• Member Since 21st Dec, 2012
  • offline last seen Oct 22nd, 2023

8686


T

‘A horse walks into a bar...’

One evening a despondent Applejack walked into Ponyville’s tavern. The next morning she was gone without a trace.

In the days following her disappearance the inn’s landlord recounts events in Ponyville as the town searches for its lost friend, struggling to understand why she left, and where she went.

Chapters (4)
Comments ( 53 )

Very interesting. I'll track this to see where this goes.

God damn, you're good at this.

Damn very accurate barkeep you have there.

This was quite the start. You've already got my attention.

Wonder what that argument was about.

New 8686 story?

ALL OF MY YES

Hell of a start, man. So worried for Applejack right now. :pinkiesad2:

Dang, this is really picking up fast.

Telling a whole story like this from the viewpoint of a bartender is very creative. It lets the amount of time elapsed during the search for Applejack feel realistic without feeling like a drag for the reader. Introducing Fluttershy and the CMCs (pre cutie marks, obviously!) was also a cool touch that helped add both tidbits of information and help the reader get a sense of how broken up Applejack's friends are about this whole thing. I especially liked Fluttershy's little part here. She's such a sweetheart that my heart can't take it. :rainbowkiss:

Also, lovelovelove Rarity's little cameo here, too. Great continuity from an awesome Season 5 episode.

Your characterization of Rainbow Dash also feels spot on thus far. She is the type who would run/fly herself ragged out of guilt; she's got a bit of a self-injurious streak about her in the actual show, too.

You've totally hooked me once again, 8686. It's a crime this doesn't have more views and likes.

Great story! This story really deserves more likes.

I'm gonna be really pissed if Applejack caused her family and friends to make themselves sick with worry just because she's mad at ( or feels hurt by ) Rainbow.

Nevertheless, GREAT story!

6917412 My guess is that she got caught up in some kind of adventure without a chance to tell anypony where she was going as heroes are wont to do.

Almost anything else would be too irresponsible, foolish, or otherwise OOC for her.

Oooooh shit.

It's about to get real.

Well, there's no "Tragedy" tag on this, so I'm assuming (I know, I know. Never assume anything) that AJ's gonna come home alive, and not in a body-bag, or something.

Can't wait for the last (?) chapter to see what happens.

I hope Applejack's okay. I can't even imagine Rainbow's reaction if she's not.

You cliffhanger-y bastard....

Feel so, so bad for Dashie. Apparently she'll get her answers soon though, yay.

I eagerly await the next chapter.

Is the title meaningful?

This was a wonderful read. I can't decide which character I like more: Single Measure or Silver Lining.

I absolutely love how Single and Silver dealt with Flim and Flam, and it was also nice to see them give all that ice cream away to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. I was smiling nearly the entire chapter.

Never let it be said that the setting can't be considered a character in its own right.

Thanks for writing! :ajsmug:

That was fantastic. I have a very short list of favorite OCs, and Single just went to the top.

I loved the mood and the voice in this tale. The drama was not overdone, the feels were genuine, and the resolution believable. AJ and Rainbow were very much in character, but Pinkie's heartbreaking portrayal really stood out. You managed to convey so very much in so few words, which is a gift.

Faved and followed.

Actually, I've been following you for over a year now. I'm just glad you wrote this one.

Amazing story! This is your best story written so far in my personal opinion. :pinkiesmile:
I can't believe it only has 21 likes. It really deserves more.

That was great! You made AJ's struggle make sense despite the huge reaction seen in Ponyville. I was wondering how you were going to pull that off without making her look thoughtless. Well done.

Perfection. Only word that comes to mind after reading this. It was absolutely amazing.

6924695 I have to echo this. The explanation for AJ's absence was the perfect blend of plausible and absurd. Nice work.

Wow, that was pretty great! It's good to see you writing!

Very very good! I really like that Applejack wasn't the drama pony, but that it more or less was an accident.

Hot damn. Fine story you crafted. Everything felt like it fit together so well and the point of view was a very interesting and original idea. I wholeheartedly believe this story deserves ten times more recognition than it has.

Seriously, amazing fucking job.

This is amazing; your characters are spot-on, story is well-paced, and the emotions are genuine. The quintessential slice of life fic, really! Thank you for sharing your work!

"We found this spoon, sir!” he said

I should have seen that coming, but I didn't. I was upset I did not realize that joke would be there.

Reviewed and Approved for The Goodfic Bin.

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My only regret is I wish I could do more.

I just woke up, and before I'd even eaten breakfast, started reading this; found myself so gripped I just sat here for the past two hours plowing through it, ignoring everything else.

This is, quite bluntly, one of the best fics I have ever read. Absolutely enthralling. This might just be my favorite story on the site.

Nice Python reference :pinkiehappy:

This was a really well-done story. I'm very glad I've read it. I hope you don't mind, but I shared this on Reddit's /r/mylittlepony board's fanfiction recommendation thread.

I drop off this website for a few months and come back to this gem. It's excellent, as always, and a great return to form after your hiatus. A shame I can't read that Christmas Carol fic you read as well, but regardless I look forward to whatever's next. :p

Noticed a few typos this time around, such as a "to" that should have been "too". Not sure if I'm just better at catching them, or if your editor is sleeping :raritywink:

Before I was pouring pints in Ponyville I was dispensing drinks in Dodge Junction, breaking up bar brawls in Baltimare, and concocting cocktails for classy clients in Canterlot.

A clever bit of alliteration there. :twilightsmile:

Beatiful, just, really beatiful, as all your works.

A joy to read :pinkiesmile:

Loved this part especially:

To say she has a love affair doesn’t describe it, it’s more like when she drinks it she has some kind of deep spiritual experience or something.

You write a fantastic RD

A few parts had me rolling. The wooden spoon, the crusader's manner, Rarity's entrance, "side-quests", Flim and Flam's carnival music
My only complaint is that the story isn't marked comedy!
And that this hasn't been seen more, but that's not your fault.

Liked and favorited. :raritywink:

This is nothing short of amazing. Incredible character work, a great job on the limited perspective, and most importantly, a story that has real heart.

Oh wow. This... this bar is now in my head cannon.

Amazing story and oc's.

I'll be honest, I found this a bit difficult to get through. It's rather well written and the premise is intriguing, but the narration could be more focused on the story it's trying to tell. The only relevant plot points you have established so far is that Applejack went missing after getting drunk and that Rainbow Dash seems to have something to do with it. 6800 words isn't a lot by my standards, but for most of this I found myself wishing Single Measure would get to the point.

Scootaloo fixed me with a devilish smirk. “We’ve got a secret weapon!” Then she blinked. And looked around. Then stared at Sweetie Belle. “Sweetie Belle! Where’s the secret weapon?!”

“Oh, oops. I must have left her outside!”

Just at that point there was a high-pitched ‘Arf!’ from out front, followed by scampering sounds and then into the pub ran Winona, the Apple family’s brown-and-white collie. Her eyes were alive and alert, her tongue panted, and her tail wagged eagerly. She raced to Apple Bloom, her claws clickety-clicking on the hardwood floor, and then noticed me and tried to jump up and lick my face with nothing but enthusiasm.

“See?” said Scootaloo. “Nopony knows Applejack like Winona. She’s gonna lead us right to her. No need for all that boring looking.”

This is actually genuinely smart, especially for the CMC. I'm surprised nopony else thought of using tracking animals.

Fluttershy could have recruited a bunch. She's friends with a bear, and they have an insane sense of smell.

Okay. This story is a bit unusual for me, because I sorta can't tell whether or not I liked it.

Positives first: You are clearly a very skilled writer and in the technical sense this story is very well written. My main complaint in that regard would be that I had some trouble staying interested in what was going on. I dunno, perhaps I'm simply used to faster paced narratives. When I managed to keep my attention on the words without skimming, however, they were quite good words.

On the other hand, this whole story is... weird. Like, on a conceptual level.

The reason I started reading this story was because I wanted to know what happened to Applejack. That was also the reason I kept reading it, our of sheer curiosity. It seemed obvious to me that this was the main point of the story whereas the tavern was a framing device. Throughout all of this it was my theory that Applejack actually never left the tavern at all, or at least that the place would hold the key to her disappearance. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how or why, but I was convinced this was the case since I genuinely couldn't imagine any other reason you would set the entire story in that one location.

So when I found out what actually happened I was, well, maybe not disappointed but definitely confused.

Looking back, I kinda see what you were doing here, but I can't understand why you would ever tell a story this way. It just seems very convoluted and counter-intuitive. It's so contrary to the way I think about storytelling, the whole thing just feels fundamentally alien to me.

Part of me finds this approach kinda fascinating because I haven't really seen anything like it, while another part insists that this is absolutely not how stories should be told. So I'm pretty conflicted now. :applejackconfused:

For a moment I was caught in indecision. I don’t know much about dogs and their sense of smell, but I know enough to know that tracking a pony by a scent they’ve left four days previously can’t be done, especially not with all of the other folks that have come and gone in that time to wreck the trail. To let the girls pin their hopes on this seemed unfair. Cruel even.

Some dogs could (a bloodhound, for instance). I don’t think a border collie is one of them.
Bears have a FANTASTIC sense of smell & Harry the bear could probably do it.

The information you have shared is valuable to me. strike force kitty 2

Hmm, drew me in. Wonder what's wrong with AJ? Dashie, what did you do?

Nice way to push up the tension. Poor Dash and Fluttershy.

“Then I’ll hit her over the head with something soft,” said Fluttershy. “Well, I mean... I know it sounds drastic but she’s so tired, it shouldn’t take much , and it’ll be for her own good. She needs to rest. I just hope I can convince her.” And with that Fluttershy flitted out through the open front door leaving her remaining four friends silent at the table.

Dang Fluttershy.

Poor Dashie.

That scene with Pinkie was very poignant.

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