Appledashery

by Just Essay

Miles Per Gallop

Minutes later, Rainbow Dash glided up the trail at a steady pace. She flexed her forelimbs, occasionally stretching them so that they dragged against the dirt beneath her. The pegasus' nerves tingled as her senses gradually returned. She exhaled with relief.

"I dare say that I have you beat, Applejack," Rarity said, sitting in the back of the wagon.

"Oh yeah?" Applejack looked over her flank with a smirk. "She who prefers to recline in the back seat?"

Rarity rolled her eyes, adjusting the umbrella in her telekinetic grasp. "In all seriousness, though. So you've trotted from Ponyville to Manehattan on hoof, correct?"

"Darn tootin'!" Applejack tilted her hat forward with a smirk. "And I was a wee little filly, too!"

"How ironic." Rarity winked. "For so was I."

"Trixie doesn't understand," Trixie said, glancing back. "Marshmallow pony insists that she's gone on a longer hike than Apple pony?"

"Oh!" Twilight beamed. "This has something to do with how you got your cutie mark, doesn't it?"

"That it doesssss," Rarity sing-songed. "My horn's magic took control of my mind, my body, my... everything... and I was drawn cross-country to the source of very mystical, very valuable jewels!"

"Heeheehee!" Pinkie Pie grinned. "All aboard the Fabulous Express!"

"In fact, I traversed so much landscape in so little time that I very nearly reached the western edges of Equestria's borders! I speak of course of an ashen landscape dominated by stone plateaus and loose boulders!" Rarity fanned herself. "Looking back at it, I'm actually quite intrigued that I wasn't so alarmed at the experience at the time!"

"You were just a little filly, Rarity," Twilight remarked. "The entire sensation must have been more curious than... frightening."

"I would have been frightened," Fluttershy said with a shudder.

"Still, I dun see how that counts as a hike," Applejack muttered. "Seein' as how it was Rarity's horn doin' all the grunt work and not her legs."

"Uh!" Rarity pouted. "I did have to trot back, Applejack! And I did so while in possession of a heavy collection of valuable gems!"

"You mean to tell me that ya carried hundreds of glittery stones across country on yer dainty lil' backside?"

"... ... ..." Rarity blushed slightly. "Alright, so maybe I joined a mule caravan about halfway..."

"Hah! Knew it!"

"Still, that's far longer than the distance between here and Manehattan!"

"I once galloped from Dredgemane to the sea!" Pinkie Pie chirped. "Lemme tell ya—life is a lot more complicated after fish start throwing you back for being too small!"

"I once traveled thousands of feet." Fluttershy gulped. "Vertically."

"I honestly can't say I've gone on many long treks in my life," Twilight said. "At least... not before I showed up in Ponyville. Heheh... life in Canterlot means hoofin' it around—but in circles."

"Y'all got crazy stories, for sure," Applejack said. "But I'm afraid none of them dun matter." She winked into the air. "Cuz we've got ourselves the most veteran traveler there ever was."

"Let me guess," Rarity stifled a yawn. "You?"

"No, silly filly! I mean Rainbow."

Rainbow Dash blinked, jerking in place. "Buh?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie hopped along. "Delivery pony! Weather pony! Speed pony!"

"Sonic Rainboom pony," Twilight added with a smirk.

"Bet you've gone greater distances than the rest of us, sugarcube," Applejack.

"Uhhhhhm..." Rainbow Dash blinked. She thought of mountains full of buffalo, gigantic crystal trees populated by griffons, ashen landscapes patrolled by dragons. "I've been here or there... I-I guess."

"Do not forget Dredgemane," Trixie droned. "You've been there." Her blue brow furrowed. "Though Trixie doesn't seem to remember why—"

"But I don't see how it's all the same," Rainbow muttered. "I mean... anywhere I've ever gone in life I've gotten there by wing."

"Still, that has to count for somethin'," Applejack said. "Since yer flyin' every day, doin' deliveries and the like. Reckon lots of ponies have gotta be jealous of the kind of sights and sounds ya see."

"It's... pretty nifty, I will admit." Rainbow smiled. "But sharing these sights and sounds with you is even niftier." A beat. "With all of you, th-that is..." She nervously sweated.

Fluttershy glanced at Rainbow Dash, then at Applejack.

"Heh... you sure said it, darlin'." And Applejack kept on trotting.

Fluttershy glanced at Rainbow Dash again.

The mare gulped and bore an anxious smile. "So... uh... Pinkie? Got anymore trail mix?"

Comments

[Phoenix Kitten]

Rainbow Dash, grandmaster backpeddler.

[MidnightReflection]

"Yeah!" Pinkie hopped along. "Delivery pony! Weather pony! Speed pony!"

You forgot East pony.

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

6770774

[Sharp Quill]

Reckon lots of ponies have gotta be jealous of the kind of sights and sounds ya see.

Still waiting for those sights and sounds to include platypuses.

[Tim the Planes-pony]

"Bet you've gone greater distances than the rest of us, sugarcube," Applejack.

To put it mildly.

[Shipmun]

I wanna hear more campfire stories of RD's adventures!

[Sam the Anti-Ninja]

6770795 The platypuses will come when you least expect them. I wonder if they'll speak with an Aussie accent?

[Phoenix Kitten]

6770851 Please no...please. I really don't want to read my accent being interpreted into text.
Just please.. please no.

[Sam the Anti-Ninja]

6770853 ...You realize that talking about it probably makes it more likely, yes? This is JE we're talking about. The comments section is like his stalking ground. He hunts for stuff like this, pounces on it, then drags it back to his lair to devour it. Later, he farts out a reference. This is how some of his best and strangest ideas are brought forth.

[Phoenix Kitten]

6770899 ...that is the greatest description of the creative process ever.

[zaponator]

I guess the griffon place would be the farthest place she's traveled that she could tell her friends about. It's right on the border of the country, after all.

[Phoenix Kitten]

6703505
Austraeoh, Eljunbyro, Innavedr, Odrsjot, Urohringr, Yaerfaerda, Ynanhluutr...
7 completed books, with the 8th ongoing and 4 still coming, each book is 200 chapters.
so just from a completed book count, Austraeoh is roughly doubly as long as this story
By the time it ends, it will be just over triply as long, at the point of posting this.
and if the rumors of this being 1500 chapters long hold any weight, the Austraeoh saga will end with a grand total of 900 chapters on this story.

As a singular story, yes, this is nearly 4x the length of any single Austraeoh book by chapter count.
As a whole... it's going to be... "a little" over half as long as Austraeoh.

[Appledash_Gurl]

~ADG

[BabySkittleMonster]

[Insert countless references to many stories, including all of the IC collection. Then grin smugly.]

[Leftover of Saikano]

6771067 Still, the gates of Tartarus are another place she has visited in her deliveries, and it sounds more story worthy than Gilda's house.

[Hestia]

Yeah Rainbow's come a long way.

Not that she'll ever tell her friends about her adventures.

[DrEggnog]

Miles Per Gallop

As much as I don't really care for puns, I must say that I'm impressed with the sheer NUMBER of them Skirts comes up with on a regular basis.

[arancaytar]

"Uhhhhhm..." Rainbow Dash blinked. She thought of mountains full of buffalo, gigantic crystal trees populated by griffons, ashen landscapes patrolled by dragons. "I've been here or there... I-I guess."

Here and there, west and east... mostly east...

[True Edge]

Now we know it’s gotten bad, when even Flutters is wondering how the hay AJ can be so freakin’ clueless.