Appledashery

by Just Essay

Rainbow Dash Rides South

Rainbow Dash had forgotten what it meant to travel slow. Days spent flying long distances to the likes of Manehattan or Dredgemane had given her an exagerrated perspective on transportation in general. Applejack had told her that the trip to Orlandoats would take the better part of several days, and somehow Rainbow Dash had accepted this... only without thinking.

Now that she was actually seated in the back of the rickety wagon, feeling every icy bump and jolt of the road, staring at the grass and trees positively oozing by at a snail's pace, she was only starting to wake to the reality of their glacial progress. The agonizing crawl was mind-numbing, and Rainbow almost cursed the fact that her limbs weren't numb—for she was itching to gallop in place, somersault, barrel-roll... anything to recreate the illusion of movement... true movement.

If she was by herself, then maybe she'd be comfortable with her own anxiety. However, with Applejack constantly a dreamy-sigh away, there was no way Rainbow Dash could afford to let loose her inner basketcase. Even then, with just Applejack there, it wouldn't have been too terrible of a situation. But with a certain stallion just within the same earshot...

Rainbow Dash found herself tugging at her own ears on over three dozen occasions in the first day alone. If there was enough room in the back of the wagon, she would have resorted to chasing her own table like a demented puppy. Each second was like dragon claws raking across chalkboard, and the only thing keeping Rainbow in place—aside from the innate pangs of loyalty—was Applejack's angelic presence. With each icy hour that crawled by, each insurmountable eon of mundanity laced with Stu Leaves' gratingly cheerful voice, there was still the same luscious drawl, the glint of emerald eyes, the freckled dimples with a hint of afternoon sweat and grit and—

Rainbow excused herself on multiple occasions. By the close of the first day, she had taken to the air so many times that she was almost certain somepony would say something—questioning why the pegasus had to make herself scarce so often. Regardless, Rainbow did her best to be useful, if only to excuse the consistent aerial ventures. She spotted for rainclouds from a distance. She checked for wandering wildlife along the beaten path, warning them once about a loose bear along the edge of a forest. At a fork in the road when they had to stop the wagon, Rainbow compared the east turn to a mark on their map and directed them to the appropriate highway that took them further south.

As for the landscape, Rainbow didn't notice any stark change, and it murdered her inside. She knew that it was only the first day, and there was no telling when things would start looking any different—or what she might expect when they actually arrived at their destination. Just what was Fillyda like? Or Atlantrot for that matter? In truth, Rainbow Dash had no legitimate clue. All she bothered to think about concerning this trip was Applejack. And now that she didn't even have the confidence of sharing that alone...

The only thing worse than being bored was being bored and angry. That is why, when it became Applejack's turn to draw the wagon, Rainbow Dash insisted she do so instead. There was no need for competition, so Applejack easily relented, much to Rainbow's relief. Soon the pegasus had herself hitched up to the wagon and was drawing it along the road at a swift pace. It didn't even occur to her until an hour into the trot just how blessed she was to have Zecora's potion working at full-force. Months ago, if she had tried doing this, her numb body would have collapsed after just twenty feet of wagon-pulling. For a brief moment, Rainbow feared that the extra exertion might sap the effect of the potion much sooner than anticipated. But, the more Rainbow dwelled upon it, she realized that she had a greater obligation to preserving her sanity. She kept trudging onward, carrying the wagon southward at a brisk pace.

Almost too briskly. More than once, Applejack requested that she slow slow down, asking Rainbow what the "huge hurry" was about. Every now and then, Stu also questioned the mare's speed. Rainbow Dash had to balance her swift responses to Applejack with her abject ignorance of Stu's comments. Eventually—with a defeated sigh—she forced herself into a slow trot, trying to match the pace that the stallion had taken in pulling the wagon earlier.

By the fall of early evening, as the landscape bled red under a setting son, Rainbow finally found her groove. Admittedly, she was unaccustomed to drawing wagons, at least to this degree of dedication. There was something strangely meditative about it. She couldn't trot too quick, or else the wagon might rattle its contents loose. If she went too slow, the carriage itself might bump into her. The entire effort was like spinning plates, only with forward motion, and if Rainbow concentrated on it long enough, she could almost ignore how slowly the day was taking to die.

Almost...

Rainbow sighed on more than one occasion. Staring at the ground, she pretended to pay more attention to the texture of the dirt and grass and less on Stu's and Applejack's words.

She failed. Often.

Comments

[RoboRed]

(Hmmm...south in one way, south in another...what a coincidence.)

Poor mare's going nuts.

she would have resorted to chasing her own table like a demented puppy.

Wut...I think you meant "tail".

[TwilightUCrazy]

5309667

Probably over a thousand, in the end. Trust in Skirts. He always delivers good stories. He just takes for-friggin'-ever to finish 'em.

[TwilightUCrazy]

Well... this is gonna turn into one of two trips: Rainbow either nuts up and tells Stu to back off... or Stu reveals he has no interest in Applejack anyway, so Rainbow's worries were completely groundless.

You wouldn't take us on a romantic detour. You wouldn't do that.

Would you do that...?

You're not gonna do that, are you?

[zaponator]

Heh, you know, it's funny. This story, along with other vaguely similar stories about Rainbow Dash traveling long distances, do cause a sort of exaggerated perspective. We're so used to landscapes flying past in a veritable smorgasbord of scenery-porn that it's easy to forget just how large those landscapes are from the ground.

Just imagine how long it would take to walk over purple mountains.

[RainbowJack2000]

*reads chapter title*
You never fail to amuse me, skirts. How do you do it?

[Lightning Bearer]

Fidgety and stir-crazy Rainbow Dash is a strangely adorable image.

[Sharp Quill]

Rainbow Dash Rides South

How many times did JE type Rainbow Dash Flies East by mistake?

[BabySkittleMonster]

I could say something funny or meaningful like every other comment here, but the sheer hilarity of imagining RD in this situation has driven me to distraction. You'll have to wait until I can stop laughing at the image of Dash fidgeting. Until tomorrow, I guess.

[BabySkittleMonster]

5310489
The real question is: how many times did we read Rainbow Dash Flies East before we realised our mistake.
Answer: Way too many times. Seriously.

[YoshiFawful64]

5310073

vaguely similar stories about Rainbow Dash traveling long distances

How subtle.

[Leftover of Saikano]

This makes me want to give another chance to my story about Scootaloo scooting west.

[Fervidor]

5309722

"Skirts" doesn't have the best success rate with me, so that's not all that reassuring.

5311017

So is Rainbow Dash still trying to confess, or is the story about something else now? Both prospects seem troubling to me.

[Sharp Quill]

5310797
And how many times did Imploding Colon type Rainbow Dash Flies East, then have her go nowhere at all.

[BabySkittleMonster]

5311613
Ha! Too true, too true. It looks like we've sussed him out, eh? Him and his darn journeys going nowhere.

I know iPad's have weird autocorrect, but how does Sussex make more sense than sussed? Nothing more irritating than having correct words changed - except perhaps thousands of chapters in which Rainbow flies East without you knowing why. The suspense kills.

...I think we'd all have a seizure if Rainbow actually told Applejack her feelings, wouldn't we? I know I would.

[Aatxe360]

5309779

I'm expecting Stu to actually confide in Rainbow that he does have interest in Applejack and wants her advice.

I'm almost disappointed they aren't going East. Almost.

[DrEggnog]

5310489
He probably had Ponky type the title out and e-mail it to him so he could copy and paste it.