Friendship is Forever

by pabrony

What Do Apples Dream Of?

Applejack galloped into Ponyville General Hospital.

"How's Applebloom doin'? Is she alright?"

"Applebloom and the filly are both doing just fine, Applejack," smiled the nurse.

"Can Ah visit her yet?" Applejack eagerly asked.

"Yes, you may," answered the nurse. "The filly is asleep right now so try to keep the volume down."

Applejack softly trotted into her sister's hospital room and smiled at the sight. Applebloom, noticeably exhausted, was laying in the bed holding a cute, bright red filly with a sparkling gold mane and tail.

"What did Y'all name her, sugarcube?" Applejack asked her sister.

"We named her Jazz Apple," replied Applebloom softly. "We decided she should have a musical name like her daddy."

"That's really sweet," Applejack told as she looked around. "Where is Rockin' at anyhow?"

"He should be back soon. He went ta git me a mushroom an' dandelion pizza," Applebloom said hungrily. "Would ya like ta hold Jazz?"

"Are Y'all kiddin'?" said Applejack as her eyes began watering. "Ah've been waitin' for moons fer this moment."

A warm smile reappeared on Applejack's face as she gently lifted her newborn niece from Applebloom's forelegs.

"She's beautiful, Sugarcube," said Applejack as tears of joy ran down her cheeks. "You an' Rockin' oughtta be proud of yerselves. Ah know Ah am."

---

Applejack slowly opened her eyes and heard a slow beeping sound coming from beside her.

Not ag'in, was the first that came into Applejack's head. Am Ah really back in the hospital?

Applejack groggily scratched her head with her right hoof trying hard to remember what happened, but her mind kept coming up blank. Lucky for her, the sound of heavy hoof steps walked in while she was in mid-thought.

"Sis?" said an unmistakable voice. "You awake?"

"Mac?" said Applejack weakly. "Wh-what th'... what th' hay happened this time?"

Big Mac hung his head and in his low, monotone voice, told her, "Found ya out in th' North Orchard. Ya weren't breathin' too good. Gotcha loaded on th' apple cart 'n' brought ya here."

"Did Ah have another heart attack?" she asked distressingly.

"Eeyup," droned her older brother.

"But... but how?" she wondered aloud. "Ah stayed on that bland diet an' took them dang horse pills. Ah shoulda been fine."

"That's what doc said," Mac told her. "Said musta been somethin' spiritual."

"How many days have Ah been out fer this time?" Applejack asked as she noticed her Stetson at the foot of the bed.

"Brought ya in this mornin', AJ," he replied. "Doc said ya probably won't be bucking trees no more."

Applejack with tears beginning to run down her cheeks, let out a heartbroken sigh, grabbed her hat from the foot of the bed, rolled onto her left side and faced away from her brother.

Is this the end of mah journey? she wondered as she drifted back to sleep.

---

"Rarity? Rarity?" hollered Pinkie Pie as she bounced into Carousel Boutique. "Rarity? Are you in here?"

" Is there something wrong, Pinkie?" asked Sweetie Belle as she came out of the backroom.

"I'm looking for Rarity because Applejack's in the hospital again," Pinkie Pie said frantically. "Twilight wants to get everypony together at the hospital because they're saying Applejack's in really, really, really bad shape this time."

"Rarity's in Canterlot today," Sweetie Belle replied. "She won't be back until late this afternoon."

"Can you have her come to Ponyville hospital when she gets home, pretty please," Pinkie begged.

"Sure, Pinkie" responded Sweetie Belle. "I'll even Pinkie Promise you."

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou," Pinkie rambled as she bounced back out the door.

---

Applejack woke up on the sofa in the living room, disoriented and slightly confused.

'Ah thought Ah was in th' hospital,' she said to herself, perplexed.

A lot of stuff seemed out of place to her. Most noticeably the stove in the kitchen wasn't light like it always was and Cletus wasn't laying on Granny's old rocking chair. She decided to she'd better go light the stove for dinner then go look for Cletus.

Applejack cautiously stepped outside still confused by her surroundings. The only sound she could hear for miles was a soft rattling coming from the cider cellar.

'What in th' hay is goin' on? Ah should at least be hearin' Big Mac crackin' trees in th' East Orchard' she thought as she became even more confused.

Applejack decided to investigate the noise coming from the cider cellar. Everything was getting stranger by the minute as she passed an empty chicken coop, an empty hog pen, and a padlocked barn door before she finally arrived at the cider cellar, which also was padlocked.

'Why is th' cellar padlocked? 'Specially if somepony is inside,' she wondered. 'Ah need to get whoever is in there out 'fore they hurt themselves.'

As she began searching near the door for the key, she noticed something glistening in the sun from under her chin. Reaching up with her right hoof, Applejack found a necklace with a padlock key around her neck.

'What...? How long has this been 'round mah neck?'

Assuming this was the right key, she nervously unlocked the cellar and opened the door, only to be tackled by a rainbow-colored blur.

"Thank Celestia you found that key," said the cyan pegasus, dusting herself off. "I've been trapped in there forever. Thanks... Applejack?"

"Rainbow Dash?!" coughed Applejack as she stood up. "What in th' hay...?"

"Hold on a second," Rainbow Dash interrupted as she looked at her surroundings. "How did I end up here? Luna told me I'd be delivering a message to one of you guys in a dream but I'm back at Sweet Apple Acres."

As she continued to look around, Rainbow's eyes met Applejack's. As they stared at each other, both ponies began tearing up before Applejack walked up to Rainbow Dash and wrapped her hooves around her friend's neck. Rainbow Dash then returned the embrace as both of them began to cry.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash," sobbed Applejack. "Ah've missed ya somethin' fierce."

"Me too, AJ," replied Rainbow Dash, crying just as hard as her former marefriend. "Me too."

After a few minutes, Rainbow Dash had calmed down enough to deliver the message she was given.

"Luna wanted me to tell you that it's time to get ready to go," Rainbow Dash told her.

"Hold on, Rainbow," Applejack said. "Y'all telling me that Ah'm dead right now?"

"Not yet, but you will be later tonight," Rainbow clarified. "Luna's bought enough time for you to say goodbye to everypony before you... you..."

A frightened look appeared on Applejack's face. Rainbow Dash saw this and wrapped both her wings around her.

"It's gonna be fine," Rainbow whispered into Applejack's ear. "Me, your parents and Granny Smith will be here to help you when you close your eyes for the last time."

"My-my parents?" Applejack asked teary-eyed. "They-they're here?"

"Yeah," Rainbow replied, still holding her friend. "Twilight's waiting to talk to you. We'll all be here when you come back later tonight."

---

Twilight Sparkle lead the parade of friends and family that included Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and her siblings, to visit Applejack throughout the day. Rarity was the only no-show during the afternoon, but Applejack knew she was going to be running late. As the sun sank closer to the horizon, the unmistakable clarion voice of the ivory fashionista was heard echoing through the hallway.

"Terribly sorry I'm late, darling," Rarity apologized upon entering the room. "I got tied up in Canterlot on business and for the life of me, couldn't get away."

"It's ok, sugarcube," Applejack replied weakly. "Ah understand. Besides, Ah knew... Ah knew Y'all were gonna be late anyhow. Sweetie Belle done told Applebloom who... who relayed the message to me."

An uneasy smile crossed Rarity's face she gave her friend a hug.

"Be-besides..." Applejack continued, "it gave Applebloom time ta... ta bring somethin' from th' farm that... that Ah wanted y'all ta have."

She reached over the left side of the bed where her saddlebag was and pulled out her hairbrush and a small, unicorn-shaped topiary sculpture. Rarity's eyes began to well up with tears when she realized which plant it was.

"Is-is this the same sculpture from Twilight's first sleepover?" Rarity asked, holding back her tears.

"It... it sure is," Applejack replied. "Ah kept it as a... as a reminder of how far our... our friendship has come."

Rarity carefully took the sculpture from Applejack, placed it on the bed tray and looked into her friend's eyes. Words describing the emotions she was feeling were escaping her. She was astonished that Applejack had kept this gift she gave to her 39 years ago.

"Rares, are.. are Y'all ok?" Applejack asked, interrupting Rarity's train of thought.

"Yes, darling," Rarity said as her bottom lip quivered. "It's just, well, I don't know how to describe how I'm feeling right now."

Applejack could see the joy showing through the sadness of her friend and it brought a faint smile to her face.

"Ah'd... Ah'd like ta ask a small favor... Rarity," Applejack whispered.

"Sure, dearie. Do you want me to get a nurse or something?" answered Rarity.

"Naw, gittin'... a nurse would be a... a waste of time," Applejack continued to whisper as her eyelids became heavier.

"You mean to tell me that you're..." Rarity gasped.

"Ah just... wanted y'all ta... ta brush mah... mah mane an'... an' tail real pretty like... like yours is," Applejack struggled to say above a light whisper.

Rarity couldn't take it any longer. She lit her horn so that she could begin brushing Applejack's tail while she leaned over to cradle her longtime friend in her hooves.

With her mascara running down her face from crying, Rarity said, "I'm going to miss you, Applejack, but I will never forget you."

"Ah'll miss... ya too, Rares," Applejack whispered using the last of her strength. "Ah... Ah love... ya... sis."

It was with those final words that Applejack closed her eyes and drew her last breath. Rarity held her tightly against her own body for another minute or two before gently laying her head back on the pillow and began brushing her mane.

"I-I love you too," Rarity sobbed.

Author's Note:

Originally published on 2/6/17. Revised on 3/19/17.

The "love" in the last couple lines is that of a sisterly love, not romantic.

Comments

[AstraPony]

This is so sad!!! I started crying curing he last dream scene without Rainbow Dash. WHYYYYY!?!?!?!?!? (By the way, keep this up!)

[pabrony]

8000106 I actually was crying during the final dream sequence and the final hospital scene as I was writing it. I'm hoping that I'll be able to pull off the same emotional state with the last three.

[Frankie2]

Wow. This story really did hit the heartstrings.

[pabrony]

8167636 Thank you. It's still got 6 chapters left to be written, so expect more heartstrings to be tugged.

On a side note, the end of this chapter was pretty much written blind. I cried nearly the entire time I was writing it and the chapter where Rarity passes.

[Frankie2]

Big Mac hung his head and in his low, monotone voice, told her, "Found ya out in th' North Orchard. Ya weren't breathin' too good. Gotcha loaded on th' apple cart 'n' brought ya here."

"But... but how?" she wondered aloud. "Ah stayed on that thar bland diet an' took them dang horsepills. Ah shoulda been fine."

Why didn't Big Mac tell AJ the truth?

[pabrony]

8173789

Why didn't Big Mac tell AJ the truth?

He did. He confirmed she had another heart attack and told her the doc didn't know why it happened.

[Frankie2]

8173971 But he told her he found her in the North Orchard. She was found in the barn.

[Witchrblizzad]

words can't express the sad...

[Golden Fang Ryu Shenron]

Rest In Peace AJ.