//------------------------------// // Ch3: Unexpected turn of events // Story: Believe // by Rapplejack //------------------------------// " I- I've actually been watchin' you.. For a long time now... I've gotta admit.. I-I've grown to be mighty fond of ya.. W-whaddya say...?" In the Carousel Boutique, Rarity woke up next to her beloved doll. " Good morning Applejack..." Rarity yawned, getting out of her bed. She placed the doll in a diamond laced purse that she put around her back. " Is it cozy in there, Applejack?" She asked the doll. She imagined the doll saying it needed a little more air, to which she opened a slight airhole in the bag for her Applejack plush. She headed towards the kitchen, where her family was waiting for her with breakfast. " Good morning, Rarity!" Magnum, her father, greeted. Rarity was also greeted by a smile and wave from her mother. " Good morning, father." Rarity greeted back, " I'll be back very soon, I must deliver the dresses I had finished yesterday." Rarity said, leaving the kitchen and to her work room. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rarity put the dresses inside a suitcase and headed towards the Canterlot Mail Service Office. She dropped off the suitcase and gave the mailman a flirtatious smile; a bad habit of hers. She turned around face to face with Applejack, who was doing some of her own personal mailing to her cousins in Manehatten. " Howdy Rarity, fancy meetin' you here." Applejack greeted. " H-hey there Applejack!" Rarity said with a weak smile. She already felt the blood rush to her face. " What brings you here?" " Oh ya know, just mailin' some apples to my folk back in Manehatten. You?" Applejack said, walking in the same direction as Rarity. " I was just sending 12 dresses I had completed the night before to Fancy Pants in Canterlot." Rarity said, acting as casual as she could around the pony who made butterflies go crazy in her stomach. Rarity looked at Applejack and thought about her nights spent with the plush doll, how she practiced asking Applejack out to dinner many times, and of course, never being rejected once. This sparked something in Rarity, a desire. She wanted to have dinner with Applejack right now; no, she needed it. Just act casual, like nothing is wrong. Yes, just a friend asking another friend to dinner, that's all. This was a lot easier said than done. Rarity looked at her friend, a bead of sweat fell from her mane. " Hey, Applejack.. I-I was wondering.. If maybe, just maybe.. Y-You know.." Rarity stammered. " If maybe what? Rar' you sure you're alright?" " I-I'm fine.. I was just wondering.. If.. Well you know, if maybe.. Just maybe.. You'd like to go to dinner with me..?" Rarity asked, her face now a deep red. She was practically sweating; she felt her mane start to itch. The lovestruck mare stared into Applejack's eyes, waiting for an answer. She will say no, won't she? But wait, she might just think it's a friendly gesture and say yes! Or will she take it the wrong way and reject me.. Rarity thought, her head hurting at this point. " Well, I'd love to go Rar'! Tonight a good night for ya?" Applejack asked, smiling at her friend. Rarity practically fainted after hearing the good news. " Tonight is absolutely perfect!" Rarity said, over-enthusiastically. She was so relieved to know that Applejack agreed to go on a date with her, although she knew it might only be a friendly gesture. After the sudden burst of adrenaline, Rarity decided to step it up a notch. " Instead of a restaurant, how about coming over to my shop for dinner?" Rarity said, confident that after this night, she would earn some Applejack love points. " That sound's mighty nice, Rarity!" Applejack said, relieved as well, but for a different reason. She was glad to see her friend acting a bit more normal now; in the previous few weeks, she noticed Rarity acting like she had a couple loose bolts in her head. " How about I head out at 8:15? I reckon that's a good time to enjoy a feast with you." " O-of course! That would be just perfect!" Rarity said, already planning on the menu and her dress selection for this night. This being said, Applejack smiled and tipped her hat, heading off towards Sweet Apple Acres; leaving Rarity to stare at the now leaving Applejack. She watched Applejack's mane and body reflect the sun; how stunning she looked! She saw her tied up mane sway from side to side; It made Rarity want to tackle her down and start kissing the clueless cowpony. After, and only after Rarity couldn't see Applejack any longer, she started to head back towards to Carousel Boutique. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The clock struck 8:10 as Rarity was making the final adjustments to her feast with Applejack. She made sure the lighting was perfect, it couldn't be too dim for her not to see Applejack's eating face, but it couldn't be too bright to ruin the atmosphere. She made sure the table and seat placement was spot on; nothing was going to go wrong tonight. She floated the food she had cooked onto the table. Tonight's appetizer was Oat Hay-Mozzarella Sticks, with assorted salad and carrot soup; the entrée of tonight's dinner was fancy Barley-Spaghetti Noodles and Meatball with Oat sticks on the side; and finally the desert was a sweet Molichaff haycake. Rarity quickly made sure her dress looked nice and double checked her makeup for any imperfections. She knew Applejack would be awestruck when she saw how beautiful she looked tonight. A sudden realization occurred for Rarity; this dinner was with Applejack! She quickly developed a red tint to her face and started sweating. Okay, calm down Rarity. You must act calm and collected for Applejack! This is nothing more than a friendly date to her, yes. Nothing more than a friendly date to her..Rarity's heart sank, losing the red tint to her face. She grabbed the doll that was lying on the counter. " Applejack.. I-Is it really just a friendly get together to you?" Rarity asked the doll. She imagined it telling her how it wanted her to think that way so Rarity wouldn't find out about its feelings. " Oh Applejack! There's no need to hide your feelings from me darling.. You'll always be my everything.. My number one.. You don't have to hide anymore." Rarity started to make her way towards the doll's lips, but then she heard a knock coming from the door, " I'm here, Rarity!" Applejack called through the door. " C-coming!" Rarity said, putting the doll inside of a drawer. She answered the door and saw Applejack. Applejack was not wearing anything fancy tonight, just her trademark hat she always wore. This made Rarity feel uncomfortable, like she was the only one who was excited for tonight's feast. " How are you doing on this fine evening, Applejack?" Rarity asked, maintaining a 1 foot radius away from Applejack. She knew one touch would cause her to lose her cool, and nothing, nothing was going to ruin this night for Rarity, " Howdy, Rar'! I'm doing mighty fine, thanks! Fancy lightin' you got in here, almost like one of 'em fancy restaurants." Applejack said as she headed towards the table. " Well shall we get started?" " O-of course Applejack! Here, let me get that seat for you.." Rarity said, pulling the seat out for Applejack to sit on. Applejack gave a smile in return, a smile that made Rarity almost lose her cool. Rarity, keep your cool! You absolutely can not ruin this night for yourself! Rarity thought, making her way towards her own seat. As the two of the sat down, they started to eat. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ " You know, Rarity, these past couple of weeks I kept thinkin' about how you were actin'; I thought it was mighty suspicious. I always thought somethin' was up, but I guess I was over thinkin' things. I'd like to apologize for doubtin' ya." Applejack said, lifting her head from the Spaghetti. " Oh no no no, you don't have to apologize, darling. I have to admit I have been under a lot of stress lately, I'm sorry for not telling you and the others." Rarity said, apologetically. At least it's not completely a lie.. Rarity thought to herself. " If there's anythin' you need help with, don't hesitate to shout. I'll be by Sweet Apple Acres like I always am." Applejack said, continuing on the meal. The reassurance and reliability in Applejack's voice made Rarity turn a cherry red. She felt her words stick in her throat as she took a sip of water. " I-I'll keep that in mind, thank you Applejack." Rarity said, trying to calm herself. She started to look at Applejack, who was eating without silverware. She stared at the tomato sauce on Applejack's muzzle, watching it drip down her cheek as she licked it up with her tongue. Strangely enough, the noises Applejack made by chewing made Rarity's heart flutter. She watched the Barley noodles escape down her throat; going down through her chest and through her stomach. She looked back up and saw Applejack drinking water; some of the water made its way down the side of Applejack's mouth, making a wet trail along her neck as it trailed down to her stomach. Rarity's heart skipped a few beats watching all this occur, almost forgetting about her own meal, she continued eating as well. " Hey.. Rar'?" Applejack said, looking up at her friend. Rarity stopped eating and looked up at her friend. " There's.. Somethin' I wanna tell you.." Rarity nearly dropped the silverware she was holding. This was it! This was the confession Applejack was going give like she imagined so many times. Taking a big gulp, Rarity answered, " Y-yes, and what would that be?" " It's kinda embarrassing.. I-I don't exactly know how to say this, Rar'.." Applejack said. At this point Rarity was about to faint, the suspense was too much for her. She felt her face turn bright red, feeling her ears burning up as well. She tried breathing but found it hard to. " C-..... So I wa-....... -eet Appl-....... -mrow?" Rarity's head was going blank, she saw the hazy figure of Applejack turn red and soon it was all darkness. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rarity awoke the next morning on her feathery bed, covered neatly in her lavender blanket. She got up and took a moment to remember what had happened the night before. The sudden realization came to her, Applejack was going to confess to me!! Rarity's face erupted in a deep red; she started trying to recollect herself. She guessed that Applejack carried her back to her room when she collapsed; thinking about this only worsened the blushing. Okay, okay think Rarity.. What did Applejack tell you last night? Rarity said, trying to piece together what Applejack said before she fainted in the previous night. All she could make out was "Sweet Apple Acres." Maybe she was going to confess to me there! Rarity, overly excited by this, ran and got her Applejack plush and kissed it multiple times. " It was really nice being with you, but soon I'll have the real Applejack! I'm sorry, but there's just no room for two.. You understand, right dear?" Rarity imagined the doll saying how it understood and how it was happy for Rarity. Rarity softly placed the doll in the trash can as she made her way to the only place she could think of, Sweet Apple Acres. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As she arrived there, she looked at the barn. She started imagining how Applejack would sleep and shower in that exact place she was looking at. She shook her head to avoid the early blushing, for she knew she would do plenty of that when Applejack would confess to her a second time. She started walking towards the barn until 4 hooves clasped onto her and pulled her into a nearby bush. " MMMM!" Rarity shrieked, only to have her mouth be covered up by a hoof. There, looking down at her, was her four friends. " Shhh! You'll give our position away!" Rainbow Dash whispered, letting go of Rarity's mouth. " What is the meaning of this! I have some very important business with Applejack!" Rarity exclaimed softly. She looked around and saw the rest of her friends staring out a little opening in the brush. " We all do, Rarity. Applejack told us about it too." Twilight said, looking at her friend. Rarity turned red, but it was covered by the darkness of the bush. " S-she told you about it too?" Rarity blushed at the idea. Applejack told our friends about how she was going to confess to me? she thought about this deeply, and strangely it made her happy. She looked at her friends, who were all looking through the opening in the brush. " O-of course she told us, we are all her friends.." Fluttershy softly said, still maintaining her gaze out the opening. Rarity now felt slightly guilty about not telling them about her feelings towards Applejack. Before she could apologize and confess, Pinkie Pie interrupted loudly. "She's doing it she's doing it!!!" Rarity was confused, making her way towards the opening. There she saw Applejack standing by an unfamiliar colt. Her heart stopped. Twilight shushed all the whispering going on and they listened as Applejack said in the distance, " I- I've actually been watchin' you.. For a long time now... I've gotta admit.. I-I've grown to be mighty fond of ya.. W-whaddya say...?"