Appledashery

by Just Essay


Stiff Upper Lipping

Stamps leaned back in the chair at his desk, shuffling through work order after work order. He took a deep, shuddering breath, then glanced up.

Rainbow Dash was already smirking. “Well?”

“Nmmmfmmg-mmfmmfffng…” the Banner Company clerk muttered.

“What was that?” Rainbow leaned forward, craning a fuzzy blue ear towards him. “I can’t hearrrrrr youuuuuu.”

“You’re beating company records for this week in March,” Stamps droned.

“Wooohooo!” Rainbow Dash jumped in mid-air, pumping her hoof. Several co-workers chuckled at her as her voice cracked, “So, am I in it for the long-term or what?!”

“Rest your pastel colored keister,” Stamps grunted. “It’s only been three days.”

“Don’t you mean three awesome record-shattering days?!”

“You’ll wear out eventually. I know it.” Stamps smirked with a brief air of bitterness. “And besides, you’re not as young as the pegasus who used to work for us.”

“Yeah, well I’m considerably less stupidlicious!”

“The jury’s still out on that one.”

Rainbow’s eyebrow arced. “Do you always insult your new hires?”

“Rainbow, you’re an old re-hire,” Stamps hissed. “And one that’s sorely behind in proving herself after the last time we parted ways.”

“Oh, puh-leeeeease.”

“You’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

“The same ground that I’ve scaled with these super-fast-speedy-delivery wings?” The pegasus fluttered the ends of her feathers for emphasis.

“You’ve gotten two complaints about your conduct in just a short period of time.”

Rainbow blinked confusedly, then smirked. “Lemme guess. The Trottinglame Butler, eh?”

Stamps sighed. “That’s not the point…”

“Not my fault the dude was born atop Equestria’s tallest flagpole!” Rainbow winked. “Besides, what does he really have to complain about? I’m making his boss happy.”

“This is about more than just speedy deliveries, Rainbow,” Stamps said as she signed off a few sheets. “This is about keeping up a good company image.”

“Yeah, cuz you’re doing loadssssssssss of good stuff for Banner Company with that cheer of yours,” she said with a wink, generating more chuckles from the rest of the warehouse.

“See?! That’s exactly what I mean!” Stamps pointed. “If one of the district managers showed up and caught you giving me that lip--”

“--they’d give me a medal!” Rainbow Dash leaned forward and ruffled Stamps’ mane. “Cheer up, emo pony! I got your back! It’s about time somepony did!” She smiled warmly. “Stop expecting the worse! It’s really lame when a pony your age tries to look for reasons to be unhappy!”

“Rainbow…”

“Don’t look a gift-me in the face!” She couldn’t help but let loose a raspy giggle.

“Neeeeyyuuuughhhhh…” Stamps produced something between a whinny and a groan.

“So!” Rainbow fluttered eagerly in place. “What’s my next task? My next route? Huh? Huh?”

“It’s five o’clock, Rainbow Dash…” Stamps leaned back with a heavy exhale. “You’re done for the day. Go home.”

“Woohoo--” Rainbow froze in mid exclamation, wincing. “I mean… yaaaay--What an opportunity to rest up tonight so that I can work three t-times as hard tomorrow!” She smiled, sweating nervously. “Eh heh heh…”

“Just skedaddle already before I get in the mood to buck something,” Stamps muttered with a hidden smirk.

Rainbow casually drifted away, stripping her yellow apron. “Anypony ever tell you that you’re handsome when you’re a stick in the mud?”

“Workplace tongue, Rainbow…”

”Apron wrap-up! Apron wrap-uppppp!” And she was gone.

Stamps rolled his eyes.


Hoof trembling, Rainbow fussed and fumbled with the cap to the container. “Come on… come onnnn…”

At last, she popped the thing open, exposing a tiny pile of glistening pills to the sunny afternoon air.

With a heavy sigh through her nostrils, the pegasus shrugged. “Eh… still doing good for the week.” She popped one down her throat, swallowed it with a gulp of water from a flask situated in her saddlebag, and exhaled heavily. “Uh huh. That’s right, girl. You’re doing good. Just… don’t screw it all up…”

Sliding the container away in her saddlebag, she gazed down at the structure she was hovering over.

The thatched roof to Fluttershy’s cottage shone like a golden beacon in the dwindling sunset.

Holding her breath, Rainbow dove down like a mortar shell. She was just meters away from landing on the front stoop--when the door to the cottage suddenly squeaked open. Rainbow Dash braked in mid-air, her hooves dangling a hair’s sneeze above a bulky red stallion’s flank as he marched out of the humble home.

“Thank you mighty kindly for the talk, Fluttershy.” Big Mac turned, his freckled cheeks doubly-scarlet as he smiled softly towards the cottage’s doorframe. “You sure do know how to lift a feller’s spirits.”

“Hmmmm…” Fluttershy leaned against the door, hiding half of her blushing face behind a lock or two of pink hair. “Anytime, Big Macintosh. I do so very much appreciate a soul as…” Her smiling lips peaked through, along with the rest of her tranquil face. “Kind and d-deserving as yours.”

“Eh heh…” Big Macintosh scratched the back of his neck. His deep bass voice resonated against the nearby window panes. “Shucks, you flatter me somethin’ awful.” He motioned towards the unkempt, woolly yard. “How ‘bout you let me take a whack at your lawn sometime? Dem blades are gettin’ mighty overgrown.”

“Oh… oh no… I-I couldn’t let you do that…” Fluttershy rubbed her hooves together pensively. “I-I mean, thank you so very much for the kind offer, Big Mac, but--you see--my animal friends love to frolic and play in there. Also, it makes for good cover when a falcon or lynx or other predators from the Everfree Forest come prowling around these parts.”

“Well, then maybe I should gallop on by more often…” Big Mac winked a bright green eye. “So I can scare ‘em away for ya!”

“Heeheehee… that would be overdoing it, don’t you think?”

Rainbow smiled, speaking up. “Yeah! Besides…” She dipped down and hovered between the two. “Nothing a bunch of firecrackers can’t fix! Am I right?”

“Eeep!” Fluttershy covered her blushing muzzle as her wings coiled tightly at her side.

Big Macintosh’s pupil’s shrank. His legs locked, and he took a deep-deep breath before dully sputtering, “Eeeeeeeyup.”

“Hey there, Big Mac!” Rainbow saluted. “Gonna finally give those pigs at Sweet Apple Acres their long-overdue medicine, huh?”

Big Macintosh glanced at Rainbow, at Fluttershy, then at Rainbow again. “Ahem… Eeeeeeeeyup.”

“Well, good luck with that!” Rainbow was already waving. “Oh! And tell Applejack not to kill any trees while bucking apples, why don’tcha?!”

“Eeeyup…” He trotted away like a crimson avalanche sliding sideways, up and down the path in the dying sunlight.

“Heh… Jeez, that stallion is huge.” She turned towards Fluttershy, scratching her head. “I don’t get it, Fluttershy. The big lug would snap you in two, don’t you think?”

“Mmmm…” Fluttershy hid further and further behind the door, her hooves gently stroking the wooden contours. “Maybe… I-I’d mend faster if I let him…?”

Rainbow’s eyes twitched at that. Her muzzle started to scrunch--

“Ahem…” Fluttershy poked her head out, smiling nervously. “We were just having a talk--”

“I’m sure you were…”

“--just like we have been lately.”

“Like, how often?”

“Oh… you know…” Flutterhy’s eyes darted across the darkening sky. “Every other Tuesday… and Wednesday…” She bit her lip. “Oh, and Thursdays and Fridays as well…”

“Fluttershyyyyyy…” Rainbow Dash grinned. She leaned over and elbowed the weak pegasus in the side. “You keep this up anymore, and you’re gonna have to dunk your mane in a barrel of tomatoes to hide the blushing!” She chuckled. “Do any of the gals know?”

“Erm… well…” Fluttershy’s brow furrowed. “Do any of our friends know about you and--” She winced in mid utterance.

Rainbow’s ears folded. She gazed nervously past her dangling hooves.

“Oh, Rainbow, I do apologize. That… that didn’t come out right--”

“Naw, it’s okay, Flutters.” Rainbow Dash placed a limp hoof on her shoulder. “It’s A-okay.” She smiled and chuckled at herself. “And I apologize for intruding on yours and Macintosh’s little friendly-and-completely-platonic chat session.”

“Uhmmmm…”

“I know I can be super crazy annoying. My boss was yelping to me about it earlier today--”

“Oh! Your new job!” Fluttershy gasped. “I haven’t talked to you about it since your first day!” She leaned forward, wings flapping. “How is it going, Rainbow Dash?”

“Well, would you like me to tell you?”

“Of course!” Fluttershy motioned into her cottage. “I was just getting a soup ready for Angel and I--”

“Ohhhh jeez, Fluttershy!” Rainbow clicked her tongue while shaking her head. “You wait until after the stallion leaves before making dinner!”

“What?” Fluttershy frowned cutely. “I don’t get it!”

“Have a talk with Rarity sometime.” Rainbow hovered into the cottage as Fluttershy shut the door. “You’ve got a lot to learn, girl.”

“Hmmph…” Fluttershy folded her arms and upturned her nose. “So you know, he appreciates my company because I give a good listening ear.”

“Sooooo…” Rainbow made straightway for the couch, stripped her saddlebags, and plopped down beneath the window. “Did he tell you about the farm totally tanking?”

“What?! Good heavens, no!” Fluttershy gasped, almost dropping her soup utensils before she had a chance to pick them up. “Where did that come from?”

Rainbow blinked at her. “You mean… Big Mac hasn’t shared at all about it?”

“Shared what?”

“Unngh…” Rainbow pulled at her mane as she rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Friggin’ stallions, I swear to Celestia…” Her eyes took on a dull gleam as she imagined multiple phantom family photos along the walls to Fluttershy’s cottage. “This has been a super snazzy week, Fluttershy. But I’m not feelin’ it, y’know? Not after earlier today.”

“Big Mac said that you had stopped by his place to deliver Applejack a package…” Fluttershy looked nervously at the pegasus. “Did… did something happen?”

“Fluttershy, can you keep a secret?”

Fluttershy merely squinted at her.

“Pffft… right. Ahem…” Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and spoke from where she lay draped over the couch. “Well, hold onto your feathers, girl. Cuz this one’s a whopper…”