Three Boxes
Rarity did not limit herself to making a gift for only one pony. Along one wall of her boutique, Rarity had placed hoof and magic-sewn bags along the wall. Each bag held gifts for friends or family members.
Rarity’s magic and hooves examined the bags as she spoke to herself agitatedly. She had meant to check the contents of each Hearth’s Warming bag she had made for her friends and family. Instead, she was having trouble finding the bag which contained the boxes for Applejack’s gift.
There were three boxes, each containing something which Applejack could wear on its own or within the context of the entire outfit. Her favorite box contained a dress, which Rarity suspected would be what Applejack would wear the least, but which she would wear for the most special of occasions. Rarity had patterned the dress after the dancing clothes of the heroine of her and Applejack’s favorite ballet, which they used to practice the dances to when they were small fillies.
Now, the dress which she had spent hours painstakingly sewing could be anywhere, along with the accompanying accessories.
The little elegant ding-dong of the bell by her door alerted Rarity to a visitor in her boutique. Even though she was still upstairs, Rarity heard Applejack as she entered. Rarity knew it was her because of the weight of her hooves against the floor. The sound was distinct, a certain strength and resolution transmitted through it.
“Sugarcube!” Applejack called.
Rarity winced, even as she left to greet Applejack. Surely, I didn’t leave it downstairs. I’ll just have to find it later. How did a quick look over turn so serious?
“Applejack, darling,” exclaimed Rarity, as she rushed down the stairs. The way Rarity rushed was not in a run nor a hurried trot. Instead, she stepped briskly, charmingly, and deliberately down the stairs. Even as she descended the stairs, she continued to speak to Applejack. “I am glad to see you! Would you like some tea?”
“I- thank you kindly Rarity, but I’m not thirsty at the moment,” Applejack said, her grin broad although her eyes traveled the room with an unsettled air. “And, before you say anything else, I came to talk about Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.”
“What happened?” Rarity asked, trotting closer to Applejack. “They aren’t hurt, are they?”
“No,” Applejack said with eyebrows furrowed. “At least, I think they will manage well enough. They had a bag with them last time I checked and were going to play in the south field. Wouldn’t be a surprise if they went into the forest. Celestia knows Big Mac and I ain’t found them anywhere else. I reckon their ok, but I want to find them before it gets late, and I thought I should let you know about the situation.”
“Ah,” Rarity said, even as she blinked a few times. This was not the first time that their younger sisters had disappeared on one of their quests. “Do you know what they were doing?”
“Probably something with the bag,” Applejack replied, gesturing for Rarity to follow her as she left the boutique. “Apart from that, I reckon I don’t know.”
“Anything helps, darling,” Rarity said, following Applejack. Then, as they stepped into the soft snow of late fall merging into early winter, Rarity gave a nearly inarticulate shout.
“It was orange and green, wasn’t it?” Rarity asked, placing her hooves on Applejack’s shoulders. This would have inconvenienced anyone less strong than Applejack, perhaps causing them to fall, but Applejack took the additional weight and barely even flinched.
“Yep,” Applejack said, calmly.
“We must find them immediately,” Rarity said with the air of a heroine undertaking a crucial duty.
***
Thirty minutes later, Applejack and Rarity were trekking through the Everfree Forest. Ponies had entered the forest safely before, and in recent years, its eldritch reputation had waned with the dangers that once haunted it. But it was still dangerous to be in the forest after dark, and the sun was already beginning its steady descent.
“I wish they would be good and have tea parties or play with dolls,” Rarity said as they followed the trail Applejack had noticed.
“Wouldn’t be a surprise if they tried that once,” Applejack said wryly. “Though there’s no need to overreact, Rares. It’s not like we did nothing like what they do, growing up.”
Rarity’s mind drifted to the second part of the gift, boots with elegant designs gracing the outside but with material made for walking, bucking, and running. The designs were of two fillies in various situations: wrestling, climbing trees, and climbing under fences.
“There ya’ll are,” Applejack said, her voice reproving.
Rarity saw the girls in a clearing, looking almost as frustrated as Applejack looked and as desperate as Rarity felt. Sweetie Belle held one box. It was closed, but Rarity could tell Sweetie had opened it, then hastily closed it again. Rarity saw at least one of the other boxes haphazardly tilted and incompletely closed. She looked at Applejack, who was approaching with slow determination, already speaking exhausted big sisterly wisdom. Applejack, who was likely to notice what was in the boxes or ask about them, or worse, open them as part of her protective instincts.
Rarity jogged forward, a little too tired to run outright, exclaiming, “Sweetie Belle, how many times must I tell you not to take any of my things without asking-”
The sudden drop, down a hole hidden by foliage and branches, interrupted her speech and her train of thought. When she hit the bottom, she fell in such a way that she felt jarred but not injured.
“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle called, and in such a tone of voice that Rarity was worried Sweetie would tumble after her to save her older sister.
“Stand back, Sweetie Belle,” Applejack said. “You okay down there, Rares?”
Rarity had originally meant to give a peppy, positive answer, but made the mistake of observing her condition. Dirt streaked her white coat, and her hair had a few leaves and smaller branches stuck within it.
“I- I am not injured,” she replied, slowly.
“Alright,” Applejack said. “I can you get out of there, but I’d have to get my rope first. Might be best for me to take these rapscallions home as well.”
“Certainly,” Rarity said, as she looked around the place she had fallen into. She could see that if she walked further, there were tunnels that might lead somewhere. But she had already fallen and getting lost would destroy what little control over the situation she and Applejack had.
“I’ll be back as soon as possible,” Applejack said.
“See you soon, darling,” Rarity replied, trying to evoke the carefree and delightful tone she would use if she was waving from a cruise ship.
As she heard Applejack walk away, with the softer hoofsteps and louder apologies of their sisters following her, Rarity gave a closer look around herself.
There was very little in the hole she fell in except leaves, branches, and a big stone. It looked a bit like something else, so Rarity used her magic to light the area.
On the ground, somewhat dirtied, was a hat. It was a hat not unlike the ones Applejack always wore, but of finer material and colored a vibrant green. Rarity had made it as part of Applejack’s Hearth’s Warming present. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle must have lost it on their way to wherever they had been rushing to.
The hat’s green was the same specific green as those of a forest she and Applejack had hidden in. It was one of those times in which they and the rest of their friends were saving Equestria from some great evil, and Applejack had been irreplaceable as a friend during that mission.
Most ponies would not recognize the exact shade of green, but Applejack would. She had taken special notice of the trees, and Rarity had better understood their beauty. Lifting the hat, Rarity held it in her magic. She could almost smell the forest or hear Applejack’s confident voice.
“This does it,” Rarity said with the flair of a stage actress. “I will climb up, place the presents back into the bag, and bring it all to Applejack. Right after I get the leaves out of my hair.”
Clearing her hair of debris took longer than she hoped, as the twigs and leaves entangled themselves in her curls. When she finally removed the second to last twig, she heard Applejack. “I got this rope. If you tie it around yourself, I should be able to pull you up.”
The rope dropped and Rarity quickly grabbed it in her magic, then followed Applejack’s directions.
“Finished,” Rarity called. Applejack pulled her up steadily until she could place her front hooves on solid ground.
“I am so thankful you could come so quickly,” Rarity exclaimed as she hugged Applejack tightly with both front legs.
“Sorry about that fall, sugarcube,” Applejack said, returning the hug with one front leg. “Should have been able to warn you before you fell.”
Rarity scoffed and released Applejack. “I certainly do not hold you responsible for this Applejack. The girls are-?”
“I brought them to the farm and Big Mac will keep an eye on them as we make our way back,” Applejack answered.
Rarity gave a soft sigh of relief, then winced. “And the bag?” she asked, turning around in a circle to see if she could find it.
“We brought it, and the boxes which fell out of it, to Sweet Apple Acres. I, or Big Mac, can help you bring it back to the boutique. Sweetie Belle told me to tell you she meant to get another bag.”
Rarity nodded even as her mouth twisted into a tired frown. “I suspect she was looking for the bag with her gifts.”
Applejack nodded. “She didn’t elaborate, but it seems likely. Before I forget, one box was empty.”
Rarity, who had been trying to figure out the best way to find out if Applejack knew what was in the boxes, gave Applejack a sharp look at this. Applejack, instead of responding to the glance, turned to lead the way back to Sweet Apple Acres. Rarity briskly walked alongside her.
“Applejack,” she said, “I just want you to know that the contents of the bag are of the utmost secrecy.”
“Didn’t look,” Applejack said. “Though-“ she hesitated, then continued, “put an illusion over the hat you’re carrying in your magic.”
“I-” Rarity looked at her magic field and saw the green hat which she had recovered and unwittingly carried in easy sight ever since she found it, even after she left the hole. In despair, she sagged towards the ground, careful not to fall to the ground. “Oh Applejack! I am so very sorry about this! I meant for everything to be a surprise.”
“It’s alright Rarity,” Applejack said, stopping her walk to run a comforting hoof along Rarity’s back.
“It isn’t how I planned it at all. Why, even if you haven’t seen the other presents even one aspect spoils all the others. When I get my hooves on Sweetie Belle-“
“Remember what you told me when I came back from Manehatten?” Applejack asked.
Rarity peered up at Applejack’s green eyes and softly smiling face. “Why would you come back?” Rarity replied, hesitantly.
“Uh, no,” Applejack said. “It was a bit after that. You told me I could make something good out of any situation if I worked on it.”
“Ah, yes,” Rarity said as she stood up, “I think I said that a work of art might not develop as you planned but the unexpected leads to something even more exquisite than you previously imagined.”
“Uh huh,” Applejack continued. “Well, I figure that although this early surprise was unexpected and unwanted, maybe it will turn out better than you think.”
Rarity smiled, then gave Applejack an affectionate kiss on the cheek. “Might as well have the hat now darling, though you’ll have to wait till the morning of Hearth’s Warming for the rest.” Rarity’s magic floated the hat to Applejack, but then she paused. “Once I clean it of the mud it picked up from its unfortunate fall.”
Applejack gave a warm laugh, and they walked to Sweet Apple Acres together.