//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: For Whom The Belle Tolls // by Darksonickiller //------------------------------// For Whom The Belle Tolls Epilouge Rarity sat in a small café with Applejack, the same café she and her sister Rainbow Dash sat in a year ago. She was even in the same booth by the window. It was their favorite booth, and they would always sit there when it wasn’t taken. “Doesn’t it just smell absolutely wonderful!” Rarity said, taking in a deep breath as the smell of fresh coffee flooded her senses. “Ah guess so. Are you sure you want to be here, Rarity?” Applejack asked, afraid the café would spark bad memories. “Oh come now, darling. It’s just a coffee shop,” Rarity put on a smile as the waitress came up to take their order. “Hello,” The waitress said with a kind smile. “What can I get for you both today?” Applejack looked at the small, laminated menu. "What the hay is this stuff? Espresso? Latte’s?" Rarity let out a soft giggle, seeing Applejack’s confused look. “Just two regular coffee’s should be fine.” The waitress scribbled the order on her notepad, which levitated in front of her. “And how would you like your coffee?" Applejack knew this one. “Ah’ll take mine with two cream and two sugar, thank ya kindly.” Adding that to the notepad, the waitress looked to Rarity. “And for you, ma’am?” Rarity’s smile faded as her focus was fixed on Applejack. Looking into her eyes, Applejack saw that something had put her deep in thought. “Um… I’ll take the same, please,” Rarity told the waitress, still focused on Applejack. “Okay,” The waitress jotted down the order before returning the notepad to her apron. “I’ll have them out for you shortly.” As the waitress walked away, Applejack reached both hooves across the table, resting them on Rarity’s shoulders. “Are you goin’ to be okay, Rarity? We can leave if ya want." “No, that’s quite alright, Applejack. It’s just…” Rarity took a deep breath. “That’s the way that Rainbow Dash used to drink her coffee…” Applejack didn’t know how to respond. That’s how she’s always drank her coffee too. “Ah’m sorry. Ah didn’t mean to-” “It’s okay, Applejack. It’s just- I can’t believe it’s been a year since she passed.” Rarity stared blankly out the window, watching the birds as they soared through the air. “Yeah. A lot has changed since then…” Applejack said as she leaned back in her seat. “I think about her everyday Applejack, always wishing I could spend more time with her. We were apart for most of our lives.” Rarity said sadly still looking out the window. “Ah’m sorry, Ah know how you feel, we all do.” The farm pony said comfortingly resting a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder from across the table. “Are you sure you'll be ok Rarity?” “I’ll be fine darling I just need to stop dwelling on the past and be thankful for the little time I did get to spend with her.” Rarity said a little cheerier than before and her smile had returned. Since Rainbow’s passing, a few ponies started to behave differently. Rarity’s mother eventually divorced, kicking her ex-husband out onto the streets. And, with a little help from Twilight and her daughter Rarity, they were able to assign all custody of Sweetie Belle over to her mother. Nopony has seen, or wanted to see that stallion since. Everypony else changed in their own ways. The rest of the Mane Six stuck together and helped each other in their time of need they especially took good care of Rarity and Applejack. After a while Rarity’s nightmares would come less and less frequent until they stopped altogether. And with a lot of help from her friends, Applejack was slowly able to accept the fact of what happened to Rainbow Dash wasn’t her fault. True to her promise and with a lot of effort, Applebloom managed keep the CMC together, always comforting each other when they were down and they eventually started crusading again. After a while, they were all back to their normal lives. “Here you go! Two coffee’s, both with two sugar and two cream.” Both Applejack and Rarity had been so lost in their own thoughts that they hadn’t even noticed the waitress arrive with their coffee, startling them both. “Thank ya kindly, ma’am,” Applejack said, taking a big sip from her cup. “Yes, thank you.” Rarity stared into the cup, still lost in her own thoughts. “Ya know what? Let’s go somewhere real quick.” Applejack said as she rose out of her seat. “Leave? But we just got here. Can’t I finish my coffee first?” Rarity asked, taking another sip from her coffee. In one swift motion, Applejack snatched Rarity’s coffee cup and poured it in her mouth. Rarity flailed her hooves as the hot coffee scorched the inside of her mouth. Swallowing the hot beverage, Rarity took a few deep breaths, attempting to cool the inside of her mouth. “What was all that about, Applejack?!” Before Rarity could react, Applejack had already downed her cup, pulled Rarity out of her seat, and was pushing her quickly, out the door. Rarity shivered as the snow hit her bare face. By this point, Applejack had stopped pushing her and was fishing through her saddlebag to find her scarf. “Geeze, Applejack, what is it that’s got you so aggressive?” Rarity asked as she adjusted her own scarf. Finding her scarf, Applejack wrapped the warm fabric around her neck. “We’re going to go see Rainbow Dash.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The snow looked beautiful, falling from the sky so majestically. As Applejack and Rarity neared the graveyard, they stopped when they noticed a familiar mare standing next to Rainbow’s grave. Upon closer look, Rarity smiled when she recognized the mare. “I didn’t expect to see you here, mother,” Rarity felt happier, seeing her mother paying her respects. “Rarity?” Her mother called out. Upon see her daughter, she wiped the tears from her face before giving her daughter a warm hug. “How have you been? I haven’t seen you in a while.” Rarity returned the hug, feeling the coldness fade away in the warm embrace. “I’ve been alright. I was very busy making my winter line, so I haven’t been out much. It’s nice to see that you stopped by to see Rainbow.” Her mother gave a slight nod. “I wish I could do more for her. After all those years of abuse, and all I did was stand there… And then I abandoned her….What type of mother does that to their child?” “It’s okay, mom. I’m sure Rainbow Dash never blamed y-” Rarity stopped as she saw tears run down her mothers face. “No… After all I’ve done to her, she’ll never forgive me…” Rarity’s mother looked up as she felt a warm pressure on her back, seeing Applejack’s hoof resting on her shoulder. “None of us have completely gotten over her. Then again, I don’t reckon some of us will,” Applejack said with a smile on her face. “But Ah used to think just like you, feelin like Ah would never get to say how sorry Ah was. Ah used to think that Rainbow Dash would never forgive me because Ah had killed her.” Applejack wiped away a tear as she looked up at Rarity. “Ah’ve recently come to accept reality. Thanks to Rarity, Ah’ve accepted that Ah wasn’t the cause for Rainbow Dash’s death. If it hadn’t have been for Rainbow, It would have been me in that grave. Do Ah like it? No. Ah don’t like it one bit. But Ah thank her for it. Because of her, Ah get to see my brother and sister every morning. Ah don’t have to worry about the farm dying. Ah owe my life to Rainbow Dash.” Rarity’s mother stared into Applejack’s eyes, feeling the honesty in her words radiate through her mind. “So, are you saying that Rainbow Dash forgives me for all the horrible things I’ve done to her?” “What’s that?” Rarity asked, pointing towards the sky cutting Applejack off before she could respond. As they all looked up, in the flurry of snowflakes, a small object came into view. Gliding through the sky, a blue feather drifted towards them. Applejack reached out her hoof, catching the feather as it seemed to aim straight for her. Rarity and Applejack smiled as they looked at the flawless feather. Taking the feather, Rarity knelt down and slid it into her mother’s hair. “Mom, she never blamed any of us. And she just said that she loves all of us.”