Appledashery

by Just Essay

Are You Afraid of the Dash?

Rainbow Dash sat on a log, gazing gently into the crackling fire. Her ears tickled with the sound of crickets. But—even closer than that:

"And that's when the filly realized..." Twilight Sparkle's eyes flared across the blaze as she waved her forelimbs dramatically. "...she had arrived at her homeroom class without a protractor!"

"Aaa-aaa-aaaaugh!" Pinkie Pie shrieked, diving behind a log.

The rest of the group sat in silence.

"What?" Twilight blinked. "That's... really really horrifying! Don't you think?"

"Uhhhh..." Fluttershy fidgeted.

"Erm..." Rarity nibbled on a marshmallow.

"I-I dunno, Twilight." Applejack smiled bashfully. "I just dun think that... Magic Kindergarten is the right kind of setting for a teeth-chatterin' horror story."

"But... but the filly won't have the proper tools to brush up on her geometry!" Twilight Sparkle's bangs popped a hair or two loose. "She m-might fail a pop quiz! Her... her grade point average could lower by a quarter of a decimal!"

"Even still." Applejack shrugged. "Nopony's bein'... y'know... chased into a frozen lake or hacked to bloody bits or baked into cupcakes. I mean... none of the classics!"

"Trixie told Sparkle." Trixie tilted her nose up. "Real life doesn't translate to horror."

"Wait..." Fluttershy squinted. "You mean you were that little filly who forgot the protractor?"

Twilight curled her forelimbs together, blushing. "Maybe..." Clearing her throat, she pointed. "Anyways, at least Pinkie thought it was scary!" A smirk. "Didn't you, Pinkie?"

"Huh? What?" Pinkie stuck her head out, then smiled bashfully. "Oh, no. I-I had just realized we were out of peanuts." She held an empty can upside down, shaking it. "Oh well!" She tossed the can into a bag and pulled out a brightly-colored box. "Who's for gummy treats instead? These are princess themed! See? Here's a tiara. This here's a stagecoach. This one's a rosebud—no wait, that's another tiara..."

"Eughhhh..." Twilight leaned her hoof on her chin, glaring into the fire. "Well, fine. Let's see one of you come up with a scarier story!"

"Ahem..." Trixie held a hoof over her chest. "Trixie has got one!"

"... ... ...anypony else?" Twilight droned.

"Hey!" Trixie pouted, blue cheeks puffing.

"Heh..." Applejack smirked. "I bet Rainbow Dash has a real spine-tingler."

"Hmmm?" Rainbow looked up. "What?"

"Oh, yes!" Rarity clapped her hooves together while floating the marshmallows. "Rainbow's tall tales are always tantalizingly dreadful!"

"Y'all remember that one story she told about the skin eaters?" Applejack smirked.

"Uhm..." Fluttershy gulped, shivering slightly. "N-no."

"Oh! I do!" Rarity clenched her teeth together. "It gave me nightmares for weeks."

"See what I mean!" Applejack said.

"The way that poor damsel tore her fabulous prom dress while on the run from the monster in the woods!"

"Guhhh..." Applejack face-hoofed, then squinted across the way at Rainbow. "How 'bout it, sugarcube? Can ya save this campfire?"

"I... uh... I dunno..." Rainbow Dash stirred.

"Pffft! What are ya talkin' about, RD?" Applejack smirked. "You can come up with some of the most horrible ideas imaginable!" She winced slightly. "Erm... I mean in a creative way."

"Pffft... sure..." Rainbow stifled a sigh. "It's just that..." She shook her head. "I guess... nothing really scares me much anymore."

Fluttershy blinked.

"Huh?" Twilight craned her head. She chuckled. "Rainbow, we know you're the bravest pony there is. But come on. Nopony can be absolutely fearless."

"I didn't say I was fearless. Just..." Rainbow exhaled heavily. "Meh. You're all better off picking somepony else."

"Awwwwwwwwwww..." Pinkie cooed before stuffing her mouth with candied silver slippers.

Fluttershy opened her muzzle to say something—

"Now now, Rainbow..." Applejack smiled. "I know for a fact that t'ain't nopony better than you when it comes to excitin' a crowd. So what if it doesn't freak you out? You live such an amazin'... awesome life that whatever tickles you must tear others to shreds."

Rainbow blinked. She looked across the flame. "You... really think so?"

Applejack's freckles glistened in the firelight as she smiled. "Darlin', I know so." She winked. "So why dun ya give it a shot? This night is just beggin' for some tail-shakin' spooks."

"Heehee..." Rarity nodded. "Yes, darling, do go on."

"Uhm..." Fluttershy smiled nervously. "Just don't be offended if... s-some of us start hiding under our sleeping bags." She added a wink.

Rainbow saw it. Her ears folded back as she smiled. That smile turned into a devilish smirk. "Well then..." Cracking her joints, the mare sat on the edge of her log. "Have I ever told you girls about the foolish pegasus... who wandered into a basilisk's lair and almost became part of a living chess game?"

Comments

[FloydienSlip]

[viofriedsevey]

Godamn it'd be fuckin' dope if Applejack kinda got the hint that these stories aren't made up. Also this is probably my favorute arc so far even though the conflict hasn't even been introduced yet.

[Hestia]

All this bonding and friendship is making me insanely happy.

[MidnightReflection]

"Y'all remember that one story she told about the skin eaters?" Applejack smirked.

[Lightning Bearer]

Gawd, I'm enjoying all this warm n' fuzzy slice-of-life-iness.

[Sharp Quill]

or baked into cupcakes

i.imgur.com/GYpGkAK.png

[Phoenix Kitten]

...Fluttershy you accidental genius.

"Trixie told Sparkle."  Trixie tilted her nose up.  "Real life doesn't translate to horror."

I hope you're ready to eat those words there Trixter.

[Keradon]

Hmmm...and a single bean is spilled... creatively, so no one knows its veracity, but still...it is a single bean. I wonder what will grow from this bean.

[zaponator]

Fun fact: The arc that Rainbow is about to regale them started almost 2 years ago. (1.89 years, actually)
Time sure flies!

[Leftover of Saikano]

Buffalo.

[Aatxe360]

6740343

The conflict has been introduced.

[viofriedsevey]

674130 Do you think the conflict for the whole arc is just Rainbow winning over Applejack then? I feel like something a little more extreme is going to appear. I think all this Mane 6 having a good time is just Skirts giving us a little bit of what we want before smashing their world to pieces. For he doesn't always give us what we want, but Skirts is a fair god, a just god, and every now and then we get a bit of Appledashing. We must of made the right sacrafices because this seems to be one of those times.

[Tim the Planes-pony]

I wonder how many of these stories she is going to tell before the others figure out that they are more belonging in the non fiction section.

[BabySkittleMonster]

*waiting for the penny to drop and for the others to get the hint that, no, these are not fictional stories* *dies from old age*

[BabySkittleMonster]

6741379
I believe you may have possibly replied to the wrong post.

[viofriedsevey]

6741551 Hahaha you may be right, I can't tell now though due to only seeing numbers rather than user names.

[Mares-a-Mares]

6742089
Yeah, it's a little frustrating, but this was funny.
I kinda wanna see the story being told and their reactions to it. I don't really want a time skip.

[LucyHorseThing]

"Even still." Applejack shrugged. "Nopony's bein'... y'know... chased into a frozen lake or hacked to bloody bits or baked into cupcakes. I mean... none of the classics!"

memecrunch.com/meme/NKH1/she-knows-gasp-cat/image.jpg
Then again, if she did know, Applejack would never recover and go insane.
Hehe...

[Sarda]

"Y'all remember that one story she told about the skin eaters?" Applejack smirked.
"Uhm..." Fluttershy gulped, shivering slightly. "N-no."
"Oh! I do!" Rarity clenched her teeth together. "It gave me nightmares for weeks."

Oh, god, did it ever.

[arancaytar]

"And that's when the filly realized..." Twilight Sparkle's eyes flared across the blaze as she waved her forelimbs dramatically. "...she had arrived at her homeroom class without a protractor! "

Twilight Sparkle, get out of my nightmares.

"Even still." Applejack shrugged. "Nopony's bein'... y'know... chased into a frozen lake or hacked to bloody bits or baked into cupcakes. I mean... none of the classics!"

Or pulped into rainbows...

"Heh..." Applejack smirked. "I bet Rainbow Dash has a real spine-tingler."

Yeah. Like, there was this pony, and she really liked this other pony, but she didn't tell her for like 777 chapters, and then... the other pony started dating one of her other friends instead.

[arancaytar]

6994578
What was that one referencing?