Night at the Mall

by Wheezyandbreezy

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Rarity, Romance, Adventure
Length: 6354

Three friends receive some unasked for self improvement.

The experiment that Twilight, Applejack and Rarity are performing at the mall is interrupted by the arrival of magically imbued items from Equestria. The hunt for them will wind up answering the question they set out to solve.

Story premise and collaboration by JBlaser.

Published 2023-02-07 19:20:00 UTC
Last updated 2023-02-07 19:20:00 UTC

That Doesn't Go There!

"Rarity fer the luhv a all that is hoe lee, just pick a bracelet and let's git gone. We been here fer HALF N ARE!" Applejack snapped from under the mountain of bags and boxes that she was holding.

Rarity gasped in outrage. "Applejaqueline!" Rarity snapped the name she used whenever Applejack was in trouble. It wasn't her name, and it drove her nuts, but that just made Rarity use it all the more. "I'm surprised at you! How many times must I tell you proper accessorization is essential for a lady!"

"Oh please!" Applejack said as she carefully put the pile of goods on the floor. "Y'all think any beau is gonna notice ev'ry lil goo gaw n bauble?" She smirked as she straight arm lifted the sales counter, and the terrified sales clerk, into the air. "Naw missy. Fellers are all about physicality!"

Rarity grimaced at the unladylike display of brawn. "Oh please Applejack. Twilight dahling, help me out here, weren't you saying something the other day about humans responding to fetching colour patterns like certain animals do? . . . Twilight? Twiiiiliiiiiiight!" She called several times, but the purple girl clearly wasn't listening.

She, as usual, had her nose planted firmly in a book, but with this particular tome she seemed to be in rapt wonder. "Yes Rarity, that's a very nice hat." She mumbled absentmindedly.

Applejack chuckled to herself. "Don't bother with this'n Rares." The farm girl hoisted the book worm straight into the air by the hips and placed her down beside where they had begun to loiter. Twilight for her part was completely unaware she was being moved about like a mannequin. "She's been wrapped up in er book about. . . Hand talkin er somethin."

Finally Twilight's monkey lizard brain felt the need to observe its surroundings and she shook her head. "What? Who?" She realized that she was no longer in the music store she thought they had entered when her mind lost itself in the pages of the book, and was instead at a table in the food court being offered a steaming basket of fries. "Oh, sorry girls." She smiled apologetically. "It's just that I found this really amazing book on deaf culture. It's like this whole other world parallel to ours!"

Both of her friends rolled their eyes at their friend's love of the esoteric. "Yeah that's great Twi. Say settle a argument fer."

"AN argument, Ms Applejaqueline. Remember all those talks we had about grammar." Rarity said, with more annoyance than most would've considered appropriate.

Applejack blankly met the piercing gaze. "Settle UH argument." She said overemphasizing the Wesley Willisian grammar. "Which do fellers like more. Distractin em with all manner a superfluous nonsense."

"Or by ruining one's natural delicacy by trying to bulk up like a bodybuilder?!" Rarity asked in an accusing tone.

"Uh huh." The book worm responded, eyes once again devouring the information like a rescued cast away at a buffet.

They both looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "Uhm, Twilight, it was an either or sort of a question."

"That's nice Pinkie." Twilight muttered.

"TWILIGHT!" Both shouted. Applejack pounding the table with her fist, causing the various foods and drinks to jump.

"Huh! What?" She saw the annoyed scowls on both of her friend's faces. "Oh, I'm sorry you guys. Really, I am. It's just when I get really interested in a new book I kinda block out everything else." She placed the book determinedly away and firmly snapped the seal on her book bag in place like a holy seal banishing the unhallowed parchments back to the pit from whence they came. "There! Now." She folded her hands neatly in front of her and looked at them both. "What was the question again? I'm all ears."

Rarity sighed in exasperation and summarized the question to take full advantage of her friend's brief moment of lucidity. "Which do young gentlemen callers respond better to, style, or physique?"

Twilight genuinely pondered for a brief moment. "Well, there's several different things that can trigger the human mating response. Some might, like Applejack says, respond more to physical prowess as a display of a healthy breeding partner." Applejack smirked and Rarity frowned. "Then again some might see a female displaying high attention to detail and a drive to appear desirable as a beneficial trait for someone to feather a nest with." The faces traded places. Twilight shrugged her shoulders. "And in some cases it can be as simple as finding a common interest."

"But which uh the two is the case more often would ya say?" Applejack asked.

Twilight raised her open hands. "I couldn't say off the top of my head. I haven't done enough research into the subject." A light came into the bookworm's violet eyes. "You know, it might be fun to do a field experiment! I mean we'd have a hilariously sized sample group, but we might do a little experiment right here at the mall! Even if it's not very informative it'll still be a good data point for future reference."

The farm girl grinned. "Ah see what cher gettin at!" She pointed a challenging finger at the fashionista. "Let's have us a little wager! Prove who's method is more potent."

Rarity returned the challenging smirk. "First one to get a young gentleman to invite her to a film unprompted wins."

"But if Ah win." Applejack said with an evil glimmer in her eye. "You gotta come with me n R.D. to our workout routine every mornin fer uh. . . Let's say six weeks. Get some meat on your bones!"

Rarity gasped at the very notion of getting up at six a.m. every weekday for six weeks straight to suffer tortures no longer allowed by the rules of civilized warfare, but her pride wouldn't allow her to back down. "Oh! Fine you're on! But if you looooose." She held out the notice torturously long to let the dread sink in. "I get to give you a full makeover! And you have to wear it to school for six weeks. Hair, makeup, eyebrows, nails, piercings, and all!"

Applejack went pale. "Oh that ain't fair! Picture day's coming up! Y'all cain't expect me to have y'all's demented fru fru gaudiness immortalized in print!"

"Oooooh?" Rarity asked, again holding off the note for emphasis. "Is someone suddenly not so sure in her position? Scared I'll prove you wrong?"

Applejack popped to her feet. "I ain't scared a nuthin! Y'all got yerself a wager!"

Rarity extended a braceleted wrist and a perfectly manicured hand. Applejack spat in her hand and tried to shake, but Rarity snatched her's away. "APPLEJACK REALLY!" She cried in disgust. She snatched a napkin off of the desk and wiped furiously at the farm girl's strong hands. "You and Rainbow, every time, I swear!"

"Okay! We've got our experiment!" Twilight called out triumphantly. "And even though the observer's not supposed to be involved I guess I'll be the control group." They made their way to the central hub of the mall where all the foot traffic had to go through to get anywhere else in the large multistory building. Rarity stood on one side of the mall, propping herself up in as alluring a fashion as she could. Applejack took the other side, leaning casually against a column.

Twilight sat on a bench in the middle between the two so that she could observe both comfortably. She nodded at the two of them to signal that the experiment had officially begun. Applejack and Rarity nodded and smirked at each other. All three sat in their various positions, all watching diligently for their cue. Rarity would arch her back and flutter her eyelashes at the passersby, but most simply smiled back at her and moved on.

Applejack leaned in a way that accentuated her powerful leg and well defined abdominal muscles, but not one of the many groups of young men in the mall that day stopped to flirt with her. Twilight sat furiously typing into her phone, taking notes on the weather during the experiment, the general mood of the population being studied, and the time as it slowly passed. They all noticed, sooner rather than later that the experiment was going poorly.

Not one single eligible bachelor had stopped to flirt with either of the test subjects in the first two hours of observation. Even Twilight's obsession with science waned in the utter tedium of observation. From her book bag the informative text she'd been so engrossed in called to her seductively for her to explore the wondrous secrets locked within. She tried her best to resist, but after the three hour mark she lied to herself saying, "Eh, I'll glance up at them regularly. I can multitask!"

But she didn't, she immediately dove head first into the tome and was lost to the world instantly in its depths. She found the utility of using the thousands of hand signs to be inspiring. As the experiment wound on however it became harder and harder to read due to the loud music pouring in from the music store near her perch.

Rarity stood, feet aching from the heels she was in, back sore from the awkward position she was assuming, fuming at the lack of attention. Suddenly however her vision was filled by a sea of yellow cloth, bordered by barrier islands of rippling muscles. The man had long shaggy yellow hair sticking up under his backwards facing snapback baseball cap. He stared down at her, clearly having something on his mind, but not being exactly certain how to phrase it.

Rarity blushed momentarily at his proximity and staring eyes, but she quickly saw her chance and went for it. "Well hello there big boy. What can I do for you?" She purred in her most seductive voice.

The man's vapid expression once again took a minute to process the remark. "Like Ummm. What you can do for me is like."

"Yeeeees?" She said, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

"So could you like Ummm, move so I can get to the protein shake machine?" Rarity's face went blank. She realized almost as an afterthought that she had been propped all day against the protein shake dispenser. She silently shuffled away from the machine and the hulking man smiled. "Thanks brah!" He held up his phone to the machine and it began to dispense a disgustingly thick white mush that made Rarity gag. The man cocked his head at her and smiled. For just a moment her hope rose again.

"Do you want one?" He nodded at her diminished frame. "You look like you need to carbo Ow!" He shouted more in surprise than pain as the thick white drink in the disposable paper cup proceeded to leap off of the stand and vault off of the muscle man's head.

Rarity gasped as she watched the inanimate object scamper away like a vermin across the floor. "Some magic from Equestria must've slipped into our world! I've got to tell the others!" She ran off without saying another word to the befuddled gym bro.

The man in the yellow shirt simply stood there rubbing the spot on his head in utter confusion. "I think I need to hydrate. I must be hallucinating."

Applejack still leaned against her pillar, but with one giant overriding factor obstructing her mission to tempt the youth at the local mall. She was asleep. She leaned against the post snoring like a chainsaw with a cold engine, reluctant to start up, until she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. She flinched and snapped upright. "Huh, who what. . . Well howdy." She said, summoning up all of her feminine wiles.

"Howdy, yes, Hrmm." The very well dressed, rather attractive man in the tight black button up shirt, impeccably ironed white pants, and expensive looking brown loafers said dismissively with an accent similar to that of our favorite fashionista, but robbed of all charm. He stuck out a single finger exposing his matching golden bracelets and ring. "Sorry to wake you from your nap in public, but I simply must know. Where did you get that simply exquisite purse on your shoulder, and do they have a satchel equivalent?"

Applejack raised her eyebrow high on her head. "Purse? I don't wear no. . ." She looked down on her shoulder and to her astonishment she saw a white faux leather strap, leading down to a small bag, barely large enough for a large wallet, a phone, or a few necessaries. The sheer uselessness of the garment offended her sense of pragmatism. She quickly tore the bag off of her shoulder like it was a venomous serpent poised to strike. "I don't wear no purse!" She shouted as she flung the bag away.

The rather attractive, if not a bit too scrawny in Applejack's opinion, man raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow in confusion. "Then why are you wearing a purse?" He pointed to her other shoulder and sure enough the bag had mysteriously reappeared on her other shoulder. She tore it off and flung it from her again, and again it resumed its place on her shoulder, resting gently against her hip. A short cartoonish fight broke out between the offending bag and the outraged farm girl. The man backed away slowly, an uncomfortable look across his angular face. "Uhm, well you appear to be having a wardrobe malfunction so. . ." He strutted away as quickly as he could without working up a sweat.

"Get offa me ya demoniacal so and so!" The orange girl shouted as she contemptuously flung it over the railing. She watched in shock as the purse landed on the second story and scuttled away, using the thin faux leather strap like a pair of legs to scuttle with. "Some kahnda magic from the other world must be leakin inta this'n again!" She breathed to herself. "I gotta tell Twahlahght!"

The two girls met their friend in the middle, calling out in unison, "Twilight!"

"I'm watching!" The book worm snapped in embarrassment, quickly hiding the book beneath her bag.

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Twilight, we're not concerned with that just this moment! We've got a serious problem."

"Yeah, magic from that pony place is possessin thangs in this here mall!" Applejack said.

Twilight rolled her eyes and waved a hand dismissively. "Oh girls! How could that be? We're nowhere near the portal, and besides my magic detector would. . . Oh!" She snapped and turned in frustration towards the music store. "They should really install a door to that place so they don't disturb the." She gasped when she saw a pair of headphones dancing about on their own, bending in half like one head banging to the rhythm of the heavy metal song that was blaring in the music store.

"Girls! Equestrian magic is leaking into our world again!" Twilight called out in shock.

Both the farmer and the fashionista rolled their eyes. "Really, you don't say?" They said in unison.

Never Skip Leg Day!

A plan of action was quickly formed and executed. They decided that they would stay after the mall had closed to try and capture the various magical items without drawing too much attention. Each hid in a different place, waiting for the lights to dim, and the cages to slowly descend. Finally the mall was theirs for the hunting.

They reconvened near the bench and discussed their battle plan. "Okay, so we're looking for a protein shake, a purse."

"Hand bag." Rarity reflexatorily corrected. Both frowned at her.

"Hand bag, whatever." Applejack said, rolling her eyes. "And a pair of headphones. So what I think we should do is go after the pur." She caught herself. "Handbag first. Little bugger was fast. Ah think it'll take all three of us to catch it."

Rarity nodded. "Yes, the little drink ran straight into the gym, and I have seen it anywhere else since. So I don't think it's a priority."

"Yes." Twilight said in agreement. "We don't want these things splitting us up and THERE IT IS!" Twilight snapped rushing headlong towards the music store.

Applejack gawked at her friend's lack of attention to the plan. "Or not! She said as she scrambled to follow. "Come on Rares!" Just as she was about to catch up to Twilight the purse scampered up and tangled its long strap in the farm girl's boots and tripped her. She fell to the carpeted for with an audible thunk. "Gosh dern little thing you! Git back here! After it Rarity!" She called as she scrambled to her feet.

"Got it! Oop! Almost! Gah!" Rarity said as she made several near swipes at the creature, but it quickly outstripped her by several lengths.

"Well common girl! Get the lead out!" The farm girl called out in annoyance as she quickly passed the fashionista.

Rarity huffed and puffed as she called after the quickly disappearing orange girl. "You try!" Huff. "Running in!" Puff. "High Heels!" She had to slump down on a bench and hold her side. She felt a gentle nudge at her side and saw a drink cup present itself to her to refresh her. "Oh, thank you." She said politely, taking the cup in hand. In her oxygen deprived state it didn't even occur to her that she had just grabbed the protein shake she'd been after. It was only when she tasted the disgustingly thick, tasteless, chalky sludge that she realized her faux pas.

"Oh! You little devil you!" She said, but before she could secure her grasp on the offending beverage slipped quickly out of her hand. The cup waddled its way into the gym. Rarity chased the cup into the large musty room, noticing neither that the gate opened before her to let her in, nor that it closed behind her, locking her in. Applejack fell for the same trap, the handbag luring her into a clothes store and shutting behind her.

"Alright you mischievous merchandise! Where ya at! Come on! Come on out!" She grinned as she saw the purse come waddling slowly out. "There ya." She stopped and audibly gulped as the several mannequins turned their heads in unison towards her. They all began to dismount themselves and walk towards her menacingly. She turned around and tried to escape, but the gate was firmly closed and locked. She pressed her back against the gate and screamed, holding her arms over her face.

One mannequin held up the purse. "Oh Em gee! I LOVE your purse!"

Rarity chased the protein shake into the gym, chasing it over weight benches, and through tangles of elastic exercise band. Finally she got the drink cornered and panted heavily as she gloated. "Hah! Finally! Now I'm gonna." She stopped when she heard the sound of shuffling behind her. She screamed and fled the corner, elastic bands slithering after her like snakes. She ran past a series of racked barbells falling off of the wall like executioners axes.

She was rolled off of her feet by several pilates balls straight into a punching bag that launched her bodily into the air. She landed on a treadmill that began to slowly activate just as she reclaimed her balance. "Woah! Stop! Please!" She cried out as the machine kept attempting to pull her feet out from under her. She tried to stop and let the machine pull her gently off the edge, but just as she did so a giant weight machine thudded up behind the treadmill, slamming the heavy stack of weights down like a hydraulic hammer, threatening to crush her as she did so. She yelped and sprinted towards the front of the machine, desperately reaching for the emergency stop button, but every time she sped up the machine raised its speed to keep her in place.

Twilight chased the pair of headphones into the music shop with a stunning disregard for propriety or respect for personal property. She knocked over cd stands, she ran over a life size cardboard cutout of a singer, bending it in half, she knocked cymbals off of the wall with a deafening crash, all in the chase for the mischievous magical malefactor. She didn't notice that in her mad scramble she was slowly becoming tangled in a net of string instrument wire. Finally with one final leap she seized the headphones with a cry of triumph. "Ha! Got. Aah!"

Twilight yelped as a bundle of speaker wire wrapped itself around her arms. She struggled and squirmed, but she could not free herself from the tangle of strings, cords, and wires. Suddenly the headphones popped out of her hands and slipped themselves onto her head. She screamed as the headphones began to blast eighties heavy metal on full volume.

Applejack also found herself unable to move. The mannequins had a magical strength that made a mockery of the farm girl's magical super strength. She could only squirm and fidget as they slipped outfit after outfit on, and most uncomfortably for the young woman, off of her. "Oh my god, cowgirl boots are so out right now!" One would say as they slipped a pair of gold colored high heels onto her feet.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so jelly of your abs! You gotta show off girl!" Another said, slipping a pink crop top over her head. They paired the tiny little shirt with a push up bra so that the farm girl's respectable c cups stuck straight out from her chest. The poor trapped girl felt terribly exposed by how much cleavage she was showing, but what was far worse was the teensy tiny black micro mini skirt and wide white leather belt they paired with it.

"Fer gosh sake y'all! Ah'm half naked!" She cried out desperately.

The mannequins seemed to be given pause by this comment. "You're right. . . It still needs something." One said, pretending to consider the matter carefully. They all fake gasped as one, none of them having lungs to gasp with, as they solved the riddle. "Accessories!" They cried, dragging the half naked girl by the wrists. Her high heels couldn't gain any purchase on the mall's tile floor and she was slid along squirming and struggling the whole way.

On their way to the jewelry kiosk Applejack saw a sweat soaked Rarity huffing and puffing on the treadmill through the gym's large plate glass window. She called out desperately, "RARITY HELP!"

"APPLEJACK HELP!!!" Rarity screeched back even more desperately. Her legs burned like molten lead, her lungs felt like they were filled with tumbleweeds, her arms pumped limply at her sides. Her long purple hair, usually so bouncy and voluminous hung in tangling, dripping strands, saturated with sweat. She had tried several times to reach the emergency stop button, but every time she did the treadmill would automatically speed up to keep her away from the button.

When she'd try to sneakily slacken her pace the machine would speed up and send her closer to the mashing weights of the machine behind her. Her throat burned with thirst abs she began to cough as she puffed. "So. . . Thirsty! Going. . . To. . . Die!" Her eyes went wide as she spied the protein shake she'd been chasing waddle itself onto the panel and present itself excitedly. Rarity scowled with all the rage of one forced to run. "Not on your life!" She snarled.

Rarity stared at the styrofoam cup as the miles continued to roll on and her throat burned more and more painfully. "Oh! Curse you!" She said as she snatched the cup off of the treadmill. She gulped several mouthfuls of the thick chalky mush. She gasped and coughed after the disgusting drink, but it had slaked the pain in her throat just enough. Oddly enough the pain in her legs seemed to diminish perceptibly.

Twilight felt like brains were being gelatinized inside her head. Any minute she expected to feel them leaking out of her ears and onto the floor. She could feel the fast thudding drum beats in her chest so hard she was worried it would stop her heart. She felt the vibrations rattle her gritted teeth so hard she was worried they would break. She screamed as loud as she could for them to turn it down, but she literally couldn't even hear her own voice in her head.

A promotional cardboard cutout of a leather clad singer waddled its way stiffly towards the trapped book worm. "What's that?" It said, Twilight hearing its voice in her head. "You want it louder? Let's go!" The cutouts cardboard hand formed metal horns and suddenly every speaker in the room began blasting a different song at full volume. The cutout bent in half to bang its head to the beat of the cacophony.

Applejack was dragged squirming and struggling to the jewelry kiosk and loaded up with all manner of cheap baubles. They put a silver pendant around her neck on a dainty silver chain that hung just above her exposed cleavage. They slipped several different widths of golden bracelets on her tan wrists. They smiled a vapid faceless grin as they held up a pair of pink heart shaped earrings and Applejack winced. "Please tell me those are clip. OWW!" She yelped as they pierced her ears then hung the dainty hearts in the newly formed holes.

Two of the mannequins came slowly up to her holding a large black box between them. The farm girl rolled her eyes. "Oh what fresh hell is this?" They snapped open the case and she saw a whole galaxy of multicolored plumpers, powders, lipsticks, eyeliners.

"Make up!" The mannequins shouted in their insufferable Valley girl voice.

"Nooooo!!!" Applejack screamed as they began painting her face. They applied a layer of stinging lip plumper to make her lips seem larger and more kissable, then coated them with a thick layer of pink lipstick that matched her shirt and earrings. They painted her nails the same shade of light pink. They had to all join in holding her head still with their cold plastic hands to be able to apply the eyeliner, light blue eyeshadow, and black mascara on her eyelashes. They powered and painted her cheeks to accentuate her face's bone structure.

When they finally released her head she almost fell to the floor with relief. She raised her head slowly, looking from mannequin to mannequin, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "Y'all done? Can I, like, go now?" She said with a hint of valley girl slipping into her rural drawl. The wall of mannequins parted like a barn door opening to reveal the hair salon. Applejack groaned.

In the gym Rarity had hit her stride and the protein shake's gentle influence had given her the mental freedom to acknowledge how uncomfortable she was. "Ugh! I can't run in these heels!" Suddenly a pair of black and hot pink running shoes ran themselves up beside her on the treadmill and slipped themselves onto her feet. The white high heel sandals went thudding across the floor with the force of being knocked off of her feet and flung by the treadmill. She gawked in equal measure at how much easier it was to run with the correct shoes, and at how stylish they were.

"Oh Um. That's much better. Thank. . . You?" She said awkwardly through her panting. She noticed the blouse was completely saturated with sweat and she begrudgingly tore it off over her head. Just as she did so a sports bra wrapped itself around her perky breasts and an exercise tank top slipped itself over her head. Her hair was wrapped up in a high ponytail and she sighed with relief. A pair of black yoga shorts wrapped themselves around her hips and legs, discarding the tights Rarity had been wearing.

The fashionista looked at her reflection in the wall length mirrors that lined the wall beside her and she couldn't help but like what she saw. Her breasts bounced enticingly with every step thanks to the sports bra. The curves of her hips and butt were both accentuated and supported by the tight shorts. She felt the heat from her exertion radiate comfortably off of her exposed shoulders and neck. She couldn't help but feel a spark of enthusiasm with the new outfit. "Alright then!" She took a large swig of the protein shake. "Let's do this!"

Applejack's long straight blonde hair had been given a perm to give it long golden coils. They slipped a pair of large goofy girly oversized white sunglasses into her hair on the top of her head. "Okay now hold that pose super model!" The mannequins said as they pretended to have a photo shoot.

"I ain't doin it." The farm girl growled, exhausted by the ordeal.

"Aww, come on girl friend!" They pulled her into an awkward pose. "Smile! You're never fully dressed without one!" They pulled her mouth into a stilted grin. The white purse slipped itself back onto her shoulder and suddenly the farm girl felt an uncontestable stiffness come over her. Try as she might, she couldn't relax from the awkward pose. She had to stand there, glaring behind her grin for eight solid hours as the mannequins chattered like monkeys. Rarity ran the rest of the night, and Twilight was trapped in the acoustic assault.

You got a little something right there.

The mall opened at ten in the morning. The steel grates in front of the shops rattled open simultaneously. A woman in a hot pink tank top unlocked the doors to the gym and strolled casually to the utility closet to begin her daily cleaning routine. She didn't notice the utterly exhausted girl limping out of the gym, she only noticed that one of the treadmills was absolutely soaked, and an empty styrofoam cup.

Twilight stumbled disoriented out of the music store with a ringing in her ears and the worst headache of her life. She staggered out the door past the dumbfounded opening employee, completely unaware of his questions and protests at his destroyed shop. She was on a course to stumble straight over the railing until her arm was suddenly seized. She popped her head up to look at who was grabbing her and noticed it was a very concerned young man.

She gawked when she realized that she could see his mouth moving, but couldn't hear a word he was saying. She held her head and said in a voice more appropriate for a metal concert, "YE GODS! I'VE SUFFERED DAMAGE TO MY EAR DRUMS!" The man looked at her as she spoke and a thoughtful look came into his face. She was almost on the verge of tears until she saw him point to her, place his curved hand to his head, twirled his hands in an l shape in front of him, then wave his l shaped hands in waves away from himself.

Twilight, still distraught by her situation, reflexatorily waved her balled fist in response. She was about to walk away until she realized with some shock, that she had just been asked if she understood sign language, and had responded. She turned a shocked face to the relieved young man who was smiling at her. He signaled that he was glad she was alright. She got almost nose to nose with him and excitedly asked out loud, "ARE YOU DEAF?!"

The man made a pained expression and waved his balled fist no. He pointed to a device hanging from his ear. She gasped, "YOU HAVE A COCHLEAR IMPLANT!" He winced again and smiled, shaking out his long brown hair. He signaled that she was shouting very loud, and Twilight blushed. "OH SO." She blushed an even deeper red and the two laughed. She carefully spoke in a controlled tone. "Sorry. I just lost my hearing last night."

The man raised an eyebrow and asked with his hands why she knew sign language. The book worm smiled broadly. "I've been reading a book about deaf culture in this book. . . Uhmm, where is it? There!" She had reached in vain to her side to find her book bag, and realized it was still sitting where she'd left it last night by the bench. "It's all so fascinating! Would you mind telling me more about yourself?" The man chuckled again and Twilight raised an eyebrow. He signed that it wouldn't do much good for him to talk in her situation. Twilight blushed again and the two shared a laugh.

Applejack stumbled stiffly out of the department store on unsteady legs. She'd had to stand in the same position for eight hours straight, and on top of that she was unskilled at walking in heels. Just before she could tumble all the way over a soft hand shot out to help her up. "I must say!" Said the stylish young man from the previous day. "That bag looks even better on you when paired with the belt and sunglasses! Tell me, would you like to go and."

"Like! As if! Gag me with a spoon! It's called a gym, ever heard of it?" Applejack said reflexatorily as she shoved him away. She realized what had just come out of her head and gasped. "Ew! My voice is all grody!" She clung to the railing and shuffled away as fast as she could. She had no idea where the damned mannequins had flung her clothes, and she just wanted to get home without embarrassing herself too deeply.

As she shuffled along suddenly a paper white hand met hers on the railing. She looked up and gasped to see a pair of blue eyes staring back into hers. It was Rarity, but it didn't look like Rarity. "OH EM GEE girl! You been working out? You look fierce!"

Rarity didn't respond right away. Her other hand was held over her mouth with shock. She saw the parallel clusters of color drawing the eye and clearly observed the work of a master. "Applejack you look. . . Hot!" She said, finding no other word being accurate. "The gold on the periphery, then the white, then the pink and the. . ." She had to stop when her eyes traced the thin silver line down the girl's long neck leading to her well supported bust. "I always said you'd be rather fetching if you just took the time but this is. . . This is just. . . Dayum!"

Applejack had to turn her face away with a deep blush. Even though she was mortified by the outfit, and much more how she came to be wearing it, this outpouring of compliments was more than she could handle. "Well what about you! I'm so jelly of your butt! Look at all that junk inside that trunk! Work it girl!" She realized that she was staring and her eyes shot to her friend's face. They both realized simultaneously that they'd been ogling each other.

"You wanna go see a movie?" They asked in perfect unison. They both chuckled and turned towards the mall's movie theater and both felt their legs give out from under them. They clung to each other for support and their cheeks flushed crimson.

"Eh heh heh. Sorry Rares. These heels are new." Applejack chuckled.

"Yes! I'm a bit winded from the treadmill. Ahem. Yes." Rarity said, not being able to make eye contact. Neither made a move to release their hold on the other. They slowly shuffled arm in arm towards the theater, Rarity surreptitiously feeling Applejack's bust pressed against her arm, Applejack surreptitiously feeling up Rarity's sculpted arm muscle. Twilight and the rather handsome young man signed and laughed for hours until he pointed at the two girls who had been trying to get the book worms attention for several seconds.

Twilight turned and eyed the two with mild confusion, but answered in a friendly, if not slightly too loud voice. "Yes! How can I help you?!" They spoke and seemed vaguely familiar, but all she could hear was the dull ring in her ears. She looked back to the young man who signaled that they said they were her friends. She snapped her face back and gawked at the extreme change both had undergone. "APPLEJACK! RARITY! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?! AND. . ." She had to stop and giggle behind her hand. "WHAT'S THAT ALL OVER YOUR FACE?!"

Rarity raised an eyebrow and looked in the reflection of the plate glass and her face went pale. All over her mouth, chin, and neck, were big bold pink lip prints. She snatched a napkin off of the table Twilight had been sitting at and rubbed it violently all over her face. "Well, we've been up all night so let's blow this joint." Applejack said blushing.

Twilight looked to her impromptu translator and he explained what they wanted. "Oh! Uhm, sorry girls, Thomas here has invited me to see a subtitled movie, but you can go on without me." A light came into her face. "Say! We never finished our experiment. Looks like both of you lose."

Both the valley girl and the gym rat frowned at this. "Excuse you! We both did happen to be asked to a film thank you!" Rarity said in a huff.

"Yeah!. . . It just happened to be by each other." Applejack confirmed.

"Buuuuut!" Twilight said teasingly after Thomas had translated. "Not by a boy! So looks like you get a makeover Applejack! And you get to work out Rarity!" She grinned again. "Though it looks like you've already gotten started."

Rarity blushed and looked away mumbling, "Well, you know, a lady has to maintain her figure."

"And I guess I wouldn't mind a few beauty tips." Applejack said. The two girls hands stealthily felt for each other and met behind their backs.