Appledashery

by Just Essay

Winsome / Lonesome

"Look out, everypony!" Pinkie swallowed a morsel of toast and jam, rubbed her muzzle clean, and galloped forward at full speed. She left the picnic blanket and leapt towards the nearest pond, her body forming a pastel cannonball. "Geronimooo!"

Twilight Sparkle and Applejack waded inside the pond. As they felt the shadow of Pinkie Pie forming over them, they paused in splashing each other and flinched.

Splassssssh!

Pinkie dunked. Then—as the waves settled—she reemerged, spitting rainbow-colored water skyward in a fountain. She giggled—then shrieked as Applejack and Twilight took their revenge on her in bitter cold splashes.

"Pinkie! Honestly!" Rarity frowned. "And so soon after eating?! You'll only regret it!"

"Heeheehee! Oh Rarity—Ah!" Twilight shrieked and giggled as she splashed back at Pinkie. "You know her stomach's handled worse!"

"Come and join us, gals!" Applejack hollered, dunking Pinkie before backstroking across the pond. "Sure, it may be cold, but heck if it ain't refreshin'! Wooo!" Splash!

"Hmmmf!" Trixie bit into crackers with peanut butter spread. She sat beside Rarity, sharing the same umbrella. "Trixie is above such foalish forms of self-expression! It's nice and comfortable here on the picnic blanket!"

"Oh darling. Live a little." Rarity winked, sipping daintily from a teacup. She smiled as her eyes sparkled with the rainbow cloudfalls looming above them. "Life is most exquisite when one savors tranquil moments such as this."

"Trixie doesn't see how that must involve a liberal plunge into bone freezing water."

"Oh, I'm sure it's not that cold." Rarity mused. "Besides..." She innocently swirled her tea before taking another sip. "You and Twilight can keep each other warm."

"Hmmmm..." Trixie's blue muzzle took on a slightly purple hue. "Sparkle certainly does possess insulating fuzz—" She froze in mid-speech, pupils shrinking. Trixie's gaze flashed in Rarity's direction.

Rarity's eyelashes fluttered as she gazed calmly back.

"... ... ..." Trixie munched the last of her crackers then stood up on trembling legs. "Come to think of it... some ice cold water may be just what Trixie needs right now..." And she hobbled off.

"Mmmmm..." Rarity's lips curved as she dabbed her chin with a napkin. "Indeed."

Meters away from the group of water-splattering ponies, Rainbow Dash perched on a plateau, overlooking the scene. She sat quietly, serenely. Then...

"So..." Fluttershy touched down, squatting beside the mare. She cleared her throat. "You're looking... calm."

"Yeah. How does it look on me?" Rainbow droned out the side of her muzzle. "Does it make me look fat?"

"Rainbow, is everything okay?" Fluttershy gulped. "Especially... especially after last night?"

"Hmmm?" Rainbow blinked. "Oh. You mean that whole campfire game thing?"

Fluttershy bit her lip.

Rainbow turned to look at Fluttershy. She smiled.

Fluttershy gulped. "Rainbow, I'm worried about you."

"Don't be," Rainbow softly said.

"Did... did anything happen between you and Applejack?"

Rainbow shook her head. "No," she replied. She gazed at the pond. "And I'm starting to think that... maybe nothing ever will."

Fluttershy's ears folded back. She squirmed, and her voice took on an emotional quiver as she exhaled: "Rainbow, I—"

"Hey..." Rainbow shrugged. "Maybe I'm okay with that." She gulped. "Maybe what I'm here to do in life is... let go... by hanging on."

"Huh?" Fluttershy blinked.

"What I want... what I need... and Applejack for that matter..." Rainbow gestured. "Is right in front of me. All around me." She gazed into the sky with a tranquil breath. "It's right here."

"Rainbow, I... I'm afraid I don't understand," Fluttershy murmured.

"Well, I'm starting to." Rainbow turned towards her. "Just as I think I finally understand now... after all these years... why the prettiest pegasus in all of Cloudsdale only wanted me as a friend."

Fluttershy blinked. Her eyes turned glossy.

Rainbow leaned over and nuzzled the mare. "Shhh... don't fret..." She leaned back with a grin. "It's all cool."

"Rainbow Dash..."

"Hey! AJ!" Rainbow Dash flapped her wings. "Think you're queen of the pond, huh?!"

"What in the hare are you—?!" Applejack looked up, and her pupils shrank. "Awwwwwww Tartarus."

"Rainbow!" Twilight shrieked, hiding behind Pinkie Pie as a petite shadow overcame them. "Noooo—!"

"Cannonballllll!" Rainbow plunged into the drink.

SPLOOOOOOSH!

"Weeeeeee!" Pinkie cheered as she and Twilight went sailing downstream.

"Sparkle!" Trixie hollered, galloping desperately after the pair. "Hold on! Trixie will save you!"

Somewhere, Applejack surfaced, her freckled face full of droplets and guffaws. She and Rainbow Dash engaged in a heated splashing war.

From afar, Fluttershy blinked. She let loose a melancholic sigh before resting her chin on her forelimbs. She bore a soft smirk.

Comments

[Keradon]

There's some quote out there that says the same thing, but I can't think of it right now....

But I'm starting to wonder if this'll be one of those, 'she'll gain it when she's no longer pining for it' moments.

[Mares-a-Mares]

6821701
I think that's exactly what Rainbow's realized. She was 'loving' AJ so much, she was never around for her because she was doing whatever she could to make life better for her, hurting their friendship more. She just needs to be there and have fun. Not worry about it.

[Sharp Quill]

I think the name of this story got truncated. The full name is Appledashery Not!

[Phoenix Kitten]

Hmm... it's nice to see her being all happy and cheery.
Maybe she hasn't quite let go as much as she thinks, but for now, she's at peace.
Or some equivalent.
So relax a bit, Shy.

Have something tranquil.

[Appledash_Gurl]

Hey, if we're not going to get any appledash soon, you can at least give us some twixie right?

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

6821719 I'm starting to think you're right.

[RoboRed]

"Hmmmm..." Trixie's blue muzzle took on a slightly purple hue. "Sparkle certainly does possess insulating fuzz—" She froze in mid-speech, pupils shrinking. Trixie's gaze flashed in Rarity's direction.
"... ... ..." Trixie munched the last of her crackers then stood up on trembling legs. "Come to think of it... some ice cold water may be just what Trixie needs right now..." And she hobbled off.

HAH

[viofriedsevey]

Wow, who knew so many steps backward would be the most steps forward we've had this whole story?

[viofriedsevey]

6821719 Were you really expecting them to get together anytime soon? At this point i've pretty much just accepted that as soon as they get together the clear conflict/point of the story is concluded and will lose our interest drastically. As painful as that is it's the simple truth of story telling. There won't be any Appledashery anytime soon.

[Lightning Bearer]

Ah, the hollow peace of resignation. I know thee well.

[Aatxe360]

6821746

Nah, they'll get together after Applejack is widowed from Stu's mysterious death. Rainbow will raise Stu's foals believing them to be hers.

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

6821828 I suppose.........

[Sheendough]

6821701 What I'm afraid of is that she'll lose interest just as AJ gets her eyes on her.

[Aatxe360]

6821843

I don't actually believe what I typed. I was just trying to make y'all feel better. Rainbow Dash is doooooooomed.

[CommanderCuddle]

Come on Stu, be a goddamn changeling. He knows he wants to be one.

[Bulbajer]

I'm not ok with RD being ok with this.

[TheZouave]

I remember the "storyteller" saying that there would be cuddles. Did she ever say whom between?

[Sam the Anti-Ninja]

6822013

I’ll promise you this, though. Pinkie Pie Swear…
It ends with them cuddling.

The exact quote, as taken from chapter 2.
We don't just have the authors word on it: he's audacious enough to Pinkie Pie Swear on it.

[BronyInHiding]

"If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it's yours. If it doesn't, it never was." - Richard Bach

This quote rings true here, you need to learn to handle loss before you can truly love. Things will work out guys, it might just take a year or so

[BronyInHiding]

6822118 And NOPONY breaks a Pinkie promise!!

[zaponator]

"And I'm starting to think that... maybe nothing ever will."

You know I'm pretty sure this is, like, the sixth time she's had this revelation. You'd think it wouldn't be surprising anymore at this point.

[DeathFox4]

6822138 This quote applies to so much of real life.

Honestly yall, as much as I hate the lack of AppleDashery...this story reminds me of myself. The more I see Rainbow, the more I see myself...the more we see ouself.

Maybe...that..
maybe that is why we all want AppleDashery...not cause of the ship...
No, its been far too long for that.

Rather, we want a happy ending...cause maybe...just maybe....
If AppleDashery happens for Rainbow Dash, it can happen for us....

...
I dont want to be alone forever...but if the only way to keep someone happy is to be alone...then so be it. Their happiness is what matters, no matter the wounds across my heart...

Damn you JE...making me philosophical!

[Leftover of Saikano]

I've never slept so little
maybe I live too much
I don't recognize the exact point where you have to brake.
I wondered what I had given away
and what others had left me,
I was answered that in life you have to accept.
Any hand dealt to you is fine.
Any hand dealt to you is bad.
Better to open the eyes to know,
What you would like to do.
I must have been stepping to the side,
paralized by the fear of knowing the truth.
I used to imagine that what we've been through had been left behind,
but we found a new way of talking.
Any hand dealt to you is fine.
Any hand dealt to you is bad.
Better to open the eyes to know,
What you would like to do.
And it's the moment everything starts again.
My heart is alert and yours too.
All this time lived serves me as example,
To never again, never again, to never fall again.

[Jern]

Dammit Dash, this isn't healthy. I hate to feel frustrated when Rainbow seems content for the moment but resigning herself to being a friend won't dull the pain when night comes calling and Rainbow is alone with her thoughts. It would have been different if Rainbow had confessed her feelings and AJ hadn't returned them, but as it sits now there's no resolution and there's always going to be that huge "what if" hanging over Rainbow's head.

Oh well... hopefully the twixie ship teasing will amount to something and at least show Dash that she isn't going to be demonized for being gay.

[viofriedsevey]

6822593 "show dash she won't be demonized for being gay" shit thats a fucking good point.

[Hestia]

So Dash is okay with staying in the friendzone? Well, alright.

[Salad king]

This is why I don't beleive that applejack and stu would ever work out. Rainbow has immediately set aside her own desires so that applejack can be happy. Where as stu practically abandoned rainbow and applejack herself for his own needs (yes I remember that stu, you little sheit), which are the same as rainbows.

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

6821847 That makes two of us.

After all, remember waaaaaayyyyyyyyy back in the story before a certain idiot stallion came into the picture; when AJ was getting moody, cantankerous and snippy with everypony whenever Rainbow went off and disappeared of one of her shard-finding/gather missions for days at a time?

(Yeah, that far back.)

We all speculated even back then that AJ was starting to have feelings for Dash, and was just covering them up by talking about finding a nice stallion, because maybe she was afraid that Dash wasn't into mares.

So what changed?

Maybe... just maybe, mind you... she, like Dash in the last two or three chapters, has given up on having a relationship with her true heart's desire, and is settling for second best (i.e., Stu-pid Leaves) because she thinks that Rainbow doesn't feel that way about her.

And that's why she made that "confession" about her "feelings" for Stu to Rainbow in When the Bombs Fell, she was letting go (in her mind and heart, anyway) of the pony that she really, truly, undeniably loves.

Because she thinks that Dash doesn't feel the same for her as she does for Dash, and this is her way of letting go of what she (like our dear Dash) thinks is a lost, unattainable dream.

But that's just my theory and take on the whole thing.

6821897 Do you want me to reach through this laptop screen and whap you upside the head for that?

Because I will.

6822956 Well put.

Heck, remember back when they were all in Orlando, and especially at Shindig Soils, and they discovered Flim and Flam's plan for AJ? She told him to go get the local authorities while she (after drinking as much of her potion as she could) made a (literally!) flying trip back home to collect the girls (I think) and notify the Princesses about what was going on down south.

But did he listen to, or obey, her?

No. He very stupidly (thus living up to his nickname of "Stupid" Leaves) decided to try (on his own, mind you!) to rescue AJ and the the others, drank from the Alicorn Chalice and went into Cider Space to try and be the Big Hero to (I think, anwyay) impress AJ so he could have a chance with her.

Thus endangering everypony involved... up to and including himself, and forcing Rainbow to do the same and save his sorry tail along with saving AJ, Mulia, Gustave and Joe from a pair of psychopathic idiots and their equally psychopathic scheme to resurrect their dead father using AJ's body as a host!

So.... yeah.

Between Rainbow and Stu, Rainbow's definitely the better pony, because she thinks about somepony other than herself!

[I Thought I Was Toast]

So far foward... So far back... Rainbow Dash... You're supposed to be over this whole "I don't deserve the same amount of happiness as my friends" thing...

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

6823040 Yeah, she's being a bit dense about that, isn't she?

But that's our Rainbow for you.

[BabySkittleMonster]

I've been trying to work out who Dash reminds me of. I think I've finally figured it out. She reminds me of the main protaginist of every bethesda/bioware game (particularly Hawke). Her being the centre of every plot, everyone relying on her regardless as to whether she wants it or not, her not believing she deserves happiness, the lack of family... You can't convince me otherwise.

Yep. I've decided. Rainbow Dash is pony!Hawke during the quest for pony!Aveline's heart. Let's hope it ends better.

"Hawke this, Hawke that... Why does everything always fall to me?"

[Aatxe360]

6823037

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

6823165 You're impossible, you know that?

[Aatxe360]

6823174

Only when Applejack is involved.

[Sheendough]

6823037

Maybe... just maybe, mind you... she, like Dash in the last two or three chapters, has given up on having a relationship with her true heart's desire, and is settling for second best (i.e., Stu-pid Leaves) because she thinks that Rainbow doesn't feel that way about her.

And that's why she made that "confession" about her "feelings" for Stu to Rainbow in When the Bombs Fell, she was letting go (in her mind and heart, anyway) of the pony that she really, truly, undeniably loves.

Because she thinks that Dash doesn't feel the same for her as she does for Dash, and this is her way of letting go of what she (like our dear Dash) thinks is a lost, unattainable dream.

But that's just my theory and take on the whole thing.

You do have a point, however. She did say she "finds herself missing another pony... even when he's right in front of her" (she did say "he", mind you, but none of it is contradictory to what you said). I went back to Scoot's chaper where she mentioned they'd be together, and nothing indicates that she's talking one way or another about Stu, so there's that.

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

6823196 Hmmm, good point.

6823207 Thank you.

[Phoenix Kitten]

6823037

We all speculated even back then that AJ was starting to have feelings for Dash, and was just covering them up by talking about finding a nice stallion, because maybe she was afraid that Dash wasn't into mares.

Can we once again, "thank" Rarity for spreading that rumour around during the Manehatten shard arc.

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

6824577 Indeed.

And everyone wonders just why Rarity is my least favorite among the Mane 6.

That is why.

[arancaytar]

"Mmmmm..." Rarity's lips curved as she dabbed her chin with a napkin. "Indeed."

"Sparkle!" Trixie hollered, galloping desperately after the pair. "Hold on! Trixie will save you!"

By the end of this story, all characters except RD and AJ will have paired up.

[berrytone]

Fluttershy is best wingpony.