//------------------------------// // Batty // Story: Appledashery // by Just Essay //------------------------------// "Applejack!" The farm mare in question spun around from where she was fitting together a convoluted net-catapult system along the fringes of the farm. Fluttershy flew towards her, followed shortly by Big Macintosh on galloping hooves. "I came as soon as Big Mac told me about your problem!" Fluttershy touched down, blanching at the sight of the thick, fibrous net. "Oh dear! You're not going to hurt the poor little things, are you?" Applejack's green eyes darted at the net, then back at Fluttershy. "Darned if I'm sorely tempted to this time every year. But naw, Fluttershy. I ain't about to severely hurt no critters..." She smiled warmly. "Y'all should know me better than that." "Oh..." Fluttershy exhaled, blinking. She glanced at the stallion next to her. "Because from the way Big Macintosh described it, I was most certain you were going to trample the vampire fruit bats to dust." Big Macintosh winced, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks. Applejack glared at him. "That's what he said to ya, huh?" "Ehm..." Big Macintosh wheezed, slowly backing away from his young sister. "Eenope...?" "Funny, Big Mac used to talk an awful lot around me," Applejack said behind a scowl. "But now he's fixin' to be givin' other mares an earful... and with a heapin' helpin' of exaggerration to boot." "I... erm... uhh..." Big Macintosh was sweating. "Snkkkt—eh heh heh heh!" Applejack slapped the ground and chuckled. "Ah, Macky! I'm just teasin' ya! I swear, you've been awfully easy to fluster as of late." Big Macintosh gulped hard, glancing nervously at Fluttershy. The dainty pegasus let loose a giggle, then flew over to Applejack's side. "I have to say, Applejack, you're in a much better mood now than during the last three times the vampire fruit bats have visited." Applejack was too busy whistling to herself while she fixed the net. Fluttershy blinked. "Uhm... Applejack?" "Hmmm?" The farm mare glanced over. She smirked. "Oh. Reckon yer right." She shrugged. "Things are goin' really well for the farm as of late. Ain't that right, Big Mac?" "Heh... eeyup." "Well, you do have a good point," Fluttershy said. "I guess it was wrong of me to panic." "Nah, Fluttershy. I don't blame ya for worryin'." Applejack sighed. "And, truth is, I was in uglier sorts earlier." "Oh?" "Yeah. But then Rainbow Dash stopped on by to lend some help. I didn't ask for it, but I'll be darned if I try talkin' that stubborn pegasus out of doin' her loyalty thang." Fluttershy's wide eyes blinked. "I see." She gulped. "So... Rainbow Dash was here... to help you...?" "Yup. I'm figurin' that once she rounds up the creatures, they'll be so plum exhausted that we can fire this net at them, then carry the varmints safely to the Everfree Forest where they can freely munch on whatever they darn-well please. See? It ain't such a bad solution after all!" "I guess not..." Fluttershy fidgeted. "So... where is Rainbow now?" "Over the south fields, I'm willin' to bet. Chasin' the bats down to their last sweat. Heh... Y'know how the gal lurves a good challenge!" Applejack smirked. "She's probably enjoyin' the heck out of the moment right now!" "You flank-gobbling scum-sucking demon-humping winged pieces of rat crud!" Rainbow Dash growled, her mane sprinkled with leaves, twigs, and copious amounts of mud. "C'mere!" The bats shrieked back at her, taunting the pegasus with their zig-zagged movements through the trees. Rainbow Dash pursued them like a tomahawk missile, taking angry swipes with her forelimbs. Every time she punched the air, the bats simply skirted out of range, spitting raspberries back at her as they scattered across the groves and made for the furthest part of the acres. "Rrrrrrgh! Mess with AJ's farm, will you?!" The saddlebags shifted around Rainbow's sides, giving her extra momentum as she swung around the outer edges of the farm. "I'm gonna teach each and every one of you the meaning of blue fuzzy pain!" She hollered, her nostrils flaring. "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!!!" "Come to think of it, Rainbow's been awfully helpful as of late," Applejack said from where she rolled the catapult into place. Grunting, she parked the wheels of the vehicle with a wooden log and dusted her hooves off. "Maybe her workaholicism is spreadin' or somethin'. Silly girl just doesn't want to stop bein' useful, ya reckon?" "Erm... uhm..." Fluttershy stared down at her hooves. "Did I ever tell ya that about two and a half weeks ago, she stopped by one afternoon just to help me buck apples around the farm?" Applejack smirked. "She even hung out after dark, sweatin' and strainin' away! Land's sakes! I never thought that pegasus would give up an opportunity to catch some Z's, but suddenly she was all about farmwork! My kind of farmwork!" "Eheheh..." Fluttershy bit her lip as a bulb of sweat ran down her temple. "You don't say? That is most... most interesting, Applejack." Big Macintosh raised an eyebrow at that. "All Rainbow asked for was a bucket of apples, which was just like takin' a sneeze out of the grand harvest that we got done that evening. Heck, I kind of feel terrible about it, figurin' that she deserved far more than that as a reward." Applejack froze in place, staring towards a fixed point on the horizon. "Funny... that was only a few days before we got a new investor out of a Trottingham fella named Fancy Pants." Big Macintosh blinked. Fluttershy bowed her head, wincing heavily as a tiny, tiny squeal issued under her teeth. Applejack rubbed her chin in thought. Her eyes darted left... then right... then she shrugged. "Ah well! Just a lucky, lucky month, I suppose!" Fluttershy exhaled heavily. "Whew..." "Still, though, I wonder what Rainbow Dash did with all of them pies—" "Hey!" Fluttershy suddenly squeaked with an awkward grin. "Who wants some tea?" She grinned at Big Macintosh. "Would you like some tea, Big Mac?" The stallion opened his mouth—then paused. Fluttershy grinned and grinned at him, her eyebrows twitching. Fidgeting, Big Mac nodded towards his sister. "Yup yup yup!" Applejack blinked. "Well, alrighty then!" She trotted toward the barn with a happy bounce. "I don't see why not. It's a nice, sunny, peaceful day." "Yaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgh!" Rainbow Dash dive-kicked her way towards a cluster of fruit bats. The creatures clustered together until the last second, then split apart with errant, mischievous squeaks. Rainbow Dash struck the soil of Sweet Apple Acres, forming a tiny mushroom cloud of prismatic dust and loose clumps of earth. As the haze cleared, Rainbow Dash lay in the crater, moaning into the rich dark sediment. "Unnnngh... friggin' sky rats..." She winced, her eyes rolling. "Mustn't... fail... AJ..." She tried to get up, only to slump hard to the ground with a wheezing breath. She tried moving her limbs, but all she felt was a numb tingling in her hooves, followed by a dull dizziness that spread through her upper body. "Erm..." She gulped, her skin flushed red. "Uh oh..."