Appledashery

by Just Essay

Fissures

Using a mouth protector, Stu pulled a piping hot tray of fritters out of the stove. He laid it out on a counter inside the house's ornate kitchen. "Ahhh..." He backtrotted, relishing the scent of the baked pastries. "Her recipes never fail."

He turned about, catching a blue face lingering in the kitchen doorframe.

"Rainbow!" He chuckled merrily as he trotted over to the pantry. "Go on and take a sample! But be careful! It's hot! Heheh..."

Rainbow took a deep breath. "Someone gave you the recipe to bake those, huh?"

"Yup! One and no other!"

"Is she... the one you're waiting to show up anytime now?"

"Well, she is a busy mare," Stu said, pulling out several plates and stacking them atop the counter. "Punctual when she needs to be, of course. But I-I've never been all too good at predicting when and where she shows up. She's a stubborn one, but I love her for it."

"Don't you think it's kind of weird that she's making you and the whole family wait this long on Hearth's Warming Day?"

"She's probably out helping a fellow neighbor with their woodcutting," Stu said. "I'd help too, but... eheh... somepony's gotta look out for the kids!"

"Stu..." Rainbow hovered into the room, wings flapping. "...do you remember a time when it wasn't Hearth's Warming?"

"Pfft! It can't be Hearth's Warming everyday Rainbow Dash!"

"Really?" Rainbow leaned her head to the side. "Then what were you doing yesterday?"

"Hah! What, did she send you to grill me?" Stu smirked at the pegasus. "She's got her own honesty radar. She doesn't need to send her friends in and interrogate."

"Think, Stu," Rainbow said in a dull tone. "What were you doing yesterday? Just before you showed up here?"

"Pffft. Well, duh! It was Hearth's Warming Eve!"

"Yeah, and?"

"And..." Stu's smile wavered for the first time since Rainbow showed up. His eyes dulled for a brief moment, then resumed reflecting the dazzling lights from the adjacent room. "And... I-I was doing what everypony else does on Hearth's Warming Eve."

"Could you be specific?"

"No... uh... I-I can't..." Stu cleared his throat, using a spatula to scoop the fritters up and place them onto the plate. "And, to be quite honest, I don't have the time."

"Why not?"

"Because she'll be back anytime soo—"

"Does she have a name?"

"Huh?"

Rainbow glared. "Does she have a name, Stu?"

"Who... my wife?" Stu smirked. He swung his flank into the counter and slid the plate onto his backside with his tail. "Why all the questions, Rainbow? I mean, you were there!" He chuckled as he carried the fritters out into the main hallway. "You were the best mare, after all!"

Rainbow fwooshed into the corridor, floating backwards in front of the blinking stallion. "I know. I saw the photos. But you know what else I saw?"

"Pfft. What?"

"... ... ..." Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "None of the photos with her have a face."

"Oh please... you've got to be..." Stu winced slightly, the platter rattling on his back. He cleared his throat and made to move past Rainbow. "If you'll... uh... excuse me. The foals' stomachs must be growling—"

Rainbow planted her hooves against the wall, blocking his path. "You know what happens in a dream, Stu? Twilight once told me. You can never read or write anything, because the logic centers of your brain aren't working with your imagination."

"And just what does that have to do with anyth—?"

"Tell me, is it logical for your spouse to be away for this long on Hearth's Warming?"

"I'm... waiting for her..." Stu gulped, his ears folding back. "All of the children... are..."

"Or maybe your mind knows that this is a dream..." Rainbow's brow furrowed. "And that none of this can make sense—because it hasn't happened?"

"Rainbow, please, I—"

"You're in a dream, Stu..."

"I... I-I just want to be there with my f-foals when she returns—"

"Say her name."

"Please, if you would just—"

"Say her name, Stu." Rainbow gritted her teeth. "If you won't, then I will!"

"I love her!" Stu barked, his body trembling. His next voice came out in a pitiful squeak, "And... and sh-she loves our family!"

"Only, there is no family!" Rainbow retorted. "And there is no Applejack! Not here!"

Stu's pupils shrunk. He trotted backwards, trembling. "Apple... jack...?" He tilted his face around to look at the family portraits. "She... she needs our..." One by one, each glass frame cracked, the fractures forming along the blank faces of the same mare in every image.

Then—with a roll of thunder—a savage fissure formed across the foundation of the house. Snow and ice filtered in, chilling everypony to the bone.

"Oh Celestia..." A tear rolled down Stu's cheek. He dropped the platter of fritters to the floor with a loud noise. "Oh Celestia, please no..."

Rainbow Dash gulped and reached a hoof down. "Now... easy, Stu—"

"Pappa?" a voice cried out in fright from the next room.

"Kids...?" Stu stammered, his eyes glossy. "Kids?! Hold on!" He galloped off before Rainbow could stop him.

Comments

[RoboRed]

Geez, thanks Cider-Nexus...you just had to get the imaginary children involved in the world-shattering... Now what happens next is gonna be even less happy.

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

5595567 Given that they aren't real, I don't think Rainbow thought about it much.

She just wants to get AJ and Stu, the other victims; er, "guests" , and the schemers (can't expect anything less from Flim and Flam, actually) of all this, and get everypony back to the real world safely.

And snag herself an unexpected Chaos Shard for Lancie on the downlow, hopefully.

[Sheendough]

5595585 What is she missing? She has two antlers (right?), one tail, one leg and the body (and now the head as well). Is she missing the other leg and arm? Why do I get the feeling that Aatxe has the last shard?

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

5595932 I dunno, but Dash seemed to know what the thing in Shindig's capsule (or whatever it is that she's in) was the minute that she saw it, due to her experience with the other ones that she and Lancie have been recovering.

And that would just be the way, wouldn't it? That's about Dash's...and by extension, our...luck.

And on the subject of what's going on in Cider Space, I just hope that she gets herself, AJ, Stu and everyone else out of this mess.

And that Shindig and her idiot sons get the reeming out of their entire lives (curtesy of AJ and Rainbow), and then get hauled off to jail for this crap.

Or at the very least, to a pyschiatric ward somewhere.

'Cause it sure sounds like they need it!

[RoboRed]

5595585
But they are real to Stu. And it will affect him later. And Rainbow will have to deal with him in the aftermath.

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

5596356 Well, this is true, on all counts.

Good points, all.

[Lightning Bearer]

Good thing they brought all that cider. Stu's gonna need it when they get back in meatspace.

[Sam the Anti-Ninja]

5595567 such are the burdens of the Dreamcrusher.

[Tim the Planes-pony]

I am now getting 'For the Man who has Everything Vibes'.

[Phoenix Kitten]

[SnowOriole]

Fact check! Most people can't read and write in their dreams, but there are exceptions! For example, me. >:D I can read in my dreams.

[bronyheat]

I feel like Stu is going to suffer some major depression after this.
Stu was in heaven, but he really belonged in hell-
Ok, not really, I just love to hate him.