"Thanks fer givin' me a couple days off, Big Mac. Ah really appreciated it." Applejack and Big McIntosh had spent most of the early morning finishing the last of the applebucking and were making a start on sewing the winter crops, barley and ryegrass. As long as Winter wasn't too cold, they would be ready for harvest early in Spring and would stretch the Winter food stores until next year's crops were ready.
"Eeyup." Big McIntosh used his signature two syllable affirmative reply. He was pulling the plow along, tilling up fresh earth for the crops.
"Y'all have any trouble while Ah was away?" Applejack was following along behind her brother, dropping the seeds in neat rows and covering them with the soft soil.
"Nope."
"Good ta hear." Applejack replied, then lapsed into silence. Her brother had always been a stallion of very few words and that wasn't making this any easier. She and Rainbow Dash had worked out a skeleton plan, but no matter how much she had prepared, this was still going to be awkward.
"Hey, Big Mac? What do ya think of Lyra an' Bon-Bon?" She asked, trying to keep her voice from trembling. She'd finally gotten the question out, there was no turning back now.
The plow stopped as the red stallion turned to look at his sister. "What do ya mean, AJ?" It was a rather vague question, not the sort that could be answered easily without some kind of clarification.
Applejack tried her best to look calm and collected. "What do ya think of them? Ya know, them bein' two mares gettin' hitched an' havin' a foal."
Her still vague inquiry was met with a strange look from her brother. Applejack was afraid he might be coming to the wrong conclusion, which unfortunately for her was actually the correct one.
"Ah’m just curious, see Ah thought Ah might invite 'em over fer dinner some night." Applejack began into the excuse she had rehearsed, but hoped not to have to use. She spoke suspiciously quickly, trying to get it all out before her conscience caught up with her. "See, Twi was writin' a letter ta the Princess 'bout couples like them, an' me an' Dashi-, err Rainbow Dash ended up havin' dinner with 'em. They're decent folks, but some ponies ain't so nice ta them behind their backs, so Ah wanted ta ask before Ah invited 'em here." It wasn't quite a lie and it left a lot out, but Rainbow Dash had convinced her it would work. Applejack silently hoped she was right.
"Oh, Ah see." Big McIntosh considered that rather long winded explanation for a moment before shrugging. "Ah ain't never gave it much thought before. Guess Ah don't mind."
Applejack sighed with relief inwardly. "And ya don't mind 'em bein'... fillyfoolers?" Somehow saying that word aloud to her brother left a foul taste in her mouth, unlike the loving feeling it brought when she was alone with Rainbow Dash.
"Ain't mah place ta say one way er the other." He shrugged a second time and turned back to pull the plow again. "But ya might ask Granny Smith just ta be sure."
"Yeah..." Applejack resumed planting seeds, slipping back into silence as she retreated into her own thoughts. It wasn't exactly the affirmative response she had held out some hope for, albeit a ridiculously slim hope, but it was far cry better than her worst fears of unadulterated rejection. On the other hoof, his mention of asking Granny Smith for her opinion did not give her hope on that score.
Unnoticed by either sibling, a pair of red-orange eyes, pale yellow ears and the filly they were attached to had seen and heard their entire conversation from behind a nearby bush. As the older siblings both lapsed into silence, Apple Bloom snuck away. She tried to piece together some of the odd things she'd been seeing and hearing lately as she moved far enough away to break into a gallop. She was heading back to the house to find a good stakeout spot to watch Granny Smith and discover what her sister was going to ask next.
The elderly light green mare was snoozing in her rocking chair, but blinked awake as she was addressed. "Soup's on.. Huh? Oh Applejack, whatcha need young'un?"
"Ah was just curious 'bout somethin', wanted ta ask." Applejack shuffled her hooves, her anxiety growing. She wished she hadn't spoken up, but now that she had, she'd better see it through.
"Well go on, spit it out. Ah ain't gettin' any younger ya know."
"Okay, uh..." Applejack started. "Ya remember what the Princess said at Lyra an' Bon-Bon's wedding?"
"Who?" Granny Smith stared at Applejack, but her eyes seemed a little unfocused.
"The Princess, Princess Celestia." Applejack repeated.
"Ah know who the Princess is, young'un. Ah mean the other two ya mentioned. Fire an' Ping Pong?"
"Lyra an' Bon-Bon. Green unicorn an' cream colored earth pony." Applejack gulped. "The two mares that got hitched."
"Oh! Them fillyfoolers!" Granny Smith blurted out. Applejack cringed and started to speak, but Granny Smith kept talking. "Ain't seen nothin' like that since Ah was a filly.
"Way back in Fillydelphia it was; before we settled down here an' got Ponyville started. Now back then Fillydelphia weren't much bigger than Ponyville is today, but as we was passin' through Ah saw they was holdin' a weddin' in the town square. An' mah eyes nearly bugged right outta mah head. There was a right pretty pegasus filly in a wedding dress at the altar, an' right next ta her in a tuxedo plain as day wouldn't yah know, another filly. Unicorn, Ah think she was.
"There was lots of ponies there an' ain't none of them makin' a fuss, so Ah just trotted along. We wasn't stayin' long anyway. Now that Ah think 'bout it, Ah think Princess Celestia might have been there too. Mah memory's a might fuzzy, but that mane of hers is pretty memorable..." Granny Smith tapped her chin with a hoof as she trailed off. "What was it ya wanted ta ask young'un?"
"Ah think that there story just answered it." Applejack was stunned, she didn't expect asking Granny Smith to go so smoothly. "Ah just wondered if Celestia was tellin' the truth about when the last time two mares gettin' hitched was. She does like her little jokes sometimes."
"Ya shouldn't talk 'bout the Princess like that, young'un! If'n it weren't for her grace and wisdom, Ponyville wouldn't even be here today!" Scolding Applejack seemed to have been a little too much for her and Granny Smith leaned back in the rocking chair and dozed off again, muttering in her sleep. “Princess marryin’ two fillyfoolers... Ain’t hurtin’ no pony, Ah guess...”
Applejack stood stunned for a moment, wondering what to do, then took advantage of the situation to escape gracefully. Maybe more questions would have given her a better idea of Granny Smith's views, but pressing her further didn't seem like a good idea right now, nervous as she already was and Granny Smith having gone back to her nap.
Unnoticed again, Apple Bloom snuck away from her hiding place behind the sofa. Something was definitely up with her big sister. She seemed to be really curious about Miss Lyra and Miss Bon-Bon, and she had been spending a lot of time with Rainbow Dash lately, lots more than her other friends. And just what had she seen on top of that cloud?
A shadowy figure in a black catsuit perched in a nearby apple tree, watching the big farmhouse in the dim Autumn evening. Her raspberry eyes and blue muzzle sticking out of her mask reflected the light from the rising moon. Once the last of the lights went out, she spread her blue wings and flicked her rainbow colored tail. These four telltales were the only clues to her identity, but it was just as well she had no spectators as they would be unmistakable to just about anypony who saw her.
Rainbow Dash lept from the tree branch, barely rustling the leaves as if nothing but a light breeze had touched them. She glided silently toward the open window where the last of the lights had just been extinguished. She raked her wings back sharply to clear the window frame, then quickly snapped them forward into a braking maneuver and landed with a nearly silent plop on the bed inside the room. It was a great departure from her usual entrances pretty much anywhere, but she'd spent all day practicing and it amounted to a pretty cool trick.
The orange earth pony laying on the impromptu landing strip watched with a smile as the disguised pegasus snuck in. She was not surprised in the least by the intruder and leaned up to plant a soft kiss on the exposed muzzle when she landed. "Glad ya could make it, Dashie. I betcha spent all day practicing that entrance." Applejack whispered with a smirk.
Rainbow Dash just grinned in return and the two ponies spent an eternity in ten seconds flat, just gazing into each other's eyes. Unfortunately, the moment was shattered by a the soft tap of a small hoof on the bedroom door. They broke their gaze and both stared at the door in stunned silence. Applejack secretly hoped the silence would be taken as a sign that she was sound asleep, but luck was not with her as the door began to open with the barest of creaks. Quick as lightning, Rainbow Dash slipped off the bed and hid herself under it instead, leaving Applejack alone and still stunned on top of the bed.
A light yellow muzzle poked in through the barely open door. "Applejack? Ya asleep?"
The sound of her little sister's voice and her marefriend's quick action in hiding herself gave Applejack her voice back. "Ah was just 'bout ta be. Ya should be in bed too."
"But Applejack I've got a question, it's important.." Apple Bloom moaned from the doorway. The tip of her muzzle was still the only part of her actually in the room for which Applejack was grateful, she wanted to keep it that way.
"Alright, alright. Ask me quick an' git back ta bed, then." Applejack's voice was quite a bit sharper than it usually would have been addressing her sister, but she never really was herself when trying to keep a secret and to top it off, at least part of her was trying to get rid of Apple Bloom for the night.
To Applejack's lasting horror however, rather than asking her question through the mostly closed door, Apple Bloom nosed the door open and stepped inside. The young filly certainly seemed to have something heavy weighing on her mind, she kept her head bowed as she cantered toward the bed where her sister was. "Applejack..." The question had just started to pass her lips when a glimmer of moonlight caused something on the floor to catch her eye and stopped her voice in it's tracks. That something was a pony's tail and the hair came in six distinct colors.
"Well go on, spit it out so we can git ta bed." The young filly didn't know it, but she was really trying Applejack's patience by barging into her room and wasting the precious minutes the latter had planned to spend being comforted by her marefriend. Despite her harsh words at the moment, Applejack really did love her little sister and part of her knew that she would regret acting this way in the morning.
Eight words turned the situation on it's head as Apple Bloom, staring at the distinctive chromatic tail, put an entirely different question to Applejack than she had originally planned. "Why is Rainbow Dash hidin' under your bed?"
Both on the bed and under it, two sets of lungs took in a sharp breath of cold night air and felt like they had turned instantly to ice. Applejack knew she couldn't lie to her little sister when the question was put to her directly like that, but she wasn't sure she could tell her the truth yet either. Under the bed, Rainbow Dash thought to herself that she had hidden herself quite well under the circumstances and hoped Applejack would think of something quick. After a telling and altogether too long pause, Applejack decided to stall for time. "What the hay are ya talkin' 'bout?"
Apple Bloom looked up with a huff. "Rainbow Dash is hidin' under yer bed. Ah can see her tail stickin' out, ain't nopony else with a rainbow tail like that." As Apple Bloom spoke, this final piece of the puzzle fit itself into place in her head and her eyes lit up. She gave a loud gasp that threatened to wake up the other members of the household which made both Applejack and Rainbow Dash cringe at the thought. "That's why ya've been spendin' so much time with Rainbow Dash an' askin' all them questions 'bout Miss Lyra an' Miss Bon-Bon." Apple Bloom said in a loud whisper.
Applejack looked mad and had a fierce light in her eyes for a moment before her ears drooped; she let out a sigh. "Fine... Ain't no use hidin' it, Ah was gonna tell y'all tomorrow anyway. But close that door an' keep yer voice down so ya don't wake Big Mac an' Granny Smith." There was no point in denying it any further, better to give Apple Bloom the truth rather than to let her wild imagination invent all kinds of nonsense overnight. Applejack leaned over the side of the bed as Apple Bloom turned to close the door. "Might as well come on outta there, Dashie."
Rainbow Dash slid out from under the bed and started tugging off the dusty catsuit as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. She'd been almost as shaken as Applejack at being caught, but wasn't about to show it in the open. "You really should dust under there more often, AJ." She said, trying to sound nonchalant as she brushed her muzzle clean and shook the dirt out of her wings.
"Soon as applebuckin' season's over, if somepony else don't take up all of mah free time." Applejack whispered at her marefriend and stuck out her tongue. She was feeling more like herself now that she wasn't having to cover up anything. Rainbow Dash gave her a knowing grin back.
Applejack turned back to Apple Bloom who had just hopped up next to her on the bed. "Now Ah know ya weren't here ta ask why Rainbow Dash was hiding under mah bed." The older Apple sister stated. "What was so important fer ya ta barge in here?"
"Ah already got it figured out. It all makes sense now." Apple Bloom began as Rainbow Dash hopped on the bed herself and sat by Applejack to listen, curling a wing around her for reassurance. “Ya’ve been actin’ funny every since we came back from Appleloosa.”
“What do ya mean?” Applejack asked, folding her ears back because she knew full well just how different she had been acting lately.
"Ya spent three whole days away from the farm. Ya never do that." The young filly began. "Goin' everywhere with Rainbow Dash, an' you had wings! Ah saw y'all flyin' together, an'..." Apple Bloom broke off her ears drooping at what she almost said.
"And what?!" Applejack and Rainbow Dash exclaimed together, barely keeping their voices to a whisper.
"An' Ah saw y'all kissin' on top of a cloud." Apple Bloom's ears drooped. She hadn't wanted to admit that she had spied on them even accidentally.
Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash just stared, their jaws hanging open. Rainbow Dash found her voice first as usual. "You saw that?"
"Yeah! Me an' the Cutie Mark Crusaders were tryin' ta get a bird watchin' cutie mark. Ah was gettin' kinda bored until Ah saw Miss Derpy flyin' backwards, so Ah started watchin' her instead. An' then Ah saw ya on a cloud kissin' some orange pony with big brown wings." Apple Bloom chattered. "Ah didn't know what ta think just then, but now it all makes sense!"
Applejack's ears were still down. "Ah knew it weren't a good idea ta be kissin' in public."
"What's wrong Applejack, ain't ya happy ya found yer very special somepony?"
Rainbow Dash put a hoof around Applejack's shoulders to join her wing in reassurance. "Of course she's happy, tell her AJ?"
"Ah am happy, but it ain't that simple. Ah've still got Big Mac an' Granny Smith ta deal with. Ah just don't know what they'll say 'bout it." Applejack sighed.
"What do ya mean?" Apple Bloom asked, confused.
"Ah'm afraid they'll kick me out fer being a... a fillyfooler."
"But Princess Celestia says it's alright fer two mares ta love each other." Apple Bloom's eyes lit up again. “Are ya gonna get hitched like Miss Lyra an’ Miss Bon-Bon?”
Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously. "Heh. Maybe some day, sprout." Applejack smiled back at her.
"Oh man! Scootaloo's gonna be so jealous that Ah get Rainbow Dash fer a big sister!" Apple Bloom said a bit too loud.
Rainbow Dash laughed more openly and ruffled Apple Bloom's mane before Applejack shushed them both. “Ah still don’t want ta wake up Big Mac or Granny Smith.” Applejack turned back to her little sister. “Ready for bed now AB, or are ya still as curious as a cat?”
Apple Bloom yawned in answer. “That’s what I thought.” Applejack hugged her sister before gently shooing her toward the door. “Alright, go on and get ta bed like a good filly. An’ Apple Bloom?..”
“Yeah, AJ?” Apple Bloom replied around a yawn.
“Thanks fer makin’ me feel better.” Both sisters smiled at each other before Apple Bloom slipped back into the hall and shut the door noiselessly behind her. Applejack lay down in her bed and Rainbow Dash cuddled up to her back, holding her close.
“Still nervous about tomorrow?” Rainbow Dash asked scratchily.
“Nervous as a hen raisin’ ducklings.” Applejack admitted. “But Ah think Ah can get ta sleep now.”
"Ah ain't havin' it!" The elderly mare stamped her hoof then winced at the strain it placed on her aging shoulder. "Ah ain't havin' no fillyfoolers under this roof!"
Granny Smith looked fierce. Big Mac had on his usual unreadable poker face. Apple Bloom sat on the sofa looking worried. In the middle of the sitting room stood Applejack, facing her grandmother and looking a mixture of angry and depressed. Hovering outside the window and unnoticed by the family inside Rainbow Dash watched, her ears raked back at the way the encounter was going.
"But Granny, Pr..." Apple Bloom began but was cut short by a fierce look from her grandmother.
"You hush, child! Ain’t yer place ta say nothin’!" Granny Smith would not be gainsaid. She turned back to her older, wayward granddaughter as Apple Bloom sank against the sofa cushions. "Ain't y'all given any thought ta yer family's livelihood once word gets out?"
"Times have changed, it ain't like when you were a filly..." Applejack started to say before she too was cut off by her fierce grandmother.
"Y'all care ta explain what happened with Fresh Stock? McIntosh told him he didn’t believe a word of it, an’ now y’all made a liar outta him." Big Mac flinched but didn’t say anything. Granny Smith gave Applejack a piercing look. Applejack sank to her haunches as her grandmother continued. "That's just how it'll start, losin' business on account'a yer wild ways. This ain’t Fillydelphia ‘er Manehatten. Might as well just sell the farm ta them Shim Sham high faloutin' cider unicorns an’ pack our bags fer Appleoosa."
Applejack's ears folded flat against her head, she had hoped to avoid the subject of Fresh Stock and now she knew she was defeated. Nothing she could say now was going to change Granny Smith's mind.
“You’ve got two choices young’un. Either you shape up an’ change yer ways, or you git an’ don’t come back ‘til you found yerself a stallion like a respectable mare.” Granny Smith stomped her hoof again, no longer aware of any discomfort. Big Mac looked pained. Whether that was out of concern for her or for how he would manage all the farm chores without here, Applejack couldn’t tell. She had hoped he might offer some defense, but nothing came. The fact that he hadn’t rallied to their grandmother’s old fashioned ways was no comfort to her. Apple Bloom had tried, but her objection hadn’t carried any weight.
The last two weeks flashed through Applejack’s mind. The quiet, slow paced life she’d been accustomed to had been leaving her dissatisfied when it came to romance and fate had conspired to dump a completely unexpected solution right into her lap. A week of unparalleled bliss with her best friend turned lover followed by three more days of stolen delight and now everything had come crashing down around her.
On the one hoof, her family, her farm, the only life she’d ever known. On the other hoof, happiness of a quality she’d never expected to find and true love that knew no bounds. Applejack looked up, looked at her family, scared, stoic and disapproving gazes meeting hers, then caught a glint of raspberry and cyan behind them, sympathetic and determined. If there was ever a time to be honest with herself, it was now. Either decision was going to cause her immense pain.
Applejack chose.
In her room, Applejack tossed a few essentials and keepsakes into her saddlebag. Apple Bloom stepped through the open door, tears in her eyes, and nuzzled against her big sister’s foreleg. “Applejack...” She started to speak, but her sister hushed her with a gentle hoof against her lips.
Applejack had not said a word, had not answered Granny Smith’s ultimatum verbally. She simply stood up and walked out of the room, head bowed. Nor did she speak now. Instead she gave her sister a small hug and lifted the old, but well cared for stetson hat from her head, placing it atop her sister’s bow-tied mane as Apple Bloom silently dripped tears on the floor. She slung her saddlebag across her back, not caring that it snagged her mane-tie and let her long tresses fall free. She left, head still bowed with her loose mane covering her face.
Rainbow Dash met her a few paces down the path from the farmhouse and fell into step beside her. She opened her mouth to speak, to comfort her distraught marefriend, but no words came to her lips. She simply rested a wing across her back and they walked along slowly toward the town in silence.
Long minutes later, many more than the usual ten or so, Rainbow Dash tapped her hoof on the door of Golden Oaks Library. They hadn’t discussed their destination, Applejack just silently followed where Rainbow Dash lead. As much as she wanted to just take Applejack home and do what she could to comfort her marefriend in peace, the only house they had to go to was made of cloud and that meant a stop for magical help.
Twilight’s smile quickly faded when she saw the scene before her door and she hurried them inside. Applejack sank onto her haunches on a floor cushion, giving no sign of acknowledgement nor indication that she knew where she was. It fell to Rainbow Dash to bring Twilight up to date and explain why they were there.
“That’s just awful.. Oh, Applejack..” The somber orange pony made no move, no response to the voice, the words or the lavender hoof on her shoulder. Twilight frowned harder and turned back to Rainbow.
“Sorry, Twi. I don’t think anything’s going to help right now.” Rainbow Dash led Twilight a few paces away, but never once let her eyes leave her distraught lover. “Probably best if I just take AJ home and get a good night’s sleep, which is kinda why we stopped here.”
The lavender unicorn nodded in agreement. “Alright Rainbow, wings or cloud walking?”
“Better make it cloud walking, AJ’s not in any condition to fly.” Dash grimaced. “Oh, and we’ll need a favor tomorrow too. At least, I hope tomorrow. In fact we’ll need all the girls and maybe Lyra and Bon-Bon too. Lyra’s pretty good at magic, right?”
“Yeah, she is. Uhh, this sounds like a pretty big favor. Am I going to need a checklist?”
“It’s a promise I made to AJ, if she got, well.. If what happened, happened.” Rainbow Dash couldn’t bring herself to say it a second time. “I promised her I’d move my cloudominium down to the ground so she’d have solid floors to stand on. You know, in case you’re not around to do the magic thing.”
Twilight’s eyes nearly bugged out, her intellectual curiosity getting the better of her sympathy. “I didn’t even know that was possible.”
“Really? Oh, I guess you hadn’t moved here yet when we all pitched in to move Derpy’s house after she had Dinky.” Rainbow tapped a hoof to her chin trying to remember. “It’s all in.. Pegasus Architecture and Engineering, volume 3... I think. You’ll find it. Took us a dozen unicorns and pegasi to get it done that day. But I dunno, you might be able to do it all by yourself in ten seconds flat.”
Twilight almost giggled, catching the unmoving orange and blonde pony out of the corner of her eye and stopping herself as she remembered just why they were discussing this subject. Her horn began to glow with the deeper purple of her eyes as a similar glow enveloped Applejack, beginning as an oblong bubble, then shrinking skin-tight, ending with a twinkle on the tip of each of four hooves. “All set, I’ll look up that book. Good night and uhh, good luck I guess.”
“Thanks Twi, for everything.” Rainbow Dash carefully took Applejack in her forehooves, wings beating softly as she hovered out the door. For the first time since leaving her hat with her sister, Applejack made a small gesture of acknowledgement; she leaned her head ever so slightly against Dash’s chest. It was a tiny movement, barely noticeable, but it was noticed and the blue pegasus who noticed felt a small bit of relief as she flew home.
“AJ?..” The scratchy pegasus voice cut through the silence. “Jackie, AJ, please. Talk to me...” Rainbow Dash held her lover close. From the library she’d flown straight here. Not even bothering with the front door, she’d flown straight in the bedroom window and cuddled Applejack in her bed. “I don’t know what to do to help...” Somehow she’d hoped that the privacy of their shared bed, the place where they’d shared secrets no pony else needed to know, would coax Applejack out of her silence. Then it had been early afternoon, now the last rays of Celestia’s setting sun dimmed out of sight behind the hills. “I.. love you AJ, please let me help...”
“Love me, Dashie.” Her voice was hoarse and choked even though she hadn’t yet shed a single tear. Rainbow Dash let go and sat up as Applejack stirred and rolled over. “Love me, Dashie.” She repeated, sprawling on her back. Her tail-tie was gone, lost Celestia knows where. Her mane and tail alike spread out like a fan brush, every ounce of despair and helplessness that she felt was plain to see. “You’re all I have now, Dashie. Love me, I need all of your love.” Applejack’s eyes finally glinted with the tears that she’d been denying all day.
Tears welled up in Dash’s eyes as well, in some ways this was worse than the silence, but at least she knew what to do now. Tomorrow Applejack would see they still had their friends, things weren’t as hopeless as they seemed, but for now... Rainbow Dash leaned down and kissed Applejack softly. “I do love you, AJ. With all of my heart.” Applejack was barely responsive at first, but Rainbow Dash set out to prove that she loved AJ, mind, body and soul.
By the time they fell asleep, with Luna’s moon high in the night sky, both ponies were utterly convinced of the other’s love and they slept peacefully.