Appledashery

by Just Essay

==Part Four: Granite Mountain Shuffle==

"Heh... well, will you look at that." Applejack, bleary-eyed, nevertheless smiled as she and Rainbow Dash came to a scuffling stop at the brick-laid intersection in western Canterlot. "We're here already." She sniffled, rubbing her reddened face and shuddering. "I swear, Twilight's folks' place always looks bigger on the outside than on the inside. Explains a lot about Twilight's humble personality, ya reckon?"

"Uh... yeah. Sure, I guess," Rainbow Dash muttered, her tail flicking limply in the glow of a streetlamp.

"I imagine the gals must be worried about where we've been all night," Applejack muttered. "Especially Rarity. That mare can weave a tale somethin' awful." She chuckled breathily, and sighed. After a few seconds, she turned and stared at Rainbow. "I wanna thank ya for hearin' me out, sugarcube. I know I was nothin' but a blubberin' mess, but... I suppose it helps to vent every now and then."

"Yeah." Rainbow Dash nodded limply. "You're probably right."

Applejack blinked. She tilted the brim of her hat back and squinted. "Rainbow...?"

The pegasus slowly looked up, biting her lip.

"You... you okay, darlin'?"

"Hmm? Me?" Rainbow gulped and smiled awkwardly. "Oh, you b-bet! I'm always chillaxed."

"Uh huh..." Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Rainbow, if ya don't mind me sayin', it looks like the energy's been completely sapped from ya altogether."

"Pffft. It's been a long day, AJ."

"You sure that's all it is?"

"Pretty sure."

"Good, 'cuz I hate to think I brought yer spirits down on account of all my ramblin' about the farm woes."

"Nah. We're all strong ponies here."

"Heh... darn tootin'."

Silence.

"Well, best that we get settled in without wakin' the gals..." Applejack trudged towards the front steps.

"Uhm." Rainbow's voice cracked, "I'm... gonna hang out here for a while."

Applejack paused to look back at her. "Oh?"

"Yeah. Figured I'd stretch my wings for a bit."

"This late at night?"

"Pfft. No rules against cruisin' over the rooftops of Canterlot."

"Ya sure about that? These ain't exactly Ponyvillean residences."

"I'll be fine, Applejack." Rainbow Dash said firmly with a smirk. "You head on inside. Catch some Z's before they run away from you."

"What should I tell the girls?"

"Nothing! Your snoring's enough to wake them up!"

"Ungh!" Applejack rolled her eyes. "I do not snore!"

"Yeah you buckin' doooooo." Rainbow winked with a smirk. "It's not honest to tell a lie, Applejack."

"I swear by it, Rainbow, I don't!"

"I rode in the berth next to you on the way to Appleloosa," Rainbow droned. "You sound like a horse."

"Hmmmph..." Applejack rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Try not to fly into any lampposts while you take wing, ya hear?"

"Yeah, I'll try not to."

Applejack strolled up the front steps to the apartment.

"Uhm... AJ?"

Applejack stifled a yawn. She turned to squint back at Rainbow. "Yeah, darlin'?"

The pegasus was wincing. Nevertheless, she hovered on limp wings and muttered, "You... uh... you really deserve better, y'know?"

Applejack stared blankly.

Rainbow cleared her throat and added, "You and the farm, that is. You... really deserve more."

With a tired smile, Applejack calmly said, "T'ain't about what a pony deserves, Rainbow Dash, but what she dares to accomplish in spite of the worst stuff that fate has to throw at her."

Rainbow said nothing.

With a shrug, Applejack turned about and shuffled in through the front entrance.

Rainbow was alone. A cold chill blew her way. Gritting her teeth, she flew off over a row of apartments, but came to a lingering stop on a random balcony. Touching down, she slumped somewhat, flexing her forelimb at the elbow as she stared a million miles into nothing. Her ears twitched, still resonating with the sound of Applejack's crying voice from an hour and a half earlier.

Shuddering, she clenched her eyes shut, fighting down tears. At last, her jaw clenched, and she stood back up with a disgruntled stared. Flapping her wings, she took to the starry sky, gliding over the bulk of Canterlot. She took several spiraling paths, dipping and weaving past bursts of wind. At last, her figure hung defeatedly, sighed, and descended towards a spot in the southern edge of the city, where magically imbued lights denoted the location of a cider bar...

---

"Mmmph... shouldn't... sh-shouldn't have let her go..." Rainbow Dash murmured through tired lips, her eyelids fluttering as she lay back on the tile floor. "Shouldn't have let her turn in by herself..."

"Shouldn't have let who, Dashie?"

"Mrrmmmfff... Apple... jack..."

"What was she turning in? A library book? Cuz—boy oh boy—those late fees sting something awful! But enough of that—SAMPLE THIS!" A pink hoof shoved a slice of apple pie into Rainbow's slumbering muzzle.

"Mmmmff-fppfhffklckk!" Rainbow's eyes flashed open, only to cross in shock. She flapped her wings until her head hit the kitchen ceiling of Sugarcube Corner. "Blacckkk-heackkk-raackk!"

"Woops!" Pinkie Pie winced in the center of the warm, smokey kitchen. "Is the crust too flakey?"

"Grnnnghh!" Rainbow Dash fluttered back down, scraping the bits off her tongue. "Friggin' A! Pinkie!" She frowned. "Bleah... You don't—bleachkk—shove pie down the throat of a pony when she's sleeping!"

"But Dashie!" Pinkie's face grew long. "Your two words to me when you showed up hours ago was 'make sure these are scrumptious' and 'wake me up if I start catching some Z's!' I figured what better way to be a loyal friend to the loyalest pony than to do both at once!"

"I'm lucky I didn't choke to death!" Rainbow shook her muzzle with a dangling tongue. "Muahhhh... fehhh..." She gulped, took a deep breath, and blinked. "Wait. What time is it?"

"Somewhere between pie number two hundred and three and pie number two hundred four."

"For r-real?!" Rainbow Dash squinted out the window, rubbed her fuzzy face, and squinted again. Faint daylight hung outside. "Just how many pies were you able to make with that stuff?"

"Oh, my head's too fuzzy right about now!" Pinkie reeled melodramatically. "Quick, what's one hundred and two times two?"

"Derrrr—"

Ding!

"Oh lookie-lookie!" Pinkie spun with a grin and opened the oven with a muzzle-mit. "Mmmmf—Weee! Last one!"

"Wow, Pinkie, you're a life-saver—"

"B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-but!" Pinkie shook her left hoof and held the pie up in her right. "Am I a taste saver, though?!"

"Well... uhm..." Rainbow fidgeted. "How can we find out?"

Pinkie leaned forward with a grin. "Are you awake now?"

"I... think?"

Splat! Pinkie whalloped Rainbow in the face with the apple pie.

"You tell me!" Pinkie bounced in place. "Did I save the day or not?!"

"Grrrrrghh—Pinkie! I swear, I'm gonna..." Rainbow stopped in mid grumble, licking up the fruity curds sliding down her face. Her pupils shrank as her body froze like a sky-blue exclamation point. "Whoah. This is really darn good."

"Heeeeeee!" Pinkie hopped on her hind legs and clapped her hooves together. "I knew it! Best overnight baking session evarrrrrrrrr—Whoah!" Cross-eyed, she lost her balance and slipped back into a stack of flour. Coughing, she sat up—a pale ghost of what she once was. "So, you like?"

"It's not a question of whether or not I dig it!" Rainbow Dash trotted briskly over to a mountainous stack of metal trays, each full of apple pie after apple pie. "But will the mountain buffalo?!"

"Uhm..." Pinkie scratched her alabaster head. "Perhaps if you gave them some shovels?"

"No time to explain! I gotta make like the wind and blow!" Rainbow flung the rear door of the kitchen open and took wing. "Don't move the pies one inch, Pinkie! I gotta steal—er, I mean—borrow a chariot from Banner Company!"

"Okie Dokie Lokie!" Pinkie scooped up a flake of splattered pie contents from the tile floor and licked it. "Hmmmm... totally worth the shovels!" She giggle-snorted to herself.

In the meantime, Rainbow was sailing out the door. She only flew about ten feet before grinding to a stop against the dewy grass. "Unnngh!" Wincing, she tried pushing herself up, only for her legs to wobble and quiver. "Oh, come the buck on..." Sighing, she gave her saddlebag a shake, hearing the pill container rattle inside. Taking a deep breath, she clenched her jaw and shook her head. "No, girl. You can last longer." Flapping harder, she strained and tore herself across town towards the warehouse. "Just a little longer... f-for her!"

---

Part Four: Granite Mountain Shuffle
(Where Rainbow Dash Goes on an Adventure of Bison, Pies, and Pegasus Nerves)

---

Comments

[Tchernobog]

Huzzah, another chapter!

Those buffalo better love it, or they'll turn into BURGERS.

[schmitthappens21]

Yay! I'm digging this story, its a good Appledash story.

[Shadepal P]

3830862 Don't buffalo the buffalo too much!

[Lilith Evanson]

I understand your chapters are short but each one is really like a piece of gold. I always look forward to reading a new chapter and I just needed to tell you I always believed you deserve more comments here than you get.

Happy writing, my friend!

[MellowMabari]

Aw, yeah - adventure ahoy!

Also, I apparently need Pinkie Pie to bake stuff for me, the way she stretches ingredients. No wonder the Cakes let her stay at Sugarcube Corner - the girl's a veritable goldmine.

Onward!

[zaponator]

What time is it? Adventure time!
Those purple mountains ain't gonna fly over themselves.

[YoshiFawful64]

I swear, Twilight's folks' place always looks bigger on the outside than on the inside.

It's a reverse TARDIS!

[Metal Aura]

Somewhere between pie number two hundred and three and pie number two hundred four.

So it is sometime between 5 and 8, because these are the digits of pi at indices 203 and 204.

[Weehawk]

It would be super keen if the buffalo had something to help Rainbow

[appendingfic]

Oh my god; a million words and I'm still working through this. I'm just amazed it doesn't feel like a slog; you're really keeping me engaged, and not feeling like you're dragging stuff out.

[arancaytar]

"I rode in the berth next to you on the way to Appleloosa," Rainbow droned. "You sound like a horse ."

That's nothing, I've got friends who snore like humans.

"Grnnnghh!" Rainbow Dash fluttered back down, scraping the bits off her tongue. "Friggin' A! Pinkie! " She frowned. "Bleah... You don't— bleachkk —shove pie down the throat of a pony when she's sleeping!"

It's bad luck to feed a horse when she's sleeping.

[arancaytar]

"Oh, my head's too fuzzy right about now!" Pinkie reeled melodramatically. "Quick, what's one hundred and two times two?"

Holy buck, how many apples did she get?

"Just a little longer... f-for her!"

cdn-img.fimfiction.net/story/0wbr-1432591281-227180-medium

(except with Shimmy -> AJ)

[AppleTank]

At this rate she's not gonna have enough pills left for 100 more chapters, let alone for 940.

[True Edge]

. . . ."No, girl. You can last longer." Flapping harder, she strained and tore herself across town towards the warehouse. "Just a little longer... f-for her!"

Aw, Dashie. . .

O’, all the harm, that e’er I’ve done,
Alas, ‘twas to none, but me.
And all I’ve done,
for want of wit,
to mem’ry now,
I can’t recall. . .

[Finelita]

I can’t take it. Dash ,can you stop working this hard.