//------------------------------// // Rather Dashing // Story: Day after Day // by starbright154 //------------------------------// AJ's P.O.V. Grocery shopping had been more difficult today than a regular day at the market. There was a particular stallion that was trying to hustle all the vendors, causing many ponies distress from the public outburst he was having. I admit, it did bother me slightly, but I was in a hurry to get back to Rarity's boutique. I wonder what Rarity designed for Flim, I thought. Probably something fabulous, knowing her. I opened the door the the boutique and heard Rarity humming a new tune that was pleasant to hear after listening to ponies ramble on throughout the town. "Rarity?" I called out. "Just a minute!" She responded in a sing-song voice. I decided to take a look around the boutique while waiting. Everything was too fancy for my taste, but I caught a glimpse of a simple yet beautiful dress. It was a maroon color starting at the back but getting to a brighter red as it got closer to the neck, with golden lace trailing over it. Taking a closer look at it, I realized that it was just my size. I looked for a price tag, only to see that it cost 50 bits! It's rare for me to find a dress that suits me, but I guess I'll just have to wait for another one. I couldn't buy it now anyways, since I was already paying for Flim's new outfit. "Applejack," Rarity yelled from her sewing room," You can come up now!" I took one last glance at the stylish dress before making my way up the stairs to Rarity's room. Turning the corner, I find Rarity sitting at her sewing machine wearing her red, cat-eye shaped glasses while Flim is looking out her window. Once Rarity sees me, she turns off the sewing machine. "Did you have a pleasant trip in town?" Rarity asked. "Yeah, it was alright." "Well, I just finished the final touches to Flim's new outfit. Flim? Would you be a dear and try it on so I can see if I need to make any adjustments?" "Yes, of course, Rarity," Flim responded, grabbing the clothes out of Rarity's hooves. "The bathroom is the next door over on your left, Darling." Once Flim left the room, Rarity turned to me and began striking up a conversation. "So, Flim told me what is going on over at the farm. Are you okay with all this?" "He's definitely not who I was expecting to find at the farm two days ago, but I decided to just leave our pasts behind. He clearly seems like he could use to help right now, and he seems to have changed his ways. You should've saw him the night I found him. He was in a horrible state with bruises and cuts all over him. " "Well, if you are willing to forgive and forget Flim's past then I'm willing, too." "Thanks, Rarity. That means a lot." "What are friends for?" Rarity gave me a light-hearted smile before a cough interrupted our conversation. "I must say, you look rather dashing in that outfit, Darling," Rarity announced. I turned around, and I had to stop myself from dropping my jaw to the floor. Flim was wearing a striking but simple, light brown tunic with a red and white plaid shirt underneath. He also wore a maroon bandanna around his neck. I can't deny it. Flim was strikingly handsome in his new outfit. Never before had I thought I would have such a lovely thought about an ex-conman. What is happening to me? "So, Applejack," Flim started," What do you think?" It took me a moment to recollect my thoughts, but I decided on a not over-the-top-comment like Rarity's. "It looks good on you, Flim. Rarity did an excellent job on the outfit." "Why, thank you, Darling," Rarity replied. I pulled out 15 bits from my change pouch and laid them on Rarity's desk. "I can't possibly take your money, Applejack," Rarity denied," It was the least I could do." "Nope. I can't let you do that. I insist, Rarity." "Well, alright then, but this is the only time I'm allowing this." I gave a light chuckle and then focused my attention on Flim. "Ready to head back to the farm?" "I suppose so." "Well, it was great seeing you, Rarity, but we best be off. See you later!" "Goodbye, Darlings!" Flim and I made our way down the stairs and almost made it out the door before I cast one last glance at the astonishing dress. Flim noticed and looked at where my head was pointed. "Lovely dress, huh?" "Yep, sure is." I sighed before opening the boutique's door and leaving behind the gorgeous dress left in plain sight for anypony to get it for themselves. Flim closed the door behind us with his magic, and we began our trek back to Sweet Apple Acres. **** "We're back!" I announced to the rest of the Apple family. "Welcome back, Applejack," Granny Smith replied," You look nice, Flim." "Thank you, Granny Smith." I looked up at the clock over Granny's head and realized I still have a few hours of work left to do. As much as I didn't want to, I had work to do, and I wasn't about to let my family down. "Well, Flim, I have a few hours of work to do, so you can go rest up for dinner." "Actually, do you think I could help you out? I don't want to be cooped up in that room for any longer than I have to." "Are you sure? I don't want you to hurt yourself." "Absolutely." "Okay then. Well, why don't you take off your new clothes so they don't get dirty while we work and then meet me over in the West Orchard." Flim nodded his head in agreement and headed up the stairs while I walked back out of the house and towards the West Orchard. **** Flim's P.O.V. It didn't take me long to change out of my outfit before I was already walking towards the West Orchard of the farm. Finding Applejack wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. All I had to do was follow the sound of her bucking the apple trees. Once I found her, she had already bucked over 10 apple trees! She was currently bucking a tree, and she looked beautiful doing it, even though she was sweating. I smiled to myself at how I was getting a chance to work with a beautiful mare. I felt a slight tug at my heart. She looked up to find me staring at her. "Um, Flim, are you okay?" she asked. She had looked up to find me staring at her. "Oh, uh, yeah, I'm fine," I responded, feeling may face begin to glow a light shade of red. Did Applejack make me feel that? "Well, let's get started." "Okay. Where do we begin?" "First, you need to learn how to buck. Don't worry, it's not as hard as it looks." She motioned for me to stand in front of a fully grown, apple tree. "Okay. Now what you want to do is to put all your weight into your front legs when bucking. You also want to keep your balance, so you don't fall forward into the ground. Your back legs should make the impact in the middle of the tree. If they're too high or too low, you may harm yourself. Now, let's give it a try." I turned around to face Applejack and slowly raised my back legs. I put all my weight in my front legs like she told me to and kicked the tree with a significant amount of force. I felt the tree tremble but no apples fell out. "Not bad for your first try, but you aimed a little too high. Try lowering them a little more, and you'll knock down most of the apples." I nodded my head and reared up my legs one more time. This time, I lowered my legs slightly and kicked with a lot more force than before. The tree trembled again and apples began to fall from the branches. There were only one or two apples left. "Very nice, Flim," Applejack complimented me," You sure you've never done this before?" "Honest." I smiled at her, showing her that I was being truthful, and she smiled back with a blush beginning to appear on her cheeks. Did I cause her to blush? "Well, let's continue. We still have plenty left to do," Applejack stated. She turned around to hide the blush and walked towards another set of apple trees. While we worked, we talked about ourselves and got to know each other. Before we knew it, Apple Bloom came to tell us it was time for supper. On the way back, I was trailing behind Applejack when she tripped over a tree root that was hard to spot. Before she made contact with the ground, I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back up. Back on her hooves, she turned to look at me, and we noticed each other blushing from the small ordeal seconds ago. "Thanks, Flim," Applejack finally said. "Anytime, AJ," I said, winking at her, causing her to blush harder. She turned back around, and we continued walking till we came back to the house. Apple Bloom made supper that night, which was, surprisingly, really good. We made small talk with each other, and afterwards, I helped Applejack with the dishes again. It had been a long day, and I was ready to go to bed, and I'm pretty AJ was too, considering she was yawning just as much as me. We made our way up the stairs and before departing to our bedrooms, we told each other good night. When I walked into my room, the sun had already went down, and Luna had already begun to raise the moon into the dark landscape above. I crawled into bed, almost instantly falling asleep, but one question kept nagging at my mind. Do I like Applejack?