//------------------------------// // 75. More Than Friends, Not Quite Marefriends // Story: Azure Edge // by Leaf Blade //------------------------------// Rarity took a sip of tea as she admired the cute décor of Applejack and Pinkie Pie’s home. Pinkie Pie was already at the train station, since she was very excited for her and Applejack’s little journey today. Applejack was less excited, and Rarity was here to offer emotional support, should she need it. That is, if Applejack ever came out of her room. “Darling, how long does it take to get dressed?” Rarity shouted into the bedroom. “Like yer one to talk!” Applejack shouted back, and Rarity snorted because she really did walk right into that. “Right! And if even I’m getting impatient!” Rarity said smugly, delighting in the frustrated groan she could hear from behind the door. Applejack finally came out of her room, and while she didn’t look nearly as nice as she often did for the dates with Rainbow Dash she’d been on throughout the last few weeks, she still looked mighty dapper in her gray jacket, black dress pants, and burgundy shirt. Rarity adjusted Applejack’s clothing a little bit, mostly out of habit. Applejack grumbled, but Rarity knew that her fussing helped Applejack to keep calm, and that was what Applejack needed now more than anything. “How are you feeling?” Rarity asked, keeping her concentration fixated on Applejack’s clothing, buttoning up Applejack’s jacket, which was easier said than done considering the behemoth of a woman she was dealing with. “Could be better,” Applejack griped. “Going to see family is always hard,” Rarity said, dusting off Applejack’s jacket and admiring her for a moment. “You’ll feel better once it’s done though.” “I agree,” Applejack sighed, “but it’s easier for you. Your family’s proud of ya.” “I wouldn’t say ‘proud’,” Rarity muttered, the ominous words of her father still ringing in her mind, “but I know what you mean. I wish that I could be there to offer support, but—” “But we both know that’d be a disaster,” Applejack groaned. “Granny’s gonna be comparin’ me to my pa, and ma, and grandpa, and herself, and darn near every Apple this side of Neighagra Falls, last thing I need is for her to be comparin’ me to you too.” “Ugh,” Rarity stuck out her tongue as her stomach turned from just thinking about it, “that’s a stress I don’t need in my life either, because you know she’d try to get me to agree with her.” Applejack meandered toward the door, but she stopped in her tracks. Rarity assumed she was just dragging her feet until she spoke. “Do you agree with her?” Applejack asked, not daring to look at Rarity. “Do you think that I’m—” Before Applejack could finish that sentence, Rarity cut in. “I don’t,” she harrumphed. “I don’t think you’re a ‘disgrace’ or a ‘failure’ or any such thing. You chose your own path and you did so for noble reasons, I can’t think of anything more graceful than that.” Applejack sighed desperately and ran her hands through her mane, before turning around to Rarity and bowing her head. “Thanks, Rares.” “My pleasure, darling,” Rarity said, giving Applejack a warm hug. “But we mustn’t be late, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are already at the station waiting for us.” “Aw, Twilight not wanna come out to see me off?” Applejack said, her tone only half-joking. “She’s feeling a bit under the weather today, I’m afraid,” Rarity said sadly. “Spike’s with her right now, and I’m going to go check up on her after you leave, and I’m sure between the two of us we can nurse her back to perfect health! But she’s in no place to leave the library at the moment.” “What’s wrong with her?” Applejack asked as the two walked out of Applejack’s house and into the snowy, windy streets of Canterlot. “She assures me it’s just ‘exhaustion’,” Rarity said, rolling her eyes, “and while Spike insists that sometimes she just gets like this and all she really needs is some rest, I still can’t help but be concerned.” “Well, sure,” Applejack said, “I’d be concerned too, and I’m not even in lo—” “Don’t say it,” Rarity griped, getting a smug little chuckle from Applejack. “You have a way of makin’ ponies feel good, Rarity,” Applejack said cheerfully. “I’m sure with you by her side, she’ll be back on her hooves in no time.” Rarity put a hand on her heated cheek and tried to stifle a smitten giggle, though Applejack’s satisfied smile made her feel a little less embarrassed about the praise. Truth be told, Rarity felt a little guilty for Twilight’s weakened position. While she was, logically speaking, certainly not responsible for Twilight’s illness, she was sure the stress of her constantly saying they would definitely read those fashion books, only for Rarity to change her mind at the last second, wasn’t doing Twilight any favors. It had been several weeks since the puckwudgie mission, and things had been rather uneventful in the Moon District since, even with the several missions Rarity had taken on in that time. She was slowly starting to find some kind of balance between her responsibilities as a Slayer and her time in the library. It was only a first step, but she was proud of herself nonetheless. Still though, adding her secret and shameful fashion desires to that mix could only ruin everything, or at least that was the excuse Rarity gave herself to continue avoiding it. She couldn’t get too involved in her thoughts of guilt and Twilight though, for before she knew it they were already at the train station, with Pinkie Pie vivaciously waving and cheering at them. “Applejack! Applejack!” Pinkie clamored as the two approached, Rainbow sitting patiently on the bench nearby and waiting for her opportunity to say hi. “Are you excited, huh, huh, huh?!” “Uhhhh,” Applejack replied gracefully, rubbing the back of her neck. “We’re gonna go see Apple Bloom and Big Mac!” Pinkie beamed, throwing her hands in the air. “And to a much lesser degree, Granny Smith,” Rarity chuckled. “Aww, come on,” Pinkie pouted, “don’t be mean. Granny Smith is really nice! She’s just a little, uh, intense!” “She is family,” Applejack hummed, “for better or worse. Anyway, yeah, Pinkie, I’m lookin’ forward to seein’ my family.” As far as Pinkie— or the Apples for that matter— was concerned, the Apples were Pinkie’s family as well, and she got along with them much better than she did with her own family, whose visits plagued Pinkie with the exact kind of trepidation Applejack was feeling right now. “You gonna be okay, AJ?” Rainbow chimed in, looking at Applejack but not getting up from her spot on the bench. “I think so,” Applejack said softly, smiling very earnestly at Rainbow, whose bright smile back at her would have lit up a pitch-dark cave, “but just to be sure, I could use a little extra affection.” “Well if you’re that desperate,” Rainbow said teasingly, rising from her bench and planting a kiss on Applejack’s lips, keeping herself at eye-level with her very large marefriend thanks to her wings, “I guess I could show you some love.” “Aw, c’mon, Rainbow,” Applejack held Rainbow in her arms, Rainbow placing her hands behind Applejack’s neck, and Applejack leaned in to give Rainbow another kiss, “you don’t wanna get all mushy at the train station, do ya?” “Please,” Rainbow scoffed, before planting yet another fiery kiss on Applejack’s lips, and Rarity found herself feeling somewhat jealous watching the two of them, “you know you can’t leave without getting some smooches.” “Caught me red-handed, hon,” Applejack leaned into Rainbow again, but instead of a kiss she just nuzzled against Rainbow, letting out a soft sigh as Rainbow placed a gentle kiss on the bridge of her nose. “I love you.” “I love you too,” Rainbow whispered, and her eyes suddenly darted over to Pinkie and Rarity just for a fraction of a second, but long enough for both observant mares to awkwardly look away, Pinkie even whistling innocently for good measure. “Um, yeah. I love you too.” “Still workin’ on the nickname?” Applejack snickered, and Rainbow’s face turned red as she shoved Applejack away. “Unless you want your affectionate nickname to be ‘big dorky loser’,” Rainbow harrumphed, crossing her arms and turning her back on Applejack, “you’d better not be giving me a hard time!” “C’mon, I’m only teasin’,” Applejack said tenderly, putting her arms around Rainbow’s stomach and planting a kiss on Rainbow’s neck, who didn’t seem to mind. “I know,” Rainbow sighed, running her hand across Applejack’s cheek. “But right now, you got a train to catch.” “Yeah,” Applejack sighed and released Rainbow, the sound of the train bells almost drowning out her soft voice. “See ya when I get back, honey.” “You too, uh,” Rainbow bit her lip, trying to think of something affectionate to call her marefriend. “Floofy wumpkins?” Pinkie helpfully suggested. “Darling light of my vacant skies?” Rarity added teasingly. “Girl who I like much more than either Pinkie Pie or Rarity,” Rainbow said flatly, Applejack chuckling and getting one last passionate kiss from Rainbow, before Applejack and Pinkie Pie waved goodbye and headed for the train. Watching Rainbow Dash and Applejack, seeing how comfortable they were with each other now after dating for several weeks— a far cry from when they first started, and Rainbow could barely handle Applejack putting her arm around her— Rarity found herself feeling jealous again. Which was odd to her; her relationship with Twilight was more than she could have ever hoped for. They snuggled, and cuddled, and talked about their feelings for one another and how much they enjoyed each other’s company. But they hadn’t kissed, and Rarity realized that was what was bothering her. She realized she very much wanted to kiss Twilight, but she wasn’t certain if that was appropriate for their relationship. They didn’t really have a label for what Rarity and Twilight were; they weren’t exactly marefriends, not officially anyway, but Rarity believed that they were more than just friends. She just hoped Twilight felt the same way.