//------------------------------// // Sleeping with the Enemy // Story: Once Upon A Time // by FlutterDash777 //------------------------------// -Sleeping with the Enemy Everything was blurred. Her head, aching. Darkness filled the air. Rarity slowly opened her eyes, finding herself in confusion. She wasn't familiar of her surroundings. She turned to see that she was laying in a homely bed, curtains pulled closed but she could see light seeping through the window in the tiny box room she was residing in. She searched her mind. How did she end up here? Rarity remembered what she was doing last night. She remembered every bit of it. She knew she was at a party. She knew she was at Sugar Cube Corner. But this place that she was now...she knew this wasn't Sugar Cube Corner. She had no idea where she was. She had never seen this place in her life. Her heart started pumping as her confusion began to turn into fear. She tried to sit up, but her head started to spin. She laid back down and brought a hoof to her pounding forehead. She had the worst headache. Had she been drinking? Rarity's eyes opened wider as she realized that indeed she had. Now regret started to build up inside her. What was her parents going to think of her when they found out that she had been out at a place she had no business at? She clinched her eyes tightly together. She felt a hot tear streak down her face. She knew she was done for. Either her parents were going to kill her, or the mystery of this place would. She leaned up once again, more slowly this time. All the blood rushed to her head as she sat up on the bed. Her bright blue eyes searched the room. She couldn't get her mind off the thought that she was missing something here. She was all alone in a strange place, but...why was she alone? Wasn't she.... "FLUTTERSHY!" Rarity screeched as she realized that her friend was no where to be seen. Her heart sunk with guilt. She had been drinking last night and probably left Fluttershy in an even more uncomfortable position. Fluttershy probably left when she saw that Rarity was not the pony she thought she was. She was a terrible friend. A horrible friend at that. Fluttershy probably hated her now. She would never want to go anywhere with her anymore, not even for a spa day. Rarity felt more tears fill her eyes until finally she began to sob. She wanted to scream out at the world. She couldn't believe she was so careless. Rarity, for a moment, forgot that she had a bigger situation to be worried about. Until she heard a banging on the door to the room she was imprisoned in. Rarity jumped. Heart racing once more. "W--Who is it?! Who are you!?" Rarity's eyes quivered in complete fright. It felt as if her blood vessels were going to burst; her heart was going to collapse; her breath was going to stop completely. The door swung open. Entering was a dark figure. Rarity counted silently in her head, trying to find a way to wake up from this nightmare, but to no avail. It was very much a reality. "Good mornin'." Rarity screamed. Her heart dropped to the floor. She lost it. The mare in the doorway ran over to her side. "Are you okay?!" Rarity stopped her screaming. The voice she heard wasn't threating in anyway. She felt comfort suddenly. She found her courage rushing back to her and she looked up into the eyes of the mysterious pony that had her kept here. She looked back down into Rarity's eyes. Her large green iris's glimmered as they watched closely at the frightened unicorn on the bed. "Are...you okay?" She repeated slowly. Rarity gulped down as her voice broke her long silent stare. "W-who are you?" The pony smiled. Rarity noticed she was a nice shade of orange. Her mane was blonde and when she looked closely she could see the mare had tiny freckles that lined her cheeks. "Applejack's the name." Her voice was much more comfortable. She began to have a sort of country twang to it now. Rarity found this to be a bit distasteful but she brushed it aside. "We met last night," Applejack continued. "at Sugar Cube Corner." Rarity looked straight into the ponies eyes. She tried to look into her mind to find the memory of meeting this mare, but she just couldn't. She was just so....drunk last night. Wait.... "Where am I?" "Oh, this is my home. Remember?" Applejack smiled again. She gave Rarity a toothy grin that sent shivers down her back. Such a turn off. "Oh dear Celestia. Did we have sex?!" Rarity's eyes widened. She was on the verge of passing out again. She couldn't take this. In this...earth ponies bed?! She felt so violated. She was drunk!!! Applejack just stared back at her. Her grin faded and she stood silently for a moment. Then...she bursted out into laughter. "Pfft!! Oh, shoot! Y'all are too funny. Of course we didn't. You're a girl, ya know?" Applejack continued to cackle. Rarity could feel her cheeks blazing red. She had never felt so embarrassed in her life. "I brought you here last night. You had passed out and no one claimed ya. I didn't know where ya lived and I just couldn't leave y'all there like that. I brought ya here for the night until you woke up so y'all would be safe." Applejack stopped her laughing and began to talk more seriously again. She still had that dorky smile plastered on her face. Rarity's anger subsided and she just stared back again into the ponies eyes. "Oh, and your friend is in the room over. She was in the same predicament." Applejack hoofed over in the opposite direction of the bed, motioning to another room. "Oh, Fluttershy!" Rarity got up quickly now. Applejack took a few steps back to give the unicorn her space. "She's just over there." "She was passed out too you say?" Rarity turned to the earth pony with concern. "Sure was. She was a drunk as a sailor. Never seen a pony that giddy in mu life." Applejack chuckled. Rarity's jaw dropped. "Her? Drunk?!" She turned away and rushed to the room where Fluttershy apparently was. There she was. Laying in another homely bed. She looked so adorable the way she was sleeping. Her mouth was slightly open and her face had this priceless expression of irritation and embarrassment. She must be dreaming of last night. That's what Rarity interpreted by it anyway. The unicorn smiled at her resting friend. There was really no need to wake her now. Not yet. Let her sleep off her hangover. This was Rarity's fault anyway. She felt completely guilty for her friend and the best she could do now was to just let her sleep. She turned around and shut the door behind her. Applejack was still standing in the room she had woken up in. "So...where is this place?" Rarity looked around the room. "Oh, uh. Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres." Applejack smiled as she motioned Rarity outside of the room and into the main hallway. "This is mu family farm. I live here with my big brother, little sister, and granny." She pointed to different doors respectively of her family members that she named. "My parents started this place up back before Big Mac and I was born." Applejack continued walking down some stairs. Rarity followed as she listened to her tour guide. She looked around at the home. It was so tidy and very...country; very homey. "When they died, I took the place over myself. I want to make them proud." Applejack smiled with pride. Rarity turned to the pony when she mentioned her parents death. She felt a bit of sorrow in her heart, but Applejack seemed so perky. She didn't seem sad one bit. It must have been a long time ago. Applejack seemed like a strong pony. Very...dependable for somepony that didn't even know her. Rarity saw a whole lot of kindness in this pony. Something about her, Rarity just couldn't keep her mind off. "You there?" Rarity snapped out of her dreamland and saw that Applejack was staring her down. "Oh. Yes. I was just...I'm...I'm just awfully tired. It was...one hell of a night." Rarity tried to laugh off the awkward moment she had caused. Applejack merely smiled. The unicorn kicked her hoof softly against the floor and looked around the home once more. She couldn't find anything to say and apparently Applejack couldn't either. They just stood there in silence. "I...uh....I should probably get Fluttershy and take her home. I do appreciate everything though. I normally don't drink. I'm normally very responsible and as for Fluttershy....I can't even begin to understand how that happened." Rarity giggled softly as she tried to find a way to end this strange encounter. She was thankful for the ponies kindness but she really just wanted to go home and forget any of this ever happened. Besides...she had to go face her parents now before they worried any more than they already definitely were. "Don't mention it. I'm sure it happens to everypony." Applejack just smiled. She really didn't do much other than smile...that's what Rarity realized. It was so unattractive but Rarity just couldn't help but stare every time. "Well...I should go get her then...and then I will be out of your mane." Rarity turned around slowly and she headed back up the stairs. She turned around slowly to see Applejack just smiling still. Rarity tried to make out a grin of her own but she knew it looked fake. She turned back and trotted up the stairs. Her heart was racing with a peculiar beat. She felt as if she was sweating but it was the fall. She wasn't sure why she felt like she needed to get out of this place. She didn't feel threatened in anyway, she just felt so....uncomfortable. --- The Next Day Rarity was grounded. Big time grounded. The kind of grounded where she couldn't even speak without permission or the scolding would commence. Where she didn't even want to eat with her family at dinner because the silence was so unbearable she couldn't sit still. The many awkward silences where family discussions used to be were heartwrenching. Knowing that her parents didn't trust her anymore was just too painful to think about, and the fact that they now didn't even like her best friend was even worse. She couldn't get her parents to reason with her that it had nothing to do with Fluttershy and Rarity took the blame for it all. No. Her parents looked at it from another viewpoint. They were now convinced that Fluttershy was a bad influence on Rarity and she wasn't aloud to hang around her anymore. This of course wouldn't last long. It never did. Her parents always had these sort of accusations about her friends, but it soon passed, so this, Rarity wasn't afraid of. She was just afraid that her parents would never have any trust in her anymore. When she told them how she woke up in a strangers house, they lost their heads. They were so burnt up about it and scared all at the same time. Even though she pleaded with them that she already knew the mare (which wasn't true), they wouldn't hear it. They were grateful that it was a teenaged mare like Rarity rather than an old creepy stallion, but either way, they were still pretty pissed at the whole situation. Rarity knew she deserved this mental punishment for the carelessness on her own behalf, but she still wished that they would be a little less harsh on her. Things could have been worse. She could have slept with the mare. That's what she had initially believed anyways, but of course Applejack told her that they hadn't done anything together. But...Rarity didn't remember anything so...how was she so sure. Her mind was just going in circles. She had been thinking the same things ever since that morning. What if Applejack really had done something to her and she would never know. She was unconscious. She wouldn't have remembered if they did or didn't. Applejack could have just simply lied to her and there would have been no difference. She would never really know and that is was scared her the most. She felt so violated, but as of now...she had no right to be. "Uggggh." Rarity plopped down on her bed. All she wanted was to forget that any of that ever happened but she just wouldn't allow herself to move on. There was something about that pony that Rarity just couldn't place her hoof on. She was so...mysterious. She had no idea who she was. She had never seen her before. She had lived in Ponyville all her life and never even knew that huge farm existed! Just who was this pony exactly? Could she even trust her about anything she had said? Or was she simply a hero that was just helping out a stranger in need? Rarity just didn't know and really had no way of knowing for sure which was the real Applejack. Friend? Or Enemy? If she wasn't grounded, Rarity had the mind to go back to Sweet Apple Acres and get right down to the knitty gritty, but alas, there was no way she was going to get out of her house and go back to the place where her parents knew she woke up yesterday morning with no knowledge of where she was or how she got there. Her parents would have a heart attack and lock her away forever in her room. Rarity couldn't have that. There was also no way of her going to Fluttershy's right now. She had to give her parents some time before she could even mention Fluttershy's name. This had happened before so she knew exactly how long it would take them before they would give up on the whole "bad influence" business. Rarity rolled over on her bed and looked out her window. The sun was starting to set in the direction of Applejack's homely farm. "Oh, Applejack. Who are you exactly?" Rarity felt as if she had knew her once before, but there was no way she could have. She would have remembered. She would have definitely remembered. The unicorn looked dreamingly outside. Her blue eyes wavered as she remembered that ponies face. Something about that face. That unattractive smile. Rarity couldn't quit thinking about it. She turned over on her back and closed her eyes. The image of the earth mare clouded her mind. Who is she? Why does she seem like a distant memory....? "Oh, Applejack. Who are you exactly...?" Rarity repeated to herself in a soft whisper as she dozed off to sleep. --- That night, she dreamed of Applejack. She was smiling the whole time. Oh, how she hated that ugly smile.