Applejack's jaw hung agape. She had no words to respond with.
Not that it mattered. Something absolute had melted, and it showed across Rainbow's tear-stained face. Her grimace had been replaced with a smile. Anchored by sleep, the petite pegasus snuggled up to Applejack's chest... Applejack's tummy... Applejack's everything. A few more tears trickled out, and then Rainbow's muzzle shuddered with the tell-tale signs of foalish slumber.
Her heartbeat had slowed to a gentle, relaxed crawl; the same couldn't be said for Applejack's.
The farm mare collapsed there, pinned against a hard wall and a soft angel. She struggled to breathe—but to do so would threaten jostling Rainbow Dash out of the moment, and then everything would be lost... everything that Applejack couldn't be bucked to understand.
So, she lay there... limp and confused... and yet solid and strong. Rainbow Dash cuddled up against her like a dependent little sister. But there was more too it than that. Even a pony like Applejack wasn't immune to the electricity nipping at her nose.
She reached a hoof out... and stroked the back of Rainbow's neck. Once again, she felt the heartbeat... the warmth... the pulsating tenderness that suddenly existed in that world. It was frightening... paralyzing... but the unexpected softness of Rainbow's mane kept Applejack from falling apart. She was mesmerized by it... glued to it... just like Rainbow was glued to her. It would take a crumbling mountain to move the two of them from that position, and yet Applejack knew that they had to move... and yet...
And yet...
Applejack trembled. She was afraid of waking Rainbow Dash. So she let another fetlock join the carress. Soon, she was holding the mare tenderly to her chest... cradling her. It didn't help the situation, but it didn't make it any worse either. There simply wasn't any other thing she could do. Holding Rainbow so close... steadying her... anchoring her to the earth...
She couldn't tell if she was protecting Rainbow Dash anymore, or just herself. She focused on the softness of Rainbow's mane, and a pit in her stomach joined the emptiness in her mind. Applejack felt lost and found all at once. There was no sweating... no crying... just shivers.
Pupils shrunken, Applejack gazed a million miles into the grayness of Canterlot. The only thing that would keep her satiated was to carress those colors inexplicably gifted to her... rolling over in deep, wordless thoughts... waiting for the stars to shift. Or something else.
And Dash was so drunk, when she came to, she didn't remember a thing.
And AJ never told her, because she thought it would hurt Dash's pride.
...these fucking ponies, ladies and gentlemen.
Oh Applejack...
And here I thought this was always a story about Rainbow being the one who was afraid.
SHE KNEW
SHE KNEW
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God damn it. Now I have to go back and reread Every single interaction between the two of them, over the course of more than one thousand chapters! One MILLION words!!!
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Rebel 2
Ack-shun!
This chapter felt so very poetic, every sentence loaded with meaning and reference. I couldn't take it all in on first reading especially with the big reveal from last chapter. But still, man. Just... beautiful.
Ok, so... takeaways.
1 AJ is excellent at stealth missions.
2 Dashie isn't just a fun drunk or an angry drunk, she's also a romantic drunk.
3 HOLY SHIT THOSE SIX WORDS! Seriously, that's about the most succint and beautiful thing ever.
4 So AJ knew the whole time? That really makes the whole Stu Leaves thing extra sucky.
5 And forget Stu, Imagine AJ's reaction when she learns her favorite pegapone has a crippling terminal illness.
Oh, Philomena poop.
Well, that turns things on their heads.
And now we have to watch AJ be stubborn. Let's hope not for as long as Dash has been stubborn in the first volume.
This... is going to hurt.
Also, this sheds some upsetting light on the whole Stu Leaves thing. Now I uderstand why AJ thought Dash let Stu control the thingymabob.
I marathon Appledashery 1&2 over 4 days and catch up to this? Ponyfeathers! It's not fair!
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Welcome to our own little slice of hell. We love it here.
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I actually guessed this is what would happen about 15 chapters back. It's heart breaking
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I just bet you do, how long has it been going on and what is the average update rate?(or how Hard is the pain-buildup?)
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Updates are usually daily (though for me it's like 4am lol) and hiatus can happen from time to time, by generally back on track quickly.
As for build-up, at this point I'm kind of jaded to sadness and just power through it hoping to uncover some answers.
If you haven't already I recommend you read the Austraeoh series while waiting for updates (same author different moniker).
Glad to have you with us on this wild ride
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Daily is a relief, the buildup I meant was the waiting-for-updates-stress :p
And I'm considering the austraeoh series but I'll have to work through the rest of my queue now that I've caught up with the two million+ words stories I had found ^^ should only be a day or two, three at the most for them :p
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Pegapone. I like that a lot.
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I wish I could have you? She is no beggar.
I wish I could love you? Already does.
I wish I could tell you? She's too afraid.
I wish I could win you?
She fights. She struggles. She falls, and she rises again. She earns her keep.
I love your words, Skirts.
Wish time froze right now