With a buck to the front door that took it off it’s hinges and sent all three Cutie Mark Crusaders scrambling in fear for the nearest adult, Rainbow Dash, Applejack turned and stomped into the house.

“Alright,” Rainbow shouted as she flew around the corner with her hooves ready to swing, “what’s the big idea of scaring… AJ?”

Applejack stomped past Rainbow and looked into the living room at the three fillies that were huddled together.

“Mama? Why’d-”

“Get over to the farmhouse, girls. Mama needs ta talk to Rainbow Dash, now,” she growled.

Silence filled the house for a long four seconds as the weight of Applejack’s words fell into place into every pony in the room. With ears flat to their heads and tails low the Crusaders hurriedly rushed past the adult mares and out of the house into the darkening evening.

The living room was nearly sparkling clean from ceiling to floor and Applejack nearly smiled as she took notice before her frown returned. A sniff of the air made Applejack weak in the knees as she smelled her favorite stew boiling in the kitchen.

“AJ, Ah, ahem, I cleaned up. I, didn’t get it all but I started the main rooms and,” Rainbow hovered into the living room, “our room.”

Applejack stomped heavily into the living room, tracking dirt and mud as she went. Stopping near Rainbow she scowled so deeply she could hear Rainbow gulp behind the flapping of her wings. “Get. Down. Here.”

Rainbow stopped flapping and landed in the center of the room, muzzle inches from Applejack’s. “Uh, what’s up, Fritt-”

<slap>

“Gah!” Rainbow stumbled to the left, caught herself, and looked at Applejack with a glare as she flew at her with her own left hook. With a resounding thud her strike crossed Applejack’s muzzle and sent her staggering to the right. “What the buck is your problem?! Hitting me while-” another slap, this one harder, sent Rainbow to her right side on the floor.

“Ah’m rollin’ around with Quill, Rainbow.”

Rainbow snapped her head to Applejack as her cheek throbbed with each heartbeat, the next faster than the last. With a growl she swung as she took wing and whalloped Applejack so hard she left the floor and landed onto the couch.

“I’m fucking Quill, too!” Rainbow shouted as she flared her wings, landing on the coffee table.

Applejack sneered and leapt at Rainbow who flew to the ceiling and grinned at the missed lunge, until she noticed Applejack land on her front hooves only and launch herself backwards at her. “Oh buck-” she narrowly dodged the hooves that were aimed at her by zipping to the side. “What the hay! You’re actually-”

“Grraahh!” Applejack shouted as she landed on the floor by the kitchen and leapt at the flying mare again, this time catching Rainbow’s tail in her teeth and yanking hard.

Rainbow screamed and landed with a heavy thud on the floor as Applejack leapt and pinned Rainbow to the floor. “Ah said no bad words in this house!!”

“Ah don’t give a shit! You’re cheating on me.”

“You started with her first!” Applejack retorted as Rainbow flapped her wings and began to struggle for her freedom. Applejack slipped and Rainbow nearly got away but she was wrapped in a reverse bearhug and fell to the floor again, biting her tongue this time.

“Gah! My tung… AJ, Pthleeth, owowowwow. I bic mah tung.”

“Then you can’t use it on Quill fer a couple’a days, then? Boo-hoo, ya tramp!”

Rainbow craned her head glared at Applejack. “You’re jutht as bad! I broke up wif her today and wuv gonna tell you and everythung,” Rainbow said as she rolled her tongue in her mouth then spat bloody spit in Applejack’s direction, knocking the hat off her head.

Applejack gasped and squeezed Rainbow tighter around her barrel. “Ah can’t believe this,” Applejack said as she held the struggling mare tight until she sighed and let Rainbow loose. Rainbow scrambled free and turned to face her orange lover from two pony lengths away. “What’s wrong with me… us, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow was glaring daggers at Applejack as she swallowed some coppery spit with a gulp. “Ah love ya,” Rainbow said as she raised a hoof to her swollen cheek, “even if you hit like a deer.”

Applejack snorted loudly and moved her tongue around her mouth then made a sucking sound, spitting a bloody molar onto the floor. “Ya hit like Ah buck trees, Rainbow.”

They both forced a smile, as awkward as it was.

“...Tho, now what?” Rainbow asked.

“Ah, I don’t know. Ah’ve got mah beliefs on family and love and ya got yer pegasus rituals of meet, mate and leave.”

“Thath not how it is,” Rainbow countered but looked into Applejack’s eyes and relented, “uth-ually.”

“Ya know we can’t be with each other if we’re with somepony else. Do, do ya wanna fly off like yer tribe does?”

“Hey! Don’t get twibal with me,” Rainbow grumbled.

“Ah ain’t gettin’ tribal. But pegasi are like a herd ‘a birds. Ya mate and leave each other and the whole flock raises the babies. Ah know how it works up there, even though I don’t live there. Ah’m not a fool, Rainbow.”

“Ah know, ouch,” she whined and stuck out her slightly swollen tongue, “bah, thupid bike, look, AJ, Ah love you ang,” she gulped and winced as she forced her tongue to move more normally, “and, I messed up. I was totally not awesome and I totally did the wrong thing by doing her and not telling you,” she lowered her muzzle and sighed, “and doing it for two weeks, but I felt bad about it after the first week.”

Applejack facehooved. “Ah, you know how mah family and most earth ponies feel about herdin’ outside the relationship. Sure, we herd, but it’s somethin’ we talk about, right?”

“Right, sure, whatever,” Rainbow said as she looked at her tail hairs, “it’s just that I have this drive to make love right now, and you haven’t been there for me.”

“I haven’t been there fer you?!” Applejack shouted, “Ah’ve had sex with ya every other day fer the past two weeks, and all I wanted was you ta listen to me.”

“I made love with Quill cuz she listened to me…” Rainbow huffed. “We both went to her for the same thing that we didn’t get from you and me… Ya know?”

“Yeah, Rainbow… Mah Sugarplum,” Applejack swallowed a some bloody saliva herself and shuddered at the taste. “Would ya wanna tell me about what’s eatin’ yer grapes?”

Rainbow slumped back and lay flat. “Well, rith now my whole faith hurth.”

Applejack chuckled. “And Ah’ve never tasted blood before. Reckon it’s gonna make me throw up soon.”

Rainbow giggled. “Only the first time. After that you get really bad runs when it happens cuz you swallow it and we can’t handle it like monsters can.”

Applejack chuckled loudly. A beat later and Rainbow began to laugh until Applejack had crawled to Rainbow and lay with her on the floor, both looking at a set of horseshoe marks on the ceiling where Applejack had connected.

“Fritter?”

“Yeah, Sugarplum?”

“I’m really hungry, and so’s the baby.”

Applejack snickered and leaned over to nuzzle Rainbow. “Ah’m really sorry about hittin’ ya.”

“Yeah, me too. I’m glad ya stopped though.”

“Why, thought I’d hurt the baby?”

“Nah, Ah was gonna stop pullin’ my punches and show you what awesome hits like,” she grinned.

Applejack smiled and looked towards the door that was half shattered and imbedded deeply in the far wall. “Yeah, Ah wouldn’t want that.”

“Ah swear,” Rainbow said firmly, “Pinkie Promise times forever that I’ll never be with another pony without letting you know and talking it out first.”

“Hrmph, and I promise ta talk it out with you instead of another pony.”

“Oh yeah, I’ll add that to the promise. Can we, maybe eat while we talk, finally, about what’s buggin’ us?”

“Heh, how bad’s yer tongue hurt?” Applejack asked softly.

“Too bad for that,” Rainbow looked to the side with a smug look.

“Let’s get some stew and talk a bit.”

“A bit? AJ, we’re not gonna sleep tongith, tonight, cuz we’re gonna be thalkin’ all night.”

Applejack grinned and so did Rainbow. With a single kiss they nuzzled, got to their hooves and walked, leaning against each other, to the kitchen.

---

Quill sat alone in her living room, a lantern was burning before her. A photo, the only photo of Lime was held tight to her chest. Tears streamed down her face, following the contours of her muzzle and landing on the photo. A jar of honey sat beside her, nearly empty from a few moments of guzzling.

“I’m all alone now. They’re all gone, Lime.”

As the world begun to spin and her body began to numb, the last thing Quill did was knock the lantern over, spilling the kerosene across the floor. The fire followed it quickly without pause.

“Lime… I’ll see, yoo-” she said groggily as she fell to her side and drifted to a blissful eternal sleep.

…

…

…

Lime placed a light kiss on Quill’s forehead as she awoke in a green pasture covered with wildflowers. Quill sat up and looked around at the paradise that spanned the horizon before her. “Hey, sweetie. I missed you,” Lime said with a giggle. “But, you’re here too soon and for the wrong reason.”

“L-Lime? I, I missed you. I was alone and lost without you,” Quill whimpered as she moved to hug Lime. They embraced like they had for months while alive together.

“Quill, I missed everything about you,” Lime sniffled, “but it’s not time, yet. We all have a moment where we are meant to go and this isn’t yours.”

Quill hummed contently as she nuzzled Lime.

“You’re going back, but be the mare you know I want and need you to be. When it’s your time come back, I’ll be here waiting.”

Next Chapter: Salvation Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 2 Minutes