It was by far the silliest thing Applejack could ever be worried about.
Yet it kept her pacing behind the barn for the last ten minutes, muttering incoherent curses under her breath. She felt different, definitely lighter in both a physical way and an emotional way. And there was certainly nopony else she would want to show first.
"But what if she don't like it," Applejack grumbled to herself. She stomped at the floor with annoyance. It was less of a question and more of a statement. If she didn't like it, there was nothing Applejack could do about it. Besides, it was just her mane.
For a while, Applejack felt burdened by the length of the hair on her head, and while she definitely didn't care enough to take ‘proper care of it’, as Rarity would say, she did often find it annoying how dirty it'd get and how tangled it would be at the end of a long day.
She'd had enough of that. Enough of the mess of a mane on her head that she managed to keep in a loose tie. What else could she do but -
"Woah!"
Crap. Applejack turned around at the exclamation, unsure if it was one of good shock or bad shock, but as her gaze went from the ground to the sky, she was met with a wide-open smiling mouth and all of a sudden all of her worries disappeared.
The ecstatic cyan pony's grin did not waver. "You cut your mane?"
Applejack's face transitioned from a frown to a smile as she regained her initial confidence. "Eeyup. Don't get in my way now," she explained as she lifted a hoof to her head where only a bit of her blonde mane stuck out from under her hat.
Rainbow Dash's face illuminated as if a red light shone subtly on her. "That looks great! And your tail too?"
Applejack chuckled softly and returned the blush, awkwardly rubbing the back of her newly cut mane. "Uh, yeah. Ya think Rarity'd ever let me live it down if I left my tail long?"
The pegasus dropped to the ground and shortened the distance between them. "That's true. But holy smokes! You look really good, AJ!" She leaned in to inspect Applejack's mane further. "I never would have imagined you with a short cut like this, but seeing you with it, it all kinda fits."
"Really? Well that's awful nice o' ya, Dash. I reckon I was a bit nervous ta show it off. Thought I'd have ta stay on the farm till it grew back or somethin', if I'm bein' honest." Applejack swallowed and looked to the side as she took a wart step back, lengthening the distance between them once again. "But I figured it'd be best ta show y'all before I got too nervous."
A hoof punched Applejack squarely on the shoulder, a gesture that the farmer could ever only take as friendly. "Well, I bet they'll be ecstatic! So who's up next to see your awesome new mane?"
Applejack's lips wavered in a nervous smile. "Actually, I told Rarity she should come by sometime soon too. She'll probably show up any time now, ya know how punctual she is."
"Well, she'll like it for sure. Oh, speak of the devil," Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she swivelled her head to the side. Rarity stood not too far away from the two mares with her mouth wide open. "There you are, Rarity! We were just talking about you."
Rarity stood there with her jaw dropped until she snapped back into attention and shook her head. Applejack rolled her eyes and snorted. "Uh, surprise, I guess?"
The unicorn blinked once and then wasted no time in getting a closer look, although compared to Rainbow Dash, Rarity had even less concept of personal space, which made Applejack blush once again. "Well, I must be truthful, darling," Rarity started. She lifted a few strands with her magic. "You look marvellous!"
Rainbow Dash scoffed with a grin and pressed up against the other side of Applejack. "Told you she'd like it!" She smirked and nuzzled Applejack's cheek.
Rarity giggled happily and did the same to Applejack's other cheek. "It seems Rainbow Dash was right for once!"
Applejack's face reddened into a shade almost as deep as Big Mac's, but the smile on her face persisted. "Well, if y'all woulda told me that cuttin' my mane would get me in the middle of a nuzzle sandwich, I'd'a done it a lot sooner!"
The three mares separated for a moment before bursting into a fit of giggles. It really was such a silly thing to get so worked up over.