Invisible Relationship

Applejack stared at the row of apple trees before her, pushing her hoof back and forth in the dirt nervously. Dash said she'd be there around ten, and it was five till. Maybe something had happened to her.

She sighed quietly and shook her head, trying to clear her mind and figure out what to do for the date. Do we go somewhere for lunch, or do we just hang out for a while, or do we, uh... what else do you do on a date? Her gaze towards the apple trees slowly intensified as her mind organized everything she knew about romance. I remember somethin' about 'be yourself.' But how exactly do ah do that? Do ah be mahself like ah would be normally or around her or, like, be cool, or - does 'be yourself' include to do what you think you should do? Because that opens up a whole new range o' possibilities -

Her thoughts were interrupted as she was essentially shocked to life with a cry of 'Hey, Applejack!' and a round of laughter following her 2-inch jump. She turned to Rainbow Dash, her coat flattening again. "Dang it, don't do that, Rainbow, ah'm -"

She was cut off again, but this time instead by a gentle pressure on her lips. She looked down in surprise at Dash, front and center, and leaning forwards, kissing her. Again. Nonetheless, she took it if she could get it, and leaned into it, closing her eyes quickly.

When she pulled away and opened her eyes, it wasn't so much the kiss that made her blush as it was the smug look on Dash's face. "Am I forgiven?" Dash asked with a false allure, before busting into laughter again.

Applejack frowned. "Th-that ain't funny, Rainbow," she said defensively, shaking her head.

Dash didn't reply for a moment, but just grinned. "Aw, c'mon, let's just have some fun. This should be pretty cool. I already have an idea for where to go. I mean, if you didn't have something in mind. And we'll go all Dutch... not that that helps much, because I plan on buying a lot of popcorn."

"The movies?"

"Yuh. You know Critical Speed 5 came out today? We should totally go see it."

Applejack smiled. "Ah dunno. Might make me more jealous o' wings than ah already am." Seeing the look on Dash's face, it was Applejack's turn to laugh. "Ah'm just kiddin'. After all, we both know who's the superior race."

"Eh-heh-heh. Very funny. Are we gonna go, or not?"

~~~~~(Meanwhile, at Fluttershy's Cottage)~~~~~

"I mean, by this point, I think I'm totally willing to do whatever Twilight said. And she said if we 'test' publicity now, it shouldn't bother us as much later," Fluttershy continued, pouring small amounts of birdseed into the various cages around the den.

Rarity smiled, and sighed contentedly. "Do you really think it'll even be much of a change going out in public? I mean, the only difference is other ponies'll be watching us, at the worst, sitting together and eating popcorn together. Or, maybe, necking in the back row -"

Fluttershy giggled. "Rarity, stop! We're just testing it out. It shouldn't be too much different, but... I mean, I'll admit I'm still kind of unsettled. I don't... like thinking about what other ponies are thinking."

At this, Rarity sighed, much less contentedly. "I... should probably tell you the truth. You're afraid of... whatever complicated thing you were talking about yesterday, but I'm still scared of, well, reactions. I don't mind looks, but, I mean, I don't know what I would do if somepony said something. What would I do? I mean, I don't want to be rude or dismissive, unless, of course, it's necessary..."

Fluttershy stopped feeding the birds and turned back to Rarity, who was still toying with her mane in the small mirror she brought anywhere she brought her saddlebags. "You know... we don't have to go if you're not okay with it."

"No, of course we do. Fluttershy, we never should have been in the dark. It was just foolish inhibitions that kept us from being in the public eye. And I want to be done with it. I mean, I'm totally willing to finish this." She paused, shaking her head to push the thought to the back of her mind. "What movie were we going to see?"

"I don't remember. I thought it was a romantic comedy. I don't remember what it's called."

She turned around and smiled. She didn't have to say anything - Rarity could sense what she was feeling: the exact same mixture of anxiety and excitement she was feeling. Everything was changing.

Rarity smiled back.

~~~~~(Ponyville Theatre in About Twenty Minutes)~~~~~

"Ahh, popcorn..."

Dash was muttering quietly to herself from the back of the 12-pony line to the concessions stand, while Applejack found a seat to herself on the other side of the lobby. She looked over at Dash, mulling things over to herself. What did she think about everything? About her? Why was she already okay with, well, kissing so much, so early?

She ran a hoof along the rough plastic surface of the seat under her, trying to take her mind off things. It didn't really work, but she didn't really expect it to. So many thoughts were bouncing around her head, she didn't even notice Dash standing in front of her, a gigantic popcorn bag barely held under her wing. "Let's move, AJ, we have a theatre to be at."

"What? Oh. Ah didn't see ya there." Applejack grinned nervously, popping to her hooves and awkwardly adjusting her Stetson. "Uh... how'd ya get out of line so quick?"

"We had a great server. And guess what he was," Dash added with a grin. "Guess."

Applejack sighed. "Was he a -"

"He was a pegasus," Dash finished, laughing at Applejack's face. "Who's the superior race now, huh?"

"Show me your server pumpin' out 600 apple fritters in an hour, and I'll think about reconsiderin'," Applejack retorted, nodding her head confidently.

"Yeah, well -"

"Applejack? Rainbow Dash?"

Applejack froze up, not wanting to turn around. That was Rarity. Why is Rarity here. Rarity ain't supposed to be here.

"Oh, hi, Rarity," Dash said cheerily.

Great.

"What are you both doing here?" Rarity asked, as Applejack finally turned around to face her, smiling in what she assumed was a convincing neutral. "Um... Applejack, are you all right?"

"Wha -? Yes! Yeah, of course ah am. Well..." she trailed off, chuckling awkwardly.

Rarity looked at her down the bridge of her muzzle. "... Right. Anyways, how are you both?"

"Oh, it's great. We just decided to check out the new Critical Speed, but it's its second showing, and there's probably gonna be a massive line, so we got here twenty minutes early... you know how it works."

There was just a second when Applejack sensed something odd in Dash's voice. Nerve, maybe? Or something else? Maybe that was why she didn't want to tell anypony? But then why'd she tell that doctor -?

"Oh, that's nice; Fluttershy and I -"

"Uh, s-sorry," Dash interrupted, "I have to go to the bathroom. Sorry, I'll just be right back," she added weakly as she trotted away awkwardly. Applejack felt a pang of worry. Was she just being evasive? Was she just that embarrassed?

"I... kinda have to, too. One minute," Fluttershy interjected, apologizing as well and walking off to the south end of the theatre.

Rarity sighed. "Well." She sat down next to Applejack, slumping back against the wall. Applejack heard her inhale as though she was going to speak, but she didn't. And then again.

Finally, Rarity began. "Uh... can I... no, never mind."

"Hm?"

"It's just..." she said slowly, "I just need to - I mean, I can't think of a way to phrase it."

"Phrase what?"

Rarity sighed. "We... we've been looking to... okay, look, Fluttershy and I are trying to - to be together in public, and tell more ponies about -"

"No. Ain't no way," Applejack interrupted, dropping to a harsh whisper. "You two are dating?" She clicked her tongue and looked away, chuckling to herself. What irony.

"We've actually been - um, we've been dating for -" she stammered. "We - you weren't supposed to be here - not today. It was - we... we're actually engaged," she replied, her voice shrinking.

"Ah'm sorry?!" Applejack nearly shouted, whipping her head to the unicorn in surprise.

"Would you?" Rarity hissed, grimacing as most of the ponies in the lobby turned towards them.

"Well - well, why are - when did -" she paused, and put a hoof to her head. The irony in and of itself was frustrating. She promised she'd try to keep on the down-low about her and Dash for a while now, but...

"No, it - it goes a bit deeper than that. It's just... we kind of have to come out now. It's been literally years of being secretive and quiet about it and I just couldn't stand having to tell everypony about something like this and I'm sorry." She put a hoof on her muzzle and sighed quietly again.

Applejack was a bit taken aback. Years? Engaged? Fluttershy and Rarity? It was a bit fast, wasn't it? She frowned. "Alright," she said finally. "Uh... geez, ah wouldn't 'a thought that for a million years. Ah guess it makes sense, though," she added.

"I'm sorry, though, we should've said something a long time ago. I didn't mean it to go quite like this."

Applejack remained silent.

~~~~~(Elsewhere)~~~~~

"Alright," Dash began, turning around once the two were safely out of sight, behind the entrance to the hallway. "What'd you call me out for?"

There was no response for a moment. Fluttershy dragged a back hoof slowly along the ground, hiding behind her mane. Rainbow rolled her eyes, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. What else could she expect? It was Fluttershy, trying to say something obviously important. She -

"I - I know you and Applejack are going out," she blurted, looking up.

Dash felt a bright blush on her cheeks, before remembering who she was talking to. She frowned, suddenly feeling very un-confident. "How... did you know?"

Fluttershy only responded with a look, and Dash knew exactly what she meant. They'd been friends for too long not to pick up on each others' quirks. Just the though of that, though, made Dash realize that Fluttershy was still holding something back. She wasn't quite sure what. Maybe... did she have a crush on AJ? She looked at the ground, a bit worried. Maybe she could've at least told Shy, literally her best friend.

"I'm engaged."

Dash didn't even process anything for a moment, just chuckled. "You're kidding." She glanced back up, and, seeing the determination in her face anypony else would have missed, her grin fell away. "You're not kidding." Fluttershy nodded, and Dash had another sudden realization. "... Rarity?"

"Sh-sh!" she shushed her as a pair of ponies walked by, without even glancing at them.

"You're kidding."

"I'm not kidding, Dash." She paused. "It's been... it's been a really long time since we got together, and... we just didn't tell anypony, and..." she frowned again.

Dash smiled. She didn't remember her usually very-reserved friend ever doing something quite so... adult. "You shoulda told me earlier, though," she commented. "We could have had all kinds of conversations, you know. Stories. Suggestions. Tips and tricks."

"Shh."

"Tips and tricks and t-"

"Dash, don't."

Dash burst into snickers, but she didn't hear Fluttershy doing... anything. She looked up to see her hiding behind her mane again. "... Still a tough subject? You shouldn't have gotten engaged if you haven't been together long enough to comfortably talk about sex."

"Dash," she said again, a heavy blush across her face, "it's been three years."

Dash's eyes grew wider. "Woooah," she said. "That's..."

"Well, what did you expect? I don't think Rarity would propose lightly, do you?" she asked pointedly.

"Rarity asked? I would have figured that -" she cut herself off, catching sight of the clock to their right. "Wow, I gotta go if I'm gonna get to the front row. I'll see you later, Shy."

"B- but - I - I thought -" Fluttershy sputtered. "I'm trying to - to tell you something I haven't told anypony before! At all!"

"Not even your parents?"

"That's not - Dash, look. You're taking this way too easy. I was..." she trailed off. "I was expecting some kind of vote of confidence."

Dash felt a pang of sympathy in her chest. What she was doing was definitely hard - she'd gone through it, too. So why wasn't she feeling much about the whole situation? She took another look into her friend's anxious and saddened eyes, and found the answer. "Because I know you can handle it." She felt herself smile. "Go get your fiancée and watch your movie."

Fluttershy hid even further behind her mane, still nervously moving a hoof on the ground. "But... but I don't know if I can handle it." She sighed, and looked up. "You're the only pony I've ever told about it. Ever. I'm only able to tell you because we're friends."

Dash felt the impact of the word friends. Maybe she was being a little blunt.

"But I don't think I'm going to be able to tell anypony else."

Dash reached up her right hoof, but brought it back down, her wing sending a sharp shock of pain through her back. She raised her left hoof and put it on her friend's shoulder. "It's gonna be fine, Shy. Are you really that torn up about it?"

Fluttershy nodded.

She smiled lightly, and shook her head, pulling her hoof away. "I know you, Shy. If something needs to get done, you get over your fear and you do it. You always have been good at that - when something's super important to you, you just, I don't know, push your fear out of the way and..." She trailed off. "I'm no good with words. You know what I mean, right?"

Fluttershy finally smiled a small smile, and nodded slowly. "Yeah. I do. Thanks, Dash."

"Now can I go watch my movie?"

~~~~~(A Few Minutes Later, Screen 3)~~~~~

Applejack grinned in the dark as Dash found her way to her seat, fourth row from the front. "You have much trouble with the bathroom?"

"I was talking to Shy," Dash whispered in reply. "What's happened so far?"

"What do you think?" Applejack whispered. "It's a racin' movie. Tough-lookin' stallion with the jaw gets recruited by the shady racin' guild, etc. It's only been three or four minutes. What did you talk to Shy about?"

There was a short pause. "I'll tell you later. Hand over the popcorn, I paid good money for it."

~~~~~(Meanwhile, Outside of Screen 7)~~~~~

Rarity saw Fluttershy approaching out of the corner of her eye and grinned. "You ready to go? I am. It smells like fake butter and nacho cheese out here," she added under her breath.

Fluttershy laughed. "I hope we didn't miss anything, did we?"

"Oh, no, of course not," Rarity replied, holding the door open for her marefriend and following her inside. "I, um..." she began, her smile fading, "I started off by telling Applejack."

"I had a conversation with Dash, actually." She sighed as she got into her seat. "She and Applejack are actually on a date, right now."

"Really? That's a bit... coincidental."

"Yeah. I just don't see how they can do it so easy."

"Well, we'll hit that level eventually," Rarity replied. "Cross bridges when we come to them, huh? For now, let's just do what we can, I suppose, even if that just means going to the movies together."

Fluttershy smiled, and nuzzled Rarity very briefly, before looking around at the nearly-empty seats around them. The two couples nearer the front hadn't even bothered to notice hey were there. "We can do this, I think."

"I think you're right."