Appledashery

by Just Essay

Sweet Apple Anxieties

Fwoooooooosh!

Rainbow Dash landed on the front lawn before the Sweet Apple Acres farmhouse.

"Yo, AJ!" Panting for breath, Rainbow Dash spun in a circle. She looked every which way. "Applejack! Applejack, are you there?!"

Silence.

Apple trees and horse carts lingered all around her in silence.

Rainbow gulped. "Hey! It's me, Rainbow Dash! Can we talk for a sec?"

More silence.

"Hello?!"

Rainbow Dash bit her lip. She looked towards the porch. On brisk hooves, she galloped up to the front door and knocked her hoof against the frame.

"Applejack...?"

There was no response.

"I just got done talking to Fluttershy and... and..." She peered in through a window, squinting. "...are you even there?"

She heard a very familiar thumping sound.

"...?" Rainbow Dash spun around. She marched out from beneath the patio, then flapped her wings just enough to hover a few feet above the ground. "Applejack?"

Off in the distance, several rows of trees down, she spotted an unmistakable orange shape in the middle of the orchard, angrily bucking at the trees. Red fruit fell roughly across the floor. The mare didn't bother picking any of them up—instead just trotting up to the next tree and ruthlessly kicking it.

Rainbow blinked. "Applejack! Yeesh, girl, where've you—" She flew forward, but immediately stopped. The mare looked aside, eyes narrowing.

In front of a barn, several wooden crates and barrels lingered in shattered splinters. The dirt beneath them was covered all over in deep horseshoe impressions—all Applejack's size.

Rainbow gulped. Lips trembling, she looked worriedly out at the orchards. At last, after a deep breath, she steeled herself and flew towards the orange figure. Her legs dangled beneath her, limp and numb.

Comments

[Chewierulz]

Stu, what did you DO

On one hand, I'll be kinda happy if the relationship is over, but on the other, I'm pissed that AJ is mad.

Also, is it me or is JE hinting at a physical altercation in the near future?

[Khao]

I CAN'T HOLD ALL THESE UPDATES

What's going on though? Don't even know what to expect right now.

[Phoenix Kitten]

....okay, just what in Tartarus happened here?
So much for that vacation.

[MidnightReflection]

Applejack gulped. "Hey! It's me, Rainbow Dash! Can we talk for a sec?"

That's an anomaly.

[Autumn Rush]

Uh-oh.

[Fishberry]

Ooohh you tease!

The worst part is that I have no reason to complain. The story is unfolding exactly as it should.

This doesn't make the cliffhanger any easier to bear.

[Mares-a-Mares]

...Get those limb hooves to some medicine, Rainbow!
But as always, everypony comes before her own health. This will surely bite back at her in the future.

Still, what's got Applejack so upset? And in any case, the whole Apple Family?

[CommanderCuddle]

Imma just say the letter has been found since no one else is

[destinedjagold]

Hoo-boy...

6918062 So... Stu found the letter and broke up with AJ so he wouldn't stand in Rainbow's way? That wouldn't make sense though. Sure, Stu's friendly, but I don't think he's that friendly. Also, Stu had been acting a bit weird before he and AJ announced in Sugarcube Corner that they were a thing, so things aren't making sense at the moment...

[CommanderCuddle]

6918064 Who said anything about Stu finding the letter

[Khao]

6918064

Why would Big Mac get so freaking pissed off over that though?

EDIT: On second thought, duh.

[Salad king]

Seriously though, this is going to have nothing to do with stu, skirts is being sneaky and I'm ready to be surprised.

[Phoenix Kitten]

6918003
Hope you have some strong muscles, because we probably won't get another chapter until Thursday.

[Tchernobog]

Clicks next chapt-

WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO NEXT CHAPTER AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[Leftover of Saikano]

I blame the commenters for everything.

[Hestia]

That cliffhanger! Why?

Assuming Stu did something to hurt Applejack, he's a dead dude walking. Either Mac is gonna tear him limb from limb or Dash will.

[BabySkittleMonster]

3 chapters in one day... That's both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because, well, 3 chapters! Unfortunately, that means approximately three days before I can climb this cliff-hanger. I don't think I'm quite strong enough yet, even after all this endurance training.

[BronyInHiding]

Better hope the letter wasn't found by AJ. Cuz if the reason she's pissed is that Dash has been hiding her feelings this whole time. Rainbow's flying into a buzz saw.

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

6917928 It's not just you.

6917933 That's what I'm wondering.
And yup.

6918118 Good point, and so am I.

6918118 Yeah, that'd be about our luck, alright.

6918062 Probably.

But by who, that's the question?

And I'll just repeat what I said in my comments for the last chapter:

This does not bode well.

But for who?

[Bulbajer]

I don't know what will happen next, or how it will happen.
But whatever it is, RD is going to blame herself.

[LucyHorseThing]

24 hours has never felt so long... Not that I'm complaining, the daily updates are awesome, but...WHAT HAPPENED I NEED TO KNOW NOW

[Sharp Quill]

6919451 Try 48 hours.

[BronyInHiding]

6919418 Don't think AJ would be bucking everything in sight if she was preggers. She's a responsible pony and that kinda stress is bad for babies.

[RoboRed]

Damn you for leaving it on a set of cliffhangers like this...

[Novi]

And there it is, gentlefolks! The infamous cliffhanger returns!

[Phoenix Kitten]

6918961
I dunno, there have been some nice quiet arcs in the Austraeoh saga.

[LucyHorseThing]

6919461

[Phoenix Kitten]

6920052 Unfortunately that's how Skirts update schedule is, we get more than one chapter, expect not having any chapters for the equivalent number of days -1.
Unless you're reading Austraeoh, in which case you have to wait 5 days when the chapter count hits 195 so we can get the last 5 chapters of the current book in one whack, along with the first 5 chapters of the next book.

[LucyHorseThing]

6920074
Oh, alright...

[krakentoa]

This is simple.
Contraceptives failed, drama ensued.

However, the story is moderately PG.

[Lightning Bearer]

Well damn. I have no idea what to expect. Applejack and Stu having a fight and breaking up seems like an obvious choice... but my gut says that's not it. That feels too convenient. Others have suggested my old fall-back theory: Someone found the letter... but that doesn't seem right either, somehow. I dunno. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

...Tomorrow.

derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/9/4/89833__safe_rarity_animated_glasses_eye+twitch.gif

[Hestia]

6918961 Yeah good point. Don't know what I was thinking

[Fishberry]

Fly away, Rainbow Dash, fly for your life!

img07.deviantart.net/b361/i/2011/256/7/e/applejack_listening_to_advice_by_fabulouspony-d49stk8.png

Seriously, get out of Dodge, this is a Defcon 2 or even a Defcon 1 situation. You'll want to wait until she's dropped below a defcon 3 rating. Otherwise, you just might find yourself wishing you took your chances with that horrifying scimitar wound back in the badlands.

I would hate to see what Bucky Mcgillicuddy and Kicks Mcgee are capable of doing to a petite pegasus body.

Something about this entire situation with Applejack is giving me the willies. I just KNOW Rainbow is up the creek somehow. This is bound to get worse before it gets better. Maybe I'm just familiar enough with this author's literature that my intuition is teelling me something really bad is about to go down for the prismatic pegasus.

[zaponator]

Of all the places to end a flippin' chapter...

[Samurai-Demoman]

I feel bad for relishing in the fact that Applestuery is on its way into crumbling into nothing but dust.

[YoshiFawful64]

Ugh... the tension is unbearable. I don't even have any idea what it is — the only possible theories we have right now are AJ being pregnant and the letter being found, but if it's the former, she wouldn't be bucking trees, and if it's the latter, then why would Big Mac be angry?

...Maybe Stu found the letter and broke up with AJ, but didn't tell her why?

...Or the orange tree gift went over really badly?

[BabySkittleMonster]

6920380
I'm probably completely off target, but the only thing that my brain accepts as plausible is for AJ to have found out about:
A) what Dashie Dearest has been doing behind her back
B) her illness (a particularly violent reaction, but understandable after the whole Apple Bloom thing)
Or C) something to do with what's-her-face, the abusive scumbag.

There are many flaws with each idea, but let's face it: when pride comes into play, the Apple's aren't the most level-headed and reasonable bunch...

I guess only time will tell, huh. We're probably all wrong anyway.

[Phoenix Kitten]

6922276
What would Listing Breeze have to do with anything?

[DrEggnog]

ERNAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGH! So addictive! Good thing I have the week off.

[arancaytar]

6917943
If only she'd done that around chapter two or so, we might not be in this mess.

[DIRKWITHAGUN]

oh dear, what's happened now? is stu a changeling like some have predicted?

[bronyheat]

I've seen what Apple-legs can do in some stories. Should I be worried, what if poor St-
Oh, Celestia, can't say that with a straight face. I hope she bucked Leaves right in the almond tree.