//------------------------------// // Party Favor (Part III) // Story: Hey, It's Me // by TwilightUCrazy //------------------------------// Rainbow sighed as she reached down into the fruit carousel on the hors d’ouevre table. She selected a red delicious from the options available to her. Looking it over for bruises, she breathed on it and rubbed the moisture off on her jacket as she glanced to her left. Applejack was chatting up Pinkie Pie by the DJ stand. The two were laughing and carrying on about something. AJ probably telling Pinkie what a loser I am, she thought as she bit into the apple. She made a face. It sure wasn’t a Sweet Apple Acres piece of fruit, that was for sure. Tasted like some half-assed attempt from a farm startup somewhere down south or something. Rolling her eyes, she pitched it into the garbage without so much as a second nibble and rummaged around on the table for something else to bite at. The guilt had returned full-force. She had first felt the feeling after she stole a kiss from Applejack right in front of God and the world. Okay, it hadn’t actually been a “kiss” per se; it’d been more of a smooch or a peck. If she thought hard enough about it, she could remember a time when she and her friend had exchanged little pecks on the cheek before. It was a gal pal thing. There was nothing wrong with it. That was just something chicks did towards each other. Deep down, however, she had known what she really meant by it. She had watched herself let the smooch linger, and let it imply something to the three Dumbbells that shouldn’t have been implied. Sure, she could put it off to the farmgirl herself as innocent, but she knew better. Then their little dance happened. Again, presumably, it had been an innocent gesture. She had just wanted to keep her friend and herself out of a fight and out of trouble. But to her, it had meant something more… That strange sense of half-relief half-stress swept through her. It was an unusual combination. It was the feeling of someone else being blamed for something bad you did. Sure, someone else took the fall, but the truth could come to light at any minute, and then you’d be in even hotter water. And you felt like crap the whole time too ‘cause no matter how you tried to justify it, you knew you had been the one to screw up and should have been the one taking the heat for it. She felt it for knowing the truth, and Applejack not. And it was the worst feeling in the world, not being able to be honest with her best friend. Pausing for a moment, she shook her head. I gotta stop thinking about this crap… “I saw that whole thing, you know.” Rainbow Dash blinked and tossed her eyes over her shoulder. A bright blue almost-white dress shimmered from the disco lights on the ceiling. Long, impeccably-styled violet hair curled like waves at the beach, and jewelry aplenty made it obvious at first glimpse who it was. Ugh… had to be her, she thought, rolling her eyes. “So…” Rarity said with a mischievous smile, “how long has ‘this’ been going on?” Rainbow Dash, the hungry ache of her stomach forgotten, took a large cupcake from a tray at the end, and sampled a large, impolite bite out of it. Eyebrow quirking, she turned to face the fashionista. “‘Thith?’” she asked mid-chew. She swallowed and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Not even grimacing at the sight, the fashionista ignored her crude eating habits entirely. “I mean, admittedly, I always had suspicions about you two. Well, frankly all of us did. But I never really gave it any real credence since I figured it might come across a bit presumptuous,” she said. Rainbow paused in the process of taking another bite. She stared. “W-what do you mean by presumptuous?” “Presumptuous,” Rarity said casually. “As in, making assumptions based off of outward appearances despite not having all the-” “I know what presumptuons are!” She hesitated. “I just don’t know what you’re… presumpting.” Rarity shook her head slightly but said nothing regarding the rainbow-haired girl’s poor grammar. “Why, regarding you and Applejack of course.” Me and AJ? “Uhh… right. Well… uhh…” A pause. “Uhh… huh?” The smile returned to the fashionista’s face, a bright and pretty one if she ever saw one out of the girl. Rarity could almost pass as hot if she weren’t so… girly all the time. “I think it’s sweet that you two are trying to keep it a secret. Really, it is. Very Romeo-and-Juliet. Very adventurous. Very exciting,” Rarity nodded in approval. “It certainly suits your personalities.” Suddenly it dawned on her what the heck her friend was talking about. “Whoawhoawhoawhoa!” Rainbow said loudly, nearly dropping the cupcake she was in the middle of. Her face glowed an angry red. “Where the heck is this all comin' from anyway?” “Oh, Rainbow Dash, you know you don't need to hide anything from me!” the fashionista said, happily throwing her arms around her neck. You honestly think I wouldn't support you two one hundred percent?” “What's to support?!” she squeaked. Rarity sighed. “Darling, I appreciate you trying to be discreet, believe me I do. But it kind of defeats itself when you go kissing Applejack in front of a crowd of people.” She gaped. “You... you saw that, huh?” “I don't think most of anyone else did, if you're worrying.” She glimpsed the direction of the three battered Dumbbells on the other side of the room and sneered. “And if you'd like to keep those three in order, I know a little group of boys who would be more than happy to look into convincing them to keep their mouths shut.” Rainbow smirked at the thought of Rarity's gorilla-like “Diamondback” groupies hanging the three bullies by their jockstraps from the big tree outside. But her focus on the situation re-centered itself. “L-look, Rarity... y-you know that that wasn't... real, right?” she asked, her voice breaking in her nervousness. Her friend quirked her eyebrow, setting her hands on her hips. “How so? It certainly looked real from my angle.” “Well your angle was wrong.” She sighed. “Look, it wasn't a real kiss, okay? I just wanted to get those three creeps off her back, and that’s...” She hesitated. “…That's all I was thinking, really,” she lied. It was salt in an open wound. “Hmm...” the fashionista pondered. “Well, perhaps you should go and make sure Applejack knows, because she seemed to think otherwise.” Rainbow balked. “Sh-she… did?” Rarity nodded. “You should have seen the look on her face. Though, perhaps you were a bit close for that perspective.” Shoulders sagging, Rainbow sighed, “That bad, huh?” Her friend put a finger to her cheek in thought. “It’s a bit hard to tell, really. There was quite a bit of surprise, certainly, but I think she was happy that you were around to come to her rescue. You know how the poor thing hates getting into fights.” She nodded. “Yeah, I do.” “But you should also know that leaving her alone right now perhaps isn't the best policy. With those three ruffians hounding around after her still, it might not be a bad idea to keep an eye on her. Even if it wasn't what it appeared to be, you don't want the Dumbbells trying to hurt you through her.” Thinking about things so much was starting to hurt Rainbow’s head, and she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Got it,” she muttered, throwing up a fake, appreciative smile. Rarity turned to leave, but before she did, she turned and quirked her eyebrow again at her. “Are you positive there’s nothing between you and Applejack?” she asked. The vein in Rainbow’s forehead twitched. “Yes. Positive.” “There isn’t even a chance?” she asked, putting her finger to her lips… those hot-but-annoying lips… “Not a one,” she grumbled, a bit harsher than she had intended. Rarity blinked. “Darling, honestly, there’s no need to be so defensive abou-” “I’m not getting defensive!” Rainbow snapped, her blush flaring up again. The fashionista was taken aback by the sudden outburst. She cleared her throat, face alive with flame and heat as she turned away to grab a plate for her cupcake and a cup of punch. “Look, Applejack’s great, okay? But we’re… we’re not anything right now.” A pause came about, probably out of consideration for the peculiar wording she chose. Rarity asked, “But you might wish there to be something in the future?” She sighed. “I don’t know… maybe.” She froze when she realized she had basically just fessed up honestly to the worst person imaginable to fess up to. Rarity’s bright eyes glittered in reply, and a small, warm smile crossed her lips. “Just… just leave me alone, okay?” she grunted and stomped off, leaving the concessions behind and finding an empty table. She glimpsed back to make sure she wasn’t followed by the curious girl, and flopped into her seat. Steam practically poured from her ears as she messily devoured her cupcake. “Stupid Rarity, getting all up in my business,” she snarled, spitting food particles all over the table. “Thinks she knows everything.” And she certainly didn’t appreciate Rarity reading things into her relationship with Applejack that weren’t true… no matter how much she might have wanted them to be… “Stupid… Rarity…” she grunted again, sighing and staring down at the orange-colored drink that matched the dress her object of affection wore. She knew that because Applejack took a seat right next to her. She nearly shot up through the ceiling in surprise, and coughed fiercely to try and hack up the cupcake she’d half-swallowed. “HOO-IE!” she said loudly, plopping down into her chair. “Ah dunno how Pinkie and ‘er friend do them turntable thingamahoosits,” she chuckled and slapped Rainbow forcefully on the back, finally enabling her to breathe again. “Ah tried it fer one song and it plum tuckered me out.” Rainbow cleared her throat and wiped her mouth with her arm again. “Yeah…” she said, coughing once or twice more. “Kinda weird how standing still and doin’ stuff can wear you out.” “Ah’ll say!” she said in agreement, taking a sip of the punch she had in-hand and setting it down on the table. “So what’ve you been up to fer the past fifteen minutes?” “Trying to get a cupcake,” she said, reaching into her jacket, “and getting bugged by Rares…” Applejack snorted. “What about?” Rainbow slipped a somewhat sizable silver flask out of her jacket pocket. “Oh, just… stuff, y’know? That’s all she ever bugs anybody about, really…” Applejack eyed the flask in her friend’s hand. “Rainbow…” she said with a scowl, “…tell me that ain’t what Ah think it is.” Shrugging, Rainbow untopped the little bottle and said, “Depends. What do you think it is?” “Well, to me, it looks like yer thinkin’ about spikin’ yer drink.” Rainbow poured a small amount of the liquid into her punch and grinned. “Ding-ding-ding! What do we have for ‘er Johnny?” Crossing her arms over her chest, Applejack narrowed her eyes. “Rainbow Juniper Dash, you ain’t old enough to be drinkin’.” “Details, details,” she waved her hand and rolled her magenta eyes. “Rainbow…” “Oh, what? Are you gonna be a prude now or somethin’?” she asked, quirking a knowing eyebrow her friend’s way. “You get wild on this stuff every year at Pinkie’s New Year parties.” She glimpsed at the metal container. “That’s different.” “It’s the same damn thing,” she said with a grin. She poured a small amount into her punch, and a soft, familiar-looking amber liquid flowed out of the flask before she capped it again and slipped it away. “Dad and I used to get buzzed on you guy’s stuff all the time.” Applejack watched as her family’s drink mingled with the punch and disappeared without evidence as she sloshed it around gently. “How much ya got there, anyway?” she asked. “Enough to have fun,” she replied, mischievousness glinting in her eyes. “Not enough to get in trouble.” Suddenly, the farmgirl seemed less apprehensive as Rainbow took a sip. She sighed to emphasize the pleasing bite it added to the drink, and sloshed it around again. She took another sip and crunched a piece of ice between her teeth. “C’mon,” she grinned, “tell me there’s not a little troublemaker in you somewhere.” She waggled the nearly-full flask around. There was plenty more to be had. Applejack did her best to keep her disapproving look, but gradually the right side of her face curled up into a smirk. She pinched her cup between her fingers and scooted it towards Rainbow. “Not too much, y’hear?” “‘Atta girl,” Rainbow said approvingly and poured a small shot into her plastic cup. Downing it all in one big gulp, she shook her head and smiled widely. “Yer the worst influence there is.” “I’m the gateway drug, babe!” she cracked, chuckling to herself. A half an hour passed, and Applejack and Rainbow continued to share in the bounty of her questionable morality. She noticed, however, that the cowgirl had started going less time between fill-ups. Before long, it had gotten to the point where she couldn’t even get a drink before Applejack would slam her cup back down in front of her. “Uhh… AJ?” she asked, blinking at the farmgirl’s eleventh demand for more. She looked worriedly over to her friend and stared at her slightly spaced-out eyes and the silly chuckles she made as she stared at her. Was she staring at her? “Hm?” she hmm’d, tilting her pretty blonde head to the side. “Uhh… I think you need to slow it down a little bit.” She looked down at the large flask in her hand and shook it softly. There was barely anything left in it. “Awww, c’mo – HIC! – ooon!” she whined cutely, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table. “You said it was just enough to have fun with!” “For me you lightweight!” she countered with a smug smile. “You look like you’re about to fall over.” “Ah am not!” she protested, wobbling, but only slightly. “Ah’m just a little… tipsy. A little,” she emphasized. “You’re a lot tipsy. If you had anymore, you’d be straight-up drunk. How are you supposed to explain this to Big Mac when he picks you up?” she asked with an amused smile, barely able to stop herself from busting a gut at her friend’s expense. She could just imagine her falling down once or twice as she limped towards his truck. That got her friend’s attention, and her green eyes widened. “Oh mah God… Rainbow, yer right!” she said in a panic. “Ah can’t let ‘im see me like this!” she exclaimed. “He’ll kill me! Then he’ll tell Granny and she’ll kill me too!” She grabbed Rainbow by the shoulders of her jacket. The farmgirl lost her footing and fell into her lap. Neither were particularly perturbed by the sudden development. “You gotta do somethin’! Help me!” She blinked at the ruckus Applejack was causing, noticing several pairs of eyes being drawn their way. A drop of sweat slid down her brow as she softly reached up and took her friend by the hands. “Wow, you’re really freaked out about this aren’t you?” The farmgirl bit her lip. Sighing, Rainbow rolled her eyes and pulled her up into a standing position. “Alright, alright. I guess you can stay at my place again tonight. You got your cell phone?” Reaching into her pocket, Applejack produced the device. Standing, however, had side-effects, and the cowgirl’s face twisted uncomfortably. “Ah gotta pee…” she grunted, turning on her heel and running straight as she could manage for the nearest women’s room sign. Rainbow smirked and reached for her friend’s phone. Curiously, she checked her texting activities, and found an empty inbox. Empty Sent box too, for that matter. “Meh.” She hadn’t expected Applejack to be much for texting. If the girl was gonna talk to someone, she’d dial their number and call them. Flipping through a few more screens out of curiosity, she was pleased to find herself still sitting comfortably on ‘1’ on her speed-dial. The dial tone hung for a few moments, before the click of someone answering on the other end of the line came through. “Hello?” “Heya, squirt!” she said with a grin. “Recognize my voice?” “Rainbow Dash!” Applebloom exclaimed happily on the other end of the line. “Are y’all still at the dance?” “Sure are! Havin’ a blast too!” She paused. “How old are you next year, anyway? Twenty-two? Twenty-three?” she asked jokingly. “Ah’m gonna be ten, Rainbow!” she giggled. “Ah, so I guess getting us into one of your college parties is outta the question huh?” She smiled. “Put your big brother on the phone, wouldja?” In the background, she heard the distant thunder of the eldest sibling of the household tromping across the floor towards the phone. There was a crackle of air against the speaker. She heard, “Bye, Rainbow!” from Applejack’s younger sibling. “‘Ello,” came the booming voice. “Hey, big guy!” she smiled. “How they hangin’? Big and plentiful?” she chuckled. “Buuuh…” Big Mac would likely have a face to match his shirt by now. “Hey, I just wanted to call and let ya know that AJ decided to stay over at my place tonight.” “Uhhh…” “See, she’s kinda going through some problems – y’know, girl problems? So she kinda needs somebody who gets it. Know what I mean?” “Ummm…” “So, yeah. You won’t need to drop by and pick her up after all. I’ll give her kisses goodnight for you guys, though, so don’t worry!” “What the-?” “Give everybody hugs for us!” she chirped, an evil smile cracking her face. She blinked. “Uh oh. There’s AJ. Gottagobye.” “W-wai-” Bee-doop. She quickly held down the power button and slid the little handheld subtly back onto the tabletop, before leaning against the table with an innocent expression. Applejack approached, a relieved sigh passing from her. “Boy howdy… that’s better,” she muttered, looking up to her friend with tired eyes. She nearly tripped on her own feet and stumbled a bit, chuckling to herself. “Hand me mah phone wouldja? Ah need to give mah folks a-” “N-n-n-nooooo ya don’t,” Rainbow said, rapidly waving her hand. “I-I mean… I already took care of that for you while you were in the bathroom. Yeah.” Applejack blinked. “You did?” “Yup! Told ‘em you’d be staying with me tonight and stuff,” she said with a smile. She blinked and looked down at the floor. A grin. “Got a little toilet paper on your slipper, there…” The farmgirl gasped and looked down, only to scowl back up at her when she saw nothing. “You ain’t funny, y’know…” “That little smile on your face says I am!” she said smugly. Giggling, Applejack stumbled forward and grabbed her by the arm with one hand and her phone with the other. “Shut up and get me to bed… and drive slow if’n ya don’t wanna be cleanin’ out yer floorboards.” Rainbow grinned, belying the nervousness she felt underneath. A halfway-drunk Applejack in her apartment? Alone with her? Sure… what could go wrong…? She could already feel her heart thudding in her chest as they stepped out into the night together.