//------------------------------// // Prompt #18: Lending An Ear // Story: Twinkle/TOCP's Thirty Minute Ponies Stories // by Twinkletail //------------------------------// Prompt: “When one door closes, another opens.” Applejack looked up at the clock. It was 4:13 PM. She knew what was coming. The same thing happened every day at 4:13 PM. It had been happening for about two weeks now. She tried to be as patient with it as possible. She was best known for her honesty, but her patience was also quite notable, especially given the exact situation that she was dealing with. She looked up from her apple juice as she heard the usual knock on the farmhouse door. Slowly, calmly, she got up and trotted over, pulling the door open. She was greeted by exactly what she expected; the sad, blue eyes of her good friend. “Hello, Applejack,” Rarity said, accompanying the greeting by a smile, as if trying to give the pretense that she was here on positive business rather than her usual reason. “Afternoon, Rarity,” AJ responded. She smiled politely back. This moment of greeting was the one moment where the two were really able to smile. It was really the part of these visits that she enjoyed the most. Rarity had a lovely smile. When she smiled, it melted Applejack’s problems away (Not that she had much chance to speak of them during these visits anyway). The way those lips curled up, the way her eyes narrowed slightly, the very, very slight wrinkles at the corners of her eyes that she dared not tell Rarity about, lest she spend the next week in the bathroom slathering wrinkle cream all over her face. They all added up to such a wonderful package. She could just look at that smile all day. Unfortunately, such a thing would not happen, as it was no sooner that she had finished ruminating on it that it had vanished, the happy moment lost to the aether as Rarity sighed and frowned. “Everything in my boutique reminds me of her still, Applejack,” Rarity said as she entered Applejack’s humble home and sat herself down on the couch, right in the spot she had occupied for each of these visits. Applejack sat in her usual space as well, or at least close to her usual space. It was hard not to inch slightly closer each time. AJ sighed slightly; she feared that Rarity would never get over Twilight at this rate. Granted, the first day after their breakup had been far louder and sadder than the oncoming days would be. Rarity was absolutely inconsolable that day, and while it gradually got better, she showed very few signs of truly getting over it. “It’s real tough, sugarcube,” Applejack told her, placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “When Dash an’ Ah split up, it took me dang near ferever ta get back on mah hooves.” She saw Rarity twitch slightly at the mention of Dash. Bringing her up was probably a mistake, given the endearing looks that Dash and Twilight had been sharing in the last few days. However, it needed to be done; she wanted to relate to her as best she could. “Ya jus’ gotta r’member that life goes on. Yer gunna find somethin’ or somepony else that’ll make ya happy. Dash an’ Ah thought we’d be t’gether ferever, an’ Ah’m ha…” She stopped there. She wanted to do her best to help Rarity, but she was still the Element of Honesty after all. “I know, Applejack,” Rarity said quietly, interrupting her at a time where she was very grateful to be interrupted. “And I thank you ever so much for enduring my constant impositions. Your patience with me is astounding, and I am very appreciative.” Applejack nodded with a light, noncommittal “Mhm.” She found herself inching slightly closer again, and tried to play it off by stretching. “Ain’t no big deal,” Applejack said quietly. “Ah’m happy ta do it fer ya.” Rarity looked at her with a sudden intense gaze, something which unnerved the farmer slightly. “You have been so good to me, Applejack,” Rarity said. “And I must repay you for that.” Applejack tilted her head slightly. “…Come again?” AJ said inquisitively. This time Rarity shifted closer, smiling that beautiful smile that AJ obsessed over. “Let us not play games any longer,” Rarity said, placing a hoof on Applejack’s side. “I have an eye for detail, you know. I can tell when something is bothering you, and I know exactly what it is.” Applejack started to sweat a bit, a slight smile crossing her face. “Y’…y’can?” she asked. “Ah…Ah dunno what ya mean…” “An unconvincing liar as always, Applejack,” Rarity said with a smile. “You have had your eye on me for a very long time, darling, and only a pony who wishes to be with me like you obviously do would put up with my complaining about Twilight.” AJ wiped the sweat from her brow. Had she really telegraphed herself that much? “We must not fool ourselves any longer, Applejack.” Rarity said, shifting over and sitting herself on top of a surprised AJ. “The door on the relationship that Twilight and I once shared may have closed, but I believe that when one door closes, another opens. Take me in your hooves right now, sweet Apple. I am yours.” Applejack hesitated no longer. She wrapped her hooves around her, reveling in the feeling of her soft, white coat. “Applejack…” Rarity moaned. “Applejack…Applejack…” “…APPLEJACK!” AJ blinked and looked up. Rarity was staring at her. “Are you okay, darling?” Rarity asked. “You seem to have zoned out for a moment there.” AJ shook her head out and smiled weakly. “Ah’m alright,” AJ said. “Jus’ thinkin’f somethin’.” Rarity nodded and went off into another story about how the various clothes in her room reminded her of her various dates with Twilight. AJ nodded along and offered a comforting hoof. She was there for Rarity, albeit not in the way she’d most wanted. She was dedicated to making her happy again, because that was what the most loyal of ponies did for her friends. Her own happiness came second.