//------------------------------// // Momentarily Forgetting // Story: Appledashery // by Just Essay //------------------------------// "Jubilee! Buster! Merigold!" Stu Leaves bounded down the hallway, nearly tripping as fresh cracks and fissures formed beneath him. All around, the house was collapsing, shattering at its foundations. The breathless stallion slid to a stop before the frame that led into the living room. His tearing eyes twitched. "Celestia..." The six foals were huddled in the corner besides the Hearth's Warming Tree. They clung to each other—trembling—as the entire room and its furniture and decorations teetered upon a great white abyss of bright light. Upon seeing their "Pappa," they all shrieked, calling out to him. Stu fumbled to take a step forward. The floorboard right in front of him split in two, forming a shattered ravine of glowing light between himself and the foals. "Pappa! Pappa!" "Pappa, we're scared!" "Please, Pappa! Save us!" Stu gritted his teeth. He spread his wings to scale the fissure— "Stu!" Rainbow soared down the hallway and came to a stop behind him. "Stu, please! You can't!" "They... th-they need me..." Stu fought back a sob, his feathers fluttering. "And I need them—" "They're not real, Stu!" Rainbow shouted. "Applejack is! Someday, I'm sure you'll have a super awesome family! But all of this? It's fake! Do you want to live a fake life?!" "I..." Stu sniffled as tears ran down his cheeks. "I-I..." The living room lurched, pulling further away. The sobbing foals reached out for him. "Pappa! We love you! Please...!" Stu gnashed his teeth. At last, he coiled his wings to his side. "I-I love you too..." He clenched his eyes shut and forced himself to look away. "...but Applejack needs us..." Crkkkkk! The house split in two. The living room crumbled away, dissolving into the blinding whiteness with the imploding shrieks of young children. As the debris shattered all around them, Stu fell to his haunches, clutching his head and screaming. Rainbow Dash winced. She reached out for the closest thing, and a geodesic sphere flew up against her, steadying her. Clinging to Epcot, she watched in numb shock as the sim dissolved completely. The cabin, the farmland, the snow—it all dissipated, giving way to a wide green plane of dormant stone. The undulating orange sky of Cider Space loomed above, and in the distance Rainbow could spot floating palaces and mountains. All was silent, save for the quiet sniffles and whimpers of the collapsed stallion before her. Nervously, Rainbow trotted forward and rested a hoof on his shoulder. "Look, Stu—" "Stay away from me!" the stallion roared, teeth gnashing. Almost as quickly, however, his ears folded back and he shuddered. The pony raised his head with a tear-stained expression. "I... I-I'm sorry, Rainbow. I... I'm s-so sorry..." He hugged himself, clutching his eyes shut again. "Do... d-do you know what it's like to be poked fun at and ridiculed all your l-life? To be t-told by everypony that you're stupid and you c-can't amount to anything?" He rubbed his cheeks and shuddered. "In there... I was loved. I was depended on. I had a family... and I could shape their lives for the better..." He gulped. "Silver Shill was right. This place would have consumed me from the inside out." Rainbow nodded. "What matters is that you broke through. I... I can't imagine how much that must have sucked for you, but you did the right thing. Only a stupid stallion would have stayed in place, clinging to a mare..." She bit her lip, gazing aside. "...clinging to a mare who would never come." "Please forgive me, Rainbow..." Stu whimpered. "I should never have dove into this place on my own." Rainbow frowned, then stood up straight. "No." She raised Stu up to his hooves. He glanced at her, blinking curiously. "I'm sorry," Rainbow said. "I should have listened to you from the get-go. I should have brought the two of us in here together to save Applejack." "But..." Stu shuddered. "But look what's happened—" "I don't care. Applejack's in here, and it's up to us to get her. You did the right thing, and... and thank you, Stu." She smiled weakly. "Thank you for giving me the kick in the rear that I needed." She turned and gazed at the epic, undulating sky. "For a moment there, I had forgotten what it means to be awesome." She clenched her jaw. "Well, never again." She spread her wings, giving Stu a sideways glance. "Ready to fly?" Stu fidgeted. "Uhm... fl-fly where?" "We'll find out." She smiled. "Together."