Seven Rainbooms made for a convenient seating arrangement at lunch. Three friends to each side of a table and one at its head, with the far end left over for special occasions. Sometimes it would hold a guest or lecturing teacher, but more often it would be the place for one friend to stand and address the gathering. The “Speech Spot,” as Pinkie dubbed it. Always the end facing towards the cafeteria doors.
Today, Applejack claimed the Speech Spot. She stood facing the others, already beet-red and twisting her stetson into unnatural shapes. The blush only deepened as side-conversations faltered and the Rainbooms gave her their full attention.
After a few false starts, the freckled farmer managed to produce the most needless sentence known to man. “I’ve got something to say.”
“Go ahead, Applejack.” Sunset gave a kindly smile from her seat at the other end.
Applejack managed to keep talking, but made no further progress in telling. “It’s real weird. And some of y’all might not like it, but I’m hoping it’s nothing we can’t get through as pals. And I’m really hoping y’all won’t think less of me.”
Rainbow snorted. “Dude, we already know you’re gay.”
Sunset gave a gentle chuckle. “Yeah. Pinkie threw a ‘We love AJ even though she’s gay,’ party.”
Pinkie smiled weakly, chirping in with the needed follow-up. “And then a ‘Sorry for being accidentally insensitive with that ‘even though’ thing, I grew up Amish’ party.”
“Well–” Applejack tried, too softly to matter.
“And then a ‘We love AJ do-over’ party,” Twilight added. “I ate a lot of cake that week.”
“Right, so we got the message.” Rainbow took a gulping swig of her grape soda and belched out loud. “Hooray, friendship.”
“Do you need another pep talk?” Sunset asked. “We could do another pep talk. Applejack, I don’t care what any politician or family member has to say, we have your back no matter what.”
Applejack found her volume and cut in. “It ain’t about that! It’s more... complicated?”
The questioning tone came as she watched their expressions change. The Rainbooms’ faces morphed to guarded frowns, and their eyes moved behind her where stiletto heels tapped forwards.
“Maybe save it for later,” Sunset muttered, before fixing a smile on her face. “Adagio Dazzle! Hello.”
Applejack turned to find the former siren just shy of what could be considered Applejack’s personal space. Adagio’s yellow lips quirked upwards into a knowing smirk, with one thrust hip and one raised eyebrow completing the pose.
She spoke, having eavesdropped the whole conversation. “Complicated? I feel insulted.”
Fresh blood poured into Applejack’s blush at the phone-sex murmur Adagio called a voice. The farm girl stretched and squished her hat with each syllable of her response. “I don’t mean nothing bad, just trying to be delicate.”
“Leave her alone,” Rainbow snapped, half rising from her seat and glaring at the newcomer.
Pinkie copied the gesture. “Yeah! Pick on someone your own size.”
Adagio’s smirking eyes blinked at that. A head shorter and doubtless wimpier than the lanky farmer, she turned the gaze to Pinkie. “I’m smaller than her. Unless you mean bust and booty, because dear Applejack here is built like a boy.”
“That’s enough,” Sunset huffed.
“What?” Adagio laughed. “I like that in a girl!”
“Get lost,” Fluttershy growled with uncharacteristic venom.
Twilight adjusted her glasses and raised a finger. “I’m missing something. Who is this, again?”
“We’ll tell you later,” Sunset said. “For now, Adagio, why don’t you go back to your table? I think I hear Sonata calling.”
On cue, a cry went up from across the cafeteria. “ADAGIO! MY STRAW BENT SO NOW I CAN’T PIERCE MY JUICE BOX AND I’M THIRSTY!”
“GIVE ME A MINUTE!” Adagio shouted back.
To the others’ surprise, Applejack reached a hand to Adagio’s shoulder and steered her gently towards the table. “She can stay, y’all. Fact of the matter is, she’s the one I’m trying to tell you about.”
“Yep.” Adagio grinned and reached around Applejack, bringing their sides together. The grin widened along with Sunset’s eyes, then vanished as the do-gooder’s face morphed to a look of horror.
“Don’t tell me,” Sunset said, then trailed off.
Applejack scratched the back of her head, chuckling bashfully. “It’s what you think, sugar.”
The look of horror did not change. Sunset purposefully set down her fork and folded her hands, staring very seriously to her friend. “Applejack, is she blackmailing you?”
Both Applejack and Adagio froze at that, unfortunately yielding the conversation to more excitable minds. Rarity had not set down her fork, and so snapped the plastic tool with her thumb. “Ha! You overplayed, Miss Dazzle, for there’s not a thing you can tell us about Applejack that will harm our friendship. I won’t have you hold it over her, so speak away and be done with it.”
“Er,” Applejack fumbled. “Hold on...”
“But what if it’s a crime?” Pinkie’s nervous squeak drew their attention. “What if Adagio has some kind of video she’ll give the police if Applejack doesn’t do what she says?”
“I can doctor a time-stamp on a different video.” Twilight said, leaning in seriously. “The police won’t know which one’s real, so there won’t be proof.”
Rainbow grinned savagely. “We can wreck any other evidence easily. Whatever you need, AJ.”
Applejack gave a pained smile. “Thanks, but–”
“I mean it: anything,” Rainbow went on. “‘Yeah, I totally saw you Wednesday,’ or ‘No, it couldn’t have been her, we had a sleepover that night.’”
“And if we can’t defend Applejack, we can always take out Adagio instead.”
Silence fell, and seven sets of eyes found the last speaker. Fluttershy ignored the attention, locking a cold glare on the siren.
Adagio gave a laugh probably meant to sound evil, but it turned to a whining sputter halfway through. “You’d bury the body?”
“I’d buy the shovel.”
“Well good news, there ain’t no need for that!” Applejack reclaimed the conversation with volume, her pained grin lost to frustration. “Adagio ain’t blackmailing me, and that’s final.”
“Do you owe her money?” Sunset asked, still in deathly earnest. “We can help you pay it off.”
“I don’t owe her nothing,” Applejack growled.
Adagio murmured to the side, her coy smirk returning. “I don’t know, I think you owe me a massage and some major kissyface for putting up with this.”
“It’s your own fault, but we’ll work on that later,” Applejack muttered back.
“Can I take the lead?” Adagio asked. “I think I can put it delicately for them.”
“Floor’s yours,” Applejack said.
“ANYWAY!” Adagio loudly clapped her hands, painting on a sunny grin for the crowd. “No, Applejack and I do not have a problem. In fact, we have the opposite. A good thing.”
“My favorite thing!” Pinkie cheered.
“What do you have?” Sunset asked guardedly.
“Remember: delicate,” Applejack whispered. “You know they don’t like you, I don’t know what they’ll think of–”
She got no further. A yellow hand steered the farm girl to stand chest-to-chest with Adagio. Making sure to press nice and firmly against Applejack, Adagio leaned up and planted a hard, long kiss into her mouth.
“Into” being the right word. With a long, moist sucking noise Adagio drew out as long as she could before capping it off with a loud, “Mwa!”
The protest was gone. Applejack grinned stupidly, scratching at her freckles. Adagio stood on tip-toes to bump foreheads with her, and murmured, “Cleanup’s on you. See you after class, mkay?”
“Leave me with the work,” Applejack chuckled, nuzzling against Adagio’s face.
“Or you could handle Sonata.”
“Pass. Good luck, girlfriend.” They gave a second, faster kiss and parted ways. Adagio went back to her table one hip at a time, shaking her generous bottom for all it was worth.
Applejack watched with a dreamy sigh before turning back to her table. Six sets of eyes stared, and she gave a bashful laugh. “That’s about it. Any questions?”
The lunch bell rang as the last word left her mouth, providing the needed out. Applejack slapped the hat onto her head and strode quickly towards the door. “Nope? Cool. Later, girls!”