Rarity just stood there with a slight hint of a grin on her face as the pony that entered the Boutique trotted up to her, the annoyed look still on her face.
Scratching the back of her left leg with her other hoof, she asked, “W-What brings you here, Applejack?”
“Hey, Rare’s,” she said, as she placed two items on the floor in front of her: a sloppily folded scarf and a saddlebag. “Ya fergot these in Apple Bloom’s bedroom, so ah decided ta bring ‘em over.”
She cringed at the sight of the items on the floor; now she knew why it felt like she forgot something and cursed herself for being so foolish for leaving without them.
As innocently as she could, she trotted up to them and levitated them with her magic. All the while, Applejack stood there with a look on her face that made an uncomfortable chill run up and down her spine.
Just remain calm, she told herself as she picked up her belongings and said, “Thank you, Applejack. I had a feeling I had forgotten something. So sorry you had to make the trip all the way out here just to drop them off.”
“It’s alright,” said Applejack. “Actually, there’s another reason why ah came by. Ah was wonderin’ if ah could talk to ya fer a moment.”
Rarity was thankful she had her back facing her; she didn’t see the panicked look flash across her face. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself. Then, when she was confident she was relaxed enough to face her friend, she turned to her and flashed a soft smile.
“Why, of course, dear,” she said. “Why don’t we talk over a cup of tea?”
Without waiting for a response, she swiftly trotted into the kitchen, filled up her tea kettle with water, and placed it on the stove while getting out a few tea bags and two cups. Applejack trotted into the room and sat down at the table, watching her friend trot back and forth like she was gliding across the room. At some point, she let out a sigh and shook her head, knowing very well what she was doing: stalling.
After several moments of prepping the functions, she sat down across her friend with two cups of tea held in her magic. Applejack looked down at her beverage and then at her friend, who had brought the cup to her lips to take a small sip. Then, she let out a sigh and pushed her drink a few inches away so she could rest her hooves on the table.
“Rarity,” she said. “Ah wanna know what the hay yer up to!”
Slowly, Rarity put her teacup down and asked, “What, pray tell, are you talking about?”
“Don’t play innocent with me, missy. Ah noticed the way you were actin’ earlier, so drop the act and tell the truth.”
Taking a sip of her tea to clear her throat, Rarity said, “Oh, that. I deeply apologize for my inappropriate behavior back there. I just...wasn’t myself...I suppose.”
“Ya can say that again,” Applejack said as she rolled her eyes. “You looked more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockin’ chairs! If ah didn’t know any better, ah’d say you were tryin’ ta keep Scootaloo away from Sweetie Belle. Is there any reason why?”
Her heart began pounding in her chest again. “Pish-posh! I would never something that preposterous to my little sister!”
All she got in response was an unconvinced rising of an eyebrow.
“Okay, I’ll admit that my behavior was less than exemplar, but honestly, I value my sister’s relationship with Scootaloo and would never do anything to interfere with that.”
“Uh-huh,” said Applejack. “Well, try tellin’ that ta Scootaloo when she gets here. She noticed it almost as much as ah did and, let me tell ya, she’s not too pleased with it either.”
Great, just great, Rarity thought as she tried to maintain her façade by taking another sip of her tea.
The only sound heard was the clock’s steady ticking as the two of them sat in awkward silence. After a moment, Applejack let out a sigh, took a sip of her tea, and continued.
“Look, sugar cube, ah know you have a ‘thing’ for Thunderlane and all; it’s as clear as the horn on yer head! But if yer hidin’ something from anypony, it’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out, so why don’t ya tell me now and get it over with.”
“Hiding?” she asked, her voice rising a few decibels. “What in Equestria would I be trying to hide?”
“Ah don’t know,” she responded with sarcasm in her voice. “Maybe the fact that yer sister’s in a relationship with Scootaloo, perhaps?”
Rarity let out a huff of annoyance. “What a horrid accusation, Applejack! What would give you the idea that I would do a thing like that?”
Her eyebrows slightly furrowed. “Ya kept doin’ everythin’ in yer power ta get in that poor filly’s way! Ya sent her outta the room fer the most unimportant things imaginable! Ya tried ta drag her outta the room, along with Apple Bloom, might ah add, and throughout it all, ya kept giving looks in Thunderlane’s direction!”
Rarity sat in silence. Applejack was able to see right through her act. However, what hurt the most was the reminder of how low she was stooping to keep her sister’s relationship with Scootaloo a secret. Every fiber of her being kept telling her to explain the situation to Applejack; let her know why she was doing this and how she never wanted to do this in the first place. Unfortunately, a small voice kept telling her not to tell her yet; there was a time and place for everything, it would say, and this wasn’t that time or the place.
Straightening her posture, Rarity said, “I assure you that I am not trying to hide anything from anypony, especially Thunderlane.”
“Is that right?” Applejack asked. “Then why in tarnation were ya doing all that?”
“It’s...well...kind of hard to explain...,” she said with a nervous tone.
“Try me,” Applejack quickly responded.
Slowly, Rarity let out a sigh and hung her head in defeat. The motion caused Applejack’s hard demeanor to slightly soften into a look of concern.
“I know I’ve been acting very foolish,” she finally said. “It’s just that...I’m afraid...that’s all.”
“Afraid? Afraid of what?”
Her ears lied flat on her head. “I’m afraid of losing him. I just want to show him how much of a generous pony I can be and, well, I guess I just lost my head for a while. I know it looked like I was trying to come between the two of them, but it wasn’t my intention! I was just trying to make a good impression on Thunderlane, nothing more.”
“Seriously?”
“Honest!”
She lowered her head onto the table as she made a small sniffle. “I don’t want to lose this one, Applejack. You know I’ve had some pretty rotten luck with stallions in the past, right?”
The remnants of Applejack’s stern and accusing look had withered away into one of sympathy. “Yeah, ah...ah know.”
“I think he might be the one for me, the one who cares about me more than I care about him. I love him, Applejack, more than anypony in Equestria, and I don’t want him to turn out like all the others I’ve tried to be with! I suppose you can say that love makes you do stupid things, and this happened to be one of them. I can only imagine what I must have looked like to him, acting in such a ridiculous manner!”
AJ turned her gaze to the table as she let out a sigh. Something in the back of her mind still thought Rarity was up to something, but a lot of those accusations dissipated when she saw the sincere, saddened, and apologetic look on her friend’s face.
“It’s alright, Rare’s,” she said comfortingly after several seconds passed. “Firstly, ah don’t think Thunderlane noticed yer behavior too much, so ya don’t have ta worry about his feelings fer ya changin’ by much. Secondly, ah understand where yer comin’ from, but that’s still no excuse to do what ya did, especially ta Sweetie Belle an’ Scootaloo. Ah’ll let it slide just this once, but ya have to promise me that you’ll never pull that kinda stunt again.”
“I...I promise,” Rarity said, a small flicker of a smile coming across her face as a wave of relief washed over her. “Thank you for understanding, Applejack. You’re the best friend a pony could have.”
“No problem, sugar cube,” she said as she took the remaining sip of her tea. However, a small thought came across her mind, prompting her to say, “Ah don’t mean ta sound like ah’m stickin’ mah nose in yer business or nothin’, but does Thunderlane know about Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo?”
Rarity’s heart skipped a beat as she felt her spine begin to tense up. Although she was able to prevent it from showing, she felt like she was ready get up and scream at the top of her lungs. However, she took one small breath before answering, “Of course he knows, darling. He says he has nothing against them or anything of the sort, so all’s well on that front.”
“Oh, okay.”
Please forgive me, she thought. I don’t want to keep this up, but I need to, at least for a little while longer. Still, I’m glad she’s willing to understand, but there has to be a way to set it in stone and make her believe that what I said was true.
It didn’t take long for an idea to pop into her head, making her ears perk up at full attention. Taking the last sip of her tea, Rarity said aloud, “I suppose there’s only one way to make this right. If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’ll be right back.”
With that, she got up and left the room, bee-lining towards the stairs. Applejack watched her friend leave the room, a suspicious look coming across her face. Curiosity getting the best of her, she got up and trotted towards the base of the stairs in hopes to hear what was going on. However, much to her surprise, the excited cheer of Sweetie Belle was all the confirmation she needed to know what her friend was up to.
Applejack didn’t have a chance to blink before she saw the filly quickly galloping down the stairs, stepping out of her way as she caught a glimpse of Sweetie Belle’s excited face.
Trotting over to the door, Sweetie Belle turned to Rarity, who was trotting down the stairs, and called out, “Thank you so much, Rarity! You’re the greatest sister ever!”
“You’re quite welcome, Sweet’ums,” she replied with a smile.
Then, Sweetie Belle opened the door and let out an audible gasp. Whether it was a stroke of convenience or just perfect timing, she didn’t care, but seeing Scootaloo standing there, her hoof reaching out as if she was just about to push the door open, made Sweetie Belle smile from ear-to-ear.
“Talk about great timing! Guess what, Scoots?” she squeaked in excitement. “Rarity said that I’m well enough to go out with you today! Isn’t that great?”
Scootaloo didn’t say anything; she had come with the intention of questioning Rarity and getting to the bottom of her strange behavior from earlier. The last thing she expected was Sweetie Belle telling her that Rarity had changed her mind and released her earlier than originally planned.
Before she had a chance to reply, Rarity trotted up to her and said, “Scootaloo, I know how you feel and I’m really sorry for treating you the way I did.”
“Umm...” Scootaloo said, her eyes shifting back and forth, desperately hoping to find an answer.
“To show you how sorry I am,” she continued. “I’ve decided to let you and Sweetie Belle go out with one another, like I had promised you could. I do hope you’ll forgive me for my atrocious behavior.”
She shifted her gaze from Rarity’s sympathetic look to Sweetie Belle’s gleaming smile and back. By this point, any traces of anger had vanished, leaving her with only a soft sigh and a smile in response.
“It’s okay,” she finally said. “I forgive you.”
“Oh, you don’t know how happy I am to hear you say that,” said Rarity, as she trotted up to her and offered a small hug. Again, Scootaloo was taken aback from the gesture, but returned it nonetheless by putting her hooves around her.
After releasing their embrace, Rarity said, “Now, why don’t you two run along and have some fun. Just be back before supper, Sweetie Belle.”
“Okay, I will,” said Sweetie as she waved a hoof. “Bye, Rarity, and thanks again!”
It took a few moments, but Scootaloo also raised a hoof and said, “Yeah, thanks.”
She offered the two of them a smile and a wave as they trotted off together. As they slowly began to disappear over the horizon, she let out a soft sigh.
Well, that takes care of that, she thought. Not only will Applejack see how much I meant what I said, but Scootaloo will have no resentment towards me. Now all that’s left is...
“Well, now,” said Applejack, snapping Rarity out of her thoughts. “Ah guess ya really meant what ya said back there.”
“Of course, darling,” said Rarity. “Like I said, I have nothing against the two of them being together and would never try to interfere.”
Then, Rarity gave Applejack a small hug, who returned the gesture without hesitation. “I can’t thank you enough for being so understanding, Applejack.”
“Oh, shucks,” she said with a smile. “Think nothin’ of it, sugar cube. That’s what friends are for.”
With that, the two of them bid each other farewell as Applejack left the Boutique. When she was several paces down the road, Rarity closed the door behind her as a saddened expression came across her face.
What am I going to do? There’s got to be a way to get out of this mess, she thought to herself. I suppose there’s only one place to start, but...but...
She let the thought linger as she began making her way towards her work room, hoping that working on an outfit or two would take her mind off all of this for a while. As she trotted up the stairs, she softly closed her eyes as a small teardrop leaked from the corners. Using a hoof to wipe them away, she let out another small sigh as she entered her work room, the thoughts of telling Thunderlane the truth about her sister never leaving her mind.
“Isn’t this great?” Sweetie Belle asked as she and Scootaloo made their way into town. “Now we can finally spend some time together, just the two of us, just like I promised.”
“Yeah...great...” said Scootaloo in an unsure tone.
Hearing the tone in her voice, she asked, “What’s wrong, Scoots? I thought you wanted to spend time with me.”
“I do,” she said. “It’s just that...well...”
She let out a sigh before continuing. “Have you noticed that Rarity has been acting very strange lately?”
Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out right away. Yeah, she did notice her sister’s strange behavior, but she also remembered when it started and that was something she was trying to avoid thinking about.
In an attempt to change the subject, she trotted closer to Scootaloo and began nudging her neck like a kitten would its owner.
“Maybe,” she said softly. “But let’s not think about that now. Let’s just think about how we’re going to spend the rest of the afternoon, okay?”
The gesture made Scootaloo smile and blush as she leaned her head in and kissed Sweetie on the forehead. “I guess you’re right. So, what do you wanna do today?”
“I dunno,” she said as she tapped a hoof on her chin. “What can we do?”
Scootaloo thought for a moment, her gaze focusing towards the sky. After a few moments, she said in excitement, “I know! How about we go to a movie! I have enough bits saved up from my allowance and it’s not too late to go! Maybe, if there’s enough time and bits, we can grab a bite to eat! What do you say?”
Sweetie Belle blushed as she said, “That sounds like a great idea! Let’s get going!”
Then, the two of them began trotting towards Scootaloo’s house, both of their cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Not even ten seconds had passed before Sweetie Belle leaned in, planted a kiss on Scootaloo’s cheek, and whispered, “I love you, Scoots.”
“I love you, too, Sweetie,” she replied, turning and giving her a small peck on her lips. Then, the two of them trotted off in silence, both of them eager to finally spend a day together without any interruptions.
He trotted back and forth in his bedroom, desperately trying to find an answer to his current dilemma. It was only the afternoon, meaning the day was still young, so he could go out and finish his mission. However, as much as he wanted to, Rumble couldn’t bring it to himself to do it.
“How should I go about doing this?” he asked himself in a hushed tone. “Should I do it now or should I wait? I mean I could go over there and ask her now, but she’s still recovering from her injury. Perhaps it would be best to wait until tomorrow.”
He stopped his pacing. “But that won’t help me now! The more I push it off, the more I’ll talk myself into not doing it at all. If I’m going to get anywhere, I should just ask her and get it over with. Besides, it’s not like I have anything else better to do. Still, that doesn’t help me figure out how to do it.”
A knock on his door snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Rumble, are you okay?” Thunderlane asked. “I keep hearing you trotting back and forth in there. Is everything alright?”
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” he fibbed as he trotted over to it and opened his door for him. “I’m just thinking, that’s all.”
“Oh, okay. You might want to ease off the pacing before you start making a groove in the floor.”
The two of them shared a laugh as he trotted away, leaving Rumble alone for a little while. Closing the door again, he trotted to his bed and sat down on it, scratching his forehead with a hoof.
“Maybe there’s another way to do this instead of asking Sweetie Belle,” he said to himself. “I could always ask somepony else about it, but it’ll have to be a pony who’s really close to her or who really knows her, like...”
He didn’t even have to finish his sentence before the idea came to him, making a smile form across his face. Quickly, he got out of bed and left his room to see Thunderlane sitting at the kitchen table with a brown book in front of him.
“Hey, Thunder,” he said. “Is it alright if I go out for a little while?”
Looking up from his book, Thunderlane asked, “Why? Is there something wrong?”
“No, no, everything’s fine. I just wanted to talk to somepony about what we talked about earlier.”
Thunderlane let out a sigh. “I know you’re eager, Rumble, but I think you should let Sweetie Belle rest. She’s been through a lot today, you know?”
“I know, I know,” he said reassuringly. “I wasn’t going to talk to her yet. I was going to talk to the other Crusaders. Maybe they can give me an idea!”
“Well, I guess there’s nothing wrong with that,” Thunderlane said with a smile. “Just be careful, alright?”
“I will,” he said as he opened the door. As he began closing it behind him, he quickly said, “Thanks and bye!”
Hearing his brother’s hoof-steps trotting down the hall towards the stairs, Thunderlane smiled and shook his head, focusing his attention back to his book. A few moments of reading went by before an idea came to his mind.
Since Rumble is out for a while, now would be a good time to ask Rarity what I wanted to ask her earlier, he thought as he placed a bookmark in his book. Then, he got up and left the room, a smile on his face and his heart beginning to race in his chest.
Well, here’s hoping she says ‘yes’...
Okay, this shouldn’t be too hard to do, Rumble thought as he left the inn. All I have to do is talk to Scootaloo or Apple Bloom, maybe both if I’m lucky enough. It should be easier to talk to them since I only seem to lose myself whenever I look into Sweetie Belle’s eyes. I guess I should try Scootaloo first, since she lives in town.
He gave himself a determined nod as he came across Sugar Cube Corner. It didn’t take long before his confident trot began to slow, his head shifting back and forth at his surroundings. Soon, he stopped moving all together and sat on his haunches, a look of confusion on his face. It was only when he stopped trotting did realization strike him, making him face-hoof.
Well, this is embarrassing, he told himself, letting a sigh escape through his nostrils. I don’t know where Scootaloo lives! She never told me and we’ve never met at her house yet! Well, I guess that means I should go talk to Apple Bloom. Hmmm, if only I could remember where to go from here. I really need to pay more attention when all of us head out to...
“Hey, Rumble,” a familiar voice called out from behind him, making him jump to full attention. Turning around, he saw that Applejack was trotting towards him. “Sorry ‘bout that, ah didn’t mean ta scare ya. You alright, sugar cube?”
What a coincidence, he thought as he said, “Hi. Yeah, I’m alright, but I seem to be a little lost, that’s all.”
Giving him a reassuring smile, Applejack said, “Well, that’s alright, hun. Ah know it must be hard fer ya, bein’ new ta town and all. Where’re ya headin’?”
Rumble let out a small chortle as he slowly said, “S-Sweet Apple Acres. I wanted to talk to Apple Bloom for a moment, if she’s home that is.”
The moment her sister’s name was mentioned, Applejack tried to hold back a little bit of laughter. “Well, ain’t that sweet of ya. Yeah, she’s home and ah’ll show ya the way. Let me tell ya, she’s gonna be pleased as punch ta hear ya wanna see her.”
“R-Really? Why?”
“You’ll see, sugar cube,” she said, offering a wink afterwards. “C’mon, ah’ll take ya to her.”
As Rumble began to slowly follow her, he couldn’t help but cock his head and raise an eyebrow as he thought to himself, I wonder why Apple Bloom would be so happy to see me.
He tapped a hoof against his chin as the two of them began heading towards the dirt path that lead to Sweet Apple Acres. Never mind about that now. I need to keep track of where I’m going so I can get here myself.
Quickly, he scanned his surroundings to make sure he knew where he was going. As the two of them trotted along the dirt path, the thought of Apple Bloom came back to his mind, making his gaze shift to the ground.
Maybe she’s still happy that I saved her bonnet earlier or complimented her new mane-style. Those are the only things I can think of that would make her happy to see me, he thought. After a while, he shook his head to regain his focus. You can think about that later, Rumble. Just focus on getting the information about Sweetie Belle for Thunderlane.
As the two of them neared the farm, he quickly scanned his surroundings again to make another mental note of where they were. It was just then that a thought came to Rumble’s mind, making his ears perk up.
Uh-oh, I just thought of something, he thought. If I start questioning her about Sweetie Belle, she might run and tell her that I was asking about her. There has to be a way to get information about Sweetie Belle out of her without saying or bringing up her name!
He tapped a hoof against his chin. I got it! I’ll strike up a conversation about all three of them! That way, it doesn’t sound like I’m singling any of them out and it will keep her guessing who I’m really talking about! It’s such a great idea!
Rumble gave one last confident nod as they turned the bend and headed up the road towards Sweet Apple Acres. As the buildings came closer and closer, her brushed his mane back with a hoof and took one last breath of air before smiling.
This can only end with success!