Friends and Family

by Charlie_K

After the credits roll...

One year later...

"Yer really sure about this, RD? This is what ya want?" Applejack asked as she looked about the former guest room, now adorned with the decor from Rainbow Dash's cloud castle. "Ya sure ya wanna move outta the clouds an' live down with a buncha earth ponies? Ain' ya gonna miss yer cloud castle and the view ya had from up there?"

A full year from the day Rainbow Dash had become an official member of Applejack's family. How time seemed to fly by so fast, and at the same time be filled with so many changes that it didn't seem possible to squeeze them all into a measured time frame. Since that day Rainbow Dash had been spending more and more time hanging around Sweet Apple Acres, still sleeping over every other night...at first anyway...that amount gradually increasing as time went on, until one day when she made the announcement to everypony that she was going to move in at Sweet Apple Acres and live there exclusively.

It turned out to be a big deal to the Apple family to have her move in with them on a permanent basis; apparently something they'd been planning on for quite some time now. When she made the announcement she was presented with a name plaque for her door that Apple Bloom had painted by herself. Originally it was supposed to read Rainbow Dash's Bedroom, but there hadn't been enough room for all that and eventually she just settled on Rainbow's Room; not that she minded one bit, she was touched all the same.

The move itself had hardly been arduous or burdensome, most of what she had to bring along was simple enough. Her gown and tiara from the Grand Galloping Gala that Rarity had put so much under-appreciated work into, the two nightshirts she'd gotten around the time she made her announcement, the award for winning the Best Young Flyer's Competition, some posters of the Wonderbolts, the Daring Do series she enjoyed reading so much, a jar full of liquid rainbow from her fountain, and of course Tank, she could never forget him.

In the end it hadn't been a difficult move, but it had definitely served as a sad reminded of just how empty Rainbow Dash's life had been beforehoof.

"Yeah I'm sure AJ, this is what I want. The cloud castle might've been my house, but this is my home and it's where my family is now. This is where I wanna be from now on," Rainbow Dash replied and nodded. "It's not like I'm giving up anything important, just a bunch of isolation. I've still got my job with the weather bureau and my aerial stunts so I'll always have a view. And as long as there's clouds around I can always grab a snooze when I'm tired," she explained, earning a playful frown and a hoof bump to the shoulder from Applejack at the last bit. "And besides, now I can help contribute something to Sweet Apple Acres."

"Aw shoot Sugarcube how many times do we have ta tell ya tha' ya contribute plenty enough already. Ya make sure the weather stays stable for our orchards ta grow proper an' all, nopony else can do tha' like you," Applejack told her. "It ain' like we're keepin' a tally o' who puts in how much work compared ta the others. Even if ya was dead last we'd still love ya jus' the same. Tha's what family does, ya ain' no hired hoof er nothin' like that."

"I know, I know. I just...well I'm just so happy to have a family and I wanna contribute. I never got the chance to before," Rainbow Dash replied.

"Ah already told ya, ya contribute plenty aroun' here, remember the last Zap Apple harvest? Wit' yer help we managed to harvest more than we ever did before, an' quicker too what with ya flying back an' forth from tree ta tree," Applejack pointed out.

"Well...I guess you're right about that..." Rainbow Dash finally admitted, knowing she was right about what she said. "I guess I do help out an awful lot around here, making the Apple family 20% cooler and all just by being here," she boasted and laughed.

"Well ya certainly ain't short on opinion about yerself, thinkin' yer somethin' mighty special for a lightweight pegasus an' all. Ah reckon ya couldn't buck half as many apple trees as ah could in the same amount o' time if we was ta compete on it," Applejack shot back.

"Oh really now? You think you can buck better than me? You and what army?" Rainbow Dash asked at the challenge to her abilities.

"Jus' me. Army o' one, city slicker," Applejack replied without missing a beat.

"City slicker! Them's fightin' words right there Freckles!" Rainbow Dash shouted back, doing her best to imitate Applejack's accent.

"Freckles!? Now ya went too far!" Applejack stated and hunched down, bearing her teeth and growling in a hostile manner. Rainbow Dash adopted a similar posture and faced her down.

The two were mere inches apart, eyes locked, teeth exposed, each ready to pounce on the other at a moment's notice to dominate what could prove to be a messy knock down drag out fight. At least it would've been had Rainbow Dash been able to maintain a poker face and not start snickering, before breaking into uncontrollable laughter that nearly sent her to the floor. Applejack was soon to follow, consumed by hysterics and leaning against Rainbow Dash for support in staying up and wound up tipping the both of them over, sending them to the floor in a fit of hysterical laughter. Such bragging, boasting, insults and open hostility had become a regular part of their interaction with each other, never amounting to more than just banter and a way to entertain themselves when they were bored.

"Ah yer too much sometimes Sugarcube," Applejack stated as the laughter eventually died down enough to talk. "But ah still love ya even if ya are the biggest bragger in all o' Equestria," she said and wrapped her forelegs about Rainbow Dash to pull her into an embrace.

"Well I did learn from the best bragger in Equestria who just believes in quality over quantity," Rainbow Dash shot back, looking directly at her with an accusing look. "But I love you too AJ, you're a great sister."

"Flattery'll get ya nowhere," Applejack replied, before kissing her on the cheek. "But thanks anyways."

"Anytime," she replied and returned the kiss.

Neither one of them was in too big of a hurry to get up off the floor now that they'd gotten into a comfortable position, embracing each other and just letting things sink in. That is until they heard Granny Smith ringing the dinner bell and issuing the call to come and get it, that was enough to get them up and moving.

"Race ya downstairs? Loser does the dishes?" Rainbow Dash proposed.

"Ya know better than tha', no racin' in the house," Applejack pointed out. "And 'sides that its yer turn tonight anyway."

"Alright, alright," Rainbow Dash mumbled, all the while trying not to crack a smile.

---

If there was one thing she was going to miss more than anything about living in her cloud castle it was going to be her cloud bedding. Cotton fabrics might be comfortable in their own right, but they just weren't clouds and nothing was going to change that. But considering what all she had she was alright with that. She had a brother, two sister and a grandmother who loved her and who she loved right back, not to mention a mess of new cousins all over Equestria, and no cloud bed could compare to that.

She was content to just lay there under the covers, listening to the patter of rain from the night's storm landing against the glass panes to the window, barely noticing the rumble of the the thunder in the distance. However she was unable to ignore the bright flash of lightning that briefly illuminated the room, drawing her attention to one of the framed pictures now hanging on the wall. Amongst them was the picture from the last Apple family reunion; her first ever family reunion.

She remembered that well, it only being a couple of months ago, but she would've remembered it even if it'd been years ago. She remembered being so nervous about meeting everypony as they gathered at Sweet Apple Acres for the reunion. But out of the lot that showed up not one of them had a problem with her being a member of the Apple Family; well except for that one uncle who said she was too scrawny to do any real farm work on her own, but he was mainly just giving her a hard time, he was alright overall. Despite the initial discomfort things progressed smoothly, there being games and good treats, swapping tales of everypony's experience, and finally the family photo in front of the barn, with Applejack insisting she be in the front where everypony would see her in her stetson and fringed vest. Good times indeed.

"Hey RD, everything a'right in there?" came Applejack's voice from outside the door and a light knocking, followed by the door being pushed open and her poking her head inside to look around. "Ya still up?"

"Yeah, I've just been thinking. Got a lot on my mind, first night and all," Rainbow Dash replied and waved her in. "What brings you by? Aren't you usually sound asleep by this time?"

"Normally ah am but ah figured ah'd check on ya, make sure everything's a'right an' all, see if there's anythin' ya need," she paused as another rumble of thunder was heard. "Plus there's that. Had ta make sure Apple Bloom's sleepin' fine, she don' take ta storms too well, all the thunder and lightnin' an' all," she explained.

"Ah," Rainbow Dash replied and nodded in understanding. "I'm fine AJ, I've slept through storms before, nothing I can't deal with. Although I appreciate you checking."

They remained silent for a while, simply sharing each other's company during a quiet moment. Rainbow Dash was about ready to say her goodnights again try to get some sleep, when a particularly loud crash of thunder sounded, followed immediately by a bright flash of lightning that illuminated the room. She couldn't be sure if it was an optical illusion caused by the light and the shadow, but she could almost swear she saw Applejack flinch.

"Hey Rainbow Dash...seein' as this is yer first night in yer new home an' all, do ya wan' me ta stay an'...maybe keep ya company?" she asked.

"What's really up Applejack?" Rainbow Dash finally asked and looked directly at her. "You didn't come here just to make sure I'm sleeping fine did you?" she paused and eyed her, "Apple Bloom not the only one who doesn't take to storms too well?" she asked in a knowing tone, presenting it like a rhetorical question.

"Not since ah was a little filly," Applejack hesitantly admitted and left it at that, suddenly finding something on the floor very interesting.

"Well...you know it is kinda different, this being the first night of a permanent basis, I guess it is kinda overwhelming and all," Rainbow Dash mused as she rubbed at her chin and looked at the ceiling, using one of her wings to raise the covers off the mattress. "Would you mind staying over just for tonight?" she asked.

"Heh, anythin' fer mah sister," Applejack replied and climbed up into the bed and laid down next to Rainbow Dash.

"Cozy?"

"Mmhmm, all nice an' cozy," she said as she settled in for the evening.

"...Hey Applejack, we've got some firefly lanterns don't we?" Rainbow Dash asked before Applejack could turn in for the night.

"Yea but why?" Applejack asked, mildly curious as to what she was up to.

"You wanna fire one up, burrow under the covers and read the tale of Daring Do and the Jeweled Temple of Amigdalon?" she asked.

"Ain' tha' just a bit juvenile even fer you RD?" Applejack asked.

"Hey it was worth a shot," Rainbow Dash replied before shrugging and getting comfortable in the bed. "But just so yo know I am so getting you back tomorrow for calling me juvenile," she warned.

"Wouldn' have it any other way," she yawned, "goodnight."

"Goodnight. And don't worry about that storm out there, your big sister Rainbow Dash is here to protect you," she teased, earning a tired but amused chuckle.

"Ya ain' mah big sister. And the day ah need ya ta protect me is the day ah let Rarity gimme a full makeover an' stick me in one o' her fru-fru dresses," Applejack replied.

"It's a date then," Rainbow Dash declared as she shut her eyes. "Goodnight sis'."

"Goodnight sis'," she yawned, "love ya."

"Love you too. Now would you please go to sleep already? I'm tired," Rainbow Dash replied, only to be met by the sound of gentle breathing, indicating Applejack had done just that. She smiled and rolled over, wrapping her forelegs about Applejack and holding her close.

If there was one thing she was going to miss more than anything about living in her cloud castle it was going to be her cloud bedding. But considering all she had right now she wouldn't give it up for all the cloud beds in Cloudsdale. Right now as she laid there, cuddling with her caring sister, she had what mattered most of all and could sleep peacefully without any regrets, and she wouldn't trade that for anything; not even acceptance into the Wonderbolts.

END

Author's Note:

So this is the end of the "Friends and Family" storyline, and although it's been a short run I have to say that I've enjoyed writing it, and I hope others have enjoyed reading it.

Special thanks goes to the author Milesprower86 and his work on the Cupcake Chronicles, which I've deeply enjoyed reading and admit that it was a source of inspiration for my own work. If it weren't for the excellent work he did I don't know if I would've been able to write this piece.

My favorite pony pairing in MLP:FIM has always been Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle. As a result I never gave much thought to any of the other possible pairings. It wasn't until 'prower's works that I started to reconsider that and I'm glad I finally did as it allowed me to see so many different things. Having my eyes opened allowed me to see the unique chemistry that existed between Rainbow Dash and Applejack that was devoid from the rest of the Mane Six. A natural rivalry exists between the two due to their competitive and similar natures which is complicated by their obvious differences of opinion, but that rivalry is what makes them work together so well as it doesn't get in the way of them realizing the bigger picture and putting their differences aside when the chips are down. Their ability to put their rivalry aside and learn from each other seemingly makes them much stronger together than with any other pony in the cast. Plus that rivalry works well regardless of how they're portrayed, whether they're cast as just friends, as lovers, or in my case as family. They may have their disagreements but in the end it doesn't stop them, rather it has the potential to make their bond all the stronger as their friendship is fire forged and field tested.

Comments

[bahatumay]

Applejack's accent felt a bit strong, but other than that, I don't really have a complaint. It's short, sweet, and fluffy yet substantial.

[Duskrider]

I spent a while trying to think of what I wanted to say about this. Nothing quite came out expressing what I wished, and I'm hoping that there'll be plenty of revisions throughout this comment regardless. But I'll put this down, say my piece, and you are welcome to do what you will with it.

I suppose I first want to say that this entire concept is fantastic. I don't think I could imagine two better siblings out of the main six, and the more I think about, the more right it feels. Appledash has been hit or miss for most of the fics I've read, but the way the two of them relate in here makes so much sense that I didn't even think twice about Dash's adoption or the two of them being sisters. It all simply felt natural and right, and you deserve the highest kudos for that.

That being said, there were a couple of issues that merit mentioning. Some of these were barely noticeable, others threw me a mile out of the story. Of course, I'll put up my disclaimer that with most things I say, they are my opinions. Feel free to disregard them if you wish, though I do think that they all merit at least some thought.

First, I'm typically a big fan of Applejack's accent but the way she's portrayed here is both inconsistent and overdone in terms of her accent to the point of near illegibility. Just for example,

We's all here for ya if ya need us Sugarcube

I can't think of a single time where AJ replaced "are" with "is" nor can I imagine her accent taking her there. Likewise when you have

But ah reckon ya'll don' wan' tha' or ya woulda

there are almost more abbreviated words than actual words. Not only does this sound overdone for AJ, its difficult to read at first glance and practically breaks the flow. There are other examples of this and, if you wish, I could go over every time that it comes up. Regardless, the over accent really took me out of the story at times and broke the flow for me as a reader.

Funny enough, this is almost made worse by the fact that I think your Rainbow Dash was spot on. I think you really captured her spirit and voicing impeccably. I empathized, and at times sympathized, with what she was going through, a tribute and testament to your evocative writing. Placing it side by side to the near caricature of AJ, it only exacerbated the whole issue. Not that you should worsen your Rainbow Dash voicing, just that it emphasized the disparity.

There's also some mechanical issues, some of which are consistent to the point that I had to double check if I was in fact correct. The capitalization of your threw me a bit for a loop until I took out the sentences and realized why it was rubbing me the wrong way. Take for instance:

"Sometimes ah think you shoulda been the Element o' Honesty, yer an even worse liar than ah am RD," Applejack stated, earning an unseen scowl from the pegasus, "ya blew up at their funeral like Twilight at the royal weddin' with Queen Chrysalis in Cadance's form, an' been out here every day since. Ah know that it ain' any o' my business er anythin', but ah'd sure appreciate it if ya felt like unloadin'," she told her.
"You're right, it's none of your business," Rainbow Dash stated, more harshly than she'd originally intended, but she didn't feel like apologizing for it, "you wouldn't understand," she mumbled.
"Ah know ah'm not as well read as Twilight but don' let tha' fool ya none. Ah can still tell which end o' the apple is up," she replied, unfazed by her friend's tone, "jus' try me. Ah'm willin' to provide an ear ta bend," she paused, letting it sink in before continuing, "o'course if ya'll don't wanna talk all ya gotta say is fer me ta get an' ah'll go an' leave ya ta yerself ou' here all alone. But ah reckon ya'll don' wan' tha' or ya woulda said so earlier on," she reasoned.

Let's take out the connecting phrases and just put what is being said one after the other and look if these are separate sentences:

"Sometimes ah think you shoulda been the Element o' Honesty, yer an even worse liar than ah am RD, ya blew up at their funeral like Twilight at the royal weddin' with Queen Chrysalis in Cadance's form, an' been out here every day since. Ah know that it ain' any o' my business er anythin', but ah'd sure appreciate it if ya felt like unloadin'."

"You're right, it's none of your business, you wouldn't understand."

"Ah know ah'm not as well read as Twilight but don' let tha' fool ya none. Ah can still tell which end o' the apple is up, jus' try me. Ah'm willin' to provide an ear ta bend, o'course if ya'll don't wanna talk all ya gotta say is fer me ta get an' ah'll go an' leave ya ta yerself ou' here all alone."

The places I underlined were where you had connected sentences over the indicator phrases. Some of them might make sense; others, like the first example, just make a massive run on sentence that doesn't really work. It would likely work, and read better as:
"Sometimes ah think you shoulda been the Element o' Honesty, yer an even worse liar than ah am RD," Applejack stated, earning an unseen scowl from the pegasus. "Ya blew up at their funeral..."
Connecting three sentences over dialogue with putting a break in the narrative itself reads like a run on sentence and just kinda pulls out. And I've already spent more space on this when it wasn't really that important a thing to begin with. Moving on.

Once RD and AJ got back to Sweet Apple Acres, the conversation got just a bit repetitive considering we had heard basically all this from AppleJack at Restful Hills. Granny Smith practically repeats the arguments AJ gave point for point and no new information or insight is given into the way they think or feel about the situation. Granted, its a natural thing to do since Granny Smith wasn't there when AppleJack was stating all of it to RD; however, if it bears repeating for the reader then it needs to have a point.

There's a whole bunch of dropped commas throughout the Epilogue, I'll just put a few in here and you can sort out whether or not its worth going through for them:

Eventually, it reached the point where she was spending every other night at the Apple family residence rather than sleeping at her cloud castle home by herself.

However, Rainbow Dash trying to learn how to do things on the farm hadn't been something easy to try and teach.

"Pretty much, Rainbow Dash. You sign here,"

There are more, but I'll leave to you whether or not you'd like to pull them all out.

Please don't take away from this that I didn't enjoy this piece. I certainly did. This is an incredibly interesting take on RD and AJ's relationship. I've never really considered it before now and it's got me thinking about it in lots of other things I read. The writing and narrative is evocative and engaging, I really couldn't put it down. I want to thank you for writing it and sharing it with us.

I wish you the best of luck with whatever you do going forward.

-Duskrider

[Charlie_K]

2305742
Believe it or not I appreciate the criticism of the areas that need work. My grammar classes in school weren't of the best quality and as a result I'm having to learn these things as I go. Of course it doesn't help when you read the works of other writers and see them making the same mistakes and assume they're natural examples of writing.

As to Applejack's accent I know that it needs work. Trying to write a proper southern drawl isn't all that easy to do and it's easy to slip into backwoods hillbilly without realizing it. If I can figure out how to do it right I'll do a revision.

[Ellington]

At least it doesn't say 'Rainbow Dash's Roo' that would be something you'd expect from Berry Punch and Carrot Top.

[Charlie_K]

3002919

I'm basically learning proper grammatical structure as I go. Taking cues from the works of others hasn't exactly helped when each author has their own individual style that they chalk up to artistic license. And trying to write Applejack's southern drawl is a huge pain in the flank.

And thanks for taking interest in this story. FnF is still my favorite series of work even though HiE is so much more popular. I hope the rest of the series proves just as interesting.

[Rose1453]

Great story and very enjoyable. Many feels.