Apples in the Moonlight: Crackshipping Applejack and Luna

by bahatumay

Recovery

Applejack galloped through the fields of waving grass. It was tall and golden, and it smelled wonderful and felt even better as it brushed against her legs and underbelly.

She skidded to a stop as the ground suddenly dropped away, revealing a steep descent down to a river below. To her left, a beautiful waterfall fell hundreds and hundreds of paces until it crashed against the rocks beneath in a dazzling display of foam and rainbows.

Her ears pricked up as Luna approached. “Do you like it?” she asked.

“I do. It's beautiful.” Applejack inhaled deeply, held it for a moment, and then slowly exhaled. “You know, this place doesn't even exist anymore,” she murmured. “Earthquake changed the course of the river a good hundred years ago. It's just a lazy river now, with houses everywhere.”

Luna smiled as she sat next to her. “I know. A thousand years of erosion changes many things. But this is how I remember it.”

“It's beautiful.” Applejack leaned over and rested her head on Luna's shoulder. Luna wrapped her wing around Applejack and pulled her in close. Together they sat, just enjoying the view.

Though it seemed Luna was enjoying Applejack's company more than the view. She suddenly dropped onto her back, dragging Applejack with her and making her fall on top.

Applejack snorted, but did not resist. For being so much larger than she, Luna really was quite gentle. And honestly, she made a pretty good pillow.

Luna leaned forward and gently kissed Applejack on the tip of her nose. Applejack grinned.

“It still molests me that ‘I’ was not present for ‘our’ first kiss,” Luna pouted, “and I intend to rectify that as often I can.”

Applejack rested her head on Luna’s chest. “No complaints here.” Her plush fur seemed to pull her in, and she surrendered to its call.

Luna gently removed Applejack’s hat. Now that Applejack’s head was on her chest, Luna was free to stroke her mane, and so stroke she did.

Applejack whimpered quietly. “That’s… that’s really nice, Luna.” She shifted slightly. “You sure you don’t want me to-?”

Luna answered by wrapping her wings around Applejack, simultaneously preventing her from getting up and pulling her in even closer. “Do not worry yourself. It is but a small token of appreciation for one who has dared to love me so deeply,” Luna whispered back.

“There’s a lot to love.”

Applejack froze as she processed what she'd said. She looked up, and Luna was staring flatly at her. “That… didn’t come out right,” she said sheepishly.

Luna held that expression for a few moments longer before breaking into quiet laughter. “Fear not; I understood your meaning.”

Relieved, Applejack laid her head back down.

“It is no small task to willingly take on the Nig͟htma̕re͘ alone. Truly, the heart of an earth pony is the largest.”

“Well, you sacrificed yourself to get the Nightmare-thingy off me,” Applejack protested.

Luna shrugged and kissed Applejack on the cheek. “And yet now I am not possessed of it because of the actions of you and your friends. Therefore, I still believe the debt to be mine.”

Feeling like she wasn’t going to win this argument, Applejack elected instead to gently brush a hoof against Luna’s chest, running it in a small circle. This was the right choice; Luna almost seemed to purr as she went back to stroking Applejack’s mane.

“I cannot wait until this is reality,” Luna murmured.

Applejack grinned. “I dunno, Princess, feels pretty real to me.”

Luna gently flicked the tip of her wing against Applejack’s cutie mark, producing a slight sting that was not entirely unpleasant. “No titles here, remember?” she scolded. “Here it is just you and…” Luna’s voice trailed off, and then she sat up sharply, accidentally dumping Applejack onto the ground.

Applejack looked up and frowned with disappointment. “It ain't time to wake up yet,” she protested. “Dinner ain't for another hour or so.”

“Your friends are coming,” Luna said, looking off at something only she could see. “I hear their approach.”

“Aww,” Applejack said, disappointed; but she too stood up and shook herself off. It would only be right to greet her friends, especially since they'd come all this way just to see her.

“But fear not,” Luna said, leaning down to kiss Applejack on the forehead. “This is far from over.”

Applejack closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she was awake, back in her hospital room, with the acrid smell of antiseptic everywhere and the beeping of the machine and the dull, aching pain in her back that never seemed to go away no matter how many painkillers they gave her. Near her sat Luna, head bowed. She opened her eyes and straightened up, voluntarily removing herself from her dream world. She winked at Applejack before disappearing from view.

And not a moment too soon. Within seconds, the door was gently pushed open, and her friends entered.

“Hey, Applejack,” Twilight said, rushing over to the side of her bed. “They said you were improving quickly. How are you feeling?”

Applejack shook her head weakly. “Like a withered old cornstalk,” she admitted, looking around. She cracked a smile as she saw Rarity arranging even more ‘get well’ cards on her little nightstand. “My back still aches like a boulder the size of a house fell on me, and I can't rightly tell if I'll ever get all my hearing back. But they're letting me have solid food again, so I ain't about to complain.”

Luna lowered her head to conceal a smile. That had been her doing. Out of morbid curiosity, she had waited until after Applejack was asleep and tried some of her hospital food. She had thrown it against the wall and loudly proclaimed her conclusion that calling it ‘food’ was rather generous.

“That's good,” Twilight said. “You sustained some serious injuries.”

“You don't have to remind me,” Applejack muttered, glaring at her hind legs being held in traction.

Twilight blushed a bit.

“Aaanyway,” Pinkie interjected, steering the conversation into what she thought was a better direction. “I brought you a ‘get well soon’ cupcake!” She reached into her mane and pulled out a tiny glass cupcake stand, with a beautiful cupcake inside. She placed it on the table nearby, knocking over a few of the cards Rarity had organized (and making her ‘humph’ with disapproval). Its green frosting topped with a perfectly sliced apple slice seemed to glow in the stark hospital light, and Applejack felt her mouth begin to water at the sight.

“Go ahead!” Pinkie said, sliding it over within her reach and lifting the glass cover off. “I mean, we gotta get you all healed up in time for the wedding. Right, Rarity?”

Rarity nodded, supremely pleased with herself. “Oh, the designs I've created are simply to die for! You absolutely must see them!”

Applejack choked on her cupcake. “The what now?”

Pinkie nudged Rarity, completely oblivious to the real reason Applejack was so surprised. “Maaaaybe you could have worded that better,” she stage-whispered to Rarity. “I mean, talking about dying in a hospital? Huh! Talk about insensitive!”

Author's Note:

Relevant.

Comments

[NicLove]

What wedding ?