AppleDash Group Collab

by DbzOrDie


Etiquette - MintyJoy

“I didn’t know you had to choose between us.”

Rainbow and Applejack were sitting on the couch by the light of the fire, each holding a mug of warm cider. They had been talking for a while until Applejack let out a secret she’d been keeping.

“Yup.”

“Wow,” Rainbow sat back, trying to process this new information. “I knew you liked Rarity, but I didn’t know she—”

“She asked me on a date the same day you did.” Applejack nodded. “She said she was tired of stallions, and wanted to treat me to dinner. Asked me while I was eating breakfast.”

“That’s crazy,” Rainbow marveled, “having two of your friends ask you out on the same day.”

“Well, I liked you both. It was just a matter of which mare I wanted to keep.”

Rainbow sat in silence for a moment, staring at the orange glow of the fire and the flickering shadows. She took a sip of her cider.

“What made the decision?” She finally asked.

“What?”

“What was it that made you choose me?”

Applejack sat back and took a long drink from her cup as she thought of an answer.

“Etiquette,” she finally said.

“Etiquette?” Rainbow echoed.

“Yeah, you and Rarity are polar opposites when it comes to etiquette. If I were to go on a date with Rarity, there would be table manners and polite conversations. All sorts of formalities would be taken as I’d pick her up with flowers and take her home to her doorstep and kiss her on the cheek. Although these would be fun for a little while, they’d get old over time.

“On the flip side, dating you would be, and is, very casual. You come in without knocking, there’s no such thing as curfew, and you don’t care if my mane is brushed before you kiss me. I felt and feel very safe around you, and I am not afraid to be with you without being gussied up. Whether we’re eating a gourmet meal or a couple of hayburgers, we can still have a tender moment. I can be myself around you.”

As she finished, Applejack felt a soft wing around her shoulder pulling her closer. Shivers ran down her spine as she leaned into her partner and smiled. Rainbow looked down at the mare on her chest and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

“I’m glad you picked me,” she said.

“Me too, sugarcube.”

They sat in silence a moment longer, listening to the crackling of the fire.

A smile snuck onto Rainbow’s face, and she broke their stillness.

“Etiquette, huh?”

“Yup.”

Rainbow shifted her wing around Applejack, and wrapped her other around her so the farm mare was blanketed in feathers.

“Are you sure it wasn’t because of these?” Dash smiled as she felt Applejack shiver.

“Well,” Applejack confessed as she turned bright red, “maybe a little bit.”