Never Let Me Go

by Argenti Luna

Chapter 1.3 : The last of the group

On that very same morning, the sun was beginning to rise for someone else, its ray of light shining against a collection of trees revealing the bright red apples that glistened as the sun hit the skin of the fruit giving a red glow to the ground. The only lively thing upon this quiet orchard was a coop filled with chickens resting upon fresh eggs, from amongst the rows of hens arose a rooster awoken by the natural light of the sun who began to walk out into the small pen surrounding the coop to giv his usual morning crow. It was this caw that stirred the small world of the farm waking animal and person alike, in particular, a farm girl that had fallen asleep the night before on a few bales of hay her cowboy hat having slid over down over her face. She slowly sat up catching her hat on her thighs and placing it upon her head adjusting it to fit tightly and rubbing at her eyes.

“APPLEJACK!” a young voice called out, “WHERE ARE YOU?”

Applejack knew this voice it was her younger sister Applebloom who had no doubt been told to find the resting cowgirl.

“Am here in the barn sugar cube, I musta dozed off last night after putting all the tools away.”

“SHE'S IN THE BARN GRANNY,” the young girl cried out before sticking her head into the barn wearing a nightgown covered in an apple print, “You’ve been in the barn all night Applejack how could ya sleep out here when you got a comfy bed inside?” the young girl asked confused.

Applejack yawned before replying in a groggy voice, “It was an accident Applebloom guess I was jus exhausted after working yesterday and besides I’ve slept on a fair few floors in my time when having sleepovers this hay bale is like an angels kiss compared to that blasted spare mattress dash had.”

Applebloom just looked at her older sister and giggled watching her rub the sleep from her eyes for the fifth time since she had seen her, “if you say so big sis anyway breakfast will be done soon I gotta just get the morning eggs, come in when you finally wake up.”

Applejack rolled her eyes climbing to her feet and heading out the barn to see the rising sun, stretching her arms to her side and cracking her back as she let out a final yawn.

“Don’t you worry none Applebloom I’ll handle the chickens you go and get yourself inside.”

Not wanting to even attempt to argue and lose a chance to avoid work Applebloom went running back into the house telling Granny Smith the outcome of the interaction and heading upstairs to get ready.

Meanwhile, Applejack was taking off her Stetson and turning it upside down to create a makeshift egg basket, diving headfirst into the chicken coop to gather up the eggs and place them softly inside of the hat. She slowly picked up the hat as to not damage any of the eggs and carried them across the farm and into the home of the Apple family. Applejack headed inside pushing open the kitchen door and placing her hat down on the table. Just then an old woman slowly walked into the room complaining to herself about something stopping surprised when she spotted her granddaughter delivering the eggs, “Oh hey there Applejack you look gosh dang awful how many times do I gotta tell you to not sleep out there in the barn, now hurry off and get yerself cleaned up right.”

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Applejack turned to look at Granny with guilt in her eyes, “aww shucks I’m sorry granny it was an accident,” she sighed guiltily heading towards the stairs only to be stopped by a young Applebloom charging down in her direction nearly knocking her down while talking on the phone to her friends about what activities they were going to try today.

“It's alright just don’t want you getting sick, the nights are getting colder as we get closer to winter,” a concerned Granny said as the last thing before starting to cook breakfast, “And Applebloom slow down ya gosh darn nearly toppled ya sister over.”

Applebloom went quiet for a moment out of guilt but quickly chirped back up as the conversation with her friends on her phone started to involve her again. Meanwhile Applejack was already halfway up the stairs crossing a larger character, her older brother big Macintosh or big Mac for short, they exchanged short glances as they crossed the older brother quickly realising the situation at the sight of his sister with her clothes still being clad in the dirt of yesterday and clumps of straw sticking out from her hair and pockets. He gave a small chuckle knowing too well he had been in that situation more than a few times letting her cross past him and shoot into the bathroom. The farmgirl quickly fiddled around with her buttons and belt undressing and stepping into the shower cleaning herself of all the dirt and dust, she couldn’t expect to show up at school covered in muck especially with a friend like Rarity. She’d get such an earful for even standing in proximity of the prissy girl while covered mud, Applejacks thoughts drifted her fashion-loving friend.

“It's not like I want to impress her anything just want to look decent, so I don’t get an earful.” The now soaked girl thought to herself as she stepped out the shower wrapping a towel around her to dry herself off and heading out of the bathroom.

Applejack at this point was stood in front of her wardrobe her skin softly glowing from being freshly dried her eyes scanning her wardrobe as she decided what she should wear. As her eyes prowled a glimmer of light caught drawing her attention to a beautiful gown that even a rugged girl like her could appreciate. It had been personally hand crafted by Rarity for the fall formal that took place last semester, she stared at it quietly realising just how well the dress reflected everything about her, wasn’t even all that dressy or flashy. The farm girl wondered if Rarity was simply a good designer or if she’d paid extra attention to her to make sure it was perfect. In Applejacks mind she knew full well it was because she was an incredibly skilled seamstress with an unmatchable eye for fashion, she had made all of her friends their perfect dresses after all. Although despite the evidence a small part of her hoped there was more too it.

“Damm AJ what are you thinking?” The farm girl thought to herself snapping out of her daydream.

Applejack grinned at how silly she was for even considering there was more to it, Hell she didn’t even know if she had a thing for girls never mind for Rarity, she lay the thoughts to rest moving on from the dress and grabbing a some more casual clothes for herself to wear.

Applejack crammed her books into her bag along with a raincoat and slung it over her shoulder heading out of her door and down into the kitchen to see what great food Granny Smith had whipped up. Entering the kitchen she saw the old Apple setting down a few plates for the other two members of the Apple family. It was a simple breakfast but that doesn’t mean it was any less filling or any less delicious, after all, if there was anything Granny Smith could do it was a fill a belly, there was a reason she’d been hired time and time again as the head chef of the Canterlot high lunch lady team. The family sat down together enjoying their breakfast as they sat talking about school, friends and the state of the farm, along with the preparations they’d need to make for winter. The table fell silent and all that could be heard was the clinking of cutlery when a young Applebloom decided to pipe up informing the table that the cutie mark crusaders had a new activity to find their special talent. Rock climbing, apparently there was an extra curriculum event after school all about it. Applejack knew what this meant, she was going to have to stick around for an hour or so at the end of the day so that she could still bring her younger sibling home on time. Although for once this activity didn’t sound too bad, much better than tap dancing in her opinion heck she might even give it a go herself. Once breakfast was all cleared up Applejack warned her younger sister to go and collect her things as they needed to leave for school in Applejacks truck.

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In another corner of the town, a certain fashionista was starting her day, she began much like Twilight by waking to the sound of an alarm clock however her own was set much earlier than the scientists as Rarity had to make sure she looked perfect. It wasn’t that she wanted to impress someone she simply took great pride in her appearance, and after all, it was just her job to represent the fashion world in her group of unlikely friends. She starts with the usual sequence of heading into her on suite bathroom and turning on the shower letting the steam begin to fill the room allowing her to easily peel away at the face mask she’d put on the night before, taking the time to admire the soft and clear skin it left behind. With that over with she was ready to get showered stepping inside and closing the door shut letting the hot water hit her skin and run down over her body, but this was only the start as she would need to use her two separate body washes and then the face wash before using shampoo and conditioner a lengthy process but the upcoming fashion designer felt it was completely necessary. Once she was satisfied Rarity turned the taps off shutting off the water and letting the steam disperse adding a slight chill to the air, she didn’t like this, leading her to grab several towels and a robe covering herself head to toe in soft plush material wrapping her hair within the towel and draping the robe over herself heading back into her bedroom to locate her hair dryer and brush. She had a technique like no other heating the towel from the outside using the hair dryer to let small streams of hot hair flow through the tiny gaps in the towel letting it dry in a way that left it light and soft the touch but let it keep its curled shape. She would then spend over 10 minutes looking through one of her various wardrobes at the mix of purchased and crafted clothing trying to figure out what would be the perfect outfit for today, it had to be trendy but unique, stunning but practical, and with that she went for her typical royal purple skirt and baby blue blouse.

“There is nothing wrong with having a style you are renowned for,” She thought to herself, “especially one that’s so divinely made.”

Rarity slowly spun around in her mirror marvelling at her handiwork checking herself up and down to ensure there were no creases or folds in clothing, once satisfied she headed downstairs with the aim of finding the perfect healthy breakfast. She settled for a fruit salad neatly cutting and slicing at the various fruits blending a few up to create a type of sauce to increase its flavour before finishing it with a small sprinkle of thyme. She smiled at her creation taking it to the table and preparing a napkin before sitting down and starting to eat. Just then her rather rugged father came into the kitchen half-dressed and even less awake opening the fridge and taking a drink directly from the milk bottle causing rarity to gag in disgust.

“I’d really much prefer it if you would get a cup for that, you know we all have to use that don’t you”.

Her dad turned to towards her putting the milk back and rolling his eyes, “I paid for it I can drink it how I like,” he said slightly irritated he was already getting an earful so early in the morning before letting out a belch causing Rarity to gag again and her father to laugh. It was here the only other dignified lady of the house entered the room instantly become aware of the situation and giving the man a filthy look.

“Honey, don’t drink directly from the bottle it’s rather disgusting.”

That was Rarity’s mother Cookie Crumbles the only one of her parents that let you understand how Rarity fit into the family, her father was scruffy and frankly gross at times while her mother was always calm and clean definitely the neater of the pair but Rarity loved them both for who they were and while she would prefer it if her father would decrease some of his more gross outbursts like the belches. She knew while she could have the fashion world at her fingertips if she worked hard enough somethings she could never change. It reminded her of her one of her friends Applejack who lived and worked in an apple orchard on the outskirts of town, she was much like her father acting rather boyish accompanied with her own set of vulgar and tasteless moments, but she wouldn’t wish her to change either. She had grown rather close to the farm girl much closer than with a few of her other friends but that was only because for as much as they would clash they would also learn more about each other. These happy thoughts of Rarity's were quickly snatched away from her as her sister came charging into the kitchen on the phone to her group of friends one of which was Applebloom Applejacks younger sister.

“Sweetie Belle,” Cookie Crumbles called out in a warning voice, “how many times do I have to tell you about running in the house, the outdoors is for running not my kitchen.”

Sweetie stopped in place looking at the ground trying to hide the expression of guilt growing across her face, “Sorry Mom I will try my best to remember that,” She remained looking at the floor and sheepishly slid into the nearest chair at the table sitting across from Rarity and spotting her breakfast of assorted fruits reaching over to take a few pieces causing Rarity’s jaw to drop in a mix of shock and betrayal.

“Sweetie, please don’t touch mine my diet requires me to stick within the calorie guidelines I can't have you messing me up,” Rarity complained now eating ever cautious, ever watching. Sweetie Belle rather quickly gave up deciding it was best to get her own breakfast, much to Rarity’s horror as from a few inches away the young girl was hastily and quite messily tipping cereal into a bowl spilling some over the table. Sweetie lunged towards the fridge grabbing the milk and pouring it into the bowl also spilling drops of that over the table leaving a rather unimpressed Rarity to ponder how she could be related to such an untidy person. However, her questions were very soon to be answered as her father returned back into the kitchen making himself a bowl of cereal in very much the same fashion and manner as Sweetie Belle. Rarity hastily finished up her breakfast, she knew it was unladylike to rush but she couldn’t risk being covered in food, excusing herself from the table and washing her dish.

“Sweetie Belle we’re leaving for school in 20 minutes so make sure you are ready,” Sweetie tried to reply but was quickly stopped by her mother the second she opened her mouth due to her breakfast still being contained inside of her mouth causing her to go quiet and simply nod leaving Rarity free to go up to her room and work on her designs. Usually, Rarity would use this spare time before school to peruse the latest fashion trends and etiquette, but she had no time for that the Canterlot high Christmas ball was coming up and it was her job to ensure she and her friends glistened like diamonds by personally making each of their dresses. She went over to her desk and sifted through the many binders and folders of collages and design patterns she had created scanning through for the one she’d developed for her friends taking it out and opening it up. Inside the folder was cut up into sections for each of her friends listing previous outfits they’ve worn that suited them well and along with their sizes, style, hobbies and interests. She flicked through the many pages not because she needed reminding about who her friends were but because she needed inspiration. These last few days the fashionista had found herself dried up of ideas racking her brain, hoping for a spark of inspiration. Rarity sat there twiddling her thumbs her mind acing between her friends she’d made such brilliant things for them in the past, why was she struggling now. Her thoughts drifted between her friends before landing on Applejack, finding herself lingering onto the thought of her and how much effort went into her dress.

“How are you gonna top that Rarity,” She announced loudly to herself before being startled by a knock at the door.

“Who is it, you may come in,” Rarity said composing herself and hiding her frustration.

The door slowly opened, and her younger sister popped her head into the room, “it’s Sweetie we need to leave for school soon.”

Rarity tapped her finger against her phone causing the screen to light up showing a picture of her and all her friends together, causing a smile to fill her face along with even more determination to create the perfect dresses, but that wasn’t why she checked her phone. She was looking for the time and upon seeing it was getting close to 8 her younger sister was correct and they did need to head out.

Author's Note:

So this is the end of the morning stuff, we've emt our characters and know the situations.

Hope you've enjoyed it so far and now we can get to the plot.