Fluttershy stared at the large bag of coins on the table in front of her. “I don’t understand…” the timid pegasus quietly said, looking genuinely confused. One minute she’d been enjoying tea and pleasant conversation in Rarity’s kitchen, the next she was being given a bunch of bits. “What’s this for?”
Rarity daintily sipped her tea, keeping her gaze on the celebrity gossip magazine she was levitating in front of her face. “For the bet, Darling.”
Fluttershy blinked. “The bet?”
“Yes, dear, the bet. You are the victor, and to the victor go the spoils.”
“Oh,” Fluttershy’s eyes suddenly lit up. “The one about Rainbow’s mane?”
Rarity slapped the magazine down on the table, and turned to give a sidelong glance at Fluttershy through her reading glasses. “No, for I am still convinced that the coloration she has is not a natural product of equine genetics!”
Fluttershy’s look of confusion slightly returned. “Oh.”
Rarity gave a small sigh, and picked her magazine back up. “It was our other bet involving Rainbow Dash, actually,” the unicorn mused from behind her reading material.
Fluttershy looked thoughtful for a moment, before her eyes lit up again. “Oh! About her and Apple-”
“I can neither confirm nor deny that our friends Rainbow Dash and Applejack are participating in some form of relationship or romance,” Rarity stated matter-of-factly. “That would be a violation of their trust, after all.”
Fluttershy giggled softly. “Right. It would be rude to gossip about them behind their backs.”
“Indeed! And until they allow their hypothetical relationship to be public knowledge, then it would be quite improper of you or I to discuss it, or how cute of a couple they make,” Rarity quipped, smiling wryly behind her magazine.
“Well, I’m happy for them,” the yellow pegasus observed with a small smile of her own. “Hypothetically, I mean.”
“Oh yes, hypothetically of course,” Rarity nodded. “And it will likely stay hypothetical for quite some time. If those two were to be dating, it would likely take a lengthy amount of time before they were comfortable with allowing other ponies to see them-”
The front door of Rarity’s parlor suddenly swung open forcefully, as an orange earth mare barreled in through the threshold. “SANCTUARY!!” she yelled, wide-eyed in frantic fear as she galloped into the shop. “Sanctu- ACK!!”
Applejack’s please for aid were cut off as she was tackled from behind by a blue blur that could only be Rainbow Dash. The two ponies flew forward onto the floor, rolling several times in a jumbled tangle of hooves, wings, and bodies. The two finally came to a stop on the floor right in front of the doorway to the kitchen, with Rainbow Dash on top of Applejack, pinning her hooves down. “Now I’ve gotcha!” the blue pegasus said with an evil grin.
Peals of giggling laughter erupted from Applejack as a pair of wings began to mercilessly tickle her stomach and sides. “Stop stop!” the earth mare protested through her laughter. “Rainbow stop! Rainboooow!” she howled, struggling to get free or somehow stave off the assault. “Guldurnit cut it out!”
“Never!” Dash proclaimed with an evil cackle. “And there’s nothing you can do to-”
Applejack suddenly lifted her head and rammed her muzzle into Dash’s, forcefully kissing her. The blue pegasus froze in dumbfounded surprise, briefly pausing in her tickle assault. And that was all Applejack needed; there was a dull fwump as the rainbow-maned mare was hurled across the room and onto her back. “Cheater!” Dash protested from her new corner of the room.
Applejack rolled over onto her stomach and smirked. “All’s fair in love and war.”
Rarity coughed.
The two lovers froze, eyes going wide as they realized where they actually were. They both turned their horrified gazes towards Rarity, who was smiling pleasantly at them from her seat in the kitchen. “I seem to recall informing you two that you were not allowed to race to or in my house,” the fashionista crisply observed. “Apparently I also need to make a rule about PDA as well. What do you think, Fluttershy?” she dryly asked.
Fluttershy said nothing. She was too busy hiding behind Rarity’s magazine, which she had stolen to shield herself from the awkward sight before her. “Hoity Toity has a new line of hats coming out next month,” the yellow mare quietly observed, trying to sound casual. “I wonder if they’ll have one in a shade of verdant green…”
Rarity gave a small shake of her head, before turning her attention back towards the blushing mares in her living room, still smiling faintly. Applejack and Dash both grinned sheepishly, before apologizing in unison. “Sorry.”
“It’s quite alright,” Rarity sighed. “I suppose I should not complain about my two best friends being so happy and… comfortable… within their relationship,” she said, her smile becoming a bit more warm and genuine. “Now, what brings you to my parlor today? I doubt you came by just to make out on my floor.”
The two marefriends blushed some more, before rising to their hooves and trotting into the kitchen. “Actually, we wanted to ask ya a favor,” Applejack said with a meek smile.
“Yeah, we need your help with something. Something you know all about,” Dash said, her own smile becoming a bit crooked and playful.
“Oh?” Rarity raised a curious eyebrow, while Fluttershy lowered the magazine she’d been using as an anti-awkward shield, also interested in hearing what this odd request might be.
“Eeyup,” Applejack nodded.
Dash grinned. “We need you to gossip about us.”
“Pshaw,” Rarity scoffed, acting taken aback. “Are you both imply that I would actually partake in-”
Rainbow Dash and Applejack both leveled flat stares at the unicorn. Fluttershy giggled softly.
“Alright, so maybe I do partake in the verbal exchange of news and rumor,” Rarity admitted with a sheepish smile. She then tilted her head to the side, looking slightly perplexed. “But why would you need my skills in such a thing? Do you need me to help in averting suspicion, or creating cover stories?”
Dash shook her head. “Nah.”
“Actually, Rare, we need ya to spread the word about us datin’ each other now,” Applejack said with a tilt of her head towards her winged lover. “Think you can do that?”
Rarity stared for a moment, before tilting her head to the other side. “Beg pardon?”
“We need you to make us sound like a good couple that’s all cute and happy and stuff so nopony will make fun of us without feeling bad,” Rainbow clarified with a roll of her eyes.
Rarity’s brows rose in surprise. “Oh? And who came up with this stunningly brilliant idea?”
Applejack turned and smirked at Rainbow Dash. The blue pegasus simply narrowed her eyes at Rarity. “That’s not important right now,” she flatly replied.
Fluttershy let out another small giggle of amusement, while Rarity smirked knowingly. “I see. Well, if I understand it correctly, that actually is a rather clever plan. If the various townsfolk are convinced that you both make for a happy and adorable couple, then they’ll be too busy saying good things about you to have the time or inclination to make negative remarks or jokes. At least, I presume that’s your fear – off-color jokes, unpleasant gossip, so on and so forth,” she mused.
The two lovers nodded. “We’re also worried that Apple Bloom or Scootaloo would overhear some of that stuff,” Applejack frowned sadly. “They already know we’re datin’ each other, but there’s no tellin’ what they’d do if they knew folks were gossipin’ about us.”
“Or if they get messed with by some obnoxious brats,” Dash grumbled.
Rarity frowned. “Ah yes, I can understand your concern in that regard. Our sisters do all seem to have a little less social grace and restraint than we’d prefer for them to exercise,” the unicorn observed with a small frown. “I can sit down with our little Crusaders and have a talk about all this, if you’d like.”
Applejack smiled softly. “That’d be great, Rare. Thank ya.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow nodded, smiling as well. “Thanks a lot, Rarity.”
“Oh, think nothing of it,” the fashionista said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “I am always happy to assist my friends. Is there anything else I can do for you? Would you like to sit down for some tea with us? It’s peppermint.”
“We can put on another pot if you’d like a different flavor,” Fluttershy offered.
“Nah, thank ya though,” Applejack replied with a shake of her head. “Ah don’t need anythin’ else, Ah don’t think. What about you, Dash? Dash?”
Rainbow Dash was staring across the room at something. Applejack followed her gaze, and saw that she was looking at a cookbook on a nearby counter. Baking For Beginners. “Hey Rare, you usin’ that book?” the blue pegasus asked after a moment.
Rarity turned in her seat, craning her neck to see what Dash was asking about. “Hm? Oh, no, I haven’t been using it lately. Why, did you wish to borrow it?”
Dash nodded. “Yeah, Applejack’s been trying to teach me to cook, so I figured maybe I should study up.”
“Ah yes,” Rarity nodded, smirking knowingly. “So I heard.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Heard?”
“Where’d you hear that?” Dash asked, looking confused. “Did we already tell you about it?”
“I heard it from Sweetie Belle, actually, since Apple Bloom told her all about how Rainbow Dash exploded the farmhouse’s kitchen earlier this month,” the unicorn replied, her smirk deepening.
Rainbow Dash raised a hoof, and pointed it accusingly. “Hey. Hey. I did not blow up the kitchen. I only caught the stovetop on fire. And maybe a hat or two.”
“Those poor pancakes never stood a chance,” Applejack muttered furtively.
“Hey!” the blue pegasus protested defensively. “I was distracted, thank you very much!”
“Excuses, excuses,” Applejack smirked, while Rarity and Fluttershy giggled in amusement. “Anyhoo, Ah guess we can stick around for a bit, and have a little tea.”
“Yeah, sounds good,” Rainbow Dash shrugged.
Rarity smiled in delight. “Oh, excellent! Here, let me put on a fresh kettle…”
And so, the four friends sat down to enjoy a nice afternoon of tea, friendly banter, and more than a few jokes about Rainbow Dash’s horrible luck with the culinary arts…
Perfect.
It was all so very perfect.
The flour. The eggs. The sugar. The baking powder. They had all been measured and prepared perfectly. Dash hadn’t spilt milk all over the floor. She hadn’t substituted salt for sugar on accident. And she’d flawlessly cracked open several eggs, without any shell fragments, splattered yolk, or confused baby chickens to worry about. Everything. Was. Perfect.
“Alright,” Applejack grinned proudly, hip-bumping her marefriend as they both stood near the counter in the Sweet Apple Acres kitchen. It had been almost a week since the picnic and visit to Rarity’s, it seemed that Dash’s intent studying of that cookbook during that time had clearly paid off. “Now that everythin’ fer the cake batter is in the bowl, all we gotta do is turn on the mixer. Ah just need to-”
“I got it,” Dash grinned, reaching a hoof out to turn on the mixer.
“Wait, Dash! Don’t-”
There were very few times in her life where Dash being super-fast was a problem. This was one of them.
Before Applejack could stop her, Dash flipped on the mixer. At top speed. What followed was a very brief but messy explosion of half-mixed batter, a cloudy haze of flour, and splatters of egg yolk. In less than three seconds, the bowl was emptied, and its contents were left smeared all over the two mares, the floor, and the surrounding counter-tops.
For a long moment, the kitchen was silent, aside from the dull ~whrrrrrrrrr~ of the mixer desperately trying to stir an empty bowl.
Finally, Applejack turned off the overzealous appliance, and turned her batter-splattered face towards Rainbow Dash. The pegasus’ blue coat was now mostly white from flour and sugar, and her right eye was twitching. “Uh… darlin’?” Applejack quietly asked, recognizing her partner’s distress.
“Just once,” Dash hissed. “Just once, I’d like to not screw up.”
Applejack sighed, and put a hoof over Dash’s shoulders, pulling her close for a messy hug. “It’s alright, Dash. That happened the first time Ah tried ta use a mixer, too.”
“Urrrrrrrg,” the pegasus groaned in exasperation. “Whyyyyy do I keep screwing up? I swear, I bet if I tried to boil water, it’d somehow catch on fire.”
“Psh, c’mon Sugarcube, Ah doubt you could burn water,” Applejack scoffed, grinning crookedly.
Dash gave her a flat look. “Wanna bet?”
“Not really,” Applejack deadpanned. She knew better than to tempt fate.
“Ugh,” Dash grunted, facehoofing in annoyance. “Bad enough I blew up the batter. But now we’ve gotta clean the kitchen.”
“Eh, don’t worry about it,” Applejack said, again hugging her ingredient-covered lover. “You just go wash yerself off. Ah’ll clean up the kitchen.” Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to say something, but the farmer cut her off. “And no, we can’t lick each other clean. It’d be more nasty than fun, and the eggs might make us sick.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Dash sighed. “I guess I’ll go wash off then. It’ll take me a little while to get all of this gunk out of my feathers,” she grumbled.
“You can use the shower if ya need to. No rush,” the earth pony said with a smile. “Ah got this covered. Just go get yerself clean, and then we can maybe try again.”
“Maybe…” the pegasus muttered, before trotting out of the kitchen to head upstairs for the bathroom, trying to careful avoid leaving a mess in her wake.
Rainbow Dash had indeed needed to use the shower, since it would have otherwise taken forever for her to clean the flour, eggs, and half-mixed batter out of her hair, fur, and particularly her feathers. She tried to hurry up and not take too long, but she still had to take the time to properly clean and preen her wings, lest her flying abilities be hampered by shoddy hygiene. She may have also zoned out a time or two in the comfortable warmth of the shower water. Whoops.
Eventually, though, Dash descended back downstairs, her fur sparkly clean, her wings gorgeously preened, and her mane fancily wrapped up in a towel to dry, since going for a quick fly to air-dry it wasn’t exactly a (good) option right now. She could hear the closing of cabinet doors coming from the kitchen; Applejack was likely putting away the cleaning supplies, having finished dealing with the mess they made. Dash frowned a bit as she trotted through the living room, once again feeling bad about screwing up so badly.
As the pegasus made her way towards the kitchen, she idly glanced around the living room, only to have something catch her gaze. It was something she’d seen many times before, and had never really paid much mind to. But this time, it managed to grab her attention, and keep it firmly held for more than a passing glance.
The object in question was a faded photograph hanging on the wall. A pair of earth ponies, standing side-by-side in front of a farmhouse, smiling happily. The one on the left was a pretty purple mare with eyes and mane of a lighter purple hue, as well as freckles and a very pretty smile. The pony on the right was a stout stallion with a dark cobalt coat and a dark green-blue mane, though it was hard to tell for sure due to the fading of the picture, as well as vibrant green eyes and a smile that was both crooked and confident.
Dash couldn’t help but feel a small pang of sadness at the sight of Applejack’s parents. Her ears drooped slightly as she wondered what they would have thought of her. Would they have approved of their daughter dating a non-earth pony? A brash, flashy, sky-loving pegasus no less? Would they have considered her good enough for their daughter? Would they have-
“They’d have liked ya.”
Dash jumped slightly, letting out a small squeak of surprise as she whirled about to find Applejack standing next to her, a small, sad smile on her freckled face. She’d apparently cleaned herself up already, though there were still a few flecks of flour in her mane. Dash opened and closed her mouth, trying to find a proper response to that observation.
Applejack just smiled a bit more. “That is what you were thinkin’ about, wadn’t it?”
The pegasus continued to work her jaw for a moment as though imitating a dumbfounded goldfish, before finally letting out a small sigh. “Yeah,” she admitted, her ears drooping a bit further. “Something like that.”
Applejack took another step closer, and leaned in to nuzzle Dash’s cheek. “They would have liked ya, darlin’. Though…” her voice trailed off.
Dash raises an eyebrow, frowning in concern. “Though?” she asked warily.
“Though,” Applejack whispered softly in Dash’s ear, “They would have been a mite bit disappointed in yer cookin’ skills.”
There was a second or so of silence. And then both mares broke down into giggles.
“Psh, nah,” Dash said through her giggles, shaking her head in protest. “They’d have probably been happy to see me trying to get better, especially with you helping me.”
“Heh, yeah,” Applejack smirked, “Up until you wrecked their kitchen. Repeatedly.”
“Hey, I offered to help clean up,” Dash shot back defensively, frowning a bit.
“Ah know, Ah know, just teasing,” Applejack said, nuzzling her marefriend’s cheek again. “Ya know Ah’m just messin’ with ya.”
After a short moment of continued frowning, Dash smiled and nuzzled back. “Yeah, yeah, I know…”
The two exchanged mutual nuzzles for a bit, before Dash pulled back a bit, once again frowning slightly. “Sorry for taking so long, by the way. Does the kitchen need any more cleaning?”
“Nah,” Applejack said with a shake of her head. “Ah done got everythin’ all cleaned up.”
The pegasus extended a wing, and poked at her lover’s mane. Specifically, the parts that still held bits of flour. “I dunno, I think you missed a spot or two,” Dash playfully smirked.
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Well Ah didn’t have the chance ta take a shower, like a certain pegasus did. For quite awhile, Ah might add.”
Dash grinned lasciviously. “You could have joined me, you know.”
This earned another eye roll from Applejack. “Not gonna respond ta that. Anyhoo, what about yours?”
“My shower?” Dash asked back, tilting her head to the side in perplexed confusion.
“No, silly, yer parents,” Applejack snorted with an amused smirk.
“Oh. Uh, what about them?” the pegasus asked, not quite following.
“Ah dunno,” Applejack shrugged, averting her gaze a bit. “Ah’m just… y’know… wonderin’ what they’d think of me.”
“What they’d think of you?”
Another shrug. “Whether or not they’d approve of ya datin’ a mare, and one without wings no less,” she muttered.
“Oh. Psh,” Dash snorted, grinning lopsidedly. “Yeah, they’d be totally cool with it.”
Applejack continued to look off to the side, her lips curling into a small, uncomfortable frown. “You sure about that?”
“Uh, yeah, why wouldn’t they?” Dash asked, frowning a bit with worry herself. “Do you think there’d be some sort of problem?”
“Ah dunno,” the earth mare muttered somewhat evasively. “Ya don’t think they’d mind you datin’ a gal who’s stuck on the ground? Ah mean, we couldn’t exactly go visit ‘em, or any of yer other kinfolk. Shoot, Ah can’t even come up to yer house without you havin’ ta carry me or get some sorta spell put on me,” she grumbled, her frown deepening.
Rainbow Dash looked at her marefriend for a long moment. “This isn’t entirely about what my parents think, is it?” she eventually asked. “C’mon, I can tell something’s bothering you here.”
Applejack kept her gaze averted. “Ah dunno…”
A feathery blue wing extended out to rest on the orange mare’s shoulder. “It’s okay, AJ,” Dash softly said, offering a meek smile. “You can tell me what’s up.”
Applejack looked back at her lover; her eyes held a strange mixture of worry, but also appreciation. It seemed that she was rather touched by Dash’s willingness to listen, despite her own tentativeness to share. The farmer let out a sigh, her gaze dropping. “Ah’ve just been… ponderin’ some stuff.”
Dash nodded, keeping her wing on Applejack’s shoulder. “Go on.”
“Ah dunno,” the farm-mare muttered. “Ah’ve just been havin’ some thoughts about the long-term.”
“Long-term?”
“Yeah. Me bein’ an earth pony, and you bein’ a pegasus. Ah mean, like Ah said, Ah can’t even come up to yer house without havin’ a spell cast on me or somethin’ like that,” she said with a frown. “And askin’ you to live on the ground seems like cagin’ a songbird. Just ain’t fair to ‘em.”
Rainbow Dash worked her jaw from side to side, listening to her lover’s word and mulling them over. “I dunno, I kinda like the idea of a little farmhouse like this. It’s cozy, and can’t blow away in a storm. Well, not easily, at least,” she said with a wry little smile.
In spite of herself, Applejack looked up and cracked a small smile. “Fair point, Ah suppose.”
“Anything else?” the pegasus asked, slightly raising an eyebrow.
Applejack’s gaze dropped again. “What about when you become Wonderbolt?” she quietly asked.
Dash’s smile disappeared. That… was actually a good point. Wonderbolt Academy had kept her cloud-bound for a week, and when her friends – Applejack included – had come to visit her, they’d all nearly been killed. If she were to actually become a Wonderbolt…
Dash leaned in and nuzzled Applejack’s cheek. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. I’m sure that whatever happens, we’ll be able to make it work,” she softly observed, before adding: “If I become a Wonderbolt.”
Applejack nuzzled back, a small smile once again returning to her face. “There ain’t any ifs about it, sweetheart.”
The pegasus giggled into her marefriend’s ear. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” She then pulled back, and smiled kindly. “Anyway, I get what you’re worried about. Stuff like this is common when pegasi and non-winged ponies get together. They worry about how they’ll make things work, whether or not they’ll bother or burden the other, yadda yadda. And it’s never as big of a problem as they think it’ll be.” Dash leaned in, and pecked Applejack on the cheek. “Trust me, it’ll all be alright. We’ll make things work, one way or another.”
Applejack returned the kiss to Dash’s own cheek. “Thanks darlin’. Hearin’ you say that… helps. A lot.”
“No problem,” Dash replied, before grinning lopsidedly again. “Also, if you’re worried so much about us not being able to visit my parents, there’s a pretty easy way to fix that.” Applejack raised an eyebrow, and Dash’s grin widened. “I can just invite them to come visit us.”
Applejack blinked a few times. “Huh. Well, Ah reckon that’d work, though Ah figured they wouldn’t wanna take the time an’ trouble ta come all the way out here.”
“Eh, they’ve been meaning to come visit me for a while. This just gives them a proper excuse,” Dash said with a flippant wave of a hoof. “Besides, I’m sure they’d love to meet you.”
“Hm.” Applejack brought a hoof up to her chin, and tapped it thoughtfully. “Think maybe they’d like to come over fer dinner, an’ meet the rest of mah family?”
Dash’s grin widened even further. “Oh yeah, I’m sure they’d love that. I’ll send a letter off to ‘em as soon as I can.”
“Alright,” the earth mare nodded, grinning as well. “In the meantime, Ah guess we’d best get back to workin’ on that cake.”
Dash nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” She began to pull her wing back, but paused briefly, before smirking.
Applejack narrowed her eyes. “What are you- ack!”
Dash had a feeling that teasing Applejack with her wings would never get old, and she let out a giggle of amusement as she swiftly ran her wingtip up and down the back of Applejack’s neck, sending a shiver through the earth mare. “Heh, you’re so fun to mess with.”
“Durn you and your feathery appendages,” Applejack grumbled in mock-annoyance, a small blush tinging her cheeks pink.
The pegasus chuckled, before extending her other wing, and raising both to Applejack’s face. Cupping her lover’s face between her wings, Dash smirked smugly. “You know you love them.”
Applejack grinned. “Yer right, Ah do,” she admitted, before turning her face a bit and nuzzling into one of the wings, trying to bury her face in the feathers.
Quick as a flash, both of Dash’s wings snapped back and folded against her sides. A small blush rose to Rainbow Dash’s face, her eyes slightly widened in surprise.
Applejack blinked in surprise. “Huh? Ah do somethin’ wrong?” she asked, audibly confused and a bit concerned.
“No no,” Dash shook her head, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just, uh, well, my wings, they, uh…” she stammered, apparently having trouble finding the proper words to explain why she seemed so opposed to Applejack nuzzling her wings.
“Ah didn’t hurt ‘em or nothin’, did I?” Applejack asked.
“Oh, no, you didn’t hurt it,” the pegasus replied with another shake of her head. “It’s just, uh…”
“Is it like your hooves?”
“Huh?”
Applejack pointed down at Dash’s hooves. “You said you don’t like ponies touchin’ yer hooves. Same with yer wings?”
Dash stared for a moment, before slowly nodding. “Yeeeah, something like that.”
Applejack gave an apologetic smile. “Oh, alright. Sorry ‘bout that, then.”
The pegasus gave a small shrug of both her shoulders and wings. “It’s okay. I just, um… I’ll let you know when I’m okay with you touching my wings, alright?” she said, averting her gaze a bit, as if she was feeling awkward or something.
Applejack raised an eyebrow, but decided that it probably wasn’t a subject worth pursuing right now, especially if Dash seemed so uncomfortable about it. “Alrighty,” she said, before turning to trot back into the kitchen. “Anyhoo, let’s get started on that cake again, shall we?”
Dash nodded. “Yeah, sure, sounds good,” she said, before slowly letting a quiet sigh of relief.
That had been awkward But thankfully, she’d managed to avoid having to explain to Applejack – for the time being, at least – that she’d just tried to unknowingly initiate what most pegasi considered to be foreplay.
She also hoped, quite desperately, that any further weird or awkward moments like that wouldn’t happen in front of her parents while they were visiting. ‘Especially Mom.’ If that were to transpire, feeling awkward would be the least of their worries…