The light to the cabin bathroom clicked off and out the dark of the hall into the silvery light of the master bedroom stepped Applejack.
She was draped from head to toe in nothing but a skimpy nightgown that left mercifully little to Rainbow's imagination. And the more the blond moved, the more the thin fabric highlighted every smooth and soft curve that her hands positively ached to touch, explore and become intimately familiar with.
Adrenaline surged through Rainbow as she propped her head up on the pillow, admiring her own vision of perfection as she sashayed across the room. The way the white nightie rippled over her, and the way her green eyes glinted like emeralds in the twilight...
The hostess couldn't help licking her lips.
"Are we in Heaven?" she thought out loud, winking. "'Cause I'm pretty sure you're an angel…"
Moonlight shimmered off of the white nightgown and glinted white in Applejack's lustrous hair like stars. Applejack smiled warmly as she knelt on the edge of the mattress and crawled into bed, forcing Rainbow onto her back as she straddled over the top of her.
The athlete couldn't help her grin and ran her hands up the thin fabric. Her friend's eyes narrowed alluringly as she nestled her head into that perfect spot just beneath her chin.
"You've been keepin' some pretty big secrets from me, sugar," Applejack said softly, her breath dancing across the hostess's neck. The kiss Rainbow had always yearned for seemed so achingly close…
Brushing her thumbs across the farmgirl's negligee, she smiled and pulled her friend closer, feeling the heat building in her face.
"I'm sorry, AJ. I wanted to tell you so many times…"
Applejack's eyes softened as she snuggled herself closer. "Then why didn'tcha?"
Rainbow swallowed, and flashed a cocksure grin. "I just... I just needed it to be the right moment, y'know?" She shrugged from her prone position. "I mean, I... it had to be awesome. If I didn't do it all awesomelike, then it wouldn't be me."
Applejack put on a somber smile. "You never did figure out what the word 'humble' meant, didja?"
Another grin. "Eh, what can I say? I slept through English class a lot."
"I figured that out when ya kept askin' for answers durin' class all through Junior High," her friend said with a wink, leaning over to nuzzle noses with her. Her hot breath danced across Rainbow's hungry lips. The yearning became a need...
"Mmmm..." Rainbow purred happily. "'Sides, who needs to be humble when you're a winner?" She felt through the thin fabric, tracing Applejack's spine and down along the hem of the nightshirt.
"Most people like a humble hero, y'know," the blond replied, smirking ticklishly as the athlete's fingers traced along the edges of her lingerie. "Real heroes ain't gotta brag when they done somethin' amazin'. And it sure makes people like ya all the more."
"I'm plenty humble to you," she whispered. "You're the only person I give a crap about when it comes to what people think."
"Do ya?"
Rainbow blinked.
"What? Think?" She smiled slyly and bit her lip. "Eh, sometimes. Hurts my head, though. Usually I let the Force guide me..."
"I mean, do ya care?"
Applejack had lost her smile and traded it for a more serious expression.
Rainbow Dash stared into her void-like eyes and quietly matched her stare.
"O-of course I care, AJ..." she stammered. "You mean more to me than anything in the—"
"Then why ain'tcha tellin' me the truth?"
The hot, steamy sensation of lust froze over almost instantaneously and was replaced by a cold feeling of dread. Sweat dotted Rainbow's brow and she found trouble in meeting Applejack's gaze.
She swallowed a sore in her throat. Hot tears formed in the edges of her eyes.
“Because… I’m…”
And with that, the light and airy spell of sleep was magicked away and replaced by the unpleasant heaviness of sweat and consciousness.
Dammit… why does it always have to stop at the good part? she thought groggily.
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to a glint of sunlight nagging her peripheral vision. She rolled her eyes to the right, and yanked on the drawstring of the blinds. The yellow glare of the sun was just peering over the horizon and filling the morning sky with a soft pink glow. Birds chirped in the trees, and the morning dew glinted on the back lawn.
Waitasec...
Turning away, Rainbow blindly fumbled for the clock on her nightstand. Feeling nothing, she blinked and looked over the side of her bed.
Her clock lay on its side, its batteries three inches away.
Oh no…
Swiping her hand across it, she yanked it closer and squinted.
The unmoving hands pointed to 1:43…
Oh please, God, no…
She reached a bit further for her cell phone, pratfalling clumsily out of bed in the process.
The screen nearly blinded her as she flipped the clamshell open. As she regained her sight, she saw 6:31 click over to 6:32.
“Oh, for the love of dick, I’M LATE!!!”
***
After taking the world’s quickest shower and throwing together a haphazard travel pack, Rainbow leapt over her car, slid across the rear decklid and threw her things in the backseat.
She had just jumped into the driver’s seat when she realized she’d left Applejack’s jacket upstairs…
Her dashboard clock read 7:09 by the time she screeched off the dirt road and onto Sweet Apple Acres.
Her friend sat on the front porch next to a suitcase, tapping an index finger impatiently against the side of her freckled cheek.
She wasn’t amused.
“Boy, for a gal who drives like a bat outta hell, you sure can’t seem to do anything on time…” she droned, standing and placing her hands on her hips.
Rainbow put on the most apologetic smile she could muster. It was one thing to be fashionably late – a minute or two at most. This, however, wasn’t cool.
“Sorry, AJ,” she whined pitifully, jumping out of the car and retrieving Applejack’s luggage for her. “My clock fell on the floor… no alarm… y’know how it is, right?”
Applejack cocked her eyebrow. “Mm-hmm…”
Rainbow dropped the heavy suitcase in the back seats with a grunt and panted to catch her breath. She grinned breathlessly and produced a familiar denim article from the back.
“Here. I kept it clean this time,” she said, balling it up and throwing it at her friend.
Applejack caught it and looked it over and brushed her hand over a few dusty spots that had been there before. Overall, however, she looked pleased – or at least, no more annoyed than she already was.
“What’s all that racket?!” came an old decrepit voice from inside.
The floorboards creaked under the elder woman’s weight. Out onto the porch hobbled an aging figure she hadn’t seen for several unkind years.
Rainbow raised her hand and waved with a smile.
“Hiya, Granny!”
The white-haired woman narrowed her eyes.
“Rrrrrrainbow Splash, right?”
“Dash, Granny,” Applejack corrected with a facepalm.
“Ahhhh, why you kids always gotta change your names? It ain’t easy for me to keep up with you young’uns anymore.”
“She never—” her friend began to argue, before she sighed and thought better of it.
Rainbow couldn’t help the smirk she wore, and blinked in surprise as a younger form darted out of the house.
“Rainbow Dash!” squealed Apple Bloom happily, throwing herself at the athlete in a flying hug. She barely managed to reach up and catch the younger girl before plopping butt-first into the grass.
“Sheesh, squirt. You’re getting bigger by the day…” She paused. “Hey, what gives? What’d you do with your bow?”
“Well, somebody figured she was gettin’ too old for ‘em.”
Rainbow pouted. “Awww! I missed the bow graduation phase?!”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “You didn’t miss much. Just a bunch of sass and ‘I know best’-itude…”
“I didn’t sass none!”
All other brows rose as one at the grade-schooler.
The youngster turned red in the face. “Not that much anyway.” She immediately brightened and grinned at Rainbow again. “Rainbow! Rainbow! Didja come to teach me how to play football for next year?” she asked, bouncing in her lap.
Dash blinked. “Oh, right… I did promise that.” She shrugged. “Sorry, kid. I’m here for your sister today. We’re taking a trip.”
“Oh! Can I come?”
“You…” Applejack said sternly, gripping her sister’s ear and gently pulling her up, “mouthed yourself into chores for a couple weeks, little missy. Now go find your brother and get to it.”
“Awww…” she whined, and wandered off, rubbing her ear.
Rainbow smirked as the youngster vanished behind the farmhouse. "Looks like apples don't fall too far from the tree, do they?"
Applejack glared. "What's that s'posed to mean?"
"Nothin', babe!"
Her friend rolled her eyes and tossed her jacket into the passenger’s seat. “Let’s get goin’ while the gettin’s good.”
“And just where are y’all goin’?” Granny asked, wrinkling her brow. “You got school tomorrow, doncha?”
“Tomorrow’s Sunday, Granny,” the farmgirl said, yanking the door open. “And it’s summer break. I done toldja, me and Rainbow are takin’ a hike up to her family's ol' cabin at the beach for a spell.”
“That’d explain all the swimmin’ flibbity-jibbets you packed last night…”
Applejack smiled at Rainbow exhaustedly and rolled her eyes before embracing her grandmother one last time.
Granny Smith then stepped forward and seized Rainbow in her arms without any warning. For her age, she was surprised by the Apple matriarch’s lingering strength, and felt her breath leave her as she was squeezed around the waist in a tight hug.
“Now don’t you be a stranger, none,” she said in a firm but loving tone. She reached around and produced a metal spatula, whacking her on the thigh.
Rainbow yelped, before her attention was recaptured by the utensil being pointed straight in her face.
“And for cryin’ all out, if you ain’t put some meat on your bones by the time you get back, I’m gonna tie you to the kitchen table and force-feed ya.”
Grinning nervously, Rainbow offered an awkward salute. “Y-yes ma’am.”
Applejack smirked and leaped into her seat. “Granny, quit harrassin’ her or we ain’t never gonna see ‘er again.”
“Ah, fiddlesticks!” Granny said dismissively. “Now, you two be sure to call me everyday so I know you’re both alright. Don’t make an old gal worry, none! My heart can’t take it no more.”
Rainbow jumped into the driver’s seat. “Don’t worry, Granny!” she shouted over the roar of the V8 coming to life. “Your hip’ll go way before your heart does!”
“Wassat?!”
“Smell ya later!”
Applejack barely had time to buckle in before Rainbow gunned the engine, kicking up dirt in her wake.
She darted back onto the side road and whipped the tail end around before thundering back towards the highway.
“Sheesh. Eager much?” Applejack griped as she fished her hat from out of the back seat and placed it back on her platinum head.
“Summer isn’t forever, tits!”
Applejack shook her head and finished clipping in her safety belt.
“We need to stop by Rarity’s place 'fore we go headin' out,” she shouted over the road and wind.
Rainbow did a double-take.
“Rarity’s place? What the heck for?”
“’Cause I told ‘er we would, that’s why. And if we don’t, I’ll never hear the end of it from 'er.”
Rainbow smirked. “Sounds like a personal problem to me…”
“Sugar, please? You ain’t the one who’s gonna have to deal with her when she don’t get her way.”
“Okay okay okay, fine.” She flashed her friend a smile. “I’m really good to you, y’know.”
“Noted,” the farmgirl said dryly.
Despite her acceptance, however, Rainbow couldn’t help but be perplexed. Rarity’s house? Anyone on the outside looking in on one of her and Applejack’s arguments would think one had stomped the other's cat to death in front of her. The two often came across as the bitterest mortal enemies.
It wasn't like Rainbow was the seamstress’s biggest fan, admittedly. She bore her no ill will, but she would go out of her way to find something – anything – to keep from modeling the crap she called "fashion" for her.
Or maybe...
Rainbow’s brain processes froze in that moment, and were replaced by thoughts of Applejack in a brand-new swimsuit made by the fashionista herself. Ornate leopard skin patterns and g-strings danced through her imagination and overwrote the underwhelming notion of driving so far out of the way.
A smile crossed Rainbow’s lips.
Rares, if you’re doing what I think you’re doing, I’ll love you forever, she thought. “Yes, captain! We're goin' plaid!”
"Ah, brother..."
The Shelby whipped off the highway onto one of the better-kept country roads over smooth hills and twisty bends before pulling into a high-class subdivision. High six-figure houses rested a good distance from the road on massive properties. Mercedes, Cadillacs and Lincolns weren’t uncommon sights. All the lawns were freshly-mowed with well-kept landscaping, and the pavement was smooth as silk.
It was quite a different world from the one Rainbow and Applejack inhabited.
The old Shelby burbled through the neighborhood, catching a few wary eyes as it did so, and squeaked to a stop at the curb of one of the larger homes. The majestic white Mediterranean-style house was settled on a cul-de-sac. In the driveway was parked a large Audi sedan and a massive Escalade.
She could see the distant figure of Rarity conversing with what she assumed to be her father.
Rainbow switched off the engine and walked around to the sidewalk as Applejack hopped out. The pair strode up to their friend, who seemed to be locked in a contest of wills with her father, along with a mountain of luggage they were arguing next to.
“Pleeeeeease, daddy? I promise I’ll be very careful!”
“Careful in a ninety-thousand dollar SUV,” he replied, swishing his mustache side to side. He regarded the two familiar girls with a smile.
“But I already told my friends I could take them!” She jutted out her lip in her school-wide infamous pout. “You wouldn’t want me to disappoint them, would you?”
Rarity’s father blinked down at his daughter, over at the two girls, and let out a forlorn sigh. “It scares me how much like your mother you are,” he muttered, dangling the key fob in front of her face.
The fashionista squealed in delight and wrapped her arms around her father, showering him with kisses and 'iloveyous'.
Rainbow's face twitched in muted jealousy, not at the affections, but the monstrous vehicle standing as tall as she did right next to her.
Rarity flourished around in a brand new white sundress to meet her friends' gazes, and beamed a bright and happy smile.
“Good morning, girls!” She glanced past them and smirked pointedly at Rainbow Dash. “Ready to go, I see,” she said.
“Yyyyyeah. We'd be way outta town by now if AJ hadn't said we needed to drop by your place first," Rainbow said, glimpsing curiously at her friend next to her. Applejack squirmed nervously in response.
“Oh, of course! That reminds me – I have something for you two!” She turned to the massive pile of luggage next to her and reached into the nearest bag, producing a freshly-finished army-green one-piece swimsuit. Literally, the only other feature was the breast pocket, barely big enough to slip a house key into.
Rainbow wrinkled her nose. “A onesie? What are we? Kids at a wading pool or something?”
Rarity scowled at her for the briefest of moments and beamed just as quickly, turning to her opposite guest.
“For you, Applejack!” Rarity chirped, passing the onesie to her.
Rainbow immediately felt something inside of her die the moment Applejack's face lit up. “Uhhh… w-wow, Rares. Thank ya kindly,” she said with a smile. She gave it a look over and held it to herself. “At least ya didn't go overboard on it… y'know, like you do on everything else.”
“It's the least I could do, given it's your first real trip to the beach, darling,” Rarity replied.. “I couldn't have lived with myself without knowing you would have something nice to go swimming in.”
Applejack grimaced and held the plastic remains of a smile. “Th-that's… nice of you?”
Rainbow hissed inwardly. Just from the way the farmgirl held the swimsuit against her body, she could tell it'd reveal precious little of Applejack's toned stomach, and none of the cleavage she had looked forward to since… well, forever.
Rarity either missed her pouting, or paid it no mind, and instead reached back into the bag.
“And for you, Rainbow Dash...”
At the very least, it wasn't a onesie presented to her.
Rainbow accepted the gift and looked her new swimsuit up and down. The bottoms were at least halfway decent.
At least they show off my sexy thighs... she considered. The top, however, was a different story entirely. It looked more like a sports bra than any bikini top she'd ever seen.
It was her turn to scowl at the fashionista.
“You just love calling out the fact I got nothin’ going on here, don’t you?” she asked, holding up the offending article in question.
She caught wind of Applejack snickering to her right, and her foul mood evaporated quickly.
“Thanks… I guess.”
If there were any consolation from all this, it would at least be that she'd be seeing more of AJ's skin than she'd ever seen at once before. That was cause enough for a smile to intrude onto her face.
Those freckled arms… those curvy legs…
“Rainbow, darling! Could you help me lift this bag, please?”
Jerking out of her fantastic reverie, Rainbow looked Rarityward and at the massive luggage pile she stood next to. She shrugged and grabbed the first bag. The massive tote looked like an ordeal to lift over the bumper of the Escalade, but nothing particularly out of the ordinary – not for the fashionista anyway.
She grabbed the handle and hauled up on it.
The bag didn't budge.
“What the—?” she grunted.
She made a second, full-effort attempt, and barely managed to lug it high enough onto her back to allow it to fall into the luggage compartment.
“Sheesh, Rarity. What're you hauling? Your living room?”
Rarity looked up from powdering her nose and smiled. “Oh, only the barest essentials this time darling.”
“The bare essentials for what? This crap feels like a military rucksack on steroids! Are you climbing K2?” she hissed, dropping yet another massively-heavy container into the Cadillac.
“No, dear. We're headed to your beach house on vacation, remember?”
“Yeah, well—” Rainbow immediately froze. In that instant, ice water entered Rainbow's veins as the cold kiss of terror hit her, and the horrifying realization took hold.
She turned to look at the fashionista as she loaded a few lighter items atop the SUV. She then turned to Applejack, her green eyes wide, and lower lip white from biting.
Rainbow shed the third trunk, and slid up next to her friend.
“You… you invited her?!” she whispered harshly.
“NO!” Applejack protested with a fidget, her face turning vividly red. “I-I mean… not exactly anyway… She kinda invited herself along.”
“What the hell were you even doing talking to her about it?!”
“She wanted to drag me and Fluttershy along to some fashion watchamadoohickey, and I told 'er I couldn't 'cause… I was goin' along with you.”
“And that somehow turned into her inviting herself along?!”
Applejack glared at her. “Lookit here. I ain't exactly thrilled 'bout this arrangement either but… well, think about it,” she sighed defeatedly, looking at the fashionista. “Are you gonna be the one tellin' 'er she can't come?”
Rainbow took one look at Rarity and could already imagine the conniption fit she would throw if she canceled her plans on her. Headache-inducing thoughts of her whining about unpacking her luggage, rescheduling spa appointments, dumping Opalescence in Sweetie Belle's lap…
The thought was already giving Rainbow Dash a migraine, and she winced, rubbing her forehead.
“Any other surprises you wanna drop on me?” she sighed.
At precisely that moment, another large SUV turned onto the block, and a massive Lincoln Navigator – Rainbow recognized it as Twilight's brother's – parked itself at the curb.
Applejack gulped loudly.
Rainbow felt the color drain out of her cheeks.
Oh no...
“There they are!” she heard Rarity say over her shoulder, The fashionista stepped forward with a wave. “Hello girls!”
Oh noooooonononononono…
Rainbow looked at Applejack. Applejack looked back with a sheepish grin.
“Hi, Rarity!” Twilight said, pulling a large duffel bag out of the Lincoln with her. Fluttershy was close behind her.
“Hi, Dashie!” Pinkie chirped under her mountainous bag as she practically bounced out.
Oh HELLLLL no!
Shining Armor flashed a smile at the girls and tossed them a wave, before whipping the truck back around and thundering out of earshot.
Rainbow looked frantically from one of her friends to the other as the gathered on the lawn. Her world falling apart around her, Rainbow’s eyes widened and she turned after the retreating taillights of the Navigator.
“H-HEY! YOU LEFT YOUR HOMIES!”
She felt heat on the back of her head, and turned her sweating expression back to her friends. All five had gathered into a group behind her, staring expectingly at her. Pinkie appeared on the verge of exploding in her excitement, Twilight grinned eagerly, and even Fluttershy rocked anxiously on her heels.
Applejack bit her lip and offered an apologetic smile, while Rarity stared at her knowingly.
Rainbow sighed.
"Ah, hell..."