A ROLL IN THE HAY
Rarity hummed quietly to herself as she trotted down the country lane. A fine day indeed, for a walk. The sun was shining, though there was a storm scheduled later on. She watched the pegasi gather the storm clouds from all over in preparation for the early afternoon rain. The unicorn wasn't too concerned, however. Her business in Sweet Apple Acres shouldn't take long at all.
Normally, Rarity would have let the customer come pick up their garments from her boutique, but this was special for several reasons. Firstly, she was between projects at the moment, having reached a lull in customers. Oh sure, she was still doing a lot of business, but at the moment, she was so far ahead of her schedule, that she could afford a little downtime. What's more, Sweetie Belle was spending time with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom at their clubhouse, brainstorming new ways to find their cutie marks; so she had nopony to spend time with at home.
Secondly (and more importantly in the fashionista's mind), was the pony to whom she was delivering. Over a week ago, Applejack had come in asking for some adjustments to be made to her gala dress.
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“Ah'm powerful sorry about this Rarity, but what with this here farmin' convention comin' up, Ah'm gonna need a fancy dress for the formal social at the end. Now this 'ere gala dress is purty an' all, but it's startin' to bind a bit on mah withers.” Normally, Rarity would have suggested endless enhancements she could add to the dress, or even make a new one for her, but the farmer had been insistent. “Jes' patch'er up real good for me. The gown mah friend made for me out of the kindness of her heart is good enough for me,” she said while having her measurements taken.
Rarity's protests died on her lips unvoiced when Applejack's tail swished, granting her a quick glimpse of her marehood. Normally, this kind of thing happens all the time with customers in her shop, and she paid it no mind. This time however, she felt a stirring within her. Lately, she had been noticing little things about the earth pony. Nothing big, but little things, like how her muscles stood out as she pulled the apple cart to and from market, or how she doesn't sweat, so much as gain a sheen, or how lovely she smelled-
Oh, dear. This can't be right. This must be...
But it wasn't. Somewhere along the line, this earth pony, this untidiest of mares, this... paragon of ponified personification, this... uncomplicated uncompromisingly honest...
She's a mare, for crying out loud! Not that there's anything wrong with mares liking other mares... that way, but I have a plan to follow! I have a Prince out there somewhere, just waiting for me to drop into his lap! I can ill afford to...
“Y'all okay back there. Rarity?” Applejack's concern was evident in her voice, and woke the unicorn from her private reverie.
Rarity shook her head and gave her friend a nervous smile. “Of course, darling. I was just... bemoaning the things you won't let me do to your dress. Naturally, it's a wonderful dress, I would never let a sub-par garment pass from my hooves, especially for my friend, but I can't help but think of the many things I could do to improve it.” She seemed a little breathless, and her nervous smile grew more tremulous. Oh, please just let me do this so you can go and I can sort this out!
“Well, alright,” Applejack said as she turned back to face front. The unicorn got back to work, but was startled into dropping her tape when the farmer spoke again. “Ah s'pose that if you want to add more to the apple theme, Ah wouldn't object too much.” She turned just enough to face her friend with a grin and wink at her.
Once again, Rarity's heart was sent a-flutter. Oh, my. Those freckles...
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Rarity giggled to herself as she trotted. It hadn't taken long for her to accept her feelings. After all, the heart wants what the heart wants, and to be perfectly honest, the odds of her finding a Prince with whom she could be happy was pretty small. After careful consideration, the only high class pony she had met that didn't make her want to run screaming into the night was Lord Fancypants, and he was apparently spoken for, by a mare younger than even Rarity herself.
But Applejack was another matter entirely. While she had many traits that she found... nettling, there was an air about her that was refreshing. Rarity didn't need to put on airs for her. She didn't need to be anypony else but her true self. In the world of fashion where substance was often overlooked in favor of style, having somepony around whom one could be themselves, it was a breath of fresh air.
And so it was that the unicorn began planning out how to tell her friend that she wanted to be more than just friends. She had decided on a course of forthright honesty that she knew the mare could appreciate, rather than her instinctual approach wining and dining in the fanciest place she could afford, which was considerable here in Ponyville. No, the direct approach for the direct pony is what was called for here.
She was startled back to reality when a raindrop landed on her nose. As the cold water ran into her nose, she looked up and saw the clouds had been gathered much more quickly than she had anticipated. “Oh, no! The dress!” she shrieked as she started running for the first structure she saw, which happened to be the hay barn on the Apple homestead. She shielded the garment as best she could with her own body at the expense of her coiffure. So thoroughly soaked was she, that by the time the barn was in sight, her drenched mane completely obscured her vision, meaning that she had no idea what she ran into, only that it was painful and hard enough to knock her senseless.
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Rarity groaned as consciousness slowly and painfully returned. Bringing a hoof up to her head, she rubbed the sore spot only to jerk away from the pain. She blinked, trying to take in her surroundings, but could only see darkness. Without any light to guide her, she concentrated on her other senses. She noted that the rain was still coming down pretty heavy. The only thing the fashionista could smell was her own wet coat and hay. Lots of hay. As a matter of fact, it felt like she was buried in hay.
Sitting up, Rarity pushed away the hay to find herself in a darkened room. Wooden posts and walls supported a wooden ceiling high above, and a loft over looked the ground level where she laid in a stack of hay which covered much of the ground. No doors or windows were visible, just lots and lots of hay. The events leading up to her unconsciousness came back to her in a painful blur.
The cause of the pain made itself noticed, when her eyes alighted on the rear end of a large wagon, the kind the Apples used to haul around the foals for hayrides during Nightmare Night. A rather noticeable dent in the wood of the tailgate could be seen, one which was roughly in the same shape as her head.
“Ooooh...”
The groan of pain could be heard coming from under the wagon, piquing her interest. Rarity stood as best she could atop the mound of hay, and made her way down to the wagon. Cautiously peeking underneath, she spotted Applejack partly covered in hay. A broken harness lay half-strapped to her barrel, clearly damaged in the impact. Her trademark hat was nowhere to be seen, and her face was scrunched up in pain.
“Applejack darling, are you alright? What happened?” the unicorn asked, dreading the answer.
The farmer came to and slowly opened her eyes. “Rarity?” she croaked.
Rarity crawled under the wagon and gently rested her friend's head on her flank. “I'm here, darling. Do you remember what happened?”
“Ah think so,” she replied. “Last Ah remember, Ah was bringin' in the last load of hay for the day. Ah had just parked the wagon when it all of a sudden rammed me from behind.” She shifted herself into a more comfortable position with a grunt before continuing on. “Mah hooves slipped, an' mah left rear hoof was run over by the consarn wagon. Hurt so bad, Ah yelped and banged mah head on the underside of this here traitorous contraption.”
Horrified at what her carelessness had done, Rarity gasped. “Oh, I'm so, so sorry, Applejack, dear. I'm afraid this whole mess is my fault. I was running for cover from the rain, and wasn't watching where I was going. It must have been I that got you into this mess.” Covering her eyes with her hooves, she sobbed, “Please, please, forgive me.”
Applejack rested a hoof on the mare's foreleg. “S'alright, Rarity. Could'a happened to anypony.”
The unicorn wiped away a tear and gratefully said, “Thank you Applejack.” Casting around for someway to help, she asked, “Why don't you let me take a look at your hoof? See if there's anything I can do.”
“Actually, Rarity, would y'all mind stayin' like this for a bit? Mah head's feelin' more tumbled about than the time Winona chased a cat into the dryer and Granny didn't notice until it was too late.” She managed a small chuckle. “Should'a seen the poor thin' rocket out of there when the door opened up. Looked like it got into the cider, it wobbled so much.”
Nodding, Rarity instead used her magic to clear away the hay around Applejack's rear legs. She winced when the injured hoof came into view. “Oh, dear.” The unicorn wore her guilt like a new hat.
“How bad is it?” Applejack asked with trepidation.
When the farmer tried to move her head to look, Rarity forced it back down to its more comfortable position. “Now, now, darling, looking at it won't help matters any right now, but we are going to have to get you to a hospital. This is far beyond being able to just use home remedies and bed rest to cure.”
Applejack winced as a twinge went through her leg. “That bad, huh? Well, shoot. Ah guess it's lucky this didn't happen during applebucking season.” She heaved a great sigh of regret nonetheless. “Still though, we got a lot of summer crops to lie in before they wither on the vine.”
Rarity petted the mare's forelock of mane, trying to soothe her. “Oh, I feel just awful, Applejack. I promise to do everything in my power to help make sure that you get your 'crops lied in', as it were.” She saw the farmer open her mouth to protest, and forestalled her. “Now, now. It is my fault this happened after all, and I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing that I put a hardship on your family.”
“Well, now, that's right kind of you, Rarity, but don't you have a business of your own to run?”
Applejack's question gave her pause, but the unicorn just shook her head and looked into the jade orbs of her friend. “My boutique has hit a bit of a... slowdown in business right now. It usually does in the early summer. And to be perfectly honest, I was going a bit out of my mind trying to make what business I do have last another week or two.”
This talk of clothing sparked a memory in the seamstress's head. “Oh, your dress!” Her horn flared to life again as hay began flying in all directions.
“What?” Applejack asked.
The hay continued to fly in small bunches as she searched. “I was bringing your gown when the rain started! I do hope... Ah!” She pulled the gown from the stack, shaking it a few times to get the stray bits of hay loose. Rarity breathed a sigh of relief as she inspected it. “Good, it wasn't damaged or dirtied... too much.”
Levitating the dress in front of them, she showed her the alterations she had made to it in order to keep Applejack's mind off the situation. “As you can see, I changed many of the fabric apples out with gems cut in the proper shape. It took quite some doing to find rubies, emeralds, and amber just the right shade to do this.” She looked down at her friend's head on her flank. “When I measured you, I noticed that there wasn't all that much difference in size across your barrel. Did you perhaps try on the dress after eating a large meal?”
Applejack arched an eyebrow at her. “What're you tryin' to say?”
“Oh, nothing, darling,” Rarity quickly replied. “I was just speculating about what might cause the tightness.” She waved a hoof as if brushing aside the matter. “In any case, I made it adjustable across your withers so it will likely be a long time before any further tailoring will be needed.”
A shadow fell across the farmer's face. “Rarity, Ah... Ah got a confession to make.” She had her eyes closed, so she couldn't see the carefully neutral look on the seamstress's face. “Ah... didn't need to have the dress altered. It fit jus' fine. Ah... Ah was jus' lookin' for an excuse to see yah.” The more Applejack spoke, the more agitated Rarity became. “Yah see Rarity, Ah...” She couldn't help it anymore, and looked into Rarity's face, tears in her eyes. “Ah love yah, Rarity. Ah want to spend mah entire life lookin' after yah.”
The unicorn made a valiant attempt at keeping her voice level as she asked, “How long?”
Applejack looked at her in confusion. “Huh? Oh, you mean 'how long have Ah felt like that'?” A nod answered her query. “Well, Ah s'pose it was durin' that first sleepover at Twi's. When Ah saw yah all covered in mud an' such after that big branch busted in, Ah... Ah realized just how attractive yah was.” The earth pony drew invisible circles on the ground with her hoof. “Ah never really thought about things like that. Always jus' assumed that when the right stallion came along, Ah'd know what's what. But seein' you all dirty from workin', it jus' sorts clicked for me. Ah finally knew why stallions never really turned mah head, an' your always so beautiful an' ladylike. It's like...” She bopped herself on the side of her head with her hoof. “Dagnabbit, Ah know what Ah wanna say, but it jus' won't come out right.”
Returning to her earlier activity of petting Applejack's mane, Rarity said in a quiet voice, “It started for me when I first made this dress for you. Taking your measurements, I was in a better position to ah, appreciate your physical attributes.” Closing her eyes, she thought back to that moment. “I guess that's why it's so special to me. You dress, I mean.”
Applejack looked up at her, wide-eyed. “D- do yah mean that...”
Nodding, Rarity looked down at the farmer with sad fondness. “Yes. I... I love you too, Applejack.”
“Sooo...” Applejack began awkwardly. “Where do we go from here?”
Rarity had moved her hoof south until she was caressing the earth pony's cheek. “Whatever do you mean, darling.”
The extra emphasis on the endearment made the blonde mare blush. “Ah mean, ain't your parents expectin' grandfoals or somethin'? You... seein' a mare like me ain't exactly the... regular way of goin' about it.”
Shushing her with her hoof, Rarity stared at her adoringly. “You let me worry about my parents' grandfoals. What about you? Any... hiccups about seeing a mare? I know that farm folk put a lot of store in large families.”
Applejack smiled at her. “Shucks. T'ain't no thing for us Apples. We got more family than we know what to do with, really.” Still smiling, she looked off to the side as she said, “An' even if we cain't have foals of our own, or decide not to adopt, there's still Big Mac and Apple Bloom.”
Rarity leaned in closer. “I see somepony has given this some thought.”
“Jus' about everyday since that slumber party,” Applejack retorted as she sat up and leaned in close so that their noses were almost touching.
“Mmm...” Rarity gave her a sultry look. “You know why I like seeing you get all dirty?”
Applejack returned the look. “Do tell.”
“Because,” she answered, “it allows me to think about all the things we can do getting you clean again.”
Grinning, Applejack replied, “Oooo... you dirty mare.”
Further discussion was put off in favor of expressing themselves with a kiss. For such a chaste action, a lot of emotion was put into it, for though their lips never parted, more feeling was put into it than any kiss either ever had before. So much passion left them both more than a little breathless when they finally came up for air.
“Oh, my,” panted Rarity.
“Yah can say that again,” Applejack agreed.
They chuckled and rested their foreheads together. They stayed like that, just drinking in each other's presence until a muffled banging on the door got their attention. “Y'all in there, sis?” Apple Bloom's voice was muted by the wood and hay, but was high-pitched and loud enough to pierce even those formidable barriers.
“Ah hear yah, Apple Bloom,” Applejack yelled, surprising Rarity with the volume. “Would y'all mind fetchin' Big Mac? Ah had a bit of a tumble an' hurt mah leg. Might need to see the sawbones 'bout it.”
“You okay, sis?” The concern in the filly's voice was evident even through the wood.
Applejack shook her head with a wry smile. “Yah jus' go fetch him. Ah'll be fine. Ah've got Rarity keepin' me company until yah get back an' all.”
“Alright, Ah'll be back faster'n two shakes of a lamb's tail,” Apple Bloom's fading voice replied.
Rarity gave the farmer a peck on the tip of her nose. “Well, I suppose that leaves us a little time to decide what to tell our friends and family.”
Returning her grin, Applejack said, “Ah s'pose it does, at that.”
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~Owari~
