Applejack and Rainbow Dash enter a period of struggle featuring reconsideration, confusion, evidence-checking, embarrassment, and more. Now, what's causing all that?
In short, what these two ponies remember about their experiences with tickling is that they don't like it. They don't want to be tickled.
But now... they do. They question if the memory sources they draw their dislike of being tickled from are reliable to how it would feel in a different setting.
No use not trying, right? Well, they agree, but it's not like they can just ask anypony to tickle them... right? No, that's too embarrassing. It's too sappy for these tough tomboys...
...but they want to be tickled.
I wrote a blog in which I quoted several parts of this story and made comments about them. I sure do have a lot of post-writing process thoughts on this story. I'd love to see you guys there!
No matter the consistently increasing number of different positions used, summoning of the ever-known technique called counting sheep (cows in her case), trying to just lock her eyes shut and go to darn sleep... zero success. Despite the dreariness of her eyelids and complete inability to do any "awake" activities, her body just wouldn't have it.
C'mon, y'all! I got chores to do tomorrow!, she thinks, pounding her pillow in frustration.
But it's of no change. Seconds after she releases that vent, her mind travels nowhere but straight back to this other topic that is impossible for her to push out. She sighs and lets it win, deciding to launch the full review.
To be honest, "her body wouldn't have it" may not be the most accurate description. It's far more correct to say "her mind wouldn't have it", because tonight, Applejack has dived head-first deep into a whirling ocean of focused thinking.
What could be on her mind that's of such importance that she's letting it take precedence over sleep?
Well, let's have her explain:
I want to do it. I know I do. I can feel it.
...But that's too embarrassing!
What would that "it" be?
Gah, I want to... but... it's too sappy! A bulk-muscle farm professional like me can't ask to be tickled! I'd get made fun of! My image would be stained!
Oh. That's what.
Yep, here in Applejack's brown barn bedroom at Sweet Apple Acres, this long, dark, solitary night is featuring the mind-numbingly sudden, completely unexplained appearance of, in Applejack's view, an extremely bizarre desire.
Out of absolutely nowhere, she is, during this night, stricken with the urge to be tickled. Yep, you read that right. Tickled. To have somepony perform the rather unique form of touching on her that brings out the laughs.
No way in Equestria did Applejack ever expect this... thing to show up at her doorstep.
But here it is. It's here, with her, and her response to it features a bouncing cluster of embarrassment, confusion, and indecisiveness.
This whole mind-exhausting ordeal that's causing Applejack to lose out on sleep and likely remove her ability to get farm chores done tomorrow is only bothering her more by the fact that it didn't make a flying waterdrop of sense. Did she really want to be tickled? When it comes to her and tickling, all she remembers from her experiences is that she does not like having that stimulation done to her. She'd avoid it at every twist and turn.
From the aforementioned (successful, at that) tickle torture attempt by Trixie to get Applejack to do her bidding, to the time in Applejack's fillyhood that playground bullies used it to get her off a swing (yikes!), she had her consensus.
Heck, in a recent day, when she was attending a Pinkie Pie party that featured an event courtesy of Pinkie for ponies to get tickled by her, when Applejack was offered, she said "No thanks. Bein' tickled ain't somethin' I like."
Tonight, however, she's questioning if that's true or not. And in tandem... she's curious about it! She wants to experience tickling again, to give her preference a modern-day test!
Which she would be doing, if not for this upon that.
But it ain't make no sense! I remember that time, with what happened with Trixie! I was begging for her to stop! Why am I suddenly thinkin' I'd like it?!
And even if I would, who in Equestria would I ask to tickle me? Applebloom? Nah, she'd go too crazy. Big Mac? He wouldn't understand. Player 4? I mean, sure, he'd understand, but I don't think this is in his range...
Player 4 speaking: She's totally right there. I don't know jack about what it's like to want to be tickled or how to overcome embarrassment, nor can I tickle somepony properly, so I wouldn't be much help. In fact, I already know I'll have nothing to do with the activities of this story...
That's why I'm not tagged.
Anyway, one of Applejack's Mane Six friends was clearly the proper choice, and she knew this. They wouldn't pass any judgement, and they've been friends for a long enough time that Applejack feels perfectly comfortable letting them touch her. But still, there's five of them, and the embarrassment and sappiness aspects still apply.
I'd want to choose one of the girls, but... nah. It's just too much. Too embarrassing. I can't go through with this. Me askin' to be tickled; what a load of sap.
And it still don't make sense! I don't like being tickled! I know that from experience! Why would I ever feel this way?
She flops backside onto her bed in frustration with the conflict. There's no denying that she wants to be tickled, but she refuses to fully accept that when her history with tickling is what it is.
However, the interim period with paused thoughts caused by the frustration flop ended up getting used as a period for more calm thinking, at which, she has an idea. She thinks of a "bypass" tool, if you will. A strong enough incentive for her to go through and ask for tickling, rolling over all that other stuff.
Maybe... if there's evidence I have enjoyed ticklin' before, then I can go through with it...
Yeah! Let's look in the book!
Which she does. She puts sleep on the backburner and crawls out of her bed over to the box in her bedroom containing a few Apple family photo albums. This isn't the books' usual home, but recently, she had been wanting to read them in alone time, so they were on vacation, so to speak.
These books, in super helpful fashion, contain a sticker tool for what emotion was prominent in each of the photos. The legend is as follows:
Red apple sticker - Sweet experience. Happy, loving, or fun. Yellow apple sticker - Neutral or unknown. In between good and bad, or memory is lost. Green apple sticker - Sour experience. Sad, frustrating, or filled with pain.
Applejack's mindset at this point is that if she finds photos with her being tickled that bear a red sticker, she will go through tomorrow with asking for it. But if the stickers are green, she will suppress the desire and stick to what her past says.
She flips through the book with good look at each page, checking if there are any moments of her being tickled, and... yes, there are! On the bottom left corner of page 22 lies a photo depicting filly Applejack laying back-down on the grass and having her belly tickled by her parents, as they take turns doing so.
Now, what color is the apple sticker on that picture?
Applejack's eyes move over to that sticker's location, and it. is. red!
And she was in full support of that color, as she can remember this experience very clearly. I remember when this happened!, she thinks to herself. Yeah, that was fun!
Oh? Did she just say "That was fun?"
She did! She found a time where she was tickled and liked it! How about that?
That's just one, though. Let's see if there are any more.
Sure enough, there are more! On the middle-right of the very next page, page 23, there's a photo of Applejack having her hooves tickled with a feather by Applebloom, and that one too has a red sticker! AJ doesn't quite remember this experience, but the color says what it says.
Any more?
Flipping through the rest of the book... there is one more. On the top of page 25 can be found twin pictures of Applejack being tickled by Applebloom again, the first with hooves on her sides, and the second with raspberries on her belly.
Guess what color sticker these two pictures have in tandem? You guessed it; red!
Applejack closes the book and walks back to her bed. Mission accomplished, right? I mean, there's clear-cut evidence right there. She hasn't always disliked being tickled!
But in her mind, the key word is "hasn't."
Those photos ain't mean nothin'. They were all taken when I was a filly; of course I was fine with being tickled back then. But now as an adult... I just can't!
...Okay. Even for all the successful self-convincing she had done, there was little time passed with Applejack on her bed before she knew this argument was a total dud.
Is she trying to say that adults can't like being tickled? Well, from her own observances, that's definitely wrong! Pinkie Pie does; Twilight too. The latter was rather embarrassed to admit it, but Pinkie could be labeled as a "tickle pony." Applejack has caught wind to her both asking and receiving it from ponies who aren't even one of the Mane Six or family members, heck, she even blurted out "Me? I love being tickled!" while they were gathering for dinner once.
So that's out, but are other "don't go for it" convincing tools still in? As expected, yes.
I just can't do it. It would be far too embarrassing, and my reputation would suffer. Just think about it; a tough farm pony who prides herself on selling products and getting work done, who prides in professionalism, goin' all sappy and cute like that.
So much for the protocol of going for the tickles if the family album photos are positive. Ultimately, the drawbacks of asking are still convincing her.
Or... maybe not?
But wait... I go to the spa! And my friends know about that! How is tickling any different?
Plus, that whole thing about retaining professionalism... that's no way to live! Ya've gotta let loose every once in a while! And we're not in Season 2 anymore, myself! Ponies ain't gonna do that Gabby Gums Rainbow Dash headline thing to me. They just don't do that anymore. We're in better times now.
That last sentence. She breathes a deep breath as that last sentence does strike her chords. It's true; they are in better times now. Even if a closed-off private thing were to somehow spill out into the wider world, which is unlikely, she's right. The Gabby Gums-style hurtful gossip era is long gone; ponies today would say things like "Wow! You were really brave there!" or "It's okay! You can have your cute moments!"
But that still doesn't shut out the desire to maintain her image; the image she believes is at risk by engaging in "sappy" activity. Even though her going the spa holds true, somehow she sees tickling as off the mark, nullifying her earlier response. She has no explanation why; she just finds that one to be too overboard.
But... she still really wants it.
Gah, but if I don't do it, then I'll have to keep living like this! I can just feel my body here. I want tickles. I want to try it out and again and know what it's like. No question about that. I don't want to walk around with an unsatisfied desire that I can easily get filled. It's not like bein' unable to buy somethin' cause ya don't have a million bits; I have trusted friends here that I know can do this for me. I'd be refusing to go through a wide-open door... that I really want to go through.
True that...
Based on these comments, she feels the extent of this desire shifting her towards the decision to go for it, only to be backed up again by the "Embarrassment. Maintain image." talk again. Only now, her inner voice has another counter-point.
Do you think you'll regret doing this when you're older? No! Even if you end up not liking it, at least you tried! It's good to try things! But if you don't do it... you'll regret it.
Think about it: you're an elderly mare who's lost all her ticklishness, and now thinks "I wish I had done it when I had the chance."
So do it, Applejack.
Your image is not at risk; we're not in the Gabby Gums era anymore. Ponies would find it cute if they knew you got tickled. Then if you don't go for it, you'll be sad you didn't.
Whereas, if you do, you might like it!
What have you got to lose?
This might be the last push over the edge.
Applejack does feel high resonation with the regret argument. The image of her as an elderly mare thinking "Aww, I wish I had gotten tickled when I had the chance", does honestly scare her.
What...no! I don't want that!
And she can even give herself more:
Life is all about sayin' yes to things. I'll have more cool things to tell ponies about later in life.
And yes, if I cave in to embarrassment, I'll definitely regret it when I'm 80."
Whereas, if I do, I definitely won't!
I remember once hearin' that the only things I'll regret are the things I didn't do.
So...
Yes. I'm gonna do it.
👏 👍 Good job!
Thanks to allowing herself to take what will make her happy, she thinks about Step 2 with smiles!
So... who tickles me then?
Let's see... Pinkie? Eh, that's on a higher level. Twilight? Maybe...
Rainbow Dash? Nah, she'd laugh in my face. Fluttershy? Probably too shy to do something like that.
Rarity? Maybe...
So it was down to Twilight and Rarity. And the choice between those two was also neck-and-neck.
Until it wasn't.
I do hear... Rarity has been participatin' in tickling.
Yeah, I once saw her doin' it to Pinkie. And she told me in a restaurant... that she was honin' her skills at it and recently bought a box of tickle tools...
...I think I know who to choose.
Yep. There you go!
Applejack walks out of her bed once more, with sleep likely finally coming along thanks to a decision here, and looks out the window into the sky over her beloved farm.
As the sky turns from black to blue, Applejack may have already come to a decision on what's happening in this new day, and the same plan is continuing to hold, but it was very much up in the air how her feelings would manifest as she entered today. Second thoughts can be a problem.
She wakes up without any such thoughts, having "Today's the day" and "I'm headin' to Rarity's place right after breakfast" as the first thoughts in her mind as the day begins, but during breakfast, and the rest of the pre-tickling period, the drawback thoughts mutate themselves into a modern-day version.
Gah, it's gonna be so awkward, though! I'm not sure if I can do it!
...Yup.
She is able to continue using the "You'll regret it if you don't" quote as a remedy, just like before, but, sadly, that tactic only works as a motivation to try the new thing in the first place. It wouldn't erase the utter awkwardness that is destined to come to Applejack with asking Rarity to tickle her and, if she agrees to AJ's request, having to make herself vulnerable like that.
By the way, note that "If she agrees to AJ's request" above sentence, particularly the word "if." That was bound to show up as a product of pure anxiety, even if it wasn't supported by evidence. As talked about previously, Rarity has been having some fun with tickling recently. She's immersed far enough into it that she now has a box of tools used for it.
And Rarity is absolutely no stranger to embarrassment and helping ponies get what they want despite it. Many, many of her clothes clients have blushed in the mirror right in her view while trying on dresses that they believe make them look too cute; she knows this kind of thing.
Between the combo of these two facts, there was no reason to think Rarity was not the best choice as the tickler for Applejack's situation.
I really hope this works, Applejack thinks to herself as she walks out of the barn's front door and out into her adventure.
Thinking "I really hope this works" while simply strolling out was as far as her plan for request carrying-out could go. She found herself unable to anticipate in advance how exactly she would ask Rarity to tickle her.
On top of that, it wasn't clear why, but AJ couldn't stop herself from proceeding through her morning routine at normal speed, so now she's thinking "Guess I'm just gonna wing it."
Except... how does she wing it?
This suddenly-appearing roadblock stops her walking in its tracks.
Can I really ask to be tickled? I don't know; I feel like my whole body will turn red and I'll pass out from embarrassment.
Hyperbole for sure, but the basic premise is definitely not a concern to be outright dismissed on the spot when it comes to Applejack's case here. This was going to be a tall task.
But again, she is determined to be tickled one way or another. She won't let this strong desire go unsatisfied, and she knows that bailing out will lead to regret. Is the tall task worth it? Absolutely.
It's definitely worth it, she reminds herself while continuing to walk forward.
After an on-hoof trip across the outskirts and through downtown, Applejack stands at the front of the place holding her fate; Carousel Boutique.
Rarity is in that building and not busy with any kind of work; she revealed her plans for this day at the most recent Mane Six gathering: "I'll be hanging out at home all day on Saturday, so feel free to come visit."
A piece of lucky timing that is, and Applejack continues to run her pattern of walking forward with the winging-it plans.
Here goes nothin', she thinks.
She pushes the front door open, to the ringing of the boutique bell, and an empty boutique room, but vibrant voice of her elegant friend in the distance, speaking the sentence "Oh? Do I have a visitor?"
Shoot, even without direct talking about the topic at hand yet, Applejack begins to blush at even the knowledge that she'll in general have to talk to her potential tickler.
"Yup. I'm here.", Applejack says in her instantly recognizable accent. She wasn't quite ready to reveal the precise reason for her visit yet.
That is, if she ever will be ready to reveal it! One way or another, it has to happen, but who knows if she'll ever reach a point where she can call herself "ready."
"That's so sweet of you, Applejack!", Rarity says as she comes into AJ's view. "What are you looking to do while you're here?"
Oh shoot. Here's where she is tasked with carrying out the reveal. It's of even higher importance right here for there to be an honest answer to the above question; we're talking about the Element of Honesty!
Applejack's cheeks start to turn red at the mere asking of this completely un-dodgeable question, signaling a high difficulty in responding. All she can muster up right now is "Uh, it's really embarrassin'."
Rarity, holding the job she does, is nowhere near any intimidation by that.
"That's no problem at all, darling.", she says. "I'm your best friend; you can tell me anything."
Yet, Applejack remains in silence. Reassurance is good, but it couldn't cause even a nudge in helping her move to the all-mighty sentence. The thought of her saying "I want you to tickle me" let in the old image from earlier; a completely red body laying down passed out on the floor.
But she can't bail out. She wants tickling. She can't.
Even still, though...
"I don't know if I can say it, Rarity! I mean, like, it's really, really embarrassin'!", Applejack says as she starts to shade her face with her hat.
Rarity could tell she had a harder-than-average task on her hooves here, so a bit of planning was needed, but not a whole lot. Rarity, completing the outline in a matter of seconds, walks over and places her hoof on Applejack's back, filling a first part of comfort in the physical side.
"I'm sure it's not as bad as you think, AJ. We see things differently than other ponies do. I've never once heard of anypony not giving reassurance to somepony asking for something embarrassing, and they never seem to agree that it's as embarrassing as the other pony is claiming it to be."
Whatever you're looking for, I will not be doing any judging, and I'm sure I will be happy to provide."
True that, and Applejack then gives herself enticement by once again imagining herself inside a tickle session. The scene of her trying it out, laughing it out, and discovering if she likes it. This scene brings her the happy feels at every appearance. Again, it is worth it.
Gah, but still, it's so, so awkward!
As much as she absolutely adores the idea of having her body tickled right here and now, that doesn't tone down the awkwardness!
Applejack wants to declare directly asking to be a lost cause. The idea of taking that route still leads to the idea of her body going completely red and passing out on the floor. She wants to try and find a way to beat around the bush, like giving Rarity hints.
But the thing is, Rarity would likely get annoyed with the bush beating. She's not really one for guessing games, and a good tickle session here hinges on Rarity's mood being positive.
Oh, what to do? What. to. do?
Well, AJ has the proper place and time to give it some thought.
"Take your time, Applejack. I understand this is hard.", Rarity says.
Good. Let's see what AJ is thinking:
Come on, Applejack. Your body being red all-over and passing out from this is completely unrealistic.
And again, what do you have to lose by asking? You chose Rarity here for a reason, and awkwardness, no matter how much, is not a good reason to bail on something you really want.
You'll only be rewarded for this.
Just like every other time before, these reminders succeed at getting Applejack to take a deep breath.
And for progress too, as she decides to go the route of simply asking for tickles. Just let it out, and see how things go. Which she is about to do right now.
Her body was shaking like she was in the Arctic right now (it's summer), her heart was racing a million miles a second, and her cheeks were red delicious apple-red, but nonetheless, here she goes.
"I... I want you to... tickle me.", she says out-loud, straight to the point.
Well, here we are.
Right after puffing out that sentence, Applejack snaps her head over to look towards the left, at an area Rarity isn't standing in, to anxiously wait for the response to her request. Despite all that is reasonable to predict of Rarity's response, Applejack's mind wanders nowhere but Rarity calling her a "load of sap" or something like that. The good old self-insult from last night.
And, sure enough, it does remain only that; a self-insult. Rarity's actual reaction:
"Tickle you? Ah, that's no problem at all, darling, and perfectly fitting, as it's something I've been getting into recently. Courtesy of Pinkie Pie, I discovered the beauty in it. Who doesn't love making your friends laugh? And it's a great way to bond too. We can have some friendship fun with it!"
"Anyway, you're perfectly fine, Applejack! Nothing wrong at all with wanting to be tickled! Let's go up to my bed. It's really soft, and there's plenty of room there, as my bed is quite big."
Huh. So Rarity didn't call her a load of sap.
And... she said yes? Yep! She did!
Applejack follows her friend up the stairs, with the line "Thanks a lot, Rarity."
The two mares tap their hooves into Rarity's top-floor bedroom, the setting of what's to come.
And here, with Applejack knowing how to position herself, the awkwardness floats back up.
Yep, even if the asking was accomplished, now she had to make herself vulnerable. She had to lay there, right in the grasp of tickling. That's no cakewalk either.
Well, Rarity notices this and knows what to do.
"I'd like you to remember this, Applejack. Know that you're in good hooves. I know how to tickle ponies. Pinkie Pie has been training me, and I've tickled her to good results. She says she always feels happy when I do it."
"I'm your best friend, and by allowing me to do this, you must feel comfortable with me."
"And you shall choose how this session goes. However you want it to go."
All that is definitely true, and reminding herself of the reward factor, Applejack forges along. She crawls on top of the purple canopy-covered bed and lays down on her back, to the sight and sounds of Rarity bringing out that box, then hovering behind Applejack's back legs, fully forming the "tickle zone."
"So, how do you want me to start?", Rarity asks. "Any tool or area in particular, or anywhere you don't want me to touch?"
"I'd say just tickle me in the areas that are most commonly ticklish.", Applejack says. "Bein' with Pinkie Pie, I'd assume you probably know 'em."
"And as for the rest, like tools used and order of area, surprise me.", she adds.
So Rarity has the choice. She feels Applejack would be better starting off slow, so she designates a feather as tool #1. This feather is dark-purple in color; in fact, it's the exact same color as Rarity's mane. It fits so well with her!
As for areas tickled, well, Rarity doesn't know what Applejack's most sensitive spot is, or if she even has one, but with the position of Applejack on her back and Rarity hovering over the back legs, one could only guess which spot was going to be tickled first.
With all the necessary questions answered, it's almost time. "Are you ready, darling?", Rarity asks.
Applejack, still with pure awkwardness rushing through her veins at turbo speed, sighs and says "I don't think I'll ever really be 'ready.' But I'm going to let it happen."
"That's perfectly understandable. I'll give you a bit more time.", Rarity responds.
Applejack feels the pressure in the complete heat of the moment. This was it. She was going to get tickled. She'd know what it feels like and if she enjoys it.
The anticipation plus the awkwardness really makes her shake.
She tries to calm it down by looking up at the white ceiling. Staring at nothing, something that's just... there, seems to be working for her.
Rarity gives off a timer. "I shall start tickling in 15 seconds.", she says.
Okay. 15 seconds. Here we go. Applejack still had awkwardness and anticipation pumping through at max, but she was going to move forward.
You'll be rewarded for this.
Countdown done, and here we go. Rarity points down the feather and starts by lightly stroking Applejack's belly.
She feels the familiar sensation bubble up. This soft, pointed feather running across her belly was without a doubt causing an "I remember this" moment and bringing out laughter... only for her to try and desperately hold it in due to awkwardness. She uses as much brute force as possible to keep her mouth shut, which Rarity notices and isn't going to let hold.
"It's okay Applejack, you can laugh. We're alone here and I'm your friend.", she says.
Determined to get Applejack to let the laughs go where they should, Rarity accelerates the feather's speed to nearly as fast as her hoof could go, starting to really tickle her friend. There's no way in the world Applejack could keep it contained; she bursts out into loud laughter in no more than two seconds.
"Heeheeheehee...hahaha!"
"Ah... you are ticklish!", Rarity teased.
Changing up the tickling, she moves the feather over to Applejack's right side, with the laughing in full flow now. The purple point strokes back and forth, left to right across her side, a sensitive area of hers.
"Hahahaha!" Applejack cannot stop laughing whatsoever and even jumps a bit. The feather then switches to her left side, continuing the pattern.
Aww, I love having her as a friend, Rarity thinks to herself.
For the third part, Rarity moves the feather back to Applejack's right side, but this time hovering in a narrow area towards the left. Applejack correctly reads the signal and lifts her foreleg up above her head, onto the pillow, allowing Rarity to tickle the area under. Her laughter even increases!
"Hahaha! Tha-at tickles! Heehee!" Applejack herself didn't even know she was so ticklish there. Memories of it are hard to come by. But now she knows, and continues to uncontrollably laugh and squirm around under the sensation, now knowing what it feels like.
After a fairly long spell of the under-foreleg tickling, Rarity shifts her body back to original positioning and says "Oh, I almost forgot! We haven't done your hooves yet!"
Applejack couldn't tell if that was a tease or if Rarity really did forget, but regardless, her hooves are crazily ticklish. She starts giggling even before the feather makes its first touch, and when it does, she lets out high-power laughter right then and there, even with only a feather! Rarity moves up and down and in circles across her friend's hooves, causing them to lightly kick up and to the tune of continuous laughing.
For Phase 2, after using the boundaries between phases to give Applejack a short break, Rarity moves on from the feather and puts her hooves into action. She uses them to dig into both of Applejack's sides at the same time. The double, and in general harder tickling only made her laugh even more than she already was!
Rarity then brought out an ordinary manebrush and used it on both of AJ's hooves. It's not only good for grooming!
Phase 2 was short-lived, and now comes Phase 3 that might be even shorter-lived. What's Phase 3? Just one thing. For the finale, Rarity blew a great, big, long-lasting raspberry on Applejack's belly.
"Hahahaha! Heehee! Aaah..haha!" The recipient of the tickles let the deep, deep laughter rush all the way through. She hadn't laughed at this magnitude in... as long as her memory can remember, it turns out. To her recollection, she's never laughed this hard.
And, as much as she didn't want to admit it...
...it felt good.
As did the experience itself, to her awaited discovery.
Rarity eases off the tickling for the end and Applejack sits up. Here comes the post-tickle interview where the burning questions are at last to be hosed down.
"So, did you like it, dear? Be totally honest.", Rarity says.
Applejack's cheeks still go red again. Gah, the embarrassment keeps moving itself to the next phase. No matter how many accomplishments crossed off, it's still there. Applejack didn't want to tell the uncomfortable truth.
But hey, she's already gone this far...
Applejack sighs and goes in for it. "Bein' totally honest with ya here, Rarity, I did like it!", she says. "I thought I didn't only because I was rememberin' only the times where I was tickled in a bad way, like that time with Trixie. But there's a whole other side to it, like what just happened today!"
"And it sure was fun to get the giggles again. I hadn't laughed that hard in ages.", Applejack says.
"Aww, that's wonderful, Applejack!", Rarity responds. "It sure was a fun way to spend time together too, was it not?"
"You betcha it was!", Applejack exclaims. "Ticklin' really is a good way to bond with somepony."
Rarity smiles.
"Well, since you liked it", she continues, "What are you thinking you should do in the tickling world next? Do you plan on going to any of the girls for more?"
Oof, this is a hard question; the awkwardness hasn't gone away, of course.
"I mean, I would like to continue, for sure, but as for goin' to the others, I'll get there someday. But for now, baby steps. I'll probably still ask you for next time.", Applejack says.
"That is perfectly alright.", Rarity responds. "Comfort is priority in tickling."
Absolutely.
Well, in any case, Applejack walked back out into the outside feeling as sunny as the sky was. She had finally satisfied that burning curiosity, and came out with a bright outlook on being tickled. She definitely wants to do it again someday.
And as she thinks about it, she does see things such as full-scale tickle parties and performing the giggly practice on the expert Pinkie Pie as part of her future. She has entered the game where the goal is becoming a member of the "tickle world."
I'm lookin' forward to the rest of all this.
As the loveliness of this walk continues, Rainbow Dash, who just so happened to encounter Applejack on a random Saturday outing of her own, notices said loveliness.
"Hey Applejack!", Rainbow says. "I've, uh, noticed how much you're smiling here, on a walk by yourself! You haven't looked this vibrant in a long time! What's going on?"
Under normal circumstances, AJ would have used her trusty competition techniques with her competitive partner to dodge uncomfortable questions like these, but today was anything but normal.
In fact, it was a new normal for her. With the level of happiness achieved from the series of red-cheek plunges she's taken today, she can answer this question with gusto, even when the asker is Rainbow Dash.
"Wa-hoo! That was some party, wasn't it?", Pinkie Pie exclaims to Rainbow Dash, as they finally open the door to the latter's sky home.
"You're telling me.", Rainbow responds.
This "You're telling me" from Rainbow Dash served to only make the reality of her situation more visible to her, as she knew she was not telling the whole story when it comes to what's going on in her mind right now.
After a day that looked perfectly typical, filled with nothing except flying, playing with Pinkie, and attending a party, totally normal Rainbow Dash things, she has suddenly been placed into a room of pure anxiety, laying back into a chair with a sigh preparing for an interview with herself.
Cause? Well...
Towards the end of the party, the closing event was a tickling event, in which willing participants would lay on a bed to get tickled by Pinkie and other ponies. Pinkie herself even received it; she does like a good tickling.
As soon as she was offered to join, Rainbow Dash opted out of the event in a split-second, in firm belief that she dislikes being tickled. Based on her fillyhood experiences, it sounded like a complete no-brainer.
But, while sitting on the sidelines, Rainbow consistently found herself peeking up at the tickling event. Giving it a watch. She tried to snap out of it and lock her focus onto her drink (cola), but her head just would not stop snapping back over to looking at the tickling. It then paired itself with Rainbow thinking the new thought "Actually, that looks kinda fun..."
Which she tried one time after another, and another, to brush away from her mind, telling herself "No. You don't like tickling. Remember your childhood and how those bullies tortured you with it? You always hated the feeling afterwards. It's just your brain trying to trick you."
But nothing changed. She continued to observe the (consensual) tickling party and think "But... I do want to know what that's like..."
This conflict ended up using all the space in Dash's brain energy during the closing out of the party, the fly home, and the present moment. She's under a cloud of stress, becoming flooded with thoughts about her very real desire to be tickled. Back-and-forth with herself: "I'm curious about it. I want to know.", followed by "But I hate tickling. That's what I remember."
However, the tides of this game happened to take a quick turn. During that same flight, she thankfully reminded herself that preferences can and do change, and that she hasn't experienced tickling in years, therefore it is very possible that a change did occur.
Yeah! You think you don't like tickling because of events that occurred years ago and weren't representative of how tickling always is! With all this time passed and you having ready access to Pinkie Pie, things might be different this time!
Successfully convincing herself of this, Rainbow was able to declare victory over the "You hate tickling" argument. But that didn't make the ordeal look any less daunting, as the mind focus only turned to the impossibility of the next step: asking to be tickled.
As such, she was now frowning again.
But, like... I'm Rainbow Dash! I'm Ponyville's athletic hero and poster pony of cool, radical, and awesome! If ponies found out about this, my life would be over!
Yep. Despite improvements, she's still mostly the old Dash in this regard. While she is no longer afraid of admitting to her friends that she enjoys "sappy" activities like fru-fru spa treatments and cuddling, she still operates under the belief that a leak of the info to the general public would destroy her career.
But was her desire to be tickled erased? Oh, heck no. She wanted it more than ever. She was desperate to get a glimpse into what those party participants were experiencing. It was like, her biggest curiosity moment.
Luckily, she has a ready counterargument to the "career destroyed" thing.
Hey man, your friends now know you like fru-fru spa treatments, and your career hasn't ended there. You've successfully kept it a secret. Just because you add another one doesn't mean it's going to leak this time.
And after this thought runs through, a certain friend is now in Rainbow's vicinity. The "Go for it. Get tickled." side of the battle now has something to work with.
Hey dude, Pinkie is right here with you...
We all know how Pinkie is. She'd agree to tickle you for sure and would definitely not pass any judgement or spill the beans.
Plus, you're partners in silliness. She'd be the perfect tickler for you.
An additional piece of enticement that is...
She's going to do it. She sighs and pushes out the embarrassment sentences.
"Pinkie, I need to ask you to... do something for me."
Pinkie bounces over to Rainbow's blue chair with smiles. "No problem, friend! What's going on?"
Rainbow Dash's body was shaking like she was in a horror movie. Actually, to be honest, this is a horror movie for her. She has to ask to be tickled..., while being Rainbow Dash.
Ultimately, her embarrassment partially claims a victory this time. She can't bring herself to directly ask for it. She just can't. So she immerses Pinkie into a guessing game.
"Pinkie, you know that, um, last thing you were... doing to the ponies at the party? The thing that, uh, something that makes you laugh?", Rainbow puffs out with the red cheeks coming on.
"Hmm, last thing... makes you laugh... Oh! You mean tickling!", Pinkie Pie says.
"And you just said that you wanted me to do something for you... hmm... connecting the dots..."
Rainbow's eyes shoot wide open. Oh man. Pinkie is connecting the dots as correctly as can be. And being Pinkie, she's in no hesitation to reveal her result.
"Are you saying you want me to tickle you?", Pinkie asks Rainbow straight-up.
Rainbow felt like her body was going to melt off the chair and pass out. Pinkie had her pinned. Rainbow had to either tell the truth and turn red, or do something morally wrong in lying.
She can't fathom telling a lie and truly does want to be tickled, so she, as hard as it is, chooses the former option.
"Y-y-yes.", Rainbow says, hanging her head down in shame.
Good thing she has a friend as great as Pinkie Pie.
"Dashie, it's alright!", Pinkie says. "Come on, you get pampered at the spa, how's this any different? Everypony is allowed to have their cute moments."
"And it's perfectly natural to be curious! You've told me before about how you used to always get tickled by those mean bullies; well, that's not the proper representation! You haven't experienced good tickling yet; it's awesome that you want to try it out!"
"I've still got plenty of energy left when it comes to helping my friend! Come on up!"
Well, it's not like Rainbow can say no...
so she follows.
Rainbow Dash's bed was chosen as the tickling site. Rainbow couldn't manage the balancing act of her emotional state swinging between excitement that her request is being fulfilled and the still-active shame and embarrassment that comes with it, but she refuses to engage with this business and just pushes forward.
She climbs up onto her blue bed and lays on her back, at which angle she can see Pinkie laying out her box of tickle tools.
"Alright, so, where should I tickle you first?", Pinkie asks.
Rainbow wasn't up to that question. "You choose", she says.
"Okay.", Pinkie responds. "Hmm, I'll go from bottom to top, so I'll start with your hooves."
Hearing Pinkie declare where she was going to be tickled also brought out a bit of a jolt in Dash, revealing the nature of this situation as a whole.
"Okay.", she puffs out.
Even if Rainbow can absolutely trust Pinkie with all her heart, it's no easy task to make yourself... exposed like this. Especially not if you're Rainbow Dash.
But, without the spoken words, Pinkie has no way of knowing this, so she brings Rainbow in for the gusto, by creeping up the feather closer and closer to the bottom of her hoof, which she takes notice to.
Oh shoot... this is it., Rainbow thinks.
Her body twitches around from the anticipation, which she wasn't pleased about, as it would interfere with the tickling. She tries to hold her body still as best as possible for Pinkie.
The pointed tip of the feather lands in the middle of Rainbow's right sole, and Pinkie begins tracing around in circles.
Mmmfff...
In the name of embarrassment, Rainbow tries to avoid laughing, but that was destined to be a complete lost cause sooner or later, as the speed of Pinkie's tickling only increased. Dash broke out into laughter from the feather on her hooves.
Then Pinkie switched the tickles over to her left hoof, which oddly enough, Rainbow found more ticklish.
Hahahaha... heehee... Pinkie-e-hee!!, she laughs.
Despite sounding like she's protesting, Rainbow wanted the tickling to continue. She found it cute that her and Pinkie were playing together like this.
She still wanted to blush, but it always quickly got interrupted by a burst of laughter. She found out today that her hooves are still as ticklish as before.
As if all that weren't enough, Pinkie brings out a tease by running the feather up Rainbow Dash's legs, not really tickling her as that's a less sensitive area, but still making her laugh in the name of anticipation.
Rainbow knew where the tickle attack was going to strike next, and she had to wait for it. That sure brought out the giggles.
Pinkie, for even more power, decides to surprise Rainbow by abruptly sidelining the feather and using a raspberry to tickle Rainbow's tummy.
Hahahaha!, she laughs out with uncontrollable depth. Now this was tickling her. Not that the feather on the hooves didn't tickle, but a raspberry could wear out Rainbow's lungs. And Pinkie kept this one going for about five whole seconds.
Haha... not the raspberr-i-hee-hees! It was almost too much.
Pinkie eases that part off and decides to give Rainbow a short break to catch her breath. At the end of that, she continues the pattern of switching to a different tool for a different area; she reveals a manebrush, giving Rainbow the anticipatory giggles again. She then starts stroking the brush up to down across Rainbow's right side, then back up. She jolts and twitches at even the first touch.
Wow, she's even more ticklish than I thought!, Pinkie thinks to herself.
Pinkie runs the brush up and down and back and forth across a swap between Rainbow's left and right side, in an act of adorable playfulness with a friend. Oh yeah, and let's not forget the girly laughter. Pinkie Pie's heart warmed during this experience; seeing Rainbow Dash let this side of her loose made her about... 20% cooler.
For part 4, Pinkie nuzzles her snout into the area under Rainbow's forelegs. Again, at first touch, she jostles around, and relevant to this area, tenses up and waves her forelegs around.
Haha! Pinkie... that ti-ickles! Heehee!
"Well, that is the point!", Pinkie teases. She moves right back to the nuzzling.
Rainbow knew it was the point, but her mind couldn't articulate anything other than how much this tickled. Ponies weren't kidding when they said Pinkie is good at it, and Rainbow wasn't kidding herself when she once described herself as "too ticklish for words."
Pinkie decides to end the tickling at least for now and ask Rainbow for her verdict, having gone through all four tickle spots.
Player 4 speaking: Hey, that's my number!
...
Why am I still sneaking into this story?
Sorry about that. Leaving now.
"So, what did you think, Dashie?", Pinkie asks, looking at her friend in the eyes with a smile.
Oh shoot. It was going to be hard for her to tell the truth.
But she looks into Pinkie's friendliness, and remembers the inner silliness she let loose today. No need to stop. She lays her head back down on the pillow, blushing.
"I liked it.", she blurts right out.
Yep. She did. In spite of all the hatred of tickling that she remembers from her life, this experience did not lie. The hypothetical plot that Rainbow only thought she didn't like it due to only remembering bad experiences turned out to be true. When done in an organized, for-fun Pinkie Pie-like way and done with consent, Rainbow liked tickling.
"You did? Eee! Yay!", Pinkie says.
Rainbow knows she's found a new activity to bond with Pinkie Pie over. And boy, does it feel awesome.
"So, what did you like about it?", Pinkie asks.
"Well, first of all, I liked how we were having fun together. You and I have really found a bond with silly things; this felt no different."
"And I'd add on to liking tickling for, well, the same reason I like taking a bath or having my mane stroked. It feels good."
Rainbow felt a wash of empowerment at her ability to let out that last sentence.
Man, I really like being able to show my soft side.
...And I'm ready to do it further.
"Pinkie, I almost can't believe I'm asking this, but could you, uh, tickle me more? Like, with different tools in different areas. You changed the technique every time you switched spots, and that was good, but, like, I'm curious to know what a feather on my belly would feel like, or a brush on my hooves."
If there ever wasn't blushing here!
"Sure, Dashie! I've got plenty of energy left!"
...
"Thanks.", Rainbow responds.
More tickling it is! Pinkie brings out the feather and points it downward at Rainbow Dash's belly. Round 2.
"I love you, friend!", Pinkie says.
"I love you to-hoo-hoo! Hahaha!", Rainbow responds in perfect timing.
Sometimes there's room for improvement that you may have never noticed until just now.
Sometimes an eye-openingly happy experience with a new activity can improve your mood in the long run.
The latter thing might be a gateway to the former, or at least, that's what Applejack is thinking!
These are the messages of today when it comes to a certain farm pony. On a sunny Saturday afternoon, when the competitive duo of Applejack and Rainbow Dash simultaneously have the ability to take time off, Applejack, while nonchalantly strolling around her farm without a single entry on the to-do list and a smile holding on her face, suddenly hatches up an idea.
An idea that only makes today seem even more sunny. An idea that she believes was able to come about precisely because she had let loose her embarrassing desire and had a more sunny mood.
An idea that she sees as a sparkly, shiny addition to an already great friendship.
What if... Dash and I did something that's... not competitive? What if we just casually dined for lunch at a restaurant together?
Like, I can't even remember when was the last time we had a one-on-one hangout without continuing the toughest pony competition. When was the last time?
Land sakes... I've gotta do this! I've gotta invite Dash to lunch!
AJ runs inside the barn, scoops up a brown paper off the shelf and writes the words down at no-hesitation speed, and, luckily enough, Spike was sleeping over at the farm this weekend, so she wasn't at risk of having to rely on the mail that might not be able to deliver the letter in time.
"Hiya Spike, could ya send this to Rainbow Dash?"
"Sure, AJ!"
The blow was blown, and the invitation was off to a certain cloud house.
If she accepts... it's gonna be a fun day.
Rainbow Dash, who, as a Wonderbolt, now uses the weekends to reset her muscles, especially those in her wings, had been spending the hours of the morning reading Daring Do books. Her favorite pasttime.
Guess I should check the mailbox., she thinks as the afternoon rolls around and she decides to close off her book session, making way for a mid-day meal and hopefully hanging out with some friends. That's her plan.
I wonder what exactly I'm gonna do this afternoon! What will I eat? Where will I go in town to see who's there?
She ain't havin' to wait long to figure that out, as the lone arrival in the box not to be a white envelope catches her attention, and in turn, first read. She unties and unrolls the bottle-style paper.
Hey Rainbow Dash,
Applejack here. Today I came up with the idea, and I wanted to ask you, do you think we could hang out together with just the two of us this afternoon, but doing something that's not battling each other in games?
Don't get me wrong, I love our ongoing toughness competition and all, but friendship is about way more than just that. And I don't feel like our one-on-one friendship has been expanded to what it could be, if ya get what I mean.
So... lunch today at The Sandwich Club, with a meetup time of 12:15?
Today might feature some new digs. Upon hearing her friend's perspective, Rainbow can't help but agree with it. Applejack is right; they really haven't done anything in 2-player mode except toughness gaming. Rainbow can't even recall the last time they did something more... girly, if you could call it that.
And as if that wasn't a strong enough motive to go out and do it, Rainbow had just let Pinkie Pie launch tickles all over her body only a week ago, and... she liked it. Heck, the tickling was done by Rainbow's request.
Girly? Not a problem one bit. Rainbow takes off right away to the restaurant of Applejack's suggestion.
The timing at which both ponies reached the restaurant happened to be very good, as Rainbow catches sight of her farmer friend approaching the building as soon as her hooves make the landing.
"AJ!", she happily exclaims. "Wow, I have to say, I really like this idea you came up with. I agree, we've been competing too much and not just, well, being friends enough, I'd say. Not that friends shouldn't compete with each other, it's downright awesome, but as you said, it's about the cute things too.", Rainbow says.
"I agree; I'm sure happy I hatched up this idea.", Applejack says. "And I just thought of it, in the middle of the field, when I was doin' nothin'!"
The two ponies share a quick hug before they both declare they're ready for lunch. They ring the front door bell to the light-blue inside of the cafe, take seats at their table, and give the waitress their orders, which buys them time for conversation.
"So Dash, what have you been up to recently? Nothin' but the normal stuff, or did something more... memorable happen at any time this week?"
This question puts Rainbow Dash in a stun. Something memorable? This week?
Oh, if the answer to that question wasn't ever "yes." Rainbow had made a life-altering discovery, in that, when it's done in a certain (better) setting, she turns out to enjoy something that, for her whole life, she continually insisted she didn't like. Her thoughts at bedtime were dominated by "I've been lying to myself this whole time..."
So yes, something extraordinarily conversation-worthy has definitely occurred. Rainbow wanted to blurt the awesome news out right then and there, but... remember who's on the other side of the table from her.
Ultimately, step-by-step is the truth. Rainbow may have been successful at opening the door to her more "cute" desires for Pinkie, a shameless sillyhead, but with Applejack... not as easy to do when your friendship history is dominated by "Who's the toughest?" So she sits in silence.
However, Applejack senses something to work with. Rainbow's red cheeks, puppy-dog eyes, and her own memorable experience this week brought her in for a wild, and straight-out-there, try-out. A second try-out.
"Let me guess... ya got tickled?", Applejack asks.
Rainbow gets shocked by this question so hard that her seat falls on its back as she unintentionally suspends herself in the air. Good thing she's a pegasus, otherwise there likely would have been an injury here.
"W-w-why do you guess that?", Rainbow asks in distress, breathing heavily.
Her experience being what it was, Applejack has no choice but to be lighthearted with her friend here.
"Because... I got tickled too!", Applejack says excitedly.
A baker's dozen of questions were to pop out into Rainbow's mind here, which results in her remaining silent, enabling Applejack to tell more of the story.
"I woke up in the night, and suddenly I was feelin' like I was wantin' to be tickled, which I thought was a load of dirt at first because of the experiences I remembered. Because of that, I tried to ignore it. But it stubbornly persisted, and after I caved in and took a look through some family photo albums, I discovered that I have liked ticklin' before, and so now I had incentive to try it out some."
Here's where she feels the power of that experience letting her speak about it further to Rainbow Dash, of all ponies.
"Which I did! I asked Rarity, and the result was... I had a great, fun time! I'm sure ticklish, and I loved gettin' those laughs.", she says shamelessly.
That shamelessness was not only instrumental in getting Rainbow Dash to calm down and use her chair again, but listening to AJ chronicle this hits right into the heart and mind of Rainbow Dash, because it sure sounded... a lot like her story!
"Uhh, yeah, it turns out, we've got a big coincidence going on here, because that's pretty much exactly what happened to me!"
Rainbow blushes at revealing this to her competitive friend, but, powered by what that tickle session did for her, she keeps going.
"I, just like you, suddenly developed a weird desire to try out being tickled, and I myself also thought it was nonsense at first, based on my childhood experiences. But then I realized that tickling isn't always done that way, and since I was hanging out with Pinkie Pie at the time, I had a perfect gateway to trying out good tickling."
"And I clearly wanted to try it, so I did. Result: ...I actually liked it."
Applejack's mind is blown in every way it could be.
"Wow! Ya liked it?! And we both had almost the exact same experience? Land sakes, this sure is something to tell our friends about!"
Rainbow Dash, being herself, still says, hesitantly and with blushing, "Uh... yeah." to this sentence, but upon letting in the image of Rainbow telling this story to the rest of the girls, say, at a sleepover, all she can picture is herself feeling perfectly comfortable doing so.
The times they are changing, Dash. The times they are changing.
"Just out of curiosity, what day was it that ya got tickled, if ya can remember? I did it exactly a week ago from today, on Saturday afternoon.", Applejack says.
"I also did it on Saturday!", Rainbow Dash exclaims. "Pinkie hosted a party that night that I went to, and in fact, I developed the desire to be tickled because of that party! There was an event there where ponies volunteered to get tickled; I don't think anything would have happened with me that night if I wasn't directly seeing it."
The ponies look into each other stunned. This is insane!
"I dub today... coincidence day!", a human named Player 4 suddenly says off-screen, surprising AJ and Dash. And then just casually walking out the door afterward.
"Uh... forgive me, but... what is he doin' in this story?", Applejack says. "Like, he doesn't participate in ticklin'; he ain't got no place here."
"Honestly, I am confused, but not surprised.", Rainbow responds. "He's done that before, haven't you heard? Earlier in the story?"
Applejack was feeling that a possible bombshell was on the horizon. So many thoughts and guesses, some on the more... scary side, some contradicting each other were swirling around in Applejack's mind; it would be a grueling task to give this attention.
Her goal for today was happiness, so she thought it might be best to just... move on.
"Uh... okay. But, uh, new topic, so are you thinkin' you'll want to like, move forward with tickling, since ya liked it?", Applejack asks. "I am. I want to be tickled by Pinkie Pie someday, participate in tickle parties, and maybe start being the tickler too."
"Also, since we are still competitors, ya think we could start ticklin' each other, as a new sub-game for that? And we could also do it in the way we were doin' with our ticklers before. As in, nothin' competitive. Just for adorable friendship fun."
Rainbow abruptly stops sipping on her drink. Applejack is like an idea machine today!
...But Rainbow hasn't reached that level yet.
"Uh... I'll get there someday, but, as Fluttershy would say, baby steps for now.", Rainbow says.
"I understand. I myself will probably still ask Rarity next time I want to be tickled.", Applejack responds.
"But I sure am excited for what this new addition to my life will bring me."
And Rainbow Dash was pinned again. Pinned to releasing this out.
Friendship is magic! 