Author's Note
My first Rarijack story (and not at all my last!) It's my first time writing them, so it's a little rusty, but I hope the fluff still affects!
Ikea, Darling
Rarity had said this many times, and she would say it many times more, but it didn’t make her anguish any less genuine (or annoying, according to Applejack).
“THIS! THIS, IS THE WORST. THING. EVER!!!!”
The fashionista shook and shivered in her usual over the top fashion, causing Applejack to roll her eyes and question once more the path her life had led her on.
“Rarity, it’s just a chair. It doesn’t bite.”, Applejack said with an exasperated if slightly fond huff. She couldn’t deny that there was something awfully cute about the way Rarity was now hiding behind her own cat, who continued to lick herself without a single bother given.
Not that Applejack would ever admit that to herself, let alone to Rarity.
“But it DOES come with INSTRUCTIONS!”, Rarity shrieked, batting at the booklet with a blue baseball bat, causing her cat Opal to dash off outside the room.
“Rainbow was wondering where that went…”, Applejack noted with a smirk. Rarity stood up and composed herself, allowing a hint of humor in her eyes.
“A lady must be able to defend herself from all sorts of things! Mosquitos, Salesmen, Pinkie Pie on a sugar rush…”
“And apparently Swedish furniture instruction booklets.”, Applejack teased, and while Rarity harrumphed at first, she finally let out that little laugh that sent Applejack’s heart soarin’…
“No, not now! I told you we’d deal with this later! I have something a lot more urgent to do right now!”, Applejack stilled her beating heart and bent down to pick the booklet while Rarity swapped her panicking outfit for a construction outfit in 2 seconds flat.
The softly carpeted floor of Rarity’s cozy bedroom was an ideal place to sit and plan, as Applejack found as she and Rarity sat next to each other, booklet in hand.
“All right now, let’s see here… We’ve got 9 steps, which is pretty simple! 4 long screws, 4 short screws, 2 itty bitty screws, a few cleaners, an alum key… Yeah, we should be done with this in about 15 minutes, give or take! You still with me, Rarity?”, Applejack asked, but of course, Rarity was already bored out of her mind and slightly asleep on her side. A small stream of drool was peaking from her mouth edges and but Applejack bit her tongue, not wanting to embarrass her friend.
She did nudge her, though. “Rarity, come on! This chair is for you, after all!”
Rarity shook her sleep off and pouted at Applejack, who merely raised an eyebrow. “Applejack, I know, but it’s SO BORING and I’m afraid of getting hurt by those screws and you KNOW I’m not good at this kind of stuff and…”, Rarity began, before noticing the look in Applejack’s eyes.
She turned sheepish and rubbed the back of her head apologetically. “Whoopsie! I… I was being selfish again, wasn’t I?”
Applejack giggled, and Rarity felt her heart skip a beat. That laugh, the way it showed Applejack being open for once… It was nearly as liberating to Rarity as it was to Applejack. She sighed fondly, before stopping herself.
“Oh it’s ok, Rarity, I get it! This CAN be hard. But if we work together, we’ll get it done in no time, and I’ll even throw in some Apple cider for the two of us! What do you say?”, Applejack offered with a homey grin, and Rarity relented.
“All right, I’ll try. But you better don’t slack off!”, Rarity joked and winked, and Applejack thanked whoever was up there again for the incredible twist of fate that had brought this totally different yet wonderfully perfect girl into her life. Applejack didn’t believe in soulmates, but if they were real, Rarity was the proof.
Pulling the sleeves on her plaid shirt back, Applejack directed her attention to step 1, Rarity peeking over her shoulder and trying in vain to decipher the information. “So… We need to take those little thingies with the spirals and do what with them?”
“Woah there, stallion, woah!”, Applejack joked and she mosied along over to the box containing the parts, and specifically the ones she needed for step one: the base and back of the chair, wrapped in see through nylon.
Lifting the parts with ease on one finger, Applejack couldn’t help but brag a bit, not knowing what an effect this had on Rarity, who had always been… Impressed with Applejack’s incredible strength. Her eyes were practically sparkling like the diamonds she adored so much, and her smile was intoxicating.
“You never cease to amaze me, Applejack! How DO you do it?”, she asked, and Applejack, kissing her guns in a “rainbow” impression, chuckled.
“You mean, not including my magical powers? A whole lot of elbow grease! Which is what you need to start applyin’ if we’re gonna get this here chair done!”, Applejack said, throwing the bottom towards Rarity, who barely managed to catch it.
Coming with the top part on her arms, Applejack asked Rarity to position the bottom so they can attach the two halves together. “All you gotta do is hold it straight, ok?”
Rarity nodded, understanding, yet when Applejack moved down to place the half she missed since Rarity had let the bottom move.
Applejack raised an eyebrow, confused. “Eh, Rarity?”
“Yes?”, Rarity asked, clearly lost.
“…I need you to keep the half in place, not move it.”
“Oh, sorry!”, Rarity apologized sheepishly, heat rising to her cheeks. She was normally adept at following instructions, even if chair building wasn’t her forte. What had caused her to make such a simple mistake?
“Never mind, no need to apologize! Just keep her steady like a sweet apple acres apple tree!”, Applejack instructed, and they tried the move again, but again, Rarity’s hands accidentally shook too much and Applejack missed again.
“Rarity, I say this as your friend: This is the easiest step in the whole process and Snips and Snails could do this with their eyes closed.”
Rarity let out an exasperated sigh. “THIS is the EASY bit?!”
Applejack was gonna lay out another snarky comment, but, recognizing that the conversation was taking a dangerous turn to a conflict, she took a deep breath and knelt down to connect the two halves by herself. “All right, let’s just forget this step and move on.”
Rarity’s face flashed disappointment as she crawled to the other side while Applejack knelt down where Rarity was, her tongue out in concentration. Rarity felt her spirits rise a little: She loved seeing Applejack at work, because the farmer girl clearly loved doing it. It was just so soothing to see her excel.
And it was for her… She always showed up for her…
Rarity was getting so distracted… “Admiring” Applejack’s work ethic and dedication to those she helped that she didn’t even hear it the first or second time, but she DEFINITELY heard the third time.
“RARITY!”, Applejack suddenly shouted, making Rarity jump from her seated position. Startled, Rarity removed the hair strands from her eyes and in a very confused voice asked “What?”
Applejack’s arms outstretched as clear signs of frustrations lighted up on her face. “What? What do you mean what?! Can you PLEASE pass me the long screws?”, Applejack asked with way more than a hint of annoyance, and Rarity huffed.
“You know, you don’t have to snap at me for not hearing you!”, Rarity shot back, and Applejack, despite knowing it was right, crossed her arms and huffed too.
“Look, it doesn’t inspire confidence when (those aren’t the screws those are the cleaners) you haven’t been able to (No, Rarity, screws, those are the wheels) get one darn thing right so…”
Applejack suddenly found herself barely lifted in Rarity’s arms, the clothed designer sheepishly laughing as she realized her mistake.
“…Rarity, last time I checked, I’m NOT a screw!”
Applejack got off and sighed audibly, and Rarity let out a frustrated grunt. “Ah! I hate this!”
Applejack let out an exasperated groan of her own. “We’ve BARELY started! Come on, Rarity, we’ve faced off literal magical monsters! A chair is no big for us! Well, maybe it is for you, for some godforsaken reason, but it shouldn’t be!”
“Easy for you to say!”, Rarity countered, getting pouty and moody. “You spend all day farming apples and saying cute things like “Aw shucks!” and “I Reckon”!”
Applejack wasn’t sure how that last part connected to anything, but she definitely recognized the beginning of a silly argument. With Rarity, they were not a rarity, pun quite intended.
Taking a deep breath, Applejack placed a comforting hand on the still pouting Rarity, who was blushing from her incompetence. “It’s just a silly chair. I can’t even do the first step.”
“Look, no need to get all teen angsty over it. Maybe we just need a small break.”
“A break? We just started!”, Rarity said, and Applejack chuckled lightly.
“Now who’s sounding like an Apple?”, Applejack quipped, not realizing the sort of implication one could take from that line.
“I wouldn’t mind being one. I’d take her surname… She’s too proud to give up hers, the dear…”, Rarity thought, heart beating to the tune of Applejack’s footsteps as the latter approached.
“It’s ok, really. You’ve never done this before, and I know I can be… A little tough as a teacher. Let’s cool off our nerves with some grub.”
A rumbling could suddenly be heard, and Applejack instinctually covered her stomach with her hat, a pink tint on her cheeks. “I guess I need it more than I think.”
Rarity, sensing the opportunity to treat her friend, booped her nose and waltzed down the stairs. “Never fear, Rarity is here!”
Applejack, watching her glide down the stairs like the princess she was, rested her head on her lying arms and smirked. “Somehow, I’m even more alarmed.”
Rarity fake laughed, but her smile told a different story. “Hardy har har. I’ll be laughing last when you see what I have ready for you!”, Rarity retorted as she slid into the kitchen and prayed that her little gift was still fresh. That Youtube video had been useful, but Rarity knew that she would be lucky to have a competent serving for her first try. Still, it would be worth it if it made that girl smile…
Applejack walked down the stairs slowly, hands in her pockets, whistling a merry tune as she took in the sights of Rarity’s spacey home: Racks of ready made clothes, fine jewels, gems and diamonds shimmered in the sunlight and walls adorned with framed photographs greeted her in the “living” room that was as much of an over the top production as the one who lived in it.
Not that Applejack minded; the mess was very Rarity, and Applejack could never have enough of that, at least, when she wasn’t getting pissed off about it.
“It’s funny, ain’t it?”, she thought as she removed a special photograph from the photo booth at Equestria Land and gazed upon it with a blissful smile, making circles with her thumb on Rarity’s part of the picture. “You drive me nuts, but I just can’t live without you.”
“OK, I’M READY, GO TO THE DINING TABLE PLEASE!”, Rarity called out, and Applejack hurriedly put the photo back and leapt onto a chair near the dining table, smiling pleasantly at Rarity who came in with a dish underneath a towel, flamingo pink oven gloves keeping it off the ground.
“What’s underneath the towel? Screws?”, Applejack couldn’t help but banter, and Rarity smirked flirtatiously.
“There’s something a lot better than that, but you have to close your eyes!”, she said in a sing song voice, and Applejack rolled said eyes in humor.
“Figure I better inform to you that I’m not 6 years old anymore.”, Applejack joked, but she did then close her eyes, and Rarity giggled in anticipation and dread as she removed the towel.
The first thing that caught Applejack’s attention was the smell. It was akin to one of Granny Smith’s stories, or to the fireplace back at the farm: warm, soothing, welcoming. It smelt so familiar, but it couldn’t be that, right?
The second thing that caught Applejack’s attention was that she was wrong: it was exactly that. Rarity nervously awaited her reaction as she looked down to see that yes, this WAS the Apple family’s favorite and signature apple pie sitting right in front of her, begging her to taste it.
Applejack looked up, surprised by the unexpected gesture, the beginnings of a blush forming on her face.
Rarity, sensing disaster, turned with her back to Applejack, dreading the disappointed look on her face.
“Oh no, it’s terrible, isn’t it? You would tell, you probably bleed apple pie! I tried to follow the recipe but it was REALLY hard, and Apple Pie is a little… Messier than what I usually eat, but I REALLY wanted to get this right for you and…”, Rarity rambled on and on, beginning to wonder if she should throw the pie away and start over with a new town and a new name, like Tabitha St. Germain, yes, that’s a good name, when suddenly…
She felt two sturdy and firm arms wrap around ever so softly around her waist, and the warm, caressing presence of Applejack’s head on her shoulder. It took every fiber in Rarity’s being not to sink in to the embrace, maybe even steal a kiss.
Applejack’s words sent a delightful jolt through Rarity’s heart. “It’s perfect, Sugarcube. Thank you.”
Rarity cascaded into a flattered giggle, placing a hand on Applejack’s hair and stroking it ever so slightly. “I must say, darling, you’re making me blush!”
Parting way too soon from the hug, Applejack sat down at the table to cut herself and Rarity a slice of the pie. She examined the texture out of curiosity and looked back up at Rarity, who was anticipating her reaction. “It’s a little too soft, notice how it’s a little too gooey?”. Rarity nodded, jotting down a note. “Now, don’t worry.”, Applejack reassured with a comforting smile, pointing the spoon at her host. “For a first time, this is really impressive! You need to put it in a little more time in the oven next time, and also try to knead the dough just a little longer, but honest for goodness, this is an excellent first try! Really!”
“I know you mean it, darling. I’ll try and do better next time.”, Rarity said, clearly proud that she had managed to impress Applejack.
“You don’t need to do it, ya know? I know this isn’t your passion.”, Applejack said matter of factly, taking her forkful and chewing it. “You’re into fashion, I’m into farming and apples, it’s just who we are.”
“…I’m also into apples.”, Rarity said, beet red now. “…And I like doing it. I may not totally get it, but it’s what you love doing, darling. I want to respect that, to respect you.”
Applejack had the goofiest shy grin from all that genuine love, and as she did she realized that there was another question bubbling up in her chest, and this one was one she could ask without panicking. Taking another forkful of pie and nodding delightfully at its not perfect but damn good flavor, she tried to choke out the question. “Um… Rarity?”, she began, mouth full of pie.
Rarity would have once told her off for her bad table manners, but she had come to accept them as another lovable quirk about her, though she still informed her in the subtlest and least condescending way she could. “Applejack…”, she started, her finger pointed at her own mouth.
“Huh? Oh, right!”, Applejack answered, and she swallowed first, smacking her lips in delight. “Sorry, Rarity.”
“No need, darling. It’s how you operate.”, Rarity reassured genuinely, and Applejack reminded herself what she wanted to ask in the first place.
“Oh, um, see, I wanted to ask you…”, this was such an odd question. There was no need to ask this, she was just making their relationship darn more complicated!
…But she needed to ask. Just… Just to know.
“How come you call me… Darling?”
Rarity broke into a fit of giggles, before waving off the question. “DARLING, I call EVERYONE darling, darling!”
“I know, I know, just… Well…”, Applejack started, not sure how to continue. “It’s just… Well, you seem to say it slightly differently and more frequently with me.”
Applejack regretted having said anything the moment it came out, but the flushed Rarity seemed to wave it off too. “Well… I mean… You DO call me sugarcube a lot too.”
“I call everyone sugarcube.”, Applejack answered matter of factly, forking in more pie, confused by the question and blind to the déjà vu.
Rarity’s fingers were now jumpily touching each other and that floaty trailing tone Rarity took when she was embarrassed began to rise in prominence. “Well, darling… You also call me that more than the others, it feels.”
The two girls blushed profusely, not knowing what to say at first. The Apple Pie slices were still warm, but nowhere near as warm as the girls cheeks. Applejack knew she had to tell the truth, but not THAT truth!
…Perhaps a truth that was easier to say was in order. And not any less true.
An orange hand clasped a white one and Rarity looked up at the farmer girl who was hiding her face with her hat. “…Well, course I do! You’re my best friend…”
“…I reckon…”, she added with a playful smile, now knowing that Rarity found that cute.
“…My thoughts exactly.”, Rarity replied, squeezing the hand on the table, looking away.
They both continued to blush, before Applejack looked at the time. “Oh shoot, it’s getting late! We better get back to work!”
“Oh, do we have to? Can’t we just let that chair float away in the wind and never think about it?”, Rarity asked hopefully and Applejack shook her head.
“No can do, Rarity. You need this chair, period. Besides, you don’t mind working hard on a pie, so why is a chair any different?”, Applejack asked, genuinely curious.
Rarity sighed dramatically, but Applejack didn’t roll her eyes this time. She slumped into her chair and crossed her arms. “It’s not the hard work… You saw what we were like back there! We’re good at other things, but if we have to work on something like this together, we just… Clash all the time. And I don’t want to argue again.”
Applejack moved over to Rarity and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Now, hold on, Rarity! That wasn’t a silly argument, we just butted heads a little! We tend to do that a lot!”, Applejack chuckled lightly, selling her light tone. Rarity looked up with a sad face.
“I just don’t want to annoy you, all right?”
Rarity really was upset. Applejack hadn’t considered that their fights had had any effect on their relationship: they were silly squabbles most of the time, and they were resolved nearly instantly.
But clearly Rarity didn’t think so. Clearly Rarity was afraid she was hurting their friendship.
Clearly Applejack had to prove that their love was infinite.
“…Too late for that, sugarcube. You drive me crazy all the time.”
Rarity let out a dramatic gasp and Applejack then smiled warmly and stroked her cheek. “But I guess I like being nuts if I’m nuts with you.”
“AWWW!”, Rarity cooed and she hugged Applejack again, who enjoyed the embrace.
“…Everyone has silly fights. I’m not gonna deny that you annoy me. And I am sure as heck I can be a real pain in the butt. Sometimes… Sometimes I get scared that we’ll lose this too. In the end of the day, though, I know that I can count on you and you can count on me. That’s all that matters in my book.”, Applejack explained again, and Rarity nodded before parting from the hug and grinning at Applejack.
“I’ll try harder this time, I promise! And I won’t be… Well, distracted.”, Rarity said, hoping Applejack didn’t guess the source of her distraction.
And so, the girls were back at it. Refueled and reenergized with a desire to get this done, Applejack and Rarity restarted step one, but this time they did it differently: Rarity focused and put some elbow grease into it, and Applejack tried to be more patient and less stress inducing.
They attached the chair halves (Rarity used one of her heels to keep the base part down), they screwed in the screws (Applejack taught Rarity how to drive them in just right, and their hands touched), they attached the parts that would help raise and lower the chair and the back of the chair (working together in perfect synchronization, listening and instructing), they attached the wheels (Applejack couldn’t help but mess around and juggle the wheels to impress Rarity, and Rarity decided to apply a quick coat of paint to make them look like rolling apples) and finally all that was left with all the parts together was to add the rubber pillows that would make for great back support.
“Ok, how do we get this part done?”, Rarity asked, listening carefully.
“They’ve got straps, see?”, Applejack explained and Rarity nodded, wiping the sweat off of her brow with a clean cloth and then wiping Applejack’s sweat off too.
“All we gotta do is buckle them by bringing one part from the bottom to the top of the back of the chair, and the other part top to bottom.”
“Got it!”, Rarity enthused, and they attached them in zero seconds flat.
“So… What’s next?”, Rarity asked, and Applejack giggled.
“Nothin’! You’re done! You did it!”, Applejack cheered, and Rarity had the biggest smile on her face as she grabbed Applejack and jumped up and down.
“No, silly, WE did it! We’re a good team, after all!”, Rarity declared, and she began to dance a little to herself, proud of how she succeeded, even if it was really easy.
Applejack loved seeing this, and decided to join in on the fun. “Come ‘ere, sugarcube!”, she said, slapping her knee and spinning Rarity around, Rarity giggling like crazy.
“Applejack, you flirt!”
Applejack winked and she kept spinning Rarity around the room, Rarity holding on to dear life before taking over and leading, as they danced and danced around the room.
“You’re not the only dancer here, darling!”, Rarity said, and they kept circling the room laughing and smiling.
Applejack smirked and dipped her. “You sure about that?”
Rarity blushed and repeated the move to Applejack. “Perhaps…”
Suddenly, they both burst out laughing and fell on the floor, Rarity’s hair all over the place, Applejack’s hat now dangling off her shoe.
They laughed and laughed, and then they opened their eyes and realized how close they were.
Gulps echoed across the room, hands brushed against each other, and awkward smiles were complimented by red cheeks.
Rarity blew a strand of hair away from her eyes. She was so caring, so different, shining like a star… Applejack knew she had never seen a more beautiful person than her. “…Rarity, I… Um… I…”
Applejack’s shy smile and golden hair. She was so strong, but she was also soft, soothing. She smelt like home. She felt like love. “Applejack, I was… Well…”
Suddenly, the two girls realized that maybe there was a way to reaffirm their friendship. Maybe there was a way to prove they were inseparable.
“…Rarity… I don’t care if we butt heads until we’re old and grey. I… I could never leave you.”
“I feel the same way, Applejack. In fact… I really want to prove to you that I think highly of you.”
“I… I reckon I would like to do that too.”
The two of them kept staring at each other.
“…You complete me. I want to be a better person because of you.”, Rarity confessed.
“You showed me that people can be different. I guess you showed me that I like different. I like how you open up my life to new directions.”, Applejack confessed.
Their faces were very close, their eyes were fluttering shut, their lips drew nearer.
“You shine like a diamond, darling.”
“You’re as sweet as apple pie, sugarcube.”
Their lips connected like two puzzle pieces that didn’t seem to match at first, but made an ever so lovely sound when they clicked. It wasn’t a dramatic kiss, not like what Rarity had always imagined, and it wasn’t the kiss on the cheek Applejack had thought would be the most she could ever dare. Their souls embraced as their kiss continued, soft, soothing, caressing.
They finally parted, but Rarity merely scooched over to Applejack’s side and snuggled up to her. For a while they said nothing, just interlaced pinkies and breathed in synchronization.
Finally, they spoke, but they didn’t need many words.
“…I love you.”, Rarity said, staring into her eyes.
“…I love you too.”, Applejack replied, looking into her eyes.
They didn’t separate for the rest of the day. They just rested there together, two halves finally attached.