Don't call me Sugarcube!
"Aaaaaaaaigh!" Rarity screamed, throwing her papers into the air and backing away quickly. "Wa-ha-ha-HA!"
Rarity's celebrations were cut short as Spike burst in through the door, running up to her and, with a well executed combat roll, landed in front of her ready to defend her from the piece of paper. "Never fear, my sweet, for Spike is here! I'll save you!" Jab, jab! Jab jab jab!
Spike's tail ineffectually prodded at the thin sheet of parchment for a few moments until Rarity pulled him off, holding him in the air for a few moments before unceremoniously dropping him.
"Now now, Spike, so violent! I am quite fine, I assure you. While I appreciate your assistance, this is good news - I, Rarity, have been invited to the biggest fashion party in Canterlot, and it's taking place next week! Oh, I've always wanted to go, and I'll get to meet so many important ponies!" Rarity said, walking over and picking the envelope containing the invite back up. She opened it further, and saw another slip of paper - a second invite, for a guest. "Oh my, I have a plus one! How simply wonderful, somepony can come with me! Oh, this is going to be fantastic!"
Spike's eyes opened wide at the revelation, his tail subconsciously straightening as he hoped his scales were as shiny as he liked them, and asked "Oh, you're going to take somebody with you?" as innocently as he could muster.
"Oh, well, it'd be a waste not to, of course! Oh, I do hope Twilight is free-"
"She's not. She's... uh... reading. All week." Spike lied, subconsciously shuffling and wringing his tail in his hands.
"Oh, how very boring of her. That pony really needs to get out more, but I suppose I shouldn't intrude. Fluttershy will surely be free-"
"She isn't. She told me she needs to take care of the animals. More than normal. They're sick" Spike continued, lying through his teeth and starting to sweat profusely.
"All of them? Oh, how simply terrible, I couldn't possibly drag her away from her important work." Rarity said with a disappointed groan. "Well, I suppose I could ask Pinki... maybe Rainbow Dash would like to go?"
"She's sleeping. Like, all the time. In a tree. All week."
"Hmf. That does sound like her. Gah, how frustrating! Do none of them even care that this could be my big break? The thing that propels me to the stardom I so rightly deserve? My chance to shine brightly among the elite of Canterlot?! Well, I suppose there's nothing else to it, I'll simply have to take-"
"Oh, thank you, Rarity, I'd love to!" Spike began, running a hand through the scales on his head and puffing out his chest.
"-Applejack, that pony needs to let her hair down and I simply won't take no for an answer. Thanks ever so much for helping me, Spike, no wonder Twilight calls you her number one assistant!" Rarity beamed, grabbing her saddlepack from beside the door and slipping it on as she left, safely tucking her precious letter inside, leaving Spike feeling quite lonely inside her boutique.
The walk to Sweet Apple Acres was an uncomfortably long one for the pampered pony, and one made all the worse by the raging heat of the midday sun beating down from above her. Rarity realised that sunlight was important for things like growing food, and sunbathing, but did it really need to be sunny right this second? Why, if Celestia wasn't a gorgeous, stylish princess Rarity would be quite peeved at her.
Some way there, Rarity stopped to catch her breath and rest just a moment, to ease her aching hooves. Why the farm had to be so far out of town she didn't know, it all seemed very inconvenient. She ought to talk to Applejack about moving some of it a little closer to town, it must be quite problematic for everypony involved.
Eventually, though, she made it, walking through the wooden arch into the main body of the farm with pride, before looking around for Applejack, the orange, athletic mare who spent most of every day slaving away on the apple trees, never giving herself a moment's rest. Rarity would change that, at least for a few days - surely nobody could turn down a high-class event in Canterlot.
"Nah." Applejack replied after Rarity popped the question, taking barely a moment to consider it before turning around and bucking another tree. "I got work to do here, Rarity, I can't just go swanning off at some high-class hoo-haa like ya'll can. The farm needs me, and that ain't my kind of place anyway"
"Oh, nonsense, Applejack! The farm can handle a few days without you, I'm sure! Big Macintosh seems very capable, and I'm sure you'll get on with everypony just fine!"
"Nuh-uh, I ain't going, I don't like them stuck-up noponies any more than I like... pears" Applejack responded, her voice hardening when she spoke the name of the competing fruit.
"Pleeeeease, Applejack? Look, everypony else is busy and I have a spare ticket. I couldn't possibly turn up alone, it would look uncouth. You're coming."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not, and that's final!"
Rarity sensed her method of arguing was not going well - the only thing to do next was persuasion. Rarity was good at persuasion, she was fairly sure she could charm the wings off a Pegasus given the chance. Nothing with a heartbeat could stand up to her.
"Oh, but Applejack, I'd simply love to have you there" she softly whispered, rubbing her head against Applejack's mane and tracing a hoof down her neck, "it just wouldn't be the same without you there, beside me, all night long"
"Rarity."
"I'll stop if you come" Rarity replied with a restrained smile.
"I... agh, fine, I'll go to your thing, but just this once y'hear? And I ain't wearing a dress" Applejack relented, bitterly agreeing to take a few days off and let her hair down, if only to make Rarity stop trying to seduce her. That was never going to work.
"Oh, wonderful! Will you wear a shirt? I have plenty of designs I'd simply love to try out on you" Rarity squeed, turning around and galloping away before Applejack had a chance to complain.
"Now wait one apple-picking minute, I ain't wearing no... shirt... gosh-darnit" Applejack yelled after her, giving up when Rarity pretended not to hear. This was going to be a long week.
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.
The next week sped by, Applejack and Rarity staying mostly out of each other's way. Rarity busied herself working on designs, most importantly the hat, and spending all of her idle time on introspective soul-searching as she tried to figure out how she really felt.
Applejack spent her time much like she spent all of her other time. Working hard and ensuring the farm ran smoothly, and spending time with her family. Applejack had come to terms with her sexuality long ago - it hadn't taken her long. As far as she was concerned, you were who you were.
So, as if no time had really passed at all, the two found themselves sharing a train compartment, travelling to Canterlot as fast as a magical engine could take them. Twilight had offered to teleport them there, but she'd spoken with such enthusiasm about wanting the practice that Rarity didn't quite trust her to not put them miles off course, so they took the train. The slow, chugging train. The one that would take hours to make the journey.
"You ain't said a word since we set off, Rarity, what's eating ya?" Applejack finally asked, the silence becoming deafening as it continued for long awkward minutes.
"Oh, I was just thinking, don't mind me" Rarity absent-mindedly replied, hoping her white lie was imperceptible. She had been thinking, but she would rather die than tell Applejack what. Fantasies of what they could do to pass the time weren't something Rarity was proud of. "Oh! I haven't given you your hat, one moment!" she suddenly exclaimed, realising that in her distraction she'd forgotten to actually give Applejack the gift that her imagination had decided should result in sloppy kisses and decidedly unladylike behaviour in one of the free bunks.
"Well ain't that something" Applejack cooed, drawing her eyes over the hat. Rarity had taken inspiration from the dress when designing it, and created something simple, but expressive. Something that screamed "Applejack" without being fancy, or overcomplicated. When Rarity had finished with it, she finally knew what ponies meant when they said that perfection was achieved not when there was nothing more to add, but when there was nothing more to take away.
Rarity had created an identical copy of Applejack's current hat.
"I tried other designs, darling, but I kept coming back to this. You look exceptional in that hat, so I thought I'd make you another. Just in case you get one dirty." Rarity explained, holding out the new headwear for Applejack to take in her hoof. It wasn't exactly like the one on her head - it was cleaner, and less obviously worn, but that was the only intentional difference.
"Shucks, Rarity, thank you. I gotta be honest, I was getting worried you'd give me something with sparkly bits on it!" Applejack laughed, Rarity joining in after an awkward moment thinking back to all her other designs. Which included sparkly bits. One of her prototypes had made the room resemble a disco hall more than a design area. She'd scrapped that design.
The remainder of the train journey went much more easily now that Rarity was able to talk to Applejack, taking her mind away from other things she'd enjoy doing to her, and then immediately beating herself up over thinking those things. Applejack was getting used to the idea of a day off, and maybe even (Not that she'd admit it, even to herself) looking forward to it.
"Okay", Rarity said as they stood outside of the event venue, being only a little late. The trains were normally much more punctual, and Rarity would be having words with the ponies responsible for the delays, but for now they were needed inside. "Here we are, Applejack, let's get in there! I, of course, shall spend the night networking, so please do try to have fun"
She opened the door with a wave of her horn, and the two were immediately assaulted by the event staff. "Tickets, please?" one of them asked, while the others stood around looking menacing, staring at the unlikely sight of Rarity, all dressed up and sparkly standing next to Applejack, who still had a little dirt on her hooves from yesterday's work.
"Of course, how silly of me" Rarity stalled as she reached for the tickets, which were exactly where she'd left them.
The staff lightened up considerably after they saw the tickets, and invited the two inside, through to where the main party was happening. Rarity was spellbound, catching sight of every big name she could think of, and barely seeing a single face she didn't recognise.
"Rarity", whispered Applejack as they walked up the short hallway towards the main hall, "I thought ya'll said this was going to be a party? They're all just... talking"
"Well, I suppose 'event' might be a better word. I must admit, I was expecting drinks at least" Rarity whispered back, starting to regret inviting Applejack along at all. Turning up alone would probably have been better than dragging her orange friend along to such a dry 'party'.
"Ah, Rarity, you made it! Come, we have much to discuss about your new clothing line! How long would it take for you to-" some clearly important figure immediately began as they walked into the room, sweeping Rarity away and leaving Applejack alone and uninterested, and quite lonely in the room filled with ponies.
A few minutes later, Applejack found herself sitting at the side of the room, inspecting the needlework on her hat and chewing on a leaf taken from one of the plants around the room. They probably weren't meant as snacks, but Applejack didn't really care.
"Why, hello there, and who are you?" asked an anonymous stallion, having inadvertently snuck up on her while she was distracted.
"Oh! Why, I'm Applejack from down in Ponyville, partner, how do you do?" Applejack replied with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, shaking the unsuspecting pony's hoof with all her might. He didn't talk to her after that.
None of them did, giving her a wide berth, like coming into direct contact with her would give them diseases. For almost half an hour, not a single pony came closer than a few meters.
"Applejack! Have you been alone this entire time?" Rarity asked, after wandering up to Applejack and sitting beside her, resting her back against the wall.
"Yup. Ain't none of these fancy do-nothings spoken to me. So much for a party, Rarity." Applejack complained, adjusting her shiny new hat and making sure it rested on her head just right.
Rarity made a snap decision. She didn't like doing things like that, but sometimes things had to be done. She'd just gotten an order that, honestly, she wasn't entirely sure she could fill in time anyway, so spending more time here was, in the short run at least, pointless. "Oh, then let's get out of here, Applejack! I'll prove to you you can have a good time in Canterlot."
"What about ya'll's business stuff? I don't want to intrude on that"
"Oh, who cares, let's live a little! Besides, I already have one order, I don't need more. You're more important to me, Applejack." Rarity said, switching from her purposefully overdramatic voice to a completely serious one as she continued, "I mean it. You're very important to me."
"Rarity, are you...?" Applejack asked, unsure of what she was hearing.
"Yes, Applejack. Yes I am." Rarity replied, unsure of what she was saying. She was insane, clearly. Completely and irrevocably insane. She was throwing away her friendship on some fools errand. Twilight would go crazy trying to fix this friendship-screwup.
"I never did thank you for the hat, not right properly" Applejack replied in a too-steady tone and an unbreaking gaze. "Ya'll said we had a hotel room for tonight, right?"
"Well, yes, the train home isn't until tomorrow" Rarity answered, unsure of where Applejack was going with this.
"When can we check in?"
Oh, that's what Applejack meant by that. "Any time after six" Rarity whispered, lowering her eyes and letting her tone become a little sultry. The two looked at a nearby clock, tracing the hands down with their eyes until they could interpret the time.
"It's 6:30, Rarity"
"Let's go" she replied, before turning around to the crowd and announcing "Ahem, everypony. I shall be taking my leave, I wish to spend some time with my dear friend, especially as you all seem to be ignoring her, quite rudely."
Nobody reacted, they probably didn't even hear. Rarity let out a pained "Hmf" and strode out of the building, head held high. Applejack followed behind, glad to finally be leaving.
"Thanks, Rarity, I know ya'll were looking forward to that, and I'm sorry I had to go ruin it for you" Applejack diplomatically offered.
"Nonsense, if those ponies can't see beauty when it's sitting in front of their faces, I shan't be having anything to do with them."
"What'd you say?" Applejack asked, the shock clearly visible on her face.
"Oh, do I have to say it, Applejack? You were right, in a way, when you were wearing that dress. I was jealous - of you. I never look that good, and you do it without even trying. It simply isn't fair, and if I can't have those kind of looks I at least want you" Rarity enthusiastically explained, assuming Applejack was just messing around and wanting to hear the words.
She wasn't. "I uh, I thought you just wanted to get out of that stuffy party, Rarity. I didn't know you felt that way" she slowly said, trying to think things through, before giving up a few seconds later and doing what felt right. "Oh, what the hay. Rarity, you're a massive pain in the flank, some days it seems like everything you do is just meant to get on my tail, and you never do know when to shut up. I guess what I'm trying to say is I feel the same way"
"You... hadn't realised?" Rarity asked, unbelieving. Those had been her best seduction tactics. She was pretty sure that she could persuade a buffalo to give up its native lands with those. Applejack hadn't even noticed. That just wasn't fair. Rarity pouted the entire way to the hotel. Even while checking in - the poor receptionist got a full-force blast of Rarity's poutiest face. She may never recover.
The two mares sat on the edge of one of the beds in their two-bed room in silence, Rarity pulling off her dress and cleaning away the sparkliest bits in her mane, shoving them into a sad looking drawer in the corner of the room.
"Rarity", Applejack began after a few moments, "You ain't said anything to me since I told you. I'd have thought you'd be happy, you just don't make sense to me some days"
Rarity considered it. She ought to be happy, her fears had been unfounded, so why wasn't she?
"Applejack, you are quite possibly the singular most irritating pony in Equestria" Rarity started, throwing out a hoof to knock her orange companion onto her back and pulling herself up to start walking towards her, "I hope you realise how many times you've ruined my day. How many times I've looked at you with such shamed lust, knowing it could never be"
Rarity slammed a hoof down onto Applejack's upper leg, holding her in place. Reaching down, she grasped Applejack's hat in her teeth and yanked it off of her head, throwing it aside and leaving Applejack quite naked. "Do you know how long I've spent looking for 'the one', every time comparing them to this perfect figure in my head and having them come up short? Do you know how long it's been since I realised that figure was you?" Rarity began to shout, beating her hoof against Applejack's chest, her weak seamstress' legs sliding painlessly off of Applejack's tough, muscular exterior.
"Aw, Rarity, I'm sorr-" Applejack began to apologise, truly sorry for the anguish she'd accidentally put Rarity through. She'd known about her feelings for a long time, and dealt with them the same way she dealt with most everything else. Quickly and quietly. Rarity interrupted her midsentence by plunging their mouths together, cutting Applejack's breath short and stopping her tongue, killing her words in no time at all.
"Shut up, I'm not done" she growled after a short kiss, barely lifting her mouth an inch away as she gritted her teeth. "And to top it all off, not only do you look better than me in a dress, you don't even like wearing them. Now that's just a crime against fashion, dear, and one you need to be punished for."
The last word of Rarity's harsh sentence was punctuated with a loud slap as Rarity's hoof impacted Applejack's flank as hard as it could. Not very hard, all things considered, and Applejack wasn't hurt, it just stung a little.
"Rarity, what the hay's gotten into you?"
Rarity's eyes softened for just a moment as she saw Applejack's concerned face staring up at her. "Just give me this, please?" she said with the start of a pout. Applejack realised as she started back into Rarity's eyes that her immunity to Rarity's psychological warfare would only stretch so far, and having a sad Rarity pin her down onto the bed was probably too much.
Applejack nodded, and shuffled slightly to get more comfortable, trying her best not to shake Rarity off as her muscles overpowered the squiggletailed pony with ease. Immediately, Rarity dropped her head down to Applejack's neck, nibbling slightly on her exposed skin.
Becoming softer, Rarity began to lay a trail of kisses up Applejack's thick, well defined neck, exploring her body closer than she'd ever dared to dream. Her free hoof busied itself, feeling all down Applejack's side and probing and prodding, admiring the athletic farm mare's body in ways Rarity could never do with her own. Rarity prided herself on elegance and poise, not brute force, sheer practicality, or having the finest ass Equestria had ever seen. Forget Honesty, that was Applejack's real gift.
"Ya calmed down yet, sugarcube?" Applejack whispered after a few seconds of Rarity merely nuzzling into the side of her neck, forgetting the punishment for a moment as she lost herself in admiring the coarse hairs of her mane, filling her nostrils with the distant smell of apples.
"Maybe" Rarity replied, her voice muffled by the hairs, and quietened by her slight embarrassment. Maybe she'd been a little dramatic just then. Just a little. "Or maybe I just want you to make it up to me"
Applejack didn't need telling twice - she'd pushed the fantasies out of her head long ago, but it didn't take much to bring them back. She'd always wanted to see the fussy, immaculate mare get dirty and lost in the moment, and now was her chance.
Throwing Rarity off with ease, Applejack turned over, pinning Rarity beneath her. "Why don't I show you how it's really done?" she whispered into Rarity's ear, holding her still and tight. Brandishing her tail like a whip, Applejack gave it a test snap, piercing the air with a crack, and feeling Rarity cringe at the sound.
The next crack was louder, and closer. Rarity squeaked a moment afterwards in a perverse mixture of fear and anticipation, quivering slightly under Applejack's tough, reassuring touch. Rarity didn't need anypony to protect her, or to save her, or any of the standard steed-in-shining-armour tropes, but she did want somepony who could keep her warm at night. Somepony she could rely on to never let her down, and somepony who would always be there when she needed them. Applejack did the last two already, and being this close to her was quickly convincing Rarity she could be quite good at the first.
"Ow!" she screamed, halfway between pleasure and ecstasy, as Applejack's tail struck her lightly on the side of her flank, barely ruffling her coat, never mind causing damage. Her body was so sensitive that the lightest touch felt like lightning. She could feel Applejack's hot breath run over her chest every time her hard, powerful chest fell, running over her body feeling like gale-force winds. Applejack's hooves pressed against her body, feeling like ten tonne weights as they held her fast.
Applejack's tail slapped against her side once more, Rarity's moan tending much closer to "pleasure" than "pain" this time as her body got used to one feeling, and amplified another. Swinging her tail over to the other side, Applejack gave her other flank the same treatment, barely a light tickle compared to what her tail was capable of.
"Oh, Applejack! Why do you tease me so?" Rarity whin- complained, her eyes and face begging for release. "Must I say it? Must I really?"
*SNAP*
Rarity's squeak echoed around the room, Applejack's tail whipping as hard as it could mere centimetres away from her aching body. The air flowing outwards from such an event was enough to drive her over the edge, her body so responsive that the slight stimulation felt like a dozen tongues scraping over her body.
"Oh, just do it, damn you!" she groaned, scrunching her eyes up as her body screamed at her to get it what it so badly needed.
"Can't hear ya, ya'll're speaking too fancy for me" Applejack coyly replied, grinning down at the helpless mare laid bare beneath her.
"Oh, you know what I want, you ruffian! Must I come down to your level? Must I beg for you to rut me like the dirty mare that I am? Because I shall, if I must. Just do it, please!" Rarity begged, forgetting the classy, sophisticated businesswoman she'd come to Canterlot to be, and slipping down into the role of a lusty, frustrated mare desperate to get laid.
Applejack relented, giving Rarity what she so clearly needed. Lowering her body, Applejack pressed against Rarity's desperate alabaster form, their entangling coats mixing together and sending jolts of fresh feeling through their wanting bodies, every hair like a needle of red hot pleasure stabbing through their skin.
The moment Applejack grew close enough, Rarity's head darted forward and her horn grew aflame, wrapping Applejack's neck in a sheath of magic as she pulled her in, meeting the surprised mare in another kiss, this one more sensual than forceful. Lightly pecking at Applejack's fruit-flavoured lips, Rarity rested their heads together and whispered thanks.
Slowly, Applejack slid her body downwards, dragging her hard, muscular ridges over Rarity's soft and lithe form, enjoying the soft coos and gasps as each line of her body pressed against Rarity, filling her with warmth, and the feeling of safety. Those feelings weren't what either of them were looking for right then.
Pushing down further, Applejack shifted lightly and brought her now engorged slit down onto Rarity's stomach, gasping as her soft fur rubbed against every inch of it, sending stabbing pleasures through her, like tasting the best apple pie that'd ever been baked.
"Oh, sugarcube!" she moaned as Rarity took advantage of her distraction to wiggle upwards, sending the tufts of her coat scraping against her and overwhelming her defences, causing her legs to fail and her body to collapse, pressing against Rarity with all her weight.
"I", Rarity began, her words interspersed with high pitched moans and gasps as each struggling motion scraped their bodies against each other, the tiniest movement stimulating both of them as their mutual fluids spread across their bodies, soaking their fur and lubricating their motions, leaving only the crushing weight of the helpless all-muscle mare to slow Rarity down.
"I still have some fight left in me, darling" she continued, using her tail to grasp on to Applejack's and tug, shifting her slightly and rubbing against the both of them. Her legs were still mostly pinned down beneath Applejack's dense, impressively heavy body, but Rarity prided herself on her agility, and shifting her body around proved no issue.
Even so, it wasn't enough. Applejack's annoyingly hot, well defined, and chiselled body was putty in Rarity's hooves, the poor mare so starved of prior attention that the mutual tickling of their coats was enough to keep her as a useless lump of groaning flesh. Rarity was unimpressed - Applejack was lucky she looked so good with her eyes scrunched shut and her mouth hanging open, because she wasn't being anything impressive in bed.
Tutting indignantly, Rarity thought to what she usually did when she was having trouble dealing with the burning heat down below. A hot bath, a romance novel, and a hoof - she didn't have any of those things, but Twilight was always telling her she should practice magic more. Maybe it was time she listened.
Concentrating, Rarity started to draw power into her horn, feeling outwards to between their hot, sticky bodies and finding the source of their needs. It wasn't difficult, the vast majority of her mind was already concentrating on it.
She started to rub between them, the magical force warm and smooth and parting their bodies just a little as it rolled up and down, separating them with a sticky sounding squelch and dissipating after a few instants as the waves of pleasure smashed against Rarity's mind, breaking her concentration and eliciting a long groan as Applejack's body rocked against her in response.
Practice, she just needed practice. Starting again, she steeled herself against the oncoming onslaught and pushed harder, massaging both of their most sensitive areas with every bit of force she could muster, teasing them apart and letting them rejoin with a wet splash as the juices of their desire mixed and mingled between them, even while the air around them was left little but a brew of their noises and scents. Their moaning created an instinctual chorus in the air as they both faltered and tried to hold on, both of them feeling the much-wanted tingling start to grow outwards from their crotches and drive all other feeling from their bodies.
Their minds blanked out as Applejack finally gave in, her body becoming more active than it'd been since they started as she arched and spasmed on top of Rarity's poor shape, driving herself against the white mare and bringing her over the edge too, snapping the concentration her magic needed just to continue. The bedsheet below them was soaked through and would probably need replacing, their coats were sodden, and both of their manes looked about as good as each other's. Rarity ought to have hated it - so why didn't she?
Because Applejack had regained what conciousness she could, and was hugging her. Her lazy, sleepy eyes were saying all the words her mouth and sore throat couldn't, and Rarity's gaze was replying with the same ferocity. They didn't have to be up until 10 tomorrow, they could sleep for as long as they liked, entangled in each other's legs feeling warm, content, and most importantly - not alone. Not alone in the slightest.
"Applejack, get off me this instant!" Rarity screeched the very moment she awoke, far too early the next morning, "I am... filthy! This bed is disgusting! Oh, why did I sleep in this, it'll take days to get my coat looking right again." she complained bitterly, blaming the poor orange mare completely.
"That ain't what you said last night!" Applejack snapped back "Ya'll seemed quite happy to get me into bed then. If I remember rightly, you got us this messy, not me"
"Hmf! If you'd been more social, maybe I wouldn't have had to make such a fool of myself admitting what I think of you!"
"Why, I-! Well you know what they say, Rarity - what happens in Canterlot stays in Canterlot! Let's just get back on that train and never mention this again, if ya'll feels that way."
"Agreed!" Rarity snapped back, looking away and trying not to notice the way her dirty mane caught and snagged on her ruffled coat. After a few moments of silence, she looked back and saw Applejack doing the same thing.
"I fell in love with you in Ponyville, Sugarcube" Rarity relented, her voice losing the harsh edge and almost apologising. Almost. Her coat was still ruined, she was still furious - but with herself, not Applejack. It wasn't her fault, not really.
"Yeah. Yeah, me too." Applejack agreed, before starting to laugh. "But please, Rarity, if we're going to make this work, promise me one thing?"
"Anything, darling."
"Never call me Sugarcube again"
