Appleback Mountain was a refuge. A place so far away from everything that the ugliness of the world couldn’t reach its pristine beauty. In a world so constantly changing, Appleback Mountain was the one place that Applejack could count on to remain as she remembered. It was the one place that never changed.
And yet, in a way it had. Throughout the years they had visited it, Appleback Mountain had changed from merely a secluded camping destination to the one place they could call their own, a serene landscape full of memories and dreams, a place to which they could escape.
Sunlight glinted off of the rushing water of the stream. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had traveled down the mountain to where the water would be deep enough to bathe in.
“What are you waiting for?” Rainbow Dash asked, and plunged in.
This far from civilization, nopony else could hear Applejack’s gasp as she galloped into the cold water. Nopony but them could hear their laughter as they splashed each other or their screams of delight as Applejack wrestled Rainbow Dash to the smooth stones in the shallows.
Rainbow Dash grinned up at Applejack, water rushing around her. Hooves still planted on her shoulders, Applejack leaned down to kiss her.
“Are things normal between you an’ Soarin?” she asked, pulling back.
Rainbow Dash sat up in the shallows and shrugged. “Sure.”
“He don’t ever suspect…?”
Rainbow Dash shook her head.
“Do you ever get the feeling, when you’re in town,” Applejack asked, “and somepony looks at you all suspicious, like they know? And then you go outside and everypony’s lookin’ at you, like they know too?”
Rainbow Dash was silent as the water continued to flow past her.
“Maybe you should get out of there,” she said finally. “Find someplace different.”
“Someplace different?” Applejack repeated. “You mean live with you? Have our own little farm somewhere where money rains from the sky and the rivers flow with cider? That’s real smart, Dash, real smart.”
Rainbow Dash frowned and stood up, flapping her wings to dry them. “Well if you want to live your miserable life, go right ahead. I was just thinking out loud.”
“Yep, you’re a real thinker, aren’t you?” Applejack grumbled to herself as Rainbow Dash turned and walked back to the campsite. “Got it all figured out.”
Applejack took one last swig and set down the empty bottle. The small wooden table was already crowded with bottles. She got up to leave the dim barroom.
Another evening had come to an end. Every night was the same now. She had no family, nopony to keep her from losing herself to the endless, meaningless repetition her life had become.
On her way out, she bumped into a dark-maned, tan stallion. Applejack recognized him as a pony that on some late evenings would bus tables and sweep up the bar. Over the past few days he had been trying to catch her eye, with little success.
“Hey, I just finished my shift,” the handsome stallion said. “Wanna dance?”
“Nah, I was jus’ leavin’,” Applejack replied.
“Nonsense! The night’s still young!” The stallion held out a hoof. “Name’s Cherry Fizzy.”
“Applejack,” Applejack introduced herself and allowed him to pull her onto the deserted dance floor.
Rainbow Dash was surrounded by ponies, gyrating and undulating to the music. Colored lights flashed from all sides, illuminating the otherwise dark room. Deafening bass pounding in her ears, it was nearly impossible to think, which was just how Rainbow Dash liked it. Though she had arrived at the club with Soarin, she paid little attention to his presence mere inches away, or to the presence of a dozen other ponies who were just as close, if not closer.
“I’m going to the bar!” Soarin shouted, his voice failing to compete with the pounding music. “Want anything?”
Rainbow Dash shook her head and continued to dance.
She felt no emotion when ponies she had never met “accidentally” rubbed up against her. She had caught flashes of Soarin’s concerned expression when this happened earlier, but to her it was just additional mindless stimulation to fill the emptiness.
So when Rainbow Dash felt a pair of forelegs encircle her waist from behind, she didn’t react. She didn’t care.
Then a familiar voice spoke in her ear.
“Want me to show you how to have a good time in Las Pegasus?” Spitfire asked.
Rainbow Dash didn’t hesitate. “Let’s get out of here.”
When Applejack arrived at the train station to pick up Apple Bloom with Cherry Fizzy, she realized that her sister was not a filly anymore. Apple Bloom was taller than Applejack remembered, and seemed to have lost some the bouncy energy of a filly. Her bow was no longer comically oversized, and her mane was longer and sleeker than it used to be, though it was apparent she hardly put more effort into styling her mane than her older sister did. She was not yet fully grown, but neither, Applejack had to admit, was she the baby sister that needed so much looking after as a filly.
The three ponies arrived at The Salt Block saloon for lunch, and after finding their seats and placing an order, Applejack got up to choose a song from the jukebox.
“So…” Cherry Fizzy broke the uncomfortable silence between him and Apple Bloom, “you think your sister’s ever gonna get married again?”
“I don’t know,” Apple Bloom replied, fiddling with an unopened bottle of cherry soda that Cherry Fizzy had bought for her. “Maybe she ain’t the marryin’ type.”
“You think so?” Cherry Fizzy asked. “Or you don’t think I’m the one for her?”
Apple Bloom met his gaze, shrugged, and then looked away. “Yer good enough…”
Cherry Fizzy sat back in his chair. “Well, you don’t say much, but you get your point across.”
“Ya sure yer gonna be all right, takin’ the train back on yer own?” Applejack asked her sister while they waited for the train at the Appleloosa station.
“Don’t worry about me, Sis,” Apple Bloom replied. “I made it here on my own, I can get back on my own, too.”
The two sisters sat in silence for a moment.
“You doin’ all right, Bloom?” Applejack asked.
“I’m fine,” Apple Bloom answered.
“You sure?”
Apple Bloom hesitated for a moment. Then she said, “Sis, I’ve been thinkin’… maybe I could… well, maybe I could come live with you.” She looked up at her sister hopefully. “I’d be an awful good help, I know I would.”
Applejack took a moment to find the right words to respond.
“Now, you know I ain’t set up fer that,” she said. “I’m workin’ all day, and—“
“That’s all right, Sis, I understand,” Apple Bloom interrupted. “Forget I asked.”
A train pulled into the station, the screeching of brakes filling the silence between the two sisters.
“Guess I’ll see you in a week then,” Applejack said. They hugged, and Apple Bloom boarded the train.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash sat by a campfire on a pebbled beach. The vast evening sky was reflected in the placid lake before them, while behind them the darkening mountains rose up toward the heavens.
“All this time, and you still haven’t found somepony to marry?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I’ve been seein’ this good-lookin’ Appleloosan stallion fer a while,” Applejack said. “But I don’t know…” She poked the fire with a stick, causing a shower of sparks. “What about you an’ Soarin?”
“He’s a real good guy,” Rainbow Dash answered slowly, “but I think the only reason I’m still with him is for the publicity our relationship is bringing the Wonderbolts. We’ll put on a show, acting all cute together for the paparazzi, but that’s as far as it goes. There’s nothing left for when we’re alone.”
She looked down at her hooves. “I kind of have this thing going with another Wonderbolt stallion,” she continued quietly, “Rapidfire.”
Applejack shook her head, grinning. “Element of loyalty, my hoof.”
“I worry I’m gonna get found out and kicked off the Wonderbolts every time I slip off to see him,” Rainbow Dash admitted, smiling self-consciously.
Applejack chuckled. “You’d prob’ly deserve it too.”
Rainbow Dash laughed and then after a moment became serious again.
“Tell you what,” she said finally, all traces of humor gone. “The truth is… sometimes… sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it.”
Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash, whose gaze was once again turned to the fire, and saw a rare glimpse of the pony within. With the barriers torn down Applejack saw an unruly rainbow mane that could no longer project enough effortless confidence and bravado to hide the doubt and insecurity within. She looked at the face that was so familiar to her and for the first time saw the magenta eyes that had cried until there were no tears left.
The tents were taken down and saddlebags packed. Rainbow Dash and Applejack stood on the shore of the lake, taking in the view one more time before preparing to depart. Sunlight sparkled on the still, turquoise water and the leaves on the trees rippled in a gentle breeze.
"I'm leaving from here to meet the Wonderbolts at Neighagra Falls," Rainbow Dash broke the silence. "So I can't go back to Ponyville with you this time."
“Rainbow Dash,” Applejack began, “there’s somethin’ I’ve been meaning to tell you.” She hesitated. “I prob’ly won’t be able to see ya again until after the Runnin’ of the Leaves.”
Rainbow Dash looked at Applejack in stunned disbelief. “After the Running of the Leaves?” she repeated. “That’s eight months from now! What happened to meeting at the end of summer?”
Applejack shuffled her hooves and stared at the ground.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “For the love of Celestia, Applejack. You had a week to tell me this and you waited until now?” She scowled. “Why is it we’re always meeting in the cold? We oughtta go someplace warm, like Las Pegasus.”
“Las Pegasus?” Applejack repeated blankly. “Rainbow Dash, you know that ain’t my scene.”
Rainbow Dash turned away from her to face the lake.
“Come on, lighten up, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack pleaded. “We can make snowponies and heat up some cider over the campfire. Remember when we did that, that year with the big snow? That was a good time, wasn’t it?”
A breeze blew across the water, shattering the sun’s reflection into a thousand glittering shards.
“There’s never enough time,” Rainbow Dash said quietly.
Applejack was silent.
“When did this get so hard?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You used to come away easy, but now it’s like trying to get an audience with Celestia.”
“Rainbow Dash, I gotta work,” Applejack replied. “In those earlier days there were enough ponies to cover for me on the farm, but I’m on my own now. You don’t know what it’s like to be broke all the time. I can’t just get paid to fly around and do loop-de-loops like you do!”
She sighed. “I can’t quit this one, Dash, and I can’t get the time off. It was hard enough gettin’ to leave this time. The trade-off was our meetin’ in the summer… You got a better idea?”
“I did once,” Rainbow Dash said softly, turning around to glare at Applejack.
“You did once,” Applejack repeated. She stepped closer and looked Rainbow Dash in the eye. “Tell me, you been to Las Pegasus, Rainbow Dash? ‘Cause I know what they got in Las Pegasus for mares like you.”
“Yes, I’ve been to Las Pegasus,” Rainbow Dash snapped. “You got a problem with that?”
Applejack was silent for a long moment, and when she spoke next her voice was low and controlled, like she was doing her best to contain a brewing rage. “I’m going to tell you this one time, Rainbow Dash,” she said. “an’ I ain’t foolin’. All those things that I don’t know about you an’ what you do with the Wonderbolts when I ain’t around, those things could get you killed if I come ta know ‘em.” She held Rainbow Dash’s gaze for a long moment. “I ain’t jokin’.”
She turned and headed back toward her saddlebags.
“Yeah? Well, try this one,” Rainbow Dash countered. “And I’ll say it just once.”
“Go ahead!” Applejack said, turning around angrily.
“We could’ve had a real good life together!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “A real good life! Could’ve had a place of our own! But you didn’t want it, Applejack! So what do we have now? Appleback Mountain!” She gestured angrily at the serene landscape, like the placid lake and impassive mountains had committed her a great personal wrong. “Everything’s built on that! That’s all we got! That’s it! So I hope you know that if you never know the rest!” She stepped closer to Applejack. “You count the times we’ve been together in nearly ten years and you measure the short leash you keep me on, and then you can ask me about Las Pegasus and tell me you’ll kill me for needing something I don’t hardly ever get!”
She was breathing heavily. It felt like she had expended the last of her energy toward being angry, and all she had left was emptiness.
“You have no idea how bad it gets,” she said, her voice cracking. “I’m not you, Applejack. I can’t get by on a couple high-altitude meetings once or twice a year.”
She turned away. “You are too much for me, Applejack.”
Applejack was silent as Rainbow Dash once again faced the lake.
“I wish I knew how to quit you,” Rainbow Dash murmured, her voice thick like she was holding back a sob.
“Then why don’t you?” Applejack spoke up, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. “Why don’t you just let me be? It’s ‘cause o’ you, Dash, that I’m like this.”
Rainbow Dash turned to face Applejack.
“I’m nothin’—I’m nowhere…” Applejack wiped her eyes.
Rainbow Dash approached her and attempted to put her forelegs around her but was roughly shaken off.
“GET THE HAY OFF ME!” Applejack shouted.
Rainbow Dash embraced Applejack again. Applejack tried to push her away but her hold was too tight. After struggling for a moment she gave in to her embrace, and the two ponies sank to the ground, Rainbow Dash’s forelegs still held tightly around Applejack.
“It’s all right,” Rainbow Dash murmured. “It’s all right.”
“I can’t stand this anymore, Dash,” Applejack sobbed, her face buried in the fur of Rainbow Dash’s chest. Applejack wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow Dash and the two ponies held tight to each other as if they would lose themselves if they let go.
It was their first trip to Appleback Mountain. A brisk autumn breeze swept across the twilit clearing where Rainbow Dash sat nodding off by a dying fire.
Rainbow Dash’s head rose when she felt Applejack approach from behind and drape her forelegs around her neck.
“Hey, Sleepyhead,” Applejack murmured in her ear. She rested her chin on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder and swayed gently back and forth. “I gotta go find more firewood.” She nuzzled Rainbow Dash’s head. "See you soon!" Then after giving her a squeeze she turned and galloped into the woods, Rainbow Dash following her with her eyes as she disappeared between the trees.
It never got any easier to say goodbye.
Years had passed since their first trip to Appleback Mountain. It had been years since the simple, happy days when they could spend hours doing nothing but enjoying each other’s company without any fear of consequences.
They had parted ways, but Rainbow Dash continued to stand unmoving by the lake. High above her, wispy clouds crossed the midmorning sky, always changing, never in the same formation twice.
For a long while she stood watching Applejack travel down the mountain, desperately drinking in the sight of her friend’s shrinking figure until she became too small to see.