Don't call me Sugarcube!

The following day, Rarity visited the farm again, having convinced an unlucky young stallion to pull her cart so that she wouldn't have to inconvenience herself with the tiresome journey once more. "Thank you, darling" she said with a bow and the lightest touch of her hoof against his neck as she jumped down and began to walk into the farm proper, eager to begin negotiations with Applejack over exactly what she could get her to wear. "Oh, and I'd appreciate it if you'd wait right there, I shan't be long" she called behind her as the poor colt began to move away, ensuring she had an easy route back, too.

"Oh, Applejack" Rarity called in a sing-song voice, looking for the busy orange mare somewhere in the fields.

"Aw horseapples" swore Applejack under her breath as she heard Rarity approaching, the light clip-clop of her hooves growing in volume as she grew closer. "I'm here, Rarity" she called, failing to hide the bitterness in her voice, the moment Rarity was too close for her to have any chance of escape.

"Oh, wonderful! Darling, we simply must talk about your attire for next week, it's the chance of a lifetime to show off my work and I really can't afford not to take it, I'm sure you understand." Rarity spoke, while opening her bag and pulling out a few potential items. "Now, we have this divine dress, this gorgeous gown, or this simply ravishing robe. Or, I could design something fresh, just for you!"

Applejack considered her next words carefully, viewing the items with a mixture of foreboding and disdain. "Nah, I'm fine like this." She went back to bucking her tree, knocking the apples out into her bucket before picking it up and walking on.

Rarity followed behind her, dragging the clothing along through the air. "Oh, but you must, darling! I couldn't possibly allow you to look so, ah... uncivilised"

"I don't rightly care, Rarity, I don't fit in there anyhow" Applejack snorted, bucking another tree with as much ease as she brushed off Rarity's arguments, trying not to show her irritation at Rarity insulting her lifestyle once again.

"Oh, but Apple-jaaaaaack, you must! You simply must!" Rarity cried in return, pouting with all her might and lowering her head in a delicate, calculated attempt to look as needy and vulnerable as possible. Rarity was very, very persuasive, and while admittedly most of the ponies she manipulat- asked for assistance from were male, she remained fairly sure she could swing the other sex too.

"Rarity, your fancy flirting ain't gonna work on me, and I ain't wearing no dress. I ain't even that sure on going to your frilly party, so if ya'll can just please leave me in peace and stop trotting around all fancy-like and having your head in the clouds more often than Rainbow that'd be just fine by me" Applejack half-shouted, irritated at being interrupted by this nonsense for the second time in a row, and maybe a little defensive about how often Rarity was attempting to seduce her, and how close to home it was hitting.

"I... Applejack! How could you! I am your FRIEND, and I simply thought you might enjoy letting your hair down, but apparently I was wrong! Well, I shall leave you be and let you get disgusting and sweaty as much as you like, I shall simply go alone. Hmf!" Rarity whined, a single tear forming in her eye as she turned to run away.

Rarity didn't stop running until she'd left the farm completely, looking around for her carriage ride home. It was nowhere to be found. That was the last straw, Rarity's day was ruined. She couldn't stomach the walk home after such crushing disappointments, and there was nobody to help her on her way. The single tear quickly found its way to sobs as she collapsed against a nearby fence, the stresses and strains of the past day, week, even the whole month getting the better of her.

Yet, there was nobody around to hear her cries, nobody to care about her turmoil. The wooden post proved a poor shoulder to cry on, fighting back against her slight spasms by giving her a splinter, further compounding her issues.

It was all so unfair, Rarity thought to herself between quiet sobs, she worked every bit as hard as Applejack. Sure, her hooves were manicured and every hair on her head was perfect, but that didn't mean she didn't pour her heart and soul into her work every bit as much as Applejack did. Just because her life was about class, and poise, rather than brute force and a stunning ass - she meant astute business practices - didn't mean she didn't have feelings.

"Rarity?" Applejack quietly asked, having sneaked up behind while Rarity was paying too much attention to dramatically enunciating her inner monologue, "I didn't mean that. Hay, I think ya'll work more hours than me, and I'm up dawn 'till dusk. All I meant by it was, I don't come round to your work with things for you to kick, so why are ya'll coming to mine with things to wear?"

That was as close to an apology as Applejack was willing to go, and it seemed to cheer Rarity up a little. At very least, she stopped sobbing and started merely sniffing into a fresh, impressively embroidered handkerchief.

"Aw, gee, Rarity, say something will you?" Applejack groaned after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Applejack, I'm being a terrible friend. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Jeez, of course I can. Look, tell you what, ya'll go off home now and make me a right fancy looking hat, and I'll wear it to this snooty party of yours, deal?" Applejack offered, still fairly certain she didn't want to go, but valuing Rarity's friendship - and more importantly her own peace and quiet - too much to do nothing.

Rarity merely smiled, nodded her head, and moved to shake Applejack's hoof - ensuring that she didn't actually have to touch the disgustingly dirty thing by covering it with yet another handkerchief.

"I uh, appear to have misplaced my chauffeur" Rarity laughed, between sniffles as the two finished up their agreement, light-heartedly attempting to poke fun at herself as best she could. As close to a "Maybe I'm not completely perfect" as Rarity would ever be willing to go.

"Oh, what the hay, it's almost lunch anyway" Applejack replied, jumping over to her cart and hooking herself in, "Hop in, ya'll can show me some hats while I'm down there"

The journey was mostly silent, Applejack losing herself in the activity like she normally would, and Rarity trying her best to keep her eyes on the road, not on Applejack. Applejack was a friend, and a lout at that. A lout with a nice ass.

No, Rarity scolded herself, that kind of thought was decidedly uncouth. Romance should be... romantic. There were supposed to be candlelit dinners, and the stallion (it had to be a stallion) had to prove their love for her with some outrageous and public feat. To catch herself absent mindedly admiring the body of one of her oldest friends was unacceptable.

On the other hoof, it was a very nice bottom. Rarity could only imagine what a tight-fitting dress would look like on her, it was such a shame Applejack refused to try it, Rarity was sure she'd look staggering in one. She could turn the head of any hot-blooded pony she cared to walk past. Not that Rarity was jealous, or anything, but she knew she'd kill for that kind of natural beauty. Applejack probably didn't even wash that often, never mind pamper herself.

And quite how she got her mane looking like that, Rarity was unsure. Soft, but with a harshness to it - not a bad harshness by any means, just... a harshness. It looked good flowing out from under her hat, though Rarity quickly found herself imagining what it would look like without the bindings, allowed to roam free. It was a crying shame Applejack would never go for it.

"Uh, Rarity? We're here?" Applejack stated, having gotten bored of waiting outside of Rarity's boutique for her to notice that they'd been there for several minutes.

"Oh! So we are, how lovely. Come on, I have plenty of materials that would look lovely on you" Rarity squeaked, before jumping down and continuing talking while she walked both of them inside and started to pick up various materials and colours, "I'm sure any of them would suit you, but honestly you deserve the best here. Are you sure you won't consider a dress?"

"I ain't really into dresses, you know that"

"Oh, but Applejack, you'd look so good in one!" Rarity cooed, immediately jumping into her marketing mode, "someponies are just born to look good, and you're one of them. Not that you don't look good now, of course!" Rarity laughed nervously, "But you could look even better! Look, try this on!"

"I thought ya'll said you weren't going to make me wear a dress?"

"Oh, please, for me? It doesn't have to leave these four walls, I assure you. Why, I'll even lock the door. Please?"

Applejack surrendered, looking slightly dejected as Rarity's face broke into a massive grin while she started to look through her stock, searching for a suitably gorgeous dress. Nothing too fancy, Applejack's charm came from her simplicity, and her dress should reflect that. Nothing complex, inspired by nature, probably made mostly from earth tones, aha!

Rarity turned around and showed Applejack her selection. By far the simplest dress she currently had in stock, it was a relatively small, low-profile brown dress, designed to be closely form-fitting and not get in the way, as if the wearer wouldn't even know it was there.

"I guess" replied the distinctly uninterested farmpony, viewing the item with scepticism and disdain.

Rarity took that as a positive sign and quickly performed a few basic adjustments with a few spells - not perfect, but it'd fit. "Now, lift up your hooves" she commanded, slipping the dress across Applejack's body while she submitted.

Something that most earth ponies didn't know about unicorn magic is how tactile it can be. The sense of touch is a massive advantage for almost anything a unicorn cares to manipulate, and while Twilight had spoken of doing it on a larger scale, Rarity was stuck on a fairly low level. Not that it felt inferior, in any way, as she ran her magical tendrils over Applejack's tough, toned body, admiring the musculature and shapeliness as she pulled the dress tight, hugging the curves and ridges of her skin.

Rarity pulled herself away, realising how unladylike it was of her to grope her friends, even if they weren't aware of it, tugging the dress into place and keeping out of reach.

"Now I know why ya'll like dresses so much, putting them on feels great!" Applejack exclaimed, causing Rarity to blush through the unintended sentiments. "So, how'd I look?" she continued, giving a joking impression of a twirl.

She looked fantastic, Rarity thought. She was right (Rarity was always right about these things), Applejack was born to be pretty. The way the thin, simple dress hugged against her form and accentuated her naturally stunning features made it a little difficult for Rarity to construct sentences.

"You look, ah... look... wonderful" Rarity threw together on the fly, fighting against that niggling part of her mind that was telling her that though Applejack was no stallion, she was more masculine than most around these parts anyway.

"Nah, I look ridiculous, don't I?" Applejack joked in return, trying her very best to be amiable. Applejack was good with spotting lies, and Rarity hadn't seemed to be lying at all since her breakdown. Knowing that Rarity actually did want her to come along as a friend, not a meaningless fashion model, made talking to her a lot easier. "Why don't you tell me what you really think?"

"I mean it, Applejack, you look very nice" Rarity replied, hiding the true magnitude of her feelings. One might say, lying about how she felt.

Applejack frowned. Most ponies wouldn't have been able to tell, but Rarity hadn't quite made eye contact, she'd tilted her head just a little as if to say "please leave it at that", and her voice had wavered almost imperceptibly. Most ponies wouldn't have noticed. Applejack was not most ponies.

"Now I know ya'll ain't being truthful with me here, Rarity. I'm a big mare, and I ain't right interested in looking fancy anyhow, I can take it. Ya'll'll only be insulting your own dress" Applejack replied, slightly irritated that Rarity felt the need to lie to her. Honesty was a value that Applejack understandably held close to her heart, and seeing her friends lying always stung a little.

Rarity knew this. Rarity knew how easily Applejack could detect a lie, like she could smell them, and she knew that she wasn't anywhere near deceptive enough to trick her. Rarity doubted anypony was. This put her in a difficult position. On the one hoof, she couldn't lie to Applejack, because that would just make her madder, and their relationship was never really more than a mane's breadth away from a shouting match at the best of times. On the other hoof, telling Applejack that it taking all of Rarity's strength to not kiss her there and then was completely out of the question.

Applejack wouldn't feel the same way, anyway, it was a moot point. Applejack would be the sort that would stick to stallions and nothing else. Rarity, of course, would take anything that met her standards - it was just a shame that nothing had met them yet. Except, maybe, now. Rarity couldn't imagine Applejack ever bringing her roses, or singing a love song from a secluded balcony on a warm summer's day, but it was easy to imagine her always being there, and always standing by her even if she disagreed. Celestia knew that Applejack and Rarity disagreed on a lot, but it didn't really get in the way of their friendship. Too much. Most of the time.

"Oh, fine, you win. You look great. You look absolutely stunning, and you'll turn the head of anypony you care to pass. Looking like that, you could walk from a meeting with the princesses all the way down to a low-class slum, visiting everypony in-between, and look stunning the entire way. Happy now?" Rarity snapped, blushing heavily as she poured her heart out.

"Aw, shucks, Rarity, I didn't realise" Applejack apologised, "I guess I get jealous of you too. I'm sorry, I'll take it off. I'll just wear the hat, if ya'll still wants me." she suggested, completely missing Rarity's point. Rarity wondered if, even trying to be direct, she just didn't speak clearly enough for her to understand. She thought it best not to push her luck.

"Oh, of course I still want you" - Excellent wording, Rarity! Way to make yourself feel even more pathetic! - "and I swear to you, you shall have the finest hat in all of Equestria!"

"Attagirl. Y'know, this sounds like it might well be fun after all. Anyhow, I gotta get back to the farm, see you round Rarity" Applejack tossed over her shoulder as she wandered out of the door, pulling her cart back along with her as she made her way back to the farm, leaving Rarity feeling quite lonely in her boutique.