Playdating

   It would’ve been just fine if she could just have been allowed to stay at the farm.  She could’ve relaxed, exercised, done anything, anything other than this.  But no, of course not.  Instead, she was here, next to Applejack while they walked towards her future prison.

   Suffice to say, Winona wasn’t happy.

   They were going to the Carousel Boutique.  From what she understood, Rarity had convinced Applejack to model for her.  How in tarnation she’d pulled that off, Winona had no clue.

   But what was even more confusing was why she was going: a playdate!  She had no idea how, but apparently Rarity had gotten had gotten it into her head that she, Winona, a hard-working, athletic work dog, would want to ‘play’ with her.

Opalescence.  Even though she didn’t say it, the name left a bad taste in her mouth.

   Opal was a white cat.  A cat.  A prissy, smug, pampered feline.  Winona didn’t want to be anywhere near someone who prided a bunch of frou-frou fancy stuff above good, honest work.   And now, Winona had to spend time with her.  Spend time while Rarity went through the tedious process of measuring every inch, making countless adjustments over and over and over again.

   Vaguely, she wondered if ramming her head into a building would get her out of this.

   She waved the thought away.  There was no stopping it now.

Seriously, how can Applejack be that dense?

   Desperate for a distraction, however temporary, she looked around for something interesting.  As of the moment, they were walking through the marketplace.  She saw Big Macintosh, standing behind the Apple family’s vending stall.  As expected, many of the customers were mares who wanted a chance to see the red stallion up close or hear his soft, strong voice.

   Even if that was just a simple “Eeyup,” like his usual vocabulary was limited to.

   Winona also saw a meek yellow pegasus with a long pink mane and tail and three butterflies for a cutie mark.  She was stunning, not that she knew it.  It was that kind of natural beauty, like a sunrise or the lush green fields on Sweet Apple Acres.  The kind you don’t have to work for.

   Winona knew Fluttershy well.  It was hard not to, since she saw the animal-lover all the time.  Applejack brought her to the small cottage Fluttershy lived in for the occasional cut or other such pains.

   She briefly played with the thought of the two ponies dating.  They’d probably make a cute couple.

   With a small chuckle she pushed the thoughts aside.  Pfft!  Nah.

   When Applejack stopped beside her, Winona looked up and saw the whimsical shop exterior.  She groaned in her head.  Well, this is the end.

   An alabaster Unicorn was standing in the middle of the lobby, scrutinizing a dress design, when the pair walked in.  As soon as she heard the bell, she spun around with a bright grin, automatically launching into her customer greeting.

   “Welcome to the Carousel Bou- Applejack!  I’m so glad you could make it!” she said, cutting off as she saw the farmer.

   “Howdy,” Applejack said simply, stepping further into the shop with Winona at her side.

   Rarity saw the white-and-brown dog and beamed.  “And I see you brought Winona!  Oh, I’m sure Opalescence will love the company.”

Yes, I’m sure she will.

  Rarity put up the ‘Closed’ sign in the store window and walked towards the back room.   “Come along, Applejack!  No sense wasting time out here!”

   “I’m comin’, sugarcube, just one second!” said Applejack as she kneeled down next to Winona.  “Now listen, Winona, I want ya to behave yerself today.  No sense in messin’ things up without reason.”

   She turned and followed Rarity through the door, which promptly shut behind her.  Winona was slightly puzzled.  The tone in Applejack’s voice had seemed... off, for some reason.

   Shrugging it off, she turned to the more pressing matter: figuring out where a certain snow-colored feline was at.  She sniffed, and the heavy scent of cat invaded her senses.  Opal was definitely nearby.

   “Well, well, well.  What do we have here?”

   Winona whipped her head around at where the voice came from.  Nothing.

   “If it isn’t my dear old friend, Winona.”

Consarn it, where is she?

   “What a pleasure it is to see you.”

   This time, Opal came out.  Winona gazed at her as she stalked out from the shadows of the dress shop.  Her coat was a pure white, groomed thoroughly.  A large purple ribbon rested on her head, binding a length of hair.  Her bright green eyes observed Winona with curiosity while the lids drooped lazily, half-covering them.

   “So, to what do I owe this visit?” Opal asked flatly.

   Winona was slightly unnerved, but answered calmly, somehow.  “Well, Rarity wanted Applejack to model a dress or somethin’, and she got Applejack to drag me along.  So, I’m stuck here.”

   “Hmm.  That is quite a predicament you’re in.  How delightful.  And Rarity works slowly,” Opal purred, drawing out the word, “so that means a good... two hours, maybe?”

   “Yeah.  Great,” Winona muttered, silently contemplating the endurance of the walls and how likely it would be that they’d be able to crack her skull if she ran fast enough.

Would just have ta get a running start, and-

   “So, that means we get to have some fun.”

   The canine stared at Opal, watching as a creepy smile appeared.  “What kinda fun?” she asked, not entirely sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

   “Well,” Opal began, “I was going to take a nap, but that would be oh so horribly rude to a guest, after all.  Which means, of course, that we will have to find some way to entertain ourselves.”

   The cat stalked over to the door, and placed a paw on it.  Turning her head to gaze at Winona once again, she asked her, “So, are you coming?”

   Winona was dumbfounded.  “‘Coming’?  Comin’ where?  I’m pretty sure we aren’t supposed ta be leavin’.”

   “Oh, come off it, Winona.  There’s nothing to do around here, unless you all of a sudden became interested in the latest of Canterlot fashion.”

Aw, hay, no.  With a sigh, the dog walked over and joined the cat by the exit.  “Fine.  But nothin’ too long, okay?  I don’t want to keep Applejack waitin’ for me.”

   “Don’t worry about it, we’ll be fine!  It’s not like they’ll be out of there anytime soon,” she assured, nodding towards the room the ponies had gone into.

   “If you say so, Opal.”

   The feline pulled lightly on the door, slowly enough that the bell wouldn’t ring too loudly, and slipped out, Winona following after.  They turned and started walking down the path, Opal leading.  After a moment, Winona thought of something.  “Say, Opal.  Where are we headin’ to, anyhow?”

   Without turning around, she replied, “Oh, well I was thinking we could head to the park.  There’s a nice tree there that is just perfect for relaxing.”

   “Oh.”

   After another minute or so of walking in silence, Opal spoke up.  “Well, would you like to talk about something, to pass the time?”

   Winona walked a bit faster so that she was level with the cat’s strides.  “Sure.  Why not?”

   “Perfect!  Well, there was this one time, when Twilight turned a few mice into horses, I decided to cause some shenanigans...”