Chapter 12
The sun seemed to shine directly on Rick’s face somehow despite the drapes he thought were closed. Of all the ways he’s woken up recently, this was probably the least pleasant. At least it was until he sat up, turned and saw that same sun haloing Rarity’s, for once, messy, purple hair. The soft glow caused by the sun hitting her stray hairs just right made Rick forget about being woken so rudely by a giant ball of gas millions of miles away.
Very gently, he brushed a few lose strands out of her face and leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. She hummed happily without waking. Smiling, he carefully stood up from the bed and went in to shower up before starting the day. He was only interrupted once, therefore making it a little more peaceful, if not enjoyable. Of course, that doesn’t mean Rarity wasn’t awake and waiting for him in the bedroom.
Thirty minutes later, the two of them came down the stairs to see the others waiting for them.
Applejack tossed an apple to Rick, then one to Rarity, “Ya know, we can’t wait ‘round all day fer ya two.”
“Oh please, we had to wait for you just a few days ago to get the same treatment, and when it Twilight or Fluttershy’s time, we will afford the same courtesy to her,” Rarity defended. “So, what is on the itinerary for the day?”
“You know, I’m not too sure,” Rick answered. “I mean, Fluttershy, Applejack and I have our date tonight, but until then… actually, I think I have an idea.” Rick took a bite from his apple then grabbed his keys, “C’mon, I think you’ll all like it.”
*****
They admired the paintings in the little gallery while the artist himself told them about each one. The many different scenes depicted in the frames showed turbid waterfalls and calm streams. There were foggy valleys and sunny fields. Then there was Fluttershy’s favorites, the ones that showed animals in their natural habitats. Especially ones that displayed whole family groups.
Rick gave them each one hundred dollars and told to buy anything they liked. For his part, he went outside and sat on a bench near the stream hat ran through the property nestled in its own tiny valley. As rick sat with his eyes closed, the smile on his face seemed to be permanently affixed while he listened to water and the clucking chickens that roamed around. The pleasant breeze made him wish he had land like this of his own. Equestria was near heaven when compared to Earth and Ponyville was the best part of it he had seen thus far, but this place was pretty near perfect.
He felt someone else sit down on the bench. The smell of flowers coming from the mysterious guest was all he needed to know exactly who it was. He didn’t acknowledge them. Instead, he slowly lifted one of his arms that were spread on the back and… snatched her up in a tight snuggle. Fluttershy’s impossibly cute ‘eep’ confirmed his earlier suspicion. He simply held her there, she nuzzled his chest as she wrapped her arms around him.
Rick leaned his head down and kissed the top of her head. “Did you get some nice paintings, honey?” he asked her.
“Oh, yes I did,” she lifted the three prints from the bag. Unsurprisingly, they all showed animal scenes. One had deer in a field, the second had a mama bear and two cubs, and the last one displayed a couple baby birds in a nest. “They cost more than I had, but Twilight was nice enough to help me pay for the third one.”
“Hmm,” Rick said as he leaned his back and closed his eyes again, “I guess Celestia made the right choice in making her a princess, huh.” Fluttershy simply nodded in agreement. “And I made a good choice when I married all of you.” Fluttershy froze when he said that, “something wrong, Fluttershy?”
She shook her head, “no. I was just thinking.”
“Oh, about what?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Well, just so long as remember to come back to us here in reality.” He squeezed her again.
Their little moment was interrupted by the others’ approach. Each had a bag in their hands that obviously contained a painting. Rick and Fluttershy stood to greet the giggling bunch before they all loaded back up in the truck.
From there, they went to enjoy a picnic. Nearby to the gallery was beach… of sorts. It was grass, sand not being terribly large amount of sand in land-locked Tennessee. A river that ran through a small town between the park and the valley where the cabin was located had a bend that was wide and relatively free of large boulders. The locals often treated it as a beach and so a beach it became.
They all sat on their blanket and enjoyed the sunshine and sandwiches. Once again, the sound of the babbling stream provided a great background sound while the tall, steep and heavily wooded mountains surrounding the river and the beach made for a heaven-on-Earth style backdrop, at least in Rick’s opinion. The girls were so at ease that Applejack absentmindedly plucked a clover and munched on it. Very quickly, she realized her mistake.
Rick held her close, after she finished hacking and coughing of course, and rubbed her shoulder, “humans can’t eat grass, baby doll.” He chuckled, “here, rinse the taste out with some water.”
After she rinsed, spit and wiped some water off her chin, AJ smiled up at him sheepishly, “Ah’ll try ta remember that.” The other girls giggled after seeing their friend was alright even though Rarity was a little put off by her spitting.
“Okay, I think it’s time to head back,” Rick stood up and helped each of the others up one at a time, “AJ and Fluttershy do have a big night tonight after all.”
Upon hearing this, Applejack and Fluttershy exchanged an excited look and practically ran to truck. Rick laughed out loud while Rarity and Twilight carried the basket and blanket. He may have been the last one up the hill, but he couldn’t complain about the view.
*****
So far, the date had gone better than he had expected. First of all, both his dates looked fantastic. Applejack hadn’t gotten as dressed up as Rarity practically commanded she should, but as always, her beauty was natural and, with a little help, she brought her ‘A’ game. The snug blue jeans, which make women’s’ legs and backsides look better anyway, complimented her red, button-up shirt, that was also snug, and turned her body into an eye magnet. Her golden hair being put in curls made her flat out angelic.
Fluttershy was not to be outdone. She wore a simple, butter colored dress that, while not revealing anything, hinted at a perfect body underneath. She let her hair fall naturally, which, as always, was an unbelievably cute style for her, especially since it hid half her face.
They had already gone to dinner, a very enjoyable vegetarian restaurant in the little valley town, and had followed that up with a walk along the river. The river of course was too far down a steep slope to be safe and so the city had set up railings all the way along it, thus keeping stupid people from falling into it and hurting themselves, but one could still enjoy the view, sound and smell of said river.
The topic of conversation often went to comparisons between Earth and Equestria. They all seemed to agree, that even though this planet was certainly beautiful, they still preferred their home in Equestria. After all, in Equestria, the weather was controlled instead of being unpredictable. Plus, poverty was rare as was hunger, violence and crime. In short, Earth was nice, but Equestria was paradise.
Their quiet walk led them to a honky-tonk. Rick was never a huge fan of bars, but he did enjoy the occasional dance with a beautiful woman, let alone two. Therefore, in they went.
The country genre dance music was pleasing to the ears. It lacked the eardrum bursting bass that he hated so much. Instead, the air was filled with upbeat guitars and the occasional banjo. The music was easy to dance to without being overpowering.
They found an unoccupied booth in the corner and occupied it. Soon after, they were greeted by a waitress. Rick got a beer, though only one since he was going to have to drive later on. Fluttershy and Applejack both got an iced tea. The drinks were brought out with a bowl of pretzels.
Rick stood up and reached his hand out. In fact, he reached out with both his hands, he was never one to play favorites. “Ladies, care to dance?”
They both smiled and took a hand. He pulled them both up and held them close while they giggled in their happiness. He held them both against his chest as they swayed to the beat. To Rick Rhinestone, it was a little slice of heaven.
The night continued along this path for a while. They spent what seemed like hours dancing while taking small breaks between to enjoy a drink, a snack and a breather. This night had been spectacular for all envovled.
Applejack stood up from the booth, “ya’ll’ll have ta excuse meh. Ah need ta find thu lil fillies room.”
“Alright, but hurry back,” Rick waved to her as she left.
They watched her walk away before Fluttershy scooted across the booth to get closer to Rick, though there wasn’t much space between them already. She leaned in against him and rested her head on his chest. She just sat there, listening to his heartbeat.
“Rick, I… I think I’ve been bad.”
He stroked her hair gently and looked at her with curiosity. Of all the people and ponies he’s met, this cute, sweet and caring girl was the last one he thought would ever do something wrong.
“What did you do, Honey?”
“Oh, I didn’t do anything,” “I figured,” she looked into his eyes and he saw her look of desperation, “I… I’ve been selfish. I just… I don’t want to share you.”
She started to cry, which was his trigger. He wanted to stop the threat to her happiness, but how? She was upset with herself and one can’t punch an internal problem. He would have to handle this delicately.
He spoke softly. “Hey, hey now. Listen, you’re not bad at all.” He stroked her hair again. “It’s natural to want more, especially when you like that something. You do like me don’t you?” She giggled and nuzzled his chest, “okay, just checking. You are not being bad, only human, remember that Flutters. Also, remember that I love you and so do all our friends. No matter what, none of us could ever not love you. So just relax and…”
“GETCHER GREASY MITTS OFFA MEH!!” Applejack’s voice pierced the music in the bar and reached Rick’s ears, which is the last thing anyone wronging his friends let alone his much beloved wives.
Within three seconds, Rick had crossed the floor and reached the man pestering Applejack. Of course, one placing their hand on a woman’s buttocks and squeezing as much of it as possible qualifies as a little more than pestering a woman.
“Apologize,” Rick whispered into the man’s ear.
It was one word, but it was the way it was said it. A sane and sober man would have done just that and hoped for the best. However, a typical man who likes to think he’s a cowboy doesn’t stay sober in a honky-tonk for long.
Therefore, the man simply said, “buzz off you sombitch, I’ve got this lil filly right where I-”
The man was abruptly cut off by the fact that he was being lifted onto his toes by his hair. Getting a full hand full of a man’s hair is quite the feat, especially when that man is wearing a hat.
“Apologize,” the single word was growled.
“Let go of me!”
After Rick picked the man’s head back up off the bar, he whispered in his ear, “apologize.”
As soon as both the man’s eyes were able to focus, he humbled himself and said, “I’m so sorry, please forgive me.”
“Well, since meh husband has yur head in his hand, Ah s’pose Ah can let ya off tha hook. Jest don’t let meh see ya again.”
Rick released the hair, but not before removing a few… clumps. The ‘cowboy’ exited the bar, very quickly.
“Always on guard, huh?” Applejack said as she wrapped Rick in a big hug.
“Well, it is my job.”
*****
The truck pulled up in front of the cabin and they all walked up the steps and entered. They hadn’t even made it inside the door when they were all tackled by Twilight and Rarity. Rick managed to keep them from hitting the deck thanks to his magic and reflexes. He used that same magic to pick up the giggling mass of female and carried them inside.