Methinks she's going to protest too much...
“Umm, Rarity? Can I ask you a question?” Sweetie Belle asked, standing at the threshold of her sister's room.
“Of course, Sweetie Belle, what is it?” Rarity responded distractedly, sitting on her bed and focusing more attention on her sketchpad than her sister.
“Umm, well, since Mom and Dad are gonna be out of town again for the weekend,” Sweetie said with a little hesitance, “I was wondering if you'd be fine with me going to the city with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo on Saturday.”
Rarity looked at her. “But of course, why wouldn't I be?” she told her sister. “You're nearly sixteen, Sweetie Belle. You and your friends can look after yourselves just fine, even in the city.” She briefly turned her attention to her phone, then back to her sketchpad.
Sweetie Belle lit up excitedly. “Thanks, Rarity!”
“Oh, it's no problem at all,” she replied, drawing a few lines. “I don't suppose you'll be needing me to drive you there, will you?”
“Oh no, we got that covered,” Sweetie Belle replied. “Apple Bloom just told me that her brother agreed to pick us up and drive us around.”
“Lovely,” Rarity said with a soft smile.
Sweetie Belle left shortly after, leaving Rarity alone with her sketches and phone. She looked at the latter, and sighed wistfully.
Its sudden ringing startled her into jumping an inch off her bed, but when she landed she took one look at the caller and scurried over to her door. With barely-contained giddiness she looked up and down the deserted hall outside her room, then locked herself inside and returned to her bed. She laid down on her back as she answered the phone, a smile on her face.
“Oh hello Applejack, my darling,” she greeted. “I was wondering when you were going to call.”
“Yeah, sorry about takin' so long, Rarity,” Applejack replied as she walked through the northern orchard of Sweet Apple Acres, her phone in her right hand while her left steadied an almost comically large crate of pruning and pest control supplies on her shoulder. “It took me awhile to get away from everyone, but I made sure we ain't gonna be overheard just like you asked.”
She stopped near one of the apple trees, the first fruits beginning to grow on it, and with a grunt she set the crate on the ground. “Though I still don't get why we gotta keep this from everyone.”
Rarity sighed and sat up. “I'm sorry, dear. It's just... I'm a teensy bit afraid of how the others will take it,” she answered. “I'm sure they'll say they're supportive and such, but I can't help but feel this will change things between the seven of us. I wouldn't want our group of friends to break apart again because of us!”
She heard Applejack sigh. “You've been watchin' too many soap operas,” she said over the phone. “Besides, this whole situation just doesn't sit right with me. It feels too much like lyin'. You know the others are gonna start realizin' somethin's up sooner or later, don'tcha?”
Rarity bit her lip. “I know, and I'm sorry for making you do this for me. Just try to think of it as a... a secret between the two of us, that we'll tell the others when we're both ready.”
Applejack sighed again, idly inspecting the fruitlets she could reach from the ground but paying more attention to her phone than anything else. “I understand, sugarcube. I ain't gonna force you to tell folks about us if you aren't ready to.”
“So... you're still on for our date Saturday?” Rarity asked over the phone.
“Of course I am!” Applejack answered with a smile. “I've been lookin' forward to it all week!” She braced herself and moved the phone away from her ear in anticipation of the delighted squeal that followed.
“Oh, I am so excited to hear you say that, Applejack,” Rarity gushed. “Not that I ever doubted, of course, but a girl does have her worries from time to time. Plus I'm just so excited for our first real date together, I have so much planned for the day.”
Applejack couldn't help but chuckle. “Well then, I guess I got a whole lot more to look forward to, don't I?”
“Oh, most definitely,” Rarity replied with an air of excitement. “I promise that you'll enjoy every second of it.”
“Heheh,” Applejack laughed again. “Well, it ain't gonna be that hard to enjoy myself if I'm with you, Rarity,” she said into the phone.
The line went silent for a few seconds, and Applejack could swear she heard Rarity blush. “Oh, oh Applejack, that's very sweet of you,” she finally replied. She paused. “Ah, by the way, I have just a teensy, tiny request to ask of you for our date...”
“Yeah?” Applejack asked, tipping her hat up and wiping a bit of sweat from her brow.
“It's nothing major,” Rarity said, “I just thought it would be nice if you brought a few of your family's baked goods with you. I expect they'll be nice to have on-hand during the afternoon.”
Applejack smiled. “Consider it done.”
“Oh, thank you ever so much, darling,” Rarity told her. “Now, I get the feeling we both have things we need to do, so I think it's best if we resumed our conversation another time.”
“Mm-hmm,” Applejack replied, already looking back at the trees she was supposed to be tending to.
“Then I'll talk to you later,” Rarity said. “Love you, Applejack!”
Applejack froze in place, her face quickly turning red. “L-love you too, Rarity.”
Both hung up, and Applejack remained stock still for a few moments. Then, with a wistful sigh and a dopey smile, she leaned up against the tree and clutched her phone to her heart.
Rarity sighed as well, letting her phone slip from her hand as she spread herself out of her bed. After a few moments she sat back up and grabbed her sketchpad, running a finger over the lines she'd drawn.
It had started sometime around their trip to Camp Everfree several weeks ago after the end of their junior year at CHS; or at least that's when she first became aware of her feelings for her friend. They had taken Rarity quite by surprise; she'd assumed she'd end up falling for some handsome young Prince or such, who'd sweep her off her feet with his charms and riches.
With Applejack... well, it had hardly been love at first sight. But she'd gotten to know her over the past few years, and more and more Rarity couldn't help but think about her. That smile, those beautiful green eyes, that honest heart, those strong arms... Sure, Applejack was a little rough compared to what Rarity had expected herself to fall for, but her love had an unmistakable genuineness about her that Rarity adored. And even though their callings were vastly different, she and her paramour had a mutual appreciation for each other's hardworking dedication to their chosen fields.
The fact that she'd fallen for another girl had also taken Rarity off guard, but she'd read enough romance novels to know that the heart wants what the heart wants. Granted, fear of being ostracized for her apparent sexuality played no small part in her hesitance to make the relationship publicly known, but still... Once she'd realized what she felt for Applejack, Rarity wasn't going to deny it to herself.
Luckily for her – for both of them – Applejack had apparently been having the same sort of thoughts and feelings, and her honest nature put them into the open. Rarity's spirit had soared once she learned her affections were reciprocated, and ever since then they'd been trying to work a proper date into their busy schedules. And that, she hoped, would only be the beginning.
Still looking affectionately at her sketches, Rarity got to her feet and started to dance around the room with the book as her partner. As she twirled she hummed as well, something less definite than a song but which struck her as quite romantic. She made a mental note to run the tune by Fluttershy at some point to see if something more could be made of it. For now, though, she entertained herself with thoughts of things to come – the dances for their final year at CHS in particular.
Seeing how she'd easily won the title of Princess at the last Spring Fling (as Sunset had only naturally sworn off such competitions entirely), Rarity thought she was a shoe-in to win the last two Princess crowns she'd be eligible for. And hopefully by that time she would have gathered the courage to out herself from the proverbial closet, as she'd fallen in love with the idea of having Applejack as her date to both almost as much as she'd fallen for the girl herself.
She'd already designed several dresses for both of them to wear, though she hadn't decided which ones to actually produce as of yet. Partly because it just wasn't the time, and partly because Applejack was one of those rare girls who could look good in both dresses and suits. Rarity felt no shame in having fantasized quite often about dancing with a rather dashing Applejack dressed in a tuxedo of her own design. She'd also amused herself by imagining her in the tuxedo and Applejack in the gown – it was far from her usual fare but Rarity felt she could pull it off, at least with the right hairstyle and maybe a smidge less make-up than usual.
There were also a few sketches for if both her and Applejack wore tuxes, but, well, Rarity liked dresses far too much to entertain that particular idea for long.
Regardless of what her and Applejack's outfits were, though, Rarity had absolutely no doubt that they'd be fabulous. Her greatest works, even. Just like their first date was sure to be a memory they'd cherish for the rest of their lives. She only owed it to the girl who had captured her heart, after all.
Author's Note
I really like these two together, cause despite their obvious differences I think they've got some great chemistry and potential as a couple. Plus, I don't know, Rarity fantasizing about dancing with her darling Applejack is just cute. So even though this is just a short little story of them talking over the phone, I hope that I was able to properly share those feelings - theirs and mine both - with you all.
This storyline is preceded loosely by Nothing if Not, and is continued in Synchrony.
