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Applejack never imagined that she’d ever feel the way she did for the whiny diva, but that didn’t stop the feelings from swarming her. They consumed her whole until the only thing that mattered was the sweet floral scent of a girl named Rarity. The way she moved and the way her hair danced when she so much as lifted a single nimble finger was enough to make Applejack’s mouth water and her heart ache with longing for what she could never have. Rarity’s smile and her beautiful deep violet eyes made the country girl fall so deeply in love that there was no escaping the void of never and nothing.
Applejack sighed as she watched the stars from the roof of her family home, feeling the weight of her heartache settling deep into her bones. It was far too late for her to fall asleep, as she had to be up for school in a mere few hours. The sun was never up when she had to be, whether that be due to high school or farm work. She wanted to scream, but the rooster beat her to it, making her jump in surprise; she almost fell off the roof at the sharp call. She had yelped and grabbed the window sill quickly, catching herself.
Apparently Macintosh had gotten up before the rooster’s call as well, because he walked out the back door with his work clothes on, whistling with a piece of straw hanging from his lips. Applejack really tried to get back inside through her bedroom window before she was spotted by her big brother, but she hadn’t succeeded. She cringed as Macintosh yelled.
“Hey! Get the heck off the roof, AJ! You could fall, and then what would Granny Smith do!” He shouted at his sister, his eyes angry and worried. Applejack felt bad, but she didn’t want to deal with explaining herself, not when she had so many things to try and suppress.
“She’d whoop your ass, AJ! That’s what she’d do!” Apple-Bloom supplied energetically, getting hit in the head lightly with a stick by Macintosh. He yelled at her to watch her mouth while Applejack slipped through the window, closing it behind her and walking to her wardrobe to get dressed.
Within a few minutes, she was completely ready, making her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth and her hair. She threw it up into the standard ponytail and took a look in the mirror, seeing the dark circles under her eyes and cringing. She didn’t really care what she looked like, but she sure as hell didn’t want anyone to know that she’d stayed up the whole night mooning over Rarity. Knowing her friends though, they surely already knew, especially Sunset-Shimmer. She always seemed to know what everyone was feeling and when, but it was because of their newfound powers from camp, so it wasn’t all that much of a surprise when Applejack had been confronted about her affections. Sunset-Shimmer was the only other person that knew, and Applejack hadn’t a single doubt that anyone else would be informed.
She grabbed her bag and ran down the stairs, grabbing Apple-Bloom’s bag just as her little sister finished off her apple donut. “Hurry up, Apple-Bloom, we’re gonna be late.”
“I’m comin’, I’m comin’!” Apple-Bloom took the bag from Applejack’s hand and threw it on, walking out the door with a spring in her step. She looked back as she said, “Oh, and AJ, you might just want to confess to Rarity. I can tell this is eatin’ you alive.”
“Oh puh, since when did you get so wise?” Applejack retorted, blushing redder than any apple on the farm. Apple-Bloom giggled and they got into the family truck to drive to school. The whole way was spent listening to the old rock cd’s that their father had before he passed away. Some of Applejack’s favorite songs were on the disc, and she’d never let anything happen to it. Apple-Bloom had been too young to know him and their mother, but she liked the music almost as much as her older sister.
Apple-Bloom stayed silent just until they pulled into the school parking lot, waiting until Applejack had pulled the keys out of the ignition. Neither of them got out, and neither of them said anything. Applejack gripped the steering wheel tightly, waiting for Apple-Bloom to say what she so obviously wanted to say; based on the energy in the beaten down truck.
“Uh, AJ?”
“Yeah?”
“Just tell her how you feel, honestly.” Applebloom spoke with exasperation in her voice, crossing her arms in the way that she did when she was annoyed and fed up. Applejack sighed and looked at her sister, seeing nothing but confidence and sincerity from Applebloom.
“I...I’ll think about it.”
“Yeah, you better.”
~
Rarity couldn’t quite figure out why Applejack had been so distant, and she was deeply unsettled with how downtrodden the girl looked. There were deep circles of exhaustion under her usually bright and chipper eyes, and Rarity wanted to know why. Of course the rest of their friend group had also noticed (and asked what the problem was ). Sunset-Shimmer was the only one that hadn’t asked a single question about why their friend Applejack looked so, well, depressed.
Rarity was tidying up her clothing racks in the music room when Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie walked in, the more subdued girl nursing a little red bird’s wing. Rarity tutted in sympathy for the creature, turning back to her clothes when the two sat down in the spinning chairs.
Her two friends whispered back and forth while she worked, and she jumped with a squeak when the door slammed open and Rainbow Dash zoomed in. “Hey girls! I’m just grabbing my guitar because the new freshman wants to hear me play! I’m gonna blow their minds!” She yelled, going over to the guitar rack to grab her favorite one. She called out goodbye before leaving. Rarity sighed in annoyance; she couldn’t remember which color she was supposed to be sorting.
“Uhm, Rarity?” Fluttershy’s timid voice broke through her frustration and she pushed her glasses to the top of her head, giving her full attention to the sensitive girl.
“Yes, darling?” Rarity would always make sure her friends knew that they had her full attention.
“Do you maybe have some cloth and string I can use to wrap this birdie’s wing?”
“Of course, darling,” she said, walking over to her fabric rack. She grabbed a subtle green cloth and cut a piece off, collecting a few sturdy pieces of string with it. The green would contrast nicely with the bird’s marvelous red feathers. “Here you are.”
“Thank you, Rarity,” Fluttershy mumbled softly, getting right to work on wrapping the wing.
“You’re welcome, darling. Anything for a friend.”
As Rarity got back to work, her mind once again wandered to Applejack. All throughout their first period, the girl had been staring off into the distance, her shoulders hunched and her muscles tense. Rarity desperately wanted to help, but without any knowledge on the problem, she could do nothing. Not only that, but Applejack had always been reluctant to share her feelings, or allow much assistance in anything she did. Rarity found that horribly frustrating, but somehow it added to the country girl’s appeal. The overwhelming feelings of adoration always irked the girl, as she had no proper idea why her heart skipped a beat whenever Applejack walked into a room.
She pondered the meanings of these things for a while, and when the small whisper of “crush” flitted through her mind, she stopped what she was doing and gasped. She couldn’t quite believe it fully, but she had no reason to deny the truth: she had feelings for Applejack. This didn’t ease her mind in the slightest; it only seized to make her even more uneasy. It wasn’t just that she was, more or less, in love with one of her best friends, it was that the poor dear was so off. Her heart hurt quite a lot more than it had a few moments ago and she had to concentrate to collect herself (so as not to smudge her eye makeup, of course).
She shook her head and pulled her focus back to her work, trying to complete the task of labeling and sorting the costumes for the school production of Romeo and Juliet. Despite her love for dramas and plays, she never really could appreciate the tragedy that was Romeo and Juliet. It was far too sad and had a horrible ending, not to mention that Mercutio was obviously not a heterosexual (much like herself, not entirely anyway).
The bell rang for her lunch and she sighed as she took off her glasses and set them on a nearby table. No one else was in the room with her and she took a moment to breathe, dismissing all the worries that she had; she wasn’t going to let anyone know of this secret.
Arriving in the rather loud cafeteria was never a thing that Rarity really enjoyed, but she did enjoy being around her friends, and that was what pushed her to walk all the way to the far corner of the crowded room. She didn’t really want to eat lunch. Apparently, neither did Applejack.
The rest of her friends were present at the table, and Rarity was the last to sit, right next to Applejack. She almost huffed when the earthy scent of apples and fresh air invaded her nose. She couldn’t believe that she hadn’t known about her feelings for so long.
“Hey Rarity,” Applejack muttered, not even attempting to make her voice sound more exuberant or energized. The atmosphere at the table was horribly heavy, and Rarity supposed everyone was weary of Applejack’s sour mood.
“Ah...are you alright dear? You’ve been a bit...sluggish,” Rarity said carefully, leaning forward to catch a glimpse of the girl’s green eyes.
Applejack caught her gaze and abruptly looked away, blonde hair shifting to cover her eyes. Rarity wondered if she’d done or said something wrong.
“M’fine, Rarity. I just didn’t sleep all that great last night, no big deal,” the country girl said, rather unconvincingly, Rarity thought.
“Sure AJ,” Rainbow Dash added, “like that’s all this is. You’ve been like this for weeks!”
“Uhm, yeah. We’ve all been worried, Applejack.” Fluttershy’s voice seemed to lower the tensions, even though it was still present.
“Well, I haven’t been sleeping for weeks,” Applejack said defensively. Rarity looked to Sunset Shimmer, hoping for some sort of explanation or reassurance. The redhead merely shook her head dismissively. Rarity hugged in annoyance.
“Oh Bullsh-,” Rainbow Dash was cut off by a rather ruffled Twilight.
“Stop it, both of you. This isn’t the time or place to yell at each other, not that there are any.” Twilight sounded firm but kind, as she always did. “Applejack, you have some explaining to do. We don’t keep secrets and you know we’ll support you through anything.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Then why not tell us what this is.” It wasn’t a question, but rather, a demand.
Applejack sighed heavily and looked up from her salad. “It’s...I...I’m not sure I can even say anythin’ about it, Twilight. It’s something I have to get over on my own.”
“Well, if you change your mind…”
“Yeah,” Applejack said as she stood to leave. Everyone watched her go with worry in their eyes, but not a single person got up to follow. Except Rarity. Her friends called out to her, saying that Applejack was better off left alone, but Rarity wasn’t having it and she continued to follow her blonde friend out of the cafeteria and into the hallway.
“Applejack, darling?” Rarity called out, hoping that Applejack would stop her walk, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the blonde continued to walk. Rarity sighed and made a note to forgive herself for running in heels when she took up a jogging speed. Applejack didn’t slow down, she merely walked faster, and faster, and faster; by now, both of the girls were running, and Rarity realized just how out of shape she really was.
It seemed that Applejack hadn’t a clue where it was that she was going, because Rarity soon had the blonde girl backed into a dead end, panting and fanning her sweaty face. Applejack looked like a deer caught in the headlights as she slid down the wall into a sitting position, her head soon buried in her arms. Rarity suppressed the urge to scold and instead smoothed her skirt to sit beside her friend (that she was in love with).
“Applejack, whatever it is that has caused you to run away from me needs to be addressed. You know that your best friends would never judge you,” Rarity said, trying to keep her annoyance out of her voice, but it hadn’t really worked.
Applejack took a deep breath and looked up at Rarity, her eyes sad and bathed in a dark aura. Rarity felt any harsh feelings deflate instantly when she saw how distressed Applejack was. “I’m lyin’ to myself, Rarity. And I’m lyin’ to y’all.”
“Whatever does that mean, darling? You are hardly capable of telling a good lie,” Rarity tried to be comforting, but it sounded more condescending and she tried not to grimace when Applejack looked back down at her freckled arms. “That wasn’t how I meant to say that.”
“Then how did you mean to say it, Rarity?”
“Listen, darling, I want to help you with whatever you’re having a problem with. Tell me what you’ve been lying about.” Even though Rarity didn’t think Applejack would ever tell a convincing lie, she still went along with it, needing an answer to her friend’s distress.
“Have you ever loved someone you shouldn’t have?”
The question took Rarity by complete and utter surprise, and before she could stop herself, she responded, “Yes, of course.”
“Then, you know how much it hurts.”
“Yes.” You have no idea, darling. Rarity stopped herself before that thought came out, because obviously she did have an idea. Here she was, having a mental breakdown about an unrequited love, so, of course, Applejack had an idea. “Who is it, Applejack?”
“God, I-”, Applejack abruptly stopped talking and looked at Rarity with resolve and a determined look in her eyes. The blonde was moving forward faster than Rarity could comprehend, and within the next second, hot, soft lips were on her own. Her mind quite literally left her head as she tried to process what was happening, but it was over far too soon and she didn’t have enough time to kiss back. “I’m sorry! Oh god, I-I shouldn’t ha-”.
Rarity lunged forward just as Applejack had done seconds before, planting her lips firmly on Applejack’s. The blonde gasped and fell backward from the force of it, taking the diva down with her. They separated and stared at each other for a while, both dazed and in disbelief. Rarity came to her senses first, sitting up and making the stark realization that she was sitting on Applejack. Despite her knowledge of the implications of their position, she didn’t move.
Applejack got up to lean on her elbows, still staring at Rarity with a dazed look. She opened and closed her mouth several times before asking if “this was real”, to which Rarity replied with a “yes”. They stared at each other for a few more seconds before Applejack shook her head and pulled Rarity back down to her lips. They kissed for longer than could be considered appropriate, but neither cared much, even as Pinkie Pie shouted “I knew it!” from the other end of the narrow hallway.
“Guys, stop sucking face and get off the floor!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, making a disgusted noise and mumbling a faint “cooties”. They finally separated and laughed, standing up and dusting their clothes off.
“Well, I hate to say I told you so,” Sunset Shimmer mumbled to Twilight.
The other girl just shrugged and said, “No, you don’t.”
“Nah, I don’t.”