//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Closer // Story: Dirt // by SomethingForThePain //------------------------------// The two mares were equally exhausted over their tiring day of labor and harbored emotions, and they both wanted nothing more than to sleep. They didn’t even bother with bathing, deciding to leave that up to tomorrow morning. Rarity had taken no time collapsing on the top of her bed (with all of her night-time accessories of course) and Applejack came in a bit later, carrying two glasses of cider. She climbed into bed beside Rarity, and put the other mare’s glass on the bedside table. The room was dimly lit, with only the lamp on. “Been a long day, huh?” Inquired Applejack. She took off her hat, threw it into a random direction, and took a sip of the glass in her hoof. “You can say that again.” Rarity levitated her glass to her lips, taking a long swig of the stuff before putting it down again. She had decided that Applejack would spend another night with her. It was nearly midnight by the time they got home. Applejack had already put her glass aside when Rarity spoke up. “You don’t need the lamp on, do you?” “Nah, not at all. Feel free to turn it off. It won’t bother me none.” With a click, the small amount of light in the room was extinguished, leaving it completely pitch black. But even so, Applejack’s eyes were wide open. She lied on her back, staring blankly at the shrouded ceiling and thinking. She couldn’t go to sleep, and she knew exactly why. But what if she’d think that it was weird? What if she freaks out, runs away, and says something awful? There was no absolute way of knowing, was there? All this worrying would drive her crazy, and then she’d never get to sleep. Horsefeathers. How long had she been staring at the ceiling? On the other side of the bed, Rarity had her back turned to Applejack, and her eyes were focused on the wall. She too was thinking. Thinking about the dream she had the other night in this very same scenario. The feeling of being in someone else’s hooves had been blissful to say the least. She couldn’t recall the last time that it had happened in real life, though. Unless you count when Sweetie Belle has nightmares, but she hardly counted that. Was it what happened, or who it happened with, though? “Hey Rar… you up?” Applejack whispered, hoping not to wake her if she was asleep. “Mhmm.” Came the quiet response. “Are you alright?” “I’m uhh, fine. But I was wonderin’…” Applejack turned to her left, and Rarity to her right. Both mares were now facing each other, even though they couldn’t make out the other’s silhouette. “Yes?” Rarity felt her heartbeat speed up a bit, anticipating what in the hay was about to come out of the mare’s mouth. “I was wondering if you’d uhh.. be okay with cuddling with me..” “What was that, dear?” “I was wondering if you’d be alright with well, uh.. cuddling.. with uhm,… me.” Rarity could feel her face flush. ‘Oh my.’ She thought to herself. Would should she say? She didn’t want to seem desperate or needy or anything like that. Besides; she quite enjoyed cuddling. “Of course I wouldn’t mind, dear. I wouldn’t mind at all.” She could feel Applejack sigh in relief. The weight in the bed shifted as the other mare came closer. Her fur brushed softly against Rarity’s as she held the slightly smaller mare in a tight embrace. Rarity herself returned the gesture, resting herself against her strong torso. Her head was in the crook of Applejack’s neck, and she breathed in the smell of snow and pine, a winter wonderland in her own bed. The two of them were intertwined in each other, and Rarity could hear the steady beating of Applejack’s heart. The whole affair made her nice and warm, despite the weather outside. Now would be as good a time as any to air her grievances, right? Besides, she needed to talk to someone about this whole ordeal. “Applejack, are you awake?” The only response that came was the sound of slow, even breaths. ‘I guess not.’ There was a brief moment of hesitation, but it faltered quickly. She placed a small kiss on Applejack’s cheek, and nuzzled back into her warm embrace until she too made the sound of slow, even breaths. The next morning, both mares were awakened by the sound of somepony knocking sharply at the front door. Despite their usual morning routine, the two of them had both slept in, due to them going to bed a bit late. They looked a haggard and worn, and it was already noon. A brief moment of awkwardness was accompanied with waking up, but both mares wore matching smiles. The knocking grew more insistent, almost impatient. “Oh, calm yourself, I’m coming!” Rarity groaned as she hopped out of bed in her robe, house slippers and all, and headed for the living room. Applejack followed behind her. Rarity swung the door open. “Oh, darlings, you all should have called first! I am by no means ready for company.” In the doorway stood Rainbow, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Twilight. “Pray tell, to what do I owe your visit on this fine day?” “Well, our schedules have cleared up!” said Twilight. She wore a grin that stretched ear to ear. “Yeah, and about time too. Do you know how totally boring making snowflakes gets? Because it gets REALLY boring. And don’t even get me started on what happens when someone bucks up and makes two of the same kind.” Rainbow’s spite for snowflake making ensued under her breath in low, muttering tones. Something or other about how absurd it is that they don’t just make them all look alike. “It’s been a lot of hard work, but everyone is down south all safe and sound. It’s been really quiet without my animals around like they are in spring.” “And we know you guys are super-duper busy and could use all the help you could get, so here we are! Isn’t that just super great?!” “As a matter of fact, it is, Pinkie. Do come in, all of you. Just give me a moment to make myself presentable, and we’ll get to work right away!” With that, Rarity disappeared into the bathroom. There was no telling when she’d next emerge, but they weren’t going to hold their breath. Rainbow turned to Applejack, and gave her a weird look. “What’s with the mane, Blondie? As the days began to drag on, and the date of the fashion show started to approach, Applejack found herself less and less of use. Fluttershy had been helping Rarity with the designs, Twilight helped with stitching and sewing, Rainbow fetched supplies, and Pinkie was planning for the big day. And on top of that, all four of them modeled. She felt like her work here was pretty much done. If she was honest, she felt a bit jealous that she hadn’t gotten to spend any alone-time with Rarity. But this time, she decided not to be so honest. So she did what any sensible pony would have done; she went back to the farm. Her routine hadn’t changed, and Big Mac had been picking up the slack on some of her chores, which was fine by her. With Hearth’s Warming Eve just around the corner, there was still a lot to be done. But at that moment, she found herself in the small clearing that Rarity had first found her in. She sat down on a nearby bench. Something had been bugging her ever since she left. By now, she had a pretty good idea of what it was. She was… falling for Rarity. Yup, falling flat on her face. But she wasn’t going down without a fight. She had a bit of things to get done herself, and she refused to sit around and mope when she could be getting down to business. With determination swelling up inside of her, she knew what she had to do. Meanwhile, back at the shop, Rarity was a high-strung mess. Her deadline was approaching rapidly, and she still had to oversee all of the final arrangements. “Pinkie, is everything in order for Friday? Oh, please say it is!” “Yeperooni! I made sure to get everything exactly like you wanted it! I’ve got the music, and the decorations, and oh oh oh the food has lots and looottts of sweets!” “Ah, good. One less thing to worry about. It’s only three days away, Pinkie. THREE. DAYS.! Oh sweet Celestia.” With a deep breath, Rarity flopped on her favorite coach and groaned. “But you know what ELSE is in three days??? HEARTH’S WARMING!!! WHOOPIE!” Behind Pinkie, there was an eruption of streamers and confetti. “Hey Rar, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna go out for a quick flight. I gotta stretch the old feather dusters.” Rainbow gave her wings a quick flap. “Cool with you?” “Of course, of course. Just please be back soon.” “I’ll be back before you notice I’m gone.” The cyan pegasus took off with a flourish of feathers and bright colors. It felt good to have her mane glide in the cold breeze, to feel weightless again. She hated being stuck on the ground. She dodged out of the way of tall oak tree, nearly getting hit in the face. Speaking of ground, she hadn’t seen AJ around in while, but she knew how it was on the farm this time of year. Baking and harvesting and packing. Like lather, rinse, and repeat. It’s about time that she stopped and paid the applebucker a visit. Below her, the dark green apple trees of Sweet Apple Acres came into view. Strangely, she couldn’t spot the usual orange speck among the more visited regions of the large farm. So, she flew down to the West orchard to see if she was there. The West orchard never grew much; the tree were a bit older there. The Apple family still tended to it, just not as much. Rainbow landed effortlessly on the path, and her wings folded against her sides. Where are you, Blondie? Rainbow began to walk around a bit. Snow and dead leaves crunched under her hooves as she did, and her breath came out in white, wispy puffs. After a few minutes, she saw a frozen river. Sitting next to it on an old wooden bench sat her shivering friend, donning her old tan stetson. “Yo, Aj! What are you doin’ out here, man?” She moved to Applejack quickly, and sat down next to her. “J-just clearing my m-mind.” “Yeah, but out here? With no jacket or anything? Dude, you’re gonna freeze your flank off like this.” She extended her wing so that it draped over her friend’s back to give her a bit of warmth. “Y-you’re one t-t-talk. Y-you don’t have a j-jacket either!” Rainbow rolled her eyes at this. “No duh, genius. I’m used to high altitudes, remember? Now come on—what’s bugging you?” Applejack sighed beside her and turned to look at her friend. The whites of her eyes were rimmed red, and dark circles were forming beneath them. Her emerald irises began to brim with tears. “I just… oh my Celestia, Dash, it hurts s-so bad!” She fell into Dash’s warm embrace, holding onto her tightly as she sobbed. Rainbow’s face sunk, and she gently ran her hoof through AJ’s blonde mane. “What is it, Aj? You can tell me. I’m here for you, man. For like, ever.” Aj looked up at her friend. Her tears were beginning to freeze on her cheeks. “You m-mean it?” She sniffed and wiped her nose. “You promise ya won’t freak out?” “Aj, I never lose my cool. I’m like ice, man. Except for the melting part. I’m like ice that never ever melts. Smooth and cool, ya know? But seriously, nothing you could possibly tell me could freak me out anymore. Not after all we’ve been through together.” The both of them recalled the numerous times that they’d been given wild news: Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, etc. The works. “Well…” Aj pulled away from her friend so that they were both gazing into each other eyes. She shuddered a bit, not knowing if it was from the cold or nervousness, and took a deep breath. “I think I’m into mares, Dash.” There was silence between them. Which was broken by Dash erupting into obnoxious laughter. “What the hay?” Applejack looked at her companion who was now rolling around in the snow and holding onto her sides. “Dash, this ain’t funny, ya nimrod!” “Oh man. Ohhhh man!” She wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye. “Aj, do you really think that would ‘freak me out’? I’ve had my hunches.” “W-what?” “Come one, Aj.” Rainbow sat up and looked at her friend. “Applejack, haven’t we been friends a while?” “Yeah, of course we have.” “Don’t you think I know you by now? I’m not an egghead, but I sure do notice stuff around here.” “Like what?” “Like how whenever we go places together, you’re bold and brash around the stallions, but you start stumbling over your words with mares. Or how you tense up around your family members from way down south. And not to mention how you look at Rarity like she’s an apple pie with a side of cider.” Applejack’s cheeks turned beet read. “So you uh.. knew?” “Well kinda, yeah. Takes one to know one I guess.” “You mean that you’re..?” “Yup. Kind of obvious. I've been getting shit for it since flight school. But it’s whatever, man. I’d be your friend no matter what. Alright?” “Alright.” The two sat down in silence for a moment, letting this new revelation of theirs sink in. Their friendship changed a bit. Not dramatically. There was a new understanding between the two. It was nice. Rainbow spoke up, though. “Why do you, ya know, like her so much?” “Rar? Oh man, I dunno how to start. She’s real’ pretty and as sharp as a tack. She’s one of the kindest ponies I know, but she’s still got a little spunk to her ya know? She’s never boring and she always makes me smile. And when I’m around her my chest gets all tight and I get all sweaty and I can’t stop looking at her.. Does that make any sense?” Rainbow smiled. “It makes a whole lot of sense. So what are you doing to win her over?” “Well about that, I kinda need your help.” As the two of them spoke of their plan, Applejack had stopped shivering. She was warm all over.