//------------------------------// // False Alarms // Story: Appledashery Vol. Two // by Just Essay //------------------------------// Applejack had been up for three hours, but it was only just now that she awoke. It was in the middle of bucking an apple tree along the northern orchards. She stopped in place, sweating from mane to tail. She breathed... panted... stared off into the distance. In a blink, Applejack imagined she was back to the night before... back to chatting with Rainbow Dash... back to giving her a quick, friendly, platonic hug. In the dark, under the stars, with nothing but the chill wind of the night to enshroud the moment... ...Rainbow Dash had responded with quick, friendly, and platonic nonchalance. Applejack blinked. She glanced down at her own fetlocks. It had been a test. She tested Rainbow Dash. Such a stealthy action was sneaky... and far from honest. In truth, Applejack didn't even know she had it in her. The mare bit her lip. Erasing the fuzzy thought from her mind, she drifted to the next tree, swung her rear legs, and kicked it aggressively... then proceeded to do so with the next few trunks. The next day... "Woohooo!" A filly with a schoolbag paused in the middle of the Ponyville road to jump and cheer. "The clouds are being cleared!" "Alright!" A colt grinned brightly. "We get to play hoofball after all!" Even a few adults were chuckling and applauding as a warm swath of sunlight rolled over the town. "...?" Applejack looked straight up from where she was pulling a wagon across Ponyville. As her emerald eyes glittered with sunlight, she bore a wide smile. She waved wildly to the heavens. Swoooooooooosh! A petite pegasus soared straight overhead without so much as stopping. Applejack could scarcely see her eyes, much less tell where they were looking. The farm mare blinked. Before she was done exhaling, Rainbow Dash had flown far out of view, becoming a faint blue dot along the horizon. Applejack's ears drooped, and with a dull sigh—she trotted off towards the furthest end of the marketplace. Alone. The day after that... "Mmmmm..." Rarity looked up from her end of the table at Sugarcube Corner. "That reminds me. Has anypony seen Rainbow Dash?" "No." Twilight shook her head as she flipped through a book. "I can't say that I have." "No." Fluttershy paused in nibbling on a biscuit. "I haven't seen her." "Oooh!" Pinkie Pie waved her hoof. "I have!" Applejack looked up. Until then, she had been staring dispassionately into a plate full of doughnuts. With a spark of joy, she opened her freckled muzzle to speak— "She stopped by for a bottle of Dr. Pony!" Pinkie grinned wide. "She had a lot of stuff to do! Pegasus weather flying stuff!" "My oh my..." Rarity fluffed her mane. "That pegasus is most certainly stepping up her game." "She's always been the best flier when the Cloudsdale Weather Commission needed help," Fluttershy said with a proud smile. "Uhhhh..." Pinkie Pie tapped her chin. "I think it was different this time. I overhead something to do with deliveries? Something something Banner Company?" "Oh." Rarity took another sip. "Good to know that Rainbow Dash is expanding her horizons, as t'were." "Mmmmhmmm." Twilight managed, digging her nose back into a book. "... ... ..." Exhaling, Applejack stared back into the tabletop of the bakery. Nightfall. Applejack shuffled lethargically through the upper floor of her house. At last, she came upon her bedroom, and the shadows contained therein. Everything hung heavily off her worn limbs. She didn't even bother with brushing her mane this time. With more of a grunt than a sigh, she slumped down on her bed. She stared up at the moonlight-tainted ceiling of her room... ...then stared for a prolonged period of time at the vanity across the way. Silence. "Drunk," Applejack finally said. Her muzzle hung upon the precipice of a frown. "Dang varmint was just... dr-drunk..." Applejack was a pony used to the truth. Rarely did it ever hurt this much. She wrapped the thought around her like a blanket and curled up in bed, hoping slumber would dam the moisture building in her eyes.