//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Dash Looks Like A Lady // by Twinkletail //------------------------------// "I'm telling y'all, there's something wrong with her." Applejack wasn't normally a worrier. That role was usually attributed more to Fluttershy or Twilight, or even Rarity. In fact, of the group, the only one less likely to earn the title of worrier was Pinkie Pie, and even she had her moments. And yet here Applejack was, trying to talk what she believed was sense into her friends. She figured that this was how Twilight must have felt during the early stages of preparation for Shining Armor and Cadance's wedding as she stared around the table at her friends' nonchalant expressions. "I still don't really get what the problem is," Spike said as he licked the last remaining bits of strawberry icing from his clawtips. "That's because you weren't there," Applejack said, doing her best to keep the frustration out of her tone. She already had one friend who was out of her mind. She didn't need to have a friend who was just plain angry with her. "That may be," Rarity said, patting Spike on the shoulder. "But dear, the rest of us were there, and we all seem to share the same sentiment as Spike." The others offered nods of agreement. "W-well..." Applejack stammered, looking around the table at her friends. "Maybe it's just cause I've spent the most time around her!" "I've known her since before either of us knew the rest of you," Fluttershy pointed out, earning herself a pat on the back from Pinkie for her boldness. "And you're telling me the way she was acting didn't seem strange to you?" Applejack said. The slightly-raised volume of her voice caused Fluttershy to shrink back, and Rarity refused to stop glaring at Applejack until she offered a meek "sorry." "I don't think any of us are denying that it was strange," Starlight offered. "Because it definitely was. We're just saying that it wasn't so strange that we think something's wrong with her." "Starlight's right, darling," Rarity said, resting a hoof on one of Applejack's. "I understand your concern, and it's refreshing to see. In this particular case, though, I think it's unnecessary. Sweet, but unnecessary." "As sweet as sugar!" Pinkie added. "Ouh, or sugar coated in sugar! With a liiiiiittle dab of sugar on the side! And drizzled in syrup..." The baker began to drool just thinking about it. "That...doesn't sound appetizing at all," Rarity admitted. "But as far as sweet goes, fairly accurate." She leaned in and gave Applejack's cheek a nuzzle. Applejack accepted the nuzzle, but it did nothing to remove the scowl from her face. "Well, y'all can think it's unnecessary till the cows come home," Applejack stated, stealing a move from Rarity's repertoire and turning her nose up. "I know that something has to be wrong with her. Why else would she just suddenly show up wearing makeup?" All eyes, save for Applejack's, immediately turned in the direction of the only one who hadn't said anything since the conversation had turned to the topic of Rainbow Dash. To say that Dash's interest in Twilight was obvious was a vast understatement. The only thing Dash could have possibly done to make it more obvious was directly state it to her while a chorus of other ponies repeated every word of her admission in four-part harmony. For Twilight's part, she seemed completely oblivious to the fact that the others were staring, having found something particularly interesting to look at in her lunch. "Twilight?" Starlight said, giving her friend a tap on the shoulder that appeared to finally clue her in to the fact that a conversation was going on. "What do you think?" "About what?" Twilight asked. As soon as she noticed all the attention on her, she let out an embarrassed sigh. "I'm so sorry, everypony. I was distracted." "It's alright, Twilight," Fluttershy told her, the others nodding in agreement. "Is something on your mind?" "Sort of," Twilight admitted, before making a quick attempt to change the subject. "But we can talk about that later. You had asked me a question, after all." "Twilight, if something's bothering you..." Spike began. Unfortunately, he stood no chance of finishing that sentence as Applejack jumped in. "Do you think it's weird that Rainbow Dash was wearing makeup the other day?" Applejack asked. The question seemed to fluster Twilight more than any of her company would have expected. The strange expression that briefly adorned her face was mildly concerning, and the slight choking sound that escaped her lips was a bit more so. Then, as quickly as the signs had appeared, they vanished, replaced with a calm demeanor. "It was strange," Twilight admitted. "A-ha!" Applejack exclaimed. The force of her shout and the hoof banging on the table that accompanying it nearly caused Spike to fall off of his chair. "See? Of course Twi agrees with me! There's something wrong with her!" "Oh...was that the question?" Twilight asked sheepishly. "In that case...I do think her behavior is strange, but I don't think there's anything wrong with her. In fact..." Whatever Twilight intended to say never found its way out of her mind, for that was the exact moment that Rainbow Dash arrived on the scene. Her makeup today was slightly less pronounced than it had been at the bowling alley, what with the lack of lipstick and the blue eye shadow not being as noticeable as the pale orange she'd gone with earlier. What she lacked in those departments, though, she more than made up for elsewhere. For one, there seemed to be some mascara applied to her eyelashes, if their extra length and volume was any indication. Her mane, usually a little unkempt from the high velocity at which she lived her life, was now neatly styled, curled gently at the tips and the sides cascading down her shoulders. What might have been the most eye-catching of all, though, was the adorable icing on the cake: a set of big pink bows on the back of her mane and around the dock of her tail. "Omigosh!" Pinkie bubbled as Dash approached. "Dashie! You look so cute! I could just eat you up! I mean I won't because I just finished brunch, but still!" A hush fell over the rest of the group. Given that the group had already been hushed, to become even quieter was a considerable feat, one which they managed to achieve with flying colors. Pinkie had just uttered what was probably the second-worst four-letter C-word she could have possibly said to Dash. Pinkie's jocular nature often provided her with a bit of leeway around Dash, but this was a transgression of epic proportions. The survivors of this incident, if any, would be left with a story they could tell their grandfoals. "Really?" Dash asked. The tiniest blush colored her cheeks. "That's really nice of you to say. Thank you, sweetie." Applejack flailed her hooves wildly, gesturing with gusto at Dash but unable to get words out. "Aaaare you okay, AJ?" Starlight asked. "Me?" Applejack responded, eyes wide and hoof movements only barely contained. "It's her who ain't fine!" "What?" Dash asked, looking at her friend in confusion. "What's wrong with me? I'm sorry if I did anything to bother you." "Did you hear that?!" Applejack shouted. "Since when does Dash just up and apologize like that?" "Did I do something wrong?" Dash asked, ears drooping. She walked over and placed a hoof on Applejack's shoulder. "I wouldn't want to hurt a friend, so even though I have no idea what I'm doing wrong, I'm sorry, and I hope we can get through this." "Does anypony else see a problem here?!" Applejack exclaimed. "I think it's sweet that Dashie is being more open with her feelings," Rarity said. Her comment was met with approving nods from Fluttershy and Pinkie. Applejack turned her attention to Starlight, whose expression could be best described as a mix between bemused and confused. "Spike?" Applejack asked, searching desperately for somepony who would take her side. As it turned out, she was searching in the wrong place. Based on his dreamy smile, the endless gaze in Dash's direction, and the little hearts floating around his head, he likely had very few problems with what was going on with Dash right now. In hindsight, Applejack figured she should have expected that. Spike was young and very partial to little puppy-love crushes on pretty mares. She needed support from somepony older and more mature who wouldn't be so easily swayed by physical attractiveness. "Twi?" Applejack asked, certain that she could receive a correct and logical answer from her. Based on Twilight's dreamy smile, the endless gaze in Dash's direction, and the little hearts floating around her head, though, she likely had very few problems with what was going on with Dash right now. "Consarnit..." Applejack grumbled. "That's...her way of saying she forgives you, darling," Rarity interjected. "And I must agree with Pinkie Pie. You do look rather cute, and it's nice to be able to say that without you throwing a fit." "Throwing a fit?" Dash asked. Now that Rarity mentioned it, she did recall other times where the C-word had been used to describe her and she'd reacted negatively in an attempt to preserve her reputation. Thinking back on it, it seemed rather silly and pointless. If she looked good, there was no reason to deny it. "I was probably just overreacting," Dash continued. "A lady always accepts a compliment graciously..." whispered a voice which only Dash could hear, and she gave a demure nod. "Thank you for the compliments," Dash said, giving the group an appreciative smile. Applejack somehow refrained from eating her hat. "Hmm..." Rarity said, a sly smile crossing her face. "What do you think about Dash's new look, Twilight?" The group's attention now turned to the purplest of the bunch. Although to be fair, Twilight could have potentially been forced to surrender that title to Starlight, given the very recent emergence of pink on Twilight's cheeks. While the others were watching her carefully, it was Dash whose gaze was most rapt by far. Twilight, for her part, looked about as taken aback as anypony could have expected from somepony put on the spot as such. "Oh!" Twilight exclaimed. "I...um...I mean..." Her eyes finally settled on Dash's face; a face whose bravado had quickly drained under Twilight's hesitation. Twilight's eyes faded back into the hazy gaze they they had employed earlier, and the dreamy smile swiftly accompanied it. "I think she looks wonderful," Twilight said softly. A wave of relief washed over Dash as Rarity and Fluttershy giggled to themselves. Even Spike couldn't help a little smirk. "Yeah yeah, great," Applejack said, rolling her eyes. Her behavior earned her a stem little look from Rarity, a look which she did her best to ignore as she looked around the rest of the table. "Anyhow, it's about time we got going." "Leaving so soon?" Dash asked, taking a seat next to Twilight. "But I just got here." "Sorry, Dash," Applejack said. "But we have a schedule to keep. Fluttershy and Pinkie were looking to get some buckball practice in, and we told Snails we'd meet him at noon." "Don't you need two teams for that?" Dash asked. "Sure do," Applejack agreed. "That's why Starlight's coming with us." "I don't know a thing about this game, but it sounds like fun!" Starlight said with a smile. "And I'm coming along to keep score!" Spike chimed in. "And while they're off doing that, Twilight and I have a spa appointment," Rarity added. She looked over to Twilight for confirmation, but the alicorn's focus was still on Dash. It took her a good few seconds to realize she was being referred to, and gave a quick, embarrassed nod in response. "You know, Dash..." Applejack said, giving her a little smirk. "We still need one more pegasus to have two full teams. Wanna come with?" Dash's immediate instinct was to instantly accept the invitation. Even though the team of Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Snails was deceptively effective and would likely hand them a loss, it would still be a fun loss. Plus, with how crazy good at magic Starlight was, it was sure to be an interesting game. "Sports are so boorish and unladylike..." the voice in Dash's head whispered, in a tone so eerily sweet and chilling that Dash could almost picture a cheshire smile behind it. "You've just gained Twilight's attention...you don't want to lose it so soon, do you?" Dash's mind changed in an instant, as if some sort of switch had been flipped. She couldn't even believe the fact that she had been entertaining the idea. She was looking to impress Twilight, and to do so she needed to keep away from such unflattering behavior. As such, there was a very obvious answer as to what she needed to do. "No thank you," Dash said, her carefully-styled mane bouncing slightly with the shake of her head. "But that spa trip sounds lovely, if you two wouldn't mind me joining you." Spike briefly considered hiring a forklift to haul Applejack's jaw off of the ground. "Oh!" Rarity exclaimed, clearly caught off-guard but at the same time not minding that fact at all. "But of course, darling!" Then she cast a wry smile in Twilight's direction. "Oh, where are my manners? Twilight, do you mind if Dashie joins us at the spa?" "Yes!" Twilight shouted. "I mean no! Don't! D-don't mind! Is what I'm doing right now! Currently...don't...minding." The alicorn's composure had dissolved nearly as quickly as her grasp of proper grammar. "Well it's decided then!" Rarity said, clapping her hooves together eagerly. "You lot have fun with your buckball, hm? Come come, ladies! To the spa!" She got up in one quick motion, prompting Dash and Twilight to follow. Applejack, meanwhile, was still trying to overcome her shock. She looked around to the others in an effort to confirm that she was not the only one taken aback by Dash declining an invitation to a competition. Twilight and Rarity were already lost causes, and Pinkie and Spike seemed wholly unconcerned, but she took solace in the fact that Fluttershy and Starlight appeared to finally have some reservations about Dash's behavior. Starlight in particular was eyeing Dash critically. Applejack waited until the spa group was out of earshot before sidling up to the two. "See?" Applejack asked. "See what I'm saying now? There's something wrong with her! She'd never turn down a competition otherwise! Especially for a trip to the spa!" "Well..." Fluttershy said, tapping a hoof to her chin. "That does seem pretty strange..." Starlight gave a nod of agreement, though her silence and critical gaze persisted. "I guess it does!" Pinkie agreed as she bounced over to the three, Spike quickly joining as well. "Unless you think about that!" One pink hoof pointed towards the departing group of ponies, and Applejack and company were treated to the sight of Dash and Twilight walking side by side and chatting. They were too far away to tell what was being said, but Dash was practically glowing and Twilight seemed just about as happy about the whole thing. "Oh...right," Fluttershy said, suppressing a little giggle. "I guess that does make sense." "Seriously?" Applejack exclaimed. Pinkie was by no means a stupid pony. In fact, she was quite smart when it came down to it. At the same time, nopony could argue that she could often be seen as a voice of logic and reason. And yet here she was, being treated as exactly that. It wasn't this that bothered Applejack the most, though. Pinkie was welcome to her moments of clarity and deserved them just as much as anypony else. It was the fact that Pinkie had a point when she very much did not want her to that really stuck in her craw. "Come on, Applejack," Spike said. "I mean, Rainbow's been trying to get Twilight to notice her for a while now. Is it really that weird that she's going to the spa with her instead of coming with us?" "I...uh..." Applejack started. Then her stubbornness kicked back in. "Yes, it is!" "Oh, Applejack..." Pinkie said, smiling and patting her on the shoulder. "I know it has to be hard seeing your ex getting all goo-goo eyed over another pony..." "That's not it at all!" Applejack shouted. The others took a step back, and Applejack let out an annoyed sigh. "Sorry for yelling...let's just go, okay? This anger will help me play better. I'm sure we can just find another pegasus to play on the way." The others murmured their agreement, and the group was soon on their way. Applejack grumbled to herself as they plodded on, wondering how she could be the only sensible one in the group. Just then, she noticed Starlight sneak up alongside her. "Don't worry, Applejack," Starlight said. "I'm on your side. We'll figure out what's wrong with her."