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“Ain’t any stars out,”
Her words bring Rainbow’s attention to the pitch black sky above them. Sure enough, there’s not a single speck of light to be found. The air is cold, keen, and a covey of goosebumps pop up on Rainbow’s exposed skin.
“How come they don’t show up sometimes?” She draws herself upright from where she lay on the grass. “They take more days off than you do,”
Applejack, who’s already sitting up, turns her head to give Rainbow the evil eye. “They’re still up there, varmint. We just can’t seem ‘em.”
To this, Rainbow grins. “That tracks. You’re still at the farm on your days off, sooo…” she lets the sentence trail off.
“Where else do you reckon I should go?”Applejack presses her lips together after she asks, anticipating the answer, knowing it’ll only be possible for one starless night longer.
“My place,” Rainbow, for her part, pretends not to notice.
The smile Applejack gives her in response is as bright as the stars that are currently absent.
After a fleeting, infinite moment, Applejack returns her gaze to the safety of the sky above. “You all packed?”
Just like that, reality comes filtering back in.
Rainbow puffs out a breath. “…yeah. Mostly.”
“Mostly?”
“I’ve got some trophies I gotta put up, that sorta thing.” The lie comes easy. Still, the image of that framed picture on her nightstand —of a whirlwind of orange leaves, of sweat cooling on flushed skin, of that beaming freckled smile— burns red-hot in her mind.
Applejack hums. “And then you’re done,”
“Then I’m done.”
There’s quiet, then. They’re both sitting up on the grass, staring up at the sky instead of the alternative, letting the cold pass over them. The silence stretches ‘til it’s thin enough to pull itself in two, and Applejack speaks.
“You better call every week,”
Rainbow’s lips quirk. “Pssh, I can do way better than that,” falling back into their rhythm, she parries, “I’m calling every day, ‘til you get tired of my voice,”
“An’ video calls, on the weekend,”
“Oh, for sure. Just make sure you get your shitty internet in check,”
It’s a testament to how deep AJ’s in, how deep they’re both in, that she lets the jab fly past unacknowledged. “And you’re visitin’ for Thanksgiving— your folks can have ya for Christmas, but you ain’t missin’ Granny’s apple pie,”
“Don’t forget the cider!”
Applejack blazes on, looking Dash straight in the eye, reaching out to hold her shoulders. “I’m expectin’ updates, too. Whatever stunts y’all’re gettin’ up to—“
“Hey, same thing with you. Tell me how the crops are going or whatever,”
Their faces are inches apart now, their eyes locked. Applejack's hand grips Rainbow's shoulder tighter. "And, Rainbow,"
Her voice comes out thin, uncertain. “Y-yeah?”
"If…if nothin’ else…swear that you won’t forget me.”
The request is forceful, pleading, steady, and desperate all at once, and Rainbow’s breath hitches. Her heart clenches tight around her ribs, and when she opens her mouth to respond, the words refuse to leave. So she does what she does best: she acts. Leaning forward, she bridges the gap between them.
She chafes her lips against Applejack’s, draws her in close, clutches the back of her rumpled flannel. Tommorow is impossible, untouchable, and Applejack is kissing her, and her skin is warm and she tastes like the life she’s gonna lose and her tears gather in her eyelashes and so long as they’re here everything will be just fine, has to be just fine.
They fall apart.
Rainbow’s chest heaves as she fumbles for breath. “I swear, AJ.”
“Alright,” Applejack swallows thick. “Alright.” She looks away, past the empty sky, fingers trembling where they still grasp Rainbow’s shoulders. “Let’s call it a night.”
The world whirrs around them, and soon enough the dark sky gives way to a purpling dawn. They stand together, side by side, watching as the first rays of sunlight peek over the distant hills, painting the clouds pink and gold.
Their hands are locked together, squeezed tight.