2.
“Just preen my wings. Nothing else.”
“Yes, miss Dash.”
Rarity watched Rainbow lower herself carefully onto the massage table. She hadn’t been completely certain Rainbow would show up to the spa until she blew in through the door like she was the protagonist of a cheap mystery novel being tailed by hoodlums.
“No hooficure, not hoofrubs. Just leave the whole hoof area alone, okay?”
“Yes, miss Dash.”
She had approached all her friends with the offer of taking them to the spa on her bit, as a way of making up for a fraction of the chaos two days ago. Twilight was missing for obvious reasons, staying behind in Canterlot, and Applejack had begged the offer off, saying there was work to be done on the farm. There was always work to be done on that farm! That pony needed to learn to be less talented at finding work that needed doing.
“And I don’t want to do anything with mud. I know it’s like, clean mud, but still. No mud.”
“Yes, miss Dash.”
Fluttershy and Pinkie had made it, though. They were in the spa with her, a great mass of foamy bubbles in Pinkie’s mane, and they both seemed to be in on some private joke that Rarity wasn’t privy to. It wasn’t completely unusual for Pinkie to burst into laughter at the slightest provocation, but Fluttershy was especially giggly today. Rarity was starting to wonder if her nerves hadn’t quite settled yet.
“…Maybe you could work on my shoulders a little? And there’s this spot that’s like in the middle of my back…”
“Yes, miss Dash.”
“But that’s all. And you don’t have to get any of those weird oils or anything, just… yeah.”
“Yes, miss Dash.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake, Rainbow,” Rarity said, “leave poor Aloe alone. Just let her do her job, she knows what to do. Don’t you, dear?”
“Yes, miss Rarity.”
Rainbow huffed and finally stuck her head through the hole in the massage table.
“Sooo, Rarity,” asked Pinkie, “anything new with you?” She had a look like she wasn’t asking a question but rather setting up the punchline of a joke.
“Since the other day?” Rarity sunk back into the spa, resting her head on the padded section behind her and closing her eyes. “No, I can’t say anything especially noteworthy has occurred, although I admit the bar has been set rather high as of late.”
“Aaare you sure?”
More giggles from Fluttershy, which in turn meant another sound of barely-suppressed laughter from Pinkie. Maybe the joke was about Applejack’s outfit, somehow. Rarity knew Pinkie had a streak for practical jokes, but she would have expected different from Fluttershy. They should know better than to tease Applejack about her design sense, especially if she wasn’t around to hear it! Her outfit had a certain rugged charm to it, Rarity had come to realize.
“Quiiite sure?” Pinkie asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“Yes,” she said, sitting back up and looking at them both in turn. “Really, what’s gotten into you two?”
“Nothing,” Pinkie said, completely guileless, which caused Fluttershy to break into a tittering fit.
“They want to know what the deal is with you and Applejack,” came Rainbow’s voice, muffled from the massage table.
So they did know. It was amazing how quickly such little news could travel. Would Applejack mind, if Rarity confirmed what they had been doing? Rarity thought not, not if was just to her friends.
“If you must know,” Rarity said, “and this doesn’t need to leave the spa, as I’m not sure it’s something Applejack wants everyponyto know about…” She took a breath, and Pinkie and Fluttershy leaned in closer, expectation written all over their faces. “…Last night, Applejack and I were collaborating on an outfit.”
The pair in front of her seemed to deflate, sinking down like somepony had just pulled the plug out at the bottom of the spa and they were bubbles floating on the surface of the water.
“Of her own design! I only provided some assistance with the construction. And it turned out very well! …What?” she asked. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Collaborating,” Rainbow snorted. “So that’s what you call it these days.”
Rarity suddenly became aware of a heat in her face that had nothing to do with the warm water. “I… I…” she spluttered over the giggles of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. “Just what are you implying?”
“You know exactly what I’m implying.”
“…Nothing of the sort happened!”
“Uh-huh.”
“It did not!”
“Applejack spends the whole night at your house and Pinkie sees her leaving in the morning with a great big smile on her face and her mane out and you really expect us to believe that nothing happened?”
“But nothing did happen,” Rarity said, pleading. “I slept on the couch the whole night.”
“Oh,” Fluttershy said, her voice full of concern. “That’s too bad…”
“Why,” Rarity asked with one raised eyebrow, “would that be too bad?” She was beginning to suspect something larger at work.
“Because… because…” Fluttershy stammered, going quite red in the face herself.
“Because you like Applejack and you want her to be your special somepony so you can spend more nights together making outfits.” Pinkie’s eyebrows wiggled lasciviously.
It was very rare for Rarity to be stunned into complete silence, but this was one of those few moments. Her mouth worked, opening and closing, yet no sound came out of it. “You…” she managed, “…surely you can’t be serious.”
“Completely serious,” Pinkie said.
“I thought you were already together,” Rainbow said, looking up while Aloe massaged one outstretched wing. Pinkie shot her a look, as if she had been planning on saying something more. “Everypony knows there’s something going on, anyway.”
“Everypony does not know,” Rarity insisted. “This pony certainly didn’t. Where in the wide wide world of Equestria did this idea come from?”
And as her friends recalled a lengthy list of shared glances, touches, and moments chronicling her completely fabricated attraction to Applejack, Rarity could only listen and sink deeper and deeper into the water of the spa.
Never before had Rarity left the spa feeling more frazzled than when she went in. She wasn’t in love with Applejack! Applejack was a friend. A dear, sweet friend whose honesty and work ethic made her admirable, but no more so than any of her other friends and most certainly not as a potential suitor. For one, she was hardly Rarity’s type. While it might be fun to pretty Applejack up again like she had for the Gala, the fact was her lack of polish wouldn’t mesh with Rarity’s sophistication, even if that unpolishedness came with a refreshing genuineness that seemed missing among the pretentions of the ponies of high society. Not to mention how little Rarity wanted to be doing manual labor on the farm. She could just imagine standing off to the side the whole time, watching Applejack work bucking apple trees, watching the sun shine off her coat slightly covered in perspiration as those strong powerful muscles flexed to kick free the apples…
Rarity froze in mid-step. She blinked.
Oh, dear.