A Rare Apple

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

Sweetie Interruptions

Rarity gave the eyelash brush one last stroke before setting it down. She walked away from the vanity and to the full body mirror. A smile spread across her face as she turned back and forth, checking how she looked in her dress. It was a simpler design, and the purple was a redder tint than she usually wore. But it would work well for a simple first date, and the color would complement both herself and Macintosh wonderfully.

"What'ch doin'?" a young voice asked. Rarity's eyes went wide at the sound, recognizing it. Praying to herself that she was wrong and just imagining things, she quickly turned around. Standing at the door to her room was a much younger white unicorn, her mane and tail a curly mess of pastel colored pink and purple. The filly's green eyes shined brightly as she looked up at Rarity with a smile.

"Sweetie Belle?" Rarity asked "What are you doing here?"

"Mom and Dad went out for the weekend," Sweetie Belle shouted excitedly, "So they dropped me off to stay with the best big sister in the whole world!" The filly jumped in the air with excitement at the last part, grinning as wide as she could.

Of course, Rarity thought to herself, rolling her eyes.

"You look so pretty," the filly said as she moved closer to her sister. "What'cha doing?"

"Well I was-" Rarity was interrupted by a knock.

"I'll get it!" Sweetie Belle shouted as she turned and ran for the door. Rarity let out a sigh before following. As she reached the front room of her boutique, the door was already open. The sight made the unicorn stop, her breath catching in her throat. She stood there, staring as Big Macintosh stepped inside.

The stallion had not done much about his appearance before his arrival. His mane, which usually was slightly spiked and unkempt, had been cleaned and brushed to lay down properly. Macintosh also did not wear his yoke, his neck bare and free of the work equipment. It was quite a shock as Rarity had never seen him without it before. She doubted that anyone had other than his family. Slung across his back was a saddle bag, the large green apple cutie mark clasp holding it shut.

Macintosh had not noticed Rarity right away. He was looking down at Sweetie Belle, the young unicorn seeming to be just as stunned as her sister. Eventually his attention turned from the younger unicorn as he stepped further into Carousel Boutique. Macintosh looked at Rarity, and his smile grew wider.

The sense of intimidation fell away as soon as she saw the look on his face. The expression made him look more like some innocent young colt than a massive stallion. It was a reminder of why those that knew Big Macintosh thought of him as a gentle giant instead of just a powerfully built earth pony. It also made Rarity think if things had gone just a little different, then perhaps he would have been the element of honesty. She could not imagine someone who looked like that to be capable of lying.

Although it made her feel less intimidated, the look also made it harder for what she was about to have to do. Taking a deep breath, she moved closer.

"I'm sorry Macintosh," she said, "but I'm afraid we are going to have to re-schedule our date for another time. I have to take care of Sweetie Belle."

"What?!" Sweetie Belle shouted. "No! You got all dressed up and pretty. I don't want you to cancel because of me."

"It's all right," Rarity responded. "Macintosh understands, don't you?"

"More than," Macintosh said in his slow thick drawl.

"Besides," she continued, unaware of her accidentally interrupting him from speaking again, "you are too young to stay at home by yourself. So Macintosh and I will re-schedule our date, and you and I will stay here and find some way to entertain ourselves."

"Or she could come with us." The stallion's comment drew the attention of both the unicorns. Sweetie Belle reacted first. She took in a deep breath as a wide grin spread across her face.

"Can I?" she asked, hopping up and down. "Can I Rarity? Pleeeeaaaase?" She made her eyes as large as she could, looking up at her sister.

"Well if he has no problem with it," Rarity responded, "then I see no reason why not. Just give us one minute, and then we will get going." Sweetie Belle gave a nod and ran off. Rarity watched her go.

"Not quite the romantic evening I had been hoping for." She turned to Big Macintosh. "However, we will get to spend some time together and get a better understanding if there is any possible chemistry between us. There's just one minor adjustment I would like to make first." Her horn took on it white glow as she used her magic. A piece of dark blue fabric floated in the air and toward the two. Rarity wrapped it around Big Macintosh's neck, tying it into a bow tie.

"There we go," she said. "Not your normal color, I know, but it looks good. Besides it really brings out the green of your eyes and cutie mark." She looked down at the floor a moment. "Also... Thank you. Sweetie Belle seems very happy that I don't have to cancel."

"Eyup," Macintosh responded. "Ah know how it is to have a sister that needs to be looked after. Though yours don't seem as headstrong as AJ was at that age. Shall we?"

"Sweetie Belle," Rarity shouted, "Come on darling, it's time to get going." Sweetie Belle, with all the enthusiastic energy of youth, came running through the boutique and out the door. Big Macintosh moved aside to let her pass, then gave an "after you" motion to Rarity. This elicited a smile from the adult unicorn as she left, waiting for Macintosh to follow before shutting the door behind them.

Comments

[Romalisk]

Very nice. Has the feelings of a slow paced romance. We need more of these as opposed to the "Hi, we just met and let's fuck because I think you're cute" stories that littler the net. Quick suggestion though, space out your paragraphs. Just hit enter one extra time and it makes the story look better. Right now, it seems to be a well done wall of text. Space it out and it will look like a professional story.