It was in 8th grade, the last year of middle school, that Applejack got the courage to talk to her. Her palms were all sweaty from how nervous she was.

It was the end of the day and classes were about to be dismissed for the last time. She wasn’t sure if this would be her last chance to approach, since she had no idea what high school she would go to. One of her friends (she only had two, not counting Big Mac), pushed her lightly. Encouraging her to go through with it.

“C‘mon! You’re gonna regret it if you don’t. And that’s lame!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, smiling up at her.

Fluttershy nodded as if to agree with her, “But I wouldn’t blame you if you were too scared…” she mumbled, shrinking into herself.

Applejack looked at them and then at the direction she was in. “Uh..” she stuttered. “Y-Yeah. Okay. I’ll be back.” She took a step ahead, and then another. Her nerves were getting the better of her, though she wasn’t sure why. All she wanted to do was be her friend, though she always thought she was really pretty.

As she got closer, it was odd to see she was all alone, sitting quietly as she waited for the day to be over. Finally, Applejack approached her. After a year of admiring and wanting to be her friend. “Um..” she tapped her shoulder. “Howdy. My name’s Aubrey..Aubrey-Jaqueline. But my friends and my dad call me Applejack.” She rambled without noticing.

“Oh. Hi..! It’s..nice to meet you??” She giggled. “Isn’t it a little late for introductions?”

“Well, yeah, I guess so- It’s just- um. I’ve always seen ya around and- We never got to really talk that much.” Applejack looked to the side.

“Ah..yeah.” The girl looked a little confused and felt a bit awkward. Though, unbeknownst to Applejack, she had also seen the country gal around the school. She was always curious about why we people would talk about her accent so much. She now finally got her question answered.

There was a silence that followed after that. Both girls fidgeting for no reason. It was she who broke the silence. “Well, my name is Rin. But my mom likes to call me Rarity..!” She smiled, looking up at the taller girl. “What high school are you going to, Applejack?”

‘I was going to ask her that!’ “I’m going to Canterlot High School! I bet someone as fancy lookin’ as you should be going to crystal prep..right?”

“Actually, I’m going to Canterlot High too! I don’t live close enough to Crystal prep to go..” she seemed a bit saddened by that fact, “All my friends are going there..”

“Well, we can be friends!” Applejack jumped at the chance, “We’ll have each other! And my friends are going there too!” She looked back at Rainbowdash and Fluttershy, both seemed to be in their own little world.
Rarity’s eyes widened a bit at the sudden outburst, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

“That sounds like a lovely plan..” she smiled, looking down at her hands bashfully. From there, they talked until the time was almost over. Applejack walked back to her friends and they all waved goodbye at their new one.

. . . . . . . . . .

Almost 10 years later, Applejack huffed, wiping sweat off her forehead. Golden locks of hair stuck to her face as she finished off the last of her chores at Sweet Apple Acres. “Phew-wee! It’s as hot as Satan’s ass crack out here. Better go check on Applebloom before I get cleaned up…” she spoke to herself, setting down her tools and grabbing her flannel that was on the ground. Today, unfortunately, was a busy day for her. She had gone all around the barn and set up tables and chairs for a hoedown she was hosting for a certain “dear friend.” She went through all this work AND her daily chores mostly for Fluttershy. She knows that sweet girl was looking forward to tonight.

Rainbowdash had gotten discharged from serving as a Wonderbolt. She had done the minimum amount of years she could before doing so, saying that “It wasn’t entirely for her.” AJ didn’t blame her.
Daddy always said not to mess around with military stuff. The apples were always proud of where they came from but after Bright Mac had served in the military, let’s just say that it was better to be proud of their family than their nationality. No disrespect towards those who were.

As Applejack made her way back to the house, she felt a few buzzes coming from her right back pocket. It was probably their group chat blowing up, so she decided to ignore it for now. She breathed in cool air as she walked into the living room, relishing in it for a moment before calling for her younger sister.

“Applebloom?!!! Ya in here???!!” She hollered, adjusting her boots. “UP HERE SIS!!!!!!” Applebloom yelled back. And so, she walked upstairs to her room.

“Hey baby, did’ja need anything from me before I clean up and go into town for a couple things?”

“Well…since y'all are having that hoedown tonight, I was thinkin’-“

Applejack sighed, already knowing where this was going.

“Hey! I just wanted to see if Sweetie and Scoots could come over and spend the night! It’s not like y’all ain’t gonna be around if we need anything.” Applebloom quickly retorted to the unspoken protest. She did, unfortunately, have a point. Rarity and RD would be here almost all night.

Applejack sighed, “What do ya want from the store? Snacks?”

Applebloom smiled, batting her eyelashes and giving her sister puppy dog eyes. “Pretty please? And some drinks! Maybe some sodas!”

“Y’all can just grab a couple of sodas from the coolers we’re going to have out there. I gotcha. See ya in a bit, sug.” She walked away, closing the door as she heard her little sister cheering from behind it. It brought a smile to her face. As much as she can be a pain in the ass sometimes, she loved her sister.

She then went inside her room across from her sister’s. Locking her door and then starting to undress as she walked towards her bathroom. Applejack started thinking about what she should wear, maybe a dress? Should she try a bit harder than she usually does? She looked at herself in the mirror, the flush of being outside still evident in her cheeks. She also noticed the ongoing farmer's tan that she had. Most of the time she didn’t care, but..

A creeping sense of embarrassment threatened to go down her spine. Nah. She’ll just wear her usual button-up, blue jeans, and maybe even her good chaps. Not that Daddy’s old ones weren’t good. They were just newer ones she kept for special occasions. AJ hung her hat on her bathroom door and finished getting undressed. It was time for a nice, cold shower.

Tonight…it would be the first time in a few weeks that she would see her.

…

Rarity ran around her boutique, trying to get the outfit for tonight ready. She had been too busy completing commissions and doing RD’s hair to focus on herself. Rainbowdash just HAD to come to her begging for help. ‘So what if she had her natural hair color? We had all seen it before during the holidays.’ She thought, even with the protesting, she had miraculously turned dear Reina into Rainbow Dash once more. That had kept her up until 3 in the morning. She felt satisfied with the joy radiating from her dear friend, but that satisfaction came with the price of being unprepared.

Rarity fell to the floor, wailing dramatically. “This. Is the WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!” she clutched onto her long purple hair, trying to relieve some stress.

“Um…is this a bad time..?” Sweetie Belle asked from behind the door to their living space.

Ever since their parents decided it was too much of a hassle to actually raise and take care of their daughters, Rarity has been the one who took care of both of them. Eventually, she even got custody of Sweetie Belle. It was a lot of hard work throughout high school and college, but here she was. In a boutique attached to their rented home!

All that hard work, and she couldn’t even think of an outfit for tonight!

“What is it, Darling? I’m kind of in the middle of a mental breakdown here!” She replied, turning to the door.

“Oh..Well, I was just- Going to ask if I could come with you and stay the night with Applebloom and Scootaloo! She already asked Applejack and she said yes! Soo..” She looked at her big sister, excited.

“Ughh…I don’t even know if I should go tonight..I have no idea what I’m going to wear! And Applejack’s going to be there..” She grumbled, letting out the last part without thinking.

“Why would Applejack care about what you’re wearing?” Sweetie interrupted her sulking, confused.

“OH- Um. Because it’s a themed party of course! Haha! It would be rude of me to be off-theme.” Rarity came up with a quick excuse. Though she did bring up the idea with a cowboy themed party, the others decided for it to be up to the guests.

“Okay? Why don’t you just go as a cowgirl?”

“Because I already wore the cowgirl costume that I had, Sweetie! I can’t wear it again to a hoedown! Rarity Belle Martinez is not an Outfit Repeater.” She shivered, “A good outfit is good for a couple wears. Then they must be paired with something else to bring it back alive!” She slumped further onto the floor. “Darling? Would you be a dear and hand me my iPad, please?”

“Um, okay.” Sweetie did as she was told. Handing her sister the iPad. She pursed her lips in thought, trying to help with the dilemma they (or Rarity) were facing. “You could wear that jacket you have with tassels on it!”

As if ‘jacket’ was her activation word, Rarity sprung up, “I’VE GOT IT!”
Sweetie flinched, not expecting such a revelation. Rarity cleared her throat. “I think I may have an idea. Sweetie Belle, you’re a genius! And so..” Sweetie’s smile reappeared, “You may come with me. Just don’t do anything that’ll get you into trouble, alright?” The older sister smiled.

“Yes, yes, of course!! I’ll be careful! We’ll just be in her room anyway!” The younger one hopped excitedly before leaving the boutique and running up to her room.

Rarity sighed, turning back to the iPad Sweetie fetched for her, “I have a marvelous idea..I’ll just wear a simple white sundress, so as to not outshine the main statement piece, the mauve jacket with tassels! And then, some warm brown platform sandals. Oh yes..Not too much of a cowgirl aesthetic but it has a country flair and it’s subtly glamorous!” She rambled to herself, drawing out a simple mock-up of said outfit. “This will definitely win her affection..!” She celebrated quietly before remembering what Rainbowdash said last night.

“Honestly, you guys are playing the long game. Just tell her how you feel already!” RD complained as Rarity brushed red hair dye onto her recently bleached hair.

“Quit your squirming! I might get some red on the yellow, dummy!” She whined. “And it’s not like that! We’re just…we’re so different. I don’t think she’d like someone like me. We’ve quarreled every time we’ve seen each other lately. I don’t even know why…”

“Hm..Then, just think of tomorrow night as a reset, okay? Sometimes just being scared of the tension is the thing causing the tension. Act as if nothing’s wrong. Because, y’know…nothing’s wrong! I’ve just seen you guys arguing over stupid things! And I just got back here!” RD tried her best to stay still, tapping her foot rapidly on the smooth tile floor of the bathroom. “You just need to ignore if she does anything..” uncouth ” for a change. That’s just how she is.” She said as if she weren’t rough around the edges in the same way.

“You..you have a point.” The fashionista hesitated, wrapping up the last red section in the other girl’s hair. “Since when did you give out good advice?” She smacked RD’s shoulder, giggling.

“Uh, duh. It’s because I’m awesome! Athletics, working out, guitar, getting over your fears, you name it! Even if sometimes it’s really embarrassing to get all…mushy. You just gotta do it, y’know? For you and..for her.”

“Yes…for her.” Rarity sighed, putting her iPad down on her work table. She left for her bedroom, it was time to start getting ready. She only had..”5 HOURS?!” Rarity hurried to start her beautifying routine.

Author's Note

Hope yall like it !!! been writing and designing my au for months so….hopefully all is well ☝️