Rainbow Dash was rudely awoken from her nap by a tremor going through the tree, which made her fall down on the ground. “Hey, what gives?!”
“You should stop napping in mah appletrees, Rainbow.” She should have guessed it was AJ. Few ponies could make a tree shake like that.
“They are relaxing to sleep in.” She answered defensively, dusting herself off. “You usually let me sleep though. What’s up?”
“Ah actually wanted to ask ya something about Jax. When was the last time ya talked with him?”
“I dunno… two days ago? He asked me to clear the sky on Monday night. He better appreciate it.”
Applejack chuckled. “That explains the weather schedule then.” She put on a more serious expression. “Anywho, he seems to be…” She circled her hoof around, looking for words. “A bit too fine.”
“…What?”
“Ya know… like he’s hiding his pain. Ah would think after how close he’s been with Luna ‘nd all, he would be more sad or angry with the way she left. Ah mean, Ah’m sure she had a reason an’ all, but ya saw the way he looked after she suddenly went and teleported away. Ah would think he’d have more of a reaction. Ah talked with both Twilight and Pinkie, and they agree, ‘least Ah think Pinkie agreed. Ah think he’s keeping himself busy to not think ‘bout it.”
Rainbow Dash looked at her friend for a bit. “Look, Jax is a big guy. He’s been alone in the Everfree for a month.” She waved a hoof in front of Applejack before she could interrupt. “But let’s say you’re right. I’m pretty busy until Monday night. I have double shifts at the weather team, and the only free time I’m gonna have is today at the running of the leaves, which I promised to spend with Fluttershy. You’re gonna have to take care of this one without me.”
Applejack sighed. “Alright, Ah’ll give it a go. But If Ah don’t get anywhere before Monday…”
“Then I’ll be right there with you.” Rainbow smiled at her friend.
“Alright, good. Ah’m pretty worried about him. He’s here all alone, without any family. He came by yesterday to eat with us, but any questions about family was shrugged off. Ya know anything?”
“No, didn’t even ask. If he wants to tell me something about his past, he’ll tell me. Look, I gotta fly, but keep me updated, okay?” She said with a wave.
When AJ nodded, she flapped her wings lightly, enjoying the feeling of wind under her wings. Soon everything under her looked very small, and she loved the feeling of pure freedom it gave her. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath as she prepared her next action. She could feel her stomach tickle in anticipation. She couldn’t for the life of her understand why Twilight spent so much time on the ground now that she had wings. Maybe Rainbow should show her how to enjoy it fully.
She flipped over on her back, and pulled in her wings. She stopped gaining altitude, and soon she started freefalling. It was dangerous for normal pegasi, but compared to all the stunts Rainbow usually made, it was almost lame. But it helped her think, which was usually why she did it nowadays. The seconds she had falling through the air were blissfully easy for Rainbow. She was doing something, even when she wasn’t doing anything at all. She was falling through the air, even when she was just relaxing.
The object of her thoughts were Jax. She liked the human, and she had been the first to offer him her friendship. It had been after all the pain he had experienced since coming to Equestria had been transferred to her that she had decided. Any creature that had seen that much pain deserved, no, needed a friend. He had done nothing to prove her wrong, even though they hadn’t talked very much, and she really didn’t know that much about him, but she didn’t care. If Twilight had proven anything since coming to Ponyville, it was that friendship didn’t start because two ponies knew each other well. It was something that came from the heart, as lame as that sounded. Heck, they didn’t even know Twilight had a brother until they were invited to his wedding!
Her instincts kicked in, and she knew it was time. She extended her right wing just enough to get rotation going, and righted herself so that she was facing the ground. She extended both her wings, locking them into place, and let them do their job to slow her down. Then she angled them so that she would straighten out. She passed the ground with plenty space to spare. Some days she liked to get a bit closer, but she wasn’t doing it for the thrill today. She flew up high again, and repeated the action. Freefalling on her back just felt so much better than freefalling on her stomach.
Where was she? Oh yeah, friendship. Jax was a nice stallion. If what Applejack said was true, he was in pain yet again, and Rainbow Dash always protected her friends. She regretted not being able to help Jax herself, but she trusted Applejack. Applejack would do something, and if that didn’t work, Rainbow Dash would be ready on Monday to help. Jax was a tough guy, he could survive until then, if something really was wrong.
She straightened herself again. She better get to work. She had to set out rainclouds so that they would be ready for after the running of the leaves, which she also needed to be ready for.
Not that it was a problem. Rainbow Dash was always ready to run.
***
Jax woke up by himself. No crazy knocking today. Not that he had slept well, with Mr. Bear still out somewhere. He hadn’t been able to fall asleep, and when he finally did he kept waking up from nightmares. He felt really, really tired.
He forced himself out of bed and into the kitchen. Some warm tea would help him.
He looked into the fridge. Right, food was scarce. If Twilight took too long with figuring out the pen, he would have to get a job. Somewhere, somehow.
He took out a piece of cake and some apples, then started making the tea. He hadn’t been an avid tea drinker before he appeared here, but this stuff was good. He would have to find out where Rarity bought it.
After he had eaten, he made himself some more tea, the warm liquid dispersing his tiredness. It would seem like Applejack had let him sleep since it was the running of the leaves today. He had no idea what time it was now, what time the running of the leaves started, or exactly where. Somewhere in Whitetail Woods. Ah, he could always venture over to his neighbor and ask.
Wait, actually…
He took out the weather schedule. It said it would rain at 15.00, after the running of the leaves. Okay, so he knew when it ended at least. He looked out of one of his many windows, and saw pegasi putting up rainclouds in the distance. What time was it?
He groaned in frustration, letting his head drop to the table. “Aaaaav!” which was a bad idea. It didn’t hurt as much as he had expected, but still.
He lay like that for a while, thinking how he could find out anything. The place he had signed up at had had some information, but he couldn’t remember it. Even if he knew, how was he supposed to know what time it was now? Luna always seemed to know what time it is somehow.
He raised his head, drank the rest of his tea, and stood up. He took another apple, put on his shoes and made his way out. No use complaining when he could do something about it.
He found Big Mac in the field. The big red stallion was kicking trees, making apples fall down as he did. Not only that, but they fell perfectly into some baskets he had placed. Huh. Neat.
“Hey Big Mac.”
Big Mac nodded at him. Jax knew he could speak, but he preferred the ‘eyup’ and ‘nope’ replies he often used.
“You going to the running of the leaves?”
“Nope.”
“Oh. Do you know when it starts then?”
“Eyup. In an hour.”
“Oh, okay. Guess I’ll go and stretch or something. Thanks.” Jax said as he started to walk off.
“Ah think mah sister was planning to get ya after she was done with her chores.” Big Mac said before he got far.
“That was nice of her. I should probably go help her out then. Where is she?”
He pointed his hoof, in what Jax could only assume was the direction of Applejack.
“Alright thanks Bic Mac. Have a good one.”
***
“Hey AJ.” He approached the kicking mare with a wave.
“Well hello there sugarcube. Ah was planning on fetching ya after I was done here.” She kicked the tree, and once again apples fell directly into the baskets.
“Yeah I heard from Big Mac. I’m here to help.”
“Well that’s mighty sweet of ya. You know anything about bucking trees?”
“Nope. I don’t know anything about bucking in general.”
“Well… You don’t seem to have the right build for it, that’s for sure. Try kicking that there tree.” She pointed at a tree with empty baskets under it.
Jax took his position. Not too far away, not too close. He wasn’t very confident in his ability to kick apples off trees, but whatever. It was worth a try.
“Hiiiiiiya!” He screamed his battle cry as he kicked it with the underside of his foot. “aaaaaav.” He said as he made contact. Applejack chuckled beside him as he let his almost-numb foot down on the ground again. It could still support his weight, thankfully. Not a single apple fell down.
“Alright, so maybe bucking ain’t you’re thing. How about ya take these baskets and fill the cart for me? Ah only need a couple more trees anyhow, and we don’t want ya to get hurt before the race even starts.”
“Yeah, sounds reasonable.” He said through the pain. He went over and lifted one of the baskets filled with apples. It was heavy, but he could lift it without problems. “Where is this cart of yours then?”
“Over yonder.” She pointed behind some trees, and sure enough, when he went over he found an empty cart. He emptied the basket into the apple decorated cart.
“You know we have to be at the running of the leaves in an hour right?” He asked her as he went over for more baskets.
“Ah know, Ah just want to help Big Mac as much as Ah can.” She said as she bucked the last tree in the row. “All we need ta do now is fill the cart and roll it over to the barn. Ah appreciate the help by the way.”
“Oh it’s no problem. You helped me prepare for the race.”
Applejack chuckled. “All Ah did was to take ya with me for a run.”
“Pff. Then all I’m doing is filling a cart with apples.” He retorted as he lifted another basket.
“All right, Ah get it.” She chucked again. “You’re a good stallion, Jax.”
“Actually I’m not a stallion at all, but I can understand why you would be confused. It’s a common mistake.”
She started laughing now, almost dropping the basket she had just put on her back. She regained her balance and they started walking towards the cart. “Funny as well. Listen, fall is coming, and mah friends usually help out on the farm during the season, to prepare for winter and all that. Ah was wondering if ya wanted to help as well. Ya ain’t gonna get paid for it, but Ah can offer meals. And as many apples as ya can carry.” She dropped the apples into the cart, as did Jax.
“Getting up early to do physical labor? Sure why not. It’s not like I have other things lined up, and I want to get in form anyway. Wait… Are you saying that we’re friends?” Jax checked. It sounded like it, but he liked to be sure of stuff like this.
“Yeah, Ah would like for us to be friends, if ya don’t mind.” Applejack smiled at him.
“Sure… AJ” He answered with a smile of his own.
“Now, let’s hurry with this. Ah might’ve overestimated how fast ah could do this.”
“Right.”
***
They arrived late because Applejack had really underestimated how much there was. And she had thought she could do it alone.
Fortunately, the mayor had held a speech or something that they arrived to the end of.
“Hey Rainbow, Fluttershy, Twilight.” Jax nodded to each of the ponies as he took his place in the line of runners. “Pinkie and Rarity aren’t competing?”
“Hello Jax. No, Rarity says she has better things to do, and Pinkie is making cakes.” Twilight answered. She looked pretty tired. Jax could only imagine that she hadn’t heeded his advice and had stayed up late studying the pen.
“So, Rainbow Dash, ya ready to lose?” Applejack asked the rainbow manned pegasus.
“What? Oh, yeah, I’m not doing that this year. I’m gonna be running with Fluttershy the whole way.”
Jax noticed that Fluttershy blushed and looked down at the ground.
“Ah shucks. Ah was looking forward to a friendly competition. What about you Jax?”
“As I am right now, I think we both know you would win. Wanna run together Twilight?”
“Sure.” Twilight happily responded. Applejack looked a little downtrodden, but after she sighed she put on a determined expression. Looked like she was going to win the race. Did you even get anything by winning? He couldn’t remember there being any prizes.
“Are you sure you don’t want to run with Applejack?” Fluttershy asked Rainbow. “I’m not very fast…”
“I know, and of course I’m sure.” Rainbow simply said. Fluttershy looked at her with a smile. Jax couldn’t help but smile as well.
***
Luna held her head in her hooves. Being awake for several days and nights was getting to her. She could be awake for so much longer, but she wished to sleep so badly. Sleep was much better. It meant she did not have to hear that tartarus damned song.
‘Once did a pony who shone like the sun, look out on her kingdom and sigh
.’
She had been so happy when she was with Jax, the song all but a memory, and guilt only at the back of her mind, not singing to her at the forefront of it.
‘...So great was her reign, so brilliant her glory
that long was the shadow she cast
Which fell dark upon the sister she loved
and drew only darker as days and nights passed…’
She covered her eyes as tears started to seep through. She had been doing so well. She was using two hours each evening in night court, since nopony reserved any time after that, and when she was done with that she would discuss rules and regulations with the lawyers that had already answered her summons. They were graceful enough to accept the late hours without complaint, and were of course paid graciously for it. They had already planned some big changes.
‘…Soon did that pony take notice that others
did not give her sister her due
and neither had she loved her as she deserved
she watched as her sisters unhappiness grew…’
Her book was coming along well, every free moment she had was spent on writing it, and she was already at the fifteenth chapter.
But with writing about the past, came painful memories. She was done with writing the historical part, long done. What was left was her slow decent into darkness, into giving in.
‘
…But such is the way of the Limelight
it sweetly takes hold of the mind of its host…’
She had just written about the second to last time she had spoken with her sister before she became Nightmare Moon. A pony had come into her night court, the only one to come after weeks, demanding to see Celestia. He had raised her hope, only to crush it cruelly. ‘Even ponies that come during the night, during your time, would rather see your sister.’ The Limelight had whispered to her. Of course, at the time she had not realized it was anything but her own mind.
How dare he come to her court, to demand to see her sister? The Royal Canterlot Voice had been used on the pony, louder than she had ever used it before. Loud enough to wake her sister.
Celestia had come in, and had apologized to the rude pony, even promising to help with whatever it was he needed. Luna had not felt such anger before or since, at least not while she was still mostly in charge of herself. “Sister, I am the guardian of the night. Thou hath no right-“ She had said, sure that Celestia would not dare thread on her domain. She had been wrong.
“I hath every right, sister. If a pony hath need of me, I shall respond. Such is the duty of a Princess.” The anger inside of Luna had settled on a cold, burning hatred. For the first time ever, she had looked at her sister with more than jealousy, more than anger. That was the night that Celestia had stepped too far. One princess to rule the day, one princess to rule the night. Such had been their agreement, and so it had been for centuries.
Luna let the tears fall freely. It was no use trying to stop them. The hate, that burning, destructing hate she had felt for her beloved sister was enough for the Limelight to get a proper hold, and it only went downhill from there. Slowly, but surely, Luna lost more and more control.
‘…The years now before us
fearful and unknown
I never imagined
I’d face them on my own…’
She had almost destroyed everything, every living being on the planet, and for what? Because of what?! Because her sister wanted to help a pony in the middle of the night. Because she had been too weak to fight, to blind to see what was happening. She had turned against her own sister, leaving her to fend for herself for a thousand years… She had left her alone…
She quickly erected a soundproof barrier around her and screamed out all her frustration, sadness, and self-loathing. She screamed and screamed until she felt her strength leave her, and she fell down of her bed again. She cried quietly now, so she let the barrier fall. It had been a long while since she had felt like this. So hopelessly guilty that she wanted to give up on everything and just…
‘Because, this month and a half I’ve spent with you and the others has been some of the best time in my life. I’m not gonna let some scared ponies ruin that. Not by a long shot.’
Jax…
She sniffed. She could not help but wonder how angry he was with her for leaving like she did. Was he still going to hold on to that promise? She had not received any messages from him…
‘But don’t worry, I told you I was going to do something about it, and I will.’
So he had said but…
She saw Jax in front of her. His dark brown hair, his kind smile, his green eyes, filled with determination…
For a moment, she let all the doubt just wash away, as she imagined hugging him. She still remembered how it felt, the warm sensation that always made her enjoy it so much.
She dried off her tears, as the song stopped. For a long time, she just lay there, with the image of them hugging in her mind. She found enough strength to smile.
She imagined nuzzling him. She had been bold the day she had done that the first time, the memory of it did not fail to make her giddy. It was such a freeing feeling, to show him just a bit of what she felt for him. She doubted he understood exactly that that was what it meant for her, but the feeling had still been very pleasant.
She imagined kissing him. Not on the cheek, but on the mouth. If she had been a bit braver, she would already have done it. She could almost feel his lips on hers, soft and warm and just…
She bit her lower lip. It had been a long while since she had pleasured herself… perhaps if imaginary-Jax decided he wanted to scratch her…
Going from tears to pleasure. Jax had a peculiar effect on her.