It was a slow evening at Harmony Breads and Cafe as Dash waited on two tables patiently. Signature Sandwich was able to get out the first order quickly enough, but a call came in on his personal phone after that. The rainbow maned mare kept out of his business though and delivered the readied order as quickly as she could. As she headed back for the kitchen she was called upon by the other customer to get them a refill of cider soda.
The atmosphere in the kitchen seemed more tense than usual to the cyan mare as she came to retrieve the pitcher for refills. As she passed the forest green stallion, she could tell there was something horribly wrong. Yet she didn't want to pry, it was better that he tell her of his own accord. The stallion went back to work on the sandwich combo for the other customer, and he completed it quite rapidly as Dash returned with the refill pitcher slightly filled with apple cider soda.
"Order up Rainbow!" the green stallion said in a loud voice before turning to see her standing near him. "Oh, sorry about that, didn't know you were so close!"
She furrowed her brow in concern, "That's not like you at all boss man, is something wrong?"
"It's nothing you need concern yourself with." he said in a rather neutral tone. "Go ahead and clear the register for the day after you deliver the order. After those two out there have had their fill, we will go ahead and close for the evening." the stallion paused, a thoughtfulness crossing his blue eyes. "After all tonight is your night to say hello to an old friend."
The sandwich specialist was looking directly at her necklace, which held her element of loyalty. She had also wore Applejack's necklace with her own, despite it being cracked in half. The stallion never questioned why she needed to get off early when she asked yesterday, but it seemed something had come up for him as well this evening.
It only took a short amount of time for her to deliver the food and drink to the hungry customer. The rest of her time was spent clearing the register, and cleaning up the dining area. As the last pony left the building Rainbow cleaned their table off finally, then changed the sign to closed, and once that was done she headed back to let Signature know everything was clear. Time for nightly lock up!
Yet when she headed back into the kitchen she did not find the stallion anywhere. The kitchen was already cleaned to an immaculate shine, and everything was where it should be after closing. She decided to head out the back door and see if he went to get something out of his house behind the shop. As the cyan mare approached she quickly noticed the lights on inside, and the door was slightly ajar so he had forgotten something.
Rainbow knocked on the door to let Signature know she was there, and his response was delayed but he did answer.
"Come in Dash." came the green stallion's exasperated voice. "Just trying to find the keys to lock up the shop for the night."
As she walked in, she saw the stallion looking everywhere for the keys. The only problem the sandwich maker had was that he was not checking the area that he always hung them from. As Rainbow looked to the key hook for the store there they were. She just walked over and picked them up off the hook and turned to Signature still searching the couch.
"You mean these keys that you always hang right here?" Dash said holding the keys out.
As he turned to face her a look of embarrassment spread across his face, "Oh, what do you know! I didn't see them there when I first checked there...must've missed 'em."
When the green stallion came over to take the keys the rainbow maned mare retracted her arm along with the keys. She had no intent of giving him what he wanted without him at least giving her some indication things were wrong and that he personally had to work it out.
"Rainbow what are you--?" Sig questioned baffled.
"You aren't acting like yourself." the cyan pegasus answered with concern. "And I would really appreciate an answer even if it doesn't have details. Even if it is just you admitting something is wrong but you don't wanna worry me with it."
His expression grew cross and defensive, "I told you not to concern yourself with it Dash. Leave it alone!"
"I won't!" she shouted back.
She still remembered a time when he had done what she was doing now for her. He had pried bit by bit at her after Jackie had died, trying to pull her back from the edge of despair. Even though the stallion was going against her wishes to be left alone, he always stayed near and kept trying. No matter how little she gave him, and in the end he had shared his own pains with her. She wasn't going to give up on him either.
"You can't just go around blocking those who care about you out you rock headed stallion!" Rainbow scolded him. "You wouldn't let me throw the world away when Applejack died, and Celestia help me, I won't abandon you if things are going bad for you either!"
"Huh, element of loyalty is such an understatement fer you." Signature answered eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Got that right!" she followed his statement with.
"Fine then if it makes you feel better..." the stallion said with a sigh letting his walls open a little. "Yes there is something wrong that has me making stupid mistakes, but Rainbow I need you to understand that things are still too fresh in my mind to talk about it."
"That phone call?" the rainbow maned mare asserted boldly.
"Yes the phone call." was his plain reply. "You will need to give me a day or so to process it. Silly young filly, can't always have what you want when you want it!"
A smile crossed his face as he reached up and ruffled her mane like a parent would. Rainbow smiled at the gesture. It was always odd that the older stallion and her had become like father and daughter over such a short time. Despite this though you'd never see the pegasus complain, as she couldn't ask for a better person to step into that sort of role in her life.
"Hey Sig." she said as he turned to walk away.
He turned back, "Yeah Dash?"
"You forgot these again." the young mare said tossing the shop keys to the stallion.
He caught the keys and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Looks like he had indeed spaced out for a moment there, but he would get his head on straight again. His expression lit up a second after that as if he remembered something.
"By the way, your pay is in its usual place." the forest green stallion said as he headed for the door. "Just go ahead and get it while I go lock up."
Since he had trusted Rainbow they had put her pay box inside the house for safety reasons. Once he had exited the house she took a step over to the box hanging from the wall near the key hook and opened it up. She couldn't believe how much she saw inside the box. It was an entire coin purse of bits, full to max capacity! The cyan mare had never gotten that much pay for two weeks since she started working for Signature.
"I see you've noticed the amount there." came the stallion's voice from behind her.
"There is no way I earned this much Sig." she said turning to face the shop owner leaning in the doorway. "Don't kid around with me."
"Mmm, I'm not Rainbow." he answered seriously. "Member that event we catered last week? Your diligent behavior that day actually got you a pretty big tip, but they told me to give it to you with your pay instead of after the event. So you did earn that much."
"I uh, um, I earned...my behavior...what?" she stumbled for the words to say but came up blank every time.
"Go on, get outta here!" the sandwich maker said getting up and out of the doorway.
Her face contorted in joy as she raced towards Sig and wrapped him in the biggest of hugs. He by all means of her contract didn't have to give her those tips as they were given the way they were. Though the tip rules he had in the contract with her, he almost always ignored. Dash then quickly headed outside, flared her wings out to take off, but seconds before she leaped upward she shouted back to Signature.
"Night Sig! Take care!"
As the rainbow maned mare ascended into the sky she shouted in glee. A faint light was all around her as she flew towards her home, the new full moon was on the rise now. Her mind clicked the pieces together and the mare immediately got serious. Dash resolved she would go home first to drop off her pay, and get a little cleaned up before visiting Applejack's grave. Tonight was the night she would find out if Pinkie was right, and if she could finally get the answers she so desperately needed.
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As Rainbow Dash landed at the canyon like entrance to the graveyard she stopped and waited. Was she really one hundred percent ready for this? Something inside of her kept trying to make her just turn tail and run away, but the majority of her was against that. Yet here she stood unmoving and indecisive.
Big Mac had not been with her because he had called ahead to say that he was going to be with Pinkie this evening for her treatment regimen the good doctor had started recently. As the Apple family graveyard was actually sealed by an old type of magic seldom seen today, it had posed a bit of an issue for her entering. The stallion had the answer to her problem though, and given her the answer she needed to enter.
"Ta enter the canyon, ya must be a member o' the family. But y'all can't get in wit' just yer blood tie. Yer gonna have ta speak the words that the first Apples spoke to seal it from those who would do ill to the graves."
It had seemed like the family had known that not all ponies were of good moral hearts, and thus sealed the canyon graveyard off to those that did not know how to enter. Not to mention from those who had ill intents upon entering the canyon. Big Mac's directions to open the wooden gate barring her entry, as well as the barrier, ran through her head once more.
"Dash, all ya gotta do is put yer hands upon the gate with the purest intentions, an' then speak the words o' the first Apple's. Proving yer connection to our family."
The rainbow maned mare had hesitated long enough, and she took her first steps toward the wooden gate. She leaned into the gate as she laid her hands upon it, and the breeze began to pick up around her. Her heart felt a pulse of pain as she let the image of Applejack take hold of her.
"I return to the roots ending, to pay my respects to one who bled the color of our family's greatest achievement. Might I pass through here like the winds through the orchards, this wind that goes by the name Rainbow Dash?"
She stood there her hands upon the gate waiting with a heavy heart. The cyan mare almost gave up on this working, but before she had the chance a smell crossed her nose. The scent of apples and earth writhed around her all of a sudden as the breeze from before calmed. The gate before her shuddered once, and that was her cue to stand back up on her own. Shortly after that the wooden gate began to open all by itself, which signified that her heart had been deemed pure.
Rainbow started walking down the pathway through the canyon, the breeze cutting between the rock faces catching her blue v neck t-shirt tussling it lightly. Her magenta eyes shined as she walked forward with the moon closing in on the middle of the sky. It was almost time. The pegasus quickened her pace so as to avoid getting cold feet at the last possible moment.
Upon reaching the valley that held the Apple family graves the breeze seemed to completely die away. Rainbow knew exactly where Applejack's grave was and she would never forget it either. The pegasus hurried over and stood in front of the tombstone that marked her past love's resting place.
Here Lies:
Applejack Apple
The Most Honest, Hardworking,
And Loving Mare That Ever Was.
May She Forever Rest In Peace,
With All The Members Of Our Family,
Long Passed On.
Below the main inscription was something Dash asked be added for Jackie.
And May She Always Remember,
The Rainbow Heart,
That She Absolutely Captivated,
Will Always Go On.
"Hey there hun." Rainbow muttered aloud. "It's been a while now hasn't it?"
The pegasus began to get down on the ground and crossed her legs as she stared at the tombstone. She hadn't the faintest idea on where to begin, she felt just as sheepish and confused as the day Applejack had asked her to dance. She looked up to the sky and saw the moon gently gliding across the sky, almost at its peak. Something told her gut that things would change once the moon got that high, but that didn't stop her from feeling a bit pensive about sitting here.
"Sometimes I gotta wonder if I've started doing things like this, because I've finally lost it." the cyan mare muttered to herself dejectedly.
As her heart felt weakest and at the point she was about to give up, something began to change around her. Dash could feel the air around her becoming charged with energy, almost as if the air was being brought to life. She thought she saw a flash and looked down to the two element of harmony necklaces, they had begun to pulse with a faint light. I think I understand now! the rainbow maned mare realized.
She undid the necklace that held the element of honesty, and carefully took it and laid it upon the ground above where Applejack's coffin should be. Both elements of harmony continued to pulse with energy periodically, but she began to wonder what was next?
The energy in the atmosphere became that of lightning and Rainbow could feel the hairs upon her body rise in response. In the moment she felt that charge of pure energy, the element of honesty began to descend through the ground quickly disappearing. Like that the charged atmosphere began to dissipate rapidly, the element accepted nothing more could be done it seemed.
"N-No, that can be all!" Rainbow shouted in despair crawling forward toward the grave. "There has to be more, there has to be! I need to know what to do with my heart!"
No matter how much she begged the forces of the universe, things did not change. It was over, there was no answer to her questions, her guilt, and her heart. Dash just crumpled over onto her side and began to cry, had Pinkie been wrong? Was she really going to have to roam Equestria always wondering if she was betraying her love to Jackie?
"I-I just...why?" the cyan mare lamented between sobs. "Does this mean she doesn't wanna see me cause I've already betrayed her heart?"
"An' why would Ah do that to ya sugarcube?" a sweet southern accent answered her cries.
Rainbow hadn't noticed the change in her breakdown, but she noticed it felt like the whole world had stopped around her. Hearing a voice that she hadn't heard for many months now just confirmed that the atmosphere around them was really time standing still. She bolted into an upright position and looked toward the tombstone to see what she never in a million years could ever dream of.
Sitting atop the stone was the translucent image of Applejack, her hair curling around her shoulder a bright smile on her face. Her old stetson sitting proudly on her head, her emerald eyes shining with life. She was beautiful.
"I--But, how?" Dash asked as she got to her feet.
"Well, Ah doubt Twilight would ever understand it, but when y'all returned mah element of harmony it released a great amount o' magic." the blonde farmer began to explain. "When all of yer doubts, longings, and pains raced through yer mind, it sorta summoned mah spirit here. Temporarily of course, but Ah'm glad fer the time Dashie."
"I can't believe it, you're really here Jackie." the cyan mare said breathlessly approaching the orange mare. "I've missed you so much..."
"Oh Ah've missed you too girl, but y'all need to remember this is a one time deal." AJ said grimly hopping off of the tombstone. "You only get tonight ta see me, after that ya prolly won't see me again till it's yer time ta pass on."
She didn't care that she would only have tonight, this was more that she could have ever asked for. The pegasus now standing in front of the farmer reached out a hand to stroke her cheek, and it made contact startling Dash for a moment. It was in that moment she realized that it was because they were both in spiritual forms. Her real body still laid upon the ground she noticed looking down.
"Wow talk about an out of body experience!" the pegasus declared with a laugh.
"Ah've kept mah eye on you sugarcube, and Ah've noticed you struggling with yerself." Applejack cut right to the chase. "Rainbow, its not a crime fer y'all ta fall for another. Ah can't hold it against ya in any way."
"So you know about Spitfire and me?" the cyan mare said looking away, a blush lighting her cheeks.
"Ah do." was AJ's simple reply. "Boy howdy was Ah surprised to see that happen!"
"So you're not mad with me about that?" her shy questions continued.
"Not at all shug." the blonde maned mare answered sweetly. "In fact Ah approve of you an' her being together. Fer all she has been through, she deserves ta be shown love hasn't abandoned her. Ah do have mah fears though still...fer both of you."
"What do you mean by that Jackie?" Dash's gaze shot up to the orange mare with great worry.
"Y'all should know better than that shug." AJ answered bopping her nose playfully. "Not all answers can jus' be given. But Ah will say this to ya. Spitfire needs yer affection ta keep herself together, and you need ta keep yer faith in her strong even when things seem to be fallin' apart."
"Okay, got it!" Rainbow declared with determination in her eyes. "But are you reeaalllly okay with this Jackie?"
"Dashie, Ah can't be there ta love you anymore." Applejack said with a flat sadness. "You need, no, you deserve that much. Ah love you Rainbow, an' the last thing Ah wanna see is y'all stayin' away from possible happiness fer mah sakes!"
"Is that a yes?" the cyan mare asked impishly.
"In the name of Celestia, yes!" the orange mare exclaimed.
"Alright!" she replied with a big smile. "Hm, I feel like there were other things I had to ask you..."
In a single instant Applejack closed the distance between them, and kissed her deeply. It was just like all those months ago when they were together. Passion that burned hot in their hearts still could be felt, but there was also a sadness here as well. It was over in a moment as well and the blonde maned farmer spoke as she stepped back.
"Remember Ah fully support all yer choices from here on out sugarcube." a tear fell from her eyes.
The pain of them having to part again dawned on her after AJ began to cry. The world around her began to become hazy, the connection was fading fast. Dash had one final question, it was dumb but she had to know.
"Wait Jackie!" the rainbow maned mare shouted. "Did you hear the song I sang at your funeral?"
"There's not a day Ah don't find mahself hummin' it Dashie." was the last words she heard as the world around her faded.
______________________________________________________________________________________
As Rainbow opened her eyes she was greeted by the bright morning sun. Her fur near her eyes felt matted from tears, but with last nights events she couldn't feel any trace of sadness. A warm smile spread across her face as she remembered Applejack's last words to her. On top of everything else her old love had approved of her and Spitfire being together!
She felt absolutely ecstatic at every event that could come to pass, and she realized she wasn't sure how to handle it exactly. She got up and stood on unsteady and sore legs caused by her sleeping upon the ground. It didn't matter what she chose to do today, but first things first she needed to head home and get cleaned up.
Then an idea sparked in her head, one that couldn't be ignored. She hadn't heard from Spitfire since they spoke a few days ago, and she was sure that the golden mare had reconciled with Valkyrie. Maybe a little surprise was in store for the fiery maned mare she knew she cared about.
Dash quickly headed out of the Apple family cemetery, and as it re-sealed itself she kicked off of the ground. Spreading her wings she began to pump them for speed, and shot across the sky towards her house.
"Won't Spits be surprised?" Rainbow asked no one in particular as she ran inside her home.