"Jackieeee~"
A beautiful, singsong voice called out to Applejack. Confused, she slowly opened her eyes. The first thing, or rather person she saw was Rarity, who was softly giggling at her.
"Guh… Ra.. Rarity…? What…"
The confused look on Jackie's face made Rarity giggle a little harder.
“Slept well~?”
Applejack groaned and rubbed her eyes.
“Darn, I didn’t even notice…”
She didn’t mean to fall asleep. She wanted to enjoy the touch of Rarity’s delicate hands working on her hair. She thought that it was because she worked so hard, so she blamed herself for that. However, Rarity interrupted her self-blaming thoughts.
“Don’t worry, darling, you’re hardly the first one to fall asleep like that. You definitely lasted twice as long as Twilight, for example. Now, would you like to see the results of my work~?”
She giggled and took a mirror, handing it to Applejack. Applejack timidly took it and looked at her hair. What she saw left her speechless. She had never seen her hair look so beautiful. So clean, so shiny.. She’d never seen her hair having so much volume. It looked so fabulous! Her dumbfounded expression made Rarity grin proudly.
“Well? What do you think, Jackie?”
Rarity slowly walked behind her, put her soft hands on AJ’s shoulders and leaned in to look in the mirror together. Jackie’s face immediately lit up in a hot blush. She had to keep her cool if she didn’t want Rarity to suspect anything.
“I-it’s, uh… Rarity, it’s… I’ve never seen, uh…”
She was having great troubles with finding suitable words to describe her hair. But then she remembered the word Rarity loved using.
“It looks f-fabulous, Rarity! I've never seen mah hair look so good!"
She beamed, carefully stroking her delightfully soft mane.
"I'm glad you like it, darling."
Rarity slowly trailed her fingers across her back, sending a light shiver up Applejack's spine, and then stepped away from her.
"H-how can I.. return the favor, Rarity?"
Applejack really wanted to repay Rarity's generosity, no matter what. She would feel terrible if she didn’t do anything in return. Rarity, however, giggled and shook her head.
"Oh, there's no need for that. Seeing you happy makes me more than satisfied."
Rarity assured her. Then, Applejack could hear what sounded like a lock turning. She slowly stood up, turned around and saw Rarity unlocking the door to the boutique and flipping over the sign that now said 'Open'. At that moment, she realized that Rarity closed her shop, risking losing potential customers just for her. Just for Applejack. Just to take care of her friend’s hair. Jackie could feel getting hotter both inside and outside, as a fiery blush quickly consumed her face. She was going crazy for her. She knew that at that point. Everything Rarity had done for her filled her heart with such joy that she couldn't even describe it. She wanted to tell her how she felt so bad. But she was afraid. Afraid that Rarity wouldn't like her back.
"Now, Jackie, do you require any more.. service?"
Rarity interrupted Jackie's thoughts and almost made her jump.
"Ah, n-n-no, thank you!"
AJ blurted out, averting her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure and continued.
"Rarity, uhm… I wanna thank ya for making mah hair all pretty n' all… I really 'preciate it… Now, I wouldn't want to interrupt yer work, I don't want ya to lose any more customers… so, uh… would ya mind if I came over a lil' later? In the evening, maybe?"
AJ carefully picked her words. She felt guilty for making Rarity close her shop just for her, but she wanted to spend more time with her dear friend. Fortunately for her, Rarity smiled and shook her head.
"Oh, not at all! You're more than welcome to come by later, darling~"
Rarity's words made Applejack's heart flutter in joy. She grinned happily and nodded. Then, she went back to the bathroom and quickly dressed up, grinning like a schoolgirl whose crush had just confessed to her. She didn't put her hat on, though. She appreciated Rarity's work so much that she didn't want to ruin it. Finally, she walked out of the bathroom and walked over to the door.
"T-thanks again, Rarity! I’ll come by in the evening, have a great day!"
The two smiled at each other, and then AJ walked out of the boutique.