The Alleys of Ponyville: Short Stories from the Noireverse

by PonyJosiah13

Days Gone By

Rara stepped out into the frosty air, her hoofsteps crunching into the snow as she trotted out of the farmhouse. She glanced behind her at the lit windows of Sweet Apple Acres. Inside, she could see the Apples and the Pies gathered around the fire, stockings and Hearth's Warming dolls—both fabric and stone—decorating the mantelpiece. Granny was conversing with Igneous and Cloudy over hot cocoa, Limestone was arm-wrestling Big Mac as Marble looked on, and Maud was curled up with Apple Bloom and Pinkie, helping Apple Bloom write some apple poetry to go along with Maud's rock poetry.

The Pies were...interesting ponies, but once you got used to their quirks, they were all quite nice. Igneous and Cloudy were full of sage advice, Limestone was a surprisingly good cook, Marble was quite sweet and a wonderful listener and advisor, and Maud's poetry had given her a new appreciation for geology.

But there was one pony absent from the quiet celebration at the moment. Rara had noticed that Applejack had disappeared towards the end of Maud's recitation of this year's compositions, and she suspected she knew where she'd gone.

Tightening her scarf around her neck, Rara proceeded across the apple orchards; the trees, bare of any fruit or leaves, were decorated with baubles and string lights, providing some beautiful coloration against the otherwise dark gray skies. Snow fell gently atop the white blankets that covered the sleeping hills, making the city a picturesque Hearth's Warming Eve stage.

Rara walked through the northern orchards and through a thick grove of pear trees. Finally, she emerged into a clearing, surrounded by apple and pear trees. In the center of the small pasture was a pair of trees, a Macintosh apple and a Bartlett pear, gracefully intertwined around one another. Applejack sat before the trees, her hat in her hooves.

Rara paused at the perimeter of the clearing and coughed to announce her presence. Applejack looked up in surprise, then her face melted in a quiet smile and she nodded to grant Rara permission to enter.

"You're missing out on the festivities," Rara said, trotting up to Applejack and greeting her with a kiss on the lips as she sat down next to her.

"I know," Applejack said quietly, leaning against Rara. "I just...needed some time with Ma and Pa."

Rara sighed and looked up at the trees before them, decorated only by the snow that clung to it like a coat of white paint. She remembered distinctly Applejack taking her out here soon after she'd officially moved onto the farm, telling her all about her parents' forbidden love story and secret wedding. She'd often spoken fondly of her parents, of her mother's kindness and love of music, of her father's warm humor and determined streak.

"I miss 'em, Rara," Applejack whispered, wiping at her eyes.

"I know, hon. I wish I'd known them," Rara nodded, nuzzling Applejack's golden mane. Even in winter, her mane carried that wonderful, familiar aroma of apple juice and honey.

They sat for a long time in silent contemplation, nestled in each other's warmth. One question itched at Rara's mind, one thing that she did not know, but she did not dare ask.

"I...I ever tell you how they died?" Applejack whispered, as if it were some forbidden secret.

Rara looked over at Applejack, who had her eyes fixed on the bare branches above them. "No," Rara said slowly. "But you don't have to..."

"No, I may as well," Applejack said. She swallowed and blinked.

"You remember when the Crystal War started, Rara?" AJ asked. "Back when Sombra declared war, blaming Celestia and Luna for Empress Amore's death?" She snorted. "What kind of monster has a mare like Amore killed just so he can declare war on their neighbors?

"Anyway, in '42, when the bombs were falling over Ponyville, the draft went out and Pa got drafted. He told us it'd be over by Hearth's Warming, and he'd come home safe." She sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Should've known better...

"The bombs kept falling until '43. Ma and Big Mac and Granny and I were volunteering at emergency shelters most days, saving who we could."

"I remember," Rara nodded. "I was stuck in Manehattan during most of the war. I volunteered to help out in the shelters there, too, even did shows for the soldiers on the front lines; it didn't amount to much, but I like to think it helped."

"It did," Applejack said with a brief smile. "We lost a lot...but saved many more."

Her smile faded away in an instant. "Pa kept sending us letters throughout the war, keeping us updated. In '43, it looked like things were turning around. The griffons and yaks had surrendered, the dragons were on our side, and we were advancing north. And then..."

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a breath, her shivering increasing. Rara gently hugged her closer, a sick feeling of anticipation forming her stomach.

"He was in Vanhoover," Applejack whispered.

Rara flinched and hugged Applejack tighter. The same images flashed through both of their minds: newspaper photographs of a second sun erupting over the horizon, blossoming into a red, black, and golden mushroom cloud. Aerial pictures of empty plains where a city once stood. Buildings shoved aside and crushed like children's toys that had been stepped on. The Magic Dome, reduced to a skeleton.

"There wasn't anything to bury," Applejack whimpered, tears running down her face. "Ma was heartbroken, cried every night for a week."

"And she...?" Rara hesitated to ask.

"Got hit by a drunk driver coming home from the store a couple of months later," Applejack whimpered, burying her face into Rara's neck.

Rara stroked Applejack's mane as she cried quietly into her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, honey," she whispered.

"It was hard for all of us," Applejack admitted. "Especially Apple Bloom; just a baby and she'd lost her parents in the same year. I tried burying myself in the work to hide the pain, but it didn't help; just made it worse. Eventually, Granny and my friends helped me move past it." She wiped her face. "I still miss them."

"I know," Rara said, kissing her forehead. "But they still love you. And they'd want you to be happy, not moping around on Hearth's Warming Eve when your family's inside, having fun without you." She dusted some snow off of Applejack's head.

"Of course they would," Applejack nodded, blinking away the last of the tears and smiling. "I'm sorry I messed up Hearth's Warming for you, sugarcube. Didn't mean to bring you down like an overripe apple."

"It's okay," Rara hugged her and helped her stand up. Intertwining her hoof with Applejack's, she started to guide her back towards the house.

Applejack looked up at her parents' shrine with a smile. "Rara?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm gonna marry you beneath those trees," Applejack declared.

Rara froze, letting out a squeak as her face turned red.

"I mean it," Applejack said, hugging Rara to her side. "I love you, Rara. And I know Ma and Pa would want you to be a part of the family."

A wide smile broke across Rara's face and she kissed Applejack on the lips again, the embrace tasting of maple syrup and peppermint. "I love you, too, Applejack," she said.

The two mares hugged for a moment in the snow, then continued on their way back to the farmhouse, towards the inviting light and warmth of the home and family.

"So," Rara said with a grin. "Should we get some mistletoe and move Mac and Marble underneath it?"

Applejack giggled. "It might be what finally gets them to move forward!"

Author's Note:

I know it's the wrong time of year for this, but this is something I had floating around in my head for a bit. In addition to just wanting to write a sweet Rarajack story in its own right, I also wanted to explain what happened to Pear and Bright Mac in this AU, and give a bit more of a glimpse into the events of the Crystal War. I'd like to have more opportunities to reveal the events of the war, especially since it was such an important event in this universe's history.

Also Marblemac is canon in my AU because I can do that, fite me IRL Sugarmac shippers.

Comments

[PonyJosiah13]

10193179
Stand way back.

Like, in the next room back. Or even outside back.