A Dragon's Selection

by CartoonNerd12

Chapter 40

She heard voices in the distance. Then they started to get louder.

A high-pitched voice said, "She looks a bit peaky, doesn't she?"

A voice filled with sophistication added, "Peaky? What did you expect?! She was fighting with that gorilla of a dragon and hit a wall!"

"Yeah, Pinkie, let's see how you fare in those conditions and see what you look like."

"Very funny, Sunny!"

"Girls, shush! We don't want to wake her up…" a voice filled with disciplined concern motioned.

A sweet voice pointed, "I think that maybe too late for that…"

Applejack's eyes opened to see Pinkie, Fluttershy, Sunset, Rarity, and Twilight looking down at her.

"Uh… why are y'all looking at me like that?" she inquired.

Pinkie then began to bawl and moved in for a hug, "Oh, Applejack! We were so worried about you!"

Rarity mentioned, "Indeed, we have!"

Applejack then noticed how she was in the hospital wing wearing bandages around her arms and legs but what really surprised her was how Twilight was out in the open and exclaimed, "Twilight! Why aren't you still hiding in the caverns?"

The unicorn smiled, "Dragon Lord Ember gave Flash and me an official pardon."

"Dragon Lord Ember?" AJ gawked.

Sunset grinned, "That's right. After Celestia and Ember contacted Lord Torch once he discovered Garble's treachery he decided to give up his title and let Ember become the new Dragon Lord. Her first acts were to undo Twilight and Flash's punishment and to make a new treaty between the ponies and dragons to forgo the Selection."

Applejack smiled at this information until it faltered.

"What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked.

"I wish Spike would have been here to see that… He would have been proud of his sister… And to finally see the Selection die like that…"

The girls exchanged confused looks as Twilight inquired, "Why do you say that?"

The tears came fast as she stated, "Because he's gone… we were able to share one last kiss before he could die…"

There was a pause before Pinkie piped, "But Spike isn't dead!"

Applejack gasped and grabbed the pink mare's face, "Are you sure?!"

Twilight replied, "Yes, Cadence and Shining Armor were able to get him to a room so he could be treated quickly. But according to Cadence she wouldn't have been able to heal him in time without the kiss you gave him! Her powers on love were able to make him heal faster!"

Applejack couldn't believe it. He was alive! Really alive! She about to jump out of the bed when all five of her friends forced her back down on the bed.

"Let me go! I have to see him!"

Twilight assured, "And you will… but the both of you experienced major injuries so you need to stay and rest."

Applejack begged, "Please, Twilight… the last time I saw him was when he came close to death's door!"

The unicorn shook her head, "I'm sorry. But I promise, the minute the doctor clears you, we'll take you to him."

Applejack sighed in defeat.

Sunset questioned, "In the meantime, is there anything we can get you?"

The cowgirl slightly smiled, "You gals' company is more than enough…"

They gushed at her statement before they started chatting over the recent events that happen.

---

Spike was scowling and had his arms crossed as he laid in his bed.

"I want to see her."

Discord and Ember were in the room guarding the door, with Ember saying, "Not until you rested some more. Cadence was able to heal you but you're still too weak to move."

"I will get out of this bed and you will not stop me." he proclaimed.

Discord gestured, "Go ahead, try it, and see how far you get."

Spike slowly climbed out of the bed and touched the floor with his feet. But from the moment he stood to walk, his legs gave away and Ember caught him before he fell to the floor.

The draconequus motioned, "See? Told you so."

Spike shook his head miserably, "I feel so useless… The love of my life is lying in a hospital bed healing from injuries caused by my bastard of a cousin… And I can't even be there to comfort her!"

Suddenly the door opened revealing a dark blue alicorn with hair that matched the night sky. Luna suggested, "Then perhaps what you two need is a visit to the dream world…"

His eyes widen before smiling gleefully.

---

After the girls left for her for the night, the nurses stood on call should she need anything. Applejack could feel herself drifting away to sleep and her dreams took her to a place that she was all too familiar with.

She uttered out, "My home…" she walked around her homestead of Sweet Apple Acres before going toward the orchards. "I can't believe it's been so long since I've seen the place…"

"Wow… you were kidding about the orchards going on for miles!"

She gasped when she turned to the voice. There he was, standing right in front of her. Pure joy overwhelmed her as she rushed into his awaiting arms. He spun her around before stopping to face her.

"Oh, Spike… I know this has to be a dream but I'm just so happy you're alive!"

"So am I…" he said tenderly, "And as much as this is a dream, I'm right here with you… Luna connected our dreams so we can see each other while we rest from our injuries."

She gasped again before smirking, "So… if I kiss you right now, you'll be able to feel it?"

He smirked back, "Only one way to find out…"

Their lips slowly made contact and the kiss last for what seemed like hours before they broke apart, sighing in content.

Then she asked, "Just why did Princess Luna make a dream out of my old home?"

"I asked her to."

"Why?"

He then bended down on one leg and took her hoof as he said with a smile, "With Ember as the Dragon Lord now, she has ended the Selection permanently now and for that she has made a new treaty with Celestia and Luna. And because of that, she has given me the freedom to do whatever I want. And what I want… is you…"

She felt tears of joy about to escape her.

He kept speaking, "But I don't want us to live in Dragonia… instead I want us to live here… the very place you were meant to be before we met…"

She covered her mouth in shock.

"If you'll have me, I promise to be supportive, hard-working, honest, and faithful… Ever the husband that you deserve to have… Will you marry me, Applejack? Not for the sake of peace but for the sake of our love?"

She found herself being breathless from his words. They were just too beautiful. When she saw the growing concern on his face was when she found her voice.

"Yes."

Spike's grin went wide as he picked her up again to twirl her before laying a big wet one on her lips to which she wrapped her arms around his neck and kept on kissing him.

---

The days that had followed were happy but bittersweet as well. After Applejack and Spike had finished healing up and were preparing to leave for Ponyville and had to say their goodbyes to many of the friends they had made.

Pinkie was going to take her sister Maud back home to their rock farm but Pinkie assured them that she would be moving to Ponyville herself so they would be seeing her again soon. Rarity decided she was going to open her own boutique in Canterlot to expand her business and to be close to a certain fancy stallion…

Twilight and Flash were staying in Canterlot given Twilight was back as Celestia's student and Flash was back on the royal guard. Fluttershy was going back to Cloudsdale to see her family but then she was going to move to Ponyville as well, thanks to the Selection she finally felt brave enough to move to the ground so she could tend to animals just like she wanted since she got her cutie mark. Naturally, Discord was going to visit her every chance he would get which would be a lot.

Coco Pommel and Silver Shill had gotten along so great that Coco quit her job as a maid so she and Shill could move to Manehattan to open their own costume shop. Sugar Belle quit being a maid as well and was coming with them so she and Big Mac could see each other again and to get a start on opening her own bakery. Rainbow Dash was officially pardon by the royal sisters given how bravely she fought in the battle, and after getting the idol back to the griffons she and Gilda made a mutual agreement that the Idol of Boreas was nothing but trouble so she threw the idol down a chasm where no one could use it again.

Luckily though, Pinkie made a suggestion to Gilda to use Griffonstone scones to help mend the rift of the griffons in Griffonstone. So now that the griffons were starting to use friendship to make Griffonstone great again. Rainbow knew her work to help her friend was done and stated she would be pursing her life-long dream again which was to become a Wonderbolt! But the saddest goodbye Applejack had to endure came from Sunset Shimmer who told everyone she wanted to make a fresh start in her life. Thanks to Celestia and Twilight they gave her that when they presented Sunset a mirror that could travel to another world!

Sunset greatly welcomed the opportunity. So there were heartfelt goodbyes as Sunset was given a book by Celestia so she could write her findings to her and Twilight. When Sunset slowly disappeared into the mirror, not a single eye was dry.

Spike and Applejack had no idea what was going to happen to them in their new life but as long as they were together they didn't care. Their love for each other is what mattered and it was going to stay that way, for better or for worse.

Author's Note:

Almost done! Just only the epilogue is left!

Comments

[GrimmWolfDragon]

An amazing story

[MySisterBroughtMeHere]

Beautiful and amazing