//------------------------------// // The Business Partner // Story: An Orchard of Apples // by DivineGlory //------------------------------// The door slammed behind Rarity as she stomped into Carousel Boutique, her steps rattling the glassware inside slightly. She wasn’t mad at anypony in particular but herself. “How could I think she was pretty? I mean, she is pretty. All my friends are. But Applejack is... she was gorgeous. How could I say something like that out loud? I'm not a lovesick filly on the first day of school! I'm Rarity, fashion designer extraordinaire!" This mindless talk dominated her thinking for a while, before she sighed. “Enough is enough, then. I have unfinished tasks.” She went over to the mannequins, resting her head on the side of one. Alright Rarity, rustic. You've seen rustic before. Just imitate that. Picking up some fabric from the drawer with her light blue magic, she draped them over the back of the fake pony, and threaded the silver sewing needle between them. Thus she was immersed in her work, with the earlier thoughts drifting away.         “Alright, let's drape this yellow cloth here and cross-stitch it into the boots near the back. Wonderful!” she thought. “Now I'll just drape on this beautiful blonde wig here. And then maybe some red mane ties, just like-”         She paused, then smiled faintly at her mental friend, then shook her head. No, this cannot be allowed. This is just a rustic pony. That's all. It just happens to have the same hairstyle as her. And the same work boots she had for the... the same... Duh. Stepping back, she frowned. Well, she is rustic... but... I can do better! Yes, that's it. Her horn glowed again, tossing the existing outfit to the side and layering another piece of cloth on the mannequin.         She tried making a few more outfits, trying to make things look as rustic as possible. Obviously nothing looked satisfactory to her eyes, but then again, it wasn't her style at all. Releasing another sigh, she went back to the drawing board.         The thoughts of a certain farm pony punctuated her strokes of the pencil on the paper. She knew this feeling from before when she had met a few stallions, but it had always been one and one moment only. Infatuation. That's what Twilight had called it when I asked her oh so long ago. She grunted and threw one of the crumbled papers at the door out of anger.           "Rarity?" a small voice asked from the door to her room. "I'm home."         "Oh, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity replied, dropping her pencil and brushing out her mane, which was now severely tangled. "Did you have fun?"         "Of course! No cutie mark though." Sadness was evident in her voice, before she smiled again. "So what's for supper tonight?"         Rarity’s stomach rumbled, her hooves shifting towards the kitchen. "I'll go make some hay fries and daffodil burgers. Would you kindly grab the ingredients, Sweetie?" "What are you making, big sis?" She handed over the items.         "Hm? The dress? Nothing much. Just needed to make something rustic."         "Oh, so that's why you wanted to see Applejack!"         "Yes Sweetie, that's why." Secretly, she ranted at that idea.         The sisters sat on opposite sides of the table, their food fresh and ready in front. Rarity only picked at her serving though. What am I going to do? I can't make rustic clothing. It's always too fancy... so hard to keep these designs simple! Perhaps I should ask Twilight for help instead? Or at least, to see the dress she got for her birthday... I could just sew some apples onto that and- Apples again! Rarity, you need to focus!         "Something the matter, Rarity?"         "Oh, nothing darling, just deep in thoughts for the project."         "Okay."         Rarity continued toying with her food, sighing another time. What am I going to do? Maybe I should just admit that she's pretty. OK? No. That wouldn't work. It would ruin my reputation! How could I ever admit that I like mares? I don't like mares, I like stallions! Grunting, she pushed her dish forward. "Clean this up, Sweetie Belle!"         "Sure!"         Smiling, Rarity retreated to the inspiration room. Staring at the drawings for a few seconds, she abruptly hit her face on the drawing board. "UGH!" she groaned, having realised her horn had carelessly drawn some sketches of her new love when she had first started on the project.         "My mind has gone completely blank except for the thoughts of you. Every time I look at anything, I think of your smile, and of the beautiful colour of your mane. I think of that small way your feet shuffle when you're nervous, and how your nose scrunches up when you're trying to hide something. I would do anything just to..." Rarity stated to herself. She had morphed into a hopeless romantic from those novels Twilight gave her, but her thoughts were confounded. Then there was a knock at the door, to which she stomped her left hoof on the ground.          “It’s open!” Turning around, the door slammed shut behind the visitor. "Who is it?"         "Howdy Rarity!"         "Oh... um... er... hello Applejack.” Stumbling over her words, she tossed some failed designs into the waste basket.“To what do I owe the pleasure of you coming here?"          “Came over to apologize for how I acted ‘t Twilight's. I was a little upset at those stallions and figured I might ha' offended y'all.” Seeing Applejack with only her stetson hat, Rarity blushed, then awkwardly smiled. It's strange how a pony can be so much more enticing when they're wearing clothes... “That’s alright. You just got some unwanted attention, that’s all.” An odd scene ensued, with both looking each other square in the eye. Then Applejack started. “So, what’s this frilly stuff you need help with then?”         "That? Yes, well um..." Applejack followed the fashion designer into her room. "Fancypants! He... he gave me a wonderful project to do that involves making clothes I'm not used to, and I need your help considering it's your type of clothes, not mine like I previously stated, and I figured that I'd come by your farm and ask you but you weren't there so I went to Twili-"         "Rarity?" Applejack interrupted. "Can you make that a teeny bit shorter?"         "I... er... of course. I need your help in designing a new dress line."         "I don't see why ya need my help fer that." She giggled. "Maybe you should ask Fluttershy. She's t’ one with that fancy maths behind sewing."         "No, you misunderstood me dear. I need you specifically. Fancypants requested me to create rustic outfits. And who's more rustic than the one and only Applejack? That is, you."         "Hm... I’ll stick to this, then."         "Let me clean up a bit first." Smiling at the farmer lying on the bed, Rarity floated pieces of scrap material and ruined designs around the room.         "Yer bed sure is comfy," Applejack commented, falling deeper into the feather mattress. Rarity glanced over. What's she doing...in my bed? Trying to cleanse her mind, she turned back and gave a quick noise of recognition before cleaning up more, a bit slower this time.         "Been thinking..." Applejack started as she stared at the top of Rarity's canopy. The pink cascading drapes fell to the sides in an organized fashion that had Applejack tracing her eyes all along it. "...maybe you should just make copies of mah hat, and give those to everypony. Then everypony'd be rustic like me."         Rarity giggled at the simplicity of Applejack's plan. "Really? I think they want more than just a hat." She looked over her shoulder and smiled, to which the other pony responded equally, her green eyes glimmering. A deep feeling formed inside Rarity’s stomach. She quickly turned around.         "You eat anything?" Applejack asked, hanging her hind legs over the side.         "Yes, but not much." Rarity’s stomach growled again, as if it was complaining for not being filled with daffodils.         "We could always scrap this and grab a bite, ya know."         "What? I could... would... no, I need to finish this!"         "Alright then."         Rarity looked haphazardly at Applejack, who was now standing up and walking towards her. She scribbled a few words on the sides of her note paper. "So, I just need something very simple. Like Twilight's dress but...not."         "How ‘bout Twilight's dress?” Applejack asked, the boredom showing in her voice as she tried to quell the flames of the argument.         "Applejack, I called you over here for help, not conversation." Rarity knew this wasn’t a winning position: her feelings would never be reciprocated, and she couldn’t take it.         "Sorry Rarity. I’m just not used to this at all," Applejack replied as she started at the lovely white mare. She brought a hoof up and brushed her long, golden mane down her back. Rarity traced Applejack's hoof down with her eyes, pushing her forelegs a little forward to be closer to the gorgeous, golden mare in front of her. Applejack's mane was inches from her face, and Rarity’s head beat like clockwork. “In the air, ah, there is the smell of-”         "Rarity? You kind of blanked out there fer a second."         Applejack was there, in front of Rarity, standing there on four hooves. Her eyebrows tilted to question Rarity, the other side reaching to turn off the panic button inside. A quick wipe of her hoof took away the few sweat beads that started on her forehead... from her fantasy.         "Sorry Applejack. I was...thinking." She faked a smile and tried to turn back to her work, but the fantasy persisted. Applejack's mane so close to her face, the light scent of apples that presumably came off of it, not by perfume but by natural beauty... "No. I’m being diverted."         "I think we’re doing just fine. I mean, we got a lot done..."         "You're a terrible liar."         "No Ah'm not."         "You're the element of loyalty- no, honesty."         "...Maybe."         “Applejack?” Rarity rolled her eyes at her friend, trying the tricks from Dale Carneighie’s How to Win Friends and Influence Ponies.         "Hm?"         "Do you..." Rarity’s heartbeat quickened, and she felt more sweat coming to her forehead. I need to go to the spa... Her thoughts were pushed back though, as this one question stuck on her tongue. Rarity, what's the worst that could happen? She rejects me? Never. That's crazy. Well, it might happen. But all the other loves went away once the question was answered... "...want to go to the farm? Perhaps I can get inspiration there."         "I don't see what yer looking for," Applejack moaned as she lay on her bed and stared up at Rarity, digging in her closet.         "Anything rustic. Something simple, yet rural. Something that Canterlotites will wear." Rarity poked her head out of the closet and looked at Applejack. "But nothing too fancy or simple, like all your other clothes. I can't recreate the gala dress, considering... that fit you like your cutie mark."         "Don't think I got anythin’ like that."         "I'm sure you do darling." Rarity moved her head back into Applejack's closet, and picked up a hat before throwing it out. Her horn was glowing, but it wasn't bright enough to see everything. She picked up another hat, tossed it out, picked up another hat and tossed it out. "How many hats do you need? Actually, how many hats do you wear?"         "Just this one, but if ‘t were to get dirty or misplaced I'd always have an extra." Grinning, she reclined on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and holding her hat close.         Rarity continued to pull hats out until there were at least 50 all piled up behind her. "I think that's all of them. Now I can look for something else..."         "I’ve told you, you ain't gonna find nothing in there!"         "Again, your nose is scrunched up."         "...Maybe." Rarity shook her head at Applejack's lie and returned to the closet, her eyes starry from the farmer. Her horn glowed a bit brighter as she remembered her fantasy from before.           "Rarity?" a voice inquired, the fact that she was off the bed evading Rarity’s notice. "I saw some bluish glow and figured it's weird for a unicorn's horn to be so bright..." Noticing something under a pile of clothes, Rarity’s horn ceased glowing. "Yes! One second Applejack! I think I foundit!"         "There's nothing in there!" Applejack shouted, stepping back from the obsessed Rarity. Her face scrunched up.         Out came Rarity, once submerged in clothing, holding a short orange dress with a simple plaid pattern on it that intersected at a frill back. "It's perfect! Er... Applejack?"         "Yes Rarity?"         "Where is this beautiful piece of cloth from?"         "Beg yer pardon?"         "Why do you have this?"         "Oh. No reason really..." Applejack's face scrunched up again.         "Can I take it home as a model?"         "Well...sure, I guess. Just make sure it's all in one piece when it gets back."         "Trust me, AJ, I will!" Rarity took the dress and draped it on her own back, worried that it might become wrinkled if she threw it in her saddlebags. Looking down at the entire mess, she tossed everything back as it was into the closet. "Come by in two day's time. I'll need your help again." With that, Rarity quickly hugged her friend and galloped out of Sweet Apple Acres. AN: Thank you to Parcly Taxel for editing my fiction before I published it. Also thank you to the readers and to those who critique in the comments.