Chapter Four
Sleepover at Rarity's

Applejack looked around tentatively for a "Table 7". It had to be the right one. Not Table 9, not Table 3, but Table 7. That was possibly crucial to her high school survival. She couldn't risk accidentally sitting with the wrong clique and making a fool of herself. What if she accidentally sat next to the jocks? Well, okay, so that wouldn't actually be that bad. But what about the mean popular girls? Applejack was not about to deal with that on her first day.

Even so, Rainbow was still distracting her from paying attention to any sort of number. There was something strange about her that made Applejack nervous whenever she was around.

Fear, that's fear, Applejack thought. She's so damn badass it's not even funny. And you're afraid of getting messed with.

Looping her hair around her fingers, Applejack distractedly contemplated about her new friends. Rarity and Twilight were... were... skirt lifters! What the hell was that all about? Rarity was the least gay person Applejack knew. Or, rather, had known. It felt like she hadn't seen her companion in three million years, much less since kindergarten.

Finally, Applejack noticed a certain curly purple-haired girl waving at her from a table. Applejack heaved a relieved sigh, heading in that direction. It was a good thing she had someone to sit with on her first day - that never went well when unplanned.

"Thanks, Rarity... and yer sure it's okay for me to sit here?" Applejack chewed on the inside of her cheek nervously as she took a seat next to her fashionable friend.

"Oh, of course, darling. Why would we exclude you from a lunch table? Don't be silly." Rarity smiled. Applejack scanned the table, finding some new faces... and one very familiar one.

Fuck! Rainbow?!

Applejack tried not to stare at the bright-haired girl and took a large gulp of her hamburger.

"Hey, wait a minute..." A familiar-looking girl glared suspiciously at Applejack before brightening up again. Oh, of course! It was Pinkie Pie, her weird neighbor. "You're my new neighbor! Welcome to Ponyville Crest! It's great here, but the food kinda smells sometimes..." Pinkie trailed off, while Rainbow rolled her eyes. Applejack just nodded, still stuffed with the large bite of her hamburger.

"Anyway, Applejack, you know Rarity from kindergarten?" A shy-looking girl took an uncanny bite of mashed potatoes.

"Yeah. Actually, she was a riot back then. Goin' on 'bout guys." Applejack grinned evilly, while Rarity's cheeks started to flush, "She had pictures of her boyfriends 'round her room," Rarity turned a deep shade of maroon, "She was actually the one I learned about se-" Applejack started.

"Well, now! We should eat, then, shouldn't we?" Rarity burst out loudly, while the others snickered.

"God, Rarity, don't be so serious, it was a joke," Rainbow laughed, but then quickly stopped after looking at Applejack. That was a little weird.

"Well, I didn't find it very funny," Rarity huffed and started scarfing her food down.

"Sorry, she's a bit-" Rainbow began.

"Sensitive. Ah know," Applejack blushed and looked away, not looking to see what Rainbow did in response. Why was Applejack blushing so much? She was making a fool of herself in front of her new friends.

"Hey, Dashie, can I stay over tonight? My parents are out so that means I'm in!" Pinkie beamed. Applejack jerked her head up from her food. Wait, what? Applejack mused.

"Oh, sure. I have a volleyball meeting tonight and then work, so I'll be a little late. Make yourself at home while I'm gone," Rainbow smirked and wiggled her eyebrows. Pinkie giggled and turned back to her lunch, while Applejack just stared fearfully at the whole situation.

"Pinkie... stays at yer house? At night?" Applejack barely uttered above a whisper, shocked.

"Mm-hmm! You wanna know what happens when I do?" Pinkie snickered. Rainbow started laughing uncontrollably, and Applejack felt sick.

"Uh... no thanks. I'm good." Applejack's fearful expression turned to disgust.

"Well, since you begged me," Pinkie laughed alongside Rainbow. "Dashie always comes home late, so we're always really tired during it. We kinda just fall asleep on top of each other,"

"Um, really, Pinkie, Ah don't wanna know," Applejack held her stomach to repress the sickening feeling in it.

"Do you have something against lesbians?" Twilight asked defensively.

"No! No, of course not. Ah just ain't one mahself." Applejack lied, not about being a lesbian, but about the real reason she felt sick, which Applejack didn't quite know herself.

"Well, okay then. So... uh, when did you move here?" Rainbow asked. Since when was this girl so interested in Applejack? It made no sense. In first period, she hadn't given one shit about Applejack, and now she was all open and friendly-like. That definitely added the next bullet point to the "List of Rainbow Mysteries".

"A couple days ago. Granny got a new job in the city, an' so we moved here." Applejack picked at her food with her fork.

"Oh. Nice." Rainbow said, picking at an emptied tray. There she went again, uninterested. God, why was she so complicated?

There was an awkward silence for a while, until Rarity spoke up, "Girls, I just had the most fabulous idea. Why don't we all have a slumber party at my house? Scootaloo is having Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom over, so we'll have the house to ourselves. Won't that be fun?"

"That's the bestest idea ever!" Pinkie clapped her hands excitedly. "And I can bring a bunch of snacks! It'll be so much fun,"

Everyone agreed it was a great idea, and they all offered to contribute something - Rarity would make pajamas, Pinkie would bring the snacks, Rainbow had a bunch of extra sleeping bags and blankets, the girl named Fluttershy would bring some movies, Twilight would supply flashlights and books in case someone got bored, and Applejack was going to sneak a little liquor in. It was the perfect plan.

Right up until that moment.

* * *

Applejack sat hushed in her bedroom long enough for Granny Smith to fall asleep. Big Mac was the only person she had to worry about now, but he was in the barn, so he probably wouldn't notice her anyways. Applejack quietly snuck down the stairs and into the kitchen, grabbing whatever alcohol she could find from the icebox. This wasn't something Applejack would normally do; she hated lying, but for some reason she felt compelled to grab the liquor and run.

"Where d'you think yer runnin' off to with that?" a deep voice croned from behind her.

Shit. "Uh... um, nowhere?" Sweat rolled down the back of Applejack's neck.

"Really?" Big Mac laughed, remembering his first drink had been when he was sixteen, not even eighteen, like his sister. But he was much older than Applejack, and frowned upon rule breaking - this was definitely underage drinking. However, she deserved a little fun now and then. "Okay, but iffin' you drive home drunk an' get in an accident, I'm tellin' Granny," Big Mac smiled.

Applejack smiled back, relieved. She owed Big Mac big-time.

Excitedly, Applejack hopped into the front seat of the old black Jeep, taking a few moments to start the truck. She actually couldn't wait to see Rainbow, despite her earlier outbursts. Maybe Applejack could finally settle once and for all about why Rainbow made her so nervous.

And that is exactly what she did.

Applejack finally heaved up the nerve to walk into Rarity's front gate. Her house was just like it always had been - somewhat circular with three stories, purple wall panels, and a blue roof. Two balconies hung out of windows on the top floor, surrounding fence painted a bright white. The lights were so artificial that only a seeping yellow lingered out of any of the windows, as Rarity didn't really believe in conserving the Earth. Although, that seemed understated, as the landscaping was far more intricate than that of any Applejack had ever seen. There were possibly seven thousand neatly trimmed bushes neighboring the house, followed by a complex series of flowers in every possible color. The rainbow pattern reminded Applejack of a certain someone, although she shook her head, trying not to think about it. This was a time for fun, not super-confusing feelings that no one understood.

Quickly, Applejack raced down the pavement to Rarity's girly pink door, covered in grooves and holes as it was wearing down from being used so often. Running a hand through her hair, and with her other hand holding the alcohol, Applejack contemplated whether or not she should just run back to the car and drive home, where she might be safe from a potentially horrible night. But something was urging her to stay, to go inside, and enjoy herself. Applejack was no stranger to trusting her instincts, so carefully, hesitantly, she gave three soft knocks on the big door.

Voices from inside started cheering, and Applejack had another gut feeling lurch inside of her.

This was going to be one hell of a party.

Author's Note

Thanks for all the support! It's really helpful.

Cannot wait for next chapter. Just a heads-up, that's the sexual chapter, so if that bothers you, you can probably skip it and continue from context in the next one.

This chapter was a lot easier to write, considering I really just copied and pasted most of the dialogue, so please let me know if there are any mistakes.

Love feedback and compliments, so feel free to provide some below!