The confrontation at the train station had been a little too public to voice her more personalized concerns, and Rarity is sure Applejack felt the same. Blue eyes had met green, one pony’s gaze much more anxious and avoidant than the other, and Rarity decided right then there would be a conversation to be held in private with her beloved.
The chance hadn’t really come around until later that night, seeing as they were all busy that afternoon with their new cherry sorting jobs. And even then any moment that could have been spared talking had been eaten up by all their friends’ anxious and incessant fretting of their earth pony friend.
Rarity had not resisted giving Applejack a concerned look as she grew more and more frustrated by their friends’ words. While their relationship was in its newer stages, and not yet public to anyone but Applejack’s family- family being a bit of a stretch to claim seeing as only Big Mac knew of them so far and he found out entirely by accident one afternoon, catching them in the middle of a rather romantic picnic in one of the quieter orchards of the farm- she was more worried about her beloved than she was about how the others would react to her over personal display of concern.
Dinner had been quiet and its overall mood dampened by the growing worry for their friend. Even Pinkie wasn’t putting on her usually oblivious mask, wide-eyed glances breaking up her overly chipper comedy bits. Everypony had been glancing- or in Rainbow’s case, glaring at incessantly- at the door to the cozy dining room that Ms. Jubilee had happily provided for them.
All but Rarity because while her friends hoped that Applejack would come talk to them on her own, the unicorn had no such reserves and already had plans to speak with her partner after everypony else had gone to bed.
It was long after they all finished their dinners, sitting silently at the table in hopes their friend would appear, that Twilight flicked her ears, looked between the room’s door and window, and dropped her shoulders in what appeared to be defeat.
“It’s getting late,” Twilight started, voice quiet and slowed with worry. Her words had everypony at the table looking up. The unicorn flicked her ears again, eyeing the dining room door one last, futile time before looking at her friends. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk to Applejack tomorrow.”
Rainbow Dash, who had only stopped her frustrated glaring at the doorway to glance in Twilight’s direction when the unicorn spoke, huffed angrily and stood up. “Like she’ll even talk to us,” the pegasus muttered, stopping out of the room with ruffled wings and hunched shoulders.
The clicking of her hooves on the wooden floor seemed to draw Pinkie out of her seat as well, her side brushing against Fluttershy until the far more reserved pegasus of their group stood up with her.
“Yeah!” The energetic pony exclaimed, a certain and familiar hop in her step as she walked with Fluttershy out of the dining room, ignoring her quiet protests about cleaning up their plates so as to not be rude to their host. “Applejack’s probably just tired from her new job! She’ll totally talk to us tomorrow about what’s bothering her.”
Twilight sighed before standing, following closely behind the pair who were no doubt following Rainbow to the rooms Ms. Jubilee had kindly offered them. Not needing any further prompting Rarity too got up, walking beside her fellow unicorn and down the halls of their host’s home.
“She’s probably just stressed,” Twilight says as conversation, but Rarity isn’t sure if it's directed at her or if her friend is talking to herself. “I mean Applejack wouldn’t just leave Ponyville out of nowhere, right? She loves her farm and friends, she wouldn’t drop that all for a cherry farm in the middle of nowhere.”
“Of course she wouldn't, darling,” Rarity assures the both of them. They both turn a corner in the hall, their room doors within sight and light spilling from their other friends’ room. “Applejack would never leave her home so suddenly and certainly not with such a simple reason as needing a ‘change of scenery’, as she so put it.”
Twilight nodded, seeming to stamp down her anxiety for a burst of optimism. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m sure we can clear this whole thing up in the morning.”
The unicorns stepped into their shared room, and just as Twilight stepped up to her bed Rarity set her plan in action. Her plan, of course, being to go spend the night in Applejack’s room so they could have a private, much more personal conversation. But to do that, Rarity needed an excuse as to not share a room with her fellow unicorn; she was easily as good at complaining as she was about fashion.
“Oh this simply won’t do,” Rarity stated, making a show of turning her nose up and raising one hoof up in mock offense. She huffs, turning away from the bed she was expected to be sleeping in and back towards the room’s door.
Twilight gave her friend a confused look as she stopped out towards the hall they had just come from. “Rarity, what do you mean?” The unicorn questions, watching as her friend moves out of the room. Ignoring her, Rarity took the quick steps down towards the second room they had been lended and stuck her neck in.
Just like the other room there were two beds. On the one closest to the door was Rainbow Dash, who seemed nearly asleep already; the far bed housed Fluttershy and Pinkie who were both cuddled close to each other.
Rarity kept her complaining charm in effect as she batted her eyes at the duo across the room. “Fluttershy, darling,” she started, keeping her voice low as to avoid bothering the pegasus closest to the door, “would you be a dear and go share the room with Twilight? I’m sure you’d love to have your own bed tonight.”
The anxious pegasus ducked her head, glancing between Rarity and the earth pony that was draped over her side, nuzzling her wings. “Oh well,” Fluttershy started, “I-I wouldn’t want to impose. It’s your bed Rarity and I don’t really mind sharing-”
“I’m sure Pinkie Pie doesn’t mind, right Pinkie?” Rarity cuts in, to which the previously distracted pony shoots up from her muttering- something about feathers and how they were as soft as clouds- and nods happily.
“Of course not!” She replies in a slightly too loud voice that luckily didn’t rouse the mostly asleep Rainbow on the other side of the room too much. “Go get your own bed Fluttershy, I don’t mind sleeping alone tonight.”
Fluttershy looks over at her friend, still with a ducked gaze, for reassurance but gasps quietly when she is all but shoved off the bed by Pinkie. Her hooves knock quietly against the wooden floor of the bedroom, her wings puffing out in short distress before she corrects herself and makes for the door.
Rarity nods happily, turning with an air of self assurance as she escorts her anxious and feathered friend to her new room. Fluttershy says nothing on the short trip down the hall to the other room, doing little else but glancing at the unicorn once or twice before dipping her head back down.
Upon returning to the room the duo are greeted with the sight of Twilight nestled on her bed, looking comfortable but still somewhat confused about her roommate’s sudden storm out.
“Rarity,” the unicorn started, voice trailing into something more confused as she spotted who else had come along. “Fluttershy,” she greets to which the pegasus gives her a small smile and ruffle of wings.
“Fluttershy is going to be your new roommate, Twilight,” Rarity declares, nudging her pegasus friend with her leg until the timid pony wanders over to what was supposed to be her own bed for the night.
Twilight frowns, watching Fluttershy carefully lift her hooves onto the bed and curl up into a small, comfortable position. “But Rarity, where are you-”
Her plan was nearly complete, all she had to do now was really sell her complaining and make a show of storming out in a huff once again.
“I simply won’t be able to get my beauty rest sharing a room with another pony, no offense Twilight. Rest is a very important thing for this mare and I won’t let it be tainted by potential snoring from anypony else.” Rarity said simply as she trotted towards the door, nose held up and eyes focused ahead of her and not at what she was sure was to be the still confused look on her friends’ faces. “I’m going to ask Ms. Jubilee for another room, one I won’t have to share.”
She hears Twilight sigh from behind her; “Rarity,” her friend says with an exasperated tone, “we don’t really need to bother our host about getting another room. Ms. Jubilee has been generous enough already-”
“Goodnight darlings,” Rarity calls- quietly of course, so she wouldn’t wake any other pony who was sleeping in the house at this late hour- over her shoulder and as an interruption to her friend’s words. “I’ll see you all tomorrow morning!”
Prancing quickly out of the room to avoid any further protest or questioning from her friends, Rarity moves quickly back down the halls until she’s back in the dining room. It’s empty of course, and the candle on the table was burning low and dim from its over use.
Quietly, the unicorn creeps down another hall, looking for any sign of their host. She wasn’t entirely expecting to find the pony she was looking for, it was quite late after all, but Rarity is pleasantly surprised to find Ms. Jubilee relaxed in what seemed to be a living room.
The earth pony is focused on what seems to be some kind of ledger or schedule in front of her, thin framed glasses balanced on her snout, but she looks up as Rarity steps into the room.
“Well hello there missy,” Ms. Jubilee greets, sitting a little more upright and looking over the edge of her glasses. “You’re Applejack’s friend Rarity, aren’t you? What can I do for you?”
Rarity smiles, stopping in the doorway of the living room-like space and batting her eyes innocently at her host. “Oh well, I was just wondering where Applejack’s room is.” She shifted from one hoof to another, her nervousness no act like her recent complaining was. “See, she seems a little stressed and I’m worried about her. I think it might be a little homesickness is all but I want to be sure is-”
“Oh no worries dear!” The older pony interrupts happily, giving the unicorn a smile. “I understand why you’d be worried for your friend- yes she’s right down the hall behind you. Take a right and she’ll be on that first door you see.”
“Thank you Ms. Jubilee,” Rarity says honestly before padding down the hall to look for the room she’s after.
The hall is dark, but the dim candle light from the dining room is just barely strong enough to reach around the hall’s corner. In the near nonexistent light Rarity takes a right and can make out the frame of a door close by; no light comes from under the door, nor do any sounds indicate its occupant is awake.
Quietly, the unicorn trots forward, ears pricked in hopes of hearing any kind of noise from Applejack’s room. But even as she gently taps the door with one hoof she can hear nothing besides the soft settling of the house and gentle breeze outside as it rustles the shutters.
“Applejack?” Rarity questions in a near whisper, using her magic to push the door handle down and slowly open the door. She peers curiously into the room, taking small steps into the near pitch black space. “Applejack, darling, are you in here?”
A shuffle and confused noise of acknowledgement respond to her and instantly prompt Rarity to guide the door shut and make her way towards the bed.
“Rarity?” Applejack questions, voice half asleep but sounding something close to being sad. Ignoring her beloved’s questioning Rarity climbs gracefully into the bed, pressed close to her earth pony’s side as if it was where she was meant to be the whole night. “What are you doing in here?”
Rarity nuzzles her chin over Applejack’s shoulder, closing her eyes tiredly and humming in response. “Sleeping, dear. That’s what most ponies do at this hour of night.”
Applejack sighs, knowing that Rarity knows that’s not the answer she was looking for. But instead of engaging in their usual quiet bicker the earth pony simply rests her head back down on the bed and keeps herself turned away. Even when Rarity lifts her own head, trying to better see her partner’s face as it’s turned away in the dark room, there’s no further response.
After a few minutes of not quite comfortable silence, Rarity rests her chin back down across Applejack’s shoulder. The unicorn can feel her earth pony tense under the contact unlike she ever has before and it makes Rarity upset.
“Oh Applejack,” she says quietly, to which the earth pony in question further tenses and seems to try curling in on herself; Rarity decides the best way to get this conversation started is to cut directly to the chase. “What ever is the matter? What has got you so upset that you felt you had to leave Ponyville?”
Applejack sniffs- she sounds like she’s going to cry soon, and she hates crying. Rarity has rarely ever seen her beloved cry before and even just the thought of it brings tears to her own eyes- and shrugs her hunched shoulders. “It’s- it’s just nothing, Rarity. I needed a change of scenery is all, like I said.”
Rarity huffs, sliding her chin further up Applejack’s back until it rests right at the base of her neck. “You know I’m not a foolish pony, that’s not the truth.”
And yes, that’s really one of the biggest problems here, isn’t it? Truth, the thing this earth pony is known for the most. And yet here she is, quivering in upset and hunching her shoulders as she continues to lie to her love about the reason she left her whole life, family, and friends behind.
The room is quiet aside from the heavy breathing and sniffles from Applejack, which seem to be getting more and more upset, and closer to full crying, the longer the moments pass. The sad noises and tense posture of her beloved has Rarity’s heart breaking in turn, her previous concern turning to deeper upset.
“Oh Applejack,” she says again when the earth pony’s shoulders shudder with what seems to be actual tears now. The unicorn snuggles even closer to her partner, wrapping her long tail around Applejack’s leg and pressing an ear to her back. The concerned tone and further contact seems to only upset the earth pony more and she muffles some kind of keening sound into the pillow beneath her.
After a moment of quiet crying, Applejack speaks in a sad, breaking voice. “I can’t go back to Ponyville, I just can’t. Rarity I can’t go back there yet, not until after I do this.”
“And what is this, darling? What do you need to do so bad that you can’t come home?”
But all the response the unicorn gets is a sad shake of the head and her beloved pressing her tear stained face further down into the pillow, hiding it from her gaze. Rarity sighs- which too sounds watery and broken as seeing her partner so upset has her emotions boiling high- and she lifts her head. The unicorn places one leg over Applejack’s side, leaning over to try and see the other pony’s face.
“You can tell me, Applejack, if there is no one else you can. Just tell me what’s going on so I can help you.”
No response besides tense shoulders and muffled sniffling; the unicorn presses on.
“Did something happen in Canterlot? Were you hurt? Did something happen at the rodeo while-”
At the mention of the competition she had competed in, Applejack’s shoulders shudder and the earth pony muffles a broken sound. “Don’t,” is all she mutters to Rarity, but her attempt to remain strong crumbles quickly when her unicorn nuzzles her neck in upset affection.
In its full but quiet force, the earth pony’s tears continue on. Even as Rarity snuggles close to her pony, leg pressed across her side and tail curled tightly around one leg, nothing seems to comfort the other pony. The room is filled with nothing but muffled, sad noises and watery sniffles as Applejack continues to sink further into her misery.
It’s all too heartbreaking for Rarity, and her own tears pool in her eyes as she slumps against her beloved’s side. “Darling,” she says sadly, pressing further against Applejack’s side when she shudders with another round of muffled tears. “You can tell me what’s wrong. What happened at the rodeo? Surely it can’t be so bad as to force you to run away to this dusty old cherry farm.”
“I can’t go home,” Applejack replies through her tears, curling tighter on herself. “I can’t, not yet. I have to finish everything out here first Rarity.”
“Yes but what is it you’re doing out here, dear?” The unicorn presses, squeezing a hoof gently against her beloved’s side when she tries curling up more. “Surely it’s more than farming cherries for Ms. Jubilee.”
“I-,” the earth pony starts but shudders and presses her face down into the pillow below her. “It's to earn some money- but I don’t know how to tell y'all about everything else that happened at the competition.”
“Then tell me,” Rarity urges, voice fragile with her own emotion. That seems to prompt Applejack to lift her head, her tear stained face barely viable in the dark room; with a sad smile, the unicorn gently prompts her magic into use, a soft blue glow illuminating both pony’s faces.
The light does little to help calm her emotions, what with the fur on Applejack’s face slick with tears and eyes irritated from crying, but Rarity gazes lovingly at her all the same. Careful of her horn, the unicorn ducks her head under her earth pony’s chin, nuzzling her as her magic slowly faded back into disuse.
“You needn’t tell all our friends, Applejack, just me. I really must know what’s gotten you so upset darling, I can’t stand to see you this way.”
The earth pony sniffles and twists around until she’s facing her unicorn; Applejack ducks her head, resting her chin over her love’s neck and raising a leg to hook over the one Rarity had curled over her. The open contact seems to help the earth pony calm somewhat, but her voice is still watery as she speaks.
“I don’t know how to start,” Applejack admits sadly, sniffing loudly when her unicorn curls close to her, eyes closed with exhaustion but ears pricked up in attention to her words.
“Tell me about your first day in Canterlot,” Rarity prompts gently, her heart mending from its breaking a small amount as her earth pony seems to relax slightly against her.
“It was fine, nothing too bad happened. The competition was-” she pauses for a second, seeming to steady herself before continuing- “fine, just like it is all the other years.”
“Darling,” the unicorn argues gently, both knowing Applejack wasn’t being fully honest. The earth pony sighs, hunching her shoulders and pressing her chin further across her unicorn’s neck. There’s a moment of silence before anypony speaks again, the dark room still and heavy with a saddened emotion that came from both ponies.
“I’m not lying about the first day, Rarity, I can say that much.” Applejack says, and as she continues she curls into the touch her partner provides, trying to escape her upset feelings. “But I didn’t do all too well. And then I didn’t do good on the second day, or the third, or any day after that.”
Rarity listens in apt attention, noting sadly how her beloved’s voice seems to get closer to breaking the further she went on. Her first response is well it couldn’t have been so terrible you had to run away, the unicorn holds her tongue- reminding Applejack of that was sure to only further upset her and end their fragile conversation.
So instead the unicorn nuzzles her earth pony, hoping to encourage the emotional explanation into continuation. She’s rewarded with a sniffle and nuzzle before the other pony speaks again.
“It was terrible, Rarity.” Applejack admits in full, broken-voiced honesty. “I didn’t win a single ribbon, not one first place. During the whole week I didn’t win a single thing.”
“My dear,” the unicorn says, lifting her head until her muzzle was pressed gently against the side of Applejack’s. “Is that truly why you ran away? You must know that your family and I don’t care about how many competitions you did or didn’t win, neither do our friends. We love you for you, Applejack, not your ribbons.”
The earth pony shudders, ducking her head away from the contact of her unicorn and squeezing her eyes shut as more tears rushed forward. “I know,” Applejack says in a near whisper, but her broken posture and sullen mood seem to say otherwise. “I just- I couldn’t face y’all without any of those ribbons or that prize money I was supposed to bring home. I talked so much about wanting to help fix town hall that I just couldn’t come home empty hoofed.”
Rarity nuzzls her beloved’s neck soothingly, rewarded with the earth pony leaning back into her contact and their muzzles pressed against each other once more. “Darling I don’t think one pony in all of Ponyville cares more about the prize money than they do about you. And even if they did,” the unicorn said softly, curling her leg so it was pressed tighter with the one Applejack had tangled with it, “our friends and family certainly don’t care about those silly prizes. And who else would you need beside us?”
Applejack’s tears seem to calm, the earth pony slumping fully into her unicorn in exhaustion and the burnout of high emotion. The ponies snuggle closer together, Rarity’s tail coming up to rest lazily across her earth pony’s leg and the unicorn’s eyes half open as she looks at her partner.
The quietness of the room felt less sad now, more settled and tired than it had been since Rarity first came into the bedroom in search of her Applejack. Of course her beloved still seems upset- and knowing her, probably would be for a while after, if not out of her own emotion then out of guilt for making Rarity concerned for her- but now it was a more manageable level.
“Your family loves you,” the unicorn says quietly, sensing that now it was time they both actually got the rest they needed. “As do I, darling. Now why don’t we get some sleep and we can tell our friends all the going on’s tomorrow at breakfast.”
“We?” The earth pony questions quietly, to which the unicorn nods confidently if only a little tiredly. “Yes of course my dear, I’ll be right there with you when you explain what’s happening and you’ll see how much our friends truly care about you more than any silly ribbon or prize money.”
Applejack stays quiet after that, tense and pressed close to her unicorn. But after a moment she sighs and lets her body relax fully against Rarity, the other pony huffing contently as her partner furthered their contact with each other.
“You really don’t think they’ll be mad?” Applejack whispers into her unicorn’s hair, to which Rarity gives a tired snort. “Of course not darling. Now get your rest, we’ll need to get up early to catch the train back home.”
“Home,” the earth pony says quietly, her muzzle snuggled into Rarity’s silky fur and her previously overwhelming emotions calming down. “Ponyville,” the unicorn agrees, her tail flicking absently across Applejack’s leg as she got closer and closer to sleep.
Moments pass then, quiet and sleepy, between them. It’s as Applejack is about to fall asleep, and she’s sure Rarity is just about the same, that she says one last thing. Her voice is a whisper, something emotion filled and painfully earnest.
“Thank you.”
“Anytime, dear.” The unicorn whispers back. “I love you Applejack.”
Applejack, for the first time in her whole upsetting week, smiles and feels the flutter of happiness rise in her chest. The earth pony closes her eyes, snuggling close to her unicorn as she falls into the call of her exhaustion.
“I love you too, Rarity.”
