The Mustang choked to a rumbly stop as its owner twisted the key to the ‘off’ position. Rainbow Dash collapsed back into the seat and lay her head back, staring up at the stars in the school parking lot.
It was a perfect, clear night. The forecast called for rain, but that wouldn’t be until early in the morning, well after the dance had ended. Good thing too. She’d spent hours putting herself together and looking as perfect as she could possibly make herself. She’d even ditched her usual tennis shoes for this. She would have hated for all the effort to have gone to waste because of a little weather.
The drive had even been slow and controlled for a change, mostly to keep her brushed hair in order. What hadn’t changed, however, was her being fashionably late.
By the time she had stepped out of the car and started towards the door, it was three after. She arrived amongst a hoard of students and chaperones flocking towards the gym entrance, and the masses were still coming in.
She had stuck to the plan from earlier and made for the front of the school. Twilight had predicted a crowd and how difficult it’d be to find one another in the throng of people, and proposed an alternate gathering point.
Rarity and Twilight had gotten there first. The two sat chatting up a storm beneath a light pole.
Rainbow bit her lip and flicked out a pair of sunglasses in spite of the low ambient lighting and walked smugly up to the pair, leaning against the pole and staring at the two.
The fashionista had been mentioning something about Spike when she turned to inspect her presence.
Twilight turned and looked up first.
The three shared an awkward silence for a moment.
“Umm… hello?” Twilight started nervously.
“Is there something we can help you wi-” Rarity interjected.
Rainbow flicked off her sunglasses and flashed the two with her magenta gaze. “Yo,” she said with a toothy grin.
“Holycrapit’sRainbowDash,” Twilight gaped, jaw ajar as her eyes darted over her and up and down.
“Darling, you look…” A pause. “…dashing! N-no pun intended, of course.”
She chuckled and smoothed out the black sleeves of her dad’s old tux and looked down at herself. Just the top few buttons of her untucked white dress shirt were buttoned, revealing the white tee underneath. She shuffled in the comparatively-uncomfortable dress shoes. (Hey, at least they were a lot better than the high heels her friends had tried to make her wear.)
“Not bad, huh? My dad had pretty good taste.”
“He certainly did!” Rarity complimented. “I wouldn’t normally condone such a… messy appearance, but I certainly think it reflects you on a personal level.” She paused. “I just wonder… why a tuxedo?”
She shrugged. “Pinkie said she’d wear one if I did.”
Expression souring, the fashionista blew a lock of hair out of her face. “That explains a bit…”
Rolling her eyes, Rainbow looked over her shoulder. Twilight had walked around behind her, viewing her from all angles. Her sharp eyes caught the haze of a blush on the shorter girl’s cheeks as her pupils twitched back and forth over her form.
“See somethin’ ya like back there?”
Twilight jumped and fanned herself with a nervous chuckle, but said nothing as she walked around to rejoin Rarity.
“Well, that’s three of us,” Rarity said, eying the crowd. “Now where on earth is Fluttershy? I finally got her dress finished just the way she liked it and-”
“U-umm…” came the meek noise behind the trio.
Fluttershy emerged from a shaded corner of the school building and shyly waved from her spot near the wall, stepping out into view. Her green dress shimmered in the moonlight, and her chest filled up the top end nicely, Rainbow noticed.
“‘Sup, bitch?” she asked, flashing a grin.
The pink-haired girl blushed and giggled at Rainbow’s choice of words.
“Well, looks like the gang’s all here, except for Applejack,” Twilight said with a smile.
“She must have been having problems with the bra I gave her,” Rarity shrugged. “The ones she normally wears don’t accentuate her assets nearly enough to take advantage of the dress’s shape.”
Rainbow’s brain became hungry for blood as it all rushed elsewhere.
“Umm… isn’t that her brother’s truck?”
Rainbow whipped her head around and saw Big Mac’s giant, rusted pickup come wallowing up the drive, Applejack seated in the passenger spot as usual.
The truck’s screechy brakes brought it to a lurching stop.
And out of it stepped the most sensuously beautiful creature Rainbow Dash had ever laid eyes upon…
Applejack was missing her hat, but that wasn’t so strange in itself for a formal dance. What was, however, was the noise that came out of Rainbow’s own mouth as she watched the farmgirl slide gracefully out of the car; a cross between a strange moan and squeak. Her friend was draped from armpit to toe in a bright orange silk. The shoulder straps draped seductively around her shoulders, showing off more skin than she had ever seen her show before, and – she noted – plenty of cleavage along with it.
So busy was she gawking that she completely forgot about a snappy line to compliment her friend’s state of dress. Her stunned state lasted for several moments. The feeling of drool rolling off her lip brought her back to her senses, thankfully before anyone else noticed.
“Oh, Applejack…” Rarity gushed, brushing past her. Her normally-pale skin lit up like a rose as she rushed over to greet her with a hug. “You are just the vision of beauty, darling!”
The farmgirl blushed and reached up to scratch her bare arm, glimpsing back to her brother as he drove away. “Don’t remind me…” she muttered.
“Truly! I think you might be the belle of the ball this evening!” Rarity turned to the others. “You see? A bit of work and anybody can pretty up!”
Applejack blinked and scowled, fidgeting uncomfortably under all the attention. “Uhh… thanks?”
“Eh, she looks alright, I guess.”
The cowgirl looked her way, and Rainbow winked her direction, receiving a knowing smile in return.
“Uh oh…” Twilight and Fluttershy murmured uncomfortably.
“I beg your pardon!” Rarity glared. “I’ll have you know, Rainbow Dash, that I slaved over the finishing touches on-”
A snicker passed between her and Applejack, followed by a meeting of fists in a short-lived bump.
The fashionista scowled. “You two really are trying to make my hair fall out, aren’t you?”
The two friends burst out laughing at Rarity’s expense, while the latter rolled her eyes and rejoined Twilight and Fluttershy with a soft huff.
Rainbow turned her eyes to the left and made a show of looking her friend up and down.
“So,” she said, a wicked smile wrinkling her cheeks and lowering her eyes, “the freckles are genetic.”
Applejack made a face and reached up to softly smack her on the cheek. “Eyes up north, ballsack.”
She chortled and wrapped her arms around the farmgirl for a quick snuggle. “You look great, AJ,” she said, dropping all pretense of playfulness. Green apple-scented perfume filled her nostrils and the skin of her bare shoulders and upper back was smooth as the dress she wore.
Her friend chuckled and blushed, though whether it was because she was ticklish or genuinely flattered was a bit harder to determine. Nonetheless, she returned the gesture and wrapped her arms around her.
“Th-thank ya, sugar,” she said softly. “You look… umm… m-mighty handsome.”
Heart fluttering, Rainbow squeezed a bit before releasing her.
“Rarity said ‘dashing’, but I can deal with handsome,” she replied with a shrug and a grin. “Now, if Pinkie wore hers, we can really go around and screw with some guy’s heads.”
The two shared another chuckle.
“Well, since everyone’s here,” Twilight said, arms around Rarity and Fluttershy’s shoulders, “what say we head inside?”
Rainbow paused.
“Hey, where is Pinkie, anyway?”
“Inside already,” Twilight smiled. “She knows the DJ. She’s been here for hours assisting with the prep work.”
“Then what indeed are we waiting for?” Rarity asked, stepping forward and taking Fluttershy by the hand. “Let’s go dazzle the crowd, ladies!”
Rainbow shrugged and followed along just behind Applejack and Twilight.
The gym was pandemonium, filled with crowded-together groups. Jocks to the left hit on the cheerleaders, while computer nerds on the right photographed the party and texted on their phones. Every range of person of the rainbow, so to speak, had attended the dance. The music thudded in the background, and she could vaguely make out Pinkie Pie in the distance manning a pair of turntables.
“W-wow,” Fluttershy muttered nervously. “Th-there are a lot of people in h-here…”
“It’s the biggest dance of the year, Fluttershy!” Rarity said, giving herself a quick spray from her perfume bottle. “Aside from prom, anyone who’s anyone goes to the end-of-year dance party. Now come!” she said, grabbing the shorter girl’s hand again. “We’re going to get you pulled out of your shell if it kills me.”
“W-we are?!” the timid girl squeaked.
“Wait!” Twilight shouted. “What are we going to do about meeting times?! GIRLS!”
Rarity and Fluttershy, however, melted into the crowd without so much as a backward glance. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help her evil smile as she watched the fashionista drag the more apprehensive-looking Fluttershy into the roiling crowds.
Twilight huffed and rubbed her head painfully before charging in after them.
Looking down, Applejack scratched her cheek, her emerald eyes darting around the room. Their gazes met, and a chuckle passed between them.
“So, AJ, wanna go check out the grub?”
“Read mah mind, darlin’!” the farmgirl shouted enthusiastically.
The two linked arms and merged with the raving students, bumping into several and shoving past several more. Everybody already smelled of sweat and BO, and Rainbow wrinkled her nose. The pair forced their way to the tabled areas where a few solitary couples sat, holding hands, feeding each other, and generally doing “couple things”.
A pang of envy shot through her subconscious as she looked at them. She ignored it, and finally managed to pull herself and her friend out of the crowd.
“Hoo-ie!” Applejack sighed, waving her hand in front of her face. “Not sure Ah got much of an appetite anymore…”
“Heeheehee. C’mon, your brother’s stank is worse than all that!”
“Ah’d ask ya how the heck ya know that, but frankly, Ah think Ah’d be happier not knowin’.”
“Heeheehee! Let’s just say he doesn’t like sneaky headlocks…” Rainbow paused at an empty table near the corner of the gym, relatively private and secluded from any prying eyes… not that that’d been what she sought or anything. “So, why don’t you keep the table here, and I’ll be back with the eats?”
“Keep it here?” Applejack smirked, pulling out a chair and sliding into it. “What, you think it’ll run off with somebody else?”
Rainbow turned her head towards the crowd, and the few couples that had started drifting towards the makeshift buffet.
“Actually, you’re probably not far off…” she muttered. “Bee arr bee!”
With a quick trot, she arrived by the hors d'oeuvres and inspected the offerings.
She was slow to select, however. Her mind had wandered to other things, with a blonde farmgirl being the focus of her musings. Applejack hadn't technically been all that timid around her that evening. If experience was any indication, she didn't always show her discomfort, but typically she could see through any disguise her friend tried to throw up.
She had been giving thought to what Ms. Tia had mentioned to her earlier that day, and had been putting it into practice pretty effectively so far... or, at least it looked that way. The night had just begun, however, and there was no way to know whether the cowgirl's sometimes-fickle mood would hold throughout.
She would have to get creative without being too overt. The food suggestion had turned out to be a good start. Not bad for thinking on her feet...
“What now?” she muttered to herself, drawing a blank for ideas as she reached for one of the last three pudding-topped cupcakes.
Another couple, a boy and a girl, slipped up next to the table and were reaching for the last two.
Instinct kicked in.
Rainbow turned to the pair and pointed at the dish, mouth still full of food.
“Phasty is'm it?”
The pair stared at her with wide eyes. The girl's face turned a faint green as she turned away and retreated, while her date followed, sparing a glance back at her.
She smiled smugly and slipped the last two cupcakes onto a paper plate, along with a couple slices of apple cobbler just to be on the safe side.
“Eh, maybe a slice of pi-”
Rainbow froze in her tracks.
Standing next to Applejack were three hairy, muscular guys, each dwarfing her by at least half her weight. She instantly recognized them from many of her elementary school days for all the hazing they pulled.
Applejack had her arms crossed up against the table in the corner. She put up a good, brave front, but beneath the combined attention of the three school bullies she could see through to her nervousness.
Rainbow didn't much care, either, for the way they were putting their hands on her...
“Frickin' Dumbbells,” she snarled, stalking through the crowd like a jaguar on the hunt.