Epilogue
Canterlot National Cemetery.
It was a strangely beautiful place and obviously well cared for. Uniform graves lined the ground, each evenly spaced and decorated with colourful, yet respectful, flowers.
It was a military cemetery, and it was a lot larger than it should have been. Two years after the end of the war, it never got any easier to go back in and visit.
Spitfire sighed and looked over the flat ground with matching tombstones. On each one was an engraved cutie mark – the cutie mark of the pony buried beneath. The archway at the entrance read the name of the cemetery in intricate black metal lettering.
The pegasus adjusted her sunglasses and looked behind her. She had gotten a bit ahead of herself, so she found herself waiting for her companion to join her.
She’d always come alone to the cemetery, but Spitfire had gotten a letter informing her that her old troopmates were going to be receiving an award, and she thought she should bring somepony with her.
All tidied up in her formal dress uniform, Spitfire smiled as Applejack finally turned the corner, only looking a tiny bit annoyed. She could probably guess why.
“Do ya have to go so fast?”
Spitfire was right. She smiled and rolled her eyes. After all that time, her eyesight never fully recovered, that is to say, it wasn’t perfect vision. She was horribly nearsighted, but the prescriptions she always wore made it bearable. And she even had shades for going out! That helped with the headaches the sun gave her too.
Plus, it made her look pretty spiffy in her uniform. She even got to wear her own medals, though she didn’t like to brag about those much. Surprising, she knew that, but she still didn’t think she deserved any of them. Well, maybe the Purple Heart.
“Sorry, ‘Jack. I guess I’m just a bit nervous,” she admitted once Applejack got close. “I don’t know why, it’s not like it’s my award ceremony. But still, they were my friends, and I have to give a speech.”
Applejack nodded in understanding. “You’ll do fine, sugarcube. I’ve heard you practicin’ for weeks. You’ve got it in the bag.”
“Hah, I sure hope so,” the pegasus replied with a crooked smile. “I worked really hard on it.” She glanced nervously at her jacket pocket where her speech hid from the public eye.
The earth pony next to her brought her hoof up to Spitfire’s cheek, drawing her attention, and winked. “You’ll make ‘em proud.”
Four years after getting out of the hospital, Applejack had made a good recovery. Despite that, she often still wore clothes, but Spitfire thought that was more just what she was used to from working in the factory. Beneath that, her coat grew in thinner where she had been burned and had some patches and areas where it probably wouldn’t grow again, but she definitely looked quite different from the mare Spitfire had first laid her eyes on.
She was still every bit just as beautiful, though.
Spitfire wiped a stray tear from her cheek and shrugged. “You kidding, ‘Jackie? They’re the ones who made me proud. I have so much to thank them for, and they deserve it all. I just want to make sure my speech is good enough for them.”
“As long as you’re givin’ it, then it’ll be enough,” Applejack reassured her. She leaned in to give Spitfire a gentle kiss before nuzzling her with a smile. “Now would it kill ya to slow down? It ain’t any easier to walk in these braces now than it was four years ago.”
With a light chuckle, Spitfire nodded in agreement. “Okay, I’ll be right beside you, then.”
Side by side, they walked into the cemetery. There were a lot of other ponies there, many of them dressed up in their formal uniforms like she was, and many of them not, like Applejack. The earth pony herself wore a set of her own nicest clothes, which consisted of a brown collared jacket and a white button-up. Perched atop her head was that same beat-up hat she wore so often. Apparently, it used to be her father’s hat. It looked good on her, though.
Spitfire politely greeted ponies as they trotted past with small smiles, keeping every interaction appropriate for a cemetery. She made a few stops along the way to visit graves of ponies she once knew, but for the most part, Spitfire led them exactly where they needed to go. She could probably even lead the way with her eyes closed.
Not that she’d ever want to.
Finally, they reached a crowd at the end of the cemetery where Princess Celestia herself stood, politely making conversation with a small group. Spitfire steeled herself and glanced at Applejack, who gave a small nod and motioned forward with her head. With a nod, Spitfire took a deep breath and pressed forward, pushing herself into the group. As she thought, the circle opened up for her as they all turned to her, a few politely dipping their heads and a few saluting to her. She was their superior for the most part, even in retirement, so she nodded her head at them.
It had been a while since she had to wear her formals, but as per the request of the organizer and the Princess herself, all attendants were asked to come in their uniform if applicable. It was a bit difficult for Spitfire to wear them after all that time, but it brought her a semblance of pride. She was proud of herself and for all she’d done, and now it was her turn to be proud of her friends.
As she bowed to the Princess, who motioned for her to stand again, Spitfire looked around at the ponies she stood with and noticed she recognized most of them. The only ones she couldn’t place a name to were one of the earth ponies and the unicorn. She knew the other ones, though. Surprise, Blaze, and High Winds were pegasi she recognized from her time as a Wonderbolt both as a show group and a military group, and she knew Pinkie Pie if only because Rainbow Dash used to talk about her from her time on the ground.
“Hello, General Spitfire,” greeted the Princess. “I’m glad you were able to join us.”
It was still strange to be addressed by rank, but Spitfire wasn’t going to make a big deal of it, especially not to the Princess. Besides, she figured since she did go back to serve one last time before the war ended after she recovered before retiring, then it wasn’t all that strange for her to still be addressed formally.
“I’m honoured to be here,” Spitfire responded politely. “When I heard that my old troopmates were going to be decorated, I made it my top priority to be there. Especially when I received the invite to give a speech.” Her smile was small, but it held all the emotion she wanted it to.
The group nodded in tandem. It was nice to see the occasion not as something sad, but as something positive. The funeral had already happened, and even though Spitfire had to miss it during her recovery, she had already had plenty of time to make her peace with it. Especially with Applejack by her side.
She glanced behind her at the earth pony, who was making what looked like an awkward, polite conversation with ponies she recognized as Soarin’s buddies. The two made eye contact and Applejack’s expression read as a slight cry for help. Spitfire rolled her eyes in good faith and waved a hoof over. Politely, the earth pony excused herself from the conversation and came to Spitfire’s side.
Before she could even introduce her, Surprise chimed in, “Is this that Applejack pony you kept telling us about that one time we went to the watering hole?”
Everypony turned their head to Applejack, who not-so-subtly hid behind her hat. Spitfire kept a stern face, but the blush in her cheeks softened the expression. “Yes, this is her. Everypony, meet Applejack. She’s my partner.”
After some greetings were exchanged—during which Spitfire finally put names to all the faces—the Princess politely left the group to go talk to Soarin’s family. Applejack visibly relaxed a bit at that.
Pinkie Pie raised an eyebrow and stuck out a hoof. “Hey, I’m Pinkie Pie. I served alongside Rainbow Dash.”
Applejack bumped hooves with her. She tried on a tiny smile. “Nice to meet ya.”
“Rainbow Dash told us a lot about Spitfire,” she pointed out, glancing at the pegasus. “You’re a lucky pony, Applejack. The General’s a great mare.”
The pony next to her—Maud, she learned was her name—nodded. “She always spoke highly of you.”
Spitfire rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “Oh, well, you know Rainbow Dash. She was always one to look up to her superiors.”
The rest of the Wonderbolts muttered agreements, each with a crooked smile on their face.
“I’m sure everything she said was right,” Applejack pointed out to Spitfire. “You are a pretty amazing mare. I’m sure you were also a pretty great General.”
“Hay yeah,” Blaze interjected. “She even came back for that last battle before we forced the Crystal Empire into a corner. We all thought she would have been discharged or retired, but you could never really stop the General, could you?”
High Winds and Surprise chuckled a bit. The white-coated pegasus jabbed gently at Spitfire’s shoulder. “Whether you’re the captain of the Wonderbolts or a general in the Equestrian Air Force, you never backed down, no matter what. That’s why they both looked up to you. Soarin never shut up about you either, you know.”
“Yeah, I know. He was my right-hoof pony,” Spitfire remembered with a sad smile. “I could always count on him. He was always so dependable, before and during the war.”
The circle of ponies went into a comfortable silence. Applejack leaned her head against Spitfire’s and subtly rubbed her chin against the pegasus’s head. Luckily, the silence didn’t last too long before Princess Celestia took her place at the head of the clearing. The rest of the ponies gathered around, Spitfire keeping Applejack by her side until she had to stand at the front as well.
Two of the highest ranked officers, one an earth pony stallion and the other a unicorn mare, stood alongside her. They were dressed the same way the rest of the ex-military were, and a firm expression rested on their face. She adopted that same look easily. It came naturally to her—she was always known for her sterness, even just as the captain of the Wonderbolts.
It was pretty smart to have the highest ranking officer of each pony type alongside the alicorn Princess, Spitfire figured as Celestia began the ceremony. Beneath her sunglasses, Spitfire glanced around at the group that presented themselves. It was a rather large group made up of many of the still-living military and the families or friends of those who were no longer present. They stood quietly and firmly in line, while anypony who was not military stood off to the side in clumps.
The pegasus hadn’t even noticed she wasn’t paying attention until she heard her cue to give the speech. She internally kicked herself for the blatant disrespect, but there was little she could do about it. She could only make sure her speech went perfectly, for Soarin and Rainbow Dash’s sake.
Taking a deep breath, she took the spot where Celestia stood at the pedestal and cleared her throat. Her eyes subconsciously shifted to Applejack, who must have known Spitfire would look at her and nodded briefly in reassurance. With hooves as steady as she could make them, Spitfire fished out the folded-up piece of paper in her pocket and smoothed it out on the top of the lectern.
“Good afternoon, fillies and gentlecolts,” she started with little hint of nerves in her voice. “My name’s Spitfire, General of the Equestrian Air Force and head of the Wonderbolts. As you all know, we’re here to award two of our fallen soldiers with well-deserved decoration; the Royal Equestrian Air Force Cross, awarded for their bravery and dedication in and out of combat, and, of course, the Purple Heart, awarded in honour of their injuries sustained during battle. As anypony who’s served with them knows, they are more than deserving of these.
“Even when I was simply somepony who would yell at Soarin for not doing a corkscrew tight enough, I knew he was special. He would always put other ponies before himself, and that is why he was such a great soldier. And even when Rainbow Dash was simply somepony who looked up to me, she showed signs of loyalty beyond the levels of anypony else, and that translated onto the battlefield.
“These decorations will immortalize their efforts and make sure nopony will ever forget them. I definitely won’t let their legacy disappear.” Her voice wavered for a moment, so she took a second to clear her throat and steady herself again. “They saved my life, and they sacrificed themselves so that I could get out safely. I know they would have done the same for anypony else, commanding officer or not. If that isn’t the mark of true heroism and selflessness, then I don’t know what is.
“It is my biggest honour to give this speech so that Rainbow Dash and Soarin’s acts of bravery will forever be immortalized. After all these years, I’m glad it’s happening. Now, let’s not make this a sad occasion or anything. We all know Rainbow Dash would hate that,” she joked, drawing some chuckles from the crowd. “And Soarin wouldn’t like it, either. Thank you, Princess Celestia, for the honour.”
She dipped her head to the alicorn and took back her paper, neatly placing it back in her pocket. As she took back her place next to the Princess, she glanced at Applejack, who gave her an approving nod.
Relief washed over her as she smiled in return. Something about giving that speech really set in place that, yes, her friends were gone, and they had been for years. But that didn’t mean they would never be remembered, that she couldn’t remember them. It didn’t mean she had to be alone.
In fact, they wouldn’t have wanted that for her. They would have wanted her to move on. It would have been a waste of their efforts, and perhaps even an insult to them, to not make the best of her continued life span. They didn’t die so that Spitfire could be miserable for the rest of her life.
For the first time since their passing, Spitfire found herself happy while she thought about them. Not sad, or bittersweet, but happy. She really only had one pony to thank for that, and she just couldn’t draw her eyes away from Applejack, who listened respectfully.
The rest of the ceremony passed quickly, and ended with a round of respectful applause, as well as salutes from all the military present as the Princess herself made her way a few rows down to their graves. She hung each of their medals on the tombstone; truly an honour! The Princess herself.
Noting the ceremony as having ended, the ponies once again fell into their groups. Spitfire instinctually made her way to Applejack, who half-limped to her with a smile. The earth pony reached down to nuzzle her softly, which Spitfire accepted with no hesitation.
“You did real good, Spits,” Applejack whispered as Spitfire chuckled through the tears that surprised her.
She hiccuped a cry, though the tears that fell from her eyes were purely ones of happiness and pride. She had no need to feel bad about herself or anything else anymore, so she nodded into Applejack’s shoulder.
Applejack hugged her tighter. “Real good.”
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brilliant story~
I really like the main ship's dynamic, loved the characterization!
10/10 would definitely recommend
this beautiful piece needs more attention!
11183435
Aw oh my god thank you so much! That means so much to me. I’m glad you enjoyed and i’m especially glad you liked the characterization since thats what I was the most unsure about.
Again, thanks :)
A nice story about losing and regaining life. Has the right amount of bittersweet and gentle humour. Thanks for writing it.
11183658
Thanks for commenting :) That means a lot
Unusual ship, that was some no holds barred intro and a real kick in the feels. Beautifully portrayed, war might be horrible but we fight so that others may live free and not under oppression and tyranny.
11183756
Thanks for the kind words partner :)
A very impressive for a very unique ship. Touching and heartwarming, and of course, pudding. I *love* the epilogue at the end, giving them a happy ending beyond the war's end. Great work!
11185799
Thank you very much! I definitely wanted to give these two a happy ending, and I thought a years later epilogue would do the trick. I’m glad you enjoyed that ‘cause I know that some people think it’s kind of an overused trope :)
what a nice, and heartfelt story
11208230
Thank you very much :) means a lot
exactly how i imagine pony graves! so sad and cute at the same time
so true to life, that complete recoveries aren't always possible. symbolic, perhaps, of how we never truly are the same as before after losing someone close to us
yessssss Applejack's father's hat
yes, High Winds! and it's always nice to see Pinkie Pie from this timeline as well
but they're both white-coated!
Celestia must always be mindful of Harmony, so true
augh, so nice to see Spitfire finally get this closure from the events of the first chapter. finding the strength to move on and make the best of one's life in the memory of those who are no longer there to share that life is such powerful stuff
and it must be an even greater honour in a world where Celestia guided her nation through an awful war, all the while reigning alone!
and a beautiful ending, with the pair's relationship just feeling so settled and loving and everyday. it's just so easy to imagine their days together that stretch out both before and after this moment, so warm and lovely.
it was a lovely tale, with characters that feel so much like real people dealing with their loss and pain, making the healing and hope they find in each other all the more wonderful. thank you for it. SpitJack forever!
11240270
AGH I just spent some time going through your comments and :PinkieWhy: !!!! As always your comments are very kind and good to read through. Had a big ol’ smile on my face the whole time, I am glad you enjoyed it :D
Oh and about Surprise and High Winds… lol… you’re right! I guess I just thought High Winds was like light blue or something haha
Spitjack forever indeed!
Need a good cry, so I re-read this story.... Worth it
I have never ever come across anything before with any hint, trace, implication, or mention of a ship between Applejack and Spitfire existing, and it has never crossed my mind due to the sheer improbability to me... and yet you managed to do it and make it work really damn well
Reallllyyyy awesome job! Now excuse me while I grab a second tissue...
box...
11526917
Haha it’s definitely one of those rare ships I don’t see a lot of. I’m glad you enjoyed it, though. I’ve been known to use up people’s tissues from time to time...
Coming in 2024 to say I loved this fic! Thank you for posting this I can’t wait to reread it again :)
11831179
Thank you so much!!! It means a lot haha:)