"To have the audacity to—" Rarity stopped mid-rant when she saw the disgruntled looks on her friend's faces as they exited the train car.
Broken out of her tirade she turned to them. "Something wrong, darlings?"
"Huh? No, no, nothing's wrong!" Twilight responded too quickly.
"It's just..." Fluttershy continued meekly.
"You've been talking about Blueblood the whole ride! Give it a rest, wouldya?" Rainbow Dash threw her hooves upwards in annoyance as she took to the air.
"B-but he insulted me!" Rarity was taken aback by Rainbow's outburst. "Insulted me and all ladies and gentlecolts of Equestria with his behaviour! I can't simply—"
"Yeah, yeah, we get it!" The blue pegasus grabbed her suitcase preparing to take off. "Just get over it, get some sleep, I dunno! That's what I'm gonna do. I'm exhausted after the Gala. Seeya." She flew off.
"Well, that wasn't very nice of her..." Pinkie Pie frowned.
"No. No it wasn't. But I see where she’s coming from." Twilight turned to face Rarity. "Maybe she's right? Go to your house, take a relaxing bath, get some sleep, maybe even take a day off. You'll feel better."
"Are you..." Rarity couldn't believe what she heard. "Are you implying that I'm... Overreacting!?"
"Uhh... Kinda?"
"Yeah, a little bit."
"Umm... Maybe..?"
"I... I cannot believe what I'm hearing! Did I ever overreact? Applejack, you're with me, aren't you?" Rarity turned to face the farm pony, who had remained silent the whole time. "He insulted you as well!"
"Shucks, Rarity, Ah don't know what to tell ya..."
"So you do agree with them, don't you?"
"Rares..."
"Fine! I see how it is..."
"Rarity, we really don't—" Twilight was cut off.
"Hmph! So be it! Good night to you." Rarity turned away from the group and started trotting towards her boutique. Seeing this, Applejack spoke up.
"Rari—"
"Let's give her some time and some space. She looks like she needs to cool off." Twilight cut her off.
"Twilight’s right." Fluttershy stepped in. "I'm sure she’ll be fine tomorrow. Can we call it a day? I still need to feed my animals before I go to sleep."
She put her bag on her back, and Pinkie and Applejack followed suit. Twilight had to levitate hers, since her back was occupied by sleeping Spike.
"Um, girls? Whose bag is that?" Pinkie pointed at a rather large suitcase.
"Well Ah'll be, Rarity didn't take hers!"
"Do you think she forgot about it? I mean, it is rather large and hard to miss..."
"Nah... As far as Ah know her, it’s all ‘bout her pride. Couldn't turn back when she already stormed off like that."
"Well, it does sound like her." Twilight and the other girls nodded.
"Alright everypony, y'all can go, Ah'll take it to her. It's in the same direction Ah'm goin’."
Twilight stepped forward, ready to help her friend. "It looks quite heavy. You sure you don't want me to just levitate it?"
"Nah, it has wheels. Ah'll manage, y'all go get some sleep. It was a busy day.” Applejack shook her head.
"Well... If you're really okay with it, then I'll be going now. Have a good night, girls." Fluttershy trotted away.
"Nighty-night, Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie waved energetically at the leaving pegasus. “Guess I’ll be going too, need to get up early tomorrow and help the Cakes. They ought to be behind schedule without my help! See you!"
"Applejack," Twilight said when her and Applejack were alone, "if you need help you just have to ask, remember."
"Ah do, Twilight. It ain't the applebucking season, don't worry. Ah won't overwork mahself."
"Okay, good. Just—"
"Just go, Twilight. Ah'll manage."
"Okay. Sorry." Twilight answered sheepishly. "Well, I'll be going then. Good night, Applejack."
"Night, Twilight!"
And so Applejack was left alone with the behemoth of a luggage. She eyed it for a moment, grabbed the handle, huffed, and slowly moved towards the Carousel Boutique. How Spike managed to carry it was beyond her.
* * *
It wasn’t long before Applejack arrived at the boutique and knocked on the door.
"We're closed!" Rarity's voice came from within.
"Rares, it's me. Ya forgot yer bag. I brought it here."
"Well thank you, Applejack." Rarity spoke with an edge in her voice, clearly irritated. "Could you leave it by the door and go?"
"Well, Ah could..." Applejack answered. "But Ah won't. Rares, let me in, let's talk it out! Ah have some hard cider left in mah cart..."
"What, you think that the only thing I want right now is to get drunk and forget it all!? Do you think I am that much of a drama queen!? That I am overexaggerating the whole situation to that degree!?"
"No! Rares, Ah... Yer right. He was a jerk, ya ain't exaggeratin'. I was there, sugarcube. He said mean things to me, too, and 'bout mah products."
The door opened slightly, revealing a white face smeared with running mascara, surrounded by a flurry of frazzled hair peeking through. She was a mess. There were visible bags under her eyes, her eyes themselves were red from tears, and it looked like tiny bits of ice cream stained her muzzle. "You mean it, Applejack? You don't think that I—"
"Not one bit, sugar."
"Well, in that case..." Rarity opened the door wider to let Applejack and the luggage in. "I guess we could sit down and talk about what an uncouth ruffian he was to both of us, and uncork a bottle of Sweet Apple Cider... or two."
"Atta girl!"
Applejack went into the boutique. It was dark, with the curtains closed tightly and no lights turned on. She pulled Rarity's bag inside, next to the door, and peeked out to take a couple of bottles of cider from her cart parked outside.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, darling! I'll turn on some lights right away! When I returned I didn't exactly deem it necessary, and..." She coughed awkwardly. "Oh! Yes! Lights!"
Once the boutique was illuminated, she reached out with her magic and pulled two tall glasses out of her cupboard. She sat on a couch, set the glasses on a coffee table, and motioned for Applejack to join her.
Applejack obliged. She opened both bottles with her teeth (causing Rarity to cringe slightly) and poured them both full glasses of the best Sweet Apple hard cider.
"So, uh, Blueblood?" Applejack began the conversation awkwardly.
"Yes, Applejack, Blueblood indeed..." Rarity took a sip of her cider.
Silence.
Tense, awkward silence, disrupted only by a rhythmic ticking of a clock.
"This is a good cider..." Rarity tried to break it, and lifted the glass to her eye level. Unfortunately, glass turned out to be reflective enough for her to see her face.
"Oh my goodness, Applejack!" She cringed. "I'm so, so sorry! Receiving guests in such an... unpresentable state! Just give me a second to fix my—"
"There's no need for that, Rares." Applejack put her hoof on Rarity's shoulder to keep her in place. "We're all friends here. Heck, I reckon' we're more like a family even."
"But I cannot be seen in such an awful state! Not even by—"
"Relax, sugarcube. Y-yer pretty even with yer eyelash... thingy... smeared."
"That's very sweet of you darling..." Rarity lifted the farmpony's hoof with her magic and slipped out. "But I'm afraid I simply must do it."
And so she went, leaving Applejack alone with her thoughts.
When she was left alone, she let out a deep breath and fidgeted slightly. She made her decision even before the Gala, but now she was having second thoughts… What if...
"No! C'mon, Applejack..." She started talking to herself. "Ya can do it... Ya've worked fer a chance like this and ya won't miss it... It's now or never..."
She downed her glass of cider, eyed it, and poured herself more.
"It's gonna work..."
"What's going to work, darling?"
"Oh!" Applejack jumped and blushed a little. "N-nothin', just thinkin' aloud is all."
Rarity stared at her intensely, then looked away. "If you say so, dear."
A moment of silence fell onto the boutique. It was a short one, but for Applejack it seemed like eternity. Her resolve felt more and more shaken as time passed. Her doubts coming back with twice the strength. But… She worked for it. For that single moment. She’s seen it play out in her mind in so many ways. She had to do it, lest she never be free from these thoughts…
And it’s not like Rarity would end their friendship, right?
Right?
Eventually, she decided to be out with it.
"R-Rares..?"
"Hm? What is it, Applejack?"
"I... I... W-would never do things like that..."
"What things, darling?" Rarity asked, a puzzled expression on her face.
"Y'know, what Blueblood was doin'... I'd..." She gulped. "A-Ah'd never treat ya like that."
"Applejack... what are you saying..?" Rarity rose slightly from her seat and straightened her back, looking directly into Applejack's eyes with a serious expression on her face.
"N-nothin’!" Applejack scrambled backwards, but was stopped by the armrest of Rarity's couch. "Geee... look at the time! I-I'll be goin' now, there's—"
"You won't be going anywhere without a proper explanation, darling." Rarity punctuated her words by locking the door with her azure magic.
"Aww shucks..." Applejack slumped. "Guess there ain't no way fer me to get out of it now, is there?"
"None."
"It's just..." Applejack began uncertainly. "We've known each other fer years now, since ya bought this ol' carousel and made into a boutique. Heck, Ah helped ya with it!"
Not getting a response beyond a curious stare, she continued.
"A-Ah've been here, with ya, the whole time. Ah've seen ya get heartbroken over all those stallions... Ah just... y'know, Ah just wanted ya to find that 'prince charming' of yers, so Ah... Ah was kinda staying out of it.
"But Ah've been spendin' more an' more time with ya, Rares. And Ah..." Applejack gulped, heaved a sigh and continued. "Ah've said 'no more.’ I don't wanna see you cry yer eyes out over some 'nother colt that breaks yer heart."
She eventually mustered enough courage to look into Rarity's eyes. "Ah've f-fallen fer ya, Rares."
"Darling..." Rarity blinked a few times, chasing away a few stray tears. "I would've never known you had such... feelings towards me..."
"Well..." Applejack lowered her gaze. "Now ya do."
"Don't you start sulking now, Applejack!" Rarity lifted the earth pony's head with her hoof.
"But—"
"Tut-tut! No buts now, darling!" Rarity put her hoof on Applejack's lips to silence her.
Applejack obeyed and stayed silent, her gaze still lingering on Rarity’s face, now scrunched up in deep thought. After a moment, or maybe two or a dozen – Applejack lost her sense of time – the unicorn slowly spoke:
"I think you made me realize something here, dear... Perhaps... my past relationships didn't work out because of me."
"Rare—"
"Oh shush you!" Rarity used her magic this time. "Yes, darling, perhaps it was my fault. I was looking for a prince charming, because that's what a lady is supposed to be doing. A lady needs her knight in shining armour after all!” Rarity fidgeted slightly.
"But perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps I didn't truly want it and that's why it didn't work... I'm not talking about Blueblood here, mind you! What happened at the gala was most certainly all his doing!"
"Whadya mean, 'Ah didn't truly want it?’" Applejack asked.
"I wanted to find myself a knight in shining armour because it was proper, dear. Not because my heart desired it. Or maybe it did, the part longing for a romance, one not unlike the ones in books...
"My point is, darling, that maybe... No, no, definitely. I've grown closer to you than to any of my past... interests... Perhaps I didn't notice that — I didn't notice you — because I didn't want to..."
"Rares..." Applejack moved towards her unicorn friend.
"Oh I'm so sorry, Applejack... I must've been awfully cold throughout those years. Not noticing your efforts because I was blinded by—"
"Rares."
"—and maybe it's true after all? Who knows, I've—mmph..." Rarity was silenced by Applejack's lips.
Rarity opened her teary eyes in shock, but closed them soon after, melting into the kiss and embracing Applejack.
Eventually they leaned back, blushing madly. After a short while they both recovered from their stupor and Rarity’s expression shifted towards that of a shock at a realization of what just transpired.
“Ah… Ah’m sorry, Rares… Ah shouldn’t—”
“I… I didn’t dislike it, darling.” Rarity interrupted. “It was just… sudden...”
“Ah hope Ah didn’t… ya know… upset ya or somethin’.” Applejack was rubbing her forehoof awkwardly. “Ah’d hate it if Ah were to make things…”
“Don’t worry, dear. I’d just like to take things more… slowly.”
“Take things…” A realization hit Applejack. “Ya mean you? And Ah? We?”
Rarity couldn’t help but smile seeing a growing grin on the farmer’s face. “Yes, Applejack, I am willing to give you— To give us a chance.”
“Ah… Ah… ”Applejack began to stammer. “What would ya… What should Ah… A dinner? D’ya want a—”
“Now slow down there, darling.” Rarity shushed her, still smiling at the farmpony’s eagerness. “It’s late, you should probably get some rest before we go anywhere. And you should most definitely sleep on what happened today.”
“Ah’m fine, Rarity!”
“No, dear, you’re not. You’re in no shape to court a lady. And I’m in no shape to be courted.” Rarity lead Applejack towards the door to the boutique. “How about we both get a good night’s sleep first?”
“Ah reckon’ yer right, Rares…” Applejack yawned. “See ya tomorrow then?”
“Most definitely, Applejack.”
The farmpony hooked her cart, waved goodbye to Rarity, and headed into the crisp night towards Sweet Apple Acres. Coldness of the air not fazing her, warmness she felt inside being enough protection from any cold.
Rarity stood there for a while more, looking into the night.
"Perhaps..." She spoke in a hushed tone. "Perhaps I didn't need a knight in shining armour.
“I needed a farmer in a ragged stetson all this time..."
Author's Note
How's that for a first shot at a oneshot?
Wanted to write something short and sweet, in the meantime of writing a bigger, multi-chapter piece. Just to get a feel for it, and get some wider feedback on my writing style, and whatever shortcomings my writing may have. So I'd appreciate all feedback you may want to provide! Throw it at me in buckets! I want to take a shower in your feedback, feel it on my fa—
Ok, that went too far.
No, but seriously, all feedback's appreciated.
