//------------------------------// // 34. Birthday - by Twilight-The-Pony // Story: RariJack - The Compilation of Prompts // by Titanium Dragon //------------------------------// Twilight-The-Pony Birthday. “Thank ya very much again for the amazin’ party, Pinkie!” Applejack chirped towards the organizer. “But I have to go an’ get some sleep.” “But it’s only one in the morning. The party just started! Your party just started.” “Ah know, Pinkie, but, but chores wait for nopony. Last year Big Mac was mighty ticked ‘cause I slept in. He said nothing, but Ah just knew it.” “Aw,” Pinkie responded with a disappointed voice. “Oh I know! I could organize post-birthday-party party and we’ll wrap this up!” “That’s okay Sugarcube,” Applejack hugged Pinkie. “But Ah don’t think Ah can manage it. It’s the apple-bucking season after all, and we’re all very busy.” Pinkie’s head approached even closer to Applejack, carefully eyeing her. “Are you planning something? Because last year you all did—” “Ah’m just tired, Pinkie. And we really have tons of work to do.” “Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie bounced cheerfully. “See you tomorrow, Applejack!” Applejack waved her hoof and bid her friends goodbye with a smile. ~*~*~ "Aw, ponyfeathers,” Rarity groaned when she saw her birthday present for the orange mare under the table. ‘It must have fallen down,’ she thought. ‘Does not matter... I’ll just take it to her personally.’ “Aw, not you too, Rarity!” Pinkie sounded disappointed when the galloping mare passed by her. “I’m starting to take this personally,” she said with a groan, lifting her front hoof to take a whiff of her armpit. “I should used better deodorant.” “Applejack just forgot something. I’ll come back to the party. Pinkie promise!” Rarity half-shouted back. “Okai!” PInkie bounced and raised her hoof again. “I really should do something about that deodorant.” ~*~*~ “A- Applejack?” Rarity asked the silent forest that now bathed in the faint glow or her horn, consisting of nothing but well-groomed apple trees. Not even a cricket dared to disturb the silence. And yet, her ears flicked to the sounds of soft sobs not far away from her. She took a deep breath, asking the same question again, but this time in almost a whisper. “A- Applejack? Is that you?” But the sobs didn’t stop. Rarity gulped as she turned towards the origin of the sound in a slow and careful pace. It didn’t take long to see a golden mane connected to the orange body of her friend. “Applejack?” Applejack jumped onto her hooves in one swift move, losing her beloved hat in the process. Her dirty mane was in mess and the fur under her eyes was wet, yielding the telltale signs of her sobbing. Her voice switched back to her casual speech, hiding any kind of distress. “Oh, howdy there, Rarity!” Subtly eyeing around for her hat, she continued. “What brings ya around?” Rarity blinked. “What is going on?” “What’d ya mean?” Applejack turned her eyes towards the tree branches just above Rarity. Maybe the hat managed to escape there. “You are still a bad liar, Applejack.” Rarity lit her horn, lifting the hat behind the tree and putting it carefully onto the farmer’s head. “Now, please tell me what’s going on.” A comb floated from Rarity’s saddlebags and starting to brush Applejack’s mane meticulously. “And I’m not leaving before that.” Applejack glimpsed at Rarity briefly before looking at the ground with a sigh. “Ah hate birthdays.” The brush stopped caressing the golden mane for a few seconds before continuing. “Is it because of Pinkie? Her parties had became a little... um...” she looked up, tapping her hoof onto her chin, searching for a fitting word “...odd. Up until today I didn’t even knew that ponies could eat fire...” Applejack raised her brow. “What? Oh, no, no. It’s not because of Pinkie... it’s because of me.” Rarity tilted her head. “What do you mean?” “Nothing. Can I go now?” “Applejack...” Applejack sighed. “Fine then.” She looked around as searching for any other pony that may be lurking around the orchard in the dead of the night. “Ah hate birthdays, because they remind me that Ah’m still alone.” She closed her eyes as she continued, “Even with all the friends and family, Ah still feel like Ah’m the loneliest pony in Ponyville.” The comb stopped again, a bitter smile crept on Rarity’s lips as she realized her friend’s problem. “I see.” The comb now moved to the dirty and messy golden tail. “You’ll find a wonderful stallion soon. Don’t worry about it too much. I just wanted to—” “Yeah. Stallion,” Applejack muttered in a low voice, hoping that Rarity didn’t hear it. She was wrong. The comb stopped its motioning again as Rarity’s heart skipped a beat and resumed shortly after. ‘Nah. I’m hearing things.’ “Rarity?” “Sorry Applejack. I- I’ve got kind of lost in my thoughts. It’s already late and...” “...you wanted to give me a goodnight kiss, right?” “Yes. Wait, no. What?” Rarity shook her head in hopes to clear up the confusion in her mind, but without any luck. “Anyways; you forgot my present. Happy birthday again, Applejack. I hope you’ll like it.” Applejack sighed as she opened the box which contained a necklace made out of baby blue sapphire and a golden string. “Thank ya kindly,” she said in a dull and uninterested voice. “But... What’s the matter? Don’t you like it?” “Ah do. But it’s... it’s just not what Ah was hoping for,” Applejack closed her eyes and hung her head. A warm hoof caressed her cheek as she unintentionally leaned onto it. Another warm, radiating body approached her snout, planting a soft kiss on her lips. Applejack jumped back, her eyes now opened wide in a confusion, staring at the white mare in front of her. “What just—” Rarity looked at Applejack for few seconds before hanging her head. “Ever since that storm, I wanted to do that. I just—” She sighed. “But- but that was years ago... Why didn’t ya say something?” “I didn’t want to lose your friendship. But when you’ve complained about stallions earlier, I thought I could...” Rarity sighed again. “I’m sorry, Applejack. I just hope we can still be friends.” A smile crept on Applejack’s lips. “Rarity?” “Hm?” “Would you like to go out with me? On... you know... a date?” “You’d still...” Rarity replied cautiously. “I would love to, Miss Applejack.” Applejack nuzzled the white mare in front of her, causing her to blush. ”This is the best birthday I’ve had so far!” “Let’s see if we can make it even better,” Rarity replied with a sly grin on her face. ~*~*~ “YOU BROKE A PINKIE PROMISE!” Pinkie shouted to the pair of intertwined sleeping mares. “You! Broke! A! Pinkie! Promise!” The knot of orange and white shot up to the fuming Pinkie Pie, their faces both flush red. “Pinkie Pie?” Applejack was the first to ask, still confused. “You PROMISED!” Pinkie yelled again. “Pinkie, dear. No need to be upset,” Rarity replied calmly. “I did plan on coming back, but things got a little... complicated...” Pinkie looked at Applejack quizzically, “Well, duh. I’ve been trying to get you two together for past few months.” “You knew?” Rarity and Applejack both asked in a single voice. “Of course I knew, silly. You two have been acting awkwardly around each other since that sleepover at Twilight’s.” “Then why didn’t you mention anything to any of us?” Rarity replied. “Planning, duh,” Pinkie bounced. “But now you two RUINED months of planning!” “Er.... sorry?” Applejack replied lamely, lightly squeezing the mare in her hooves. “It‘s okay,” Pinkie chirped. “I should leave you two alone now,” she added and disappeared behind one of the bigger trees. “How about some breakfast, sugarcube?” Applejack murmured to the mare in her hooves. “Just a few more minutes, Applejack. It’s warm in here.” Next prompt: Fire.