Appledashery

by Just Essay

Stu Listens

"And the weather was getting super ugly. So, right around the time I was flying through the brambles, a dark thundercloud had passed underneath the sun. I couldn't see anything. If I wasn't careful, one bad turn would send me flying into a huge, super-sharp thorn. I could have lost an eye. Maybe worse."

Applejack was forking her way through a slice of apple pie while Stu Leaves leaned forward, gazing across the table in earnest. "Shouldn't you have just... c-called it a day?"

"You mean what? Pfft! Given up?" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "You forget who's telling the story."

"S-sorry," Stu winced.

"Lemme finish."

"Mrmmmf..." Applejack gulped a morsel down and pointed with her fork. "Yeah, let her finish."

"So there I was, surrounded on all sides by barbed vines, right dead-center in the black heart of Ghastly Gorge. If I moved too suddenly, I'd impale myself on something. But I couldn't just—like—stop in my tracks either. After all, I had a record to beat, and my reputation was on the line! I knew that somewhere up above, Listing Breeze was timing me. And—"

"Who's she again?"

"Huh?"

"Listing Breeze."

Rainbow shuddered. "Look, that's not important. Anyway..." Steeling herself, she continued. "I suddenly remembered that thorns were less likely to be found at the bottom of a briar patch than towards the middle or the top. So, someway or another, I had to get my way towards the floor of the Gorge to keep on flying."

"And how'd you get there?" Stu Leaves asked.

Rainbow shrugged. "I just dove."

Stu blinked. "Just like that?!"

"Yup!"

"You went in blind?"

Rainbow smiled. "Seems like luck was on my side. You see..." She leaned back in her chair, kicking her hooves up on the end of the table. "...this world knows I'm awesome. And every now and then it throws me a bone. This was just such a time. Cuz when I got to the bottom of the ravine, turns out a cleft in the canyon walls above allowed just enough light to bleed through and illuminate the trunks of each thorned root. So..."

"You were able to see your way better at the bottom than at the top."

"Totally! I soared on through that baby with a renewed burst of speed! By the time I had cleared the briar patch, I was already moving so fast that the Quarry Eels were no friggin' big deal! They couldn't even touch me! When I made it to the end, everypony thought the stopwatch was broken. They hadn't thought it was possible for someone to beat the record by that kind of a margin! But I did it!"

"That... that's remarkable!" Stu exclaimed.

"Plum stupid if ya ask me," Applejack muttered with a mouth full of pie. "If I had a golden bit for every single story Rainbow's told us gals about how she's nearly killed herself—"

"You wouldn't even have to be making this trip to Shindig."

"Celestia-forbid."

"Did your buddies back then figure out how you made it through the briar patch?" Stu asked.

"Nope!" Rainbow chuckled. "To this day, they've got no clue!"

"So you haven't told them."

"Nah. I don't hang out with those mares anymore. I think my friends nowadays deserve to know just how awesome I really am. The rest can just soak up the mystery. Heh."

"Well, then..." Stu Leaves sat up straight, smiling. "I guess I consider myself priviledged."

"Yeah, I guess you—" Rainbow stopped in mid-speech, blinking.

"You have such amazing friends, Applejack," Stu Leaves said. "I wonder if Rarity or Fluttershy have as many wild tails."

"Unless yer fixin' to hear an earful of fashion drama or animal bathroom habits, then I reckon yer doomed to be disappointed."

"Awwww..."

"Nah, Rainbow here?" Applejack glanced up from her plate, winking one green eye as her lips curved. "She's a real whizz-banger for sure."

Rainbow stared at her. Slowly, her cheeks and ear-tips went rosy.

Stu Leaves opened his mouth to say something—

"Ahem." Rainbow turned so that her face was out of direct lamplight, obscuring her flushed features. "I... uh... I-I think I suddenly have some room for pie now. Eheheh..."

Comments

[Sharp Quill]

"Well, then..." Stu Leaves sat up straight, smiling. "I guess I consider myself priviledged."

"Yeah, I guess you—" Rainbow stopped in mid-speech, blinking.

Oops.

[Lightning Bearer]

Rainbow stared at her. Slowly, her cheeks and ear-tips went rosy.

Stu Leaves opened his mouth to say something—

Wuh-oh.

[zaponator]

Dayum, even Rainbow is warming up to old Stu. I've said all along that he's not bad... but now that the story's leaning that way, I'm scared. He's about to do something horrible, isn't he?

[Elsaack]

Listing Breeze appears! And is quickly covered up. Wonder if we'll ever learn anything about RD's disastrous ex-marefriend?

[Autumn Rush]

I don't think it's a bad thing that she's warming up to Stu. Still can't say whether I fully like him or dislike him, but I suppose he's okay. S'long as doesn't get in the way of Appledash, it'll be fine.

5396094

Huh. Now that you've mentioned it, I'm curious again too. It's been awhile since she's been brought up so I completely forgot about her.

[Sheendough]

Yep... We still have to know who was Listing Breeze and what became of her after their break-up (and what was her effect on our heroine).

[RainbowJack2000]

Is Stu considering himself Rainbow's friend?!

*gun towards head*

[YoshiFawful64]

Mark my words, somewhere along the way, Rainbow's going to bump into Listing Breeze again. There's no way JE would end the story without ever having us encounter her.

[BabySkittleMonster]

5396039
... I didn't think of that. Thank you so much for almost giving me conniptions by saying that. I was just about to pass Stu off as vaguely unimportant as far as AppleDash is concerned but now I'm scared all over again...

[Fishberry]

See? Told you guys. Leafy is swell. And probably fruitier than Eagle Eye.

[Aatxe360]

5396174

She's not important.

[DrEggnog]

Stu is an uninteresting character.

AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES HIM INTERESTING.

It's hard to predict what role he's going to play in the story.

[Seraphimus]

I'm still not sure if I like stu, hate stu or don't care about stu.

[arancaytar]

You know, Stu is pretty okay.

And I half suspect him of shipping Appledash.