Applejack lay still, staring at the wooden ceiling above her. A stony silence permeated the air, and a growing sensation of boredom slowly crept over her, threatening to close her eyelids, but retreating at the last possible moment. She couldn’t tell if it was due to insomnia, lack of tiredness, or plain discomfort, but Applejack couldn’t sleep. She was invited to Twilight’s for a sleepover, and happily accepted – she knew she’d probably wind up on the hard floor, which was fine. Whatever the cause, she was restless.
Applejack turned her head, looking across the room. Her friends were all asleep on the floor – Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were in a heap in the corner, Pinkie Pie was inverted across an armchair, Twilight was propped up against said arm chair, and Rarity was asleep on a couch above her.
"Great. Bad enough that I can’t sleep, but there ain’t even someone to talk to."
Applejack tossed and turned for several minutes, trying to find a comfortable position to rest in. She gave up, diverting her eyes towards a clock – her eyes widened at the sight.
"Sweet Nelly. This is gettin’ ridiculous."
It was quarter after two in the morning, and there was no sign of Applejack being able to sleep. She frowned, then curled up in a ball; causing her to accidentally bump her back into the couch behind her. Rarity groaned and shuffled around a bit, but remained asleep.
“Hey, Rair’… Don’t suppose y'all are awake, huh?” Applejack whispered, hoping to get a response. Rarity only moaned lazily and snored. “I reckon you’re still asleep,” Applejack said with a joking tone. Rarity adjusted her head, causing a lock of her hair to fall gingerly on Applejack’s nose. She laughed quietly, then brushed the hair from her face. “Yup, looks like it.”
With a heavy sigh, Applejack pulled herself up into a sitting position. She lazily scanned the room, listening to the steady beat of the clock's pendulum - she observed her friends as they slept. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were asleep in the corner - Rainbow was leaning against Fluttershy's shoulder, mouth open and drooling. Fluttershy, on the other hand, had a soft smile on her face - "Is it even possible to smile in your sleep?" Applejack pondered. Her view tilted towards Pinkie and Twilight - earlier in the evening, they had argued over who would sleep in the armchair... it looks like Pinkie won that argument, as Twilight was sitting on the ground, propped up against the chair, her head beside Pinkie's. She was clutching a book, and Pinkie would occasionally twitch. "Dang kid. Can't tell if she's dreaming or if she's just going through withdrawals from all that sugar she eats."
She turned around, and was face to face with Rarity. Her face turned a pale red, and she backed up - it was slightly too close for comfort. She sure did look nice, though. Her hair was messy and wavy, yet still held its illustrious charm - her lips were open just slightly, and she still had a tinge of pink lipstick on. Her skin was pale white, like snow, and... "Gosh, you're pretty up close, Rarity." Applejack said quietly. Her face was notably red by this point, but she continued to stare - not out of lust, but jealousy. She never let it bother her, but she couldn't help but notice the other girls have certain charms about them; their laughs and smiles, their eyes, their hips... all Applejack had going for her was muscles, and she didn't find them particularly beautiful. She noticed Rarity's mouth was beginning to open - she began to snore . Applejack chuckled quietly, "Didn't think pretty girls were capable of that noise, Rair'. Thought it was just me."
Applejack laid her head back down, smiling. Upon landing on the pillow, her stomach erupted in an unpleasant growl. With that, Applejack realized that she hadn’t eaten in hours, and on top of that, the last time she ate she barely touched her plate. Rainbow Dash seemed rather enthusiastic about a new recipe she tried earlier, so it was decided that she would cook - this was immediately found to be a terrible idea, as the result was a bitter, spicy mess that was mostly thrown in the garbage. Rainbow enjoyed her portion fully.
I don’t suppose Twilight would mind terribly if I made myself up a midnight snack. Guess I’ll head over to the kitchen and fix myself something edible.
She slowly got up, grabbing her plaid button-up shirt from the floor. She carefully slid her arms into it, and began to tip-toe softly across the floor, not to wake anyone. Suddenly, she froze as she heard a whisper from behind – “Applejaaaack. I’m thirsty.”
Applejack turned around to see Rarity sitting up; eyebrows furled, lips pursed, hair messy. “I want a glass of water.” Her voice lacked its natural elegance and poise, instead possessing a tone similar to a spoiled child. Applejack shushed her, gesturing her to follow.
“Quiet Rair’,” she whispered loudly. “I’m headed to the kitchen now, so come along if you want something.” Rarity smiled and half-nodded. She lazily stood up, raising her arms above her head and stretching – she sighed softly, and trudged loudly across the floor. Applejack scoffed angrily. “Keep quiet! You’ll wake everyone up if you drag your feet like that!” Rarity waved a hand in dismissal.
“Oh, don’t worry Applejack, they’re all fast asleep. It would take a terribly loud noise to wake them at this point.” Applejack ran a hand through her hair in frustration.
“Oh, fine fine. Put on a damn shirt, though,” she whispered harshly. Rarity looked down at her outfit – a white undershirt and purple shorts.
“What’s wrong with this? Is it out of season?” Rarity asked. “Oh my, I didn’t think it would be too much of a fuss to wear-” Applejack cut her off.
“It’s cold downstairs.” Rarity waved her hand in dismissal once again, blushing slightly.
“Oh, right, right.” She tiptoed towards Rainbow Dash, who was using her light blue cardigan as a blanket. “I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, I need this more than you.” She gently removed it from Dash’s back, then put it on herself.
“Ok, let’s just be quiet now. We can talk when we’re in the kitchen.” Applejack whispered, making her way down the stairs. “Good gosh am I famished. Couldn’t bring myself to eat none of th-”
“WONDERBOLTS ACADEMY.”
Rarity and Applejack froze completely. They both turned to face Rainbow Dash who had bolted upwards, eyes wide open. Rarity covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. She whispered light-heartedly, “Yes, Rainbow Dash, you’re at the glorious Wonderbolt Academy. Now go back to sleep.” Dash smiled sweetly, then laid her head back on Fluttershy’s shoulder.
“Yeah… Wonderbolts… so… cool…” She fell back asleep and began to snore. Rarity and Applejack looked at each other, shrugged, then made their way towards the kitchen.
Author's Note
Literally my first fanfiction I've posted anywhere.
Comment, rate, and critique please, if it's not too much trouble. :)
The two made their way downstairs, treading lightly as to not wake anyone. As they proceeded to the kitchen, the ambient noise around them became more and more noticeable. It was raining outside, and the gentle pitter-patter of raindrops falling on the roof sounded like a dull roar. A massive grandfather clock in Twilight’s living room ticked and tocked rhythmically, and the occasional thrum of thunder could be heard in the distance. Despite all of the background noise, it was remarkably quiet.
In the silence, Applejack took a moment to reflect on what she had said earlier. Gosh. I sure hope Rair’ didn’t hear me when I mucked up like that. That was pretty weird of me. She began to panic. Yeesh, what if she calls me out on it? Strange enough I called her pretty, but why’d I have to do it when she was sleeping? Dangit, why do I have to go and be such a sucker sometimes?
Applejack breathed in deeply, gathering resolve. Regardless of whether or not Rarity heard her, she began to regret saying anything at all. She knew that Rarity would be able to notice her uneasiness quickly, and she was a terrible liar. There was no way around that, so she had to make this excursion short.
“So Rair’, I don’t want to stay downstairs for too long. Let’s just grab a little snack, and head back to bed.” The wooden stairs would occasionally creak under Applejack’s socked foot, causing her to cringe. “Dangit. These stairs are gonna wake everyone up.”
Rarity giggled under her breath. “First of all, your griping is louder than the stairs. Secondly, what would it even matter if someone heard us? It’s not like anyone would get mad.” Applejack pondered for a moment. “I mean, you woke me up, and I didn’t mind.” Applejack ceased pondering, and began to panic again.
Oh man. Oh man, oh gosh, oh man. She heard me. I’m done for. She forced a smile, facing Rarity.
“Yup. Sure did. And I guess you’re missing out on your beauty sleep, huh?” Oh for crying out loud, that was the worst possible thing I could have said.
Rarity smiled. “Yes, you did… but I suppose this will be fun. I’m not very tired, to be honest. I don’t think I’d be able to get back to sleep right away, so this is a nice diversion.” She grabbed a lock of her hair and began to brush at it vigorously. “Shame that my hair is probably in such terrible shape. I look simply hideous.”
Applejack ran and hand through her hair nervously. “Naw… you look-” Applejack cut herself off, and Rarity stared at her questioningly. “Well, shucks. You look fine, and besides, no one ‘round here but little ol’ me to see it anyhow.” She bit her lip. It pained her to say it, but it was the truth... why on earth would Rarity want to look good around her? They were just friends, after all.
“Oh pish-posh, Applejack. A lady always makes herself presentable, even in front of her friends. It’s not a matter of seeking approval, but maintaining an air of poise and grace.”
“Is that so? You should’ve heard the racket y’all were makin’ earlier. Not very lady-like if you ask me.” Applejack said, chuckling. “Ah, I’m just kiddin’. But honestly, you look pretty, even for someone who just crawled out of bed.” Rarity smiled once again. Always smiling, that girl.
“Why, thank you Applejack! If I may add, you look rather gorgeous yourself as of late. Have you been doing something different with your hair? It’s been just positively radiant lately.”
Applejack’s heart started racing. “Haha, no… well, no… not really anyhow.” She began to blush profusely. “I mean, I went out and bought myself a new shampoo, I guess…” She grabbed a bit of her hair, knotted and messy, and presented it to Rarity. “It’s apple scented. Well, they said it was at the store, and I thought it’d be kind of cute… Uh, I mean, funny, because my name is Applejack.” Applejack chuckled heartily. Augh. Augh! Why on earth am I doing this!?“And also because I think apples smell nice.”
“Well, I approve! It’s such a pleasant surprise when you actually try to look nice, instead of mucking about in the dirt all day… no offense, dear.” Rarity said cheerily. For some reason, hearing the compliment gave Applejack a great sense of pride. She grinned sheepishly and averted her eyes, her cheeks turning a bright red. She let out an undignified giggle.
“Aww shucks, thanks Rair’!”
It was unlike Applejack to get so excited over a kind word. For that matter, why was she looking for compliments from Rarity with such zeal? As far as she was concerned, compliments never really made her happy. In fact, up until a few minutes ago, she was never mindful of her appearance, or for that matter, what others thought of her appearance. There was something about the way the pale moonlight caught Rarity’s sleeping face – her lips, her cheeks, her hair – that had Applejack consider an ideal. An ideal form of beauty that was present only in the form of Rarity, and an ideal that she’d never achieve.
Oh. That’s why it meant so much.
The two arrived in the kitchen, silent. "So, uh... Twilight said earlier that we can help ourselves to whatever we wanted, so I figure I'll just make myself a peanut butter and jam sandwich. I'm not sure what else you could rustle up, so I guess I could make y'all one if you'd like." Applejack opened several cupboards before successfully locating some peanut butter and jam, and began constructing the simple sandwiches.
Rarity scoffed, as she drank a glass of water. "Oh Applejack, don't you think we should indulge in something a little more palatable?" She opened Twilight's fridge, and began to search.
"Something tastier than a PB and J sandwich? You're kidding me."
"I was thinking something Italian; perhaps some tortellini, or risotto..."
"If you want, I could throw a piece of salami on yo-"
Rarity held up two microwavable pasta boxes she found in the freezer. "Here we are - Applejack, would you be interested in a midnight banquet as opposed to a simple midnight snack?"
