The Refrigerator Light

by Petrichord

Friday afternoon

“So what are we looking at, again?”

Applejack smirked. “Feeling cheeky today, aint’cha?”

Ember smirked back. “Maybe. Or maybe I’m wondering where’s this grand, secluded cabin that you promised was ‘just a lil’ ways off’ from your farm, ‘cause I’m pretty sure this is a toolshed.”

“And you ain’t gonna poke inside an’ check out all the hard work I put into gussyin’ it up?”

Rolling her eyes good-naturedly, Ember—Lord of Dragons, Queen of the Chasms and a geopolitical leader on par with the head of Equestria itself—tightened her red scarf slightly and poked her head through the door of the rickety, dilapidated hovel that Applejack had claimed was a cabin. Said Lord of Dragons subsequently almost jabbed herself in the eye with an upturned rake handle, and her attempt at batting it away dislodged a couple of garden trowels from a nearby shelf and sent them clattering to the floor.

“What the—” Ember spun around, catching Applejack in the act of tugging her green scarf up towards her mouth and trying desperately to suppress a fit of giggles. “...you sneak! This is a toolshed!”

Applejack lost it. Sides heaving, she laughed like a pony who’d had nothing to laugh about for some time: a reckless, wheezy affair that almost culminated in a bout of hiccups and the dislodging of her weatherbeaten hat. It might not have been infectious, but it was amusing in and of itself, and by the time Applejack came down from her laughing fit Ember found herself chuckling in spite of her indignation.

“Couldn’t…hee…couldn’t help myself. Sorry, sugarcube.” Applejack said, not looking in the least bit apologetic. A reply, Ember decided, that could only be properly responded to with a ferocious bout of noogies. Before Applejack could respond, Ember was on her like a flash, trapping Applejack in Equestria’s least convincing headlock and grinding her knuckles into Applejack’s scalp.

“Sure you couldn’t! And I can’t help myself, either!” Ember cackled as Applejack squirmed in her grip. It was a similarly unconvincing squirm—Mighty as the Lord of Dragons was, it was patently obvious that a lifetime of farm work meant that Applejack could throw Ember flat on her back in under five seconds.

“Consarn it, Ember!” Applejack chuckled, still squirming. “That ain’t no way to treat a lady!”

“A lady, huh?” Ember pulled away. “Kinda weird hearing you say that, no offense. I’d sort of expect that coming from that ribbon-haired friend of yours, but not you.”

Applejack quirked an eyebrow. “And what didja figure I’d say?”

“Something like ‘That ain’t no way to get a pig in a poke an’ wrassle like a rodeo,’ or something. I dunno, you’re the one who talks funny.”

“An’ you’re the one who eats glittery rocks. I don’t think I’m the strange one here, Sugarcube. Besides, what you just said didn’t make a lick of sense.”

Ember grinned impishly. “So what would make sense, then? In your funny farmyard language.”

“Well…” Tapping her chin for a moment and looking off to the side in mock thoughtfulness, Applejack paused for a moment before trotting up to Ember and grabbing her claw in one hoof. “How about ‘That ain’t no way to treat your gal?’ ”

A slight breeze kicked up, scattering dead leaves on the forest floor and plucking scarlet leaves off of their branches. Ember didn’t reply for a second or two, before her grin softened and she gave Applejack’s hoof a little squeeze.

“ ‘Your gal,’ huh? I think I can work with that” Ember replied. “Now how about we stop taking a tour of the toolshed and take a look at where we’re sleeping tonight?”

---

“This, uh…” Ember’s mouth gaped slightly. “This looks like more than just a place to sleep for the night.”

“What were you expectin’? A shack an’ a couple of cots?” Applejack nonchalantly stepped inside, expertly tossing her hat on a nearby rack.

“I mean, if you were spending the weekend at my place, it’d probably be in a cave. Maybe with a cot, if I remember it.” Ember trailed behind Applejack, looking around as if struggling to take it all in. “This is something else.”

“It ain’t a castle, you know.” Applejack rolled her eyes and hopped up on a stool next to a countertop that looked solid enough to withstand a hurricane. “I just wanted to make sure that I wouldn’t be missin’ anything while I was here. A little home away from home, if you will.”

“And you made this all by yourself?”

“ ‘Course I did!”

“You built the floors, the walls, the roof? Installed the windows and doors? Moved in all the counters and furnishing and…” Ember’s claw glided over the surface of a varnished table. “I’ve seen pony houses that looked worse than this. No way you did this on your own.”

“Sugarcube, what matters wasn’t that I made it, it was why. And the why was ‘cause it made me feel good to make it. I like takin’ my time to take what looks like a whole bunch of nothin’ and turn it into the sort of thing that nobody would be able to believe I made with my own hooves. ‘Specially if I get to enjoy it afterward.” With a self-satisfied sigh, Applejack trotted over to a bulky white refrigerator and pushed the door open, before pulling out a jug of something brown and opaque. “Cider?”

“Heck yeah.” Ember sauntered over by Applejack, drumming her talons on the varnished table. “Wait, you managed to get one of those powered up, too? Where are you getting the electricity from?”

“Generator in the back room. Keep it hidden ‘cause it ain’t the prettiest to look at.”

“Whoof.” Ember eyed the fridge. “And the fuel?”

Applejack chuckled. “Toolshed. Should last through the weekend.”

“You really did think of everything.” Ember shook her head, staring at Applejack with dumbfounded bemusement. “That said, I still refuse to believe that you built this solely for the satisfaction of building something.”

“Oh?” Applejack opened a nearby cupboard and pulled out a mug. “So what d’you figure my ulterior motive is, then?”

“Same as anycreature else. Desire for validation and the appreciation of others. Even dragons get that way sometimes, and if I’ve learned anything about ponies in general it’s that you all run on wanting to love and be loved.” Ember pointed at the mug. “That for me?”

“You bet.” Applejack grinned as she poured out a mug full of cider and offered it to Ember, who took a fairly eager sip.

“Mmm.” Ember set the mug down and wiped her mouth with the back of her claw. “Pretty good. Not the best thing I’ve tasted, but pretty good.”

“Oh?” Applejack replied, arching an eyebrow. “An’ what do you think tastes better than—”

Ember closed the distance in one quick stride, grabbed Applejack underneath her forelegs, hefted her into the air and kissed her.

The effect was instantaneous. Applejack went limp for a moment or two, melting in Ember’s grip and seeming utterly unable to fight back; then, as if fueled by some powerful outside force, she grabbed Ember tightly around the back and leaned in, matching Ember’s hunger with her own ravenous affection. The cabin fell silent, save for the ticking of a clock, and it took several seconds for Ember to come back up for air.

“Missed me, huh?” Ember chuckled softly.

Applejack grinned, a distinct blush colouring her cheeks. “Naw. Clearly I just wanted to get a taste of the cider on your teeth.”

“Be careful about what you say,” Ember replied. “Otherwise I might have to kiss you again and give you another ch—”

This time Applejack leaned in and pressed her lips against Ember’s, and the room fell back into silence.

---

“...Can’t tell you how much I needed that,” Applejack admitted, tugging her green scarf a little looser as autumn leaves crunched under her hooves.

Ember flailed as a couple of red leaves drifted down around her, trying in vain to snatch one right out of the air. “You certainly seemed like you did. Every time I see you these days, you always act like every kiss is the first time you’ve been kissed and also the best kiss in the world.”

“You make it feel like the first time every time” Applejack chuckled, cheeks still pink.

Ember grinned impishly. “And the best in the world?”

“Do I really gotta answer that one?”

“Not if you don’t want me to kiss you again.”

“You’d threaten your host like that?” Applejack turned around, beaming. “Ain’t you the cruelest thing.” A breeze kicked up, sending leaves scattering into the air and briefly framing Applejack in a photoesque manner: a still figure with windswept mane and a slightly crooked hat, immersed in the essence of autumn.

For a moment, Ember froze. Then she crossed the distance and rested her claw lightly on Applejack’s shoulder, talons brushing up against her blonde tresses. “Yeah. I’ll always be cruel for you.”

Applejack’s cheeks went a little redder, and the breeze around them whistled, kicking up dead leaves around them in a little whorl. “Well, ah…Thanks, sugarcube.”

“Don’t mention it.” With a little smirk, Ember pulled her claw away and stretched her arms. “Mmm. So you never mentioned where exactly we were going, besides something about bluffing.”

“Not bluffin’. A bluff,” Applejack emphasized. “Lil’ cliff-like thing you get around rivers an’ oceans. Good vantage point for lookin’ out over a forest.”

“You could just call it a cliff.” Ember swatted at another floating leaf, once again failing to snatch it out of the air.

“Yeah, but that wouldn’t be doin’ it the right way.” Applejack cocked her head slightly. “If I’m gonna use a term, shouldn’t I use the right one?”

Ember snorted, beginning to slowly amble along their path again. “You sound like one of your two purple friends. The bossier one.”

“Twilight?” Applejack snorted good-naturedly, matching Ember’s pace. “You really gotta figure out the difference between her an’ Starlight, sugarcube.”

“I keep telling you! They look exactly the same and act exactly the same. They basically have the same name, too.” Ember rolled her eyes. “Besides, I’m not sure that you of all ponies should be lecturing me. Have you figured out the difference between Flicker and Flare yet?”

“Got me there,” Applejack chuckled. “I can’t say they don’t look the same to me, either.”

Ember kicked a pebble on the path as they walked, which bounced twice before veering off into shrubbery and disappearing from view. “We’ll chalk it up to the sandstone trying to call the shale soft, okay? My point still stands - you sound like the bossy purple one.”

“What, about natural terms?”

“Yeah. Not that it’s a bad thing.” Ember reached forward and tousled Applejack’s hat, eliciting a chuckle out of the mare. “The way you get about some of the nature and farming things you gush over is easy to love.”

Still rosy-cheeked, Applejack scratched the back of her head. “Well, shucks. I just figured, y’know…somepony’s gotta love the different things in life. If not me, then who?”

“Who indeed.” Ember’s eyes darted to the side, before - once again, swatting a hand towards a falling leaf and grasping at nothing.

“Okay, my turn for a question” Applejack interrupted. “What in tarnation are you swattin’ at? I ain’t seen mosquitos or anythin’ like that out here.”

“You think a couple of stinging insects are going to bother a queen with scales all over her body? Please.” Ember shook her head. “Nah, I’m trying to catch a falling leaf.”

“Uh…why?”

“Because the pink one told me the last time I visited you that if you catch a falling leaf, you get to make a wish. And I figured, what the heck, I’m not going to complain about free wishes.”

“Well, then…” Applejack readjusted her hat. “What’cha gonna wish for?”

“Can’t tell you, or else it won’t count. That’s what the pink one said. Besides, it’s a moot point until I catch a wish anyway.” Ember yawned. “But we can do that while we walk. It’s not like I’m going to grab any leaves with my feet, anyway.”

“Fair enough.” Applejack turned back to the path, and the two pressed on.

---

“Wow…”

The stone jutted out over dozens of meters of air; a drop off of the ledge would have done more than simply take the breath from a pony’s lungs. The view was perfectly capable of doing that on its own; a vast, sprawling landscape of oranges, reds and yellows that blended together into a patchwork quilt covering the dusty earth.

“...I don’t get it,” Ember admitted after a second or two.

“You ain’t ever seen trees before?”

“No, not that, dingus.” Ember aimed a playful swat at Applejack’s head, and the pony nimbly ducked her head aside.

Applejack chuckled and readjusted her hat. “So what don’tcha get then, charcoal noggin?”

“Look, I’ve got wings that can traverse literal countries, right? I could actually go up into the sky, right now, and get a better view.” Ember walked toward the edge, slowly spreading her wings as the sun peeked out behind a couple of heavy clouds.

Applejack waited.

Ember paused, wings spread; then, quietly, she sat down and let her feet dangle over the stone’s edge. “But even up in the sky, all the way up, so I could get the best possible view of all this…it wouldn’t look as good. Not by a long shot.”

Just as quietly, Applejack trotted up and sat down a little further away from the edge, right next to Ember. “An’ why do you figure that is?”

“Honestly, you’ve probably got some wholesome, folksy answer for me, but…I almost wish I knew an answer outside of that.” Ember’s tail lashed softly. “Is it the angle relative to the ground? Is there some kind of optimal height for looking at a bunch of trees? Does this vary with the weather, or is there one best vantage point for everything?”

“Didn’t figure you were the analytical type.” Applejack’s forehoof drifted towards Ember’s claw.

“I’m not.” Ember raised her other claw in the air in a half-shrug, tail still drifting across the slab. “But I can’t think about things like these and not be curious. It’s like your hang-ups about nature, or your insistence on building a super fancy cabin for not a whole lot of a reason.”

“You know darn well what my reasons are.” Applejack took Ember’s claw in her hoof. “Sentiment.”

“Sentiment?”

“Sentiment. In the past, it was hope. In the future, it’ll be nostalgia. But for now? Sentiment.”

Ember let the sentence linger for a couple of seconds before squeezing Applejack’s hoof. “...Yeah. I guess I can live with that answer.”

Comments

[Cerulean Blue]

A great start to a weekend away

[Dragon Turtle]

Ooooooo, I've never seen this pair before. It seems really interesting; I like reading about Ember as a young but mature adults dead set on her work, so playing off of Applejack as a companion sounds great.

“Same as anycreature else. Desire for validation and the appreciation of others. Even dragons get that way sometimes, and if I’ve learned anything about ponies in general it’s that you all run on wanting to love and be loved.”

Now THIS is what I really love about fantasy and science fiction. The needs and psychology of different species. Considering axioms. Even with these dragons clearly not being as hardcore as most settings (or even some other AU fanfics), there's still the acknowledgments that they're not as concerned or dependent on other people's opinions as ponies. Or the very least, they erect way more barriers to not seem like that.