//------------------------------//
// The Sleepover 
// Story: Applejack's Secret Plush Crush 
// by Derjuin 
//------------------------------//

	"You're still set on this?"
"If I weren't, I wouldn't be standing here now, would I?"
Applejack looked took a deep breath and looked past her friend Rarity, out into the dwindling light of the early evening. No applebucking today, but there still would be work in the morning to do, even if it was a 'light' day, and she knew well that Rarity was not the type to take to a farmhoof's job easily - not for lack of trying, of course. All Rarity wanted was a sleepover, to get to know each other better; but the kinds of things the two enjoyed were on opposite ends of a spectrum that probably wasn't even the same spectrum at all. Admittedly, Applejack had forgotten all about the sleepover, because she figured Rarity would've changed her mind by now. After all, what kind of fashionista-socialite-pony would want to spend her night in a dusty old farmhouse instead of her own extravagant bedroom?
"You know we gotta get up early 'round here, right?" Applejack asked. She cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow.
"Of course!" Rarity smiled.
"And you're still sure you wanna do this? Even though you probably won't get your beauty sleep?" She offered her own smile, hoping that maybe she could change Rarity's mind at the last minute.
"It almost sounds like you don't want me to stay," Rarity said, fluttering her eyelashes and pouting.
Applejack bit her lip; she couldn't take it. She sighed. "Alright, come on in. Just, uh, hold on, let me get somethin' straightened up for you, so you can set your things down." Applejack trotted through the family room and upstairs, hanging a quick turn into her room. The prize sat upon her bed, its little button eyes staring longingly toward her owner, begging for a snuggle or a hug. But there was no time for either; Applejack quickly ruffled the covers on the bed and stuffed the doll under her pillow. Just then, an idea hit her.
"Hey, Rarity?" she yelled down to her guest. "You mind sleepin' in Applebloom's room? She ain't gonna be here for a few more days. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."
"Not at all, dear; shall I bring my bags up?" She heard Rarity right at the stairs, and retreated into her room again.
"Sure thing."
"What was that? Sorry, I couldn't hear you," Rarity said, now halfway up; she levitated her bags to the landing and set them down. "Applejack?"
"Here!" Applejack said, zipping outside her room and slamming the door shut. She put on her most game-faced, honest grin, but in light of the doll, it nearly slipped. "Lemme take that for you, and I'll show you to the room." She grabbed for Rarity's largest suitcase with her mouth, nabbing the handle and tugging - and nearly straining her neck. It felt as if an entire field of Pie family rocks had found their way into just a single piece of luggage, somehow. "Did ya need ta bring so much stuff?"
"Let me get that one, Applejack, please." Rarity said, lifting the entirely-too-heavy suitcase with her magic. "By the by, when did you start caring about how your room looked? I thought you were all for messes."
"Me bein' messy is one thing, but I like to keep my room at least a li'l organized. 'Specially when I know a certain friend is comin' over." Applejack leaned to the side and stretched her neck, then shook her head. "What the hay's in that suitcase, anyway? A wagon?"
"It's a sewing machine," Rarity said, matter-of-factly. "And a project or two."
"You brought a sewing-"
"You never know when inspiration might strike, dear," Rarity said with a giggle. "Besides, I was already working on something before I came over. It's just a little something to keep me busy should you fall asleep too early." Applejack blinked and raised her eyebrow again.
"Was that a challenge, missy?"
"Not at all! I simply know you must go to bed early to rest enough for your early start," Rarity offered. Applejack shrugged.
"Yeah. But tomorrow there isn't a whole lot to do in the morning, so the family'll probably wake up a little later than usual. We could stay up a bit and do something, y'know, together. Somethin' fun." Buck my apples and call me a pear, that sounded horrible, Applejack thought.
"I was hoping as such!" Rarity clapped her hooves together, picking up another bag and trotting next to Applejack. "So, where is the-?"
"Oh! Right, the room," Applejack motioned down the hallway. She began with a slow trot, glancing at each door as she passed them. "Well, that's Big Mac's room. And there's Granny's... the restroom, should you need it... and right down here's Applebloom's." She knocked on the door, despite knowing nopony was in there, and pushed it open to reveal... an utter mess. Papers, clothes, toys, pencils, crayons ... a shovel?? - it seemed like everything that Applebloom owned, with the exception of her Cutie Mark Crusaders cloak, was strewn across the floor in a twister's aftermath.
"Oh my," Rarity gasped. She glanced around the room, then back to Applejack. "In... here?" She hesitated to put her hoof down, keeping her bags well outside the room.
"Horseapples, Applebloom...!" Applejack pushed her way in, trudging through papers and piles of clothes. "I thought I told that little filly to pick up in here before she left..." Again, Applejack bit her lip. Rarity wouldn't want to sleep in such a messy room; and she had just fixed hers up...	 "I mean, if it's too bad, you can sleep in my room, but I think we could clean this up. Give it an hour or two..."
"If it's not too much, darling, I'd really rather I just sleep in your room instead," Rarity asked - begged, nearly. Applejack could tell from her voice that there would be no convincing her otherwise. After all, she came over to have fun with her friend, not clean up her friend's little sister's messy room.

"Alright, alright, we'll use my room," Applejack said, turning about. "I hope ya don't mind sleepin' on the floor."
"On the floor? Is there any particular reason I can't sleep on the bed like a civilized pony?"
"D'you remember what happened last time we tried that?" Applejack's eyes drooped into a deadpan.
"That doesn't mean it will happen the same way again. After all, you do recall how the rest of the night went, yes?" Rarity prodded. Applejack looked down to the floor as they made their way back to her room, then smirked.
"Yeah, I do," she said, looking away. "Sure was a crazy night, wasn't it,"
"It was indeed. I was hoping we could recapture some of that fun tonight. But, you know, put a fresh spin on it." It sounded as if she were trying to advertise a new line of dresses to Applejack, though the grin never left the cowpony's face.
"I hope so too, Rarity. I hope so too," she said. Though Rarity could irritate her sometimes, she was still glad to be able to call her a friend. They finally reached the door after what felt like far too many minutes, and Applejack threw it open. "I know it ain't much to look at, but... welcome," she said with a chuckle.

"Much better than your sister's," Rarity joked, though she could easily have been serious. Applejack took just a smidgeon more pride in the way her room looked than Applebloom's, but it was still a bit of a mess. "I'll set my things over here and - goodness, that bed is messy," she gazed at the bed for a moment, her things sliding into place against the far wall.
"You gonna start that again? If we're gonna share my bed, there's gonna be some ground rules." Applejack strutted over and crossed her forelegs. "Number one! It don't matter how messy the bed is. At all."
Rarity's eyelid twitched, but she said nothing. Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"Number two! It. Don't. Matter. How. Messy. The bed. Is."
"Yes, yes, I understood the first time," Rarity said with a sigh and a roll of her eyes. "Well, I won't dwell on it. Let's have fun tonight, shall we?"
"Sounds good to me! Let's head on down for some supper first, though," Applejack said, ushering Rarity toward the door.
"Oh? What's for-"
A loud, metal clanging from down below interrupted Rarity's question. "SUPPER'S READY! COME'N GET IT," 





Bowls of apple and cabbage soup lined the table, with a larger pot and decorated silver ladle dominating the center. Small cuts of bread - flaxseed and wheat, Rarity correctly identified - were piled high on either side of the pot, free for the taking. Big McIntosh and Granny Smith had already taken their seats before either Applejack or Rarity entered the room, and they waited patiently for both to join them.
"Usually don't take you this long to come down, Applejack," Granny chuckled. "What, you don't like Granny's soup anymore?"
"Are you kiddin'? I wouldn't miss your apple-cabbage soup for anything, Granny," Applejack nearly jumped into her seat, already set to devour the still-steaming soup. "We were just... in the middle of talkin'. Ain't that right?"
"It certainly is," Rarity said, daintily taking the last seat available between Applejack and Big Mac. Before she had a chance to comment on the soup, however, Granny Smith spoke up again.
"Alright, y'all," she began, looking to each other pony with a grin. "DIG IN!"
Three ponies did indeed dig in, and a veritable storm of soup and bread brewed over the table. When slurping from a spoon wasn't enough, Big Mac took the bowl itself and started drinking right from the rim.
"You're gonna burn yourself, Big Mac. Slow down a bit," Applejack muttered between bits of bread, soft apples and cabbage leaves.
"Nnope," he grunted, taking another big gulp - which proved to be far too hot, the heat turning his face an even deeper red.
"Toldja," Applejack chuckled, pushing a glass of water toward her brother.
"She did tell ya," Granny said as she cracked a smile.
Rarity had barely even touched her soup. Not for any lack of appetite, or the taste, but rather she was a mix of amused and bewildered by the Apple family's antics. It was, in fact, a fantastic soup, with just the right balance of textures and colors - though internally, she doubted those things actually crossed anypony's mind but hers.
"Somethin' wrong with the soup, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, noticing the still-full bowl before Rarity.
"Oh, not at all! It's quite wonderful, actually," she said, taking a spoonful and sipping it gently. "Delicious!"
"That ain't how ya eat soup," Granny said, putting her hooves up under her bowl. "Ya gotta get it all! Ain't no good to ya if all ya do is get the broth." She picked up her bowl, much as Big Mac had done moments before, and took a noisy gulp.
"Well, it's..." Rarity started, but trailed off when she saw Applejack doing exactly as Granny had. She gave a sigh and rolled her eyes, picking up the bowl and touching it to her lips. Still hot, the bits of apple and cabbage floated near, and she took a quick sip - making sure to get 'all of it'. Taking a piece of bread, she quickly mopped up the drips of soup that threatened to flow over the edge of the bowl after pulling it away.
"See? Ain't so hard, now, is it?" Granny chuckled, picking up some bread of her own. "Like I always say: it ain't rude to slurp if it's really good food!"
"You could say that again," Applejack said, leaning back in her chair. Her bowl was nearly dry, while Big Mac leaned forward to ladle another heap into his own.
"Eeyup!" he mumbled, grabbing another hoof full of bread.
"Now, now, Big Mac, leave some fer our guest too," Granny chided. Big Mac huffed and rolled his eyes, pushing nearly half a loaf back onto the bread plate. 
Rarity took another slice for herself, and finished as quickly as she could.

"That was somethin' else, Granny." Applejack gave a whoop and pushed out her chair. "Hey, I gotta run upstairs fer somethin' right quick. Gimme a sec, Rarity, and we can start our party."
"Yer excused, Applejack. Guess that leaves me an' you fer dishes, Big Mac," Granny said, much to the stallion's dismay. 
Applejack galloped upstairs and hustled into her room. As her eyes fell on her bed, the feeling of dread returned. Pulling down the covers, a plush pony toy rolled down and nearly dropped onto the floor. White fuzzy body, purple curly mane, blue eyes...
"What am I gonna do with you?" Applejack groaned under her breath, picking up the toy and looking around. "Gotta be someplace I can hide ya. But just fer tonight, I promise." Looking around her room, there were plenty of spots to hide a toy, but none suitable for the doll. Her heart beat a little faster, knowing Rarity wouldn't want to wait downstairs forever. Then suddenly, hoofsteps on the stairs stirred her heart even faster.
"Where ya at, Applejack? Ain't right ta leave yer friend like that!" It was Granny. The hoofsteps went back down, and Applejack sighed. She looked down at the doll's leg in her mouth.
"Sorry, li'l lady," she whispered, tossing the toy under her bed. "Tonight, that's where you'll sleep." As the darkness fell over her plush, Applejack's heart sank.
"I'm comin', gimme a minute." She took a step back, inspected her bed from various angles, and trotted to the hallway. "Alright, c'mon up Rarity, I'm ready."