• Published 21st Oct 2016
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Appledashery Vol. Two - Just Essay



Rainbow Dash and Applejack have a long, joyous, arduous relationship.

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Barn It

Big Macintosh did a double-take, his eyes bugging.

Golden Harvest and the rest of her family looked over with gaping muzzles.

On heavy limbs, Applejack limped towards the opposite side of the partially-raised barn. Her heart pounded through her chest and neck as she rounded the corner, stumbling upon the inevitable horror show. "Land's sakes..." She gulped and picked up the pace. "Granny...?!" Fighting the urge to sob, she outright galloped towards the source of the thunderous crash. "Granny!"

Big Macintosh and the others stampeded after her.

At long last, they reached the elder mare... who was standing perfectly healthy and unharmed in the epicenter of a ring of thick splinters. The falling side of the barn had literally exploded on all sides of her.

But Granny Smith hadn't a single scratch on her.

"Are ya alright?!" Applejack grasped the old mare's shoulders, hyperventilating. "Lemme look at you!"

"Eeeyu-humina—what?!" Granny squinted at Applejack in confusion. She grasped a freshly-plucked flower or two and frowned at the younger mare's panic. "Why, of course I'm alright! Why wouldn't I be?" With a grunt, she shoved away at Applejack. "Stop pawin' me like I'm some sort of dag-blame'd hog gettin' spruced up for a show!"

"Oh, Granny!" Applejack teared up instantly. She flung herself forward, hugging Granny Smith close. "I th-thought I'd lost ya, darlin'! I had n-no idea that there frame was so loose! You almost plum died!"

"Died? Pffft!" Granny patted Applejack's shoulder and smiled. "Why, what in Equestria are ya babblin' about? I've still got a good few years left in me, ya silly pony!" Once that was said, she stole a look at the debris scattered all around her frail figure. "Huh... That's strange. Who put all these chunks of plywood around here?"

"Oh goodness..." Applejack sniffled. She rubbed her eyes dry while still clinging to her grandmother. "I swear, I-I've never been so scared in all my life!"

Golden Harvest stammered, "That was nothing short of a miracle." Stunned, she looked at Big Macintosh. "You ever seen anything like that, Big Mac?"

Big Macintosh was still trying to process the situation. "....eeeeeeeeeenope." He gawked at the debris, at the side of the barn, then at the debris again.

Other ponies gathered murmured in awe: "It was incredible. It's like the thing exploded in midair!"

"I can't believe what I'm seeing. Did something hit it?"

"Maybe it was a tree branch!"

"No way. Granny Smith wasn't standing anywhere near a tree."

"Perhaps a sharp gust of wind..."

"You feeling any change in the air? Because I'm not!"

"Folks... folks..." Applejack took control of the situation. She waved her hooves at the group and calmed her shuddering breaths. "Let's... uhm... let's all call it a day..."

"What?!" Granny Smith frowned. "But AJ, you barely done raised half of this here barn—"

"And to be perfectly honest, I don't rightly care at the moment," Applejack said. She nuzzled the old mare again. "It's not the most important thang for us to be workin' on right now. Besides, I reckon it needs a heapin' load of inspection before we labor on it any further. Ya feel me?"

Silence.

Eventually those gathered around nodded and murmured in agreement.

"Well... uh..." Granny Smith fidgeted. "If th-that's what you think is for the best, darlin', then who am I to argue with ya?"

"No arguments whatsoever, Granny." Applejack smiled. "Let's get you inside and rest up a bit. We're done for the day."

"Well, if that's the case..." Granny Smith threw a wrinkly smile over her shoulders. "How about y'all samplin' a piece of my latest apple cherry pie?!"

"Heheheh..."

"Oh, that sounds marvelous!"

"Don't mind if I do."

"Eeeeyup."

The group of barn-raising ponies trotted off, and Applejack lingered behind. She took several deep breaths, feeling as the blood recollected nominally throughout her system. Every time she thought of the loud crash ricocheting across the farmland, she felt a stab to her heart. In every blink, she saw a pair of stones lingering at the top of a hill, and it chilled her to think that a third almost joined it that very same day.

She felt weak... scared... desperate...

...and she reached a hoof up to her hat, longing for the gentle, relieving softness lingering inside.

And that is when her eyes wandered... and she spotted a separate portion of the blue sky that was still hovering in place. She gasped—then pulled her hat tighter to her scalp.

"Oh! Rainbow!" She exhaled, smiling with simultaneous relief and surprise. "I... uh... shucks. In all the excitement, I plum forgot you was hoverin' there!"

"Uhm..." Rainbow was evidently stunned by the recent events. Her ears drooped as her voice cracked, "That's okay. I-I kind of forgot I was here too."

Applejack smiled, feeling warm and toasty inside. "Life sure is dayum surprisin' at times, would you agree?"

"Uhhh... maaaaaaaaaybe?"

Applejack looked at the wooden debris, then back up at Rainbow Dash. "You were usin' yer wings the whole time. I dun suppose ya got a good view of what the hay just happened with that there buildingface?"

"I... uhm..." Rainbow looked behind her for a brief moment. "I think I had sweat in my eyes at the time."

"Uh huh..."

Silence.

Applejack finally decided not to triple-count her blessings. "Well!" She tilted her hat back and smiled. "Good thang nopony got flattened! Especially a pony I lurve with every fiber of my being!" She motioned towards the house. "C'mon inside, sugarcube. I reckon an energetic speedster like you is absolutely dyin' for a taste of some sweet apple cherry pie!"

"Uhm... eheh..." Rainbow shook her head. "Thanks, but no thanks, AJ. As much as I would love to have a sweet taste of your apple cherry pie, I got stuff to do."

Applejack exhaled. "Well, darn if you ain't the busiest of ponies these days."

"Er..." Rainbow squirmed in midair. "Yeahhhhhh..."

"Well, another time, then! You've treated me and the girls." Applejack winked as she briskly trotted away. "It'd only be right that I treat you too."

Applejack heard nothing after that, and so she suspected Rainbow Dash flew off to tackle one of her many jobs. For the moment, the farm mare was content just to enjoy the brightness and warmth of the day...

...and the fresh sound of Granny Smith's healthy voice still lingering in her mind.

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