"Ah can't believe you thought that feller'd be any happier than the hat vendor was earlier," Applejack chuckled as she and Rarity walked away from a thoroughly miffed scarf vendor.
"Well, at least that poor mare isn't walking around wearing... ugh... paisley!" Rarity shuddered; it really wasn't even a flattering color, even before the pattern came into play. "Now, I believe that the last train to Ponyville left half an hour ago...."
"Aw, shoot. Ah was hopin' we'd get home tomorrow mornin' at least." Applejack looked through the little luggage she'd brought along, poking around for her bit pouch. "Reckon we'll have to find a cheap motel to stay in until mornin'. Think Ah can cover mah-"
"Darling, this is Manehattan; a cheap motel is an excellent way to wake up with fleas or worse," Rarity pointed out. "Don't worry, I have it all taken care of!" She trotted ahead, signalling a cab at the corner before the crowd still milling about the park could catch up with them. Applejack jumped on next to her just in time to hear her say 'the Bitz Hotel, please!' before they pulled out.
"Rarity, ain't no way Ah can afford that place!" Applejack whispered harshly to her friend.
"Then it's a good thing that it's my treat, isn't it?" Rarity smiled simply at her, raising a hoof and booping Applejack's nose playfully. "Don't worry, Applejack. Dinner and a room for the two of us will be quite within my budget."
Applejack's stomach rumbled at the reminder of just how long she'd been without food; lunch had been a long time and a lot of hard work ago. She took off her new hat, holding it down over her traitorous gut. The hat Rarity had bought her to replace the one that had been mangled throughout the day.
"Ah'm at least payin' y'back for the hat," Applejack declared. "Y'all might be the element of Generosity, but that don't mean y'gotta spend all yer bits on me."
"Will you feel better if I let you handle the tickets home tomorrow? That's one reason I chose the Bitz, it's literally down the road from Grand Central Station."
"An' I'm payin' for the cab," Applejack counterbid.
"Very well," Rarity chuckled, rolling her eyes indulgently. "You can pay for the cab and the tickets."
"First time I've ever heard ponies arguing for the right to pay me!" The drover called back with a laugh. "We'll be at the Bitz in just a moment, ladies!"
True to his word, the cab pulled up in front of the opulent hotel shortly, weaving between two other coaches on the way up. The two ponies on board hopped off, and Applejack settled the fare before following Rarity inside.
"Ah feel a mite underdressed," she muttered to Rarity, looking around at the handful of ponies still downstairs, all of them dressed to the nines.
"Don't worry, darling. We'll be in our room shortly."
Rarity trotted up to the desk, giving the unicorn stallion at the desk her most winning smile.
"I need a room for two for the night, as well as a light dinner... perhaps two bowls of the Prench onion soup, along with your sheep milk ricotta flatbread?" Rarity glanced at his nametag surreptitiously as she pulled two baby blue sapphires from her pouch and passed them over. "I'm sure this will suffice, Fine Service?"
"Of course, Madame," Fine nodded, grabbing one of the keys from the wall behind him without looking and passing it to Rarity. "Room Twelve-Twelve. Will you want anything to drink with your food order?"
"Ah, yes." Rarity glanced back over her shoulder to where Applejack was still looking around uncomfortably. "Have you got any Sweet Apple Acres beverages here?" She asked the unicorn quietly. "My friend could use a little taste of home tonight."
"The concierge will see what he can do," Fine nodded with a smile. "Something strong?"
"If you have it, though cider would be exquisite as well."
"Of course. Have a pleasant evening, ladies!"
"I'm certain we will," Rarity nodded, turning to lead Applejack to the elevators and up to their rooms.
"All right, Rarity," she thought to herself as they rode up to the twelfth floor. "This is your chance. Just try not to chicken out this time!"
Once they were in their room, Applejack whistled lowly.
"Rarity, how much is this settin' y'all back?"
"Less than I made from those blasted Princess dresses, Applejack," Rarity promised her, trotting into the room and falling back onto one of the two beds with a happy sigh. "I took the liberty of ordering us some dinner; a pizza and some soup, nothing extravagant."
"One Princess dress, or the whole lot of 'em?" Applejack asked her dryly. Rarity blushed faintly, sitting up and floating her suitcase over.
"Not the whole lot, but yes, more than one. But you seem to forget, darling, that I can make my own money." She called a spark of magic to her horn, her bag glowing as the gems within responded to her spell. "Why don't you grab a shower while we wait for room service? After all your work on the park and the theater today, I'm sure it will feel divine."
"Reckon the least Ah can do is make m'self more pleasant company," Applejack chuckled. She stretched out, wincing as her back cracked loudly. Rarity couldn't help wincing in sympathy, though she had to appreciate the taut musculature that the move showed off. "Ah'll be right out."
As Applejack disappeared into the bathroom, Rarity sighed and fell back into the bed again.
"You're going about this the wrong way," she thought to herself. "This is Applejack you're dealing with!" Suddenly, inspiration struck, and Rarity popped up to her hooves, horn aglow as she moved tables and rearranged the room, placing the table in the middle of the main open space and covering it with the extra pillows.
The spa would be closed at this hour, but that didn't mean she couldn't provide some pampering herself!
Applejack had to admit, Rarity was right about the shower feeling incredible. She'd expected the usual cramped bathroom space, but here she had as much room as she did at home. Better, there was no need to worry about running the hot water out while she scrubbed the dust and grime of the day's work from her coat and mane. The only things she had to worry about were relaxing, and how she was going to get to the middle of her back.
"How in tarnation can an earth pony town not have back brushes in a place like this?" She grumbled to herself, poking her head out of the shower to look through the collection of tools that were available. Curry combs, scrubber brushes, mane combs, face brushes, more gels and soaps than she'd ever know what to do with... but not one long-handled scrubber she could get her teeth around. She snorted irritably and got back under the water, focusing instead on the places she could reach.
"This was a lot easier when y'had Dash around t'help," she thought. "Nearabout the only thing that was."
The door opened, and Rarity poked her head in, looking at Applejack's silhouette behind the frosted glass door of the shower. A quick glance at the available supplies confirmed what she expected; this was a high-end establishment, and most of their clientelle weren't much for self-grooming.
"Applejack?" She called in. "Would you like some help scrubbing your back?"
"Rarity? I'm kinda in the shower right now!" Applejack pointed out.
"Where else would I be helping you clean up, silly?" Rarity chuckled, lifting up the supplies. "I can see you haven't touched the brushes out here. Don't worry about modesty, darling, I can see what I need to through the glass. And only what I need to," she added quickly.
"Well, all right, but let's do a quick job of it. Don't need a thousand strokes through my mane with three different brushes," Applejack teased.
"As the lady wishes!" Rarity giggled. "Nine hundred and ninety-nine strokes it is!" She levitated the soft rubber curry comb and a scrubbing brush in, and went to work on Applejack's coat with all the skill of Aloe or Lotus working on a client. She'd been to the spa with her friends enough to know how nearly all of them liked to be groomed, and Applejack was no exception. She could hear her friend groaning almost as soon as the comb was working its way over her withers and neck, relaxing the muscles she'd been straining all day working on the theater.
"If you don't mind, Applejack, I was thinking I might give you a light massage when you're out. Nothing extravagant, but we both heard your back before you got in here."
"Now that sort of treat Ah don't mind, if it ain't too much trouble." Applejack smiled, closing her eyes and holding still except for the occasional lean into the brush where it felt particularly good.
"Not at all, it's an absolute pleasure! And then you'll be nicely relaxed for dinner when it arrives."
Finishing with the curry comb, Rarity went to work with the scrubber, applying some extra shampoo and working it deeply into the orange fur on the other side of the glass. As she did, she surreptitiously felt for the tightest knots in Applejack's muscles; she wasn't Aloe or Lotus, but she knew enough to not do any harm.
"Have you ever had a unicorn give you a massage?" She asked.
"Nope. Don't reckon there's that much difference, though," Applejack admitted. Rarity smiled smugly to herself; she'd disabuse her friend of that notion at the very least! She sat the scrubbing brush to the side, though not before working it a little extra firmly over that spot in Applejack's back she could feel didn't get the attention it needed. The facial brush and mane comb were next, and Applejack obligingly stayed still and quiet while Rarity worked around her face.
"Feel free to tell me to mind my own business," Rarity prefaced her next question. "But how are you and Dash getting along these days? You two hid your differences so well, it's hard to tell if there are any troubles."
Applejack rolled her shoulders in a shrug as Rarity started to comb out her tail.
"Reckon we're getting along better than we ever expected to. Heh... remember when we all went up to the Castle an' near about scared each other half to death? Me an' Dash were havin' one of our silly little contests again. Been a long time since we've done that. So Ah'd say we're friends again, an' that's about all we'll ever be."
"Well, I'm glad to hear the two of you are getting along again." Rarity smiled, setting the brushes aside. "Go ahead and turn on the dryer, darling, there should be a hoof pedal in there."
Applejack found it, and pushed in the button. As the water swirled down the drain, hot air started blowing from small vents along the shower, up and down her body. She turned around, enjoying the easy drying process as her fur was blown up and down, forward and back, water dripping off in all directions and her body warmed up nicely in the process. When the blower turned off, she opened the frosted glass door and stepped out, drying her hooves on a towel that Rarity had placed for just such a purpose.
"For now, I'm just going to wrap your mane and tail up, but later I'll do them up for you," Rarity promised, wrapping a towel around Applejack's tail, and another around her mane and head like a turban. "How does that feel?"
"Mighty good," Applejack admitted. "Still don't get why they don't have a proper back brush in here."
"Because most ponies who stay here have somepony with them willing to help out, or they call the concierge to send one up," Rarity explained with a chuckle. "This is one of the finer hotels in the city; they provide the service to match the price."
"Ah'll never get high class, hoity-toity ponies... no offense," Applejack added, giving Rarity a nod. "You ain't like that most of the time."
"I do have my moments," Rarity admitted with a soft smile. "Now, let's go out there and get you that massage I promised you."
"Y'want me on the bed or someth- huh, you've been busy!" Applejack noted as she stepped out and saw the rearranged room and pillows set up for a makeshift massage table.
"I have! So happy you noticed," Rarity chirped, picking Applejack up telekinetically and laying her on top of the table. "Now, get comfortable; I'm going to have to ask you to hold as still as possible while I do this. Aloe, Lotus, and Bulk are all professionals, so please let me know if anything hurts while I do this."
Rarity pulled a bottle of lavender-scented oil from her luggage, and was just about to open it when there was a knock at the door.
"I'll be back in just a moment," she promised, leaving Applejack to go and get their dinner, trading a small jewel for the tray, which she sat on the bed nearest the door. She took a moment to lift the lid, enjoying the bouquet of aromas and grinning at the bottle of amber apple brandy that had been included. Perfect!
"Their timing is excellent really," Rarity observed. "You shouldn't eat until after this sort of treatment. Now, where were we...."
She opened the bottle of oil, carefully lifting a small amount out in her aura and spreading a thin layer through Applejack's coat, releasing the relaxing scent.
"Feels a little strange," Applejack noted, holding still as well as she could as her coat tingled.
"That's because I'm using my magic," Rarity explained. "It's a unicorn technique; it lets me control the pressure more than my hooves can, and make sure I put it in just... the right... places." She carefully began to knead tight bundles of muscle along Applejack's body, being as careful as if she were stitching sheets of mica into place on a gown. As many times as she'd gotten massages herself, she knew she had to take care not to tear or bruise anything, but to stretch the tissues. What she didn't know what exactly how quickly she could do that without it hurting.
She started in the middle of Applejack's back, feeling out the knots and working them out while the earth pony groaned with relief at each spot. By the time she'd reached the rock-like patches in her thighs and withers, Rarity felt comfortable enough to talk, and thought distracting Applejack from the coming pain would be a good idea.
"Whatever did happen, with you and Dash?" Rarity asked her. "Neither of you really said, and none of us wanted to pry."
"Any reason yer so curious about what happened with us?" Applejack asked, wincing as her hips and thighs burned at the feeling of her muscles being worked out. It wasn't much worse than at the spa, so she didn't say anything, but she did wonder why Rarity was spending so much time there all at once.
"Well, I've always been curious," Rarity admitted. "Plus, having seen Rainbow Dash with the rest of the Wonderbolts... well, I may have caught her eye wandering a bit, and wanted to make sure I didn't need to have words with her."
"She's her own mare, Rarity," Applejack chuckled gently. "She can do what she wants now. We just weren't meant to be a couple. Good friends, sure, but marefriends takes more than likin' each other." She paused to groan as Rarity moved on down her limbs, working out the most overused muscles in her poor body. "Dash wasn't much for farm work or keepin' up the barn or... well, much of anythin' other than her job an' practicin'. An' Ah spent too much time in the fields an' too busy t'pay attention to her like she needed. Not to mention us competin' all the dang time. Couldn't even get to sleep without it turnin' into a tussle over who got to be the big spoon. Just as well though, with her bein' a Wonderbolt now. It was always gonna hurt when that happened."
"Yes, I suppose it was," Rarity mused as she started back up Applejack's limbs with her pale blue aura. "Has anypony else caught your eye lately?"
"Nope, not really. Haven't been looking all that hard. Reckon Ah oughta try findin' some stallion t'hitch up with, but... Ah dunno."
"Still more interested in mares?" Rarity suggested, moving up into Applejack's neck and wrapping around to her front for the final work. Another benefit of using her magic, she didn't need Applejack to try rolling over on the makeshift massage table.
"Reckon so. Not really what's best for the farm, but... Ah dunno, Rares. Just ain't met the right stallion, maybe."
"There's nothing wrong with liking mares, Applejack," Rarity smiled. "Since that little debacle with Trenderhoof, I've been wondering if maybe I should consider that option as well."
"It has, has it?" Applejack smiled faintly. "Well, you've got the touch for it, even if y'ain't touched me once yet."
Rarity rolled her eyes and gave Applejack's coat one last light pass with her magic to strip any excess oil off.
"Well, I'm glad you approve of my technique, darling. You remember the usual advice for after this, of course. Though tonight, I imagine we're going to break a few of the rules!" Rarity floated a bottle of water over for her friend, helping her back onto her hooves and returning the table and extra pillows to where they belonged.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Applejack asked as she started to take a look for the price on the bottle, then thought better of it. She'd just fill it up again after this one was done. She limped over to the bed, sitting up on it to take the weight off her shaky legs, and took a long drink.
"Well, you're not normally supposed to drink after a massage, but I think we'll each have a little something." She re-opened the tray, the food inside still warm, two crocks of soup covered with baked cheese and a flatbread covered with cheese and grilled zucchini. And, of course, the bottle of apple brandy, Sweet Apple Acre's label on the neck of the bottle.
"What the hay?” Applejack grabbed the bottle and looked at it with wide eyes. “Ah didn’t know there was any o’ this left!”
“Is… that a good thing?” Rarity asked hopefully.
“We stopped makin’ brandy after the old… after ma an’ pa passed away,” Applejack explained. “Sold off the last barrels as they got old enough.” She turned the bottle around, inspecting the label and cork for all of the farm’s marks and finding them.
“Bottle’s probably about as old as Ah am,” she murmured. “How -”
“I had no idea that was what they were going to bring up, Applejack, but I’m glad they did,” Rarity smiled. “I asked them to send up some Sweet Apple Acres product, if they had any. I thought there might be a few bottles of cider, but this is much better.”
“Rares… Ah can’t drink this. Not tonight, anyhow. This oughta be saved for somethin’ special. A weddin’, foals, somethin’ like that.”
“Oh, absolutely!” Rarity agreed, moving Applejack’s soup and her share of the flatbread over to the nightstand. “Just stick with the water for now, and I’ll do the same. Healthier for both of us,” she smiled, taking her spoon and cracking the layer of melted swiss on top of her soup, finally letting the steam out. “Mmm... bon appetite, Applejack!”
Applejack started to eat as well, starting with the flatbread and its cheesy, citrusy flavor. It was good, but not really something she’d want to have regularly.
”Thank Celestia - don’t know what Ah’d do if Ah got hooked on the food somewhere like this!” She chuckled to herself and took a long drink of water from the bottle Rarity had given her.
“So why are you so interested in my love life tonight, Rares?” She asked between slices. “Got somepony y’want to set me up with?”
Rarity nodded her head back and forth noncommittally.
“Well, I might, but she’s never really been with a mare before. Not much of a farm mare, either.” Rarity took a long sip from her soup crock. “I’ll probably just let her know that it’s not likely to work out, save you both another breakup.”
“Well, she wouldn’t have to be a farmpony, necessarily,” Applejack scoffed. “Just a pony willing to pitch in when we need it without me havin’ to twist ‘er tail, you know? Is she actually innerested in somethin’ long term, or just learnin’ her way around the plumbin’?”
“That’s just the thing, darling, I’m not sure,” Rarity mused, taking a bite of her dinner as Applejack carefully started on her soup. “I think… now, I could hardly know, of course, but I think she very much wants something long term, but isn’t certain about something long term with another mare. She’s quite attracted to you, but didn’t want to interfere if you were seeing somepony else.”
“No problems there,” Applejack chuckled ruefully. “Tell y’what. When we get back to town an’ y’see her next, let her know I’d maybe be up fer dinner some time. Just see what happens from there.” She finished her own soup, stifling a belch out of respect for her roommate. “Pardon.”
“Well, if we’re going to catch a good train back home tomorrow, we should probably get to sleep,” Rarity noted, glancing at the window and the lights flashing throughout the still-busy urban landscape. “I do hope the massage helped?”
“Heh… figure I’ll sleep like a log thanks to that,” Applejack nodded, putting her dishes back on the tray so that Rarity could put it out to be picked up by housekeeping.
“I’ll just go put myself together for the night,” Rarity smiled, picking up her beauty supplies and turning out the light for Applejack. She disappeared into the bathroom, leaving her green-eyed roommate smirking faintly in one of the two luxurious beds.
“Say, Rarity? This pony y’know - any idea how she feels about bein’ the little spoon?” Applejack called out. There were a few minutes of quiet, probably while the prissy unicorn finished going through her nightly routine.
“I seriously doubt she’d ever complain about it,” Rarity said as she turned out the bathroom light behind her, shuffling delicately into the perfectly made bed and turning onto her side.
“Good night, Applejack.”
The farmpony was silent for a moment, until Rarity felt the covers lift behind her, and another pony’s weight settle in. A strong hoof wrapped over her barrel, and a powerful, warm body snuggled up behind her.
“G’night, Rarity,” Applejack murmured, giving her friend a gentle nuzzle on the neck. “Reckon Ah’ll take that pony up on that date, if she ever asks me about it.”
Rarity blushed brightly, grateful for the products concealing her cheeks at the moment. She put a hoof around Applejack’s, snuggling in closer to the earth pony behind her, and settled in for the night.