//------------------------------// // Morning // Story: In the Days That Followed // by shallow15 //------------------------------// Rarity arrived early on Friday. She had decided to wheel her way to school that morning, building on her arm work from the previous day. She had miscalculated how much time she was going to need and she ended up arriving a full half hour before the opening bell. Much to her surprise, however, as she rolled up toward the plinth where the Wondercolt statue had once stood, she saw Applejack sitting on top of it, facing away from the school. While Applejack being an early riser wasn't strange, Rarity knew she usually had chores to do in the morning before school, so her being here already caused her to raise her eyebrows. “Applejack?” she asked. The farm girl blinked and looked down from the plinth. “Oh, hey, Rarity.” Applejack climbed down and dusted off her denim skirt. “You're here early.” “I could say the same about you.” “Couldn't sleep. Got up earlier than usual to get my work done. You wheeled yourself all the way here?” “Yes, I did,” Rarity replied. “Well, shoot, I coulda given you a lift, sugarcube.” Rarity gave her a look. “And have you lift me into the cab of your truck? Seriously, darling.” The two girls laughed. Rarity allowed herself to stretch. Despite her constant desire to look elegant and refined at all times, when she was alone with Applejack, she felt she could relax a little. Applejack didn't judge and she didn't gossip. And while the two butted heads over things like design versus practicality in clothes, when they weren't in conflict, Rarity appreciated the break from having to keep her image up all the time. “In all honesty, though, the ride wouldn't have been necessary. I wanted to work on my arms. Need to keep this thing rolling along, after all.” Rarity tapped her armrest. Applejack nodded. “How you doin' with that?” “I'm fine,” Rarity answered. “It's a challenge some days, but nothing I can't surmount.” Applejack frowned. Something in Rarity's voice bothered her, but she decided to let it go. “I'm sure you can.” She sighed and pushed her hat back on her head. “Seems like we're all dealin' with challenges these days.” “Oh? Are you all right, darling?” “Me and Sunset talked yesterday. Had to sort some stuff out.” Rarity looked up at her friend. “Is everything all right between you two?” “Yeah, now. I kinda said some stuff badly about what happened last Saturday and she thought I didn't care.” “Oh, my, and Twilight was planning to talk to her about what happened with Gardenia back then yesterday too.” Applejack sighed. “That explains what I heard then.” Rarity's eyes widened. She knew exactly what Applejack was talking about. “The note?” Applejack nodded..“The note. I heard it in her voice when I called her. She's havin' a hard time coping with what happened on Saturday, and with me and Twilight, I dunno. I just wanted her to know we still need her.” “So you told her?” “Yep.” Rarity reached out and touched Applejack's arm. “Are you all right, darling? I know how much it hurts when you talk about her.” Applejack smiled down at her, and put her own hand over hers. “Yeah. We both had a little bit of a breakdown, but we felt better afterward. Sunset seemed a lot better when I left.” “Well, that's good.” “Yeah,” Applejack sighed. “I just wish it could last.” The two of them looked at the mountains in the distance. The sun was rising behind them, casting the slopes in warm purples and oranges. After a moment, Applejack sighed. “It's all comin' apart, ain't it?” “Pardon?” Rarity looked up, confused. “Us. We're comin' apart.” “Pfft-tsk-tch! Nonsense, darling. We were triumphant! And yes, it nearly didn't end well for us, but we're stronger for it.” “Are we?” Applejack asked. “You blew off goin' with me, Rainbow, and Pinkie to Sugarcube Corner the other day. You said you had a physical therapy session.” “I did.” “No, you didn't.” Applejack's voice was neutral. “I have eyes, Rarity. I saw the kind of day you were havin'. You're avoidin' us.” Rarity frowned. When she spoke, her voice was tight “I am not avoiding all of you. I have been trying to cope with my situation.” “I know,” Applejack said softly. “But you don't have to do it alone. You know that, right?” Rarity's smile returned. “Of course I do. But right now, I still need to figure things out for myself. I'm hoping after we... resolve things tomorrow afternoon, I'll be ready for you all to help me. Until then, just know I don't plan on doing anything foolish or dangerous.” The fashionista sighed. “Tough Love gave me quite the stern talking to about that.” Applejack smirked. “What's goin' on with you and him? I ain't never seen you so invested in arguin' with somebody.” Rarity sputtered again and blushed. “Well... I... He's... now see here, Applejack! I will have you know that my relationship with Tough Love is strictly professional! It doesn't matter how intense his eyes are... or how his muscles bulge under those scrubs... or that delightfully adorable beard of his.” She trailed off, making an incoherent sigh of pleasure. Applejack chuckled. “Strictly professional, gotcha.” Rarity gave Applejack a wry look and smacked her in the arm with the back of her hand. “Oh, shut up, AJ.” Applejack blinked at Rarity's use of her nickname and began laughing. Rarity started up just afterward. Applejack sat down at the base of the plinth and leaned up against Rarity's chair. After the laughter died down, the two sat in companionable silence, watching the sun cover the mountains.