Appledashery

by Just Essay

Scootalaunch

"You hangin' in there, kid?"

"Heehee... don't up mean 'up there?'" I grinned. My legs were spread wide and my wings spread wider. With nimble grace, I levitated in place—not courtesy of my featherpower. But rather...

"You're a natural at this." Rainbow Dash laid on her back three feet beneath me, flapping her wings skyward and keeping me aloft. "Seriously. You've been practicing with some of the bigger foals around town?"

"Heh... like any pony young or old would possibly have your awesome wings, Rainbow!"

"Pfffft... please..." She pretended to yawn, gazing down the park's verdant hilltop outside Ponyville. "You flatter me."

"Gotta be a reason you're always giving me flying lessons."

"Uhhhh... maybe 'cuz I wanna see you kick the wind's flank? Ya ever think of that?"

"You've been doing enough of that lately!" I exclaim, squinting into the artificial wind as I pivoted my body left and right in her winged propulsion. "I hear that you're leading all of the pegasi who are ripping up the dead trees of the Everfree Forest!"

"Er... I've just got one team under my belt," she said. "But still... heh... I bet I could lead all of the cyclone teams if I wanted!"

"Or make all of the tornadoes on your own!"

"Eh... could I make them? Sure. But could I maintain them?" Rainbow Dash snickered awkwardly, brushing back her bangs as she smirked up at me. "Sometimes, no matter how awesome you are, you still gotta do things by teamwork."

"Heheh... whatever you say, Rainbow."

"Take this for example!" Rainbow Dash gestured at her flapping wings. "I'm giving you lift!"

"And me?" I blinked down at her. "What am I doing?"

"You're providing style."

"Heeheehee..."

"But anyway..." Rainbow Dash sighed slightly. Her eyes trailed the white clouds above us. "Sorry for not being around to lend a hoof these last few weeks, kid."

"It's okay, Rainbow Dash."

"You're too kind. Fact is, I've been a real no-show lately... and that ain't what I promised."

"I'm sure you've got your head on other stuff."

"Mmmm... that's one way of putting it."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Eh... I shouldn't have to bother you with that crud." She exhaled firmly. "I mean, any self-respecting pony should be able to sort it out on her lonesome."

I shrugged, drifting left and right in mid-air. "Sure. If you insist."

"Then again, any self-respecting pony wouldn't put herself through the wringer for absolutely no reason whatsoever." Rainbow glared up into the sky. The lines in her muzzle grew tighter, darker. "Any self-respecting pony would just be... happy for her best friend and leave it at that."

"Uhhhhh..."

Rainbow's wings flapped faster as her voice grew hoarser. "Any self-respecting pony would trust her best friend to make a wise decision... even if that decision sticks her friend with a total average moron who normally wouldn't be worth her time!"

"Ummm..." I gulped, lifting higher and higher. "Rainbow Dash?"

"A friggin' try-hard of a moron who doesn't know what it means to go the full length for love, commitment, and sacrifice!" She gnashed her teeth as the grass blades danced and billowed around her. "So he bought her a crystal orange tree. Pffft... big deal!" She had to snarl above the sound of her own flapping wings. "Did he fly cross-country to dig up an extinct miracle plant and save her own flesh and blood? Mehhhhh—"

"Say... Rainbow... uhm... isn't this kind of height t-too advanced for me?"

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash looked up. Her ruby eyes reflected a tiny orange speck. "Luna Poop!" She anchored her wings at her side.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!"

Gnashing her teeth, Rainbow lunged up on her rear hooves and stuck her front limbs out.

"—aaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiieeeeeee!" Thwap! "Oooomf!" I landed safely in her grasp. My eyes rolled. "Phweeeeeeeee..." I exhale, numb.

"Uhhhhhhm..." Rainbow Dash held me, sweating nervously. She bore a crooked smile. "And that's how... uh... we catch a living pegasus!" Her eyebrows twitched. "Lesson over! A-plus!"

"Uh huh..." I wheezed, teetering.

Rainbow blinked. She fidgeted. "So..." She set me down on the ground and ruffled my mane. "...who wants cupcakes at Sugarcube Corner?"

"Yaaaaaaaaaay..." Eyes crossed, I fell back. FWOMP!

Comments

[Phoenix Kitten]

...okay Dash.. maybe don't touch on a sore subject while you're tutoring your protégé.

[Lightning Bearer]

So much for taking her mind off of things.

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

6859755 6859768 Yup, to both points.

Okay, hang the heck on a sec here.........

"Did he fly cross-country to dig up an extinct miracle plant and save her own flesh and blood? Mehhhhh—"

Was Scoots even supposed to know this?

Or did Dash just drop something that she shouldn't've?

[RoboRed]

Oooooooooooooooooooookay, then....

[BronyInHiding]

Good, the more ponies let's in on her exploits inadvertently, the better chance AJ has of finally finding out the truth. Also, love these Scootaloo-Dash moments

[Phoenix Kitten]

6859779
6859817
6860482
Right before she left she told Scoots where she was going and to keep it a secret.
Chapter 596: Go, Dashie, Go! (Go!)

Exhaustion left me in a blink, and I suddenly noticed the heavy saddlebags clinging to Rainbow's figure. "Rainbow Dash...?" I felt a lump in my throat. "Where... where are you going?"
She opened her mouth, but hesitated. Then—with a smirk that I will never forget—she trotted closer in the golden sunrise, caressed my chin, and said, "Can you keep a secret, kiddo?"
"Anything, Rainbow Dash!"
She leaned forward, eyes hard. "I'm going to save Apple Bloom."
"You... you are?!?" I gasped hard.
"Mmmhmmm..." Rainbow nodded. "But I can't stick around for long. The next time I come back... it will be with a cure."
"But..." I fidgeted. "But how?!"
"It's... complicated. You just have to trust me, kiddo." She squeezed my shoulder. "And you gotta promise not to tell anypony else."
"Sure, but... but..."
"Now, there's no time to waste." Rainbow started flapping her wings. "Don't worry too much. Apple Bloom's gonna live. That's a guarantee."
"...but why keep it a secret, Rainbow?!" I bit my lip. "Why not tell anypony?"
"Sometimes, kiddo..." She turned towards the dull western horizon, wings blurring. "Awesomeness is its own reward."

[MidnightReflection]

I grinned. My legs were spread wide and my wings spread wider.

Uhhh, not the kind of Scootadashery that Midnight thought'd be...

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

6859834 Oh, okay.

Forgot that bit.

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

6853210 I hope Rainbow reams them BOTH out if that happens.

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

6853219 Good question. Goooooood question.

[Sam the Anti-Ninja]

"A friggin' try-hard of a moron who doesn't know what it means to go the full length for love, commitment, and sacrifice!" She gnashed her teeth as the grass blades danced and billowed around her. "So he bought her a crystal orange tree. Pffft... big deal!" She had to snarl above the sound of her own flapping wings. "Did he fly cross-country to dig up an extinct miracle plant and save her own flesh and blood? Mehhhhh—"

NO! Rainbow, just, stop right there. You said earlier that AJ wasn't a prize to be won. That means you don't get to be sour about who she falls for.

[I Thought I Was Toast]

Aha! Finally! She yelled it to the world! Who wants to bet somepony else overheard?

[Cotton Fluff]

Always nice to see Scoots and Dash interacting, though it doesn't seem like her attempt at self-distraction is working very well. Of course, that is to be expected considering how much Applejack means to her.

6859779
The first hints at how Scoots became the narrator, perhaps? It all starts with a slip of the tongue

6860101
B-but AppleDash cuddles Sam! Don't you want the cuddles?! If Rainbow accepts this and move on, where will we get our shipping?

6860225
If somepony does, they would probably have to be a pegasus, they're flying high up (going higher the more Rainbow vents) and I didn't see an indication that she's shouting that dialogue. That being said, if somepony were to be in earshot somehow, I'm not sure who would be best to hear it. Applejack maybe? But then there would be an instant divide between the two with AJ wanting to know what's going on and Rainbow clamming up. Another friend might be best, someone that can move this story forward.

Were it that Stu Leaves heard this and realized Dash's infatuation with AJ and bowed out of the race, being the good guy that he is. Ah, one can dream.

[Salad king]

6860101 yes, but the more she gets frustrated and angry about it the more likely she will be to confront more ponies about it, or do something, because let's face it. Her simply waiting about to get closer isn't going to work if applejack is with someone else.

[Leftover of Saikano]

That was just G-Forces training.

[Sam the Anti-Ninja]

6860482 From the inevitable twist that blows the lid on all of Rainbow's secrets all at once.

[Hestia]

Rainbow Dash, you're supposed to be distracting yourself

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

6860101 That may be true, but bear in mind, please, that the name of this story is "AppleDASHERY, not "AppleSTUERY.

So I figure that before this whole, long, convoluted mess is finally over (however many years or decades that is from now), Dash will finally get her mare.

Ir's just gonna take like; oh, forever; the way this story is going.

6860482 Good point that.

6860880 Not doing a very good job of it, though, is she?

[BabySkittleMonster]

... Well. That happened.

[Sam the Anti-Ninja]

6861249 Yeah, I know. I just hate seeing Dash be so hypocritical about this.

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

6861371 That makes two of us.

But you know, sometimes we all get frustrated when we want something, and it seems like it's not going to go our way, and the person that we love with all our heart seems fixed on being with someone else (or somepony else, in this case), and everyone's rubbing your nose in that fact.

And that holds for our colorful pastel ponies, as well as us silly humans.

As to her being hypocritical, she's venting because the mare she loves with all her heart is (seemingly) getting with the dumbest stallion on the planet. We'd all vent about that, of the horseshoe was on the other hoof, so how is that being hypocritical.

Honestly, I'm beginning to wonder if AJ doesn't somehow know about Dash's feelings for her, and is just pushing her buttons so she'll finally break down and spill how she feels about her in return.

But knowing JE (or Skirts; whichever), and his habit of throwing red herrings at us like Pinkie throws confetti, I'm sure it won't be that easy.

[Cotton Fluff]

6859834
Good catch! Glad someone is keeping track of all this, we've had need for an AppleDashery fact checker.

Since it wasn't the first hint, we can now say that it is a progression of Dash's and Scoots' relationship here. Thus, Rainbow talking to Scootaloo in this chapter isn't a matter of blowing up accidentally, but instead is a matter of Dash choosing to confide in Scoots once again. Neat.

[zaponator]

Disastrously adorable...

[DrEggnog]

I do not trust Rainbow Dash with children. I honestly hardly even see her as the same pony who went on all those adventures at this point. It's kinda sad.