Embarrassing. Humiliating. How much further did they have to go? How far away was this restaurant that Applejack insisted upon? In the time that Dash and her mare-friend had left Rarity’s, nearly every pony they passed turned head to gawk at what was an assuredly ridiculous sight. It was the culmination of spending three and a half hours in Rarity’s boutique. Of course, Dash never minded hanging out with Rarity. She was a friend after all. But get some pony messing with Dash’s mane, her tail, and suffocating her in Celestia knows what kind of fabric, and she was out. No thank you. If it wasn't cool, it wasn’t for Rainbow Dash. And this amalgamation of cloth and braids was definitely NOT for Rainbow Dash.
Rarity had washed and lathered her mane in product, braided it with some Boho braids technique that left the back of her mane roped together and dangling over a shoulder. The dress she wore was made from a sparkling midnight silver, with translucent silk draping over her sides, adorned in lace. A “rather simple and romantic over the shoulder V-neck that will dazzle Applejack to pieces” type dress; at least that’s how Rarity described it.
Dash’s tail, hidden behind the back of the dress, had been equally combed and productified like her mane. As for Dash's face: eyeliner, lipstick, and blush all brought out what Rarity called her, “splendid feminine charm.”
To be honest, Rainbow Dash hadn’t a clue what half of those words meant. As far as she was concerned, it just meant she looked silly. At least, that’s all she could gather based on the reactions from other ponies who when caught staring, blushed and averted their eyes. And she just knew it was her they were staring at, because Applejack wasn’t wearing anything more than her usual Stetson.
Walking a touch closer to her lover, Dash jumped a bit when she heard Applejack’s voice right next to her ear. “Something wrong dumpling?”
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash whispered. Her cheeks heating up when she recognized some of the ponies staring at her as they passed. “Every-pony’s staring at me.”
She heard Applejack chuckling. “Good. They’re supposed to be staring.”
“What? Why?” Rainbow Dash asked, finally facing her partner.
The earth pony leaned in and nipped at her cheek. “Because I like showing ya off.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t respond. Because as much she didn’t like this, and she’d tell off any-pony who tried to say otherwise, she couldn’t stop smiling. And she didn’t want Applejack to see it. No, she couldn’t let AJ see that smile. She'd never hear the end of it. Heck, Applejack would probably request her in a dress for every day of the week.
“Do you really think . . .” Rainbow Dash shyly started to ask, but stopped when her eyes landed on two ponies ahead of them. Applejack saw them to too, and must not have heard her question, as the farmer was already calling out to the mares.
“Pinkie Pie! Fluttershy! What are you two up to tonight?”
“Oh, well, Pinkie Pie said she found this lovely little spot up by the pond where a family of minks live.” Fluttershy explained in her quiet, harmonic voice.
“And there’s even some rabbits with really big feet!” Pinkie said excitedly, leaping into the air to wag her hooves for effect.
“That sounds like a snowshoe hare Pinkie.” Fluttershy answered. “Though I’ve never seen them this far south before. I do hope they’re not lost.”
Rainbow Dash listened to the conversation for only a few moments longer. And before long, Applejack was off on a little ramble with the timid pegasus about Winona. Applejack’s dog came down with a cold last month, and after Fluttershy helped care for the dog, the farmer hasn’t missed a chance to update Fluttershy on the dog’s well-being. In a way, it was really sweet of her, almost cute. Dash had never met a more gracious pony than Applejack.
As Applejack chatted it up with Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash glanced around. She hoped this little detour wouldn’t last too long. She was looking forward to getting inside, and admittedly, the pegasus had grown a bit hungry. Standing still in Rarity’s for as long as she did sure had quite the effect with her gut, not to mention being paraded around town.
“Sooooo Dash!” Pinkie Pie called out. “Never thought you’d wear something sooo Rarity!” The party pony stifled a giggle at the comment. “Lose another date bet with Applejack?”
The pegasus just rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Don't remind me.”
Pinkie Pie grinned from ear to ear, “I already did!”
Rainbow Dash just grumbled. If it hadn’t been for that sound defeat on Sweet Apple Acres, she might’ve gotten Applejack into something like this, or maybe had Twilight cast the cloud walking spell and taken Applejack up to Cloudsdale. She could’ve shown off her mare-friend to the Wonderbolts, and taken her out dancing.
Then, the pegasus had a sudden stroke of brilliance. “Say Pinkie Pie? Can I ask you something?”
“Sure Dashie! What’s up?!”
“Well, it's kind of a secret. The Ponyville fishing tournament is coming up. And I’m gonna do another date bet with Applejack. I-I just haven’t told her yet.”
Pinkie’s eyes grew wide with suspense. “You gonna loose this one too?!”
“No! That's where you come in!” And Dash quickly checked on her partner. Applejack and Fluttershy were still caught up in their chat about Winona. The farm pony clearly had her attention elsewhere for the moment. Turning back to Pinkie, Dash continued, “I need you to make sure that I catch a bigger fish than Applejack at the tournament.”
Pinkie tilted her head to the side. “But isn’t that cheating? You shouldn’t be cheating Rainbow Dash. What about all the other ponies . . .”
“I don’t care about the other ponies.” The pegasus hissed. “I don’t care about winning the tournament. I just care about beating Applejack. That I can . . . you know . . . take her out on a date for once.”
Pinkie was silent for moment. The gears were turning in her head. Dash could tell. And whether or not that was a good thing, the pegasus had no idea. But finally, Pinkie smiled her signature smile and surprised Rainbow Dash with a hug. “Leave it to me!”
“Thanks. I owe you one.” Rainbow Dash said, feeling a bit of relief for the first time that night.
“No problem! Besides, then we’ll be able to exchange super awesome date ideas!” Pinkie said, her eyes lighting up at the very prospect.
“Yeah . . . but you’re not dating any-pony.”
“Not yet!” Pinkie said. And without warning, she slid up right next to Rainbow Dash, and whispered into the pegasus’ ear, “I’m gonna ask out Fluttershy tonight.”
“Oh.” Rainbow Dash said. “Wait. What?!” But before the pegasus could question further, Pinkie had hopped off to catch up with the yellow pegasus who had started off on her own. When Pinkie glanced back with a big toothy grin, waving, Dash had to fumble her hoof into the air just to wave back. She was kidding. She had to be kidding! Fluttershy?! Were there signs? Was Dash just stupid and never noticed?
“Hey Rainbow! Rainbow!”
Rainbow Dash shot her head over when she heard her name. “What?!” She said, and found Applejack staring curiously at her.
“You were kinda spacing out there. Ya alright?”
Nodding, Dash panted. She hadn't realized just how out of breath she’d gotten from all this. “Yeah. I’m-I’m fine. How much farther til we eat?” She asked, pushing the pink pony’s crush out of her mind, at least for now.
Applejack wrapped a hoof around Dash. “We’re here!” She announced, nodding to a restaurant done up like a barn. “Country Cooking” was written in big, white with black shadow, cursive lettering across the red exterior.
“Here?”
“It’s good food, I promise.” Applejack insisted. “Place just opened up. Come on!”
Rainbow Dash let out a sigh of relief. Finally, they were here. She could get out of the street and dig into some grub.
Applejack took the lead and opening the front door, stepped to the side to let Rainbow Dash enter. “Ladies first.” The farmer said sweetly, motioning for Dash to go inside.
Rainbow Dash just shook her head, and entered into the restaurant; with Applejack following close behind.