Meeting Her Parents
Certainly polar opposites in this regard, Applejack had loved her parents dearly and they passed away shortly after the birth of Applebloom. Rainbow Dash never cared for her parents, yet they were alive, living extravagantly somewhere in Los Pegasus. Or perhaps they had moved in the six years she hadn't contacted them. It showed just how unfortunate life could be and how easily it could be torn away, something the farm mare and her siblings knew better than most ponies.
In the many years she's lived there Rainbow had never stopped by this area of Ponyville. In fact she can't remember ever being to a cemetery in general, certainly an oddity now that she noticed it. Death had never been a part of her life, something she had taken for granted. Walking along this stone path, between the grass and the trees and the hundreds of cement tombstones, she's embarrassed that the first things to come to mind were the zombie movies she'd seen over the years. She could vividly imagine hooves poking through the ground, the moaning for brains coming from their rotten teeth and drooling mouths.
Dash shook the image from her head and instead turned her mind to Applejack, the pony who had an actual reason to be here. The pegasus recalled being shook awake early in the morning when the first signs of sunrise were creeping over the field, and how her marefriend begged her to come to her parents gravesite with the most out of place smile on her lips. Rushed through the shortest shower of her life and not given the required time to fix her frizzled bed mane, Dash marched out of the farm house in annoyance, dripping water with only two of her six colors neatly organized.
Freezing, she tried to focus on the scenery of the cemetery in an attempt to keep from shivering. The trim grass so green, the shining bronze gate, the symmetrical statues of pegasi, it reminded her of Rarity's boutique, so neat and proper, orderly in many senses of the word. For some reason she'd always imagined graveyards to have grey skies and dead trees, but it was actually a great day. Clear and warm, a cool breeze that gently blew the tree limbs back and forth, making the leaves rustle and produce a calming little noise that was pleasant on the ears. Even though she was in control of Ponyville's weather it surprised her. Dash wondered if all graveyards were like this, rather than the ones portrayed in films or books. She'd never imagined a place associated with death and sadness to be so clean, bright, and shiny. While it no doubt made the place look nice she couldn't get past how creepy it was, a mask of organization hiding the true nature of this place.
"Ya sure you're okay?" Applejack questioned, attempting to look over her saddlebag at the spectral pegasus. "Ah'd understand if ya wanted to wait at the gate."
"I'll be fine, it's not like this is the first time I've been to a cemetery." She lied, wondering if she made the right choice in denying Applejack's offer.
"Promise ya won't make fun of me."
"You don't think I'd do that, do you?" Rainbow asked, offended that her marefriend would even think of such a cruel notion.
"Course not, but it's a little embarrassin', talkin' to a grave an' all. Ah don't want ya thinkin' Ah'm goin' crazy." Applejack turned off the stone path and onto the damp grass, squishing with each hoof pressed on it.
"Well I won't, alright." She pouted, following the earth mare's direction.
"Sorry," Rainbow inspected every cutie mark and word carved into the tombstones as they passed by, soon growing repetitive. The loving fathers and mothers next to the beloved husbands and wives; where was the variety, the intimate little touches? Quickly Dash turned to guessing what had done them in. Some died because of the lives they led, some by pure misfortune and accidents, and many of an illness that proved too much. Few of them she imagined passing peacefully in sleep, loved ones from the full lives the lived surrounding them. She hoped it was the disturbed sleep and not some bleak output she'd developed overnight. "You're bein' awful quiet back there, sure you're alright? If ya can't –"
"I'm starting to think you want me to leave." She interrupted, speeding to keep up. "It was your idea to wake me up and beg me to come with in the first place."
"Ah do want you here, an' Ah appreciate you comin' with me."
"Why didn't Applebloom and Big Mac come with?"
"We all take turns, that way we can speak about anythin' without feelin' embarrassed."
So why bring me? Rainbow questioned, matching every move her marefriend made as they navigated the burial place. The glare from a large granite headstone, shined so thoroughly it doubled as a mirror, blinded Rainbow. Dazed, she was forced to stop where she stood, watching spots dance from behind her eyelids.
"Here we are," Applejack spoke from a distance. The pegasus wasn't quite sure what she'd see as she rubbed at her eyes, if her parents graves were more flamboyant or extravagant than all the others or if they were just part of the majority of slabs surrounding them. Finally regaining sight, the differences were major. The left one, Applejack's mother's, was similar to the tombstones they'd passed on the way. The only thing that stuck out was the stone carved apple attached to the top, something that seemed to be popular in this row.
"Are these all . . ." she lost her train of thought as she started counting the number of cement fruits.
"This is the Apple family gravesite, mah great-grandfather was buried here ages ago, an' my great-grandmother, an' my grandpa. Every member of mah family is goin' ta be buried here when they . . . pass." Dash's skin crawled under her coat at the euphemism, even more when she considered the aspect of knowing where one would be buried. Some dark and curious part of her wondered if she'd be lying six feet under in this very spot someday, right next to Applejack. A weird hope, but it felt somewhat romantic in origin, if in a macabre way. "RD, ya okay? You're lookin' mighty pale."
"Yeah, fine . . . I'm fine." Dash stated, trying to convince herself more than Applejack. The grave on her left, her father's, was a much larger version of the granite that had blinded her a moment ago. Among the five graves this was the only one that felt like it didn't belong, despite the same carved rock welded to the top. "What's the story here?"
"Oh, this was the only way Auntie an' Uncle Orange would let him be buried in Ponyville."
Rainbow nodded, certainly aware of the Orange family nature. "Do you know where you're going to be buried?" she asked, still stuck in that dark curiosity. Applejack nodded her head, pointing to a flat untouched space of ground just a few feet away.
"Well, meet the folks." She gestured to the headstones before them while removing her Stetson, pressing it deep into her saddlebag. "Mom, Pop, this is my . . . well . . ." it was clear the earth pony was going to struggle giving that statement a concrete finish. The pegasus found it odd for the farm mare to have such difficulty introducing her to two large pieces of stone, but she sat patiently and waited for Applejack to continue. It was a nice reminder of how she acted when they were coming out to their friends, the nervous eyes, the gulping, the stiffening of muscles. "This is mah marefriend, Rainbow Dash." She gently pushed Dash forward a bit, as if showing her off.
"Um, hello." With the dedication Applejack emitted, Dash was scared the graves might actually respond.
"We were pen pals back when Ah was Applebloom's age, remember how excited Ah got when the Mail Mare showed up?" the turquoise pony believed that was meant for her ears rather than her parents. She could recall her own excitement every morning when the mail was delivered, and the disappointment when she found out she'd only receive a letter once a week.
"She moved to Ponyville a few years back an' we just kind of . . . fell for each other." Rainbow would have loved that abridged version when she was wasting all that time admiring from afar, would have saved them both time and harm. She glanced to Applejack, who was trying her best not to get too emotional. While the farm mare was great at a lot of things, holding back such feelings was not one of them. "Don't look at me like that!" she ordered, voice cracking with every word.
"Like what?"
"Like Ah'm crazy,"
"I don't think you're crazy."
"Sure ya don't." She laughed, wiping at her watery eyes.
"I don't AJ!" the winged equine yelled, growing defensive. It proved enough to shut Applejack up and gave Rainbow a nice stab of remorse. "Ask them . . . ask them if they like me." Dash instructed, running her hoof around one of the little stone apples. A smooth finish, perfectly round.
"Ya make me happy, an' that'd make them happy." She immediately replied, "My pop would've loved you! He never knew when ta keep his mouth shut." The thought of her father made her smile and chuckle, something she desperately needed at that moment. At the same time it hurt, like her insides were being twisted. "He was always surprised when ponies told him he was rude. He never meant ta be, he just didn't know any better. Mom always . . ." Wave upon wave of memories overcome her thoughts, like a floodgate had been opened deep within her mind.
A massive headache and the inability to speak, yet again her eyes began to water and all she can think about is how much she regrets bringing Dash along to see this. She should've listened to her pride and let the pegasus sleep in for the morning, but it was important that the mare visited with her at least once before – "Are you okay?" Dash asked, interrupting Applejack's train of thought.
What a stupid question, do Ah look alright? Applejack thought, a surge of guilt quickly following. A mental debate ensued on whether or not to be honest with her marefriend. It was easy to make a decision, especially knowing how bad of a liar she was. Applejack took a few deep breaths and calmed herself before attempting to explain. "Sometimes Ah think Ah am, okay ya know? Ah always think Ah can come here and talk ta them without my voice crackin' or my eyes waterin', like Ah've finally moved on an' accepted it. But whenever Ah see these two stones, see their names inscribed into them, it . . ." she took a moment to try and even out her voice, "It feels like Ah've just lost them, all over again."
The mare starts crying, and sadly there was no rain to blame it on. Her hat had been shoved inside her saddlebag and was out of quick reach, unable to cover her face long enough for her to salvage any shred of composure. Bad enough this had to happen in such a public place, it had to occur in front of the pegasus. Evidently her misery wasn't complete without humiliation. "An' Ah hate it so much that Ah never want ta come back here!" she sobbed. How did it even come to this? One moment she was smiling and talking about her father, and the next she just broke down and began to weep. It was unnatural, especially for her. Maybe it was the vocalization of how visiting this place made her feel, this had been the first time she'd ever told anypony about them, related or otherwise.
Dash hesitated, uncertain over whether to look away and pretend not to notice, which Applejack probably would have preferred, or to try and soothe her. Fighting discomfort, she wraps her hooves around the earth mare's neck and pulls her into a tight embrace. The steady heartbeat of the pegasus filled her ears as she pressed her head against Dash's chest. Rainbow laid her chin on top of Applejack's head, continually stroking the back of her mane. Wings unfurl, wrapping themselves around the farm mare's body as best as they could.
Awkward at first, it was the only thing she could register, but slowly the feathered pony grew more comfortable. Each stroke of the head, every little whisper into her ear, they started to feel second nature, instinctive even. She'd assumed such affection would've calmed the earth mare, if only for the moment, but instead it had the opposite reaction. The sobbing increased, though the noise was muffled against her body. The worst part of this, for Rainbow, was the quivering and how it echoed throughout her own body.
Helplessness, such an infuriating concept for the violet eyed pony. She wanted to do so much more to ease her friend's sorrow, but aside from holding her close and wrapping her hooves and wings around the earth mare, she's drawing a blank. What would you two do? She stared at the headstones, hoping that an answer would pierce her thoughts. It doesn't, leaving her to repeat what she'd already been doing. Sun high, birds chirping, leaves rustling, and somewhere in Ponyville their friends were spending their afternoons doing far cheerier things, yet she wouldn't change places with any of them right now.
Strange, not one pony gives them a second glance, obviously in silent awareness of what was transpiring in the Apple family plots. Three other ponies were crying, but Applejack was the only one being held, so tightly that the farm mare thought she might break. With such little interest everypony displayed at them Dash wondered how often this happened in the graveyard, how many were brought to tears by simple stones, solaced by those close to them. "I'm right here AJ," she soothed, proud of how well she'd taken to this comforting thing. Emotions had never been the winged pony's strong suit, whether they were her own or of those surrounding her. "I'm right here." She repeated, glad to finally hear those sobs steadily decreasing.
"Ah'm sorry." Applejack murmured, keeping her head on the drenched and matted down coat of Rainbow Dash's.
"For what?" the spectral pegasus questioned, still stroking the back of the farm mare's head.
"For makin' ya tag along an' havin' to deal with me, Ah just . . . Ah just wanted you ta meet them. An' Ah know they're just two large pieces of stone, but aside from a hoof full of memories it's all Ah have left." She lifted her head, hoof wiping at her dry, tearstained eyes. "Ah have ta give ya credit for actin' so quickly when the waterworks started, Ah know how much ya hate cryin'."
"It's not that big of a deal," she lied, releasing Applejack from the constricting grip of her forelimbs and wings.
"Wrong, it means a lot. You're gonna get the greatest hoof rub when we get home." She promised, nuzzling the pegasus' snout. Dash leaned forward, clearly wanting to kiss Applejack, surprised when she's denied access from the farm mare's mouth. Instead her eyes open to see an orange hoof pressed against her lips. "Not here, 'kay? Ah promise you can kiss me all ya want after we leave, but not right now."
"That's fine." Rainbow smiled.
"Ah s'pose we should be moseyin' along soon, ya mind givin' me a minute alone with them?"
"No, I'll just go wait at the gate." She turned back to the bronze gates, aware that whatever was going to be said was strictly between the members of the Apple family, none of her business. "Take as long as you need, I don't mind waiting." Words she never believed she'd mean, or even say.
"Thanks sugarcube, Ah won't be much longer." She watched the turquoise pony trot to the end of the cemetery, planting her flank onto the ground outside and wiping at her soaked fur. Waiting another moment to be sure there were no other ponies within earshot, Applejack whispered to the two headstones in as hoarse a voice as she could manage. "Ah wanted you two ta meet her, because Ah love her. An' Ah'm more sure than ever that Ah'm goin' to spend the rest of my life with her." Dash noticed Applejack's staring eyes and waved. Applejack waived back, looking from her marefriend to her parents. "Ah've been mullin' tis over a lot lately, but this was jus' the push Ah needed. Ah'm . . . Ah'm goin' to ask her ta marry me an' Ah'm glad you two are the firsts ta know."
A/N: Thanks to a friend who has experienced loss for giving me a rundown on what it feels like. I hope you read and enjoyed, and I am grateful for your support. I'd also like to thank those that have read this story and hope they continue to. It's joyous to see that this has made it to so many favorites and alerts!
See the exclamation marks I don't use that unless I'm absolutely serious.
These don't really feel like drabbles anymore, do they? Well I'm just gonna stick to short little chapters for a while, with a few references to this sprinkled out.