No More Drawsby onekfaceChaptersThe BetGameSetMatchStrike OneAssistanceThe BetChapter 1: The Bet (CHS) (Cafeteria) “And… I win.” Applejack declared smugly as she put out all her cards on the table, the three kings of a kind staring at her friend with a judgmental stare. “Sorry Rainbow Dash. But lady luck ain’t on your side today.” The cards spilled from her fingers as she groaned in defeat. “Dang it! What the heck!? How is that even possible? You won 15 times in a row! You’ve got to be cheating.” “More like you don’t know how to play.” She countered. “What are you talking about? I totally know how to play.” “You said uno the last four matches.” She pointed out. “That ain’t poker.” “Grr… fine!” Rainbow Dash pulled out a small notepad. “Combining our last match of air-hockey… horseshoe tossing, soccer, and poker. That ties us… 99 to 99.” “So that means we’re back to zero.” Applejack groaned. “I don’t wanna sound like Granny, but I’m getting mighty tired from all this competing.” “Afraid you’ll lose?” The cowgirl scoffed. “We’ve been at this matching game for a whole semester now and we’ve always tied in the end. It’s obviously not much of a challenge if we just do the same games over and over again. We need a way to break this stalemate, once and for all. Something that there’s just no way the other person can match up.” “So… a tie breaker?” “Yeah. That’s what I said.” It was true. Rainbow had to admit that, even though these games were fun, they were kind of becoming rather tedious. Heck, it hardly felt like a victory when she beat Applejack in a race around the school. Her powers gave her the edge and vice versa. They needed something else. Something that they could do where no one side had the clear advantage. “Hey guys. What’s cracking?” Pinkie Pie arrived with her tray of food noting the cards on the table. “Ooooh~~. Did Applejack win again on Poker?” “Yup. And not even a challenge too.” “So why the long faces? I thought people become happy when they win.” “Not this time Pinkie.” Applejack slumped on the table, poking her mashed potato with her fork. “It ain’t no fun if your opponent can’t even tell the difference between a full house and a +2 card.” “Hey! You’re the one who scored your own goal in air-hockey!” Rainbow Dash complained. “The field was slippery! How in tarnation are you supposed to play on that?” “That’s the whole point!” She grumbled. “Wow…” Pinkie nibbled her food. “Sounds like you two need a tie breaker.” “That’s what I said.” Rainbow Dash waved her hand up. “But it’s hard to come up with a game where we’re both good at. AJ and I have completely different set of skills.” “We’re two sides of the same coin.” Pinkie gave it a thought before she put in a suggestion. One that will most likely lead them to disaster. “Well… how about you play a game that neither of you are good at?” They turned their heads in her direction as if they stumbled upon gold itself. “Well since you two are good at a lot of things, why not try something you’re not good at? Like me? I didn’t think I’d like a butter nuted cupcake, so I tried it and three new flavors and then boom! It explodes in my mouth like a parade of flavors! It’ll be a great experience for you to bond over too.” It sounded dumb. Simple and dumb… but at the same time very intriguing. Why do something at what they’re both good when they can do the complete opposite? “That’s not a bad idea.” Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin slyly. “Something none of us are good at. Whatdayasay Applejack?” She shrugged boringly, though her face stated a different emotion. “Well… I could certainly use the challenge. Beating you and getting beaten by you is starting to get real boring.” “Then it’s settled. We’ll settle on a match. Winner takes all. No more ties. No more draws. The winner becomes the winner forever and gloating rights for an entire year. Deal?” “Deal.” They spat on their hands and shook on it. “But what kind of game are we supposed to play? We practically played everything there is to play in school. Horse racing, bike racing, car racing…” “You guys raced in cars?” Pinkie questioned but was left ignored. “Well… how about something outside of school?” Rainbow Dash suggested. “Something that neither you nor I have ever done.” Her friends looked at her waiting for an explanation. “Well this is just something I thought of when I went to Rarity’s place. You know that show, High Strung Bachelor?” Pinkie blinked. “That reality TV show where ten gorgeously handsome guys compete against one another and humiliate themselves for the entertainment of the crowd and the heart of a beautiful celebrity?” “Yeah… that one. I was thinking we could do that.” “You want us to jump through hoops for some random shmuck?” Applejack retorted. “No no no! I mean we both pick one guy and try to… how do I say this…?” “Seduce?” Pinkie suggested. “Not really seduce… but yeah. Seduce. We seduce him.” “That’s silly.” “Come on! It’s the perfect tie breaker! No way can we tie that ever again. Back me up here Pinkie.” Surprisingly enough the cotton candy girl was skeptic. “I dunno Rainbow. This sounds a bit… daring, even for you.” “Hey, you said that we should do something that none of us are good at. I’ll admit I’m not exactly the best when it came to asking guys out, and Applejack isn’t the most alluring sight around here.” “Excuse me!?” “No no. She’s right.” Pinkie nodded in agreement much to her friend’s horror. “Sorry Applejack. But out of everyone in the group, you have the least appeal out of all of us.” Applejack’s face turned redder than her apples back home. “Wha…! That’s hootenanny hogwash! I’ll show you two that I got plenty of charms!” She smacked her hat down on the table. “That’s it. You’re on Rainbow Dash!” The sports gal pumped her fist in triumph. “Alright then. Let’s set some ground rules. We both have to pick the guy. It can’t be someone one of us is already close with. And we both get to have one chance.” “So how do we know who wins?” Their eyes then shot up recalling something earlier. “The Spring Dance!” They said in unison. “That’s right! The Spring Dance.” Rainbow Dash agreed. “It’s two weeks’ away. The one who he brings to the dance, wins. Deal?” “Deal.” They shook hands once more and then turned over to the cafeteria. “But who to pick?” There was a cafeteria filled with prime candidates. All for the taking. “Ooooh! I know!” Pinkie spoke up. “How about Bulk Bicep? He’s available.” They turned over to the said muscle boy who cracked opened a pinecone between his pecks. The veins throbbing under his skin was… frightening to say the least. “Ugh… maybe next time.” Rainbow Dash motioned which her partner readily agreed on. “How about Rover?” “Ain’t he doing community service after he, Spot and Fido broke the bleachers last week?” “Ok fine… how about…” “Oh! What about Zephyr Breeze?” Pinkie pointed over to the said boy who for some reason turned his head their way and gave a suggestive wink. “Gahhh!” The blood in Rainbow Dash’s body chilled at the thought. “Pass, pass, hard pass, double pass!” “Big Mac?” “Pinkie!” Applejack scolded. “Ugh… this is a lot harder than I thought.” “Yeah. Most of the guys here are either sub-par or taken. We need someone we can sink our teeth on. Someone cool, and not remotely creepy. Someone like…” And by the will of the galaxy her answer came in the form of guitar strings strumming nearby. The trio turned to the source finding the blue haired boy, sitting by the corner, smiling sweetly as he hummed a tune to himself. “Oh. No.” Pinkie hastily protested on this. “No no no no no no no no. Rainbow Dash. That is not a good idea.” “He’s perfect!” “NO!” Pinkie screamed earning the attention of the cafeteria. “Aheh… ahehehe.” She quickly pulled the multi-hair-colored gal close. “Rainbow Dash. You cannot be seriously thinking about making HIM of all people, a target!?” “Why not?” She blurted. “He’s cool, he’s hip and he’s not seeing anybody right now. He’s perfect!” “No no no no! That is Sunset’s ex-boyfriend! That’s danger zone right there! There is a rule against this action! The bro code denounces this! Pick anyone! Anyone other than him! There are like… a hundred other fishes in the cafeteria!” “Hmm… I don’t mind.” “Applejack!?” Pinkie’s head cranked in the cowgirl’s direction, shocked to actually see her agreeing to this ridiculous nonsense. “We’re just taking him to a dance, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash reminded. “It’s just one date. It’s not like we’re gonna be his girlfriend or anything.” “Yeah. Besides, he is quite easy on the eyes.” Rainbow push the bubbly gal away and stared at her friend. “So… we agree? First one to get Flash to the dance, wins?” “Agreed.” Once more they shook hands and smiled while Pinkie remained horrified in her corner of the table. Yup… this isn’t going to end well… GameChapter 2: Game (Rarity’s boutique) Applejack thought herself to be a pretty charming gal. Hardworking, honest and downright stunning in her own way. But ever since she had that talk with Rainbow and Pinkie, she began to wonder. Was she really not that appealing to people’s eyes? Was her country fashion not really attracting the city folks? Granny kept saying that she was the prettiest apple in the tree and she believed her. But now… thinking about it, she might just be saying that to be nice. But none of that mattered now. What mattered was the play. It was plainly obvious that neither she nor Rainbow Dash had much experience when it came to seducing boys. In fact, the closest thing she had to a reference were those cheesy romantic movies she watched back when she was younger. The plot was sub-par and the lines were down right atrocious. No. She needed an edge over this game. And the only one she knew who could help her was her best friend. “No.” Applejack blinked, shocked by the answer that came from her friend. “Eh? What now?” “No, darling. I refuse to cooperate or support you in this game of yours.” “How did you…?” “Pinkie told me.” Darn tattletale! “She regaled me about this whole tie-breaker between you and Rainbow Dash and I have to put my foot down.” “Oh come on Rarity! You’re my only hope!” “As pleasing as it is to hear that. I must decline. I refuse to be a part of this bizarre love triangle of yours. And Flash of all people? I don’t know what you two are thinking, but that little stunt of yours is just a disaster waiting to happen. Besides, I am still quite busy preparing a few dresses for the Spring Dance.” Dang it. There goes her edge. “Ok fine. I won’t force you. But can you at least answer a few questions for me?” Rarity lazily gave her a glance and nodded. “Very well. I suppose I have the time to spare.” Applejack removed her hat, holding them by the edges, cheeks turning red. “Do you think I have… any appeal, at all?” Her friend froze. “I mean… do I have that thing that makes people look at me? Cuz… right now I’m feeling a bit insecure.” “Darling. Why ever would you think that?” “Pinkie and Rainbow told me.” Rarity rose from her seat, grabbing her friend. “Darling. You have plenty of appeal. Those who say otherwise are simply jealous.” “Yeah. But how do I get people to look at me like how they look at you. I mean… have you seen the guys who look at you.” “Oh of course I do.” The fashionista brushed the side of her hair, grinning giddily. “It’s the reason why I make myself this pretty. What’s the point of putting all this effort on yourself if no one’s around to see it?” “Well… how do I do that? How do I make myself more… appealing?” Applejack put on a puppy dog pout with sparkly eyes to boot. “Please Rare? Help me on this? I wanna… feel like you do.” “Ahuhuhu!” She let out the cheekiest laugh ever, which soon began to unravel her tightknit rule. “Well… I suppose I could… WAIT!” She yelled out loud as if to bring herself back to the right state of mind. “Ooooh. You’re good Applejack. Real good. But it’ll take more than your cunning to win this lady over.” Dang it. For a moment there she thought she got her. “Can you at least give me some tips?” “Sorry. But like I said, I refuse to be a part of this game. And there is nothing you can say that will change my mind.” With that last notion she returned to her seat and back to her work. Applejack sighed. This was gonna be a lot trickier than usual. But she can’t back out now. She needs this edge and Rarity is her sure golden ticket to winning this bet. She’s gonna have to make a little sacrifice. “Alright Rarity. You win.” She muttered. “If you help me in this, I promise you that I’ll… help model for your next pageant show.” The sewing machine stopped as the girl working turned back, eyes widened. “You’d… model… for me?” “I’ll even let you…” Applejack cringed. “… design my dress for the Spring Dance.” Rarity gleed out of her chair and teleported to her side. “Let’s get to work!” xxxxxxxxxx The next thing Applejack knew she was sitting on a chair standing in front of a projector screen with Sweetie Belle dimming the lights for effect. Rarity would return a minute later dressed in a teacher’s outfit, with librarian glasses to complete the act. “Ahem. Attention class.” Professor Rarity began whipping a crop on the screen. “Welcome to Rarity’s class of Seduction 101. By the time you finish this class, you will become acquainted with seducing and attraction the attention of others through… physical appeal.” “Uh… Rarity. Is all of this really necessary?” “SILENCE!” Her crop snapped at the desk silencing the only student in attendance. “Ahem. First things first. What do you know about Flash Sentry?” “Uh… well he likes music… so…” “WRONG!” The teacher exclaimed. “Lesson number 1. Know your mark.” The screen flipped to a headshot of Flash Sentry who looked… for a lack of a better term, pretty hot. With his casual smile, glimmering eyes, you’d think he was just that kid next door that you had a crush on. “The first thing you should know, before applying any kind of change to your appearance, is to know who you are trying to appeal. Observe. This is your target. Flash Sentry. At a first glance you’d think that he is just your average run-of-the-mill rocker boy with a flair for music. With that mediocre Yankee fashion, guitar and shrivel bedhead you’d believe that this is all there is to know about him.” Her crop fell. “Don’t you agree?” “Uh… yeah?” “WRONG!!!” Rarity’s voice boomed as her planted her face right next to Applejack. “There’s more to a person than what you can see on the surface!” The clipped changed to another picture of the boy, this time cuddling his pet dog, Bananas. He admittedly looked kinda cute and harmless. “Behold, the upper crust of Flash Sentry. Other than his love of rock music, he’s also a fan of animals! In particularly, his pet dog!” The clipped changed to him reading comics. “He’s also a lover of arts, poetry and figurines!” “Really?” “He also apparently likes cheesy romantic films. Huh… that’s new.” Rarity pulled out a folder, glancing curiously at its content. “And it also says here that he lives in Uptown in a mansion. Oooh! Hillside property too.” Applejack tilted her head in question. “Wait a second. How do you know all of this?” “Pinkie sent me his file.” She answered plainly. “She has a file on Flash?” “Pinkie has a file on everyone.” That was… rather disturbing. “But enough about that. The point is that we have an advantage. Now. Observe. Flash Sentry is a unique case when it comes to women.” “He does?” “No interruptions!” Rarity whipped her crop again much to her friend’s horror. “Look here. Over his school years in CHS, Flash Sentry has had a total of four love interests.” Four? Since when? “The obvious ones will be of course, Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight Sparkle from the alternate world. The other is Lyra and Octavia.” “Seriously?” “According to Pinkie’s notes, he and Lyra had a fling of sorts before they came to CHS. And Octavia seemed quite interested on the notion of getting together with him. Hmm… quite a scandal if I do say so myself.” She let out a cough. “Anyway. From the list, other than music of course, what do these four girls have in common?” Applejack gave it a thought. She hardly knew Lyra or Octavia. Those two were pretty much opposite of one another. The same goes with Sunset and Twilight. Other than their Equestrian origin and affinity to magic, they were two sides of the same coin.” “Well… take away the music… they… got nothing.” “Exactly!” Rarity cheered. “Well done Applejack.” She wasn’t sure why but she’ll take any praise she can get at this point. “You are precisely right. None of these girls have anything in common other than their love for music. Their fashion, attire, hairstyle, attitude! All of them different in every possible way. That can only mean one thing.” “Flash likes people who likes music?” “Possibly. But no. It means that his taste… is diverse!” That… made some sense. “It means his taste can change from form to form. Like a connoisseur tasting different wines and then spitting them out in a bucket.” “Eww…” Sweetie Belle stuck out her tongue in disgust. “Are you even old enough to drink wine?” “Not important. What is important is to find out what kind of wine he likes the most? Does he like them sweet like Lyra? Mysterious like Octavia? Clear crystal like Twilight or bursting with flavor like Sunset. And seeing as we only have two weeks to prep, we will have to go directly to the source!” “Uh… what now?” “Quickly! To the CHS log book!” SetChapter 3: Set (Twilight’s House) Rainbow Dash was many things. A speedster, a daredevil, the captain of every sports team in Canterlot High and the gal who has the figure that’ll make even the most stunning model turn green with envy. But sadly, to the surprise of many, she wasn’t exactly the best when it came to seducing others. She can be friendly, perhaps even competitive in nature with others. But trying to flirt with someone? Yeah… she’d have a better chance seducing her pet turtle, Tank, than any boy in school. She opted to go in blind and ask Flash straight out. But for once she actually decided to use her head and ask for assistance to the only one who had any actual experience in dating. Twilight Sparkle. She might be a nerd and somewhat of a geek, but sadly she was the only one amongst the group who has a boyfriend. Sunset excluded of course. “So let me get this straight.” Twilight motioned as she sat on her worktable, eyeing Rainbow with a judging glare. “You and Applejack are tired of all the draws you’ve been having with one another so to break that tie, you’ve decided to compete in a match that neither of you are good at.” “Uh huh.” “And that said match you suggested involves the alluring and seducing of Sunset’s ex-boyfriend, Flash Sentry. Who I may add… are still very much attracted to one another.” “Yup.” “And because you have no clue on how to project such attractive notions to the opposite gender, you decided to come to me for… guidance.” “Correctamundo.” Twilight planted one hand over her head in distraught. “Can you not see the many serious predicament your game has!? It’s bad enough that you two are turning this whole thing into a sport, but to target Flash Sentry of all people? What were you thinking!?” “Oh relax Twilight. We’re just going for a dance. We’re not gonna be dating him forever. Besides, I couldn’t exactly go to Sunset for this. And you’re the only one who has romance experience out here.” The nerd bobbed her head in agreement. “Well… I wouldn’t say I have ample experience. But Timber and I do have a stable relationship so far.” “See? You can help me with this. You can be my mentor, my tutor. You can teach me everything you’ve learned.” Ok. Twilight was a smart gal. Smart enough to know when Rainbow Dash was trying to butter her up with titles and compliments. And strangely enough it was working. Still… something about this whole shebang was giving her the bad vibes. Kind of like when Spike swam in a vat of her radioactive chemicals. That dog was on the verge of growing a second head. “Meh… what the heck? I’ll do it.” “Really!? You’ll do it!?” “Yeah why not. Besides… even if I said no, you’d probably annoy me till I finally give in. May as well skip that step and save myself a whole mess of misery.” Smart choice. “Woohoo! Ok so what do we do first? A total makeover? Dress shopping? Pedicure?” Twilight gave her a puzzled look. “You sound surprisingly knowledgeable about this whole thing.” “Hey, when you hang out with Rarity for one weekend, you learn a lot of things you wish you didn’t know.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “So what’s the first step?” “Research.” Eh? “Eh?” Her face hung questionably as the nerd gal rolled on her chair returning to her computer. “The first step to every study or task is research.” Twilight explained plainly. “If you’re going to seduce a guy like Flash, you’ll need to know him more than you do now. What are his interests? His likes-dislikes? Is he a turkey lover or bacon lover? You know? The basic things.” “Those are basics?” Twilight rolled her eyes and quickly logged into the school’s chat site. The Canterlot High Stables. A lingo that never really hit off with the students. “Let’s see. Flash Magnus… AHA! Flash Sentry. Here we are. Now we’ll know everything we need to know about him.” Twilight had to admit she felt a little giddy doing something so… invasive. It was truly something out of her comfort zone. “Let’s see… hmm… Flash Sentry. Male, 15 years old. His birthday is around Winter… and… he likes music.” “Wait. 15? That can’t be right.” “I know.” Twilight agreed. “Wait… that’s odd.” “What is?” “It says here Flash last logged into his account… 3 years ago! He hasn’t updated his profile since! Well that’s irresponsible of him.” “Maybe he doesn’t like being on social media.” She scoffed. “A handsome boy like Flash? Ha! Doubtful. If he follows the usual stereotype of an Alpha Male, he’ll most definitely have an internet presence. It’s just basic science. But… then again hardly anyone uses the school’s chat room because of its myriad of restrictions. Let’s try other online social network. He’s bound to have a place where he posts all his stuff.” “Cool. And… what should I do? Should we go shopping for some new shirts or something?” “Oh that won’t be necessary.” Twilight smiled sweetly before reaching out to her closet opening two racks of gorgeous clothes inside. Rainbow Dash was obviously surprised. “Whoa… Twilight… I didn’t know you were into fashion.” “I’m not.” She replied with a chuckle. “Cadance got these for me during the New Year. There were her clothes when she was still a student back in Crystal Prep. She says that most of them don’t fit anymore because of her…… *cough* growth.” Oh Rainbow Dash can tell. Principal Cadance has always been very sensitive about her… rack. These clothes looked like they were customized to hold those racks up. Hell if you were to compare her with the gang, they’d look like a bunch of surfboards lined up on the sand. Only Sunset and Applejack had the assets to compare. “So… whatdaya think?” Rainbow Dash picked one of the outfits and compared it to her own frame. It fits. If just barely. “I dunno Twilight. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe I should’ve asked Rarity to help me instead.” “Oh come on Rainbow Dash. You came all this way. And you asked for my help. So as your friend it is my responsibility and duty to aid you. Come on. Just try a few of them out. You never know what you’ll find if you reinvent yourself.” Rainbow Dash thought about it and decided… eh… what the heck. And so she did just that and tried out a few of Candance’s old clothes. As expected, many of them were way off her size, especially around the chest area which sagged downward much to her annoyance and Twilight’s amusement. There were dresses for formal events, one particular shirt with math formulas written on the inside, a skirt with the scientific formulas and even an artist hat with answers to the anti-life equation written in white ink. Man… Cadance must’ve gone through one heck of a class if she had to cheat so… spectacularly. “Twilight, are you sure these are Cadance’s clothes?” “She gave them to me herself. Why?” Rainbow Dash scratched her head puzzlingly. “Some of these look… really… raunchy even for me.” “Oh that’s just Cadance’s style in her days. Maybe it’ll be better if you tried out a few of mine.” “What about this one?” Twilight’s face paled. “No wait, Rainbow Dash! Don’t touch that!” A note fell off the next rack she wanted to wear. “Dear Shining Armor. Hope you like our sixth anniversary gift. Love Ca…” Oh heck no! Rainbow Dash gently put back the note and disgustingly returned the said clothes back into its rack, the see-through red lingerie just glinting under the light. “Should I really ask?” “Cadance must’ve mixed it up.” Twilight said quickly as she buried that ungodly thing deep within her closet. “I’ll… probably give it back the next time she visits. Ahehehehe…” “Probably?” She was saved from answering that question when her computer pinged. “Oooh! My search engine found a match. Finally we’ll know what we need.” They rushed over to the screen noting the face. “Huh? Ok that’s odd.” “What now?” “Well I found Flash’s activity… but not from his page. His friend, Bass Keys posted that they’re having band practice tomorrow. Followed by a birthday party celebration at Ocatavia’s place.” She typed a few more keys but found nothing else. “It… doesn’t look like he has any online social presence.” “Then it looks like we’ll have to go straight to the source.” Rainbow pumped her fists together. “Stay back everybody. This gal’s goin old school.” “Oooh~ can I come?” Twilight asked cutely, holding over a notepad. “I want to take notes on how to ask guys. And a live subject will be an excellent reference.” MatchChapter 4: Match (Hallway) Applejack could feel them. It was subtle at first when she got to school. A few passing glances here, a look there. But the moment she walked into the hallway, it became more… apparent. Their piercing gaze and gasping looks trailed her all the way from the door. Their eyes followed her uninterrupted, jaws slacked, mouth covering gasps. She could feel their gaze slamming hard on her rear side and a few more analyzing her bare shoulders. Was this adoration, admiration or sexual harassment? She couldn’t tell. But one thing she could tell that folks here were eyeing her differently. Normally her friends in school would’ve give more than a passing hi or hello before returning to their original tasks. But now… the moment they caught sight of her, their eyes were glued stuck. She also swore that she caught one student in particular slamming her head on the door after catching sight of her. Was this how Rarity felt all the time when she struts through the hallway? Having boys fantasize about her with her charm, swaying hips and toying with her hair? It wouldn’t surprise her. That gal adored being the center of attention in any situation. When she finally got to her locker and got her books, she felt even more exposed, more vulnerable. Applejack turned to her private mirror which she got last year during a gift exchange. Strangely enough she couldn’t recognize the girl looking back at her. She still retained those adorable freckles and the cowboy hat. But the added makeup seemed to have enhanced her other features as well. She still retained her hat. It was perhaps the one thing she wouldn’t trade for the world no matter what people offered. But now she traded those common apple T-shirt for a green sleeveless blouse, exposing a little bit more of her skin. There was even an open slit on the front exposing a little bit of her breast. Her skirt was lifted two inch higher which made the wind draft between her legs. Her hair had also been braided in a classical setting giving her an air of nobility. And the cowboy boots which she prided from home were traded in for a simple pair of shoes and long white knee socks. Applejack wouldn’t know much when it came to beauty, but looking at herself now… she had to admit that she was downright stunning. Rarity came in hot and came in swinging. Heck even Applebloom hardly recognized her when she saw her this morning. “Applejack Applejack!” Pinkie Pie bounced in. “Oh thank goodness I found you. I hearrrrrrdddd~~?” For once in her life the bubbly gal found herself speechless when she finally saw the cowgirl in all her new entirety. “Wh… whoa…” She blushed cutely which only seemed to make the boys in the crowd clutch their heart. There was just something about that look that was just weapon’s grade dangerous. Heck if anyone were to make a move right now they’d probably start a brawl without even batting an eye. “Whadaya think?” The cowgirl asked clutching her notebook. Pinkie scanned her from head to toe and was again lost for words. Applejack was actually… beautiful. Perhaps even… dare she say… sexy. “You look… great…” She was able to mutter that word out while the rest of her brain fizzled from overload. “Really? You think so?” Applejack tugged her collar. “Maybe the makeup’s too much.” A few heads in the sideline shook back and forth violently. “Are you… trying a new look?” “Yeah well… Rarity actually gave me a makeover. Though I think she went a little overboard.” It was then the party animal blinked. “Wait a second. Don’t tell me this is for your…” She looked sideways before leaning in to whisper. “… the bet?” “Yup.” Pinkie palmed her own face in distraught. “Applejack! You cannot be serious! I don’t normally interfere with you or Rainbow Dash’s game but this is not a good idea. Seriously! I’ll make another game for you! Please don’t do this! You’ve never flirted before.” “Sorry Pinkie. But me and RD already agreed. We’re going through with it. Besides, it’s just a simple contest. Nothing bad’ll happen. Now if you’ll excuse me, I got about 15 minutes before the first bell. And according to Rarity’s schedule… Flash should arriving at his locker in twenty seconds.” Pinkie blinked. “Wait a minute. Did she take me file!?” “Gotta go!” Applejack strutted away leaving the bubblegum gal to groan. xxxxxxxxxx She found the boy right on schedule just by the corner, rustling through his locker waiting for his first class. His friends had already gone ahead for first period leaving him somewhat alone in his section of the hall to finish off his sandwich. According to Rarity’s profile (Pinkie’s files) Flash would have his usual tuna sandwich on a Wednesday and would finish it by his locker next to the school’s drinking fountain. Once he was finished, he’ll take a five second sip and then head off to class. Applejack saw her mark and swallowed hard. Rarity’s crash course rung deeply in her head. Her Spartan training in the boutique was downright torturous and inhumane. But if she wins this bet, then it’ll be all worth the while. Rainbow Dash will be on her hands and knees bowing to her greatness. “Remember. Boys like Flash are easily drawn to your assets. Remember to sway your hips and stick your chest out and he’ll be putty in your hands.” Easier said than done. Applejack had never once swayed her hips or had much confidence in her body. This was pretty much doing things out of her comfort zone. Ok ok… stop. You’re just chickening yourself. You can do this girl. Taking another look at her mark, Applejack noted that this section of the hallway have been roughly abandoned. Only two other students remained and they were busy conversing with one another a good distance away from Flash. He was already taking a sip from the drinking fountain. This was the only chance she was gonna get without Rainbow Dash or anyone else interfering. And so with a deep breath she swayed her way towards him, giving out the most confident look she could muster. “Hey there…” She opened up coyly earning his attention. He looked up to her and gasped, the water still running. “H… hey?” It was a statement that came in the form of a question. … Ok? What happens next? Rarity didn’t cover this in her training. She just told her to sway her hips, approach with confidence and do what came next naturally. But what the hell comes naturally after hi and hello? She never really had that much interaction with Flash before and flirting was totally new grounds to her. Flash on the other hand seemed to have an idea. He got up and looked down. “Oh! Sorry. Did you want a sip?” He casually pulled out a dry wipe and scrubbed the hose. “Here.” “Sure. Thanks.” What the hell girl!? Why are you drinking? You’re not that thirsty. You had a whole cider this morning. But strangely enough she was just doing what literally came naturally. Flash backed away and rubbed the back of his head shyly. Applejack hadn’t noticed this before, but after getting a good look at the boy, Flash looked pretty cute up close. Especially when he was blushing. “I’m sorry, but… have we met?” Eh? She looked at him curiously. “It’s just that I know almost everyone here in school and I’ve never seen you before. Are you new?” She curled a brow. “Flash. It’s me. Applejack?” “Apple… Applejack!?” He blurted and looked closer. “Wh… wow. I umm… I didn’t recognize you there. You look so…” His eyes wandered over just below the neckline which made the girl all the more conscious. “… different.” “What kind of different?” His cheeks turned a shade redder than normal as he looked away from her slit. “Umm… well the good kind.” Good answer. “I mean… you look… like a different you. Did you change your hair?” She reached out for her braids nodding. “Yeah. Rarity thought it’d be good to change my look for once. Thought I might humor her.” “Well she certainly did a great job. You look… great.” Now it was Applejack’s turn to blush. She stubbed her shoe onto the floor, her hands going on her back which, strange enough, extended her chest up further. “I’ve never seen this side of you before. You’re really… pretty.” “Aww shucks. It’s nothing.” Oh god. Did she just giggle like a fan girl? She did, didn’t she? It was practically still echoing in the hall. “Ok then. Umm… I’ll uh… catch you later?” “Wait!” She grabbed him by his jacket and immediately let go. “So… sorry. I was uh… kinda wondering if…” “Yeah?” Oh god. What was her line again? Rarity should’ve given her a script. It would’ve been so much easier with one. “I was wondering if you would… have dinner with me.” The boy’s eyes snapped open. “D… dinner? As in… dinner-dinner? Like… a date?” Heck yeah! “No.” WHAT!? WHY NOT!? “Well you see… it’s apple harvesting season again and Big Mac hurt his leg the other day so I was wondering if you could come over and help out?” “Oh…” He looked somewhat disappointed but laughed it off. “Wouldn’t it be better to have your other friends help out?” “They got their own thing this week preparing for the Spring Dance.” That made sense, right? “So maybe after school, you could come over and help out?” … “Sure.” The boy answered finally after a short pause. “I’ve never really picked apples before but I can give a hand.” “Really?” “Really.” He nodded smiling. “We can ride my car.” They were then interrupted by the bell. “I’ll see you after school?” “Y… yeah.” She waved at him watching the boy jog to his classroom giving out his trademark smile before vanishing behind the doors. Applejack’s knees went limp a second later and her body smacked against the wall, a wide eyed smile plastered on her face. She felt… intoxicated. Is this how it felt to ask a guy out? To play the ‘game’ of boy meets girl? This whole rush and exhilaration was ecstatic. It’s no wonder Rarity loved playing this game. This was the kind of challenge she needed to get out of her rut. Forget those childish races with Rainbow Dash, this was the real deal. But now there was a problem. Big Mac was still healthy as a horse. That little lie she told him was pretty much just an excuse. Hmm… maybe she could get a crowbar and break her brother’s kneecap. Or… maybe she could just send him away for the night. Author's Note Applejack comes in first, she swings and it's a hit! Did she knock it out of the park? Strike OneChapter 5: Strike One (Cafeteria) Rainbow Dash had an image here in Canterlot High. There wasn’t a single soul in school that didn’t know her. She was Captain of every sports team here. From soccer to football. From tennis to hockey. She played them all, she lead them all. And so she was known to be the queen of P.E. Folks here also knew to stay out of her way when she was in her competitive mode as she can be quite… aggressive when she’s in the ‘zone’. Many students learned that lesson the hard way and they had the bruises and bumps to prove it too. But now she was coming in from a different angle. For the first time in her life she was about to embark on a road that she never thought she’d touch. To seduce a man. She made every possible preparation. Twilight picked the attire which wasn’t all that different from what she usually wears around here. It wouldn’t be the first time she wore something so suggestive or revealing before. Heck the basketball uniform was even skimpier than this, which would explain why many of the boys were ogling at her. Oh and now that she looked down, she noticed, her shoelaces were untied. When did that happen? “Rainbow Dash. Hold still.” “Uh… Twilight. Are you sure you aren’t going a little overboard?” The nerd gal gave a smug grin. “Not at all. According to Cadance, seducing someone requires a lot of work and effort. How do you think she got my brother to fall for her? I choose this suit especially for this occasion. Now hold still and let me add some makeup.” “Uh… I don’t do makeup.” “You want to win this bet, don’t you?” “Duh.” “Then you have to be at your best. Cadance says that makeup increases the chance of seduction by 15%. And for someone as inexperienced as yourself, you’re gonna need all the help you can get.” She added by puffing some powder on the sports gal’s cheeks. “There. Now you look like a winner.” “Really? Because I feel more like a dressed up doll.” Twilight waved her worries off. “Relax. This’ll totally work.” She then took a quick peek at the far table where Flash sat. He was right on schedule. “Alright. It looks like Flash just finished his lunch. That means he’ll be sitting by the corner side of the cafeteria for a twenty minute brainstorming-strumming session.” “Brain… wha?” “It’s his private moment where he writes new songs.” She explained so casually. “It’s actually kind of efficient. Now – you remember your dialogue tree?” “You mean… this thing?” Rainbow Dash pulled out a long list which seemed to stretch out for miles. “What is it exactly?” “It’s the dialogue tree!” Twilight pulled it over, explaining it one more time. “The moment you start up a conversation with him, choose open A) Greetings and salutations. Flash will either respond positively or neutrally which would lead you to either path B or C. If he responds positively, he’ll invite you to join him. That’s where you put your charm on and seduce him using the pickup line I provided. That’ll be the one under B subsection 1. Should that work, and it will, you two will be cordially engaged in a conversation. Afterwards you’ll slowly put in suggestions and talk about the Spring Dance which will then…” “Did you get this from a video game?” The purple haired girl paused. “N… no?” Rainbow Dash didn’t seem convinced. “Ok I get it. I just need to follow the script. Right?” “Right.” She nodded. “But you also need to put in a little effort. Talking in a deadpanned voice won’t do you any good. Your tone has to be… flirty. You need to increase your charisma to at least 7 and adding a multiplier of 1.50, it should get you within range of unlocking the speech-check.” “Twilight. I just need to know that this’ll work.” Again she paused. “Yes?” “That’s all I needed to hear.” Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and clutched the note in her hand like a holy scripture. She eyed the cafeteria noting that there were still a good chunk of people left but thankfully Flash was situated away from them. All she needed to do was follow the script, read between the lines, flash and little skin, smile, and maybe even do a little light touch and she’ll be golden. But god did she feel silly decking all of this just to attract the attention of one guy. “Right. He’s all alone. Break a leg!” Twilight’s cheer didn’t do much to dissipate her anxiety. Still… there was no backing out now. Rainbow Dash had a reputation to uphold. And she does not chicken out on anything regardless of the circumstances. Deep breaths. The hardest part of the journey was the first step… and this one was no different. Except for Rainbow Dash’s case… it probably was harder because the moment she took the first step to approach she quickly remembered that her shoelaces were untied. Her feet got caught and she fell, stumbled, her papers scattered across the room in a torrent. She heard Twilight screamed at her notes but failed to catch her friend who rolled across the room, hitting two… or perhaps three other students whose food trays spilled all over her ruining her new suit, blemishing her makeup and staining the tips of her hair. The sports gal quickly recovered but then screamed when she slipped on a banana peel, fell a second time onto a trash bin, rolled over to the water dispenser which then spilled all over the floor, which she then slid spectacularly like the world’s largest hockey puck. “Ow…” The girl was able to mutter out, removing the trash bin from her head and spit out the core of an eaten apple. What a splendid epic fail if there ever was one. “You ok?” A hand was offered which she accepted. “Yeah. Just a major wipeout.” She wiped the gravy off her face only to freeze when she came face to face with her mark. “Oooh! F… Flash?” “That looked like it hurt. Are you alright?” Nothing was hurt, other than her pride. “I’m fine. Totally. Check this out.” She forced herself out only to head butt the guy. He stumbled badly, dropping his guitar. “Oh! S… sorry. Here let me get that.” She grabbed it by the neck and for some bizarre reason she used too much force and snapped the whole thing in a spine chilling sound. “My guitar!” “Wha? Oh no. I’m sorry. It was an accident. I didn’t mean to…” Rainbow panicked and tried to fix it but her fumbling around only made it worse as the strings tore themselves up letting out ear-bleeding noise. “You’re making it worse!” “I know! I’m sorry! This isn’t supposed to happen!” “Rainbow Dash stop! You’re gonna…” Flash reached out to her but didn’t get the chance to even get close when Rainbow got wrapped up in the wires with all kinds of condiments acting as adhesive, making it sticky and slippery at the same time. The main body of Flash’s guitar waved around smacking the boy right on the jaw knocking the lights out of him. “Ow…” By the time the deed was done, Rainbow found herself wrapped in the boy’s instrument while said-boy was sprawled on the ground. The whole cafeteria had their eyes on her, Twilight in particular, doing a face-palm maneuver that signified the whole mess. “Rainbow Dash!” The whole room froze over when Vice-Principal Luna arrived in time to witness the whole fiasco play out like a comedic skit. The girl tried to laugh it off but it failed just as badly as her attempt to woo the boy. “Ahehe… hey there VP. Umm… this doesn’t look good for me, does it?” “Vandalizing, destruction of school property and assaulting another student?” The woman tapped her arm, gazing down at the guilty criminal like a judge preparing to deliver the verdict. “I’m torn between detention and suspension right now.” “Uh… there wouldn’t happen to be a hidden option C, is there?” “As a matter of fact, there is.” Luna huffed. “The Principal’s office. Now.” She sulked. “Yes ma’am.” “And will someone help me get Flash to the infirmary?” All Twilight could do was watch as Granny Smith came along to escort RD out of the cafeteria while Luna helped the poor boy up with his band mates in tow. “Well… that could’ve gone better.” Author's Note Rainbow Dash swings and she missed! Sorry for late updates. With the lock down lifted at my place I'm now leaving the sanctity of my home basement and moving back to the big city apartment. AssistanceChapter 6: Assistance (CHS) Apple Bloom and her friends peeked in around the corner of one of the school’s many classrooms. The school bell had rung in a few minutes ago which signaled the end of class. She spotted her brother by the window, packing his things and getting ready to head home. Her sister called in during lunch time asking for assistance in some delicate matters. She wasn’t quite sure why but Applejack asked her to keep Big Mac out of the house for the evening. A rough guest would say it had something to do with that new look she was trying. She won’t say this out loud but Applejack looked pretty darn tootin this morning. The gal was downright gorgeous in all the right ways. Even Granny Smith admitted that she turned from a beautiful apple to a stunning one. “Alright fellas. Applejack said that we needed to keep my big brother busy for the evening. So no matter what, we have to find a reason for him to go anywhere but home. Anyone here got any ideas?” “Maybe we can get his O & O gang to play a long adventure game.” Sweetie Belle suggested knowing the boy’s gaming habits with his friends. Apple Bloom shook her head in reply. “I already tried that. But it looks like he and the gang only meet every Thursday and Friday. We need to distract him now. Something that’ll keep him occupied.” “Well. What does he like? We don’t exactly know much about your brother. In fact… I don’t think I’ve heard more than two words out of his mouth.” “Well… he likes that silly board game.” Apple Bloom recounted. “Oh! And he’s also in Rarity’s singing troupe. And uh… he likes… cider?” “Apple Bloom… all your family loves cider. We need something else.” They turned their heads over to Scootaloo who laughed at their feeble attempts of planning. “What are you laughing about?” “You guys are too simplistic.” Scoots stated with a smug grin. “Your method of thinking are outdated. If you want someone out of the picture, you need to think outside the box.” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at one another before looking back at the third member of their group. “I take it you have a plan?” She nodded. “Leave everything to me. I call this plan The CMC Rush Job.” (The CMC Rush Job) Big Mac strolls by the hallway innocently enough, whistling into the air with nary a worry, thinking that the day was going to end in blissful normality. His thoughts wandered to home where he’d think of what Granny was making for dinner. He reached his locker and opened it, preparing to stow his books inside, only to pause when he found three pair of eyes glaring back at him from within. Without warning the CMC burst out of his locker and jumped him. “GET HIM!” “I got his legs!” “Gag his mouth!” “RARRR!” The poor boy screamed like a little girl that he never was, terrified out of his mind as he was thrashed to the wall and then to the floor before he was blindfolded, gagged, tied up like a cattle and then thrown to the janitor’s closet and locked in for the night. The CMC then got together and high-five before departing to the nearest ice-cream parlor to celebrate a job well done. xxxxxxxxxx “Eh? Ehhh~?” Scootaloo winked, seeing her friends’ shocking expressions. “Pretty good, right?” “Wow~~~” Apple Bloom droned. “That was… terrible.” “I agree.” “WHAT!? Why? That was a perfect plan! Big Mac’ll never see it coming.” Apple Bloom folded her arms. “No offense Scootaloo, but I think hurting my brother is going a wee bit too far for a distraction. We need something less…” “Traumatizing?” “That’s it.” Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement. “Besides, Big Mac is strong. Like… crazy strong. When he volunteered to be the school mascot last year, he carried the whole football team and cheerleading squad on his shoulder while he was eating a sandwich in one hand inside the costume. I can’t exactly see any of us tackling him to the ground, much less gag him and bag him.” Scoots opened her mouth to protest but decided that they were right. Big Mac was insanely strong for a high-schooler. Taking him down would be like taking down an elephant with a plushy toy. “Alright alright.” She submitted. “I suppose I didn’t take some equations into account. But luckily for you girls, I always have a backup plan. I call it: Winner Winner Turkey Dinner.” “I think you mean chicken dinner.” Sweetie corrected. “No. Turkey! Why in the world would want a small chicken when you can have a whole turkey all for yourself? It’s way more logical to… no never mind. Anyway…” (Winner Winner Turkey Dinner) Big Mac strolls by the hallway innocently enough, whistling into the air with nary a worry. His thoughts wandered to home where he’d think of what Granny was making for dinner. He reached his locker and opened it, preparing to stow his books inside, only to pause when he saw a small pink envelope laying idly by, begging someone to open it. The bright color and the heart shape plastered the front was far too enticing to resist. His name was also written in big bold letters so he was sure that it was addressed to him. There was a hint of perfume on the parchment which made it even more alluring. He looked around, making sure the hallway was clear. Hungrily and curiously he opened it thinking that it was coming from a crush or a secret admirer. But the moment he popped the envelope open, some strange dust puffed to his face making him cough and wheeze. He slowly begins to feel drowsy. That’s when Scootaloo drops in Mission-Impossible style, dressed in spy attire, and shoots a dart from her blowgun, nabbing right onto his neck sending a non-lethal dose of sleeping poison into his systems. “This is Short Wing. Tango is down. Moving on to phase two.” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom then come in and roughly put Big Mac into a wooden crate hammering it tightly before putting it on a trolley then rolling it to the back of the school where a mail van was conveniently waiting for them. The Mailman and Scoots meet up, doing a secret handshake while they load the cargo into the van, putting a stamp that says ‘Deliver to Yakyakistan’. The mailman then pays Scoots a wad of cash and shuts the van before drives off into the distance. Scootaloo flaps the cash in hand like poker cards, grinning evilly. After making sure that the van was gone, the girls celebrate with a well-deserved ice cream. xxxxxxxxxx “WHAT THE HECK Scootaloo!?” Apple Bloom exploded. “You got something against my big brother?” “What? It sounds cool! Don’t you ever wanted to do something spy-like before?” “Yeah but not to hurt him.” “Where are gonna find climbing gear and poison darts anyway?” Sweetie Belle asked. “That’s easy.” Scoots replied holding said gear and poisoned darts. “I got these from Pinkie Pie.” Her friends’ jaws dropped. “Yeah. You wouldn’t believe what kind of stuff she has lying around. She said she used this for a birthday job. Or… did she say break-in? It’s hard to tell when she’s yapping all the time. Anyway, pretty sweet, right?” “And who’s that mailman at the school loading dock?” Scoots shrugged. “Eh… a friend. I smuggle some stuff through her a few times. Where do you think I get my new scooter?” Her two friends shivered at the thought. “Anyway, it’s an awesome plan. I’d say we try it.” “No.” Apple Bloom put her foot down on the matter. “We are not poisoning my brother, or writing him a fake love letter or shipping him Yakyakistan. Besides, it’s way too complicated for a quick job.” “And dangerous.” Sweetie added. “Not to mention we don’t exactly have a lot of time to set all that up. We need something simpler.” “Fine!” Scootaloo threw her hands up in air. “You want simple? I’ll give you simple!” (…Simple) Big mac walks to locker. Scootaloo walks up to Big Mac with a baseball bat. Scootaloo says hi. Big Mac says hi. Scootaloo whacks his head with said baseball bat. Big mac falls down. Scootaloo repeatedly whacks Big Mac till he’s unconscious. Scootaloo walks out of school happy. xxxxxxxxxx “Now you’re just being lazy.” Apple Bloom shook her head letting out a disappointing sigh. They then returned their gaze back to Big Mac who was just about to leave the room. “How do we get him to stay away?” And luckily enough, they didn’t have to. The CMC froze when they saw a pair of hands snake behind Big Mac’s cheeks. (Road to Applejack’s Farm) Applejack couldn’t help but squirm. There was a strange feeling building inside of her chest. A feeling she never knew she could even have. She didn’t know she could feel this way being so close to another guy. Normally when she rode on someone else’s ride she’d feel right as rain. But when it was HIS car, the middle child of the apple family couldn’t help but develop a sense of vulnerability. This was probably the first time she rode on Flash’s car. The vehicle was slicked and decked to the max, matching the driver almost perfectly. You can feel the engine roaring on the front. The amount of horsepower on this baby was probably 10 times stronger than whatever her family could come up with. And don’t even get her started with the décor. The paintjob on this thing alone must’ve cost time, effort… or a lot of money. Heck even the inside of this thing looked downright fancy. There were so many buttons and knobs she didn’t even have a clue to what half of them did. She wouldn’t be surprised if she pressed that big red button and the car would sprout wings and fly over the city. Apple Bloom would find that really cool. But those petty things did little to distract her from the situation she was in. She watched a dozen movies and cheesy romantic series on TV before and riding on a boy’s car can often lead to unprecedented results. In those cheesy scenes, the driver would often engage in a typical seduction technique. Two people trapped inside a metal box going at 40 kilometers an hour? The sky was the limit. If they were a couple, they’d probably be making out right here and now and no one would see a darn thing through these tinted windows. Applejack also made a mental note on Flash’s actions as well. While the boy tried to hide it, she could tell that he was giving out passing glances at her. More precisely… her bare, unprotected legs. Damn it Rarity. Why in the world did you have to make my skirt two inches shorter? Those knee socks practically covered nothing. Did he find them weird? Sexy? His constant blushing suggested the latter which only made the girl even more conscious about her features. Was it possible to sexually harass someone just by looking? Because the other students back in school practically did the same. The boys in particular, scanned her body from neck to foot. Some in a blissful daze while others were… less gentlemanly. She tried to pull her skirt down to cover just a little more but it exposed a bit of her waist in the process which only made Flash’s gaze turn a little upward. Oh god. She was getting anxious. What was she to say? What was she to do? Rarity made no mention of an aftermath. Granted, this was partly her fault for inviting the boy for a well to do dinner but that was just the spur of the moment. Now they were alone, both dressed to the nines and she had absolutely no idea what to do. And this dreadful silence lingering between them was killing her. “So…” She opened up finally which was somehow interrupted by a beep from her phone. It startled them but she caught it. “Uh… oops. Sorry.” It was a message from Apple Bloom. ‘No need to worry about Big Mac.’ Atta girl. She didn’t know how she did it but hopefully her brother will be out for the rest of the night. Applejack smiled and took a mental note to reward her little sister later when she gets back. You can really count on her when the chips are down. But now she needs a way to break this silence. She needed to seal the deal and give him more to work on. What did Rarity say in her lessons again? “The imagination of a young healthy boy can be very useful. You only need to give him some fuel to work with.” “Thanks again for helping me out with the harvesting Flash. I don’t know what I’d do if I go at it alone.” He shrugged. “Don’t mention it. I take it something like this happens a lot in your home?” “Pretty much. Normally we’d do it over the weekend when we have plenty of time. The whole process takes a lot out of us, and I can work up quite the sweat.” “Really?” His ears perked up. “That sounds exhausting.” “Tell me about it.” Applejack stretched her arms upward pushing her chest forward. Her whole body stretched over the shirt which enhanced her frame. “Back in the summer, it got so hot that I had to take out my working overalls. I had to pick up the rest of it with just my shirt and shorts. It was a doosie.” “Ah… ahuh.” He gulped. “But nothing cools down a hard day’s work than chugging down a bottle of my family cider, straight from the cooler. And a nice cold shower back home.” Was it getting hot in here or was his face turning a shade redder than normal? “Y… yeah. Sounds… g…great.” Oh he was down for the count. “Are you talking about apples or something else?” The boy pressed on the accelerator. xxxxxxxxxx They arrived at the farm not a few minutes later. Granny Smith was there looking rather impatient. “Well it’s about time you got here.” She whined. “Was about to think you were about to skip on your chores.” “Wouldn’t dream of it Granny.” Applejack chuckled as her driver exited the vehicle. “Who’s that red fellow?” “That’s Flash.” The boy in question waved back politely though his face was a bit red. “I brought him over to help out with the harvest. Big Mac and Apple Bloom are uh… tied up at the moment. Let me…” She turned to Flash, giving a flirty wink. “… get changed for a second… and I’ll come help out.” Flash let out a breath which felt hotter than usual. Granny didn’t seem to notice or perhaps she chose to ignore her granddaughter’s changed in attitude. “Well whatever. Just hurry on now and you can help out with the extra labor I brought with me." Extra labor? “Awww… dang it! Granny Smith… a little help please.” No… it can’t be. Applejack turned to the source of the new voice only to find a girl dangling by one of the trees. Their eyes locked and the hanging gal let out a childishly awkward smile. “Oh… hey there AJ.” Author's Note Applejack is on a roll but Rainbow Dash ain't out of the fight just yet. She's making a run for it and stealing second base!
The BetChapter 1: The Bet (CHS) (Cafeteria) “And… I win.” Applejack declared smugly as she put out all her cards on the table, the three kings of a kind staring at her friend with a judgmental stare. “Sorry Rainbow Dash. But lady luck ain’t on your side today.” The cards spilled from her fingers as she groaned in defeat. “Dang it! What the heck!? How is that even possible? You won 15 times in a row! You’ve got to be cheating.” “More like you don’t know how to play.” She countered. “What are you talking about? I totally know how to play.” “You said uno the last four matches.” She pointed out. “That ain’t poker.” “Grr… fine!” Rainbow Dash pulled out a small notepad. “Combining our last match of air-hockey… horseshoe tossing, soccer, and poker. That ties us… 99 to 99.” “So that means we’re back to zero.” Applejack groaned. “I don’t wanna sound like Granny, but I’m getting mighty tired from all this competing.” “Afraid you’ll lose?” The cowgirl scoffed. “We’ve been at this matching game for a whole semester now and we’ve always tied in the end. It’s obviously not much of a challenge if we just do the same games over and over again. We need a way to break this stalemate, once and for all. Something that there’s just no way the other person can match up.” “So… a tie breaker?” “Yeah. That’s what I said.” It was true. Rainbow had to admit that, even though these games were fun, they were kind of becoming rather tedious. Heck, it hardly felt like a victory when she beat Applejack in a race around the school. Her powers gave her the edge and vice versa. They needed something else. Something that they could do where no one side had the clear advantage. “Hey guys. What’s cracking?” Pinkie Pie arrived with her tray of food noting the cards on the table. “Ooooh~~. Did Applejack win again on Poker?” “Yup. And not even a challenge too.” “So why the long faces? I thought people become happy when they win.” “Not this time Pinkie.” Applejack slumped on the table, poking her mashed potato with her fork. “It ain’t no fun if your opponent can’t even tell the difference between a full house and a +2 card.” “Hey! You’re the one who scored your own goal in air-hockey!” Rainbow Dash complained. “The field was slippery! How in tarnation are you supposed to play on that?” “That’s the whole point!” She grumbled. “Wow…” Pinkie nibbled her food. “Sounds like you two need a tie breaker.” “That’s what I said.” Rainbow Dash waved her hand up. “But it’s hard to come up with a game where we’re both good at. AJ and I have completely different set of skills.” “We’re two sides of the same coin.” Pinkie gave it a thought before she put in a suggestion. One that will most likely lead them to disaster. “Well… how about you play a game that neither of you are good at?” They turned their heads in her direction as if they stumbled upon gold itself. “Well since you two are good at a lot of things, why not try something you’re not good at? Like me? I didn’t think I’d like a butter nuted cupcake, so I tried it and three new flavors and then boom! It explodes in my mouth like a parade of flavors! It’ll be a great experience for you to bond over too.” It sounded dumb. Simple and dumb… but at the same time very intriguing. Why do something at what they’re both good when they can do the complete opposite? “That’s not a bad idea.” Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin slyly. “Something none of us are good at. Whatdayasay Applejack?” She shrugged boringly, though her face stated a different emotion. “Well… I could certainly use the challenge. Beating you and getting beaten by you is starting to get real boring.” “Then it’s settled. We’ll settle on a match. Winner takes all. No more ties. No more draws. The winner becomes the winner forever and gloating rights for an entire year. Deal?” “Deal.” They spat on their hands and shook on it. “But what kind of game are we supposed to play? We practically played everything there is to play in school. Horse racing, bike racing, car racing…” “You guys raced in cars?” Pinkie questioned but was left ignored. “Well… how about something outside of school?” Rainbow Dash suggested. “Something that neither you nor I have ever done.” Her friends looked at her waiting for an explanation. “Well this is just something I thought of when I went to Rarity’s place. You know that show, High Strung Bachelor?” Pinkie blinked. “That reality TV show where ten gorgeously handsome guys compete against one another and humiliate themselves for the entertainment of the crowd and the heart of a beautiful celebrity?” “Yeah… that one. I was thinking we could do that.” “You want us to jump through hoops for some random shmuck?” Applejack retorted. “No no no! I mean we both pick one guy and try to… how do I say this…?” “Seduce?” Pinkie suggested. “Not really seduce… but yeah. Seduce. We seduce him.” “That’s silly.” “Come on! It’s the perfect tie breaker! No way can we tie that ever again. Back me up here Pinkie.” Surprisingly enough the cotton candy girl was skeptic. “I dunno Rainbow. This sounds a bit… daring, even for you.” “Hey, you said that we should do something that none of us are good at. I’ll admit I’m not exactly the best when it came to asking guys out, and Applejack isn’t the most alluring sight around here.” “Excuse me!?” “No no. She’s right.” Pinkie nodded in agreement much to her friend’s horror. “Sorry Applejack. But out of everyone in the group, you have the least appeal out of all of us.” Applejack’s face turned redder than her apples back home. “Wha…! That’s hootenanny hogwash! I’ll show you two that I got plenty of charms!” She smacked her hat down on the table. “That’s it. You’re on Rainbow Dash!” The sports gal pumped her fist in triumph. “Alright then. Let’s set some ground rules. We both have to pick the guy. It can’t be someone one of us is already close with. And we both get to have one chance.” “So how do we know who wins?” Their eyes then shot up recalling something earlier. “The Spring Dance!” They said in unison. “That’s right! The Spring Dance.” Rainbow Dash agreed. “It’s two weeks’ away. The one who he brings to the dance, wins. Deal?” “Deal.” They shook hands once more and then turned over to the cafeteria. “But who to pick?” There was a cafeteria filled with prime candidates. All for the taking. “Ooooh! I know!” Pinkie spoke up. “How about Bulk Bicep? He’s available.” They turned over to the said muscle boy who cracked opened a pinecone between his pecks. The veins throbbing under his skin was… frightening to say the least. “Ugh… maybe next time.” Rainbow Dash motioned which her partner readily agreed on. “How about Rover?” “Ain’t he doing community service after he, Spot and Fido broke the bleachers last week?” “Ok fine… how about…” “Oh! What about Zephyr Breeze?” Pinkie pointed over to the said boy who for some reason turned his head their way and gave a suggestive wink. “Gahhh!” The blood in Rainbow Dash’s body chilled at the thought. “Pass, pass, hard pass, double pass!” “Big Mac?” “Pinkie!” Applejack scolded. “Ugh… this is a lot harder than I thought.” “Yeah. Most of the guys here are either sub-par or taken. We need someone we can sink our teeth on. Someone cool, and not remotely creepy. Someone like…” And by the will of the galaxy her answer came in the form of guitar strings strumming nearby. The trio turned to the source finding the blue haired boy, sitting by the corner, smiling sweetly as he hummed a tune to himself. “Oh. No.” Pinkie hastily protested on this. “No no no no no no no no. Rainbow Dash. That is not a good idea.” “He’s perfect!” “NO!” Pinkie screamed earning the attention of the cafeteria. “Aheh… ahehehe.” She quickly pulled the multi-hair-colored gal close. “Rainbow Dash. You cannot be seriously thinking about making HIM of all people, a target!?” “Why not?” She blurted. “He’s cool, he’s hip and he’s not seeing anybody right now. He’s perfect!” “No no no no! That is Sunset’s ex-boyfriend! That’s danger zone right there! There is a rule against this action! The bro code denounces this! Pick anyone! Anyone other than him! There are like… a hundred other fishes in the cafeteria!” “Hmm… I don’t mind.” “Applejack!?” Pinkie’s head cranked in the cowgirl’s direction, shocked to actually see her agreeing to this ridiculous nonsense. “We’re just taking him to a dance, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash reminded. “It’s just one date. It’s not like we’re gonna be his girlfriend or anything.” “Yeah. Besides, he is quite easy on the eyes.” Rainbow push the bubbly gal away and stared at her friend. “So… we agree? First one to get Flash to the dance, wins?” “Agreed.” Once more they shook hands and smiled while Pinkie remained horrified in her corner of the table. Yup… this isn’t going to end well…
GameChapter 2: Game (Rarity’s boutique) Applejack thought herself to be a pretty charming gal. Hardworking, honest and downright stunning in her own way. But ever since she had that talk with Rainbow and Pinkie, she began to wonder. Was she really not that appealing to people’s eyes? Was her country fashion not really attracting the city folks? Granny kept saying that she was the prettiest apple in the tree and she believed her. But now… thinking about it, she might just be saying that to be nice. But none of that mattered now. What mattered was the play. It was plainly obvious that neither she nor Rainbow Dash had much experience when it came to seducing boys. In fact, the closest thing she had to a reference were those cheesy romantic movies she watched back when she was younger. The plot was sub-par and the lines were down right atrocious. No. She needed an edge over this game. And the only one she knew who could help her was her best friend. “No.” Applejack blinked, shocked by the answer that came from her friend. “Eh? What now?” “No, darling. I refuse to cooperate or support you in this game of yours.” “How did you…?” “Pinkie told me.” Darn tattletale! “She regaled me about this whole tie-breaker between you and Rainbow Dash and I have to put my foot down.” “Oh come on Rarity! You’re my only hope!” “As pleasing as it is to hear that. I must decline. I refuse to be a part of this bizarre love triangle of yours. And Flash of all people? I don’t know what you two are thinking, but that little stunt of yours is just a disaster waiting to happen. Besides, I am still quite busy preparing a few dresses for the Spring Dance.” Dang it. There goes her edge. “Ok fine. I won’t force you. But can you at least answer a few questions for me?” Rarity lazily gave her a glance and nodded. “Very well. I suppose I have the time to spare.” Applejack removed her hat, holding them by the edges, cheeks turning red. “Do you think I have… any appeal, at all?” Her friend froze. “I mean… do I have that thing that makes people look at me? Cuz… right now I’m feeling a bit insecure.” “Darling. Why ever would you think that?” “Pinkie and Rainbow told me.” Rarity rose from her seat, grabbing her friend. “Darling. You have plenty of appeal. Those who say otherwise are simply jealous.” “Yeah. But how do I get people to look at me like how they look at you. I mean… have you seen the guys who look at you.” “Oh of course I do.” The fashionista brushed the side of her hair, grinning giddily. “It’s the reason why I make myself this pretty. What’s the point of putting all this effort on yourself if no one’s around to see it?” “Well… how do I do that? How do I make myself more… appealing?” Applejack put on a puppy dog pout with sparkly eyes to boot. “Please Rare? Help me on this? I wanna… feel like you do.” “Ahuhuhu!” She let out the cheekiest laugh ever, which soon began to unravel her tightknit rule. “Well… I suppose I could… WAIT!” She yelled out loud as if to bring herself back to the right state of mind. “Ooooh. You’re good Applejack. Real good. But it’ll take more than your cunning to win this lady over.” Dang it. For a moment there she thought she got her. “Can you at least give me some tips?” “Sorry. But like I said, I refuse to be a part of this game. And there is nothing you can say that will change my mind.” With that last notion she returned to her seat and back to her work. Applejack sighed. This was gonna be a lot trickier than usual. But she can’t back out now. She needs this edge and Rarity is her sure golden ticket to winning this bet. She’s gonna have to make a little sacrifice. “Alright Rarity. You win.” She muttered. “If you help me in this, I promise you that I’ll… help model for your next pageant show.” The sewing machine stopped as the girl working turned back, eyes widened. “You’d… model… for me?” “I’ll even let you…” Applejack cringed. “… design my dress for the Spring Dance.” Rarity gleed out of her chair and teleported to her side. “Let’s get to work!” xxxxxxxxxx The next thing Applejack knew she was sitting on a chair standing in front of a projector screen with Sweetie Belle dimming the lights for effect. Rarity would return a minute later dressed in a teacher’s outfit, with librarian glasses to complete the act. “Ahem. Attention class.” Professor Rarity began whipping a crop on the screen. “Welcome to Rarity’s class of Seduction 101. By the time you finish this class, you will become acquainted with seducing and attraction the attention of others through… physical appeal.” “Uh… Rarity. Is all of this really necessary?” “SILENCE!” Her crop snapped at the desk silencing the only student in attendance. “Ahem. First things first. What do you know about Flash Sentry?” “Uh… well he likes music… so…” “WRONG!” The teacher exclaimed. “Lesson number 1. Know your mark.” The screen flipped to a headshot of Flash Sentry who looked… for a lack of a better term, pretty hot. With his casual smile, glimmering eyes, you’d think he was just that kid next door that you had a crush on. “The first thing you should know, before applying any kind of change to your appearance, is to know who you are trying to appeal. Observe. This is your target. Flash Sentry. At a first glance you’d think that he is just your average run-of-the-mill rocker boy with a flair for music. With that mediocre Yankee fashion, guitar and shrivel bedhead you’d believe that this is all there is to know about him.” Her crop fell. “Don’t you agree?” “Uh… yeah?” “WRONG!!!” Rarity’s voice boomed as her planted her face right next to Applejack. “There’s more to a person than what you can see on the surface!” The clipped changed to another picture of the boy, this time cuddling his pet dog, Bananas. He admittedly looked kinda cute and harmless. “Behold, the upper crust of Flash Sentry. Other than his love of rock music, he’s also a fan of animals! In particularly, his pet dog!” The clipped changed to him reading comics. “He’s also a lover of arts, poetry and figurines!” “Really?” “He also apparently likes cheesy romantic films. Huh… that’s new.” Rarity pulled out a folder, glancing curiously at its content. “And it also says here that he lives in Uptown in a mansion. Oooh! Hillside property too.” Applejack tilted her head in question. “Wait a second. How do you know all of this?” “Pinkie sent me his file.” She answered plainly. “She has a file on Flash?” “Pinkie has a file on everyone.” That was… rather disturbing. “But enough about that. The point is that we have an advantage. Now. Observe. Flash Sentry is a unique case when it comes to women.” “He does?” “No interruptions!” Rarity whipped her crop again much to her friend’s horror. “Look here. Over his school years in CHS, Flash Sentry has had a total of four love interests.” Four? Since when? “The obvious ones will be of course, Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight Sparkle from the alternate world. The other is Lyra and Octavia.” “Seriously?” “According to Pinkie’s notes, he and Lyra had a fling of sorts before they came to CHS. And Octavia seemed quite interested on the notion of getting together with him. Hmm… quite a scandal if I do say so myself.” She let out a cough. “Anyway. From the list, other than music of course, what do these four girls have in common?” Applejack gave it a thought. She hardly knew Lyra or Octavia. Those two were pretty much opposite of one another. The same goes with Sunset and Twilight. Other than their Equestrian origin and affinity to magic, they were two sides of the same coin.” “Well… take away the music… they… got nothing.” “Exactly!” Rarity cheered. “Well done Applejack.” She wasn’t sure why but she’ll take any praise she can get at this point. “You are precisely right. None of these girls have anything in common other than their love for music. Their fashion, attire, hairstyle, attitude! All of them different in every possible way. That can only mean one thing.” “Flash likes people who likes music?” “Possibly. But no. It means that his taste… is diverse!” That… made some sense. “It means his taste can change from form to form. Like a connoisseur tasting different wines and then spitting them out in a bucket.” “Eww…” Sweetie Belle stuck out her tongue in disgust. “Are you even old enough to drink wine?” “Not important. What is important is to find out what kind of wine he likes the most? Does he like them sweet like Lyra? Mysterious like Octavia? Clear crystal like Twilight or bursting with flavor like Sunset. And seeing as we only have two weeks to prep, we will have to go directly to the source!” “Uh… what now?” “Quickly! To the CHS log book!”
SetChapter 3: Set (Twilight’s House) Rainbow Dash was many things. A speedster, a daredevil, the captain of every sports team in Canterlot High and the gal who has the figure that’ll make even the most stunning model turn green with envy. But sadly, to the surprise of many, she wasn’t exactly the best when it came to seducing others. She can be friendly, perhaps even competitive in nature with others. But trying to flirt with someone? Yeah… she’d have a better chance seducing her pet turtle, Tank, than any boy in school. She opted to go in blind and ask Flash straight out. But for once she actually decided to use her head and ask for assistance to the only one who had any actual experience in dating. Twilight Sparkle. She might be a nerd and somewhat of a geek, but sadly she was the only one amongst the group who has a boyfriend. Sunset excluded of course. “So let me get this straight.” Twilight motioned as she sat on her worktable, eyeing Rainbow with a judging glare. “You and Applejack are tired of all the draws you’ve been having with one another so to break that tie, you’ve decided to compete in a match that neither of you are good at.” “Uh huh.” “And that said match you suggested involves the alluring and seducing of Sunset’s ex-boyfriend, Flash Sentry. Who I may add… are still very much attracted to one another.” “Yup.” “And because you have no clue on how to project such attractive notions to the opposite gender, you decided to come to me for… guidance.” “Correctamundo.” Twilight planted one hand over her head in distraught. “Can you not see the many serious predicament your game has!? It’s bad enough that you two are turning this whole thing into a sport, but to target Flash Sentry of all people? What were you thinking!?” “Oh relax Twilight. We’re just going for a dance. We’re not gonna be dating him forever. Besides, I couldn’t exactly go to Sunset for this. And you’re the only one who has romance experience out here.” The nerd bobbed her head in agreement. “Well… I wouldn’t say I have ample experience. But Timber and I do have a stable relationship so far.” “See? You can help me with this. You can be my mentor, my tutor. You can teach me everything you’ve learned.” Ok. Twilight was a smart gal. Smart enough to know when Rainbow Dash was trying to butter her up with titles and compliments. And strangely enough it was working. Still… something about this whole shebang was giving her the bad vibes. Kind of like when Spike swam in a vat of her radioactive chemicals. That dog was on the verge of growing a second head. “Meh… what the heck? I’ll do it.” “Really!? You’ll do it!?” “Yeah why not. Besides… even if I said no, you’d probably annoy me till I finally give in. May as well skip that step and save myself a whole mess of misery.” Smart choice. “Woohoo! Ok so what do we do first? A total makeover? Dress shopping? Pedicure?” Twilight gave her a puzzled look. “You sound surprisingly knowledgeable about this whole thing.” “Hey, when you hang out with Rarity for one weekend, you learn a lot of things you wish you didn’t know.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “So what’s the first step?” “Research.” Eh? “Eh?” Her face hung questionably as the nerd gal rolled on her chair returning to her computer. “The first step to every study or task is research.” Twilight explained plainly. “If you’re going to seduce a guy like Flash, you’ll need to know him more than you do now. What are his interests? His likes-dislikes? Is he a turkey lover or bacon lover? You know? The basic things.” “Those are basics?” Twilight rolled her eyes and quickly logged into the school’s chat site. The Canterlot High Stables. A lingo that never really hit off with the students. “Let’s see. Flash Magnus… AHA! Flash Sentry. Here we are. Now we’ll know everything we need to know about him.” Twilight had to admit she felt a little giddy doing something so… invasive. It was truly something out of her comfort zone. “Let’s see… hmm… Flash Sentry. Male, 15 years old. His birthday is around Winter… and… he likes music.” “Wait. 15? That can’t be right.” “I know.” Twilight agreed. “Wait… that’s odd.” “What is?” “It says here Flash last logged into his account… 3 years ago! He hasn’t updated his profile since! Well that’s irresponsible of him.” “Maybe he doesn’t like being on social media.” She scoffed. “A handsome boy like Flash? Ha! Doubtful. If he follows the usual stereotype of an Alpha Male, he’ll most definitely have an internet presence. It’s just basic science. But… then again hardly anyone uses the school’s chat room because of its myriad of restrictions. Let’s try other online social network. He’s bound to have a place where he posts all his stuff.” “Cool. And… what should I do? Should we go shopping for some new shirts or something?” “Oh that won’t be necessary.” Twilight smiled sweetly before reaching out to her closet opening two racks of gorgeous clothes inside. Rainbow Dash was obviously surprised. “Whoa… Twilight… I didn’t know you were into fashion.” “I’m not.” She replied with a chuckle. “Cadance got these for me during the New Year. There were her clothes when she was still a student back in Crystal Prep. She says that most of them don’t fit anymore because of her…… *cough* growth.” Oh Rainbow Dash can tell. Principal Cadance has always been very sensitive about her… rack. These clothes looked like they were customized to hold those racks up. Hell if you were to compare her with the gang, they’d look like a bunch of surfboards lined up on the sand. Only Sunset and Applejack had the assets to compare. “So… whatdaya think?” Rainbow Dash picked one of the outfits and compared it to her own frame. It fits. If just barely. “I dunno Twilight. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe I should’ve asked Rarity to help me instead.” “Oh come on Rainbow Dash. You came all this way. And you asked for my help. So as your friend it is my responsibility and duty to aid you. Come on. Just try a few of them out. You never know what you’ll find if you reinvent yourself.” Rainbow Dash thought about it and decided… eh… what the heck. And so she did just that and tried out a few of Candance’s old clothes. As expected, many of them were way off her size, especially around the chest area which sagged downward much to her annoyance and Twilight’s amusement. There were dresses for formal events, one particular shirt with math formulas written on the inside, a skirt with the scientific formulas and even an artist hat with answers to the anti-life equation written in white ink. Man… Cadance must’ve gone through one heck of a class if she had to cheat so… spectacularly. “Twilight, are you sure these are Cadance’s clothes?” “She gave them to me herself. Why?” Rainbow Dash scratched her head puzzlingly. “Some of these look… really… raunchy even for me.” “Oh that’s just Cadance’s style in her days. Maybe it’ll be better if you tried out a few of mine.” “What about this one?” Twilight’s face paled. “No wait, Rainbow Dash! Don’t touch that!” A note fell off the next rack she wanted to wear. “Dear Shining Armor. Hope you like our sixth anniversary gift. Love Ca…” Oh heck no! Rainbow Dash gently put back the note and disgustingly returned the said clothes back into its rack, the see-through red lingerie just glinting under the light. “Should I really ask?” “Cadance must’ve mixed it up.” Twilight said quickly as she buried that ungodly thing deep within her closet. “I’ll… probably give it back the next time she visits. Ahehehehe…” “Probably?” She was saved from answering that question when her computer pinged. “Oooh! My search engine found a match. Finally we’ll know what we need.” They rushed over to the screen noting the face. “Huh? Ok that’s odd.” “What now?” “Well I found Flash’s activity… but not from his page. His friend, Bass Keys posted that they’re having band practice tomorrow. Followed by a birthday party celebration at Ocatavia’s place.” She typed a few more keys but found nothing else. “It… doesn’t look like he has any online social presence.” “Then it looks like we’ll have to go straight to the source.” Rainbow pumped her fists together. “Stay back everybody. This gal’s goin old school.” “Oooh~ can I come?” Twilight asked cutely, holding over a notepad. “I want to take notes on how to ask guys. And a live subject will be an excellent reference.”
MatchChapter 4: Match (Hallway) Applejack could feel them. It was subtle at first when she got to school. A few passing glances here, a look there. But the moment she walked into the hallway, it became more… apparent. Their piercing gaze and gasping looks trailed her all the way from the door. Their eyes followed her uninterrupted, jaws slacked, mouth covering gasps. She could feel their gaze slamming hard on her rear side and a few more analyzing her bare shoulders. Was this adoration, admiration or sexual harassment? She couldn’t tell. But one thing she could tell that folks here were eyeing her differently. Normally her friends in school would’ve give more than a passing hi or hello before returning to their original tasks. But now… the moment they caught sight of her, their eyes were glued stuck. She also swore that she caught one student in particular slamming her head on the door after catching sight of her. Was this how Rarity felt all the time when she struts through the hallway? Having boys fantasize about her with her charm, swaying hips and toying with her hair? It wouldn’t surprise her. That gal adored being the center of attention in any situation. When she finally got to her locker and got her books, she felt even more exposed, more vulnerable. Applejack turned to her private mirror which she got last year during a gift exchange. Strangely enough she couldn’t recognize the girl looking back at her. She still retained those adorable freckles and the cowboy hat. But the added makeup seemed to have enhanced her other features as well. She still retained her hat. It was perhaps the one thing she wouldn’t trade for the world no matter what people offered. But now she traded those common apple T-shirt for a green sleeveless blouse, exposing a little bit more of her skin. There was even an open slit on the front exposing a little bit of her breast. Her skirt was lifted two inch higher which made the wind draft between her legs. Her hair had also been braided in a classical setting giving her an air of nobility. And the cowboy boots which she prided from home were traded in for a simple pair of shoes and long white knee socks. Applejack wouldn’t know much when it came to beauty, but looking at herself now… she had to admit that she was downright stunning. Rarity came in hot and came in swinging. Heck even Applebloom hardly recognized her when she saw her this morning. “Applejack Applejack!” Pinkie Pie bounced in. “Oh thank goodness I found you. I hearrrrrrdddd~~?” For once in her life the bubbly gal found herself speechless when she finally saw the cowgirl in all her new entirety. “Wh… whoa…” She blushed cutely which only seemed to make the boys in the crowd clutch their heart. There was just something about that look that was just weapon’s grade dangerous. Heck if anyone were to make a move right now they’d probably start a brawl without even batting an eye. “Whadaya think?” The cowgirl asked clutching her notebook. Pinkie scanned her from head to toe and was again lost for words. Applejack was actually… beautiful. Perhaps even… dare she say… sexy. “You look… great…” She was able to mutter that word out while the rest of her brain fizzled from overload. “Really? You think so?” Applejack tugged her collar. “Maybe the makeup’s too much.” A few heads in the sideline shook back and forth violently. “Are you… trying a new look?” “Yeah well… Rarity actually gave me a makeover. Though I think she went a little overboard.” It was then the party animal blinked. “Wait a second. Don’t tell me this is for your…” She looked sideways before leaning in to whisper. “… the bet?” “Yup.” Pinkie palmed her own face in distraught. “Applejack! You cannot be serious! I don’t normally interfere with you or Rainbow Dash’s game but this is not a good idea. Seriously! I’ll make another game for you! Please don’t do this! You’ve never flirted before.” “Sorry Pinkie. But me and RD already agreed. We’re going through with it. Besides, it’s just a simple contest. Nothing bad’ll happen. Now if you’ll excuse me, I got about 15 minutes before the first bell. And according to Rarity’s schedule… Flash should arriving at his locker in twenty seconds.” Pinkie blinked. “Wait a minute. Did she take me file!?” “Gotta go!” Applejack strutted away leaving the bubblegum gal to groan. xxxxxxxxxx She found the boy right on schedule just by the corner, rustling through his locker waiting for his first class. His friends had already gone ahead for first period leaving him somewhat alone in his section of the hall to finish off his sandwich. According to Rarity’s profile (Pinkie’s files) Flash would have his usual tuna sandwich on a Wednesday and would finish it by his locker next to the school’s drinking fountain. Once he was finished, he’ll take a five second sip and then head off to class. Applejack saw her mark and swallowed hard. Rarity’s crash course rung deeply in her head. Her Spartan training in the boutique was downright torturous and inhumane. But if she wins this bet, then it’ll be all worth the while. Rainbow Dash will be on her hands and knees bowing to her greatness. “Remember. Boys like Flash are easily drawn to your assets. Remember to sway your hips and stick your chest out and he’ll be putty in your hands.” Easier said than done. Applejack had never once swayed her hips or had much confidence in her body. This was pretty much doing things out of her comfort zone. Ok ok… stop. You’re just chickening yourself. You can do this girl. Taking another look at her mark, Applejack noted that this section of the hallway have been roughly abandoned. Only two other students remained and they were busy conversing with one another a good distance away from Flash. He was already taking a sip from the drinking fountain. This was the only chance she was gonna get without Rainbow Dash or anyone else interfering. And so with a deep breath she swayed her way towards him, giving out the most confident look she could muster. “Hey there…” She opened up coyly earning his attention. He looked up to her and gasped, the water still running. “H… hey?” It was a statement that came in the form of a question. … Ok? What happens next? Rarity didn’t cover this in her training. She just told her to sway her hips, approach with confidence and do what came next naturally. But what the hell comes naturally after hi and hello? She never really had that much interaction with Flash before and flirting was totally new grounds to her. Flash on the other hand seemed to have an idea. He got up and looked down. “Oh! Sorry. Did you want a sip?” He casually pulled out a dry wipe and scrubbed the hose. “Here.” “Sure. Thanks.” What the hell girl!? Why are you drinking? You’re not that thirsty. You had a whole cider this morning. But strangely enough she was just doing what literally came naturally. Flash backed away and rubbed the back of his head shyly. Applejack hadn’t noticed this before, but after getting a good look at the boy, Flash looked pretty cute up close. Especially when he was blushing. “I’m sorry, but… have we met?” Eh? She looked at him curiously. “It’s just that I know almost everyone here in school and I’ve never seen you before. Are you new?” She curled a brow. “Flash. It’s me. Applejack?” “Apple… Applejack!?” He blurted and looked closer. “Wh… wow. I umm… I didn’t recognize you there. You look so…” His eyes wandered over just below the neckline which made the girl all the more conscious. “… different.” “What kind of different?” His cheeks turned a shade redder than normal as he looked away from her slit. “Umm… well the good kind.” Good answer. “I mean… you look… like a different you. Did you change your hair?” She reached out for her braids nodding. “Yeah. Rarity thought it’d be good to change my look for once. Thought I might humor her.” “Well she certainly did a great job. You look… great.” Now it was Applejack’s turn to blush. She stubbed her shoe onto the floor, her hands going on her back which, strange enough, extended her chest up further. “I’ve never seen this side of you before. You’re really… pretty.” “Aww shucks. It’s nothing.” Oh god. Did she just giggle like a fan girl? She did, didn’t she? It was practically still echoing in the hall. “Ok then. Umm… I’ll uh… catch you later?” “Wait!” She grabbed him by his jacket and immediately let go. “So… sorry. I was uh… kinda wondering if…” “Yeah?” Oh god. What was her line again? Rarity should’ve given her a script. It would’ve been so much easier with one. “I was wondering if you would… have dinner with me.” The boy’s eyes snapped open. “D… dinner? As in… dinner-dinner? Like… a date?” Heck yeah! “No.” WHAT!? WHY NOT!? “Well you see… it’s apple harvesting season again and Big Mac hurt his leg the other day so I was wondering if you could come over and help out?” “Oh…” He looked somewhat disappointed but laughed it off. “Wouldn’t it be better to have your other friends help out?” “They got their own thing this week preparing for the Spring Dance.” That made sense, right? “So maybe after school, you could come over and help out?” … “Sure.” The boy answered finally after a short pause. “I’ve never really picked apples before but I can give a hand.” “Really?” “Really.” He nodded smiling. “We can ride my car.” They were then interrupted by the bell. “I’ll see you after school?” “Y… yeah.” She waved at him watching the boy jog to his classroom giving out his trademark smile before vanishing behind the doors. Applejack’s knees went limp a second later and her body smacked against the wall, a wide eyed smile plastered on her face. She felt… intoxicated. Is this how it felt to ask a guy out? To play the ‘game’ of boy meets girl? This whole rush and exhilaration was ecstatic. It’s no wonder Rarity loved playing this game. This was the kind of challenge she needed to get out of her rut. Forget those childish races with Rainbow Dash, this was the real deal. But now there was a problem. Big Mac was still healthy as a horse. That little lie she told him was pretty much just an excuse. Hmm… maybe she could get a crowbar and break her brother’s kneecap. Or… maybe she could just send him away for the night. Author's Note Applejack comes in first, she swings and it's a hit! Did she knock it out of the park?
Strike OneChapter 5: Strike One (Cafeteria) Rainbow Dash had an image here in Canterlot High. There wasn’t a single soul in school that didn’t know her. She was Captain of every sports team here. From soccer to football. From tennis to hockey. She played them all, she lead them all. And so she was known to be the queen of P.E. Folks here also knew to stay out of her way when she was in her competitive mode as she can be quite… aggressive when she’s in the ‘zone’. Many students learned that lesson the hard way and they had the bruises and bumps to prove it too. But now she was coming in from a different angle. For the first time in her life she was about to embark on a road that she never thought she’d touch. To seduce a man. She made every possible preparation. Twilight picked the attire which wasn’t all that different from what she usually wears around here. It wouldn’t be the first time she wore something so suggestive or revealing before. Heck the basketball uniform was even skimpier than this, which would explain why many of the boys were ogling at her. Oh and now that she looked down, she noticed, her shoelaces were untied. When did that happen? “Rainbow Dash. Hold still.” “Uh… Twilight. Are you sure you aren’t going a little overboard?” The nerd gal gave a smug grin. “Not at all. According to Cadance, seducing someone requires a lot of work and effort. How do you think she got my brother to fall for her? I choose this suit especially for this occasion. Now hold still and let me add some makeup.” “Uh… I don’t do makeup.” “You want to win this bet, don’t you?” “Duh.” “Then you have to be at your best. Cadance says that makeup increases the chance of seduction by 15%. And for someone as inexperienced as yourself, you’re gonna need all the help you can get.” She added by puffing some powder on the sports gal’s cheeks. “There. Now you look like a winner.” “Really? Because I feel more like a dressed up doll.” Twilight waved her worries off. “Relax. This’ll totally work.” She then took a quick peek at the far table where Flash sat. He was right on schedule. “Alright. It looks like Flash just finished his lunch. That means he’ll be sitting by the corner side of the cafeteria for a twenty minute brainstorming-strumming session.” “Brain… wha?” “It’s his private moment where he writes new songs.” She explained so casually. “It’s actually kind of efficient. Now – you remember your dialogue tree?” “You mean… this thing?” Rainbow Dash pulled out a long list which seemed to stretch out for miles. “What is it exactly?” “It’s the dialogue tree!” Twilight pulled it over, explaining it one more time. “The moment you start up a conversation with him, choose open A) Greetings and salutations. Flash will either respond positively or neutrally which would lead you to either path B or C. If he responds positively, he’ll invite you to join him. That’s where you put your charm on and seduce him using the pickup line I provided. That’ll be the one under B subsection 1. Should that work, and it will, you two will be cordially engaged in a conversation. Afterwards you’ll slowly put in suggestions and talk about the Spring Dance which will then…” “Did you get this from a video game?” The purple haired girl paused. “N… no?” Rainbow Dash didn’t seem convinced. “Ok I get it. I just need to follow the script. Right?” “Right.” She nodded. “But you also need to put in a little effort. Talking in a deadpanned voice won’t do you any good. Your tone has to be… flirty. You need to increase your charisma to at least 7 and adding a multiplier of 1.50, it should get you within range of unlocking the speech-check.” “Twilight. I just need to know that this’ll work.” Again she paused. “Yes?” “That’s all I needed to hear.” Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and clutched the note in her hand like a holy scripture. She eyed the cafeteria noting that there were still a good chunk of people left but thankfully Flash was situated away from them. All she needed to do was follow the script, read between the lines, flash and little skin, smile, and maybe even do a little light touch and she’ll be golden. But god did she feel silly decking all of this just to attract the attention of one guy. “Right. He’s all alone. Break a leg!” Twilight’s cheer didn’t do much to dissipate her anxiety. Still… there was no backing out now. Rainbow Dash had a reputation to uphold. And she does not chicken out on anything regardless of the circumstances. Deep breaths. The hardest part of the journey was the first step… and this one was no different. Except for Rainbow Dash’s case… it probably was harder because the moment she took the first step to approach she quickly remembered that her shoelaces were untied. Her feet got caught and she fell, stumbled, her papers scattered across the room in a torrent. She heard Twilight screamed at her notes but failed to catch her friend who rolled across the room, hitting two… or perhaps three other students whose food trays spilled all over her ruining her new suit, blemishing her makeup and staining the tips of her hair. The sports gal quickly recovered but then screamed when she slipped on a banana peel, fell a second time onto a trash bin, rolled over to the water dispenser which then spilled all over the floor, which she then slid spectacularly like the world’s largest hockey puck. “Ow…” The girl was able to mutter out, removing the trash bin from her head and spit out the core of an eaten apple. What a splendid epic fail if there ever was one. “You ok?” A hand was offered which she accepted. “Yeah. Just a major wipeout.” She wiped the gravy off her face only to freeze when she came face to face with her mark. “Oooh! F… Flash?” “That looked like it hurt. Are you alright?” Nothing was hurt, other than her pride. “I’m fine. Totally. Check this out.” She forced herself out only to head butt the guy. He stumbled badly, dropping his guitar. “Oh! S… sorry. Here let me get that.” She grabbed it by the neck and for some bizarre reason she used too much force and snapped the whole thing in a spine chilling sound. “My guitar!” “Wha? Oh no. I’m sorry. It was an accident. I didn’t mean to…” Rainbow panicked and tried to fix it but her fumbling around only made it worse as the strings tore themselves up letting out ear-bleeding noise. “You’re making it worse!” “I know! I’m sorry! This isn’t supposed to happen!” “Rainbow Dash stop! You’re gonna…” Flash reached out to her but didn’t get the chance to even get close when Rainbow got wrapped up in the wires with all kinds of condiments acting as adhesive, making it sticky and slippery at the same time. The main body of Flash’s guitar waved around smacking the boy right on the jaw knocking the lights out of him. “Ow…” By the time the deed was done, Rainbow found herself wrapped in the boy’s instrument while said-boy was sprawled on the ground. The whole cafeteria had their eyes on her, Twilight in particular, doing a face-palm maneuver that signified the whole mess. “Rainbow Dash!” The whole room froze over when Vice-Principal Luna arrived in time to witness the whole fiasco play out like a comedic skit. The girl tried to laugh it off but it failed just as badly as her attempt to woo the boy. “Ahehe… hey there VP. Umm… this doesn’t look good for me, does it?” “Vandalizing, destruction of school property and assaulting another student?” The woman tapped her arm, gazing down at the guilty criminal like a judge preparing to deliver the verdict. “I’m torn between detention and suspension right now.” “Uh… there wouldn’t happen to be a hidden option C, is there?” “As a matter of fact, there is.” Luna huffed. “The Principal’s office. Now.” She sulked. “Yes ma’am.” “And will someone help me get Flash to the infirmary?” All Twilight could do was watch as Granny Smith came along to escort RD out of the cafeteria while Luna helped the poor boy up with his band mates in tow. “Well… that could’ve gone better.” Author's Note Rainbow Dash swings and she missed! Sorry for late updates. With the lock down lifted at my place I'm now leaving the sanctity of my home basement and moving back to the big city apartment.
AssistanceChapter 6: Assistance (CHS) Apple Bloom and her friends peeked in around the corner of one of the school’s many classrooms. The school bell had rung in a few minutes ago which signaled the end of class. She spotted her brother by the window, packing his things and getting ready to head home. Her sister called in during lunch time asking for assistance in some delicate matters. She wasn’t quite sure why but Applejack asked her to keep Big Mac out of the house for the evening. A rough guest would say it had something to do with that new look she was trying. She won’t say this out loud but Applejack looked pretty darn tootin this morning. The gal was downright gorgeous in all the right ways. Even Granny Smith admitted that she turned from a beautiful apple to a stunning one. “Alright fellas. Applejack said that we needed to keep my big brother busy for the evening. So no matter what, we have to find a reason for him to go anywhere but home. Anyone here got any ideas?” “Maybe we can get his O & O gang to play a long adventure game.” Sweetie Belle suggested knowing the boy’s gaming habits with his friends. Apple Bloom shook her head in reply. “I already tried that. But it looks like he and the gang only meet every Thursday and Friday. We need to distract him now. Something that’ll keep him occupied.” “Well. What does he like? We don’t exactly know much about your brother. In fact… I don’t think I’ve heard more than two words out of his mouth.” “Well… he likes that silly board game.” Apple Bloom recounted. “Oh! And he’s also in Rarity’s singing troupe. And uh… he likes… cider?” “Apple Bloom… all your family loves cider. We need something else.” They turned their heads over to Scootaloo who laughed at their feeble attempts of planning. “What are you laughing about?” “You guys are too simplistic.” Scoots stated with a smug grin. “Your method of thinking are outdated. If you want someone out of the picture, you need to think outside the box.” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at one another before looking back at the third member of their group. “I take it you have a plan?” She nodded. “Leave everything to me. I call this plan The CMC Rush Job.” (The CMC Rush Job) Big Mac strolls by the hallway innocently enough, whistling into the air with nary a worry, thinking that the day was going to end in blissful normality. His thoughts wandered to home where he’d think of what Granny was making for dinner. He reached his locker and opened it, preparing to stow his books inside, only to pause when he found three pair of eyes glaring back at him from within. Without warning the CMC burst out of his locker and jumped him. “GET HIM!” “I got his legs!” “Gag his mouth!” “RARRR!” The poor boy screamed like a little girl that he never was, terrified out of his mind as he was thrashed to the wall and then to the floor before he was blindfolded, gagged, tied up like a cattle and then thrown to the janitor’s closet and locked in for the night. The CMC then got together and high-five before departing to the nearest ice-cream parlor to celebrate a job well done. xxxxxxxxxx “Eh? Ehhh~?” Scootaloo winked, seeing her friends’ shocking expressions. “Pretty good, right?” “Wow~~~” Apple Bloom droned. “That was… terrible.” “I agree.” “WHAT!? Why? That was a perfect plan! Big Mac’ll never see it coming.” Apple Bloom folded her arms. “No offense Scootaloo, but I think hurting my brother is going a wee bit too far for a distraction. We need something less…” “Traumatizing?” “That’s it.” Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement. “Besides, Big Mac is strong. Like… crazy strong. When he volunteered to be the school mascot last year, he carried the whole football team and cheerleading squad on his shoulder while he was eating a sandwich in one hand inside the costume. I can’t exactly see any of us tackling him to the ground, much less gag him and bag him.” Scoots opened her mouth to protest but decided that they were right. Big Mac was insanely strong for a high-schooler. Taking him down would be like taking down an elephant with a plushy toy. “Alright alright.” She submitted. “I suppose I didn’t take some equations into account. But luckily for you girls, I always have a backup plan. I call it: Winner Winner Turkey Dinner.” “I think you mean chicken dinner.” Sweetie corrected. “No. Turkey! Why in the world would want a small chicken when you can have a whole turkey all for yourself? It’s way more logical to… no never mind. Anyway…” (Winner Winner Turkey Dinner) Big Mac strolls by the hallway innocently enough, whistling into the air with nary a worry. His thoughts wandered to home where he’d think of what Granny was making for dinner. He reached his locker and opened it, preparing to stow his books inside, only to pause when he saw a small pink envelope laying idly by, begging someone to open it. The bright color and the heart shape plastered the front was far too enticing to resist. His name was also written in big bold letters so he was sure that it was addressed to him. There was a hint of perfume on the parchment which made it even more alluring. He looked around, making sure the hallway was clear. Hungrily and curiously he opened it thinking that it was coming from a crush or a secret admirer. But the moment he popped the envelope open, some strange dust puffed to his face making him cough and wheeze. He slowly begins to feel drowsy. That’s when Scootaloo drops in Mission-Impossible style, dressed in spy attire, and shoots a dart from her blowgun, nabbing right onto his neck sending a non-lethal dose of sleeping poison into his systems. “This is Short Wing. Tango is down. Moving on to phase two.” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom then come in and roughly put Big Mac into a wooden crate hammering it tightly before putting it on a trolley then rolling it to the back of the school where a mail van was conveniently waiting for them. The Mailman and Scoots meet up, doing a secret handshake while they load the cargo into the van, putting a stamp that says ‘Deliver to Yakyakistan’. The mailman then pays Scoots a wad of cash and shuts the van before drives off into the distance. Scootaloo flaps the cash in hand like poker cards, grinning evilly. After making sure that the van was gone, the girls celebrate with a well-deserved ice cream. xxxxxxxxxx “WHAT THE HECK Scootaloo!?” Apple Bloom exploded. “You got something against my big brother?” “What? It sounds cool! Don’t you ever wanted to do something spy-like before?” “Yeah but not to hurt him.” “Where are gonna find climbing gear and poison darts anyway?” Sweetie Belle asked. “That’s easy.” Scoots replied holding said gear and poisoned darts. “I got these from Pinkie Pie.” Her friends’ jaws dropped. “Yeah. You wouldn’t believe what kind of stuff she has lying around. She said she used this for a birthday job. Or… did she say break-in? It’s hard to tell when she’s yapping all the time. Anyway, pretty sweet, right?” “And who’s that mailman at the school loading dock?” Scoots shrugged. “Eh… a friend. I smuggle some stuff through her a few times. Where do you think I get my new scooter?” Her two friends shivered at the thought. “Anyway, it’s an awesome plan. I’d say we try it.” “No.” Apple Bloom put her foot down on the matter. “We are not poisoning my brother, or writing him a fake love letter or shipping him Yakyakistan. Besides, it’s way too complicated for a quick job.” “And dangerous.” Sweetie added. “Not to mention we don’t exactly have a lot of time to set all that up. We need something simpler.” “Fine!” Scootaloo threw her hands up in air. “You want simple? I’ll give you simple!” (…Simple) Big mac walks to locker. Scootaloo walks up to Big Mac with a baseball bat. Scootaloo says hi. Big Mac says hi. Scootaloo whacks his head with said baseball bat. Big mac falls down. Scootaloo repeatedly whacks Big Mac till he’s unconscious. Scootaloo walks out of school happy. xxxxxxxxxx “Now you’re just being lazy.” Apple Bloom shook her head letting out a disappointing sigh. They then returned their gaze back to Big Mac who was just about to leave the room. “How do we get him to stay away?” And luckily enough, they didn’t have to. The CMC froze when they saw a pair of hands snake behind Big Mac’s cheeks. (Road to Applejack’s Farm) Applejack couldn’t help but squirm. There was a strange feeling building inside of her chest. A feeling she never knew she could even have. She didn’t know she could feel this way being so close to another guy. Normally when she rode on someone else’s ride she’d feel right as rain. But when it was HIS car, the middle child of the apple family couldn’t help but develop a sense of vulnerability. This was probably the first time she rode on Flash’s car. The vehicle was slicked and decked to the max, matching the driver almost perfectly. You can feel the engine roaring on the front. The amount of horsepower on this baby was probably 10 times stronger than whatever her family could come up with. And don’t even get her started with the décor. The paintjob on this thing alone must’ve cost time, effort… or a lot of money. Heck even the inside of this thing looked downright fancy. There were so many buttons and knobs she didn’t even have a clue to what half of them did. She wouldn’t be surprised if she pressed that big red button and the car would sprout wings and fly over the city. Apple Bloom would find that really cool. But those petty things did little to distract her from the situation she was in. She watched a dozen movies and cheesy romantic series on TV before and riding on a boy’s car can often lead to unprecedented results. In those cheesy scenes, the driver would often engage in a typical seduction technique. Two people trapped inside a metal box going at 40 kilometers an hour? The sky was the limit. If they were a couple, they’d probably be making out right here and now and no one would see a darn thing through these tinted windows. Applejack also made a mental note on Flash’s actions as well. While the boy tried to hide it, she could tell that he was giving out passing glances at her. More precisely… her bare, unprotected legs. Damn it Rarity. Why in the world did you have to make my skirt two inches shorter? Those knee socks practically covered nothing. Did he find them weird? Sexy? His constant blushing suggested the latter which only made the girl even more conscious about her features. Was it possible to sexually harass someone just by looking? Because the other students back in school practically did the same. The boys in particular, scanned her body from neck to foot. Some in a blissful daze while others were… less gentlemanly. She tried to pull her skirt down to cover just a little more but it exposed a bit of her waist in the process which only made Flash’s gaze turn a little upward. Oh god. She was getting anxious. What was she to say? What was she to do? Rarity made no mention of an aftermath. Granted, this was partly her fault for inviting the boy for a well to do dinner but that was just the spur of the moment. Now they were alone, both dressed to the nines and she had absolutely no idea what to do. And this dreadful silence lingering between them was killing her. “So…” She opened up finally which was somehow interrupted by a beep from her phone. It startled them but she caught it. “Uh… oops. Sorry.” It was a message from Apple Bloom. ‘No need to worry about Big Mac.’ Atta girl. She didn’t know how she did it but hopefully her brother will be out for the rest of the night. Applejack smiled and took a mental note to reward her little sister later when she gets back. You can really count on her when the chips are down. But now she needs a way to break this silence. She needed to seal the deal and give him more to work on. What did Rarity say in her lessons again? “The imagination of a young healthy boy can be very useful. You only need to give him some fuel to work with.” “Thanks again for helping me out with the harvesting Flash. I don’t know what I’d do if I go at it alone.” He shrugged. “Don’t mention it. I take it something like this happens a lot in your home?” “Pretty much. Normally we’d do it over the weekend when we have plenty of time. The whole process takes a lot out of us, and I can work up quite the sweat.” “Really?” His ears perked up. “That sounds exhausting.” “Tell me about it.” Applejack stretched her arms upward pushing her chest forward. Her whole body stretched over the shirt which enhanced her frame. “Back in the summer, it got so hot that I had to take out my working overalls. I had to pick up the rest of it with just my shirt and shorts. It was a doosie.” “Ah… ahuh.” He gulped. “But nothing cools down a hard day’s work than chugging down a bottle of my family cider, straight from the cooler. And a nice cold shower back home.” Was it getting hot in here or was his face turning a shade redder than normal? “Y… yeah. Sounds… g…great.” Oh he was down for the count. “Are you talking about apples or something else?” The boy pressed on the accelerator. xxxxxxxxxx They arrived at the farm not a few minutes later. Granny Smith was there looking rather impatient. “Well it’s about time you got here.” She whined. “Was about to think you were about to skip on your chores.” “Wouldn’t dream of it Granny.” Applejack chuckled as her driver exited the vehicle. “Who’s that red fellow?” “That’s Flash.” The boy in question waved back politely though his face was a bit red. “I brought him over to help out with the harvest. Big Mac and Apple Bloom are uh… tied up at the moment. Let me…” She turned to Flash, giving a flirty wink. “… get changed for a second… and I’ll come help out.” Flash let out a breath which felt hotter than usual. Granny didn’t seem to notice or perhaps she chose to ignore her granddaughter’s changed in attitude. “Well whatever. Just hurry on now and you can help out with the extra labor I brought with me." Extra labor? “Awww… dang it! Granny Smith… a little help please.” No… it can’t be. Applejack turned to the source of the new voice only to find a girl dangling by one of the trees. Their eyes locked and the hanging gal let out a childishly awkward smile. “Oh… hey there AJ.” Author's Note Applejack is on a roll but Rainbow Dash ain't out of the fight just yet. She's making a run for it and stealing second base!
