It was a good day for a walk.
There was a light breeze blowing in from the white tail woods carrying the smell of the forest, damp from the previous night’s rain. The road was wet but not overly muddy, the sky had started to clear, it was a weekend, the streets were slightly populated with familiar faces, the smells of the morning market were beginning to come to bare. Truly there was never a better day to visit a friend.
Rarity walked the winding road that lead out of town at a casual pace, an umbrella attached to her saddlebags in the off chance that the waning rain clouds found a second downpour to release onto the small town. Not that Rarity minded the rain all that much anymore since her sleep over with Applejack at Twilight’s house all that time ago. The rain could muss up her mane and coat, she had realized, but it caused no lasting damage and if you looked for it, it might even supply an opportunity. No, she herself did not mind the light drops of rain that might come, but the passenger she carried on her back was renowned for her distaste of it.
Rarity cast a glance to said passenger now and was relieved to find that Opalescence appeared to have fallen asleep. She was laying carefully in a small bed that was nestled in between Rarity’s saddlebags. This particular set-up had been devised for the dual purposes of both keeping the feline safe as well as comfortable on the sparse occasions where Rarity needed to remove her from the comfort of the boutique. In addition to these rather simple purposes it also looked positively exquisite, as you would expect from the luminary of the clothing design circuit.
The purpose for today’s trip was to go to Fluttershy’s cabin for a check-up. This wasn't a necessary trip she needed to make, Rarity could’ve instead opted to simply go visit Dr. Fauna, the resident and employed veterinarian in Ponyville. Her reasons for simply choosing Fluttershy, despite the added distance, were simple. First was that Opalescence was very picky about who could handle her and she’d already spent a lot of time around Fluttershy. Secondly, it was always nice to catch-up with Fluttershy. They still regularly attended the spa together, of course, but there was something so… pleasantly plain about being around Fluttershy. She was understanding and straight-forward and she had been a constant unchanging companion in the past hectic years of their lives as the Elements of Harmony. Indeed, rarely was there a surprise to be had from the timid butterscotch mare and when there was she always seemed to bounce back rather quickly.
These thoughts of the unchanging nature of Fluttershy were still present in Rarity’s mind even as she knocked on the door to the quaint cottage that housed the aforementioned mare. They were even present, albeit briefly, as Fluttershy opened the door. Around the time this happened, however, they quickly evaporated. Rarity looked at Fluttershy with a raised eyebrow, as if trying to solve a puzzle.
Fluttershy returned it after a moment, asking simply “Rarity? Are you alright? You look... confused.”
The words succeeded in extracting Rarity from her reverie, where upon she blinked and smiled an empty, kindly, smile. “No Fluttershy I’m fine it’s just…” Rarity hesitated, walking through the open threshold as she stammered over her words. “Well dear it’s…”
“Mhm?” Fluttershy responded with long-suffering, oft-used, patience. She welcomed Rarity into the cottage as she waited for Rarity to figure out how she wanted to say what was on her mind. Fluttershy carefully detached the umbrella from the saddlebags of her guest and collapsed it before leaning it against the doorframe. As Rarity fell silent in thought, Fluttershy moved to the kitchen and retrieved the tea she had prepared. It wasn’t until she had put it down on the small table in the living room that, at last, Rarity found her voice.
“Why are you wearing Applejack’s hat, darling?”
“Oh!” Fluttershy said in realization as she looked up and saw the brim of the hat that she’d forgotten she was still wearing. “I forgot to take it off before I came down to greet you.” Fluttershy said simply, pouring two cups of tea as Rarity took off her scarf.
“Oh well darling,” Rarity said in a tone so thick with self-restraint you could cut it with a knife. “I meant more how did you get her to let you put it on in the first place? She’s very protective of that hat. It took an eternity for her to let me repair it and even then with the very strict rule that I not wear it. I haven’t the slightest clue how you managed to convince her.”
“Oh that!” Fluttershy smiled as she realized the question that Rarity had meant to ask. She paused a moment to help Opalescence out of the bed so that Rarity could at last remove her saddlebags. With that done, she continued in a soft, yet giddy, voice. “We’re dating.”
Rarity’s eyes went wide and Fluttershy took the opportunity to place Opalescence on a cat bed that was, effectively, her home away from home. When Fluttershy turned back to Rarity she saw the unicorn beginning to break into her slightly-insane, anxiety-ridden, surprised, laughter. “You’re dating?” She asked, her voice shaking.
“Oh yes.” Fluttershy confirmed with a nod. “Applejack’s upstairs resting right now, she told me I should wear her hat while she was napping. Though, uh, I’m not sure she was one hundred percent in her right mind when she said it. She worked herself to exhaustion last night preparing the orchard for the rain. She’s still sleeping it off.”
“She’s asleep in your bed?” Rarity asked in disbelief. It was rather forward for ‘we’re dating’.
“Oh yes, she showed up last night for our movie night but she was too tired to stay awake so I took her upstairs and let her sleep in my bed while I slept on the couch.” Here, Fluttershy faltered. “That was the right thing to do right? I’m not… great at being a marefriend. I haven’t really been one before.”
“No no, that was fine.” Rarity said, quick to reassure the judgement. “I just thought that’d you’d…” Rarity coughed. “Nevermind. It’s just that I’m rather surprised to be finding out about this now, or, well, at all really.” Rarity admitted. “Applejack never seemed like that kind of mare to me.”
“She’s not sure herself, she’s figuring it out. I’m trying to be supportive while she does. Though, umm… I do like being with her a lot, So I hope she does end up being interested in me.” Fluttershy admitted. “We were cuddling during the movie night and she’s…’ Fluttershy blushed, promptly ending her dialogue. “Nevermind.”
“She’s what?” Rarity prodded before catching herself, “I mean… if it’s not too much of a secret or embarrassing or anything” She continued, doing her best to balance her immense curiosity with her respect for her friend’s privacy.
“She’s so soft Rarity.” Fluttershy said with a voice like she was confessing a love of chocolate and a face that seemed several shades redder than it was supposed to be. “I didn’t think she’d be as soft as she is, since she works the apple orchard.”
Rarity had to admit to herself that she didn’t think of Applejack as particularly soft either but also had to admit that she hadn’t exactly tried to find out. As Rarity tried to process the sudden flood of information that had just been given to her the cottage quickly fell into an awkward uncomfortable silence.
“But umm… you came for Opalescence’s check-up right?” Fluttershy asked eventually, clumsily attempting to change the topic of the conversation.
Rarity, wise as she was, decided that it might be for the best to let the conversation change, given the atmosphere of the room. But made a note to herself to check up on the situation later, with the other half of the relationship if possible. “You’re correct!” Rarity confirmed. “Poor Opal, she's been rather moody lately, but I think it might just be the weather, you know how rain makes her-”
Applejack awoke to the sunlight of early afternoon being filtered through a few layers of fabric. The reason for this was simple; She had managed to cocoon herself in a blanket in her sleep. The ‘how’ of it was more complicated and proved to be a small puzzle for her to figure out as she fought her way out her comfy prison and pulled herself into the waking world. Firstly, because Applejack was not an overly active sleeper. Unless something was bothering her she would usually be motionless in her bed. Secondly, very rarely did she sleep late enough for the early afternoon sun to act as an alarm clock.
Both of these perplexities were solved as soon as she was able to see her surroundings and was reminded that something was bothering her, that something being uncertainty, and that she had stayed up very late the previous night, hence the late rising. Applejack gave herself a moment to examine the room, the memories of the previous night already sloshing together into a coherent shape. Empty bird houses hung on lengths of rope, twisting lazily in the light breeze that drifted in from the open windows. A humble painting of flowers rested above a small unlit fireplace. The eaves were decorated with piles of straw, not unlike a bird’s nest. This, Applejack knew, was Fluttershy’s room.
Applejack lifted herself Into a sitting position, remembering now the events of the previous night. She’d come to Fluttershy’s house for the movie night and had found out that she was entirely too tired to truly appreciate the fine classics like Casaflanka. But Fluttershy seemed to have enjoyed the cuddling a lot more than the movie night anyway. Applejack smiled slightly to herself as she remembered the feeling of resting her neck on Fluttershy’s withers and the feeling of Fluttershy’s wing covering her in return.
Certainly it had felt nice, Applejack had to admit that to herself. It wasn’t a particularly romantic feeling though. Or, rather, it wasn’t what everyone told her romance was like, it was just… it was closer to an extreme form of comfort than it was to the fervent passion that a lot of ponies professed romance to be. It made it hard to decide if she actually loved Fluttershy, or if she just greatly enjoyed her company, or if there was even a difference between those two things in the first place. The only thing she was certain of in regards to love was that it was complicated, at least for her.
Applejack rested on the edge of the bed for several minutes, lost in thought, before she grudgingly accepted that she wasn’t going to be able to figure it out. She glanced around in an effort to try and find her hat, the first part of her morning routine, but after a full look around the room and it’s absence of said headwear she remembered that she’d told Fluttershy to wear it. It had made sense at the time to ask Fluttershy to wear it. Something about not wanting to lose it. Now, in the consciousness of the morning, Applejack failed to recall what exactly had lead her to ask that of Fluttershy.
With a sigh, Applejack abandoned the comfort of the bed and got up. She took a moment for some brief stretches before she descended the stairs that lead into the main room of the house, looking for her marefriend. Well... potential marefriend? It didn’t sound right, but ‘friend who is a mare and is trying out dating with me and also has my hat’ didn’t exactly roll off the tongue.
While Fluttershy wasn’t present in the living room she was visible in the backyard through one of the windows, where she could be seen tending to the animals. While it was true that there was now a proper wildlife sanctuary for the animals that didn’t change the fact that many of them preferred the proximity to Fluttershy over the comfort the sanctuary provided. In addition the animals at the sanctuary would still fall sick on occasion, leading Fluttershy to bring them closer to the house to help prevent it from spreading and also to treat them easier.
Applejack watched silently from behind the pane of glass as Fluttershy carefully saw to her attendants. She was wearing Applejack’s hat still, which surprised the owner of said hat, it must’ve been hours ago now that she asked Fluttershy to wear that hat. She certainly hadn’t expected to see her still sporting it. Little birds had started to rest on the brim, and each time a new one joined the flock, Fluttershy would stop and talk to it for a moment until the bird gave a slight nod, then Fluttershy would continue with her work.
Curious, Applejack quietly opened the door to the backyard and waited for the scene to play out again, not wanting to distract Fluttershy from her work. It took a few minutes before another bird landed on the headwear and Applejack swiveled her ears to hear more clearly.
“Oh! Hi, Mrs. Bluejay,” Fluttershy said, warmly greeting the bird. “Now I need you to be careful with this hat, okay? It’s belongs to a friend of mine and she would be very upset if it got dirty or scratched. So try and avoid damaging it, okay?” The bluejay tweeted in acknowledgement and then tweeted again in what Applejack could tell was a tattle tail tone, causing Fluttershy to stumble for a moment before she looked back towards her house and saw Applejack standing there. She let out a sharp whistle of command that caused all the birds to lift from the hat and fly to the nearby bird houses. Turning, Fluttershy closed the distance to her marefriend.
“Howdy Shy,” Applejack greeted with a nod. “You didn’t need to go and scare ‘em all off like that. Seems like they weren’t doing no harm.”
“Oh no they were being very careful.” Fluttershy confirmed. “I just thought that you would want your hat back now that you’re awake.” Fluttershy took the hat off her head and passed it to Applejack, who readily donned it. “How was your night?”
“Alright.” Applejack said, eager to change the subject. “You need any help with the animals?”
“Uhm,” Fluttershy paused, thinking through what she needed done and of those things what Applejack could help with. “There’s some bird seed in the house if you want to bring one bag out to me. I still need to refill the feeders sometime today.”
“Can do.” Applejack said with a nod. Trotting into the house. She found the aforementioned burlap sack with ease and threw it across her back. With an easy pace she trotted back to the yard and found Fluttershy had begun tending to a young opossum, it had been orphaned if Applejack remembered right. Fluttershy was in an almost kneeling pose and had positioned her hooves so that the small creature could rest easily between them, which had then allowed her to hold a milk bottle in her mouth by the base so that the small marsupial could drink.
Carefully, Applejack leaned the bird seed bag against the house and moved to Fluttershy’s side. She kneeled by Fluttershy’s side, close enough to her side that their coats brushed lightly against each other, and looked into her eyes. Fluttershy, who was rather occupied at the moment, glanced to Applejack out of the corner of her eye and offered a smile, or as close as she could come with the bottle held between her teeth.
Applejack smiled in return and looked around the bustling backyard. Maybe this was it. Maybe just being together and being happy because you were together was love. Maybe it wasn’t. But you didn’t know unless you tried. Applejack turned back to Fluttershy, full of determination, but hesitated as she looked at the kind face that had turned its attention back to the small animal in her hooves. Then, gathering her courage, gave her a light kiss on the cheek.
