"So, apparently, they're going to turn it into a stage play!" Stu Leaves said.
"Hmmm?" Applejack looked up from the unfolded map in her grasp. She glanced down at Stu as he pulled the wagon. "Come again? Reckon I wasn't listenin'."
"Heh... we're not lost, Applejack," Stu said. "This is the only way into Atlantrot." He raised a hoof long enough to gesture at the other wagon-drawing ponies clogging up the highway both coming and going. "Now, if you're worried about the traffic—"
"No, I'm just... erm... tryin' to figure a route to take south to Central Fillyda when we're done stayin' at yer family friend's place."
"Can't you worry about that tomorrow afternoon?" Stu smirked. "Relax, Applejack! I hear Atlantrot's a busy city!"
"Yeah, but I just wanna be prepared for when—"
"And we are prepared! Fussing over the same thing over and over again isn't going to get us there any faster!"
"Nnnngh..." Applejack folded the map in a heap and folded her forelimbs, pouting. "Why can't y'all just lemme fret when I'm in the mood for frettin'?"
Stu Leaves chuckled. "Well, that's what you get for bringing your friends along." He craned his neck back. "Isn't that right, Rainbow Dash?"
The pegasus stood hunched in the back of the wagon, pouring herself a cup of Zecora's brew using half a jar. "Hrmmph..." She grumbled, muttering in a low voice. "Only one of us is a friend here..." She didn't mean to, but somehow all she did was make herself wince from the implications of that sentence.
"What was that?"
"Ahem..." Rainbow Dash tilted her head back. "Stu's right, for once, AJ. Can you please stop stressing over Shindig? It's starting to get annoying."
"I ain't stressin'!"
Stu blinked. "But you just said—"
"Frettin' is different from stressin'! It's... y'know... like a much more professional kind of worryin'! All subtle like!"
"You mean like how your fashionista friend does?"
"Nah, what Rarity does is 'whinin'."
"Define 'whining.' Is it anything like complaining?"
"Will you guys talk about something else already?!" Rainbow barked, rolling her eyes. "Goddess! Like there aren't enough bumps in this friggin' wagon to give me a headache!"
Stu winced, smiling sheepishly.
Applejack exhaled with a warm smirk. "Alrighty, fine. What were you sayin' about some sort of a stage play just now?"
"They've already got a theatre reserved in downtown Manehattan." Stu smirked. "'The Horse Heroine of Deerfolk!' A really eccentric minotaur named Iron Will is technical advisor. Apparently it's going to be a musical dramatizing the events that unfolded in a diamond dog mine far northeast of Ponyville!"
"Uhhh... what event are ya talkin' about?"
"Y'know, for a country mare, you really don't get out much."
"Well, excuuuuuse me, Stu, for not having wings!"
"Heheheh..." Stu winked and looked ahead. "I'm only teasing. Nah, seriously, though—it's an amazing story! One pony single-hoofedly saved a whole bunch of deer and goats and gazelle who were imprisoned by a marauding band of diamond dog slave-masters!"
"No kiddin'! And yer sayin' this minotaur was there at the time?"
"Yeah. He's been on a crusade for Celestia-knows-how long to find the mysterious mare-do-well who came down into the tunnels and put her neck on the line for everyone in those dank cages. He's hoping that, through this stage performance, he can raise enough money and awareness to make his search complete!"
"Ya mean he hasn't found her yet?"
"Nope." Stu Leaves shook his head. "The heroine was never found."
"Well, shucks. That's downright sad! How in the heck do you make a musical out of that?"
"Heheh... well, Applejack, all things considered—it was a victorious thing that happened. Several deer were able to reunite with their families because of her sacrificial actions!"
"Yeah, but... a musical?"
Suddenly, a mule trotting alongside their wagon spoke up. "Wait? What musical?"
Stu Leaves looked over, grinning proudly. "'The Horse Heroine of Deerfolk!'"
"Ooooh! I love that story!" The mule grinned, pulling a wagon full of pickle barrels. "I reserved tickets for my wife and I! I know it's only three months from now before production starts, but I'll be damned if I miss out on the best dramatization since Hinny in the Hills!"
"Hey! Northerners represent!" Stu Leaves reached out and hoof-bumped him. "Yeah, if I had more bits on me, I'd zip on over to Manehattan and order some tickets for myself too!" He turned and winked back at the cabin. "And maybe one or two more to spare. Heheheh."
"Now there's a fancy idea..." Applejack tilted the brim of her hat and leaned back. "How 'bout that, Dash?" She glanced over her shoulder. "Ya fancy goin' to see a play about a flank-kicking mare saving deer?"
"Uhhhh..." Rainbow Dash gulped, hugging the cup to her chest as she sealed the jar up with another hoof. "I... m-might have to take a rain check."
"Awwwww... what's the matter, Rainbow? Figured the subject matter would be right up yer alley, assumin' Stu Leaves is on the dot and all. I mean... that sure does sound like an excitin' story!"
Rainbow Dash shuddered, lifting the cup up to her lips with numb hooves. "You have no idea..." The wagon shook, and she splashed her muzzle accidentally with the quaff. Her eyes rolled. "Ohhhhhhhhh..."