With dinner concluded, and the dishes for the evening done up and put away, everypony had retired to the palace's parlor to relax. Applejack let out a contented sigh as she leaned back against the couch, letting her eyes shut in the process. Dinner had been really good, and she was glad she'd accepted the invitation to come over.
A rustling off to the side brought her attention back to her surroundings, leading her to open her eyes again, and see Twilight in the process of settling down on the couch Rarity was currently perched on with an emery board, making herself comfortable with a book to read.
Twilight settling down to read didn't surprise her one bit. She doubted that it would really surprise anypony that knew what Twilight was like. The part that really stuck out to Applejack was the fact that she did all of this while still nude, and she did it in a way that just made her movements seem natural and relaxed. She'd noted earlier on that it was surreal, and that observation still applied even now. It had actually been like that all through dessert and such.
"So... wha' happens now?" she finally asked.
"Hm?" Twilight asked as she looked up from her book. "What do you mean?"
"Well was that it? Don' get me wrong, Ah enjoyed dinner an' all. Ah jus' thought that... maybe there was somethin' else ta be done?" Applejack asked, not really sure where things went from here. It just felt kind of abrupt for an ending, if that's truly what this was.
"Huh," Spike mumbled as he sat up on his pillow and set down his comic book. "That's a good question. I don't think we talked about that."
"I'm afraid not," Rarity added as she looked up from her hoof maintenance. "We spent most of our time thinking about other things than after-dinner plans," she admitted.
"Do you have anymore questions, Applejack? Anything else you'd like to know about all this?" Twilight asked. If nothing else, answering more questions would at least give them something to do.
"Huh. Lemme think fer a minute," Applejack replied as she rubbed her chin, going over everything. "Well... Ah guess Ah'd ask abou' that illusion ya were usin' earlier. If yer a nudist, how come ya jus' don' use it all the time?"
"What? You mean like for going around town?" Twilight asked. Applejack nodded, causing her to shake her head in response at the notion. "Well there's a lot of reasons. There's the risk of getting a sunburn because there's nothing to protect the skin. There's also the risk of the spell potentially failing at an inconvenient time since it has to be maintained, meaning there's the potential for a lot of embarrassment. I can't fly, since I don't have any feathers, and as I said earlier, the illusion has to be maintained, so I can't use my magic for anything else," she explained, listing off the reasons they'd discovered as to why the suggestion simply wouldn't work.
"So more trouble than it's worth then," Applejack elaborated, earning a nod in response from Twilight. "Glad Ah found that out. Ah thought it was jus' as simple as keepin' yer feathers in case ya went flying with Rainbow Dash."
Twilight shook her head again. "We actually discussed that being a possibility once. But as it turns out, without my fur to act as an insulator, my skin is really sensitive to outside stimulation. I had to keep my wings out the entire time, because my feathers kept tickling me whenever I moved them even a little," she explained.
Applejack chuckled in response to hearing that. She could certainly understand how that might be a problem with the idea.
"So how long does it take fer yer fur an' feathers ta grow back in once they fall out?" she asked.
"Not long. Just a few minutes. The roots remain intact, so it's just a matter of triggering and accelerating their growth. The only problem is that it itches like nopony's business during the initial breaching of the surface. Spike's claws have really been indispensable with that unfortunate detail," she explained.
"Well what can I say? When you've got it, you've got it," Spike stated proudly as he flexed his fingers.
"Well Ah sure don' mean ta be rude er nothin'," Applejack stated as she climbed down off the couch, "but if it's all the same, Ah'm gonna be headin' on home now. Thanks fer dinner an' all."
"Is it something we said?" Twilight asked.
"Nah, nothin' like that, Twi', don' be worryin' yer perdy little head. Ah jus' have stuff ta do back on the farm before tomorrow," Applejack explained, not wanting her friend to think it was because of her that she was heading out for the night.
"I fear it's time for me to depart as well. This has certainly been a wonderful evening and all, but duties and responsibilities call," Rarity added as she stepped down on the floor. "Have a good evening, darling, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Oh. Alright. Goodnight you two," Twilight replied. If they had work to do, who was she to stop them from leaving when they had to?
"Much as Ah appreciate the company, sugarcube, ya don' exactly have ta walk me home," Applejack said as she made her way back to Sweet Apple Acres. "Ah'm a big mare, Ah can take care o' mahself."
"I'm aware of that, darling," Rarity replied as she walked alongside Applejack, making no effort to stop. "I just wanted to thank you for all you did tonight."
"Ah really didn' do anything, Rarity, Ah jus' showed up fer dinner," Applejack pointed out.
"And that meant a lot to Twilight. I know that you said you'd be there, but you know how she can be," Rarity pointed out. In simple terms, she'd been a ball of nerves the entire time. "Perhaps now things will be going smoother, as more ponies become in the know."
"Yeah. Ah know," Applejack replied and nodded. That mare could get herself worked into a frazzle over anything if she put her mind to it. Granted she could understand the worry with this particular matter, seeing as it could strike some as controversial. But at least it had worked out.
For a while the two walked along in a relatively comfortable silence.
"Rares?"
"Yes, Applejack?"
"Yer perdy smart about stuff an' all..."
Rarity quirked an eyebrow, not so much at Applejack's statement, but rater the tone of voice that was used. It didn't convey the general laid back confidence that the farmer had about her.
"Hypothetically would it... be kinda weird if tha' whole thing made me a bit curious? Maybe made me think about tryin' it out fer mahself? Jus' fer a little bit ta see wha' it was like?" Applejack asked.
For a moment, Rarity didn't say anything in response. And the longer that silence stretched on, the more uneasy Applejack got with the prospect, wondering if she should've kept her hypotheticals to herself.
"Let me ask you something, darling," Rarity began as she turned to face her, "was it at all "weird" when I asked you to teach me how to square dance?"
"Uh, not really," Applejack replied, caught off guard by her question being answered with a question. "Ah mean it was mighty unexpected an' all, ya bein' the high society type an' all. But who'm Ah ta say no ta somethin' like that?"
"Then why should this be any different? Applejack, it's not at all "weird" to seek to broaden your horizons with new interests. Perhaps it's a little unorthodox, but there's nothing wrong with that," Rarity pointed out.
"Ah guess ya got a point there," Applejack replied and nodded slowly, before she started walking along again. "If ya don' mind mah askin', wha' made ya so supportive of Twilight being a nudist?"
"Well to be honest, at first I really wasn't. But Twilight was very patient with me in her explanation, and I came to realize something very important; Twilight's interests weren't all that different from my own when I decided to become a fashionista. Granted, clothing vs baldness aren't exactly comparable, but I didn't exactly get a warm reception when I started out either. With so little of Equestria wearing clothing beyond special occasions, I knew that I was tackling a fringe market from the get go. It took a fair bit of tenacity on my part, to make it to where I am today," Rarity explained as she walked along, remembering some of the difficulties she'd experienced along the way. "Perhaps I'm just projecting. I just see some of what I had to weather on my own, being what Twilight may experience at some point down the road. It's best if she knows she has friends to turn to, should things get difficult."
Applejack listened silently as Rarity explained the reasoning behind her actions. There was definitely a lot of sense in the unicorn's words. She figured that Twilight probably already knew that they'd have her back if something came up. But a reminder of that fact never hurt anypony.
"Just a word of advice, though, Applejack," Rarity spoke up, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Going by what Twilight has told me about all of this, it might take more than just a few minutes to truly understand what it's like. As complicated a subject as it is, it might take several hours for it to seem normalized, and stop feeling so scandalous to experience," she explained.
"Huh. Ah'll be sure ta remember that if Ah decide to go fer it. Uh, jus' don' tell Twilight in case Ah change mah mind, a'right?" Applejack asked.
"I wouldn't think of it. It'll be between you and her, darling, I'm just here for moral support," Rarity assured her. Applejack could keep Twilight's secret, so she could certainly keep Applejack's secret until such time that she was ready to make it known herself.
Two down, three more to go. And if Applejack saw nothing wrong with what Twilight was doing, then the others should be foal's play to bring around. It was just a matter of who, and when.