Shipping the Apple - Part 1
Rarity sat at her workbench while wearing her sleeping gown. It was late at night and she was drawing up plans on how to get Applejack a boyfriend. She twisted her pencil around in her fingers as she thought through all of the possible candidates that were suited for her apple-loving friend. She also was writing down some Applejack’s pros and cons.
Rarity always considered herself the best as a matchmaker at the school. She was always able to predict couples that would come together before they even knew they would become one. It was even clear to her that Sunset would end up with Soul one way or another. And despite all the ups and downs when it came to Swift, she knew he would end up with her bubbly friend, Pinkie.
She was finishing up the lists that she had put together for possible matches with Applejack and Applejack’s pros and cons. After she was done, Rarity looked through the list of possible candidates. A frown formed as she saw that they were no candidates that could be predicted.
“How could this be?” Rarity asked herself. “I could have sworn that I had enough pros that could help out with this.”
Rarity looked back at the list of pros to only to discover that the list had only three pros on it while the other one had several cons, although that was more of Rarity’s sense of fashion with Applejack’s. She read the pros to see only honesty, good work ethic and natural looks.
Rarity let out a sigh. “Perhaps I’m overlooking this somehow,” she said. “Hmmm, maybe I should ask Clyde about this. Having a boy’s input on what he would see in Applejack might help.” She tapped her chin for a moment. “And if that doesn't seem to work, maybe some of the others would be interested in helping out Applejack’s situation…. even if she dosen’t want to admit that she does have one.”
Rarity got up from her bench and walked over to her bed. She carefully uncovered the bed sheets from the center without removing them from the edge and climbed in the bed. She reached over to her stand and grabbed her phone. She looked through her top five contact list with Clyde being on the top and pressed it. She held the phone over her ear as it rang until Clyde picked up the line.
“Eh, um, augh, Rarity?” Clyde asked in a tired tone. “What are you doing up so late? It’s two in the morning.”
“I know Clyde, but there’s something important I must ask you,” Rarity replied.
“What is it?”
“If you were still single and were interested in Applejack, what would you think of her?” Rarity asked.
“...... Is this a trick question?” Clyde asked. “Because if it is, I want to say that I love you and there is no other woman that’ll ever make me change that.”
“Awww, thank you Clyde, but it’s not a trick,” Rarity clarified. “I’m trying to find someone perfect for her, but I’m having some trouble. In your personal opinion, what would be the reason if you went out with her?”
“..... Well, um…. You know, this is kinda hard for me since I’ve never imagined to think about it,” Clyde replied. “I mean, we don’t really have anything in common that much, and when I get down to it, I don’t really like her countryside lifestyle. All she really does is pick apples, tend to the animals all day and has to stay out in the sun for hours.”
Rarity blinked a few times. “Oh um… Okay, then I’ll have to go with plan B,” she said.
“What’s plan B?”
“I’m going to gather the others and see what we can come up with to get someone she would be interested in,” Rarity answered. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Alright, good night. I love you.”
“I love you too, darling,” Rarity said as she made a kissing sound and turned off her phone. She placed the phone back on her stand and laid her head on her pillows.
“Don’t worry Applejack, I’ll get you your true love even if it kills me…. But I really hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“So wait, let me get this straight,” Soul said. Almost all of Rarity’s friends except for Applejack were at the cafe as she was going over her plans for the country girl. She had explained to the group what she had so far and that she was in a tight position about getting Applejack a boyfriend. She then went on to say that she needed all of them to help her out the best way they could. After Soul took a sip from his soda, he looked back at Rarity.
“You wanna get my cousin a boyfriend because it’s been taking too long for her to have one? That it would make her stop making fun of some of us for spending too much time together, specifically you and Clyde, and she secretly wants a boyfriend?” Soul asked with a raised brow.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean,” Rarity replied. “And she doesn’t specifically mean me and Clyde…. At least not all the time.”
“Okay, this is just wrong,” Night said. “We can’t just mess with one of our friend’s love life. That’s pretty much her decision and we can’t pick a random guy. It’s got to be someone that she likes, otherwise it’ll just be poin-”
“I’m in.”
“Wait, what!?”
“Rarity is right,” Soul said. “My cousin has been without a boyfriend since she started highschool and she doesn't want to do it because she’s always busy working at the farm. One of these days, I’m going to find her dead on the farm from overworking and I have to deal with the emotional scars of losing a cousin. I am not up for losing one of my cousins at this delicate age.”
“That is…. the strangest reason I have ever heard of in my entire life,” Night said.
“Get used to it.”
“Okay, besides some of Soul’s reasons, he’s right,” Swift said. “Maybe we should try looking for a guy that is strong and incredibly honest. And knows that Applejack is strong and not one of those country girls that love to wear those skimpy shorts and shirts that show their cleavage.”
“Definitely not her style,” Soul commented as he made a disgusted expression.
“I think Swift is onto something,” Rivet said. “But I think we have a better chance at finding someone really honest than being stronger than her. Maybe then she would be willing to go out with him. But I think we need to get the idea of Applejack having a boyfriend in her head first before we try anything.”
“So who do we pick?” Rainbow Dash asked. She thought about it for a moment before she clicked her fingers. “What about Bulk? He’s strong and I hear he’s a really honest guy with others and himself. Have you seen how well he played his violin? Or when he was a ballerina for a year?”
“Wait, he took ballet?” Swift asked.
“Um, actually he already has a girlfriend,” Fluttershy pointed out. “I think it’s Derpy.”
“Dang, who else could go out with Applejack then?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“How about Caramel?” Clyde suggested. “I think he might be a good match for Applejack…. Maybe.”
“Well, he’s a sweet guy, but he’ll more than likely get too nervous and would feel pressured easily,” Rarity explained. “Anyone else?”
“Wait, what about Soarin?” Pinkie asked. “Applejack really hit it off with him at the Fall Formal. Maybe he could go out with her again and-”
“Sorry Pinkie, but he’s already taken,” Rainbow Dash said. “He’s been going out with Spitfire since before she even graduated. The reason why he went with Applejack at the dance was because she couldn’t go with him and it was okay for him to just go with a friend.”
“Darn it! Why are all the good guys taken?” Pinkie asked herself.
“How about Thunderlane?” Swift suggested. “He a very brutally honest guy kinda like Applejack, and he is tougher than he looks. Not as tough as Applejack, that’s for sure, but still a tough guy nevertheless.”
“Hmmm, he sounds like a good candidate,” Rarity said. “Perhaps if we could persuade him to give Applejack a chance, then we might pull this off. Do you think he’ll go for it?”
“If anything, asking Applejack out would be a challenge for him, and he really loves challenges, so he’ll more than likely do it,” Swift replied. “Let me do the talking and I’ll point him in the right direction.”
“Excellent! Now we need to get Applejack in the mood to go out with him,” Rarity said. “But how could we get her to go out with Thunderlane?”
“Maybe if she had a reason to stay away from the farm and needed a last minute plan,” Soul said.
“How would we do that?” Rivet asked.
Soul rubbed his chin for a moment until an idea popped into his head. “Don’t worry, I have a plan,” he said. “But get Thunderlane to ask her out first. If she says no, I’ll put my full plan into action.”
“Are you sure this plan will work?” Rarity asked.
“Don’t worry, it’s full proof,” Soul assured.
“You mean foolproof?” Rivet asked.
“That’s what I said.”
“No, you said full proof. It’s pronounced foolproof,” Rivet explained. “That’s how you say it.”
“Stop being a grammar nazi,” Soul commented. “Anyway, like I said, it’s full-”
“Fool.”
“-Grrrr, foolproof!” Soul said irritably. “She won’t know what'll hit-”
“She’s on her way here!” Sonata shouted as she burst through the doors. She was keeping an eye out for the group and looked panicked. “She’s driving her pickup truck and she’s almost here!”
“Alright, everyone stay calm! We just need to keep quiet about this and proceed with our plan as soon as possible,” Rarity said. “Soul, could you text me your plan so I can assist you in anyway possible?”
“You got it,” Soul said as he gave a salute.
“Swift, make sure Thunderlane doesn't know what we’re up to and get him to ask Applejack on a date.”
“Can do,” Swift said.
“Twilight, by any chance, do you happen to have some surveillance equipment?”
“Well, yeah. I used to use them to spy on Sunset when I suspected her as an alien during the Friendship Games,” Twilight said.
“Wait, what!?”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t get anything important,” Twilight assured. “All I did was get some videos of you walking around your apartment, eating, taking a shower, making out with Soul and sleeping. Although from time to time you seemed to be moaning while-”
“Okay, please drop it,” Sunset said bluntly.
“Can I have some of the shower sce-”
*WHACK!*
“GHAAA!”
Sunset backhanded Soul in the face before he fell backwards towards the ground. His legs stood upward as he laid on his back, still sitting in his toppled-over chair.
“No.”
“Here she comes!” Rainbow Dash said.
“Alright, everyone quiet!” Rarity said as she took her seat.
Applejack was whistling as she walked into the cafe. She looked around and saw her friends sitting around a table. She raised a brow when she saw Soul lying on the ground and moaning in pain. She walked over to an open spot at the table and sat down.
“So eh, any reason why Soul is on the ground?” Applejack asked.
“He slipped,” Sunset answered quickly. “He was being too relaxed when he had his feet on the table and he fell over. It was pretty nasty when he fell.”
“Oh well, alright,” Applejack said before she looked at Soul. “That’ll teach ya a lesson about putting y’all’s feet on tables. Ya should have known better than that.”
“But I…. I mean, yeah, that’ll surely teach me a lesson,” Soul said as he got up and stood his chair back up.
“So, what were y’all talking about?” Applejack asked.
“Oh, we were just talking about how…. some of the others from our school have been doing,” Rarity said. “In fact, Swift was just talking about his friend Thunderlane.”
“What? Oh, I mean, yeah he’s been doing good,” Swift said. “He’s a really cool guy, you know? A really honest guy you can trust.”
“That’s true,” Applejack commented.
“Too bad he hasn’t had a girlfriend in a long time,” Swift said. “I bet any girl that went out with him would be lucky.”
“Ah bet they would,” Applejack said as she picked up a menu and was looking through it.
Swift looked at Rarity and gave her a shrug.
Rarity looked at Applejack and cleared her throat. “Applejack, by any chance, you haven’t been going out with someone, have you?” she asked.
Applejack lowered her menu and raised a brow. “Um no, why would ya ask that?” she asked.
“Oh, nothing really,” Rarity replied. “I was just curious is all.”
Applejack squinted at Rarity for a moment. Rarity felt like her soul was being stared into with Applejack’s eyes and sweat was slowly appearing on her forehead. She could tell that Applejack was trying to figure her out and if she failed to keep her composure, Applejack would pick up on her plans and everything would be ruined before they even began. Rarity tried to fight back as best she could from Applejack’s stare, but she was losing ground. In a matter of minutes she would lose this battle and everything would be ruined. Then Sonata got up.
“Applejack, would you go out with me?” Sonata asked.
Everyone at the table went silent for a moment before Applejack smacked herself in the forehead.
“For the last time Sonata, Ah’m not into girls!” Applejack said. “Why do Ah have to keep telling ya this?”
“Please? Just one date?” Sonata said with her puppy eyes.
“No.”
“But if you gave me a chance-”
“No.”
“Then how about-”
“No!”
“Wh-”
“NO!”
Applejack got up from her seat and began to walk off. “Ah’ll catch you guys later. Ah just don’t want to have a conversation with Sonata about why Ah’m not interested in dating girls…. again,” she said and walked out the door.
The moment Applejack was gone, Sonata let out a sigh. “Well, that worked,” she said.
“Wait, you did that on purpose?” Night asked.
“Duh, I mean, at first I meant it after asking her the fifth or sixth time before, but I gave up after that,” Sonata replied. “Plus, it looked like she was about to crack Rarity, so I had to do something.”
“Thank you very much, Sonata,” Rarity said. “How could I ever repay you?”
Sonata rubbed her chin for a moment. “How about giving me someone to go out with?”
Rarity smiled. “Of course, dear. When we’re done with Applejack, I’ll help you find someone to go out with,” she said. “I’m sure there is one boy that would be very interested in going out with you.”
“Thanks, that would be awesome!” Sonata said. “For realsies!”
“Soul, what exactly kind of plan do you have?” Twilight asked. “What would make Applejack change her mind if she says no to Thunderlane?”
“Trust me, she’ll wanna get out of the farm by any means necessary after what I will be putting in motion,” Soul said.
“Alright everyone, let’s get to work,” Rarity said. “Swift, get Thunderlane to go out with Applejack, and Soul, put your plan in motion in case Applejack doesn’t want to go out with Thunderlane.”
“I’m already ahead of that,” Soul said.
“Then let the shipping begin!” Pinkie cheered.
“Shipping? What’s that?” Rarity asked.
“It’s when a bunch of people put two or more people together as lovers,” Pinkie explained. “It’s mostly been used for anime or popular cartoon shows.”
“Pinkie, that’s not what we’re doing,” Rarity said. “We’re pairing two real people together. Not shipping them.”
“But-”
“Pinkie, let’s go,” Rainbow Dash said. “You two will be arguing for hours if you talk about this.”
Pinkie shrugged and walked along with Rainbow Dash. Everyone else got up from their seats and followed suit as each of them was getting ready to lend a hand if Rarity needed them. Rarity stood up with confidence and a sly smile.
“Applejack, you’re going to have your boyfriend soon enough,” she said to herself.
“Um, Rarity? You’re not going to go overboard with this are you?” Clyde asked.
“Of course not, darling. I just want to make sure that every one of my friends have someone special in their lives,” Rarity replied. “Just like how I have plans for Sonata and Twilight. It’s going to be wonderful.”
Rarity walked towards the door while humming a tune while Clyde looked at her from the back with half-lid eyes.
“Yep, she’s already gone overboard,” Clyde commented.