Appledashery

by Just Essay

For Freckles' Sake

A yawn escaped my fuzzy face.

I pivoted away from the front door, smiled into the sky, and waved a hoof.

Rainbow Dash smiled and waved back. As soon as I had entered my home and closed the door behind me, she took a deep breath.

On bright blue wings, she lifted herself up into the twilight. Stars twinkled around her. A cool wind glided over Ponyville like a big purple bedsheet.

Without thinking...

Without questioning it...

Rainbow Dash glided west...

---

...sooner than later, she found herself approaching the skies over Sweet Apple Acres.

The shroud of evening masked her approached.

On silent wings, she descended onto the barn. There—daringly close to the Apple Family farm house—she perched. Her wings coiled tightly to her side.

The mare hunched over, eyes narrowing... peering.

She saw through a dimly-lit second story window. From afar, her expert pegasus eyes made out a fuzzy yellow figure being tucked into bed.

Still recovering from her venomous debacle, Apple Bloom looked completely exhausted. However, she still bore a sweet smile as a familiar orange figure drew the duvet over her body and leaned in to kiss her on the forehead. Applejack stood at her bedsite, dimming the lanternlight slightly. A soft voice emanated from the second story of the house as the freckled mare read her sister a bedtime story.

Then... as the sleepy night rolled on...

Applejack caressed the sleeping filly's scarlet bangs. She extinguished the light, then stood as a faint shadow in the pony's dooframe. She lingered there, eyes reflecting the stars in a teary sheen. There was the hint of a loving smile, then flash of freckles, and then Applejack was gone. Still, a tender warmth lingered through the window... never draining.

Rainbow Dash sighed. She rested her chin on her crossed forelimbs. Minutes limped by as she sat there on top of the barn. Her vision turned blurry as the first of many tears formed. And yet—as they trickled down her fuzzy cheeks—she was smiling. Even as she sniffed and battled sobs, the smile refused to go away. Her heart pounded in ways that she hadn't allowed it to in ages, and she almost felt like a criminal for holding it back for so long.

Eventually, rubbing her cheeks dry, the pegasus took wing...

...then took the long flight home. It wasn't as lonesome as she was used to, for every time Rainbow closed her eyes... it was full of freckles.

And she smiled even more.

She slept soundly that night... even if it was on her couch.

Comments

[Phoenix Kitten]

Trying to get into that mindset Dash?
Apple Bloom is alive, that makes her happy, that makes you happy.
But are you happy that she's happy, or are you happy that something you did for her made her happy?
There's a big difference there Dash.

[MidnightReflection]

Hey, Rainbow is making progress in happiness again! And she's actually getting sleep. But the whole tornado thing is coming up soon...

[Aatxe360]

Freckles are really nice.

[Mares-a-Mares]

Curious - did Stu give that whole orange tree piece yet? Or is that still something to come?

And will that letter someday be found?

[CommanderCuddle]

This is nice and everything, but I'm just waiting for the Atrophy the mess with her heart at some point, and everything gets revealed... and then everyone she pissed off who isn't dead finally comes back for revenge.

[Leftover of Saikano]

Rainbow didn't stay to see Applejack enter her room, and turning the light on, finding Stu there with a rose in his mouth.

[Salad king]

6870746 Bloody hell man, that's a morbid thought for sure.

[BabySkittleMonster]

6870746
Why did you place that image in my mind? Do you live to hurt me? Did we, the loyal (albeit bordering on ridiculously so) readers of Appledashery, do something to deserve this horror? I swear, JE is rubbing off on you.
6870395
You're just as bad. Except, deep down (well... I say deep...), I really want this to happen. By this point I think we need this to happen. Otherwise, as brave as Dashie is, no one will truly know her pain.

Is it bad that I prefer the idea of a terminal illness harming and/or humiliating Dash publicly over the idea of Stu being in AJ's bedroom?

[CommanderCuddle]

6871299 *chants to the devil for terminal illness*

[zaponator]

I hope the Scootaloo times are not completely over. I've really been enjoying this.

[Phoenix Kitten]

6870395 Like I pointed out earlier, that's not just going to affect Dash, Shy's going to cop it too, since she's known about it for years.
I can see somepony... not quite yelling, but loudly saying "You knew about this the whole time? And you didn't tell us?"
Which would just make Dash feel more guilty.
And then there's Zecora, she knows as well, she'd probably cop it too, but would her getting potions from Zecora mean there'd be some doctor-patient confidentiality there?
It would radically change the way not just her friends, but the rest of the town treats her once word gets out, which it most certainly would, because Twilight would tell Spike since she'd be wanting to research a cure, Spike would send a letter to Celestia, and the news that one of the element bearers is hospitalized and potentially dying would spread like wildfire.
Rarity would gossip it to Aloe and Lotus at the spa, who would then tell other patrons, who would then spread it to their friends...

[Cotton Fluff]

6870395
Rainbow's starting to get back on the road to happiness, so it seems like a perfect time for this to come along and wreck it.

Though I would like to think that, while Rainbow's condition does make for a good bit of story and has a lot of potential for new situations for Rainbow to go through - it will be saved for the end when she finally has achieved the cuddles and someone to care for her.

6871908
Agreed, those were some good chapters with some excellent dialogue/development between the two. I hope we'll see more of it

[DeathFox4]

Welp, I'm back...

Can somepony please recount what the BUCK is happening with these chapters?

Like...how many open-ends do we have right now?

The letter, the hat, the tornado?

Gah...my brain, it hurts.

[Appledash_Gurl]

6870066 The fact that I had to read that like six times to figure it out, lets me know that thats deep.

~ADG