//------------------------------// // Chapter 19 // Story: Cry for Eternity // by asylum1388 //------------------------------// Nineteen months since the coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle. “I’m here!” Twilight shouted breathlessly, bursting through a pair of stark-white tent flaps, finding herself in an ornate enclosed canopy. “Finally! Being fashionably late is one thing, but you were starting to worry us, darling!” Rarity called from the other side of the tent. “Oh, would you hold still, Rainbow?” “Yeah, sorry about that. We got held up just as we were leaving,” Twilight sighed. “Something about Trottingham’s building codes. Some ponies just don’t understand the meaning of ‘later.’” “What about Lun— Ow! Rarity, would you watch where you’re sticking those?” Rainbow hissed, pulling away from the dressmaker. “Well, if you would stop moving, you wouldn’t get stuck by any pins!” “Luna’s here. We ran into the Crusaders right after we landed. Scoot had some questions about dreams, so Luna’s indulging her, and Spike got voluntold by Sweetie to help them guide ponies to their seats,” Twilight stated, stepping around so that Rainbow could see her without having to turn around. “What about you? Excited?” “Yes,” Rainbow muttered quickly. “You sure? You sound like you’re nauseous,” Twilight said, full of concern. “I’m not nauseous! Well not that nauseous, just a bit nervous, I guess,” Rainbow stammered softly. “Pre-wedding nerves are normal, Rain— I told you to hold still!” Rarity growled, yanking one of the pegasus’ wings back down to her side. “As I was saying, it’s normal to be nervous. Believe me when I say that Mac is probably just as antsy as you are... Though he’s probably not squirming about it as much and I swear that I’ll start prodding you intentionally if you don’t stop moving!” “Might want to do it anyway, Rare,” Applejack called as she entered the tent, grinning at Twilight. “Ah thought Ah saw you come in here. This is perfect; y’all were the last ones to arrive so everypony’s here. And don’t worry, Dash. Ah had a talk with Granny ‘n she’s gonna behave herself. She’ll be officiatin’ this right, no speeches about how badly she wants great-grandfoals.” Twilight wheeled around towards Applejack, walking towards the farmpony pointedly. “Well, that’s fine and all, but since you’re here, maybe you could tell me why I never received an invitation to Applebloom’s cute-ceañera?” ”For pony’s sake, Rarity, are you almost done?” “I’d have been done already if you had stayed still!” Applejack shrugged, “We didn’t have one. We were too busy with plannin’ this and ‘Bloom said it was too much trouble. She’s been real excited about this ‘n she ‘n the Crusaders have been spendin’ all their time lately helpin’ out.” “I figured it was something like that,” Twilight snickered, greeting Applejack with a hug. “So, interior design, huh? Seems rather strange for an Apple.” “Yeah. Ah’ll admit that Ah was a bit disappointed at first, but that’s a line of thinkin’ that made me want to buck myself into next month. Disappointed! Ah was raised better than that!” Applejack spat. “‘Sides, she really likes it. As soon as her cutie mark appeared she began rearrangin’ all the furniture ‘n even convinced Granny to buy some new curtains ‘n stuff. The house looks amazing now, ‘n she barely changed anything. Don’t understand how it works one bit, but Ah suppose that Ah don’t have to long as she’s around.” “Well, I’m glad she finally found her calling; I know how frustrated she was, being the only Crusader without her mark,” Twilight replied with a smile. “Maybe someday I’ll have her work on the castle.” ”Ow! My leg!” “I haven’t touched that pin in nearly five minutes; you poked yourself with all your squirming!” “Yeah, maybe! First though, she’s gotta decorate the house we’re building for Mac ‘n Dash. ‘Course the way Dash is we’ll have to send Bloom over every week to fix the place,” Applejack called towards the pegasus teasingly. Rainbow tried to whip her head around angrily, but stopped with a gasp as a pin jabbed her in the neck. She grumbled to herself for a moment before calling out, “Hey, AJ, why don’t you introduce Twilight to Rockhammer?” “Rockhammer? Who’s that?” Twilight asked aloud, frowning at Rainbow before turning back to Applejack. “Are... Are you blushing?” “Uhh... Well...” Smirking mischievously, Twilight advanced on her friend. “Applejack? Who’s Rockhammer?” “He’s, uhhh... just a stallion,” Applejack simpered, her face growing redder. “I gathered that,” Twilight laughed teasingly. “Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?” “Ah’ve, uh, been seein’ him,” Applejack stammered. “I gathered that as well,” Twilight smirked. “What I don’t get is, why you seem so embarrassed.” “Because of what he does for a living,” Rarity explained, not even bothering to take her eyes off of Rainbow. “Is that all?” Twilight snickered. “So what if he’s not a farmer? If you like him then it shouldn’t matter. So what is he? A miner? A stonemason?” “A geologist,” Applejack mumbled. “A geolo— Wait, wait, wait... You, Applejack, are dating an academic?” Twilight snorted. “Yeah, yeah... laugh it up,” Applejack grumbled. “I just never would’ve expected that,” Twilight sniggered. “So, tell me about him.” “Well, he’s a really nice colt. Smart too. Not as smart as you, Ah don’t think, but still smart,” Applejack said wistfully. “Not much else to tell.” “Oh stop being so modest, Applejack!” Rarity scolded, looking away from Rainbow for the first time since Twilight had arrived. “He’s a gorgeous chestnut roan with the biggest blue eyes I’ve ever seen!” “Oh... Sounds like somepony might be a bit jealous of you, Applejack,” Twilight chuckled, giving her friend a playful nudge. “Maybe a little,” Rarity giggled, “but to be completely honest, he’s not really my type.” “By that she means he spends more time covered in dirt than not,” Rainbow teased, earning herself a sharp jab to the flank from one of Rarity’s needles. “Ouch! Hey, I didn’t deserve that!” Twilight snickered at the two before turning back to Applejack. “How’d you meet him?” “The mayor hired him to do some erosion survey about a month ago and Ah ran into him taking samples out near the tomato field. He said that he noticed the soil was low in iron and recommended some powder that Ah was supposed to sprinkle all over the ground ‘fore it rained,” Applejack explained. “Well, Ah blew him off at first, but then Ah remembered some of our customers were sayin’ that the tomatoes didn’t taste quite right this year; so Ah bought some of that stuff and had Dash spread it around for me. Within a week everypony was sayin’ that it was the best crop in years!” “So he knows what he’s doing. I can see why you’d like him,” Twilight said with a nod, “He’d be really helpful to have around.” “It’s more than just that, though,” Applejack exclaimed. “A couple days after that Ah invited him over fer dinner with the family as a ‘thank you’, and we just hit it off. Ah mean we don’t have a heck of a lot in common, but we just get along so well. We started seein’ each other more often and last week he asked me to be his marefriend. Ah couldn’t help but say yes.” “Awww, that’s adorable!” Twilight giggled. “I’m so happy you found somepony. Though I always thought you’d end up with Caramel.” “Like that’d ever happen,” Rainbow snickered loudly. “What? Why?” “Uhhh, how should Ah put this...” Applejack muttered. “Let’s just say that Caramel’s never had a crush on Dash, but was still very disappointed when Mac proposed to her.” “What’s that supposed to— Oh!” Twilight murmured, cutting herself off as she realized what Applejack was insinuating. “You could’ve just said that he was homosexual; unless you have a prob—” “Oh gosh no, Twilight! He sits next to me at the dinner table for heaven’s sake!” Applejack hissed. “Ah just don’t like the way that word feels in my mouth.” “And we are finished!” Rarity chirped proudly, backing away from Rainbow and adjusting the nearby mirrors for the pegasus to get a better look at herself. “Yuck...” Rainbow grumbled, frowning at her wedding dress. “Do I really have to wear this? It’s so froofy!” “That’s the point! You’re supposed to be eye-catching. Everypony is supposed to be stricken breathless when you enter a room!” Rarity protested. “You look great, Dash!” Twilight squealed as she trotted over to Rainbow’s side. “I don’t know what you’re so huffy about.” “I don’t look ‘great’, I look cute. I’m supposed to be cool, not cute!” Rainbow groaned. “It’s just for one day, Rainbow,” Rarity said reassuringly. “Believe me, one day you’ll look back and be glad that you looked your best.” “Ah dunno, Dash, Ah think that’s a good look for you!” Applejack cackled. “I’m glad you think so, Applejack,” Rarity said with a smirk, “because you’re next.” “Wait, what?” Applejack stammered. “B-but you already fitted me!” “I did, three months ago. Now I need to fit you again,” Rarity said turning around to face Applejack. “Y’all said it fitted me perfectly!” “Three months ago. You’ve lost a bit of weight since then, as you always do during the harvest season, so I need to make a few adjustments,” Rarity retorted mischievously, approaching Applejack with her pins and needles raised. “B-but what about Pinkie? Or Fluttershy? Or Twilight? She’s not even wearin’ her dress yet!” “I have already fitted Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, and Twilight will be wearing her regalia. Now are you going to make this easy, or are you going to be difficult?” Applejack’s eyes flicked rapidly between Rarity and the needles for a moment before she turned around and bolted out of the tent, with Rarity close behind. “Ten bits says Rarity wins this one,” Rainbow chuckled. Twilight glanced at her, then back towards the tent flaps before laughing and trotting over to the pegasus. “I’d sooner place money on Luna and Discord getting along than take that bet.” “Darn, I was hoping for some easy bits.” Rainbow feigned a sigh before sitting down on her haunches and stared at herself in a nearby mirror. “I know I already sort of asked this, but are you okay?” Twilight asked softly, sitting down next to Rainbow. “You’re not acting like your usual self.” “I’m okay, Twilight. I’m just sort of scared, I guess,” Rainbow murmured. “Nothing’s ever going to be the same after this.” “You’re not getting cold hooves, are you?” “No! No, I want this,” Rainbow asserted. “I just...” She sighed and glanced at Twilight before looking away. “Everything’s changing so fast. I’m getting married, Rarity’s taking business trips more often, ponies are coming from as far away as the Crystal City to have Fluttershy care for their pets. Even you’ve grown!” “I had to. Being Princess is a bigger responsibility than I ever thought it would be,” Twilight mused. “If I didn’t grow up a little, Canterlot politics would have eaten me alive.” “No, I mean you’ve literally gotten bigger,” Rainbow said, pointing at Twilight. “We used to be the same height.” “Oh, wow! I can’t believe that I never noticed that. I guess I did get a bit taller,” Twilight mumbled, glancing between Rainbow and her own body. “But things change all the time and you handle them just fine. Let me help. Please? I’ve never seen you this down before.” Rainbow sighed and hung her head, struggling with her words. After a few seconds she spoke. “Spitfire showed up at my house last week with a contract. I’m going to be training with the Wonderbolts over the winter, then I’ll be in the first show of the spring season. I’m officially a Wonderbolt now.” “That’s wonderful!” Twilight squealed. “Why would you be scared of that?” “It’s just that everything’s happening all at once. I guess I’m just... I don’t know.” “You’re feeling overwhelmed,” Twilight breathed, gently laying her hoof on one of Rainbow’s. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s it. That’s exactly it.” “Well, I’m here for you, Dash,” Twilight cooed. “I know you don’t really care for discussing your feelings, but it might help to put things into perspective. Start with how it began; you were preparing for the wedding and Spitfire showed up.” “Actually, I was napping to take a break from getting ready for the wedding,” Rainbow giggled sheepishly. “Whatever,” Twilight grumbled, rolling her eyes. “She started by apologizing for keeping me in the Academy for so long. She said that I was such a good influence on the other students that everypony wanted to keep me there,” Rainbow started proudly. “Wait. ‘A good influence’? You?” Twilight teased. “I know, right?” Rainbow snickered back. “Anyway, Rocket Tail announced last week that he was retiring; I guess he had a really close call during their last show of the year and he decided that he was getting too old to keep performing. He was their lead speed flier and they needed somepony fast to replace him. Spitfire picked me. Well, obviously.” “Okay. So far so good,” Twilight mused. “What was in the contract?” “Heh, you should’ve seen it! There was no legal mumbo-jumbo at all, just regular words,” Rainbow snickered. “That’s not even the best part though; she said she had it specially written up for me. I’ll be required to participate in their winter training camp and go on their summer tour every year, but I’ll be allowed to pick and choose what shows I want to do in the spring and fall so that I can help out here when Mac and AJ are planting and harvesting.” “Wow, that’s really generous. You won’t have to choose between your career and your new family,” Twilight squeaked. “Dash, you have no reason to be nervous.” “I know that, but I am anyway. I mean, what if I get hurt at a show and can’t help out here? Or what if I get hurt here and can’t perform?” Rainbow whined, cringing at the thought. “Don’t the Wonderbolts pay well? Very well? As long as you don’t go on a spending spree every time you get paid, you’ll have enough money that the Apples will never have to worry about losing the farm,” Twilight said encouragingly. “Yeah, I guess so,” Rainbow sighed. “But what about—” “Spitfire cares about you, Dash. I know she does. Your career won’t be in jeopardy if you get hurt helping your family, and if you get seriously hurt, she’s not just going to toss you out. Heck even if, stars forbid, you end up with an injury bad enough where you’ll never be able to compete again, she’ll probably make you a coach at the academy. She did say you were a good influence,” Twilight giggled, giving Rainbow’s hoof a squeeze. “You have nothing to worry about!” “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right,” Rainbow exclaimed as she cracked a grin. “So, is there anything else that’s bothering you?” Twilight asked. “Yeah, actually, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Rainbow muttered, uncharacteristically timid. “You know how you’re supposed to be my Mare of Honor?” “You want to have somepony else do it. That’s fine, Dash. I have no problem with that,” Twilight smiled. “R-really? Just like that?” Rainbow asked. “I’d like to know who and why, but it’s your wedding. I want it to be perfect for you, like my coronation was to me,” Twilight replied, turning towards the pegasus. “I... I want Pinkie to do it. She’s been sort of mopey lately and—” “Wait,” Twilight interrupted, utterly horrified, “she’s been mopey and this is the first I’m hearing about it? This is serious, Dash!” “No! Nothing like that. I haven’t found her talking to rocks or anything. Well, no more than usual,” Rainbow chuckled nervously. “She just hasn’t been as perky lately as she normally is and I’m really getting worried about her. We’ve all been so busy setting this up that we haven’t had much time to hang out, and I think it’s been getting to her. I think that asking her to be my Mare of Honor is the kind of pick-me-up she needs right now.” “That’s a great idea, Dash. In fact, I’ll go with you when you ask her so she knows that we didn’t have a fight or anything and you’re not only asking her because we’re angry at each other or something,” Twilight nodded thoughtfully. “You know what else? I’ll start asking her to visit me in Canterlot more often. That should keep her happy.” “That’d be great, Twi!” Rainbow squealed, leaping up and pulling Twilight into a hug. “I-I know I don’t ever say it, but I’m really glad I have you in my life. You’re a great friend.” Twilight laughed and returned the hug. “Me too. I wouldn’t trade your friendship for anything.” Rainbow pulled back and smiled at Twilight, face reddening. “Can you, you know...” “Not tell anypony that you got all mushy with me?” Twilight finished her sentence. “Don’t worry, from now on, it’s classified information. Only top-level Equestrian officials will be in the know” “Heh, thanks.” “So, ready to get out of here?” Twilight asked with a broad grin. “There’s a handsome stallion out there waiting for his bride, and a whole wedding party waiting for their hostess.” “Yeah. Yeah I am,” Rainbow proclaimed, once again full of her usual confidence. “Let’s go!”