Appledashery

by Just Essay


The Daily Dash

Rainbow Dash lay on her side with her eyes wide awake. She sighed, causing the edges of her pillow case to flutter.

The pegasus turned over onto her back, curling her legs to her chest. She stared up at the dim ceiling, not saying a word.

Outside, a bright world lingered beyond an obscuring set of curtains. Birds tweeted with muffled song and cicadas heralded the slow burning arrival of summer.

Rainbow Dash lifted one forelimb, flexing her hoof and wincing slightly. She gazed at her limbs, then stared off into the shadows. Her lips moved, silently producing six words. Then she lay dormant, her ears barely twitching.

At last, she closed her eyes with a slight sniffle. Her lids clenched shut as a few beads of moisture formed along the lashes.


“What the hay is th-this supposed to mean?!” Rainbow Dash sputtered.

The teller gulped and spoke calmly from across the bank counter. “Exactly as it is printed here, ma'am. You currently have two hundred and twenty-one bits in your account.”

“Well, where'd the rest of it friggin' go?”

“According to our records, ma'am, you made several withdrawals over the last two weeks. We even have your hoof print as verification.”

“But I... it...” Rainbow Dash sucked her breath in, gradually wincing. She shut her eyes as her body deflated with drooped wings. “Right.” She gulped. “Right... of course I did. I just...” Her words trailed off.

Other ponies waiting in line behind the pegasus craned their necks, looking curious and worried.

The teller shifted nervously and said, “Is something amiss? Because if you wish to state a conflict of data—”

“No. It's all good.” Rainbow Dash sighed, opening her bleary eyes. “I'm just bird-brained. I gotta make one last withdrawal this week—a tiny one.”

“I will need a hoof print on this sheet.”

“Right, lemme just—” Rainbow Dash fumbled for the paper. It fluttered away from her numb hooves. “Celestia darn it!

“Ma'am, do you need assistance—”

“I'm fine!” Rainbow winced at her own tone and murmured. “I'm good, thanks. Really.” She bent over, clasped the edge of the sheet in her teeth, and brought it up to the counter. “Couldn't be better...”


“Nnnngh!” Rainbow Dash bucked her way through a cloud. She hovered in place, breathless. The cloud hadn't completely dissipated from her kick. With a frustrated growl, she bashed it again... and again and again and again. At last, the mist dissolved, leaving a clear blue sky in its wake.

She slumped on flapping wings, sweating. Wiping the moisture from her brow, she blinked, then glanced over her shoulder.

Thunderlane and Candy Mane were staring at her. Upon receiving her glare, they spun about and pretended to resume their own separate cloud-kicking.

Clenching her jaw, Rainbow glanced down at her hooves, flexed them with a wincing expression, and looked up towards her edge of the sky. Dozens upon dozens of clouds lingered above the rooftops of Ponyville.

With a sullent sigh, Rainbow Dash flew forward and threw herself as mercilessly as she could at the wafting mists.


“Well, Rainbow, the truth is...” Stamps leaned back from his table in the center of Banner Company's warehouse. “You're not the only hard-working pony who needs bits. With you being busy... elsewhere, I took it upon myself to give many of the simpler work orders to others.”

“Yeah, well, could you let me bite onto some of the tasks?” Rainbow leaned forward from where she hovered across the table. “For just this week, at least?”

“I can't make any grandiose promises. Banner Company's not exactly rolling in bits at the moment.”

“Look, I really need more money right now, dude.”

Stamps leaned forward, squinting. “Aren't you burning candles on too many ends?” he murmured.

“My well has... s-sorta run dry as of late.”

“You mean the well?” His brow furrowed. “That seems... hard to believe.”

Rainbow Dash fidgeted. Her nostrils flared, as if she could smell the polluted fumes of Fillydelphia from all the way there. “It's... complicated.”

“What isn't these days?” Stamps sighed, flipping a sheet of paper across a clipboard. “I'll see what I can do. But Rainbow?”

“Yeah...?”

“Bits have no use being paid to a dead husk.”

Rainbow nodded. “Thanks for the compliment. I'll keep that mind for if I finally decide to become a zombie.”

“Meh.”


Rainbow Dash glided across the skies of Ponyville, panting and sweating. Behind her, a chariot bulged with mulch and gardening tools, destined for the far end of town.

“Friggin'... sm-smells like a... mildew factory... gnnngh...”

She glanced down. The sloping hilltops of Ponvyille rose towards her dangling legs. She made a note to ascend a bit before reaching her destination—

“Okay, Big Mac! Just a lil' more!”

Rainbow's heart almost leapt out of her chest. She gazed to her left.

She was passing the east edge of Sweet Apple Acres. In the field between the farmhouse and the orchards, Big Macintosh was marching forward, his body rigged to a pulley system that was lifting a huge sign beside a set of bleachers. In a rough splotch of hoof-painted letters, the sign read: ”Fifty-Second Annual Sister Hooves Social.”

“Easy... easy...” Applejack stood on an overturned apple basket, gesturing with her hooves. “There! That's perfect!”

Macintosh skidded to a stop, panting. His sister rushed over and gave him a soft nuzzle.

“Just stay there for a spell, darlin'. We'll get the sign hammered in place.” She spun and glanced towards a yellow figure in the sky. “Changed yer mind about lendin' a hoof, Fluttershy?”

“No! Not at all! What would give you that idea?”

“Heheh... only teasin' ya. Just apply some pressure to the top of the side as I wedge it in!”

“Okay!”

“Now this is what I call workin' together! Heh... this is gonna be the best Social ever!”

Big Macintosh nodded, smiling. He glanced up at Fluttershy and winked. The pegasus giggled and hovered above the sign, awaiting further instructions.

All the while, Rainbow's eyes lingered on Applejack. The pegasus was sweating, heaving, and aching from head to tail. Suddenly, none of it mattered. She smiled from ear to ear, her muzzle imparting a soft... warm sigh.

And that's precisely when she ran into the rising hilltop.

“OOF!” Rainbow Dash grunted, tumbling and grinding through the dirt. The weight of the wagon behind her shoved her violently forward until her collapsed body had made a deep trench in the earth. At last, Rainbow Dash crumpled to a stop amidst dangling clumps of mud and grass roots. She blinked, rolled her eyes, and groaned long and hard. “Eeeeeughhhhhhh...”