Appledashery

by Just Essay

Thud

Rainbow Dash panted and panted.

The only real thing was her flapping wings. Everything else was a numb blur: madness painted with streaking shadows. Her ears throbbed with the echoing sound of the siren behind her. Even when she had flown for several blocks and it was reasonably impossible to still hear the noise, her skull rattled with the sensation.

In the corner of her mind, the alarm morphed into a million disapproving voices: Fluttershy's sighs, Daddy's whimpers, Gilda's growls, Lancie's chuckles...

...Epcot's sobs...

The mare clenched her eyes shut with a squeak. Gnashing her teeth, she shook her head left and right. "Just... j-just... hic... scram... buck off..." She clasped her hooves together, but she couldn't feel them. The blood was rushing into her wings. She lifted—only to drop in flailing bursts. "Who cares? Who in Tartarus even cares?!"

The air whistled past her ears. Whistling voices... creaking doors... swishing tails...

...rustling hat... crunching hooves... sweaty orange coat...

...freckles and freckles and...

... ...a smile? A frown? Rainbow looked and looked, but every time she saw her, Applejack's back was turned.

"Grnnngh..." Rainbow's jaw clenched hard. Things blurred past her. She wobbled back and forth, picking up speed. "You know what? Hic! I-I don't even care!" She shuddered and hissed. "I can let you g-go!" Her voice cracked, and she hyperventilated. "I can let you go... I can let you go... I can..."

A creaking... swiveling noise...

...Rainbow Dash opened her eyes.

She was flying straight towards a weathervane.

"...!" She steered hard to the right, banking.

With last second precision, she expertly missed the weathervane...

...and flew straight into an apartment's second story.

WHAM!!! Rainbow's bones rattled—hard—as did a windowpane and a gnarled wooden frame. The mare wheezed, groaned...

.... and fell.

Th-Th-Thrump! Her body ricocheted off the framework of an apartment building's front facing. Before she could even pretend to register pain from the impact, she had rolled off a shower drain and—

Sploooosh!

—landed halfway draped out of a soaking wet horse trough.

"Grnnngh... grfff..." The mare lifted her dripping head. She blinked blearily into a crooked slice of starlight looming above. "Huh... that wasn't so bad." Then her nerves caught up with her. The pegasus' eyes bulged. "Oh... there it is. Ow ow ow ow ow owwwwwwww..."

Gnashing her teeth, Rainbow tried getting up. She only succeeded in rolling out of the horse trough like a big wet noodle.

"Mmmmf!" She quivered on the grass, aching from head to tail. "Grnnngh... some... somepony... heheheh... somepony get the license plate number of that apartment building." She smiled crookedly. "Heheheheh... horse and run... heheheh... heh... heh..."

Covered in sweat, filth, and the grit of exhaustion...

...she somehow found the conscious strength to sob.

The mare stifled most of it under a thick lump in her throat. Nevertheless, an inch or two squeaked through, overwhelming Rainbow's ragged figure with shivers.

"I... I wish..." She shook and quivered. "...I wish I could let you go. Please..." Her eyes clenched as tears rolled down her fuzzy face. "Help me... help me let you go. You... you stupid... g-gorgeous mare..." She curled up, shook, and descended into a cold, cold dark.

Somewhere...

Far in the distance... ...

... ... ...the lights to the apartment flickered on. A front door opened, and soft hooves crunched across the late night lawn. A breath gasped, followed by a vaguely familiar voice: "Oh my goodness... Rainbow Dash?!"

Rainbow lost all energy to cry.

"Rainbow Dash! Ohhhhh Celestia... I knew we should have walked you home! Just stay put! I'll... uh... I'll get you warm and dry! Don't you go anywhere!"

And as the hooves galloped off, Rainbow Dash quietly obeyed the voice.

And was out like a light.

Comments

[MidnightReflection]

I Wish I Could Let You Go
IS THIS-
Oh wait, that's seven words. Damn, you tease!

[Phoenix Kitten]

Huh.. this must have happened while I was watching MKR.
I wondered why I could smell smoke.

"Huh... that wasn't so bad." Then her nerves caught up with her. The pegasus' eyes bulged. "Oh... there it is. Ow ow ow ow ow owwwwwwww..."

[LucyHorseThing]

I wish I could let you go.

1...2...3...
Dammit!

[Appledash_Gurl]

7006887 So close, yet so far.

[zaponator]

What a night. What a lovely night.

[FloydienSlip]

7006969 Witness me!

[Fishberry]

—landed halfway draped out of a soaking wet horse trough.

At least it wasn't a urinal.

[Dash32]

7009477

[DrEggnog]

You poor fuckin son of a bitch.

It's kinda funny somehow.