Ah will never leave your side. Ever." She replied, and Rainbow smiled. Applejack pressed her lips against Rainbow's and embraced her, kissing her for the first time in far too long. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rainbow Dash felt a lump in her throat as Twilight disappeared, teleporting to Ponyville in search of reinforcements. She turned to Black Diamond, as the effects of the experimental medication still gripped him, throwing off his balance to such a degree that the mere act of standing up was a struggle. She poked her head out the door of the medical tent, and what she saw made her heart sink. Outside, the camp was in ruins, as dogs spontaneously burst from the earth and attacked the ponies as they rushed about in a mad effort to defend themselves. Fires had started in the distance and all Rainbow could hear was screaming. Behind her, she heard Diamond groan, and turned to see him lift himself out of the chair with much difficulty. "What are you doing?" She asked, walking over to him and pushing him back into the chair. Diamond batted her hoof away and attempted to stand once more. "I am going to find Rarity, with all this chaos I have to protect her." He told her, and Rainbow sighed, knowing him well enough that there was nothing she could say to make him change his mind. She helped him up and escorted him to the door. "I'm coming with you." She told him as they checked to see if the coast was clear. Diamond just nodded his head once and made a dash out the door, stumbling on his first few steps but recovering quickly. Together they made their way to the research tent, where Rainbow saw a dead dog halfway through the door. They entered cautiously, eyes peeled for any signs of dogs. Rainbow was suddenly thrown to the ground by Diamond as an arrow flew over their heads. "Okay, Okay… No banjos at the wedding." Said Diamond, getting off Rainbow and looking at the pony that had fired the arrow; Rarity, her eyes were fearful and her hooves were shaking. She dropped her bow and galloped over to Diamond, kissing him. Rainbow made her way over to Rarity's chest of weapons and opened it, only to find her old armour, still covered in the same black lines that closely resembled blood vessels inside a body. As she stared at it, it just served to remind her about her time as Rainbow Dark and all of the lives that she took, or in the case of Derpy, potentially ruined. Rarity appeared beside her and shut the lid on the chest. "I haven't had a chance to discover why your armour turned the way it did." Said Rarity quietly. Rainbow turned to her and saw that her face was splattered with blood, presumably that of the diamond dog. "I know why Rarity. Do you remember Twilight telling us a while ago that crystal takes on the properties of the environment that it is in?" Rainbow asked her, and Rarity shook her head. "I didn't think so, it happened before I went into the coma. But the point is that the crystal armour changed because its environment changed. I stopped doing good and became evil. The armour reflected that." Said Rainbow, and Black Diamond appeared beside her. His expression was one of anger had Rainbow had a frightening flashback to the way that he looked before he stabbed Rainbow Dark in the throat. "Don't ever call yourself that Rainbow. Ever. You are not evil. Evil is when somepony attacks their best friend because they are insecure. Evil is starting a war because you can't stand up for your own responsibility. Evil is taking the innocence of a mare by force, because you have no self-control." Said Diamond, and Rainbow saw Rarity look at the ground, ashamed. She nodded at Diamond, understanding his speech, even if she didn't believe it. "I… I better go and check on Derpy in the intensive care ward." Said Rainbow, looking to change the subject. "Rarity, do you know what happened to my sword?" She asked, and Rarity nodded, leading both Rainbow and Diamond to a table that was marked 'For repair.' Rainbow's sword sat amongst broken helmets and breastplates, the blade broken off at the hilt. "How did this happen I wonder?" Asked Rainbow to nopony in particular. "I found the blade part embedded in the skull of a griffin that had fallen from the sky, and the hilt was found in the throat of another about a hundred meters away." Rarity told her, and Rainbow sighed. "Do you have anything for me to use then?" She asked and Rarity walked over to a weapons rack on a wall and pulled off a sword, handing it to Rainbow with a shrug. Rainbow looked at Diamond, who was still under the effects of the medication. He nodded, understanding her reasons for wanting to find Derpy. Rainbow smiled quickly before galloping out of the tent and heading for the intensive care ward, which was located near the main tent. She was half way across the camp when a diamond dog burst forth from the ground and made a grab for her. Rainbow swung her sword, catching it across the chest and dropping it to the ground. She kept galloping, only to be stopped by another dog, as more and more burst from the ground, quickly surrounding her. They closed in on her, and Rainbow swung her sword wildly in a desperate attempt to keep them at bay. She closed her eyes, expecting to feel the pain of death once again. Instead, she heard a mighty shout, followed by the sound of electricity crackling through the air and the pained screams of diamond dogs. She opened her eyes and spotted the last pony she expected to see; Applejack. Tiny arcs of blue electricity whipped off her body as she panted, sweat running down her face. She jumped onto her mare friend and held her. Applejack pulled away and looked at Rainbow, a wide smile across her face. Rainbow's eyes filled with tears as she thought of how Applejack would react when she found out about the rampage that she had gone on at Rainbow Dark. "I'm so glad to see you AJ; I missed you so much… I… hurt so many… Lost control. I just need you to never leave me." Said Rainbow, and Applejack pressed her head against Rainbow's. "Ah love you Rainbow Dash. And once this is all over… Ah will never leave your side. Ever." She replied, and Rainbow smiled. Applejack pressed her lips against Rainbow's and kissed her, the events of the last week seemed to wash away as they forgot where they were and instead lost themselves in each other's kiss. Unbeknownst to them both, a golden and blue aura had formed around the two of them. The gold rested around Rainbow and the blue around Applejack. It grew brighter and brighter as the two kissed, eventually becoming blinding to any that were watching. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Applejack pulled out of the kiss and remarkably, felt energised. She smiled, looking into the magenta eyes that she knew so well and somehow knowing that everything was going to be alright. Suddenly, Rainbow's eyes went wide. "Derpy!" She exclaimed, and galloped away in the direction of the intensive care ward. Applejack followed, wondering why Rainbow was so worried about her. She had heard that Derpy was in need of Big Mac's blood, but she didn't know why. They galloped through the door of the tent to find it untouched, as though the dogs had been too afraid to trash it. Inside was the Doctor, sitting by Derpy's bed. His mane was dishevelled and his eyes were bloodshot and angry. Derpy on the other hoof was unconscious. Her skin was pale and there was a blood stained bandage around her head. The Doctor didn't look at them as they entered. Applejack stood back as Rainbow walked beside Derpy's bed and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She heard Rainbow whisper. The Doctor looked at her finally. "I know Rainbow, and I'm sorry that I behaved the way I did. I was just so worried about her." Said the Doctor, before turning to Applejack and smiling. "Good to see you again Applejack. I see that you both have regained control of your powers." Applejack shrugged, unsure of how she lost them in the first place. "Where's Sparkler?" Asked Rainbow, and the Doctor sighed. "She's safe." He said, and pulled back a curtain to reveal the foal, curled up in a pram and quietly snoring. "It's mighty strange that the dogs haven't attacked this place yet." Said Applejack, and the smirk that spread across The Doctor's face gave her Goosebumps. "Oh they won't attack. I've dealt with them before. Their ancient legends tell of a pony that brought their entire civilisation to its knees. Do you want to know the word for demon in the native language of the dogs? It's Doctor. And they all know it." The Doctor told her, and a shiver went down Applejack's spine, she believed him. The Doctor turned back to Derpy and kissed her on the lips. "I'm glad she's okay. Have you seen the others? We need to go and save Luna." Said Rainbow, and the Doctor shook his head. Rainbow nodded and together the two galloped back out into the fray. Applejack spotted Fluttershy on archer's stage and galloped toward her. A dog burst out of the ground in front of her, only to be stuck with one of Fluttershy's arrows. Rainbow took to the air, carrying Applejack to the top of archer's stage, where a few other archers had taken refuge, as well as Lightstar. "Is it time? Are we going to kill Gilda?" Asked Fluttershy excitedly, cocking another arrow and letting it loose as a dog started to climb the wooden frame. Applejack raised an eyebrow at Rainbow as she shook her head. "What do you mean no?" Isn't that the only way to end the war?" She asked. "No, it will only make Gregor fight harder; we have to get her to admit the truth." Explained Rainbow. "Are you joking!? It doesn't matter, if she dies, we all get the satisfaction of knowing that you guys are avenged, and all of the ponies that have died in the past two years didn't do so in vain." Yelled Fluttershy, firing yet another arrow at a dog. "Look Fluttershy, I know that you have been through a lot, but this is my fight, my right to handle her as I see fit." Rainbow told her sternly. Fluttershy shook her head. "I made you both a promise that I would make Gilda pay, because nopony messes with my friends." "I don't care. You made that promise when we were both stuck in an apparently permanent coma. It holds no sway now." Yelled Rainbow. "No sway? Really?" Asked Fluttershy. Applejack followed her eyes as they looked at the griffin camp and then back at Rainbow, then once again back at the griffin camp. "Fluttershy… Don't you dare!" Said Rainbow, shaking her head. Fluttershy suddenly turned and dived off archer's stage, slinging her bow over her back as she did so. Opening her wings, she made a beeline for the griffin camp. Rainbow started to give chase, but Applejack grabbed her and gave her a big kiss. Pulling away, Applejack gave her a wink before activating her super speed and jumping off archer's stage. 'Oh Fluttershy, ah wish you would have just listened to Rainbow.' Thought Applejack. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow blushed as Applejack disappeared, her super speed making her nothing but a gold and orange blur. She opened her wings and jumped off archer's stage, feeling the wind catch the underside, she smiled. The air was her element, and she was in complete control. Rainbow narrowed her eyes, and streamlined her body, just like she had always done when flying around Ponyville. She was surprised to see that Fluttershy's flying ability had increased dramatically in the two years that Rainbow was gone, and had gotten good enough that Rainbow was having a hard time keeping up with her. Below her, Rainbow could see Applejack, and because of the speed they were both going, it looked as though Applejack was running normally. Fluttershy suddenly flipped onto her back, pulling out her bow at the same time. In one smooth movement, Fluttershy cocked and released an arrow. Rainbow just barely had enough time to avoid it as it came rushing at her. The arrowhead nicked her cheek as it went past, making Rainbow's entire face sting. "Fluttershy, what the hay? You could have killed me!" Shouted Rainbow over the deafening wind. "Aw Boo Hoo, if I wanted to kill you I would have. Now stay back." Replied Fluttershy. The three ponies rushed into the Griffin camp, making their way through the defences like they weren't there at all. An alarm sounded, and she could see Minotaur and Griffins hastily get ready for a fight, grabbing whatever weapon they could find and shouting. Fluttershy and Rainbow ignored them all, heading straight for the largest tent in the middle of the camp. Fluttershy fired two arrows, which dropped the two Griffin guards at the entrance to the tent. They all burst through, coming to a stop right in front of Gregor's throne. Fluttershy cocked an arrow and aimed it at Gregor, who's previously outraged expression changed to a stone faced one. Rainbow landed behind her, and a moment later, Applejack showed up, standing next to Rainbow. "Fluttershy, please don't do this sugarcube. We all know that Gregor is innocent." Said Applejack, to which Fluttershy only shook her head. "He fathered that mangy griffin. He's just as guilty." She yelled back. Rainbow stepped forward, and Applejack saw concern in her eyes. "Fluttershy, please. Gregor was always good to me after I lost my parents. He took me in and cared for me. He never had to; I was the daughter of a royal guard that served his enemy. But still he saved me. He doesn't deserve to pay for his daughter's mistake." Said Rainbow calmly. Fluttershy's arm that was holding the arrow relaxed slightly and Applejack let out the breath she had been holding. "Rainbow Dash! What is the meaning of this?" Asked Gregor, his voice full of thinly veiled bravado. "Where is your daughter?" Asked Fluttershy angrily. "Why? So you ponies can take another child from me? I don't think so." Gregor replied. Rainbow shook her head. "We aren't here to take anypony from you. I seek peace. I seek justice." Said Rainbow. Gregor seemed to consider his for a moment, before nodding. Rainbow placed her hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder and Fluttershy relaxed the bowstring. Her eyes suddenly widened as she screamed in pain. They both looked down to see an arrow sticking out of Fluttershy's side. Applejack cried out as Fluttershy fell, catching her before she hit the ground. Rainbow turned to see the assailant; Gilda, standing in the corner of the tent with a crossbow. "Gilda! Why did you do that? They are here for peace." Shouted Gregor, shooting up out of his chair. "Shut up old feather! I'm so tired of putting on this goody two wings act for you." Yelled Gilda, reloading the crossbow and aiming it at Rainbow. "Are you going to actually finish me this time Gilda? Can you?" Said Rainbow, challenging what she hoped was Gilda's bluff. Gilda smirked, spreading her wings to make herself look bigger. "I thought I had finished you last time, but whatever. At least my dragon got Celestia." She said, and Rainbow gritted her teeth, staring into Gilda's cold eyes as her finger moved down to the trigger. Rainbow's heart rate increased as what remained of her fear and anger took hold. She began to activate the transformation, but just as Gilda pulled the trigger, her hand was gripped and thrust upward, the arrow tearing a hole in the ceiling of the tent. Gregor had cleared the entire room in less than a second, much to Rainbow's surprise. She let the transformation reverse and Gregor squeezed his daughters arm, making her drop the crossbow. He threw her onto the ground, his face contorted with rage. "Do you know what you've done girl? You have brought our countries the horrors of war! Given me an unpayable debt to the dogs and Minotaur and worst of all, you got your brother killed." Gregor shouted. Gilda's eyes started to water as Gregor put more pressure on her arm, twisting her wrist. "Father, please… Don't hurt me." Begged Gilda. Gregor dragged Gilda onto her knees and wrenched her head back. "You know why I took Rainbow Dash in when she became an orphan? Because even then I could see that neither you nor your brother were capable of running a country. I was going to have Rainbow succeed me as emperor of the new Griffin Empire and stop the hostilities between our species. But then your mother died, and her last wish was for me to give you and Alistair a chance at becoming better. So I sent Rainbow to Cloudsdale to be with her own kind for a while. But you and your brother were failures, and I was blinded by grief and love for my children. And then you had to go and do this, cause chaos and death in the sake of your own vanity." Gregor said to Gilda, who had completely broken down. "What is going to happen to her?" Asked Applejack, as Gregor stared at his daughter. He turned to Rainbow. "Do you have a dagger Rainbow Dash?" He asked, and Rainbow shook her head. "I have one." Said a weak voice. Rainbow turned to find that it had come from Fluttershy. Her breathing was shallow and she had lost a lot of blood from the wound. Fluttershy unsheathed her special dagger and gave it to Rainbow, who then reluctantly handed it to Gregor. Gilda started to plead with her father as he pushed her onto the ground and put his foot on her back. "Gilda, daughter of Gregor and Princess of the New Griffin Empire. As your Emperor, I hereby sentence you to a punishment befitting your crime." He declared as he took hold of one of Gilda's wings and slashed across it at the joint, severing it completely. "I take from you your power, your title." He continued, taking hold of the other wing and hacking it off. Gilda howled in pain as Rainbow and Applejack averted their eyes. Rainbow walked back to Applejack and embraced her. Gregor lifted her back onto her knees and placed his hand on her forehead. "I take from you your memories, and I cast you out! Lest you become a scourge on my house and kingdom again." He said, as Gilda's eyes rolled into the back of her head. Gregor let go, and Gilda fell to the ground, a pool of blood forming around her. Gregor dropped the dagger and turned to the ponies, dropping to his knees and bowing his head. "Peace… I want peace." He said. Rainbow made her way over to him and hugged him. "So do we." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Applejack smiled as Twilight told her the story of how the dogs in the tunnels had run screaming from Spike as he breathed fire from his mouth. The rescue of Luna had gone smoother than expected, as Spike, Applethunder and Twilight had gone into the diamond dogs catacombs to rescue her. Her eye was drawn to the other side of the battlefield, where the griffin camp used to sit, but where now just sat nothing. All around her, ponies were rushing about, packing up the camp and celebrating the end of the fighting. Gregor had gotten on his knees and apologised to Luna, relinquishing the coast line of the empire in the north. Fluttershy suddenly invaded Applejack's field of view, being carried around on Big Macintosh's back, despite the fact that he was still weak from giving Derpy his blood a few days earlier. Both Fluttershy and Derpy were going to make a full recovery, but it was going to take a long time. "Applejack… I just never got to apologise for the way that I behaved on… that day." She said, and would have continued if Applejack hadn't stopped her. "Don't worry about it sugarcube. We were all scared. I don't want you to apologise." She told her and Fluttershy smiled, nodding once. Applejack took a deep breath, the smell of blood was gone from the air, and it made her happy. She heard her name being called and turned to see Rarity beckoning her. She walked over to find all of the elements of harmony, including Derpy, who was being pushed around in a wheelchair by The Doctor, and Princess Luna, as well as Black Diamond, Big Mac and Spike. Luna looked around the circle at them all, and a small smile tugged the corners of her mouth. "You have all sacrificed much over the past two years, some more than others, but it was always a sacrifice. I just want to say thank you. Because of you and the countless others that lost their lives, Equestria is finally safe once more. Also, to commemorate the fallen, this site has become a war memorial and is now a sacred location. One more thing; I'm sorry, I'm sorry that you all had to be put through so much heartache and suffering. For the rest of your lives, I swear that you will want for nothing." Luna told them, a small tear appearing in the corner of her eye. "Actually your majesty, I'm happy to just go back to the way things were." Said Rainbow, moving closer to Applejack. The others all nodded, except Black Diamond who said; "I for one don't want things to go back to normal. Five a.m. Wake ups, terrible meals and not to mention scrubbing barracks with a toothbrush. Not as fun as it sounds." And Rarity hit him in the shoulder. "So what happens now?" Asked Twilight, Luna shrugged. "You go home Twilight, you go home and read every book in the library, you lay by the fireplace and read as Pinkie sleeps. Pinkie, you go home and throw the biggest party that Ponyville has ever seen. Rock the very bedrock of Tartarus. Fluttershy, you go home and take care of your animals as Big Mac takes care of you. Rarity, become fashionable again. Diamond, you can just stop fighting. Rainbow, I expect to see sonic Rainbooms in the sky on regular intervals and Applejack, you do what you do best; farm apples." Said the Doctor, smiling wide at the thought. The other ponies nodded happily. "What about you Doctor? What are you going to do?" Asked Twilight. A strange sound suddenly filled the air, like laboured breathing. "Funny you should say that Twilight, I have got to get the lovely Miss Derpy Hooves back to a different time. We... uh, skipped ahead inadvertently thanks to Celestia." Said the Doctor as a large blue box appeared out of thin air behind him. All of the ponies except Luna took a step back as is became solid. The Doctor hugged the box and opened the door, wheeling Derpy and Sparkler into the box. He poked his head back out and smiled. "I'd expect to see you all again. In one way or another, Alonsy." Exclaimed the Doctor, shutting the door. A moment later the box started to make the sound again, and a light on the top flashed in perfect synchronisation with the sound. The box faded away as the ponies watched with wide eyed expressions. When it had completely disappeared, Applejack turned to Rainbow, whose mouth was open wide in shock. "Ah have no earthly idea what just happened. But ah'm glad ah was with you when ah saw it." She said, turning Rainbow's head and kissing her. Rainbow pulled away and smiled. "Me too. Hey, how are you feeling right now, about it all?" She asked. "Ah… Ah honestly feel happy about it. Ah mean, sure, we all suffered, our friends have changed and all, but in the end… We survived, and that's enough for me. Ah love you Rainbow Dash. And no war will ever change that. You know what we are?" Said Applejack. Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, we are always connected. I love you too Applejack." Replied Rainbow, and kissed Applejack again. 'Apples.' Thought Rainbow. 'Skittles.' Thought Applejack.