Life wasn’t so bad for the Dazzlings. Although bereft of their magic, centuries on Earth had given them the know-how and resources to survive, if not exactly flourish. They would need jobs within a few years, which meant they needed degrees. Which meant sticking it out at Canterlot High for another year.
Unfortunately, that also meant sharing space with the Rainbooms. The six girls so anxious to forgive and so eager to befriend that it sickened the sirens to no end.
“Pinkie’s the worst,” Aria Blaze declared, caring nothing for who might hear. They had a lunch table to themselves, and she had no desire to share.
“Nope. Definitely Rainbow.” Adagio’s words earned an immediate glare from Aria. The pair squabbled daily when life had been easy, and their ill turn of fortune only doubled the trend.
Aria flicked back a purple ponytail, savoring its whip-like crack. “Pinkie’s got it in her thick skull that I need to ‘lighten up.’ She keeps dragging me to parties.”
“Oh, no, what a horrible fate.” Adagio’s sarcasm wasn’t lost on Aria, and nor was her vicious smirk.
Aria growled, always easy to bait. “Her parties are the opposite of cool, smartass. They have cake, confetti, and – get this – pin the tail on the pony. Like a brat’s birthday.”
“At least you get cake,” Adagio shot back. “Rainbow basically kidnapped me to go to a soccer game. Have you ever watched soccer? It’s like watching a chess match, without the dramatic tension. For two stinking hours.”
“Ha.” Their third member’s laugh was completely devoid of humor. Sonata’s chin was planted on the table, eyes bleakly on her anemic salad. “At least you got to watch something. Rarity offered to make a dress for me. At first I was, like, ‘Sweet, free dress!’ And then she goes and murders my afternoon with an axe, because the fitting and designing and stuff took three and a half hours.”
“Argh, what is up with those Rainbooms?” Aria crushed her empty juice can in a fist. “We don’t like them, we don’t want to be around them, so why can’t they let sleeping sirens lie?”
“It’s Sunset.” The conversation was taking a predictable route, which meant Adagio’s attention was slipping to her hand mirror. Keeping her voluminous curls in line was an endless chore, and she fancied she had solved the Rainboom equation long ago. “After her own defeat, she hit rock-bottom and came out of it a born-again Friendship Cultist. She thinks we’re in the same boat she was. Soon as they realize we’re not going to starve or go crazy, they’ll move on.”
“Actually, I change my vote,” Sonata said, rocking her head on her chin. “Adagio’s right. Sunset’s the worst. Ever since the Battle of the Bands she’s become the self-proclaimed Queen of Friendship. She’s been on her high horse so long her butt must be sore.”
Aria gave her trademarked mean-spirited laugh. “I’ll make her butt sore, alright.”
“You wish,” Adagio sneered. “But I never said she was the worst. If you guys were listening to me the first time, you’d know it’s Rainbow.”
“And don’t forget Fluttershy,” Sonata moaned. “If you think Pinkie treats you like a grade schooler, talk to Yellow. She thinks showing off her stupid ‘bunny-wunnies’ will make us fall in love with the little poop factories.”
“Right.” Aria glared to the window. “And when you tell her where she can shove them, she runs away crying like a baby.”
Adagio sighed. Her curls were perfect, so there was nothing left to distract her from what had become the Dazzling’s daily complaint session.
Well, at least she could try to make it interesting. “So girls, we know they’re all totally lame. But who do you think is the least lame?”
“Easy. Applejack.”
Blue and yellow eyelids blinked at the words. Aria was the angriest and cruelest out of all of them, even to her fellow sirens. For her to say something even remotely kind… and so quickly…
“Maybe this did just get interesting.” Adagio purred to herself, turning the full force of her smirk upon Aria. The purple girl seemed to realize her folly – she looked away, cracking open Sonata’s juice can and taking a slurp.
“What?” Aria groaned in the voice of one who knew exactly what was coming. “She’s the seventh lamest Rainboom, that’s all.”
“O.M.G!” Sonata’s head rocketed from the table. Her grin was a cheerful counterpart to Adagio’s mean smirk, but was no less aggravating. “You just called Applejack the best Rainboom! She’s your favorite!”
“Don’t put words in my mouth, ditz.” Aria grabbed the back of Sonata’s head and pushed her back into the table, face-first.
“Let her go,” Adagio chided, well-used to playing referee. “Besides, I agree with you.”
That, at least, got Aria to let go. Unfortunately, it also led her and Sonata to look wide-eyed at Adagio. They gave a synchronized blink… and grinned.
Adagio huffed, snapping her pocket mirror closed. “Don’t try to turn the tables. I’m just saying she has some good qualities.”
“Oh, you turned the tables yourself.” Aria’s grin would put the Grinch to shame. “I never said she had good qualities. But you just did. So… why don’t you tell us what you mean?”
“Why don’t I not?” Adagio countered, losing what was left of her good humor.
Aria’s smile only widened. “Because then we’ll make up our own explanation.”
Sonata rocked in her seat, singing gleefully. “AJ and Adagio, sittin’ in a tree: K-I-S-S-I-N-G~”
“Fine!” Adagio snarled, slamming a hand down on the table. “But only to shut you losers up. You remember the big rainstorm three weeks ago? It washed all the mud from that huge construction site into the street, and…”
“Oh, no, no, no… no!”
Adagio’s brain moved as fast as her legs, taking stock. “The coat caught the worst of it, and my arms and legs can be washed…”
“But my hair!” Throwing open her locker revealed her mirror, and her fears come true. A noticeable streak of mud had smeared across her beautiful curls.
“Stupid mud, stupid speeding car…” With ten minutes until class began, Adagio furiously attacked the problem with her Hoity-brand comb. Three minutes was enough to prove its futility – all it did was straighten her beautiful curls, while leaving the mud intact.
An irritatingly familiar voice crept up on her side. “Girl, mud don’t let itself come out with a comb. Y’all need a good horse brush.”
“Stow it, redneck.” Adagio didn’t even glance to Applejack. “If I wanted hair advice, I’d go to literally anyone but you.”
Six minutes to go, and still no progress. She growled in a panic, redoubling her efforts to no avail. She couldn’t, wouldn’t go to class with muddy hair. This was going to make her late. Which meant detention. Again.
The growl cracked to a panicked squeal… and then a bark of pain. Thick bristles bit into her scalp, grinding in and yanking swiftly. They came around for another pass, and then two more before Adagio managed to pull away.
“How about some personal space, Freckles?” The farm girl sported a coarse, wide brush in one hand, with more than a few of Adagio’s hairs attached.
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Why don’t y’all just take a look.”
Adagio almost jumped her, there and then. Ruining the sirens’ plan to conquer the world was annoying, taking away their magic was rude, but touching her hair was a crime punishable by death.
It was only chance that brought Adagio’s glance to the mirror… and then, both eyes. The rough brush had scraped off the worst of the mud. It wasn’t perfect, but with a little primping and curling Adagio could hide what was left. It would at least get her through the day.
Still… “Was that an actual horse brush? Like, for horses?”
Applejack nodded, grinning a grin that made Adagio just want to slap her.
“You are such a redneck.” Adagio turned away and began to walk. She could comb on the move easily enough, and now that was all she needed.
A glance back showed the farmer walking in the other direction, waving goodbye without looking. Adagio growled, blushing fiercely as she made her way to the first class.
“No, I was not blushing!” Adagio screamed at her compatriots, who were laughing like hyenas at their own addition to the story.
“Dude,” Aria gleefully slapped Sonata’s back. “I bet Applejack saved her from a mouse or something, and she made that story up because it’s less embarrassing than the truth.”
“I believe her,” Sonata said. “It sounds about right for Applejack.”
She opened her eyes to see the other two looking curiously at her. Always the better sport, Sonata laughed and scratched her head. “Yeah, Applejack’s my, uh, ‘seventh-place-least-favorite’ too.”
“Why?” Aria asked.
Sonata shrugged and stuck out her tongue.
Adagio turned her infuriating smirk to Aria’s aid. “Sonata, if you don’t tell, I swear I’m never rescuing you from Aria again.”
“It can’t be as dumb as Adagio’s story,” Aria followed, earning a glare from her temporary ally.
“Oh, fine!” Sonata yielded with perky cheer, closing her eyes with a winning smile. “And of course it’s not; I don’t freak out over stupid things. This was way, way more serious…”
“NO TACOS!?”
Sonata spun from the cafeteria. She staggered to the wall, and slumped face-down on the linoleum floor. Good. She didn’t want to see the world, anyway.
“It is Taco Tuesday.” She moaned. “There are no tacos. I’m going to sue. And use the money to buy a million tacos that I will not share with anyone.”
A Southern voice came from above. “Not even your friends, sugar cube?”
“Especially not them!” Sonata’s stomach growled, and her voice matched. “I won’t even eat most of my million tacos. I will sit on them. And when people ask me for some, I will tell them no. And I will laugh. Like this: Ha-ha.”
Above her, the voice sighed. Good. Sighs meant unhappiness. Let the whole world share Sonata’s misery!
“Oh, get up,” Applejack said with strained cheer. “You’re makin’ a powerful fool of yourself, and lyin’ on that floor ain’t healthy.”
Sonata shot back in a mocking impersonation of Applejack’s accent. “Yew know what else t’aint healthy, pilgrim? Starvation! This li’l doggy ain’t long for this world unless she gets her T-A-C… uh, uh… nevermahnd, Ah never learned how tah spell.”
“Grow up, girl.” Gently, a leather boot rolled Sonata over. She pouted upwards and puffed out her cheeks, drawing a gentle chuckle. “There’s plenty of food.”
“Fish!” Sonata cried, flailing her arms. “There is plenty of fish, and I am allergic to every single piece.”
“Well, Miss Luna is monitorin’ the lunch hall today. Maybe ask her for somethin’ else?”
“Brilliant idea!” Sonata cried. “Ask the woman I mind controlled for personal favors! I’m sure she won’t FRY ME UP FOR WEDNESDAY’S LUNCH!”
“It won’t hurt to ask,” Applejack tried, but Sonata was beyond words.
“CAN’T HEAR YOU! I’m too busy starving to death. Bury me at sea, and tell Aria she can have my smartphone. And that she sucks.”
“Oh, for… y’all wait right here.”
Sonata didn’t watch Applejack depart. Maybe she was getting a lawyer, or coroner.
Maybe she was getting a taco. That would be better. The thought was enough for Sonata to lift her head from the floor, and watch for the cafeteria door to open again.
When it did, she scowled. “That’s not a taco.”
“It’s peanut butter and jelly.” Applejack waved the sandwich under Sonata’s nose. “Ah told Miss Luna about your allergies, and she gave me this. Ask, and ye shall receive.”
“I asked for tacos.”
“Jes’ take the sandwich, sugar.”
Sonata wanted to refuse. It was Tuesday, and there were no tacos. This was heresy.
But her stomach outvoted her soul. She reached up to accept the food and began wolfing it down. Not a taco, but… adequate. The tastes of peanut butter and jelly blended beautifully, and a happy smile spread over her face before she could think to suppress it.
She glanced up, scowling, hoping Applejack didn’t see her mask slip. But the farmer had already left, and was nowhere to be seen.
“See, that’s the cool thing about Applejack.” Aria nodded to herself. “She helps, but she doesn’t pretend it makes us friends. She does it, and it’s done.”
“Speaking from personal experience?” Adagio needled her, leaving their third to munch her apple. Neither had expected much sense out of Sonata’s story, and they were not disappointed.
“Yeah, fine.” Aria shrugged, giving in with the ease of indifference. “I got an Applejack story too, but fair warning: it’s way less humiliating than saving your hair, or prying Sonata off the floor.”
Aria did the math. The gold-studded purse had cost her sixteen hours of work at the nail salon, and the damn ungrateful thing broke not three months later. She stomped into school with it under her arm, the strap severed right through the middle.
It wasn’t fair. Getting that purse was the one nice thing she did for herself since her magic was taken, bought fair and square with money she earned. And still she got screwed! She slammed a purple fist into her locker, face locked in pain and fury, tears rolling from her eyes…
“I wasn’t crying!” Aria grabbed Sonata and shoved her nearly off her chair.
“Was too!” Sonata shouted triumphantly. “I saw you.”
“You saw me crying and didn’t do anything?” Aria glowered. “Thanks for being such a pal, bitch.”
“You would’ve shoved me in the locker and we both know it.” Sonata huffed.
Aria arched her nose and turned away. “Okay, you know what? Screw you, you don’t get the play-by-play. Applejack took the purse to her lame shop class and replaced the strap, making her ten times cooler than you.”
“I guess that makes her a hundred times cooler than you!” Sonata shot back.
“Hey lesbians,” Adagio interrupted. “She just came in.”
“And she’s… alone.”
The lanky, freckled girl was alone in more than one sense of the word. Applejack stood awkwardly in the crowded cafeteria, soft green eyes hopping from table to table in search of friends that were not there.
Minutes ticked by slowly. The Dazzlings sipped drinks and watched her pause in the midst of it all. Her gaze finally passed over every table without sight of her friends… and she sighed. One hand picked idly at her faded jeans while the other balanced her tray.
Adagio cocked her head. “Huh. Where are the Rainbooms?”
“Dunno,” Sonata chirped, then called out loudly. “Hey, Applejack! Sit with us!”
The other two startled, Aria hissing in a low voice. “What are you doing, Sonata?”
“Increasing the sane-person-to-Aria ratio at the table.” The unrepentant siren stuck out her tongue.
“Quiet,” Adagio cut in. She always tried to keep them civil when the Rainbooms were around. If Sunset’s cult ever learned how much the sirens bickered, they might be able to pick off Sonata or Aria. Or worse: stage an intervention.
She gave a nod as the farmer came close. “Where are your friends?”
“Club day.” Applejack shrugged, face drawn in a wry frown. “The clubs have today and the weekend to get their rooms and paperwork in order for inspection, so all the girls are pullin’ through the lunch period in their own places. Was kinda hopin’ at least Rarity or Sunset wouldn’t’ve saved it to the last minute… but ah, well.”
“Sit with us,” Sonata repeated. Their table was half full, and easily the least crowded in the room.
Applejack glanced to the other two – who were looking away, chewing or drinking with feigned distraction. “Ah don’t wanna bother y’all.”
“It’s no bother,” Adagio said, drawing a betrayed glare from Aria. But Aria didn’t protest or snap. She just shrugged, so Applejack sat down amongst them.
“Kind of crappy of them to ditch you.”
Applejack shrugged at Adagio’s comment. “T’ain’t like that. Just because we’re friends don’t mean we gotta be joined at the hip.”
She blew a sigh. “Sure wish it weren’t today, though. Mah evening’s gonna be deader than a hog on Christmas.”
“No big Friday plans?” Adagio asked.
“Nope.”
No immediate follow-up came. Applejack began eating her lunch, unaware of the tension her answer provoked. The Dazzlings, as it happened, did have plans for tonight. And an idea entered each of their minds, followed swiftly by an unwillingness to be the first to speak.
Adagio glanced to Aria. The purple bully tossed back her hair, and looked to the side. No one expected the ‘mean one’ to offer her hand.
Aria’s blink carried her into Sonata’s pink eyes, and nigh-invisible shrug. Adagio was the leader, and Aria was the brute. A wrong move on Sonata’s part would bring them both down on her head. She was a follower, not a decider.
Sonata’s glance to Adagio was a meaningful one. Sonata couldn’t do what they all were thinking, and Aria wouldn’t. That left Adagio, or nothing at all.
The second option was tempting. But to be honest, Adagio was too curious to let the chance pass.
“Hey,” she began, nice and casually. “Tonight we’re having a slumber party. Video games, junk food, the works. You’re invited.”
Applejack laughed, a response Adagio had not expected. “Don’t y’all live together already?”
A brief silence, and Aria confessed. “We usually keep to our own parts of the house. It works for everyone, but some evenings we come together to hang out and just be girls. Remind ourselves why we put up with each other.”
“Aw, that’s sweet.” Applejack smiled, drawing an immediate snap.
“Can it, redneOW!”
“Don’t mind Aria.” Sonata’s voice was of musical cheer as she removed her foot from Aria’s shin. “She thinks it’s embarrassing that we sometimes spend time together by choice.”
“Well, thanks for the offer.” Applejack’s smile had grown soft and sedated. “Ah know we’ve got a less-than-neighborly history between ourselves, and it says somethin’ right nice that you’d invite me. But jes’ ‘cause Adagio’s okay with it don’t mean it’s okay with you two, and Ah ain’t gonna make you say no. So–”
“I’m fine with it.” Aria grumpily cut in. “And of course the ditz is.”
Applejack yelped as two cyan arms reached around and yanked her into Sonata’s chest.
“You can be the friend I never had!”
Aria grunted, “What about us?”
“You can be the nice friend I never had!” Sonata didn’t miss a beat, but that wasn’t what Adagio noticed. While the other two annoyed each other, a nervous pink had risen to Applejack’s cheeks. Sonata’s friendly nuzzle had sent her reeling, and nervously stammering her agreement to go.
Countless years of lovers won and lost had given Adagio the ability to see attraction at a glance. And friendly, honest Applejack evidently had no practice in hiding it.
Adagio’s smirk – normally reserved for annoying Aria – came out in full force.
“Oho?” She hid it quickly, but on the inside the grin remained. “This is going to be more fun than I thought.”
No matter how many times she read the text, Sunset Shimmer couldn’t believe it.
Applejack. Going to a sleepover with the Dazzlings.
A small, idealistic part of her brain cheered. The sirens’ ice was thawing. Friendship was winning out over grudges and greed.
But the more she thought about it, the more she knew. This was too good to be true. The sirens were as mean-spirited as ever. Whatever they were scheming, it involved getting Applejack to be trusting and alone.
Trusting, yes. But not alone. Sunset turned on a heel, her fingers blurring over her phone’s touchpad. Return texts came from the other Rainbooms. All ran along the same vein: Applejack was more important than any club work.
It was time for a stakeout.
Abiding by slumber party tradition, Applejack arrived in her sleep clothes. Adagio noticed her blush as she stepped into the house, but this was an embarrassed one. Adagio’s pajamas consisted of a soft, fluffy pink button-down shirt with matching pants and slippers. Applejack’s, by contrast, was a plain white t-shirt and worn blue-grey pajama pants. Probably chosen to be neutral and impossible to mock. She knew her audience well enough to conceal weaknesses, but the fashion difference between the two was obvious.
Fortunately, Adagio didn’t care. “Hey! Welcome.” She gave her best effort at a friendly smile, and beckoned Applejack to follow.
“Big place y’all got,” Applejack mumbled, offering weak conversation. She kicked off her shoes at the doorway, putting bare feet to the kitchen floor.
Adagio shrugged, leading her through the foyer. “It’s got to be, or else the kids would kill each other. Aria’s space is in the upper right of the house, and Sonata’s is in the lower left. I live on the second floor in between them, and that’s where we do this.”
Applejack nodded, hoisting her gear – sleeping bag, toiletries, and tomorrow’s clothes. And a few plastic bags, that Adagio peered into. “Cider, and… apples?”
“Healthy snack!” Applejack grinned.
“God, you’re adorable.” Adagio kept the thought to herself, instead pushing open a final doorway. The difference was immediate – the plaster walls and tiled floor gave way to a plush lavender carpet with a wallpaper patterned with images of blue diamonds. Adagio’s bed was huge – king-sized, at the least – with high wooden posts and purple blankets. The room was generally clean and well-ordered… save for the space around the two other sirens, now parked in front of the TV. A few soda stains had already developed by their drinks, and one slice of pizza had been dropped face-down and abandoned.
Adagio glanced to Applejack, already smirking with thoughts of her reaction. The others were not dressed as conservatively as she was. Aria wore shameless plaid boxers and a white sleeveless shirt, both a size too small for her. Sonata was even worse, dressed in nothing but pink underwear, slippers, and a smile as she K.O.’d Aria’s fighter in their video game.
Applejack did redden a little, but apparently she had steeled herself before coming. She slung her gear to the ground. “Hey, y’all.”
“Hey, redneck.” Aria didn’t even glance back, focusing all her attention on salvaging her defeat.
“hi-hi!” Sonata called. “Just one second while I finish spanking Aria.”
‘One second’ turned into a full rematch, and Adagio nudged Applejack. “Let’s snag some pizza.”
The farm girl politely accepted. It took Adagio a few minutes to see it, but everything she did was polite. A face more accustomed to wide, open grins was locked in an interview-professional smile. She took a single slice of pizza and ate it quietly, standing a few feet apart from the rest of them.
Adagio had seen enough lunchroom antics to know the real Applejack was anything but a dainty eater, and was neither quiet nor polite. She was rough and brusque, and to see her walking on eggshells annoyed Adagio. She didn’t want Applejack to inoffensively get through the night, she wanted her to have fun! Adagio could admit it, if only to herself: she liked Applejack. The only person in the school who was neither offended by the sirens’ insults, nor insistent that they change.
Magenta eyes blinked as a thought clicked in Adagio’s mind. That was the best thing about Applejack – her acceptance. None of her encounters with the Dazzlings had been to “fix” them, or teach some lame friendship lesson. Adagio and her sisters were as bitchy as ever, and yet Applejack had been willing to grasp their tentative hand of friendship.
Yes, ‘Friendship.’ She wanted to be friends with Applejack, and Adagio would bet her curls the other two felt the same.
A bit of mischief glinted in her smile. “Suck it, Sunset. WE’RE snagging one of YOUR friends!”
But that took a level of comradery absent in the polite bites. Adagio sidled up next to her, taking advantage of the girl’s distraction to watch the face. Applejack’s peach skin was an oddity, and not an attractive one. It added together with the straight hair and worn clothes to make her look as plain as could be.
But while Applejack might never be sexy by the Dazzling’s lofty standards, the difference was made up in raw cuteness. Her gangly frame made her head seem large in comparison, calling attention to its two prime features: the huge green eyes that seemed to radiate innocence, and the adorable country freckles. She was every inch the down-home family-values farm girl, making her tolerance of the trendy, spiteful sirens all the more impressive.
“You don’t have to stand in a corner, you know.” Adagio set a hand on Applejack’s shoulder, gambling that it would come off as friendly rather than threatening.
Applejack’s arm was tense, but at least it didn’t grow more so. “Ah… don’t want y’all to feel like Ah’m invadin’ your space.”
“Oh for Discord’s sake, this is a sleepover.” Adagio wormed her way behind Applejack and pushed. “Sit on my bed, at least, and tell me how awesome it is.”
It was definitely an awesome bed. Second only to her hair, Adagio spared no expense when it came to a good night’s sleep. It had just a little more give than the average mattress, offering a pleasant surprise as Applejack’s butt came down.
The thick, silky blankets only added to the effect. Adagio ran her hand along them, drinking it in as Applejack offered her compliments.
“You can use it for the night, if you want.” Adagio turned her head, hiding the smirk that came to her face. Would Applejack fall for it…?
“Ah wouldn’t kick y’all out of your own bed,” Applejack said, turning Adagio’s smirk into a full-on leer.
“Of course she did.”
Applejack’s first hint was Adagio’s pink-clad hip suddenly thrusting itself out in a sultry pose. Her second was the teasing voice, “Who said I’d be kicked out, Cutie?”
The two gamers yipped laughs. Applejack glowered… but it was an okay kind of glower. One who retroactively gets the joke, and is simultaneously annoyed and grudgingly amused. That worked. Applejack wouldn’t have come if she couldn’t take a little ribbing.
“Ah’m gettin’ more pizza,” Applejack declared.
“Seriously!” Adagio laughed, flopping down in the bed and stretching her arms to each side. “It’s big enough for two!”
“Three!” Sonata added. “The night of the band battle we were all really sad, so we slept here in one big cuddle pile.”
“We do not talk about the cuddle pile!” Aria roared, drawing laughter from the other two… three. Applejack had chuckled at that.
Things only got better from there on out. Applejack lounged on the bed, chatting classes and movies with the others. Sonata and even Aria offered to tap out from the fighting game, but Applejack declined. She seemed content to watch and chill, a sentiment Adagio could agree with.
Eventually, the gamers switched over to a new contest: a weird little game about a horde of blue mice running across the board, with the players trying to corral the most into their color’s base. It was quirky and hilarious, and soon Applejack had scooched closer. She still sat on the wonderful bed, but now her feet stretched over its edge, carrying them next to the heads of the floor-seated contestants.
As the score tallied from their latest round, Sonata seemed to notice the close proximity of Applejack’s feet. She looked at them for a second, squinted, and scrunched her nose.
“Your feet stink.” A matter-of-fact statement that seized the conversation, more for its randomness than anything else.
“Feet do that,” Applejack noted dryly.
Said feet scrunched as two more sets of eyes fixed upon them. The soles were a touch darker than Applejack’s skin, browned from frequent labor and shined by a layer of nervous sweat. Her toes were neither pronounced nor short, nor was her arch particularly high or flat. The feet were much like the girl herself – plain, ordinary… and cute. The browning and a bit of roughness in the heels gave them the appearance of sunburnt girlhood. Hardworking and honest, just like their owner.
Adagio didn’t care much for feet, but the sight of them made her chuckle. They were so perfect a match for Applejack that they even looked innocent, shyly flinching from the attention. They were cute. She was cute.
Aria was less impressed. Applejack yelped as a purple hand snaked up and grabbed the left foot around its middle. One thumb deftly pushed downwards, taking Applejack’s big toe away from its friends to be examined closely – very closely – by Aria’s professional eye.
“Holy crap, these nails. Do you chew them?”
“No!” the flustered Applejack snapped. “Ah use clippers.”
“Clippers.” Aria repeated the word with a stylist’s disdain. “You are such a boy.”
“Show us your penis!” Sonata cheered, drawing an elbow from Aria’s free arm.
“Quiet, ditz. As for you, Miss Boy-feet, we’re not letting this slide. I’m getting my pedicure kit.”
Applejack yelled back, “Ah do not need some fru-fru pedicure!”
“Shut up, you totally do.” Aria stood, whipped her pigtails behind her, and left the room. “I’ll be right back. Don’t let her escape.”
Applejack’s attempt to retract her legs was interrupted as a hundred pounds of Adagio jumped on her legs.
“Oh, no yah don’t!” Applejack tried to sit up, but Adagio leaned forward, pressing her down at the shoulders. While definitely the weaker of the two, Adagio had gravity on her side, while Applejack’s embarrassment had enfeebled her. She still would have won had it not been for Sonata, diving horizontally across her torso to pin both arms.
“Girls, get off, or Ah’m gettin’ you off!”
“Give it a try!” Sonata cheered, not at all dissuaded by the fact that the tall farm girl could probably pitch her across the room. But she couldn’t pitch both of them – Adagio leaned forwards across Sonata’s back, lending her weight and grinning evilly at Applejack.
Her grin shrunk, though, growing a little… nicer. “Just so you know, Aria works at a nail salon. She’s a professional.”
“Ask me if Ah give a hoot,” Applejack deadpanned. Adagio frowned, noticing she didn’t seem to care that Sonata’s mostly-naked body was pushing against her.
“Maybe I misread her.” The thought passed, as did the frown, and Adagio went on. “Here’s the thing – she’s a bitch. She’s a master with nails, but won’t even do ours for free. Not without some kind of payment, in chores, cash, or doing something embarrassing for her to laugh at.”
Applejack swallowed, her wide green eyes on Adagio as she quietly finished. “So for her to give this to you… that means something. I want you to understand that. And I want you to accept it, because I don’t even remember the last time Aria did something nice for someone.”
A blink. A relaxation of the shoulders Adagio held, and the green eyes slid away. “Fine. On two conditions: one, get offa me, and two, don’t go spreadin’ word about this. If Rainbow Dash finds out Ah got mah toes done, she’ll fry me up like a chicken at a rodeo.”
Adagio and Sonata exchanged a blink and shrug at the countryism, and obligingly removed themselves.
“No worries,” Adagio said. “If we spread word, Rainbow Dash might annoy you, but Aria would kill us two.”
“Nah.” They all gave a jump as Aria’s voice entered the room, followed immediately by her presence. “I’d kill all three of you. No witnesses.”
A small, worn leather purse was under her bare arm. Purple fingers were already fishing out supplies: brushes both thick and fine, a file, a few vials of colored fluid, a pumice stone, and what looked like a soap dispenser. The other hand held a steaming, dripping washcloth.
Applejack stammered at the sight of the gear. She tried to pull her feet back, though was interrupted by Adagio sitting on her knees.
“Ah thought this was just the nails!”
“You thought wrong,” Aria announced matter-of-factly. “I don’t do half-assed jobs, farmer. Do you?”
Work ethic was a language Applejack could understand. The words placated her… at least until the next ones came.
“Before we get started: are you ticklish?”
The question was needless, as Aria tested it as she spoke. Long, silver painted nails scratched up Applejack’s instep before the last word was done.
The reaction was hilarious. Adagio could admit it, even though Applejack’s girlish squeal was accompanied by a buck, sending her flying from her perch on the farm girl’s knees. But as the purple and cyan hyenas chortled at her misfortune… Adagio’s mind was elsewhere. As comedic as the reaction had been, it was accompanied by a blush on Applejack’s face that could not have been ticklishness alone.
Aria missed it completely. “Thaaaat’s a yes. Okay, I’m going to work from the top when we get to the delicate part. But first…”
The rough washcloth came into play, efficiently wiping the sweat and lint from Applejack’s soles. With time to brace, and facing only the coarse cleansing, Applejack was silent. Her feet held their ground, and continued to do so during the brisk work with a hand towel, file, and the few scrapes of the pumice stone along her heels.
The toes finally wavered, scrunched as Aria picked up the dispenser and eyed it appraisingly.
“What’s that?”
“Massage oil.” Aria shrugged, serious in her work. “Strawberry scented. Not sure if your freaky Apple religion allows for it.”
“Her-dee-har,” Applejack grumbled.
“But that’s for after the nails.” Vials and brushes between her fingers, Aria climbed onto the bed. “Just keep them nice, straight, and high. I think this would end poorly if I had to manhandle each one.”
Aria flopped on her belly, sighing with comfort as the amazing bed embraced her. She flicked the lid off one of her vials, dipped in a brush, and got to work.
Only now did Adagio realize a flaw in their plan, and she hissed. “Aria, if any of that gets on my sheets I am murdering you.”
“Relax,” Aria muttered, then spoke to Applejack more amicably. “You’re a stylist’s dream, you know that? Your weird peach skin will go with just about any color: red, purple, green, whatever.”
A smirk. “Even yellow, and yellow’s the ugliest color out there.”
Adagio fumed, but with Aria on her precious sheets she held her wit. Instead, she asked, “Which one are you going with?”
“Purple.” Aria’s smile grew focused as she carefully touched each edge of the first nail. “The best color.”
“What kinda purple?” Applejack ventured, settled on her back. “Like… Twilight’s skin?”
Aria made a face and shook her head. “No, like real dark, almost black. Then I’ll add some glitter and it’ll make a starry sky kind of look.”
Adagio watched closely, both out of fear for her sheets and curiosity about the process. Aria was ‘in the zone,’ as it were – the awkward position seemed to be no trouble for her to work with. She painted on the upwards-pointed toes like a canvas, lying on her belly parallel to Applejack, elbows propping up her hands as they worked.
With one knee bent, Aria’s foot kicked idly in the air. Sonata would have thought nothing of it, had she not seen the red out of the corner of her eye. She wondered if Aria had spilled after all, somehow getting it on Adagio’s pillow.
Then she turned her head and saw: not ink or paint, but an apple-red Applejack. She had her right hand up to her mouth and was biting a knuckle, deathly still save for her eyes. They twitched back and forth, following the motions of Aria’s foot.
Aria rolled her ankle, eliciting a crack and gifting a glimpse of her sole. Applejack’s freckles danced as she took a sharp breath, and her butt bounced a little off the bed with a quick clench of her thighs.
Like Applejack, Aria’s feet matched her body – angular and bony, but beautiful. They were very narrow at the heel, but fanned out as they reached the ball to form meticulously-maintained little oddities. The toes were similarly long, though now scrunched down as Aria worked. They gave a little wiggle, and Applejack gasped once more.
Subtlety had never been in Sonata’s dictionary. She grinned widely, and announced to the room and world, “You have a foot fetish!”
The words drew Aria and Adagio’s surprised attention. In the former’s case, she rolled onto her back to look to the head, drawing her feet out of Applejack’s vision.
“No!” Applejack protested.
“You are red, girl.” Aria noted.
“She was ogling your feet!” Sonata cried triumphantly.
“Don’t go makin’ up stories,” Applejack snarled.
“Ease back, Sonata.” Adagio’s even words drew a sigh of relief from Applejack.
Adagio sat on the bed, casting a benign smile to the prone farmer. “After all…”
The smile turned evil. “It’s an easy thing to test.”
She swiveled, hoisting her feet to the bed in one easy motion. Ignoring Applejack’s stuttered protests, she swung them above the prone girl’s face and spread her toes.
This… was strange, even for Adagio. She disliked her own feet, considering them flaws on an otherwise-perfect body. They were big, both wider and taller than Aria’s or Sonata’s. Her arches were flat, and the soles contained more unsightly creases than the other two sirens’ combined. Her toes were padded and big, and even spread to their limits they barely parted from each other.
Without a doubt, the part of her body – the only part of her body – that Adagio was ashamed of.
But Applejack’s reaction was solid gold. So red was her face that her freckles seemed light, rather than dark. She lay frozen on the bed, her entire body clenched upon itself as her eyes worshipped the yellow feet.
“Well, well, well.” Adagio’s voice was a cruel purr as she rested her heels on Applejack’s collarbone. The feet spread inches from her face, daring her to do what she had to be thinking. “Looks like our sweet little hayseed has a naughty secret.”
Applejack’s eyes turned stubbornly to the side. “Are y’all done?” she grumbled.
“Nope!” Sonata replied gleefully. She too sat on the bed, occupying the corner behind Aria. With little room to work with, she had just enough space to pull up her knees, pivot on her butt (which also conveniently pinned a peach-colored arm), and come in from the side to deposit both feet on Applejack’s face.
They were good feet, too. While the others’ formed odd shapes – Aria’s fanned out like a bell, while Adagio’s creased like an underfilled pillow – Sonata’s were well-shaped and pretty. Almost unnaturally smooth, barely wrinkling even as she molded their petite frames over Applejack’s mouth and eyes.
“Give them a lick,” Sonata teased. The now-blinded farm girl balled her fists, but the left was pinned beneath Sonata’s backside. Adagio quickly followed suit, trapping the right with her own rump.
She yipped and giggled as Applejack’s fist-making accidentally closed around her butt cheek. “Frisky, are we?”
Applejack couldn’t even respond with Sonata’s soles literally pressing against her mouth. She had tenaciously sucked in her lips, refusing to give in to the teasing.
Salvation came from the least expected place. “Hey, bitches. We’re in the middle of something.”
Aria had stood from the bed, and now loomed irately above. Under her purple, deathly glare, the other two sheepishly retracted their legs, leaving the gasping, flustered Applejack behind.
“Sorry about them. They have pretty crappy impulse control, in case you haven’t noticed.”
Adagio traded a sideling smirk with Sonata. Aria had the “responsible adult in the room” voice down pat. When she wanted to, she could be damn convincing with her maturity. It’s how they bought beer, after all.
But they all knew just how big of a lie that voice was.
“I’m just going to finish up the nails and oiling, and then you decide what we do next.” Aria resumed her place, and began work on the final foot. “We got more games, movies, or we could even just hang and talk. Think about it while I work.”
Applejack was guarded, but seemed to relax as quiet minutes passed. She kept glancing suspiciously to the other two, but they made a show of girly gossip, pretending to have dropped the subject as quickly as it came.
Aria cupped her hand beneath the oil dispenser and collected a small puddle of clear fluid. The scent of strawberries immediately hit the air, causing them all to pause a second and sniff in admiration.
“A foot rub?” Applejack asked as Aria brought her fingers in. The feet tensed, but Aria’s grip was firm and unteasing. “Ah ain’t really much for… oh…”
Cognizant thought left her brain as Aria began her magic. The massage was deep and professional. Aria turned the foot this way and that, giving her access to muscles and nerves Applejack never knew existed. They became glorious sensations under Aria’s practiced touch. Relaxation, contentment, a bit of arousal… all of these blurred together in a feeling of pure bliss. At Aria’s command, Applejack let her knees go limp to let the purple girl take control. She moved and bent them along with her work, unleashing still more pleasures up the ankles and legs.
Applejack’s guard was gone by the final act. Aria bent her leg to the side, bringing one of those cute, browned feet up to merely a foot from Applejack’s head, letting her see the sole as Aria rubbed in more of the greasy, glorious oil.
“It’s good stuff, right?” Aria grinned at Applejack’s sleepy smile. “It’s made with real strawberries. You know what that means?”
“What?” came the obliging response.
Adagio, of course, had seen it coming. She grinned along with Aria as the cease-fire came to an end.
“It’s edible.”
With that, Aria’s tongue came out and gave the foot one long lick, running messily from its heel all the way to the base of the toes. Her eyes stayed on Applejack, savoring the look of shock.
Adagio moved in without the slightest hesitation. This time her pillowy feet flopped directly on Applejack’s face, though once more the mouth clamped shut in response.
That was alright. Adagio rubbed her right sole over the nose, savoring both the tickle and the bright heat beneath. “How was the texture, Aria?”
Casting aside the false calm, Aria had seized the surprise to tackle Applejack’s legs, pinning them beneath her body with her head at the feet. “Hard,” she said, and took another lick.
“I know what else is hard!” Disdaining the fetishy tricks, Sonata went in for the kill – two cyan hands clamped on Applejack’s breasts and squeezed. “Ooh, hard as little apples! Though I bet you’d rather I used my feet...”
Applejack yelped at the grope, scraping her teeth against Adagio’s foot. But then she head-butted, knocking it back long enough to speak. “Y’all can’t do this without mah permission!”
“Do we have it?” Adagio breathed.
“No!”
“Can we have it?”
…Silence. The sirens exchanged wicked grins, sensing the unspoken confession.
“Tell you what.” Sonata leaned close, drawing a raised eyebrow from Adagio. The youngest siren rarely put that ‘seductively evil’ tone in her voice, but when she did, it was time to watch out. “Let’s make the safety word…”
“Don’t say taco,” Aria groaned.
“Taco!” Sonata’s breasts bounced with the pronouncement. “All you have to do is say, ‘Taco,’ and we’ll stop… forever.”
She leaned in close, grinning a grin that would make Satan sweat. “We’ll never bring this up again. We’ll just pretend we never knew, and go on with our lives.”
“We’ll drive you home,” Aria added. “Just to make sure we don’t get tempted later.”
“No more groping.” Adagio drew her feet back from the smoldering face, and wiggled her toes before those bright green eyes. “No more massages or licks or any of the naughty things we were planning on doing with you.”
“We had a plan?” Sonata asked.
“Quiet,” Adagio hissed, before resuming her sultry tease. “Just say the word, and we’ll stop. No more. Forever.”
The look on Applejack’s face… priceless. She looked shocked, even horrified that the wondrous torment would end with just one little word. One word, and the only three girls who knew her fetish would drop it for all time.
No middle ground. No room to negotiate. They had her, and the grinning sirens knew it.
But although she wouldn’t retreat, neither would Applejack surrender so easily. She snorted, looking to the feet with as much anger as arousal.
Adagio waved her toes in a little circle above Applejack’s nose, shivering as the girl’s breath hitched. She was just too cute!
“So before we… go on…” Adagio began, putting as much sexiness as would fit onto those last two words. “Anything you want to tell us?”
“Ah got nothin’ to say to y’all,” Applejack grumbled, turning her eyes away.
Adagio laughed out loud. “How delightfully tsundere!”
Aria scratched her nails down one of the cute, hard little soles. Applejack giggled, giving Adagio all the edge she needed. Her right foot snuck into the open mouth, causing Applejack’s eyes to shoot even wider as the toes and ball ran along her tongue.
Finally, assaulted by sensations from head to toe, Applejack gave in. Her left hand wiggled free of Sonata and grabbed the foot along its middle, holding it steady as the suckled the toes. Adagio laughed and squirmed, tickled as Applejack danced her tongue across the instep, and kneaded each toe between her teeth.
Eyes closed, Applejack removed the foot and nuzzled it lovingly, sniffing and kissing and getting her own drool all over her face. Moaning, she then gave the same attention to its neighbor. And then to the two lavender ones that muscled in, seizing her affection. Applejack felt the favor being returned as Aria licked and tickled her own feet, trading passion for sexy, teasing cruelty.
Sonata had her own plans. Always the least patient of the Dazzlings, she burned with her own needs. She hitched up Applejack’s shirt, revealing two breasts standing perked at attention. Smaller than the sirens’ and even more freckled than the girl’s face, but that just added to the sexiness. The freckles made them look dirty, and this whole night had grown delightfully, naughtily, dirty. Sonata tweaked one with her fingers and clamped her mouth on the other, sucking and nibbling. With her free hand Sonata grabbed her own breast through the pink underwear, unseeing as Applejack’s hand creeped down to her thighs…
“Oh, no you don’t!” Adagio seized the hand before it reached its target.
Applejack was beyond complete sentences. “Let me go!” She moaned into the feet. “Ah gotta… Ah need’ta… Ah’m so close…”
“To. Bad.” Adagio leered from above, savoring the surprised opening of Applejack’s eyes. Following her lead, the other sirens broke off to grin down from above. “We’ve been pretty nice about going along with your little kink. You’ve got to play ball and let us have some of the fun, too. Unless, of course… you want to call Taco.”
Adagio bit her hand, barely able to contain her own arousal. To see Applejack like this was a treat worth anything. Her cute little mouth open and panting, her eyes trying to stay defiant but so clearly wanting what the sirens could give…
“Well?” Adagio asked, already knowing what the answer would be.
A half hour later, Applejack was cuter than ever. Sort of. It was hard for Adagio to focus in the throes of it all.
They were at the foot of the bed, on the carpeted floor. Leather belts tied Applejack’s legs to the bedposts, locking them in a V-shaped position with her soles pointed helplessly towards the roof. The legs were bare, as were her thighs and crotch. The sirens had stripped off the pajama pants and used them to tie her arms to the bulky entertainment case. Applejack was not only bound, but stretched with her back on the floor.
She wasn’t gagged. The sirens let her moan, yell, and threaten to her heart’s content as they had their way. They teased her mercilessly. They tickled the feet for minutes at a time, drinking it in as Applejack howled, cursed… and then begged. The strawberry oil was liberally rubbed across her skinny frame, then licked off by a trio of tongues. Each of the Dazzling’s feet received worship time and again, even as they all attacked at once and pressed her head into the carpet.
Aria was the first to orgasm, but nobody else noticed. She rubbed herself furiously while tickling and slapping Applejack’s feet, gasping faster and faster until the sensation overwhelmed her. It wasn’t so much the feet, but Applejack! Broken, begging for mercy from the torment Aria could give or take away at will. And when the lavender feet came down, Applejack was happy to kiss them like a proper slave should.
What really pushed her over the edge was when Applejack broke down into a true submissive. Eager for sexual release and relief from the tickling, she gave in to Aria’s every command. She confessed that Aria was her beautiful, sexy mistress, who owned her in every way. And Applejack was her loving, loyal footslave. Hearing the proud farm girl call herself that was the final straw.
Still, it was a quick, over-excited little orgasm. Always the toughest of the Dazzlings, Aria pressed on, hoping for another.
Adagio came second. She spent nearly all her time with her feet in Applejack’s face, or caressing them across her breasts and ribs. At first it was just a tease, but as the minutes slipped by Adagio realized she had become hot and gasping. Her hands worked themselves across her breasts and crotch, racing with the urgency of much-needed release.
Those big, pillowy feet… Adagio had spent so many years telling herself they were ugly, and she was WRONG! A hundred licks, kisses, and bites had proven they were the most beautiful things in the world, just like the rest of her. Adagio always knew she was sexy, but never before had she felt so sexy! And she owed it all to Applejack…
In the glow of the orgasm, Adagio let her mind drift to places she would never admit. She pictured herself wearing sandals for the first time in forever, and teasing Applejack with them in class. The farm girl would flush and mumble, shyly accepting as Adagio asked her out. They would kiss beneath the moonlight and snuggle warmly to each other, watching the stars come out.
The fantasy ended as Sonata moaned, furiously masturbating while Applejack licked her oil-soaked feet. In-between gasps, she shared her own confession.
“Ooh, hm, ever since that day… when you gave me the sandwich, I wanted… I thought of a way to thank you. I wa-WOW! I’m gonna give you a sandwich, next time. A jar of peanut butter and jelly, and I’ll stick my feet in each one and rub them together for you… ugh, uh, give you a nice sandwich. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“Yeah,” Applejack moaned.
“SAY ‘YES, MISTRESS!’”
Applejack had no resistance left. “YES, MISTRESS!”
Sonata jerked her foot away, screaming as she came.
With the other two lost in exhausted bliss, only Aria took note of Applejack’s condition. An hour of simultaneous indulgence and denial had taken its toll, pushing her endurance to its limits. Sweat mixed with oil and saliva across her body, giving a sheen that still failed to hide the wetness between her legs. Her matted hair clung to the carpet, and her tongue lolled to the side.
Maybe even Applejack didn’t realize it, but Aria’s practiced eye could tell she was at her limit. If the farmer didn’t climax soon, she’d be too tired to even enjoy a good orgasm.
It surprised Aria that she wasn’t tempted to just resume the teasing. It would have been too cruel by half, but that never stopped her before.
She leaned down low over Applejack, smiling at her with rare happiness. Applejack was a lot of fun… and in a way, she was a lot like Aria. They were both stubborn, tough-talking and practical. It’d be kind of cool for them to hang out sometime. She could teach the sexy little hayseed a thing or two about fashion. Maybe even teach her how to be a dom, and let others do the worshipping. She certainly seemed to enjoy the affection given to her own feet…
Aria shook her head, snapping out of the thoughts. First, to business.
She would do it her own way, of course. Aria brought her face close to Applejack, and settled a hand on the girl’s thigh. “Ready, slave?”
“Ah’ve been ready,” Applejack gasped.
Aria was half-tempted to chide the disrespect, and maybe force Applejack to apologize. But she sensed the patience for role-play was at an end, and instead satisfied herself with another move: jamming one of the apples into Applejack’s mouth, spreading her jaw wide around the impromptu gag.
Aria didn’t need to watch herself work. Her practiced fingers slid up Applejack’s thighs while she stared lovingly into the big, green eyes. Those eyes rolled upwards as the fingers reached their destination, a muffled moan escaping around the apple.
Teased to the breaking point, it only took a few strokes to push Applejack over the edge. The moan grew to a scream, the eyes clamped shut, her butt rocketed from the ground… And Aria grinned, feeling warm fluid gush down around her fingers.
The dazed Applejack collapsed, groaning into her apple.
And the door slammed open. The sirens snapped their heads upwards to see a furious Rainbow Dash, sporting a baseball bat and a look that could kill.
She wasn’t alone, either. Rarity had a pair of cloth scissors big enough to be gardening sheers. Fluttershy slapped a golf club into her palm, while Pinkie Pie held a… pie. And Sunset stood behind all of them with a beanbag gun.
Adagio snapped. “This is private property!”
The protest turned to a scream as the Rainbooms charged. The only one with any strength left, Aria managed to grapple Rainbow’s bat, but got a pie in her face for the trouble. A golf club swung with astonishing violence struck her midsection, laying her out on the floor. The others fared worse – Sonata took a high-velocity beanbag directly on her right breast and was sent spinning. Adagio wasn’t even able to get to her feet, instead sent crawling in a panic from Rarity’s blades, screaming her surrender.
In no time at all, the bruised Dazzlings had been herded into a corner, loomed over by Rainbow Dash and a terrifyingly furious Fluttershy.
“Great job, girls!” Sunset called with such cheer that Adagio almost attacked, consequences be damned. “They might be smart, but we have each other!”
“Not smart enough to know we’d have AJ’s back.” Rainbow waved the tip of her bat like she was at the plate. “Where’s your evil plan now, Dumbazzlings?”
Aria trembled with impotent fury. “Rainbow, you’re a bitch, and that’s a lot coming from me.”
Sunset jammed a finger towards them. “Save it for Princess Twilight. I’m going to write a letter right now telling her what you did with the second chance she gave you. I don’t know what you were trying to torture out of Applejack, but your sick games end here!”
“Were you even watching us!?” Sonata shrieked.
The response came lowly, dangerously from Fluttershy. “Only a few minutes ago… I managed to climb the tree and see. You torturing her poor feet, stripping her, slapping your feet in her face…”
She roared, rearing back her weapon. “WELL HOW WOULD YOU LIKE MY GOLF CLUB IN YOUR FACE, HUH? THAT WOULD BE FAIR!”
“Easy, easy!” Rarity set a hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder, bringing her back down to Earth. “Don’t stoop to their level.”
“You are ALL bitches,” Adagio hissed.
“Don’t let her provoke you.” Sunset knelt over Applejack as she spoke. “We’re better than that.”
“Especially you!” Adagio screamed.
Sunset ignored her. She met Applejack’s shocked gaze with a gentle smile, and pulled the fruit from her mouth. “It’s okay, Applejack. The cavalry’s here!”
