Rainbow Dash lives an exciting life and is swiftly becoming the most daring, awesome pegasus in all of Equestria. She would gladly give it all up, though, just to confess her love to Applejack.
"And so the first apple tree he ever bucks... and I'm talkin' the very first one..." Applejack smirked as she and Stu sat at the table with the girls. "A honey badger plum falls out of the darn thang and lands on his flank."
"Snkkkkkt!" Pinkie nearly fell over with giggles.
Twilight chokes on a doughnut bite. She levitates a mug of water to her muzzle, takes a sip, then exhales. "You c-can't be serious!"
"And boy was that little varmint mad as the dickens!" Applejack tilted her head back and smirked. "I'm surprised it didn't wrangle its way up to Stu's head and claw his eyes out."
"Good h-heavens!" Rarity stammered, trying not to laugh. "How did you ever escape that situation unscathed, Mr. Leaves?"
"Hmmm-mmm..." Fluttershy smiled aside. "I've heard this story before."
"And AJ tells it a lot better than I ever could," Stu managed with a crooked smile. He looked to his right. "AJ?"
"Well, naturally the first idea that entered my head was to kick the ever-livin' stuffings out of the thang. I mean, there I was tryin' to teach Stu how to properly buck trees, and this ball of fur and claws gets entangled with him."
"Trixie assumes that you found an alternative method of dealing with the honey badger."
"Well, I've learned a thang or two over the past few years. So, I held back, decidin' to go fetch Fluttershy instead so that she could coax the critter off of Stu."
"'Dun ya move an inch!' was what AJ said, if I recall correctly," Stu remarked, eliciting a few more chuckles from the table. "And, you know, I'm quite willing to do what Applejack says... when I don't have a blood thirsty marmot on my back."
"Honey badger," Fluttershy corrected.
"That too."
"Heeheehee!" Pinkie Pie smiled. "So did ya get to Fluttershy in time, AJ?"
"I never had to, Pinkie," Applejack said. "That's the whole point." She opened her muzzle, lingered, then glanced aside with a smirk of pride. "Tell 'em, Stu."
"It's... nothing to boast about."
"I didn't say ya had to boast, ya silly stallion! Just tell it to 'em straight!"
"Well, alright." Stu Leaves cleared his throat, twirling a mug around in his hooves. "I... uh... I got the honey badger to cool down."
"Oh?" Twilight Sparkle blinked. "What did you do?"
"I flapped my wings at it."
The crowd full of mares merely blinked at him.
"Erm..." He gulped. "I just... waved my wingfeathers at the angry little thing and he... calmed down." A nervous smile. "Eventually."
"Just like that?" Trixie asked.
Stu took a sip, then swallowed. "I did say that I 'cooled it down,' didn't I?"
"Heh heh heh..." Applejack slapped the table top and wiped a tear from her eye. "It just kills me!"
"Heeheehee!" Pinkie grinned. "I get it!"
"Sounds like dumb luck if you ask me," Rainbow said.
"Rainbow!" Rarity pouted.
Rainbow merely smirked. "But hey, props all around. I would probably have suplexed the stupid thing. Leave it to Stu to have a cool head."
"I ain't a fan of razor-clawed thangs fallin' on my... well..." Applejack blushed slightly as she smiled at the tabletop. "...on my coltfriend here..."
Fluttershy giggled.
"But reckon it still ain't no reason to smash the thang to smithereens." Applejack leaned in to nuzzle Stu's shoulder. "As ya can tell, I'm awful proud of him for not bein' a total meathead about it."
"To be perfectly honest, I was j-just trying to fly away," Stu said.
The table filled with laughter.
"Oh hush." Applejack winked. "Ya did great, ya clumsy oaf."
"I-I think it's still up in that tree, AJ."
"And what did we discuss before? You never have to buck the same apple tree ever again."
"Promise?"
"Would I lie to you?"
"No." Stu coughed. "But... I-I'd really like you to be around when I go apple bucking again, because I can't tell the trees apart to save my life."
"Hahahaha!" Applejack rolled her eyes. "Yer hopeless."
"Eheheh... that's m-me, alright!" Stu said, taking another sip. "Stu Hopeless Leaves."
"Heheheh..."
"Wow..." Twilight Sparkle bore a rosy smile. "You two are... uhm..."
"Absolutely adorable together," Rarity purred.
"Ugh." Applejack groaned. "We didn't come here to be doted on."
"Then why did you come here?" Fluttershy asked, smiling. "Hmmmm?"
"Plain and simple." Applejack smiled. "I wanted y'all to know just why I'm so plum happy right now in my life." She locked her left fetlock with Stu's right, winking at the table.
"Trixie congratulates you two."
"This calls for a special treat!" Pinkie Pie gasped deeply. "A triple fudge sundae!"
"Oh, please..." Stu chuckled. "You don't have to go through the trouble—"
"Don't you worry!" Pinkie bounced away. "It's on the house!"
"Don't bother stoppin' her," Applejack hummed to the stallion. "Might as well try and tell water to stop bein' wet."
"R-right."
"I've been meaning to ask, Applejack," Twilight spoke. "Now that Apple Bloom has fully recovered—and she has recovered right?"
"Darn tootin'."
"Well, has she been dealing with any stress from school?"
"Beg yer pardon?"
"Well... she did miss out on quite a few of Cheerilee's lessons while she was bed-ridden."
"Oh. Yup, I suppose that's true."
"Well, I'm more than willing to pay the farm a visit and tutor her." Twilight smiled. "There's still a few weeks before Spike, Trixie and I make our trip to Canterlot. I'd be more than willing to help Apple Bloom catch up."
"Well, that's mighty neighborly of ya, Twilight..."
As the mares continued speaking...
...Rainbow found her eyes locked on Stu.
Stu Leaves was still smiling. However, it was a very thin... very delicate expression. His eyes fell to the table top, and although he sat perfectly still, he could be seen spinning the mug in his fetlocks... around and around and around. His shoulders shook slightly, and he let loose a prolonged exhale.
Rainbow Dash blinked, raising one eyebrow. Then Rarity said something that stole her attention, and she joined the conversaton once again.
Page generated in 0.084 seconds
Total duration
636 users online
707,923 hits today, 2,020,241 yesterday
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I'm not sure what that means. But I just watched some X-Files, so I might be biased.
Huh. Stu's acting weird. Again. This can either be really bad or really good.
Huh. Wonder what's eating him? He's got just what (or rather who) he wants (), so he's got absolutely no reason to be acting all down (or whatever).
If Stu is anything, but happy to be with Applejack and that sigh/exhale was anything but content, he needs to fucking die....... Also anyone else notice that all good Appledash fics in some shape of form are really depressing most of the time until the end
He...doesn't seem happy.
Stu's actually into stallions, and is only pretending because he thinks that's what Applejack wants.
Like pretty much everyone else, I can't figure out what Stu's malfunction is. He has every reason to be stoked. Some people have suggested he found the letter (he's certainly spent enough time around Sweet Apple Acres to have found it). Or maybe he found out that Rainbow was the one who saved Apple Bloom (it was when they started talking about AB that Rainbow noticed him acting weird [though I'm not sure why that would bum him out so much]). Or, if the changeling!Stu theory is correct (and it's seems entirely possible), maybe he's having an attack of conscience.
Well, this happy union won't last long.
On the mystery of what's in AJ's hat, I think it might be a picture of her and Big Mac with their parents.
Maybe Cider Space soured things for him.
Or maybe he's just found out he has to head back to Cloudsdale soon for some reason.
...or maybe it's like someone suggested and he really has feelings for Dash.
Perhaps he did find the letter and feels bad that he's the one AJ chose without knowing there was another pony out there trying to get her affection.
Or perhaps he's just had a doctor tell him he's infertile and he won't be able to give AJ the family she wants.
...or perhaps he's just worried that this will drive a wedge between him and his other friends.
one of those, or it might just be that Big Mac gave him the "if you ever do anythin' to hurt mah little sister, or break her heart, ah swear, with Celestia as mah witness, Ah will buck your sorry dock from here all the way back to Cloudsdale!" speech.
6899608 What if he made a deal with some demonish creature to summon that extinct tartarusian viper to poison apple bloom or another apple family member so that he could be close to Applejack and comfort her and such and be the shoulder to cry on when they died... i am only thinking of theories to make Stu look as horrible as possible at this point
6899631 So how does Rainbow getting the iced lavender factor into that idea?
did she ruin his plan, or help it and make him feel guilty that he tried it?
6899645 Well if this theory was real and turned out to be a thing, i imagine he picked the tartarusian viper because iced lavender was you know extinct so there would be no way to save whoever was bit, so Rainbow getting the extinct cure would definitely have thrown a spanner into the works, but let us not overlook a simple fact. Applejack showed no express interest towards Stu romantically until the Apple bloom incidence and he was there by her side... i really just want someone to find the letter... or for Lancie to come back and point out that Stu is secretly evil or something, anything at this point no more stupid depressing chapter where Rainbow acts all fine with shit and dies on the inside
6899668
So then, by all accounts his plan was a success.
If what you're suggesting is true, then why would he now be acting like he is?
Is he upset that Bloom isn't dead? Or is he just feeling guilty because his conscience suddenly decided to raise its voice and go "hey, you slimy piece of shit, you got the mare, but only because you nearly killed the one pony she holds dearest." ?
...So... Either Stu is aware that RD likes likes AJ...
...Or Stu is starting to realize that he doesn't like AJ as much as he thought...
...Ooooor... AJ was the one who asked him out, and Stu was just trying to be his usual friendly self because he already got over AJ? And damn him for being too friendly, he didn't have the heart to reject AJ.
I dunno.
6899684 Could be guilt after spending so much time at the Apple household getting to know them all, maybe he has to make whatever payment to the demon that he agreed upon, or maybe he's a piece of shit who isn't happy being with Applejack and i will fucking burst into goddamn flames if that turns out to be the truth...
So... are we going back to that one theory again?
STU IS A BUCKING CHANGELING.
And now he feels bad about sucking out all of AJ's love, but he doesn't know what else to do with his life.
6899709 True, on all counts.
Whatever stus problem is, it's probably something that will attempt to make us feel bad for him, skirts loves trying to make us feel bad for stu.
I love that JE rarely describes Dash's expression during dialogue. Imagining her face while AJ and Stu are talking can be absolutely priceless.
6899631
fixed that for you.
6900042 nah Lancie wouldn't at that point in the story when he was beginning to truly question who he was
6899836 And we shall not falter in our hate for him. RAISE YOUR PITCHFORKS FELLOW READERS
So much Stu hate makes me grin.
And unlike what the name would imply, honey badgers are not kawaii versions of badgers. They are BA SOBs who face lions and cobras with no fear.
6900286 Honey badgers are living embodiments of "gives no fucks"
Seriously, the legendary honey badger in Farcry 4 ate 3 boxes of LMG ammo and 4 grenades.
6899763 The one changeling in the world with a conscience! From being around Ponyville's gang so much... but especially Rainbow. Cider Space changed him. I swear, my changeling theory is gonna be on the money.
Ooh, trouble in paradise! And I feel like the scum of human kind for being so darn happy about that.
6899606 I think you may be onto something there. Back in cider space when Stu had the dream crafted for him to keep him imprisoned his greatest desire was shown to be having a family and in all of his family pictures the "wife" had no face, I wonder if that may have had a symbolic meaning.
aha! there's the lovable side of Stu again. Loving to hate him is nice, but so is being reminded that he is just an ordinary pony. And to think I thought he was pressuring AJ into commiting cause he found the letter. If he did, he's just as nervous about it as she is. Doubts like he showed there though? It's behavior like that that highlights the one place he's the same as Dash. He's loyal and dependable, yet weak and insecure. He was willing to jump into cider space simply because Applejack needed him, and he did so fully aware of how he couldn't save her. Is the possibility of rushing commitment after finding Rainbow loves his marefriend a jerk move still (if that actually happened)? Yes. But it's an understandable mistake for an understandable pony.
They're just so interestingly similar in how opposite they are. Rainbow is the best and knows it, but doesn't think she deserves happiness. Stu is mundane and feels inadequate, but believes he deserves happiness regardless. Rainbow makes Applejack happy by doing the most amazing things for her. Stu makes Applejack happy just by being there so they can share their happiness together.
Wait... Speaking of Cider Space... If mortals can't normally handle it, why is Stu still Stu? We saw what happened to Silver Shelling... What if... What if Stu is just as corrupted as Silver was and we just don't know it? He's living his dream right now. He has no reason to irrationally crave cider space... But what if that dream is threatened? What if suddenly he finds a letter from a mare he thinks he's worthless next to who can provide everything he can't and the little wriggling doubts begin to sink in? Oh my god him becoming a villain from that would be so much worse than him being a jerk in disguise or a changeling or any other number of mild to in incredible evils... How could we blame him for that or love to hate him for that? It'd just be so sad... So pitiable... So tragic...
STU! WHAT DO YOU KNOW? WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR? ... WHERE IS THE REST OF YOUR HIVE?
6900508 I didn't remember that scene until after I posted (I've tried real hard to forget that arc). I then thought someone would bring it up as evidence Stu was not gay. But then I remembered what you pointed out, that AJ was conspicuously edited out of his fantasy life. Saves me the trouble of pointing it out myself
And if Stu does turn out to be gay, then don't go there JE. SharpDoo.
Well, I don't really think Stu is gay, do to the fact in dream land he had kids and was thinking of it being a mare but didn't know who. Maybe it was Applejack, or maybe it was Rainbow. But one thing is clear, and that is that Stu is uncomfortable with being Applejack's coltfriend. Maybe he is one of those guys that just wants to be suprer friends with Applejack and AJ took it the wrong way and now he doesn't know what to do. I guess we will have to find out soon or the comment section is just going to keep exploding with questions and more theorys.
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/212/587/2667328774161692252111104.gif
Holy fuck did someone say they think stu's actually in love with Dash? I mean holy fuck that would be a goddamn legendary twist, I'm not sure it would make sense but I'd be blown away.
Man people have all these crazy any wild theories about Stu. He found the letter, he's gay, he's a changeling, etc.
Maybe dude's just havin' commitment issues!
OK! I HAVE IT FIGURED OUT:
When Stu gave that pretty glass tree thing to Aj, it was secretly for Big Mac cuz he's been secretly in love with him. But since he's with Flutters (Big Mac is, not Stu), he (Stu) went for the next best -and age appropriate- thing: Aj.
And Aj...um Aj...knows......?
6901282 Or maybe your theory is better....
The stretch is worth the comfort...
~ADG
Maybe Stu has just realized he doesn't really want to live on an apple farm for the rest of his life? Maybe it's something simple.
Sometimes, when someone falls in love with a person, they haven't thought about what consequences STAYING in love with that person will have on their lives.
Odd. Maybe the guy's a bit overwhelmed, being a simple fellow and all.
Oh wait, I always pronounce the middle name as "Hope He". Stu, hope he leaves.
I think I know what's going to happen, here. . . . I think Stu's either going to, or already has found the letter. He'll eventually confront Dash about it, who willl tell him that as long as AJ's happy, she's happy.
Then, he's going to find out what's in AJ's hat.
Then, we're all going to wind up loving a character we've spent the last, what, Ten or twelve ARCS wishing was dead.
I dunno, call me cray cray, but it seems like the Skirts thing to do.