Thunder roared, heralding the arrival of nature’s fury.
“Remind me to beat the tar outta Rainbow Dash!” Applejack barked over the howling winds.
Racing through the apple orchard of her family’s farm, the orange earth pony was struggling against the sheets of rain slamming against her with each gale. It would have been slightly easier if she weren’t trying to carry saddlebags full of gemstones, and also keep her beloved hat firmly on her head. A few steps behind her, her best friend Rarity was fighting against the storm to keep up with her friend.
“Dash is out of town, remember?” Rarity yelled over the rain, barely keeping pace with the rugged farm mare. “It’s the rest of the weather patrols’ fault!”
The Ponyville weather patrol was supposed to give ample warning before a storm front was to move in. Applejack and Rarity had received no such warning. The two had been out in the heart of the Sweet Apple Acres’ apple orchard when the storm had formed. Rarity had been using her magic to look for gemstones, and Applejack had been telling her which spots in the orchard she’d allow her to actually dig up. Applejack had also been assisting with the actual digging up and carrying of the gems.
The two had been so caught up in their work that they had not noticed the dark clouds moving in overhead. Only when the raindrops began to fall on them did they realize the weather was about to become an issue, and by then it was too late. Now they were frantically running for their lives, thunder roaring as lightning split the skies overhead.
“Yeah, Ah know! And Ah’m gonna beat Dash fer leavin’ such idiots in charge!” Applejack retorted. Her voice was filled with frustration. She then looked back at the saddlebags strapped to her flank. “Rarity, Ah hate ta break it to ya, but Ah’m gonna have to ditch the gems. They’re slowin’ me down too much!”
“But, but, but…” Rarity whimpered. Not her precious gems! A bolt of lightning suddenly struck a nearby tree. The white unicorn shrieked, and managed to momentarily outpace Applejack through sheer terror. “Nevermind forget the gems!” she yelped frantically.
“Ain’t gotta tell me twice,” Applejack grunted, quickly bucking off the bulky saddlebags. No longer weighed down, she was quickly able to catch back up to her friend. She could have easily left her behind, but Applejack wasn’t about to abandon her best friend, no matter the stakes. “And hey, don’t worry! We can come back for ‘em after the storm, right?” she asked with a crooked grin.
Another bolt of lightning struck the earth behind them. Rarity didn’t have to look back to know that the spear of plasma had incinerated the gem-filled saddlebags. Applejack looked back over her shoulder anyway, before turning back to flash a sheepish grin at her friend. “Don’t say anything,” the unicorn stated crisply. “I’ll mourn their passing once we’re somewhere safe.”
Somewhere safe turned out to be the Sweet Apple Acres’ barn. By the grace of Celestia, they managed to make it to the old structure without getting struck by lightning. Unfortunately, just a few yards from the entrance, tragedy struck.
With a loud splat, Rarity tripped and tumbled into the mud while going at full gallop. The fashionista landed face first, and her momentum send her sliding several feet forward. She finally came to a halt just inches from the barn, covered from head to tail in mud. “Ewwww!” the purple-haired pony wailed in disgust. It seemed that the thick layer of dark ick covering her body was now a more important concern to her than the deadly storm raging overhead. “Ew ew gross gross ew ew ew!”
Applejack wasted no time in biting the unicorn’s tail and dragging her the rest of the distance. Bucking the large double-doors to the barn open, the orange earth mare quickly galloped inside, dragging along her appearance-obsessed friend as well. Once they were both safe inside, Applejack spat Rarity’s mud-covered tail out of her mouth and rushed to slam the doors shut behind them. Once the doors were secured, she slumped against them, and allowed herself a moment to catch her breath. She let out a deep sigh of relief, ignoring the discomfort of the cold water trickling down her rain-soaked body and the feeling of every muscle fiber in her body burning with exhaustion. “Phew. We made it.”
Rarity did not share her relief. “Get it off me get it off me get it off me!” the unicorn whimpered, rolling around on the floor of the barn. The rather dirty floor. That only served to make things worse, as the mud coating her body soon became matted with loose hay and dry dirt.
Applejack shook her head, bemusement. Rarity was certainly something. A prissy aristocrat, obsessed with cleanliness, appearance, and reputation. She was the total opposite of Applejack, who considered herself a down-to-earth, pragmatic farm-mare. The two could not have been further apart.
And as the old adage goes, opposites attract.
Applejack shook her head again. Not to express amusement, but to jostle those thoughts from her head. No, it wasn’t like that. It was not like that at all. Just because she and Rarity were close friends and total opposites did not mean that there was a chance they could be romantically involved. That was just silly. The plain and simple truth was that they were not meant for each other. Entertaining such ideas of her and Rarity being together was more than just pointless.
It was also disappointing.
Applejack wasn’t sure if “crush” was the right way to describe her feelings for Rarity. It wasn’t like she was in love with her or anything. And there were plenty of things about Rarity that annoyed her. Always having to be so formal about everything, being obsessed with cleanliness and appearance, her pride and occasional arrogance, et cetera. Honestly, sometimes the prissy unicorn annoyed the crap out of her. But at the same time...
At the same time, Applejack couldn’t deny that there was some attraction. Rarity was quite beautiful; it didn’t take fashion sense and a sharp eye for aesthetics to recognize that. And as much as the unicorn annoyed her, there were plenty of things she liked about her. Her beauty, her grace and elegance, her charming personality, her friendship, her politeness and generosity, and… that voice…
But Applejack wasn’t stupid. She knew that even if she actually gave it a shot, there was no way it would ever work out. Rarity would never pay any attention to an unsophisticated pony from lower society. Especially a farm pony. Especially a farm mare. Did Rarity even have an interest in mares? Probably not, considering she’d never seen or heard anything to indicate her barn door swung that way, and such interests were probably frowned upon in high society. This only made impossible odds even more impossible.
The plain and simple truth was that there was realistic way she’d ever have even a slight chance with Rarity. And thought it was somewhat disappointing, Applejack had accepted that. And besides, she knew it was probably better this way. Even if she did somehow have some small chance of success, pursuing something like that could easily end in heartbreak and disaster, and she would never want to risk their friendship over something that silly.
“Applejaaaaaaack!” Rarity whined, snapping the earth pony out of her mental daze. Applejack looked up to see a very muddy Rarity sprawled out on the floor, loose bits of hay, dirt, and apple leaves matted into the mud. “Help me?” she whimpered, pouting out her lower lip.
Applejack stared at her for a moment, before sighing. “Don’t you know magic?”
Rarity grinned, trying not to look embarrassed. “Oh. Right. Silly me.”
There was a vibrant flash of light as the unicorn unleashed her arcane powers. Rarity had neither the power nor range of ability possessed by some unicorns, such as their friend Twilight Sparkle. However, she did possess a mastery of telekinetic and cosmetic spells, particularly ones involving cleaning and repairing. In the blink of an eye, the thick layer of gunk and garbage that covered her body was broken down into a fine powder, which was quickly blown away by a small gust of magical wind. “Ta-da!” she proclaimed with a triumphant smile.
That smile quickly disappeared. “Wait!” she gasped, before reaching up to grab at her face with her hooves. She then ran them through her mane before letting out a long, forlorn wail. “Noooooooooooooo!”
While her spell had managed to clean all the mud off of her and dry her off, it seemed that the real damage had already been done. Her makeup had been washed off – not that it made much actual difference to her appearance, other than a lack of eyeliner – and her fabulously coifed mane now possessed a more natural straightness, hanging somewhat limply against her neck. “This is terrible!” Rarity lamented dramatically, before standing up on her hind legs to strike an anguished pose. “This is just the WORST POSSIBLE THING!!” And with that proclamation, she fell backwards in a mock faint, and landed on a rather fancy sofa.
Applejack arched a wet eyebrow. When had that sofa gotten into her barn, and how? Oh well, Pinkie Pie probably had something to do with it. No big deal. “Err, pardon my confusion…” the earth pony took a cautious step forward. “But… what’s the problem?”
Rarity lifted her head from a comfy sofa cushion. “What’s the problem?” she asked incredulously. “The problem, my dear Applejack, is that I look hideous! Hideous, I say!” she moaned, before rolling over and pulling the previously mentioned cushion over her head.
“Rarity, yer bein’ ridiculous,” Applejack informed her with a roll of her eyes. “Ya look fine!”
“Lies!” Rarity wailed, tightening her grip on the pillow. “Liiiiiiies!”
Applejack quickly strode over to the sofa, leaned over the arm of the sofa, and bit down on the pillow. She proceeded to yank it off Rarity’s head and throw the cushion over her shoulder, before fixing her friend with a determined stare. “Now look, yer kiddin’ yerself if ya think ya look hideous, or anything like that.”
Rarity whimpered. She didn’t seem to be listening. “If only I had a mirror, or some makeup, I could fix it. I could make myself look-“
“Ya don’t need none of that stuff,” Applejack growled with a shake of her head. “Ah’m tellin’ ya, yer beautiful even without that stuff.”
Rarity’s ears perked up. “Really?” she asked, lifting her eyes up towards her friend
Applejack nodded. “Eeyup. Even without all that fancy makeup and mane stylin’ stuff, yer one of the most beautiful mares Ah know!” she stated with a confident grin.
Applejack then had to fight tooth and hoof to keep that grin from faltering, as her mind recognized what she’d just said. Uh oh.
“You… think I’m beautiful?” Rarity asked quietly, arching a suspicious eyebrow.
Be cool, Applejack thought to herself. Be cool, and try to act natural. If you act casual, she’ll think you were just making a factual observation, and not actually saying what you think personally. If she thinks you meant it personally – which you did but whatever – she’ll freak out. And that would be bad. Very bad.
“I, uh… Yeah! Yessiree, y’all are pretty dang pretty,” Applejack replied with a cheesy grin and some over-enthusiastic nodding.
Rarity narrowed her eyes. “Uh huh… You’re just saying that to make me feel better, aren’t you?” she asked warily.
Crap.
“No!” the blonde mare protested, stomping her hooves in frustration. “No, Ah’m not just sayin’ that! Ya really are a beautiful gal, and ya don’t need all that makeup and stuff to prove it. Jeez, why ya gotta be so stubborn?” Applejack huffed, casting a sideways glare of annoyance at the nearest wall.
“Stubborn? Hah! Applejack, the most stubborn pony in Ponyville, aside from maybe Rainbow Dash, is calling me stubborn? Hah hah!” Rarity threw her head back to laugh harshly. She then smiled mischievously at Applejack, and added: “Oh, but, let’s ignore the hypocrisy for a moment…”
Applejack swallowed nervously. She suddenly had a very bad feeling about this. Rarity sat up and crawled up to the sofa’s armrest, and leaned forward so that her face level with Applejack’s. “Soooo,” she purred, “You think I’m beautiful, hmmmm?”
Oh crap. Oh crap. Applejack’s mind was racing. Her heart was pointing in her chest. Rarity’s face was only inches from her own, and she had a weird look in her eyes. A mischievous, playful look. She was just messing with her. That’s all there was to it. Rarity was just trying to be silly, and playfully flirt with her to mess with her head. It was all a joke. A big, funny joke. No more, no less. No reason to freak out. No reason to lean forward and try to-
No no no no no. Applejack’s mind began to struggle against itself. Every fiber of her being wanted to lean forward and kiss the unicorn. To express the ignored feelings of affection that had slowly been growing over the last few months, to feel the sensation of their lips pressed together and- Applejack’s face began to involuntarily lean in. A small, barely noticeable movement forward. Oh Celestia, no! The earth pony’s mind began to frantically panic. She couldn’t stop herself. She was about to-
An explosion of noise tore through the atmosphere above the barn. The thunderclap shook the whole structure, and caused both ponies to shriek, lunge forward, and wrap their hooves around each other. Unable to keep their balance, the two terrified ponies toppled back onto the sofa, where they wound up with Applejack laying on top of Rarity, with only centimeters between their faces. “Uhhhh…” Applejack’s eyes darted around frantically, trying to look anywhere but into Rarity’s eyes. Her gorgeous, enthralling eyes. “Well that was loud...” she observed awkwardly.
“Indeed it was. Now get up, you’re squishing me,” Rarity stated with a slight frown of annoyance. What she was specifically annoyed about, Applejack did not know, and it was probably better that way.
“Er, sorry,” Applejack grinned sheepishly, before quickly rolling off of the sofa and onto the floor with a thud. “Ya know, Ah don’t think the storm is gonna let up…” she observed as she staggered back up onto her hooves. “We might as well make a break for the house. It’ll be warmer and safer there…” The earth pony shivered slightly. She was still sopping wet from the rain, and if she sat around much longer, she’d probably catch a cold.
Without warning, she sneezed. Damn.
“You do have a point,” Rarity lamented with a sigh as she hopped up off the sofa. “And was that a sneeze? You’re not getting sick are you?” she asked, her voice tinged with concern.
“Er, nope,” the blonde pony replied, tilting her hat and averting her gaze. She wasn’t lying about getting sick; technically, she was already sick.
The unicorn narrowed her eyes. “Uh huh. Right.” She did not sound nearly convinced. “Well, at any rate, we’d best be going. Hopefully I can avoid another impromptu mud bath…” she grumbled, approaching the exit doors. “But if I do get too messy, at least your house has a shower I can use.”
Applejack quickly forced the mental image of Rarity in the shower all the way to the back of her mind. She then locked the image in a box and lit the box on fire, just to be safe. “Nah, Ah’m sure you’ll make it just fine,” she said with a shrug, somehow managing to maintain a relatively straight face. She then trotted over to the doors, and unlocked them. “Alright, on the count of three. One… two…..... Three!”
And with that, Applejack pushed the doors open, and ran out into the storm with Rarity hot on her trail.
Instantly, the two ponies were buffeted by gale force winds and frigid rain. Thunder echoed overhead and in the distance, and the ground had almost turned into a swamp from all the mud and standing water. Without hesitation, Rarity and Applejack raced for the nearby farmstead. The next several seconds were some of the most frightening seconds of their lives. But after what seemed like an eternity, their hooves trotted onto the front porch of the farm, and Applejack quickly wrenched the front door open for them to enter.
“Well. That was certainly a memorable experience…” Rarity grumbled as she trotted into the living room. A bright flash of light enveloped her body. In the blink of an eye, she had magically cleansed and dried her body of mud and rainwater. “Much better,” she sighed.
“Lucky you…” Applejack grunted as she closed the door behind her. Back in the barn, she’d been under the impression she couldn’t get any more soaked. She was wrong; a puddle of rainwater was forming around her hooves as rivulets of frigid precipitation ran down and dripped from her body. Her hat alone would take hours to dry, probably.
“Oh, Applejack, let me help you,” the posh unicorn frowned. Her horn briefly glowed, and there was a bright flash of light. Applejack relaxed slightly once the light faded, having involuntarily tensed the moment Rarity’s horn had flickered with arcane energy. She wasn’t used to having spells cast on her, and it always kind of freaked her out a bit. But hey, she wasn’t gonna complain about it right now. Rarity’s spell had completely dried her fur, hair, and best of all, her hat. “Feeling better?”
“Eeyup!” Applejack beamed. “Thanks Rarity. Ah feel a lot- ACHOO!!” Without warning, she earth pony let out a violent sneeze that nearly knocked her backwards. After regaining her balance, she sniffed and muttered “Better…” under her breath.
Rarity frowned, and narrowed her eyes at her friend. “You’re sick, aren’t you?”
The stubborn orange pony turned her head side defiantly. “Ah will neither confirm nor deny whether or not Ah am comin’ down with a cold.”
“Applejack…” Rarity glowered. “If you’re sick, you should go lie down. Don’t make me go get one of your family members…”
“Heh, good luck,” Applejack smirked. “Big Mac and Applebloom were in town sellin’ apples. They won’t be back ‘til after the storm. And Granny Smith is visiting relatives in Manehatten – she won’t be back for days.”
Rarity glared. She then took a threatening step forward.
“Nope,” Applejack stated defiantly with a shake of her head. “Nope nope nope. Ah ain’t gonna go lay down. Ah ain’t gonna take no medicine. Ah ain’t gonna be one of them ponies who lets a little coughin’ or sneezin’ take ‘em down a notch. Ah feel fine. Ah may have a little bit of a sniffle, but that’s it. No big deal. No problem. No need for medicine, no need for soup, no need for rest, no need for-” She suddenly stopped talking, and took a quick look around the room. “Hey, is the room startin’ to spin for you too?
Half a second later, the rugged farm mare hit the floor with a loud thud. “Applejack!” Rarity exclaimed in horror.
“Ah’m fiiiiiine,” Applejack replied with a weak wave of her hooves. “Ah just need to… Oh hey, y’know the floor is kinda comfy, actually.”
For a moment, the two ponies sat there in silence. Finally, Rarity let out a sigh.
“I’m going to have to drag you up to your bedroom, aren’t I?”
“Eeeeeeyup.”
Rarity let out another sigh.
Typically, an elegant and demure pony like Rarity would have had little chance of lifting or even dragging a rugged, muscular pony like Applejack all the way to a room upstairs. But thankfully, Rarity’s magical telekinesis gave her the advantage. “What the hay?!” Applejack yelped as a field of magical energy enveloped her. “What? No! Gah! This feels weird!”
“Oh hush,” Rarity chided her. “It’ll only take us a moment. Stop struggling, or I may drop you.”
“Bah…” Applejack grunted. “If this makes me nauseated, Ah’m throwin’ up on you.”
“Do you want me to drop you while we go up the stairs?”
“So have Ah ever told you how pretty your mane is?”
“That’s what I thought…”
It took several minutes to levitate Applejack all the way upstairs to her room. Rarity had to walk very slowly behind her, so as not to break her concentration and drop her friend. She also had to careful navigate her around furniture, through doorways, and up a staircase. By the time she got the farm mare all the way to her bed, Applejack’s condition had become less than stellar.
“ACHOO!! ACHOO!!” Applejack sneezed violently, before being dropped onto her bed. She bounced twice on top of the sheets, before finally lying still. “Hey!” she protested a few seconds later, her response somewhat delayed. “Ah coulda got myself to bed, y’know. Eventually. Maybe. Whatever…” she grumbled.
Rarity sighed. “Do I need to get you anything? Some blankets? Some soup? Warm tea?”
“Blankets are in the closet…” Applejack muttered. Her eyes were a bit unfocused, and her movements were sluggish as she awkwardly tried to pull her bed sheet up over her body; she was obviously fighting a fever now. Rarity did not hesitate to trot over to the closet and begin sorting through it with her magic, looking for a suitably warm and visually appealing blanket. After a few moments, she trotted back over, a patchwork quilt levitating overhead. “Thanks…” Applejack murmured as her friend telekinetically tossed the hoof-stitched fabric over her bed.
“Don’t mention it,” Rarity smiled kindly. “Would you like me to get anything else?”
The sick mare coughed weakly, pulling the quilt up over her head – and her hat. “Some tea would be nice. Warm and sweet. Not too much sugar though…”
“Alright, I’ll be back in a few minutes. And don’t worry, I know just how you like it,” Rarity answered softly.
“Oh yeah ya do. Heh heh heh…” Applejack chuckled under her breath from beneath the blanket.
“What was that?” Rarity curiously raised an eyebrow.
The ill pony repeated herself, loud enough for Rarity to hear, though with fake laughter this time. “I said, oh yeah ya do. Har har har…”
“Ah. Yes. Well. Tea. Let me go fetch it,” Rarity muttered, awkwardly shifting her weight from side to side. She then turned and briskly trotted out of the room. Applejack, in her fever-addled state, vaguely thought she might have said something improper. But then her mind drifted off on to more important things, like whether goldfish could dream…
As making a fresh batch of tea takes more than a few minutes, it took a short while for Rarity to return. “Applejaaaaack,” she softly sang as she walked into the bedroom, a tray of tea levitating in front of her. “I’m back with the-” she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, and frowned. “Oh dear.”
Applejack was sprawled out on the floor, the sheets and blankets haphazardly wrapped around and strewn about her. Apparently she’d half-rolled, half-crawled out of bed, and once again had found the floor quite comfy. “Hi Rare,” the earth pony grumbled, her eyes half-lidded. “Ya seen my clothes?”
Rarity let out a small, exasperated sigh. “Applejack, you don’t wear clothes…”
In response, Applejack flashed a lopsided grin. “Ah know, ain’t it just glorious?”
The elegant unicorn rolled her eyes. Setting the tray down, she proceeded to telekinetically toss Applejack back on the bed and throw the sheets and blankets back on top of her. She also made sure Applejack’s hat was snugly on her head, as she’d probably freak out without it. “Oooh, Miss Rarity, oooh,” Applejack playfully crooned after being thrown on the bed. “Ah love it when you’re forceful.”
Rarity smacked her own forehead with her hoof. “Applejack, do you have any idea what you’re saying?” she asked disapprovingly.
“Not really,” the blonde pony shrugged under the covers. “But don’t worry, Ah’m just foolin’ with ya. In the playful way. Not the fillyfoolin’ way. That is the word for likin’ other mares, right? Yer probably not into that. You’re not into fillyfoolin’ or anythin’ like that, right?” Applejack asked with barely-open eyes and an unconvincing attempt at an innocent grin.
Rarity sighed. “I’ll ignore that question for the time being. Ask me when you’re lucid, and then maybe I’ll answer it,” she replied factually.
Applejack blinked a few times, trying to focus her eyes and study Rarity. She finally muttered: “Ah’m holding you to that…”
Rarity let out another sigh, before levitating the tray of tea back into the air. “Now pardon my bluntness, but please just shut up and drink your tea.”
The next half hour passed in silence, other than the roar of the thunder and the wailing of the wind against the house. Rarity had pulled up a chair near the bed, and was daintily sipping her tea while reading a newspaper she’d found. Applejack had downed her tea in a heartbeat, and was now occasionally drifting in and out of consciousness. She’d been quiet, too, just as Rarity had asked. Up until now. “Ya know…” Applejack suddenly muttered, forcing Rarity to look up. The orange mare was staring up at the ceiling, a small frown on her face. “Ah have a confession ta make.”
“A confession?” Rarity asked with a small frown of her own. “Why ever would you have something to confess, darling? You haven’t done anything wrong, to my knowledge.”
“Cuz Ah wasn’t entirely honest earlier,” Applejack shrugged, still staring unwaveringly at the ceiling. “Ah tried to make it sound like Ah didn’t personally think yer beautiful. Well… Tha’s a bit of mistruth. To be completely honest, Ah personally think yer beautiful,” she stated factually. The sick pony closed her eyes, sighed deeply, and then added: “Quite beautiful, as a matter o’ fact."
Rarity blushed slightly, bringing a tough of pink to her white cheeks. With a nervous smile, she replied, “Oh, well, thank you. But… why are you telling me this?”
Applejack smirked softly, but didn’t open her eyes. “Because Ah won’t remember a second of this when Ah wake up. And Ah know you prob’ly won’t say nothin’ ‘bout it later, due to the awkwardness and whatnot. And… oh Ah dunno. Ah want the satisfaction, even if only fer a short moment, that Ah spilled my guts and told ya how Ah really feel, consequences be damned.”
Rarity studied her friend, her expression neutral. After several seconds, she raised one of her eyebrows and suspiciously asked: “And… how do you feel, exactly?”
Applejack shrugged. “Um, like Ah said, yer quite beautiful.”
The snowy unicorn smirked impishly. “Oh, nothing else to add? Pity.”
Applejack chuckled awkwardly. “Oh, uh… Well, Ah mean, there’s more to ya than looks of course. Yer pretty fancy, well-educated, talented…”
“Go onnnnn,” Rarity purred. The unicorn leaned forward slightly and placed her hooves together, resting her chin on them as she listened to her friend spill her darkest secrets.
“Yer enjoyin’ this, aren’t ya?”
“Maaaaaaybeeee. Continue…”
“Ya have a very… uh… what’s that fancy word for sexy?”
Rarity recoiled slightly, taken aback. Her white coat began to sport a faint pink blush. “Um… well, let’s see. Attractive? Enchanting? Sensual? Gorgeous? Enthralling? Alluring? Captiv-“
Applejack cut off her off. “Allurin’ is the word. Ya have a very allurin’ voice. Drives me kinda crazy sometimes, in a good way. And it has an interestin’ accent, which Ah can’t really figure out,” she stated factually. She then opened her eyes, and turned them towards Rarity. The green spheres possessed a slight sadness to them. “Yer accent is fancier than mine. All of you is fancier than me. Tha’s one reason normal, smart me would never tell ya all this. Only fever-sick, stupid me can tell ya all this. Cuz right now Ah ain’t scared of bein’ rejected, since Ah know Ah won’t remember it anyhoo…” she grumbled, before closing her eyes and letting out a melancholy sigh.
“Rejected?” Rarity asked curiously. “As in…?” her voice trailed off, leaving the unspoken words hanging heavily in the air.
Applejack reopened her eyes; they still held the same faint sorrow. She opened her mouth to say something…
And her words were drowned out by an almighty roar. The entire farmhouse shook violently as a massive thunderclap split the sky directly above them, accompanied by a vibrant flash of light. Plates, windows, knick-knacks, and other times around the home rattled and jingled, and the lights briefly flickered. Naturally, both ponies were frightened by the sudden explosion of noise.
Applejack let out a startled yelp, and bolted upright in bed. She managed to maintain enough composure not to jump up and run for cover, at least. Rarity, on the other hoof, was much less reserved in her freakout. She let out a sharp shriek, and leapt onto the bed directly beside her friend, wrapping her hooves tightly around the blonde earth pony and burrowing her face into her neck. Shivering in terror against her friend, the fancy unicorn let out a small whimper of fear.
Applejack took a moment to gather her senses, which were already addled by sickness and had now been ravaged by the lightning and the sudden close proximity with Rarity. Blinking her eyes into focus, she looked down at the frightened mare clinging to her. “Uh… Rare?”
Rarity lifted her head slightly from Applejack’s neck, and raised her eyes so their gazes could meet. “What?” she asked softly, still trembling.
“You okay?”
Rarity averted her gaze. “Just… a bit spooked. And now embarrassed...” she grumbled. Applejack felt another small tremor run through the unicorn’s frame. “This is rather unflattering, you know.”
Applejack smirked softly. “Nah, Ah don’t think so. It’s okay to be scared of some stuff. Ah mean, it spooked me too. Ya didn’t hear me yelp?”
“Even so, you’re not the one clinging to somepony else for security…” Rarity replied somewhat bitterly, chiding her own weakness.
Applejack turned her head to the side so she could cough. She then cast a sideways glance back at Rarity, and sighed. “Even so, Ah think yer safe now. Ah doubt any more of ‘em are gonna be that loud, and we’re safe in here anyway. So you can let go and get on up…” she shrugged.
Rarity didn’t budge an inch. In fact, the unicorn slightly tightened her grip around her friend. “And… what if I don’t want to?” she whispered, trying to sound innocent. The look in her eyes was more mischievous than innocent, though.
Applejack coughed again, more-so out of surprise than sickness. “Err… Well, Ah mean, it just seems like ya’d wanna get up and skitter away. Ain’t ya afraid of getting’ sick from me? And, Ah mean, ya heard all that stuff Ah was sayin’ about ya. Seems like you’d be kinda, y’know, uncomfortable with this after that,” Applejack murmured, her gaze falling to the floor.
Rarity replied by nuzzling into Applejack’s neck. “Yes, that would be the natural conclusion, would it not? But, surprise surprise, I am bothered by neither of those things,” she quietly explained.
“Yer… yer not bothered?” Applejack stammered, her face turning red from more than just the fever. “Ah don’t think Ah quite understand.”
Rarity lifted her head back slightly so she could look up at Applejack’s face again. “You asked me earlier whether I was interested in mares, remember?”
Applejack rolled her eyes as her blush deepened. “Oh yeeeeeaaah, Ah remember that bit. And Ah’m really lookin’ forward to forgettin’ about it.”
“Well,” Rarity shrugged demurely. “To answer your question, I prefer stallions. But on rare occasions, it is possible for mares to pique my interest. Particularly mares with qualities such as beauty, bravery, strength, honesty, adventurousness, creativity, resourcefulness, and various other qualities. The list goes on. And there is a certain pony I know who happens to possess the majority of those attractive qualities… and now it also seems I’ve come to find out that she sometimes takes an interest in mares, as well. Lucky me, would you not say? Oh, and one more thing…” she paused, allowing a playful smirk spread across her features, “I must admit, I also have something of a thing for blondes.”
Applejack stared in disbelief and confusion. “Wait… You… Time out, you like… And… But… Thing…” she stammered.
Rarity giggled softly. “Just blame your confusion on the fever. Perhaps you should try to rest, and sleep it off?”
Applejack just numbly nodded. “Right… Sleep…” Rarity finally released her grip on the earth pony, allowing her to lay back into her bed and nestle into her pillow and blankets. As she pulled the blankets back over herself, she asked, “What are you gonna do, Rare?”
The unicorn proceeded to lie down beside her on top of the blankets, and rest her head on Applejack’s shoulder. “Why, monitor your condition of course,” she replied with an innocent smile. “I think I should be able to do it well from this position, don’t you think?”
Applejack sighed. “Ah’m probably not gonna remember none of this, am Ah?”
Rarity giggled softly. “Oh, don’t worry. I think I can remind you of the important parts.”
“Can ya leave the bits out where Ah said really stupid stuff?”
Rarity tilted her head back and let out a lofty yet wicked chuckle. “Oh no, I am going to dangle that information over your head forever.”
“Fair enough…” the earth pony grumbled. Fatigue finally forced her eyes to drift closed, but she managed to stay awake for a moment longer. Even if she would never remember it, she wanted to enjoy the comfort of Rarity’s head on her should for as long as she could before sleep finally claimed her,
A few hours later, a rather loud roll of thunder jostled Applejack from her slumber. “Galdurn!” she grunted, before yawning deeply. Opening her eyes blearily, she sat up and tried to look around the room. “Is it really still stormin’ out there?” she groggily asked.
“Oh good, you’re awake!” Rarity cheerfully chimed from nearby. Turning towards the source of her friend’s voice, Applejack blinked her eyes a few times, finally bringing the white unicorn’s shape into sharper focus. Rarity was sitting in her chair beside the bed, levitating a quill and the newspaper from earlier in front of her. She had almost finished the crossword puzzle, apparently. “Your brother and sister called. They are still in town, staying with Twilight until the storm passes. I was going to make us some dinner once you woke up. Are you feeling better?” she asked, telekinetically putting down the paper and writing implement.
“Yeah, Ah feel a whole lot better. Did ya really take care o’ me all afternoon?” the earth pony asked, shifting uncomfortably. She hated the idea of Rarity having to go through all that trouble. “Oh wow. Ah’m sorry…”
“Nothing to apologize for,” Rarity dismissively waved one of her hooves. “I have no regrets from helping you. It was certainly a memorable experience.” She then smirked knowingly. “Though, you don’t recall any of it, do you?”
Applejack stared at her for a moment. And then a faint blush began to creep onto her face as recollection and realization began to dawn on her. “Er… actually…” she murmured weakly. Normally when she was sick and feverish, she recalled very little of the experience. But perhaps due to the importance of the events earlier, or by sheer lucky fluke, she slowly began to remember much of what had transpired.
Oh boy.
“Yeah, uh…” Applejack grinned nervously, her face turning bright red. “It was pretty memorable alright.”
“Oh!” Rarity’s eyes lit up. “So you do remember? Excellent!” she chimed happily. “That means I don’t have to explain everything, and can skip straight to the point!”
“What is this point yer skippin’ to, exactly?” Applejack asked, still trying to wrap her mind around everything. She’d said some stupid stuff. She’d spilled her guts. She’d told Rarity everything. Rarity had been okay with it. Wait, hold on. Rarity had-
Rarity suddenly leaned in and kissed Applejack.
It wasn’t a forceful or frantic kiss, fueled by hormones or passion or anything like that. Rather, the kiss was soft and subtle, their lips barely grazing. It was a reserved and meaningful show of affection – gentle and delicate, just like Rarity herself. Applejack’s eyes fluttered and her mind reeled. It was graceful. It was tantalizing. It was perfect.
After what seemed like an eternity of bliss, Rarity pulled away and smirked. As she began to trot towards the door, presumably to go make dinner, she looked back over her shoulder and coquettishly stated: “That was the point, my dear.”
Applejack simply grinned goofily and stared into space for a few seconds, before flopping limply back onto her pillow. She needed a moment to regain her composure, and remember what her name was. Despite her melted brain, she was able to put together a simple but exact response.
“Point taken…”