"You're just too darn good at this, Rarity," Applejack chuckled, rubbing a spot on her barrel where surely a bruise would show up in a day or two. It turns out, balancing on apples is harder than it looks.
"I'll have you know, I am considered a truth-or-dare legend," Rarity said with a flip of her mane.
"Yeah, yeah, I remember last time, too."
"Shall we continue?" Rarity wiggled her eyebrows and grinned.
"I gotta run to the li'l filly's room real quick. I'll be down for another round after that." Applejack stood and slipped through the door. "Don't go nowhere," she added with a wink.
Rarity glanced around the room. While it was a quaint, Applejack's home was by no means simple or uncouth. The dresser and mirror had their own elegance, though they showed their age; the pictures, the lamp, the nightstand each were arranged with some attention paid to the details. Though, one thing would always catch her eye: the bed. It was a nice enough piece, with its own ornate carvings and a glossy finish; however, it was absolutely plagued by exceptionally unmade bedding.
She bit her lip; she knew Applejack didn't particularly care for things being 'just right', but the call was too great. Reluctantly she stood, shuffled over to the bedside, and levitated the corner of the blanket with her magic.
"Just a quick fix," she mumbled, smiling. "And - " with a whip, the blanket was pulled and swiftly oriented over the bed; as the curtaining end on the other side snapped up, Rarity heard the sound of buttons on wood " - what was that?"
Inspecting the blanket, nothing had torn off; she trotted over to the other side of the bed, looked down, and gasped.
"You okay, sugarcube?" Applejack began, taking two steps into her room before stopping, her eyes wide.
"Applejack...? What is this...?" Rarity said, her eyes never leaving the floor.
"Uh... what's, what?"
"The doll, Applejack. What is it?"
She trotted over to join her friend - sure enough, it was her doll. The big blue button-eyes begged for her to be picked up, but Applejack knew better.
"It's a ...doll," Applejack said with a strained grin. "One of them plush ones-"
"I KNOW WHAT IT IS, APPLEJACK."
"Well, you asked-"
"I know what I asked. Why does it look like me? Why do YOU have it?"
"It must be..." Applejack's eyes shifted restlessly, finding some solace in the doorway. "Big Mac's! Yeah. You know how he loves playin' with them silly dolls."
"I. Cannot. Believe this..." Rarity put her hooves to her head, shaking. "Why does your BIG BROTHER have a doll that looks like me?!" She suddenly shuddered and narrowed her eyes. "Did he take this from Spike?!"
"Y..." Applejack was just about to nod in agreement, and then she happened to look back to her friend long enough to see the distress. Her heart hammered in her chest, she bit her lip, then took a deep breath. "No... no, he didn't."
"Then where did he get it? And why is it in here? Who's making dolls of me-"
"I made it," Applejack interrupted, hanging her head. Her hat slipped and fell, though she didn't even make a move to grab it. "I made it... for me," she rubbed her elbow. "It's mine."
Rarity's eyes were wide, and she glanced from Applejack, to the doll - a near mirror of herself, even the eyes were the right color - to Applejack again. It didn't make sense...
"I still don't understand," she said, taking a step away from the toy. "Why have something like this?"
Applejack's cheeks flushed. "Well... you ever go to bed, and wish there was somethin' to snuggle with?"
Rarity's face quickly followed suit.
"A dog, a cat - animals'll snuggle for a while, but then they go on their way," she tried to explain. "A doll, though, it'll just keep on snugglin' 'till the cows come home. Or whenever you stop."
"But... why me?" Rarity questioned. "I know I'm the most fabulous out of our little company, but surely you could have picked somepony else?" Her eyes showed concern, but her voice was curious.
Applejack chuckled and snagged her hat off the floor, holding it up to her breast. "It's a bit of a tale,"
"I'm sure it is. But wouldn't you rather think of Rainbow Dash, somepony you can do what you love with?"
"Not quite that simple, darlin',"
Rarity blew a shot of air out from her nostrils. "Just tell me why you have a doll that looks very much exactly like me."
"Because I... like you?" She placed her hat upon her head.
"You like me," Rarity parroted, gesturing with her hoof. "As in, like me like me. As in, a couple?"
Applejack nodded, the hint of a smile sneaking in.
Rarity put a hoof across her forehead. "I... I don't even know what to say to that, Applejack." She snatched a pillow with her magic and slipped it behind, just in time to catch herself mid-fall.
"I know, it's weird," Applejack said, holding up a hoof and gently making patting motions in Rarity's direction. "I thought I'd have eyes for a country or small town stallion... but I don't think that's the case." She took a few steps toward her friend.
Rarity shook her head. Her friend had a thing for her? A real thing, not just a compliment or a quirky one-time attraction, but a serious thing?! And that friend... was Applejack?!
"It's not strange because of what it is, darling," Rarity started slowly. She took a deep breath and sighed again. "It's... I don't understand. What could you possibly see in me? We're nothing alike!"
"We got nothin' in common whatsoever," Applejack said with a smirk.
"Exactly!"
"Except we're both stubborn and gotta have our particular ways."
"I don't think I'd call myself stubborn, darling."
"You wouldn't, but I would,"
Rarity rolled her eyes and snorted.
"See? You're doin' it right now, Rarity." Applejack chuckled and poked a hoof at her.
"I most certainly am not-"
"You just did it again."
Rarity lowered her brow and frowned. "Fine. I am stubborn. You are too. We can't bond over our stubbornness, especially when it drives us to different ends!"
"Yeah, but-"
"And don't even get me started about the doll again. WHY do you even have that thing?" She glanced again at the doll.
"Well, we don't always get a lot of time to just... visit. I've got my farm to help run, and you've got your boutique. So... I made one to have around when we're too busy."
Again, Rarity's hoof found its home on her forehead. "I need to step outside," she said after a moment of silence.
"Alright," Applejack said, offering a hoof. "I'll help ya."
Rarity eyed the offer, pushing herself up by her own hooves. "Just... let me be for a minute, Applejack."
Reluctantly, she nodded and stepped aside. Watching as Rarity left, Applejack went over to retrieve the doll, dusting it off and embracing it. She pulled it away and looked into the button eyes, imagining Rarity's own in their place; she imagined being able to just hug her friend whenever, not needing to make up excuses and plan ridiculous outings just to distract the others long enough to share a fun moment, even fi they almost always ended up bickering over something silly. She wondered then if Rarity had ever caught on to any of her ideas...
Outside, Rarity gently took a seat on the porch, her lips pursed into a pout. There were too many odd circumstances happening. How long had Applejack set eyes on her? Were all the fights and bickering just a sort of date? She suddenly felt like she understood nothing of her friend; the strong Applejack that had helped her see through the ridiculous crush on Trenderhoof seemed more an uncanny trickster now.
"No," she uttered to herself. "Applejack isn't like that. She is genuine. She's honest!"
Rarity flipped her mane over again and looked out over the moonlit farmland. Suddenly, the creak of a door and the clip-clop of hooves interrupted her thought.
"I try to be," Applejack said with a sigh. "It can be hard sometimes, bein' so honest."
"The truth is not always what somepony wants to hear, after all..." Rarity agreed.
"And sometimes, the truth is just... well, awkward."
Rarity looked up to the moon and yawned. "It's late, isn't it,"
"Yep. Granny Smith and Big Mac've both gone to bed already," Applejack joined in the yawn. "I'm gonna be in for it tomorrow."
Rarity kept her eyes on the sky as Applejack took a seat next to her.
"I'm sorry," Applejack offered. "The doll... this whole romance nonsense..."
"It's alright, Applejack," Rarity said, tearing her gaze away to meet her friend's. "If you want to spend more time together, then we simply will have to make more plans."
"Make more-" her cheeks lit up again, and she found words difficult for a moment. "Y'mean you're not gonna just toss me after the whole doll thing?"
"I think I can forgive you for it," Rarity chirped.
"You even made the bed." Applejack chuckled and shook her head. "Tell me real quick, what's the point of makin' the bed right before you're gonna use it?"
"So it looks nice, of course," Rarity offered, putting her snout up into an upper-class half-smirk of satisfaction. "You mustn't sleep on a surface that might look bad in a picture."
"Yeah, okay. I call far side," Applejack exclaimed as she leapt over the bed and landed in a 'poof' of covers.
"I'll take this side, I suppose."
"Alright. Light's goin' out, sugarcube."
Rarity wiggled down under the covers, barely disturbing them from their slightly-messy-again state. "Goodnight, Applejack."
"Goodnight, Rarity. Love ya,"
There was a pause as Applejack's hoof caught on the lamp's switch. Rarity rolled over to look at her friend. "Did you say..."
Applejack chuckled again and grinned over her shoulder. "My bad, sugarcube. Just regular old g'night." She clicked the light's switch, casting the room in only the heavens' pale blue glow; she rolled over and saw Rarity had almost immediately fallen asleep.
"Guess I don't need you tonight, darlin'," Applejack whispered, setting her plush doll on the nightstand next to her bed, and draped a hoof across Rarity's midsection, pulling her gently into a hug. "I've got the real thing... right here..."