Appledashery

by Just Essay

At Death's Door

"You did it, brother!" Flim yelped, though barely anypony heard him.

All eyes were locked on the Cider Princess as she flew through the dark door.

Rainbow Dash's eyes shrank to pinpricks and she could only stumble forward. Her wings flexed—

"Hrkkk!" Suddenly, Stu Leaves was there, diving through the doorframe. He reached in deep, his body sizzling from head to tail from the proximity to the blackness beyond. Nevertheless, he jerked in place, anchored to something. "Mmmmfnnghh... graaaaugh!" He yelped in pain, but nevertheless pulled and tugged and leaned back. As he stumbled his way back from the door, everypony could see his fetlock gripped around a dainty orange limb.

Rainbow exhaled in mixed relief and horror.

"He's got her!" Epcot shouted. "He's holding her within the dream realm!"

"No..." Flam sat up, snarling. "No, that can't possibly be—!" WHAM! Rainbow Dash punched him savagely across the face.

She turned and looked at the door once again.

Stu winced and heaved. The forces of darkness overwhelmed him, and he slumped forward—not once letting go of Apple Jewell.

FWOOOSH! Rainbow Dash lunged forward. She braced her lower legs against the black frame and clutched Stu's body with both forelimbs. The contact with the door burned to the touch, but she nevertheless held her place as she pulled him back in by the waist.

"Hrnnnghhh! Come on... you g-got her..." She clenched her tearing eyes shut. Rainbow's body warped and shifted from the devouring tug of the forces beyond the door. Still, with loyal persistence, she was able to pull Stu's body back into the dreamscape. "Just hold on... don't let go... don't you dare let go, Stu!"

"Wouldn't... mfrmmgnngh... dr-dream of it...!" He whimpered. He repositioned his hooves to grip Apple Jewell's shoulders, holding her even tighter.

However, as they pulled the Cider Princess back out, there was something paler about her. The mare's complexion was blank, and her eyes had rolled back. The earth pony's dainty body had been reduced to a limp ragdoll, with only a slight twitch to her tail to indicate any sort of conscious resistance to the circumstances at hoof.

"Stop them!" Flim hollered. He got up on his hooves and galloped to the scene. "Stop them! They're ruining everyth—" Donut Joe's hoof flew into his chest. As the unicorn stumbled forward, Joe then uppercutted him to the fractured stage.

Huffing and puffing, Donut rushed over and gripped Rainbow's flank. Gustave and Mulia soon joined in. With a combined grunt, the group yanked and pulled, finally ripping Apple Jewell loose from death's pull.

"Ooomff!" Rainbow sprawled across the stage. Everypony rolled off in opposite directions, including Apple Jewell and Stu Leaves.

For a second, everything was hyperventilating breaths and dizziness. When Rainbow's vision finally returned, she saw nothing but rippling blue nothingness overhead, almost as bleak and dismal as the emptiness that loomed outside beyond the door.

With a groan, she sat up, looking all around her. Only the Ampitheatre was all that remained of Philanthropy. The dream had collapsed to a tight sphere around where the door was nestled. A few feet away from the portal, lying limp and motionless, was Apple Jewell.

Stifling a whimper, Rainbow crawled towards the mare's side and gently turned her over.

Comments

[MoonMirror]

AJ :< They might have only pulled out the dream construct...

[zaponator]

Well that's just depressing.

[Lord Dragon]

5901992
5902028

[Fishberry]

Kiss her!

Honks!

Kiss her, you sky-blue melon-fudge!

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

Oooooooo, so help me Celestia, if Rainbow and/or Stu don't kill those two filthy pieces of crap for causing all this pain and misery when (or preferably before) they get out of Cider Space, I'll send my OC, Wolf, in there and she will!

*simmers down a bit, but not much*

You know, out of all of the characters in the MLP series, I've always hated these two the most. (Don't ask me why; I just always have.) But now? Now I hate them enough to literally go into this story and kill their sorry asses myself!!!

(My profuse apologies to all mules and donkeys out there for that bit.)

But ohhhhhh, are they so dead!

5902267 Yes! I totally agree with you!

Damnit, Dash, kiss her already! That's always who the hero wakes up the princess!

Even someone who isn't really one.

Like AJ.

And on another note, these two chapters were well worth waiting for...cliffhanger (again) or no.

Now, that said, I hope that we get the next chapter before long, and that there's a happy ending in it.

For Rainbow, AJ, Stu, Shindig (because she really just another victim of her sons' crazy scheme, after all), Joe, Mulia and Gustave, anyway. I don't foresee there being one for the twin psychos.

At all.

[Fishberry]

5902326

You really hate those two.

Pretty good antagonists, huh?

[BabySkittleMonster]

5901992
You just had to ruin any semblance of hope that RD and co would get out safely and happily and... And... And them, didn't you? Great, now I'm being all pessimistic and fearing the worst. Joy. Note this, MoonMirror, I blame you if anything happens to any of those characters (barring Flim and Flam. They can die for all I care). Anything. If they so much as step on a thorn or even sneeze then I hold you personally responsible. No, I am not over-reacting. Don't judge me!!!

[Fishberry]

5902398

This isn't certain other stories.

This one's arcs typically have happy endings.

... like... it starts with a 'L' and rhymes with 'ferris wheel'. Except replace 'wheel' with 'massacre'.

[BabySkittleMonster]

5902425
Yeah, I know... But unfortunately said other stories have trained me well. I can no longer read a single story that so much as mentions Dash or any of the Cardinal Directions without having a heart-attack. Sometimes I truly hate this author, then I remember why I like him so much. He's just too good to hate and too sadistic to like.

Also; Lerris Massacre? Celestia, don't even mention it. Now I'm really scared... Damn it, Skirts, you've turned me into a paranoid maniac.

[Fishberry]

5902455

He made me a Chancellor!

Heeee!

... And a doe deer. But a chancellor! And a villain, which was fun. And then a not-villain, which was great too!

Heeheeheehee. I shouldn't be so enthralled that an author used my name in a fan fiction.

... I wonder what a Skittles monster will look like.

[RainbowJack2000]

KISS HER! KISS HER! KISS HER! KISS HER! KISS HER! KISS HER! KISS HER! KISS HER!

[Sheendough]

5902326 5901992 5902398 I know! Maybe they pulled out the dream construct and Shindig will trade her life for AJ's... Maybe.

[Skunkiss]

Doctor, she is not moving!

Quick, nurse, we immediately need to apply 10 units of

GODDAMMIT KISS THE FARMGIRL ALREADY!!!

[Lightning Bearer]

[RoboRed]

...Never before have I harbored a bigger hatred for those two than now. I hope they suffer greatly for what they've done.

Anyways, I echo what everyone else is saying:
KISS HER, DAMMIT.

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

5902383 That, my friend, is putting it very, very mildly.

In fact, I've despised them ever since the first episode that they were ever in, The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy...whatever.

Well, yeah, I'll give them that.

But only that.

5902809 That...could be possible.

But, again, I guess we'll just have to wait for the next chapter(s) to find out for sure.

5902705 5902921 5903115 Definitely agree with you guys here.

Boy, there's a lot of folks around here wanting Dash to kiss AJ, huh?

*quickly ducks flying objects for her statement of the obvious*

5903115 And it looks like someone around here shares my intense hatred of the Psycho Twins.

Good.

[viofriedsevey]

Ha! I was but one chapter off! It will be the be the next! Dont fuck with me this time skirts, I couldnt take it.

[Sam the Anti-Ninja]

5902267
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33.media.tumblr.com/1df1a7731731033a4663480a052fef49/tumblr_micb9xC6bD1r8mx5to1_500.gif

[RoboRed]

5903718
I think "unrequited love" + "possibly near death" = "mood enough".

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

5903718 I think I agree with 5903727 on this one,

[Fishberry]

Ooooooohhhh! Author is posting two chapters in two stories every two days!

I wonder what it meeeeaaaannns!

Probably that they're just very, very busy...

But still! I wonder!

[YoshiFawful64]

I join everyone saying just kiss her already, you melon fudge, you probably won't get another chance in at least 475 chapters, damn it!
5902581
And I got to be a Gray Feather! *squee* Being a mare took some getting used to, but oh well
Your character was great too though she's not a Chancellor anymore, you know. As wonderful it was to have a truly kind character, I kind of envy you for having an evil one (well, technically, Fishberry wasn't evil, but you know what I mean). All those evil laughs I didn't get to laugh...
I still ship Arcaberry, btw

[HopelessRomanetic]

You may now kiss her!!! Consarn it!

[Fishberry]

5904314

I like to imagine my character was voiced by Tabitha. She does a great evil laugh.

Yours would be voiced by Tabitha too.

Tabitha, Tabitha for everyone!

Except male characters, who would all be voiced by Drummond, Francais, and sometimes Weseluck.

Except Shell. He gets voiced by Michael Dorn.

[BabySkittleMonster]

5902581
Now that is an excellent question. And one that only a certain author can answer... Do you think he got the (blatantly obvious) hint?

[Skunkiss]

5903221

Just to wake AJ up again, of course

This arc has become way too epic to let us readers (and Dash for that matter) walk away again without any smooching

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

5904598 Oh, of course.

And I definitely agree with you there.

Even if AJ doesn't remember it in the waking world.

Which would probably kill Dash (it would break her heart, anyway), and that I find extremely hard to believe, anyway.

Also, it'd probably clue Stu in on why Rainbow worked to hard to steer him away from starting a relationship with AJ; she loves her herself.

I'd be curious to see how that particular revelation would play out between the two of them.

Oh, I hope the get the next chapter (or two) before long! The suspense is killing me here!

Danged cliffhangers........

[Skunkiss]

5905353

The way he has been depicted before leads me to believe he'd still not get it

Stu Stu Stu... after all this, I still can't bring myself to like the guy.

I sincerely hope after this arc is concluded, he'll vanish into the background again.
But even IF he finally understands whats going on with Dash and should become a regular side character for the rest of this story, after all he witnessed Dash doing and risking for AJ, I think he'd do the right thing and just step back.

Not that he'd be able to compete with Dash anyway... or survive her rage if he'd actually try something AGAIN after all that has happened.

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

5905680 Hmmm, you have a point there.

And while I'm not the fondest of him, either, he's become slightly likable to me.

But only slightly.

Yeah, me, too.

Again, good points all.

Especially those last two.

[Leftover of Saikano]

5904507 My contract says that any male character named after me or based off me must be voiced by Ron Perlman.

[DrEggnog]

I'm so worried dammit. Friggin' fiction.

[arancaytar]

"He's got her!" Epcot shouted. "He's holding her within the dream realm!"

I'm torn between happy that Stu is saving her and disappointed that Stu is the one saving her.

Also, just bucking toss those two bozos in the portal. Let them float around forever.