//------------------------------//
// Like a Million Bits 
// Story: Appledashery 
// by Just Essay 
//------------------------------//

	From a distance, Applejack looked happy.

Then again, Applejack looked like anything from a distance.

Rainbow Dash was finally starting to grasp that.

Still, it didn't stop the mare from perching on a distant treetop, gazing deadpan into the verdant green lengths of Sweet Apple Acres.

The farmfilly in question could be seen packing apples into the back of a wagon.  She paused every now and then—if only to wipe the sweat from her brow.  At one point, Big Macintosh crossed paths with her.  The two exchanged glances... then a few words.  A smile was shared, even a chuckle or two.

That—at last—was enough for Rainbow Dash to feel satiated.  She watched the two siblings do menial work for a few more minutes...

...then at last she turned tail and flew east towards Ponyville.

Losing sight of the freckles didn't sting so much this time.  Then again, it could very well have been the numbness.





Rainbow Dash stared at her reflection in the alicorn goblet.  Her ears folded back.  At one point, she reached her hoof towards the delicate handle of the container... but eventually retracted.

A sigh, and she turned around to face the dim lengths of her bedroom.  The place was a disordinate mess, with blankets and clothes and other random items thrown across the room and furniture.

Such a fragile, precious abode... and all this time she had treated it like a landfill.

Fidgeting, the mare rubbed her numb hooves together... then eventually floated over to an endtable.  There, a bag of bits rested—still wrapped in Las Pegasus burlap.  She gave the satchel a little shake.  Her ears tickled to the sound of jingling bits.

With a determined scowl, she tossed the satchel into a saddlebag and flung it over her flank.





The Everfree Forest opened up to Rainbow Dash as she descended sharply.

Her eyes peered into the dim underbrush.  At last, she zeroed in on a lone hut in the middle of the woods.

However... just seconds before she could touch down...

...she lingered in mid-air.

She spotted two figures gardening on the outskirts.  One striped and the other clad in a dark cloak.  Zecora and Noir finished arranging a line of blue and green flowers.  Rainbow instantly recognized the Poison Joke, and she could see that the arrangement of the plants allowed for a set of crops to grow outrageously large—extra ripe for the harvesting.

Zecora bore a proud smile.  She looked at Noir, and the sarosian poked his head out of his hood just long enough to give her an amorous nuzzle.  Indecipherable words echoed between them, followed by laughter.  The two resumed their gardening as the sun waned on into afternoon shadow.

Rainbow lingered in place.  She glanced back at her bulging saddlebag, then down at her numb hooves.  The mare's nostrils flared... and she soon turned around... and drifted away.





The bell above a pawn shop's door opened.

The proprietor lifted his head up from behind the counter.  He paused in polishing off a toaster and a blender, then walked towards the center of the store.  "Greetings!  Welcome to Ponyville Pawn!  How can I help—"  He paused, squinting.  "...Rainbow Dash!  Wow!  The local speedster!  Heheh..."  He grinned.  "Come to buy some flight goggles?"

"Sorry, no."  Rainbow cleared her throat, floating towards him with her hooves above the ground.  "I... uh... saw the sign posted out side.  I hear that you're giving extra bits for furniture?"

"Heh.  Yeah.  The market's pretty slim right now."  He raised an eyebrow.  "You... got some stuff to sell?"

"You could say that.  How much room do you have to store product?"

"Uh... it depends."  The store owner rubbed the back of his head.  "Just... how much furniture are we talking about?"

She looked at him dead-on.  "A lot."