The Ballad of Xyclone

Deep in the Everfree Forest, midnight

It is the middle of the night; everyone has gone to sleep. Once again unable to sleep, Rarity decides to go out to the campfire to think. When she exits her tent, she is surprised to see Applejack there, lying on the ground and gazing at the stars. "A-Applejack? Wh-What are you doing up?" she asks.

"Oh...h-hi, Rarity," Applejack stammers. "Ah-Ah'm just out here, gazin' at some stars. Th' real question is, why're you awake?"

"I...I-I can't sleep. I've been going through a bout of sleep apnea lately."

"Well...y-ya wanna come lay n-next ta me? Ah-Ah mean...if ya want to, that is..."

"S-Sure," stutters Rarity. She slowly trots up to Applejack and lies on her back right next to her. Rarity remembers what Xyclone told her several days ago:

You know, there's a saying in my world: 'opposites attract.' Just tell her, Rar'. Who knows? Maybe AJ carries some sentiments towards you as well!

"S-So..." says Rarity nervously, trying to spark up a conversation. "Wh-What's up?"

"W-Well," begins Applejack, a nervous tone in her voice as well. "T-Th' real reason Ah'm out here i-is to talk to mah parents."

"Y-Your p-parents...? I-I don...t understand..."

"Ah never told y'all 'bout mah parents, didn't Ah?"

"I don't remember you doing so, darling."

"W-Well, when Ah was just an itty-bitty filly, long before I met you or Twilight or any o' y'all, mah parents just up and vanished one day. Me and Big Mac asked Granny Smith where they were, an' she told us that Princess Celestia had personally chosen mah parents to work on a beautiful farm in th' stars. She said that they accepted the offer 'cause it would make the farm lots o' money. She told us that if we looked up into the stars on a clear moonlit night, they would wave back at us. Now, Ah eventually discovered that mah parents had actually been killed in a terrible stagecoach accident; But every now and then, Ah come out at midnight and just lay here, gazin' up at the stars and hopin' that mah parents are lookin' back down at me and smilin'."

"Oh, my goodness," Rarity sniffles, wiping away the tears that were welling up in her eyes. "Applejack...that was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard you say. I'm...I'm so sorry, dear."

"Oh, i-it's fine," sniffed Applejack as a tear begins to run down her face as well. Xyclone's advice keeps running through Rarity's mind:

Just tell her, Rar'...Just tell her...Tell her...**

She inches closer to Applejack. "L-Listen, Applejack...w-what you did earlier today...with the changeling...I really want to thank you for that. Y-You s-saved m-my life, darling."

"Oh, don't even mention it, sugarcube," replies Applejack. "Ah-Ah'd do anythin' fer you, Rarity..." she rolls over to look at her and smiles sweetly. "Anythin'..." Applejack immediately bites her lip, rolling back over. "Ah-Ah mean...that's not what Ah meant! Well, Ah mean, that is what Ah meant, but—"

"Applejack, th-there's something I need to confess to you!" Rarity blurts out.

"There's s-somethin' Ah need to tell you, too, sugarcube..." says Applejack, rolling back over to face Rarity.

"Y-You go first!" they both say simultaneously. "No, you!" they say again. "I secretly have a crush on you!" they continue to speak at the same time. "What?! You do?!"

"Y-Yes..." says Rarity on her own finally. "I do, it's true. I have a huge crush on you, Applejack. Do...do you really have a crush on me as well?"

"Y-Yeah...yeah, Ah do..."

"Wow, this...this is awkward..." says Rarity. "I'm...I'm sorry I never told you, dear. I was...I was just afraid of what you might say."

"Ah'm sorry, too, darlin'," says Applejack. "Ah should've told you in the first place." She grabs Rarity's hoof and kisses it.

Then Rarity pulls Applejack into a tight embrace and kisses her long and passionately on the lips.

Applejack gasps. "Rarity, Ah—"

"Shh..." says Rarity, putting a hoof over Applejack's mouth. "Please, no words. We mustn't tell anypony about this, okay?"

"Oh, Rarity!" cries Applejack, hugging her. The two of them kiss again.

Rarity sighs as she and Applejack gaze back into the stars again. "Oh, I wish this night would last forever!" she cries. Tears of joy stream down her face as the two ponies continue hugging.