//------------------------------// // For the Win // Story: Appledashery // by Just Essay //------------------------------// Despite the gloomy sky above—or lack thereof—Apple Jewell's freckles glinted with an ethereal light. Her mane cascaded around her dainty face in golden tresses. The mare's lips pursed, with the slightest hint of air wafting in and out of her closed mouth. Rainbow Dash gazed at her. She took deep breaths. Gradually, her wings drooped and her shoulders buckled. A mistiness crossed her eyes, blurring Apple Jewell's figure. So Rainbow clenched them shut, leaning forward until her forehead brushed up against Apple Jewell's. In sweet silence, she fought the intense need to sob. Apple Jewell was so delicate—a ghost of the mare Rainbow Dash knew in real life. Seeing her in such a decrepit form—no matter how beautiful—ripped her to the core. She didn't dare open her eyes for fear of seeing Apple Jewell still unconscious upon glancing again. So she rested there, the mare's dainty figure cradled in her forelimbs, with their soft-soft coats making the featheriest of contact. At any moment, Rainbow Dash figured, Flim or Flam might come charging in and bucking the two mares apart. But she didn't hear any movement from the unicorn siblings. She didn't sense any movement at all, save for the sure trot of a figure just behind her. The smell of sugar-sweet mirth tickled Rainbow's nose, and she knew who she was speaking to without looking. "Tell me, Epcot..." Rainbow's voice was weaker than she expected. She made little attempt to clear her throat. "Tell me... h-how bad is it?" At last she looked up, eyes brimming with tears. "Is she... is she gone?" The air around what remained of the ampitheatre had grown tempestuous. Cyclonic winds ripped past the ponies' manes, making it hard for Rainbow Dash to hold Apple Jewell in place. Gustave, Mulia, and Donut Joe clung to one another, looking past the limp bodies of Flim and Flam. Despite the turbulence, Epcot stood her ground, unaffected by the collapse of Philanthropy. "It's difficult to say, Rainbow Dash," the chaperone said. "All things considered, she wasn't even here to begin with." Rainbow looked about to vomit. "What...?!" "It's the dream self that they built around her, Rainbow," Epcot exclaimed. "The mortals known as Felix and Frederick used all of their energy and dreamweaving to build the shell of the 'Cider Princess' around your friend!" She slowly shook her head. "So long as that thought-construct stands solid around her, she'll remain part of the dream!" "For how long?!" Epcot shrugged. "It is difficult to say. I can tell you, though, that a mortal soul cannot withstand separation from its corporeal form for long. If she doesn't return to the real world soon, there's no telling what will be left of her." Rainbow grimaced. She looked at the obsidian portal not far from them. "The door... did the door do this to her?" "It likely stripped her of the ability to fight against her dream self." "But... but I went through the door and came back—" "You went through the door?!" Epcot blinked, looking genuinely surprised for the first time since Rainbow met her. "But... but that's inconceivable. How are you here?" "I... I can't explain it... but..." Rainbow's voice cut off as she glanced at Shindig's figure twitching on the floor not far from Flim and Flam. "Shindig. Serenity's dream form has fallen apart!" "Indeed." "Then why isn't the same thing happening to Applejack?!" "I can only guess that the dream woven around her is far stronger." "But..." Rainbow squirmed, starting to hyperventilate. "B-but..." "The soul of your friend cannot currently overpower the dream constructed around her, Rainbow Dash," Epcot said. "The only thing that can break the shell now is whatever the two mortal brothers arranged." "Arranged...?" "They drew the fantasy from within Applejack's subconscious, did they not?" Rainbow Dash bit her lip. She looked down at the limp mare in her grasp. "The Cider Princess..." She shuddered. "Apple Jewell... Princess of Philanthropy... a fairy tale..." She stared off into disentegrating space, her ruby eyes focusing on a singularity beyond the veil. "A fairy tale..." Her facial muscles twitched. "A kiss from her knight in shining armor!" "Rainbow Dash!" Donut Joe called over. "What's going on over there?!" "Is Applejack okay or not?!" Mulia stammered. "Mon dieu..." Gustave's feathers ruffled as he stared at the empty sky. "...we cannot stay here." "She needs a kiss from her knight in shining armor to wake up!" Rainbow rambled out loud. "She... she's always secretly f-fantasized about being a princess, and being kissed awake by her... her..." Slowly, the mare's ears drooped. "...by her handsome special stallion to be..." She clenched her teeth, then shut her eyes tight. "...the Red Rook." Epcot cocked her head to the side. "Huh?" "It... it all makes sense..." Rainbow gulped a lump down her throat and shuddered where she sat. "Of course it does." "Rainbow Dash, if you have a solution in mind, then now is the time to—" "Stu!" Rainbow barked, then snarled. "Stu! Stu Leaves!" A figure stirred from somewhere past Shindig and her sons. Rainbow shuffled her grip of Apple Jewell, gazing across the windswept platform. Stu fought to stand up, still bleeding from his front fetlock. "Stu!" Rainbow's voice cracked. "Get over here! On the double!" "Mmmfff... huh?" Stu looked over, eyes squinting through the turbulent air. "What?" Upon seeing Apple Jewell, he blanched. "Rainbow! Is Applejack okay?! She looks... she looks so—" "Will you just shut up and get over here, please?!" "Rainbow," Epcot spoke below the bedlam. "I honestly don't think that—" "Stu!" Rainbow hollered, her heart pounding. "Please. I... I need... Applejack needs you to—" A thunderous crack rolled across the heavens. The outer half of the platform broke off... carrying everypony with it. Everypony but Rainbow Dash, Apple Jewell, and the chaperone. Shindig and her sons disappeared in the tumult. Mulia, Joe, and Gustave went sailing off—filling the air with screams. There was the flicker of Stu's horrified eyes, and then he was gone, toppling off through non-space. "STU!" Rainbow hollered, holding Applejack tight. Tears flew into the blurry dreamscape, and she yelped: "Epcot! Quick! Go catch them!" "Rainbow—" The chaperone waved a forelimb. "You gotta get Stu! Bring him back before—" "It's too late for them!" Epcot retorted. "They've left the dream!" "Are they... a-are they—?!" "They will return to the conscious surface world," Epcot calmly, firmly explained. "They do not belong in this dream. I could go and try to catch them, but I'd rather be here for Applejack. I need to be here for you." "But... but Stu..." Rainbow panted and panted, clinging to Apple Jewell on the last remaining chunk of concrete. "The Red Rook... I-I-I mean..." "Rainbow Dash." Epcot smiled, a very soft thing in the heart of the maelstrom. "Perhaps in the mortal realm you can run from it. But right now, Applejack can't afford it." Rainbow gazed at her, shivering. Sweat poured down from her brow. Epcot said, "For the dream around Applejack to collapse, an even stronger dream must come true." Epcot grazed Rainbow's shoulder. "You have saved her... and you will save her again. If that doesn't deserve the distinction of 'shining,' then I don't know what does." She ended the speech with a smile. Rainbow leaned back, heaving. She hugged Apple Jewell close, then gazed down at her soft face and even softer freckles. "It... it's never been that simple. She's... she's so awesome. And I... I mean she deserves... she deserves so much..." "Then why exactly are you here?" Rainbow Dash sniffled, pressing her forehead once again to Apple Jewell's. "Like he told me..." She choked on a sob. "...to win." Epcot stepped back. And it was in good time too. Rainbow Dash leaned in, holding her breath. When she finally spoke, it was with six soft words, squeaked more than uttered. And then her lips were busy brushing against Apple Jewell's. The moment was far softer than she expected. Something collapsed inside her as she tasted the mare's breath. She wanted to cry. She did cry. But just as Rainbow brought two hooves up to cradle Apple Jewell's face for an even deeper kiss, the floor gave out from beneath her. She shrieked, feeling Apple Jewell's body slip away. Now she was falling backwards, plummeting, rocketing through the layers of subconscious thought. Cider Space sped past her, and the former location of Philanthropy shrank into a pinprick, as did Apple Jewell's figure. "No... nooo!" Rainbow hollered, wailed. She flapped her wings, but they were disappearing rapidly around her, melting into sudsy bubbles and cider foam. She tried shrieking, but liquid poured out of her lungs. At last, when nothing was left but her torso, she reached out in vain for the speck that Apple Jewell's body had become. A pale hoof grasped her. Rainbow yelped, her eyes affixed to Epcot's. "Epcot!" She sputtered as her body ribboned off into the space between consciousnesses. "Epcot... help me! Please...!" "Shhhhh..." Epcot whispered. "But... b-but..." Epcot smiled. With warm cheeks, she said, "Don't worry." And after nuzzling the edge of Rainbow's hoof, the chaperone let go. "Epcot—!" Then Rainbow Dash dissipated. Epcot floated off into the ether, watching the realm of Cider Spice undulate and swell around her, until once again she was a ghostly blight upon the expanse. And the rest was swallowed up in blackness.