The train ride back to Ponyville had been mostly peaceful. As Rainbow Dash read her new-edition Daring Do book, Fluttershy sat across from her, admiring the moving scenery from outside. Twilight had begun to re-read one of her older books that she'd been planning to trade away. Thankfully, Pinkie Pie had made her realize how much those books meant to her. Pinkie was surprisingly quiet, as she was taking a nap across from Twilight. She snored quietly, her body taking up the whole seat in an admirably uncomfortable position. Spike sat in his own seat, reading his new comic he'd traded for that was in mint condition.
Applejack and Rarity were the only ones sitting next to one another, despite there being empty seats in their cabin. Rarity had sat next to her so that they could surprise each other with the gifts they had bought each other back at the trading convention. Neither of them had said a word since then.
The sun was setting, and the moon was beginning to rise slowly. Despite it being early evening, everypony was tired from the earlier event. Everypony seemed eager to go home to get rest. Unfortunately, the whole train ride was about forty five minutes, and it had only been fifteen.
Covering her mouth, Rarity yawned quietly. Absentmindedly, she laid her head against Applejack’s shoulder, resting her eyes for a spell.
Though she was too tired to panic, Applejack didn't fail to blush. She sat there awkwardly for a while, before letting exhaustion take over and resting her head gently on top of Rarity’s.
After thirty minutes, the train finally stopped. Twilight put down her book as she go up and tapped Pinkie gently, causing her to jolt up. The princess stumbled backward, letting out a yelp of shock. Too tired to get angry, she levitated her books and walked towards the exit, with Pinkie, Rainbow, and Fluttershy following.
Rarity awoke slowly, soon realizing it was time to get off. She removed herself from her seat and followed the others, with Applejack right behind her. Soon enough, all the passengers were off the train, and the girls began walking off the station.
“Well, girls, today has been fun,” Twilight commented after a little while.
“Sure, if you think nearly losing your best friend by trading them away is fun,” Rainbow scoffed, rolling her eyes.
“Oh please, you learned your lesson. Didn't you two have some fun while trying to trade for that book?”
Rainbow looked at Fluttershy, who gave her a shrug and a grin. She smiled back, wrapping a hoof around her and giving her a squeeze. This caused the shy pony to squeak, but she didn't fight to be free.
“I mean, I guess so. Did you, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy nodded. A slight blush came from the yellow pegasus, but she attempted to hid her face with her hair.
“I had fun trying to get Twilight not to trade her books away!” Pinkie shouted, bouncing alongside Twilight.
“I don't think that's what you we--”
“Exactly!” A loud yawn came out. “Anyways, I'm gonna go. It was nice hanging out with you all!!”
They watched as she skipped off. A couple other yawns had come out as well, and Twilight stretched her wings.
“I'm also going to go. Goodnight, girls!” Twilight called back as she flew off, with Spike riding on her back.
“See ya!” Rainbow suddenly dashed off into the sky, leaving a gust of wind and a rainbow trail.
Fluttershy awkwardly fixed her flowing hair, walking off as she mumbled a “bye”, leaving two of the mares behind. Applejack glanced at Rarity, biting her lip.
“Want me to walk ya home?”
Rarity blinked, looking back at her. She smiled, accepting the gesture. “Yes, I’d like that.”
They began to walk towards the Carousel Boutique, neither of them saying a word. The silence was comfortable at first, but Applejack grew more anxious as they got closer to their destination. She had needed to get something off her chest for a while, and part of that involved Rarity. She just didn't know how to exactly tell her how she felt; and was afraid she might scare her off.
The two mares had gotten closer to each other these past couple of months, not that they minded. A few weeks ago when Trender Hoof had had a crush on Applejack, the farmer had felt weird about it. First of all, she didn't swing that way, and second of all, she already had a crush on someone else. It even upset Applejack a little when Rarity had tried to act more “country-like”. Of course, she had learned her lesson, and Applejack was relieved she didn't have to wear another of Rarity’s personal wardrobes again.
Even though they'd spent most of the day arguing with each other, they enjoyed being with one another. Applejack enjoyed it when Rarity was physically affectionate with her, it made her feel all warm and gushy inside. Rarity rather liked being close to Applejack, as she couldn't get her off her mind. She also did rather like watching as the farmer either stuttered or blushed whenever she touched her. Though her mannerisms were slightly annoying and uncouth, Rarity also found it charming, and cute.
Tonight, though, her mannerisms were quite unusual; Applejack stared mostly towards the ground, occasionally looking up to see where she was going. She was never this quiet, for she’d at least try to stir up a conversation whenever she was with anyone. It was almost as if she were avoiding Rarity, which made her frown. A few minutes later, they arrived at the boutique, where Applejack stopped at the front door.
“Um, we’re here,” she blatantly stated, still avoiding eye contact.
Rarity didn’t budge, which made Applejack tense. She stood there, not sure what to do, when Rarity spoke up.
“Is everything alright, darling?” whe asked with concern, hesitating to reach out a hoof.
The earth pony nodded a little too quickly. “Yeah.. yeah, uh, everythin’s fine! No need to worry.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Darling, you’re a terrible liar,” she scoffed.
Still, Applejack wouldn’t speak up, which caused her to worry again. “Please, Applejack, you’re my friend. You can tell me anything,” she placed a hoof on top of her chest, “and I mean anything. I promise I will not tell a single soul, nor will I judge.”
A sigh came in reply, and she gently removed her hoof away. Applejack finally looked at her, a glisten in both of her eyes if she was about to cry.
“What if it’ll ruin our friendship?” she blurted out, immediately regretting her choice of words.
Rarity tilted her head a bit, confused. “‘Ruin our friendship’? Whatever do you mean, dear?”
Applejack inhaled, and stood up straight. She held this position for a few moments before exhaling again.
“Ah like you,” she confessed, already regretting it, “and ah don’t mean in like, the friendly way. Ah like like you. Ah got these...feelings for ya, and they won’t go away. Ah can never stop thinkin’ ‘bout ya, and Ah've felt this way for a while now.”
Silence washed over the two, as Rarity tried to process this information. The mare she had known for a while, and was rather fond of, admitted to having romantic feelings for her. She didn't know whether to be overjoyed or absolutely terrified. After a little while, Rarity placed another hoof upon her shoulder.
“I like you, too.”
Applejack jerked her head up, surprised she had taken it so well. She stuttered, trying to find the right words. “R-Really?”
She nodded, a light shade of red appearing on her cheeks. Unfortunately, her white coat had made the color change obvious. The two ponies blushed, looking down at their hooves. Applejack was still in shock, while Rarity simply smiled to herself. She soon looked up, facing the blushing earth pony.
“Does this mean…” Applejack started, her voice barely above a whisper. “We’re together?”
Rarity smiled. “Only if you want us to be, dear.”
“Course ah do!” She used a normal volume. “Ah mean… I've wanted to be with y'all for a while, now. Do you want t’be together?”
The unicorn embraced her, hoping she wouldn't be pushed away. Instead, she was hugged back, though Applejack was confused by this response.
“That's what I want more than anything: to be with you.” Rarity confessed, herself tearing up.
“Aw, Rare.. don't cry, y'all will make me cry." She hugged her tighter, enjoying the scent of lilacs from her mane.
They held their embrace like this for a little while, at least until Rarity calmed down. It was now around late evening, and as much as the mares loved staying up and confessing feelings, they were also tired. They both released each other, smiling at each other again. As they slightly touched hooves, tiredness crawled over them again, as if they could now rest at ease.
“Well, ah dunno ‘bout y'all, but ah think imma go ‘n hit the hay." AJ let out a yawn, keeping up her smile.
“Ah, yes. It is quite late, it would be best if we got our sleep,” Rarity agreed, despite not wanting her to leave.
For a moment, she considered offering for Applejack to stay over, as the trip to her farm was quite a walk. It wouldn't be fair to make her walk that distance at night, but at the same time, she didn't want to be forward. She had a feeling she'd decline her invitation as well. Catching herself gazing, she leaned in, pecking her freckled cheek.
“Goodnight, dear Applejack,” she giggled, using her magic to open her door.
Shocked at the sudden move, she blushed slightly, before smiling. “Night, sugarcube.”
She gave her one last smile before she closed the door, leaving Applejack alone. Standing there for a few seconds, she gawked at the door, realizing what happened. Trotting home, she smiled to herself, as she realized two things: she had a marefriend, and not just any marefriend, she was also her best friend. Secondly, she needed to come up with new nicknames for Rarity.
