Diamond Tiara Apple Princess

by vamparity

3 - You're Blushing Again

That dumb cowpony running off and leaving her behind to play some foalish game--it infuriated Diamond Tiara. Entering the Apple family's home and being bombarded by how cozy and full of life it felt, it knocked through her rage to expose the lonely little filly inside her. Surrounded by pictures full of smiling ponies, some of a younger Apple Bloom with others who clearly loved her, it darkened her mood.

Losing their race to find the photogenic redhead already putting two plates on a table, with what looked like a slice of delicious apple pie, and patting a seat next to her--no mention of the stakes of pig washing, no bragging at having beaten her, not even a hint of bratty behavior--it sent Diamond straight into an internal depression.

Lost to her own nightmare night, she acted on instinct, cringing inside at her every action. She pushed the plate to the other side of the table and sat herself, nose raised and eyes closed with a "Hmph!"

"Aw, come on, don't be sore. I was only playing."

Apple Bloom's adorable accent melted her heart. She stuffed herself full of apple pie to ignore the weird feelings. It didn't help.

"Celestia, this is..." She mumbled, before swallowing, "Absolutely disgusting. Did you make it?"

She waited for some kind of upset reply that never came. Sneaking one eye open, she spied on the yellow pony across from her. Her face wasn't angry at all. Instead, she looked relaxed, even pleased with herself, giving her a smile as bright as sunshine.

"So you did make it. Should have known." She shoved another large piece into her salivating mouth. "Maybe," she mumbled with her mouth partially closed, "You're not as useless as you look."

"Uh-huh, keep telling yourself that."

Diamond Tiara patted her mouth with a nearby napkin. "I haven't ate anything all day," she lied. "Hard to mess up apples and sugar. Any moron could make this."

A giggle escaped Apple Bloom's lips. "Your cheeks sure are extra pink today."

Diamond Tiara blushed harder, trying to hide it with a mean stare.

"Look, as much fun as it is to be the one picking on you for a change, I feel like I need to clue you in on a little something." Apple Bloom took a bite of pie, taking a moment to chew and swallow like a proper adult for added emphasis. She continued, "My sis might be the element of honesty, but even she tries to fib on occasion. We all can spot it a mile away."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Diamond crossed her hooves, her blush fading.

Apple Bloom casually finished another bite. "It means say what you mean, and mean what you say. I can read your tells."

"Excuse me, my tells?"

"Sure thing! Like that pretty pink blush on your face."

"Yeah, well, whatever."

"Come on, it's nothing to be ashamed about. I know you're only joking and trying to be cute--"

"Am not," Diamond quickly interrupted.

"--But would it hurt you to just tell me you enjoyed my pie?"

"I enjoyed your pie. There, are you happy now?"

"Now say thank you."

Diamond Tiara sighed. "Okay... thank you, mom."

"You're welcome," Apple Bloom giggled. "See? Wasn't so bad."

They stared at each other. Diamond Tiara evaluated the new power dynamic between them, in a purely business sense, and concluded that she did not approve. But, the insufferable redhead had a point. Manners are manners; she is a civilized pony. It didn't excuse the fact that she was treating her like some kind of ungrateful foal. She would figure out some way to get back at her for this. It gave her a villainous smile.

"Eh-heh," Apple Bloom half-heartedly chuckled, seeing her newfound smile. "You okay there? Didn't mean to be condescending or anything."

"Oh, I'm quite alright. Thank you for asking," Diamond Tiara replied in her formal pageant winning tone. "What's next?"

"Well, we wash the dishes, I guess."

"You wash the dishes here?"

"Yeah," Apple Bloom eyed her suspiciously. "Who else is going to?"

Diamond Tiara looked away, sheepishly. She quickly took Apple Bloom's plate with her own to prevent the conversation from diving any deeper. She had watched Randolf do the dishes before, so she was sure she could do it too. She deposited the dishes into the sink in the kitchen and began cleaning them for the first time since she could remember, though she wanted to feel like she had done so before. It was quite simple, she repeated to herself. She just had to channel her inner Randolf.

An unnerving feeling ran up her back, causing her hair to stand on end. She turned her head to see Apple Bloom leaning in the doorway, with what Diamond could only describe as eyes ogling her. She dropped one of the dishes into the sink with a watery plop.

"Aint never seen a pony do dishes like that before."

She racked her brain as to what that could possibly mean. Was she doing it wrong? She coughed, "You're more than welcome to join me."

"I don't know," Apple Bloom pretended to be in thought, "Feel like you need to put on some skimpy maid outfit with the way you're acting. You'd look right nice in one."

Diamond Tiara lowered her tail and tried to relax her posture. "Celestia, Bloom, didn't know you were such a perv."

"You wish."

Apple Bloom moseyed up beside her, finally helping. A semi-comfortable silence ensued, but Diamond couldn't shake the tinge of awkwardness in the air. Apple Bloom's advice rang in her ears about how to say what you mean, to not lie. Was there a tell she missed? Did she mean any of whatever that was?

Their hooves brushed against each other under the water. She wasn't paying attention. Apple Bloom gave her another chuckle. She gave her a stink eye.

"You're blushing again."

---

Their day had continued in much the same way. Apple Bloom had seemed to win each quip war. Out of habit, Diamond Tiara felt she had to get her back, but she also realized she had softened up quite a lot since their younger schoolyard days. She wasn't a blank flank anymore, but something else entirely. It almost felt like they were friends, and really close friends at that.

This was especially true of the mud fight they had just finished. While she hadn't washed the pigs by herself as dictated by the rules of Apple Bloom's impromptu race, they had in fact washed pigs. Maybe it was from the shock and trauma of it all, but Diamond felt the need to playfully slop mud on Apple Bloom's face. She had responded by slapping some on her cutie mark. Next thing she knew, they were giggling and wrestling in the mud.

They now found themselves in the shower. She thought to ask who wanted to go first, but Apple Bloom simply nudged her in and followed. She supposed this was perfectly normal, and very exciting. She playfully laughed as Apple Bloom sprayed water on her and took her turn holding the shower head in her mouth to hose her down in kind. They even took turns drying each other, giggling like fillies with wet towels in mouth, rubbing their heads into each other's most ticklish parts, which seemed to be anywhere and everywhere.

Downstairs, the Apples had what she could only describe as a feast. While it was mostly apple related dishes, as expected, it was surprising to her. She didn't know what to do with so much food, but gladly followed Apple Bloom's example as they eyed each other knowingly. She was telling her it was okay to pig out.

And pig out they did.

"Apple Bloom! Mind your manners," Applejack reprimanded her.

Diamond felt foalish as she was doing the same thing, having allowed the sly redhead to trick her. She softly kicked her under the table.

With a smirk, she received a gentle kick back.

Before she could continue the secret kicking war, Granny Smith coughed musically, "So, I noticed you spent all day with that high class pony friend of yours. You two a thing yet?"

Diamond Tiara broke out into a hot blush. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Applejack.

"Come on, Granny," she moaned, "Like I told you before, we're not like that. We had a lot of, uh... work related stuff to talk about."

Another hidden leg jab under the table brought Diamond Tiara's eyes away from staring at her plate to Apple Bloom. She was tapping her muzzle, scrunching it up as if she had something sour in her mouth, and pointed at Applejack. Diamond turned to see the same expression on Applejack's face. She turned back to Apple Bloom to see her roll her eyes, amusedly.

"Aint nothing wrong with falling for a pretty mare with a lot of money," Granny Smith continued. "Although they do have that high maintenance thing to worry about. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Diamond Tiara swallowed a bite of some kind of apple tart. She noticed Granny Smith was eying Apple Bloom as she was talking, which was odd.

The conversation ventured off into other subjects, some receiving a few words from Big Mac that surprised Diamond Tiara--she had never heard him say more than a single word, ever. Maybe he wasn't a weirdo after all.

Once they were finished, Diamond Tiara thanked them for the wonderful meal and offered to do the dishes. Granny Smith shook her head, insisting she would take care of it. They ended up joining her in the kitchen anyway, listening to the old lady recall stories and even what sounded like the start of an embarrassing tale about Apple Bloom and a dress that the mare clearly didn't want said in front of her current company, quickly distracting her grandmother by bringing up other memories. It gave her a warm feeling.

Was this what her father wanted her to experience? She had good times with her own family. She tried to remember. Her mother would tell embarrassing stories about her. It didn't quite give her a warm feeling, though.

Before she knew it, it was nighttime. Everypony said their goodnights, and she nervously followed Apple Bloom into her bedroom.

If Diamond Tiara could use one word to describe the difference between the room and her own, it would be 'wooden'. Like the rest of the house, there was no carpet, only rugs and wood floors. The furniture looked old and expensive, but used. This troubled her for some reason.

Looking to the bed, she rolled her eyes. The pillow cases were decorated with apples. She stopped herself from rolling her eyes again upon seeing the odd painting above the bed, of some crudely drawn, purple-haired filly running in the sun.

Apple Bloom opened a drawer, pulled some blankets out with her mouth, and kicked the drawer closed with her back hoof. While it wouldn't match her room's decor or fashion, she could not deny that the dresser looked like an antique. It was quite possible it was worth more than her entire suite, minus her jewelry and a few of her dresses.

"My mom would kill me if I treated my furniture like that," she found herself speaking.

"Good thing your mom aint here," Apple Bloom smirked back.

She shared the smile. She was right, her mom wasn't here. In a fit of ecstasy, she jumped onto the bed with her hoofs held forward as if she were flying. With a soft bounce, she pulled herself forward to the edge of the bed, watching with newfound curiosity as to what the young Apple was up to.

She was making what looked like a bed of blankets on the floor. Diamond Tiara frowned. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Just getting ready for bed."

"Oh, okay."

She watched her finish, before she followed her to the bathroom to brush teeth. Apple Bloom finished with a hard spit that made Diamond gag, choking on the water she was rinsing her mouth with. Laughter followed, neither speaking with any words, but an assortment of faces.

They returned to find the room was lit in a cold blue. The night spilled through a slightly opened window. The entire room was covered in the sounds from outside and a small breeze, making the space feel even more alive than it did before. Maybe Luna wasn't completely crazy, Diamond Tiara thought. The night felt like the start of a whole new day.

She watched Apple Bloom walk to her makeshift bed on the floor before climbing into her bed.

Staring at the ceiling, not used to her surroundings, and ignoring a hot mix of thoughts swirling in her head, she shuffled to the edge and dropped a hoof off the side. She hoped to be able to nudge her companion, but her arm wasn't long enough. She sighed, giving up. She couldn't sleep and wanted to talk, but about what? She didn't know.

Before she could think of how to break the silence, she felt something touch her hoof.

An electric shock ran through her spine. She dared not turn her head, keeping her eyes on the ceiling. Apple Bloom was holding her hoof.

Her mind ran through a dozen scenarios: maybe it was her imagination, it couldn't be her hoof, perhaps she was asleep and touched her accidentally, or was it on purpose? Her heart slammed inside her ears. There was no way she'd be able to sleep now.

She tried to cough, wanting to say something, but it came out weak and made her cringe. She felt the other hoof stir.

"Can't sleep either, huh?" Apple Bloom's words floated in the darkness.

Diamond Tiara blinked a few times, not sure if she had really heard it or if it was her imagination. Pushing past a nervous sweat, she rolled herself to her side and looked down. Apple Bloom was staring at the ceiling, her head resting on a pillow with her red hair spilling over it in every direction, floating about much like an alicorn's would, her pink ribbon nowhere to be seen. In the dim blue glow, Diamond sucked in her next breath. She was beautiful. Painfully, impossibly beautiful. Maybe it was the way the night colored her, softening the bright fire of her usual features, but she looked like a princess.

"Hey," She heard herself say, one of her ears flicking as if she were listening to a voice that wasn't her own, "Plenty of room on your bed."

She waited and heard no response, looking at the redhead's distant stare.

Clearing her throat, she tried again, "Come on, only dogs sleep on the floor." She meant for it to sound more threatening, but it had come out squeaky.

That caused a reaction, she smirked. Apple Bloom turned to face her, eyes wide, and lowered her hoof away. They were no longer touching.

"Fine, whatever!" Diamond Tiara hissed, rolling to the other side of the bed in rage. She began to doubt her weird feelings and question whatever that was. Holding hoofs like that was for foals, she told herself. They were messing with each other like it was just another day at school. She pulled the covers tight around her, bringing her legs close. It didn't mean anything. She had to think of how to spin it so she would get the last laugh.

Her body softly waved about as she felt another pony climb onto the bed. Her ear turned to catch the sound of the covers being pulled and wrinkled around another naked body. She could feel the heat of another mare behind her, getting closer, until it was slammed against her a bit too forcibly. She pictured the other mare with a smug grin. And then it hit her...

Apple Bloom was spooning her. A hoof slowly wrapped itself over her barrel, the other snaking its way under her pillow around her neck.

She tried to wiggle in protest, but it only made the other mare tighten her hug. With a strong heat across her face, Diamond realized how nice it felt, even when pretending to struggle.

She gave up and allowed herself to be held under the blankets. The day's work and new experiences washed over her body, weighing down her eyelids. She tried to fight it again, but a yellow hoof rubbed her belly, not even bothering to pretend to hold her down as if she would escape. She rubbed the hoof in sleepy thought.

She would get Apple Bloom back for this. To think she could be dominated by some beautiful farmer brat! She would... she yawned. She would do something and it would be lovely revenge. Her thoughts melted into dreams, hot breaths splashing the back of her neck.

Comments

[Norad2]

"You're welcome," Apple Bloom giggled. "See? Wasn't so bad."
They stared at each other. Diamond Tiara evaluated the new power dynamic between them, in a purely business sense, and concluded that she did not approve. .

No kidding! AB is ridiculously smooth in this story! Possibly a little too smooth. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but dang!

[Fervidor]

You know the funny thing is, aside from technically being just a seamstress, Rarity's parents are implied to be millers. So, in all likelihood, she's just as working class as Applejack and just pretends to be fancy.

This makes a lot of sense given her behavior around actual high society ponies, like in Sweet and Elite. Girl is in serious denial.

[Naturefang]

"You're blushing again."

Can't hold it in any longer...
HEY! YOU TWO SHOULD KISS!!!