I'm never sure how to act when I meet new ponies. Sometimes I try to force myself to be a mare I think they would like, because I'm not all that interesting on my own. I can figure out what any mare or stallion is thinking, and use that to my advantage. I'm an excellent sales-pony, and I'm always sure to get the upper hoof on any negotiation. But when I think about it, that's no way to go about making friends. I'm afraid I'm going to be lonely in Ponyville, and if I can help it, I'll make a friend or two so that I don't end up cruising taverns just for the sake of company. I don't want to be the town slut, but... I am what I am.

Bump, Bump.

Exie opened her eyes and yawned as the trailer rolled over a rough, unpaved country road. The young mare leaned up and got a better view. She was entering the small town, passing by small folksy house after small folksy house. Her ears drooped as she entered the business district, noting only a small bakery that showed promise of meeting another pony.

Coming to a stop, she hopped down and looked the two stallions over. They were both exhausted, and she considered offering a tip, but couldn't seem to get past their stubbly cheeks and less-than-appealing physiques. "Thanks guys. Go home now."

She turned away and looked at the empty building reserved for her shop, a woeful sigh falling across her lips. The building next to hers then caught her attention.

"Quills and Sofas?" Her eye twitched and Exie shook her head. "Seriously... kill me now."

She sighed and unlocked the front door to her empty building. Propping it open, she looked back at the trailer of crates and felt her ears fall flat. Shoulda kept those movers around...

With a deep breath, she hoisted the first crate onto her back and carried it inside. Each step brought her closer to exhaustion, until she finally dropped the heavy box and caught her breath. She glanced back with a woeful groan, eyeing the dozens of heavy crates still to go.

She trotted back to the trailer and steeled her nerves. "Come on, Exie. No time to waste!"

"Well, howdy!" An orange earth pony called out from across the street.

Exie jumped and placed a hoof over her chest, her eyes wide. "Oh! Hi!"

"Name's Applejack. You must be new 'round these parts." The friendly mare tipped her hat and trotted over to the cargo. "Looks like ya got yer work cut out for ya."

Exie narrowed her eyes and forced a fake smile. "Yes... Yes, I do. So, if you'll excuse me..."

"Say, I wouldn't mind lendin' a hoof if you'd be willing to do me a favor in return." Applejack smiled and hopped into the back of the trailer, nudging boxes to test their weight.

"And what would that be?" Exie asked bemusedly, almost fearing the answer.

"Oh nothin' much. Just introduce yourself and tell me whatcha got goin' on here." The earth pony chuckled and held her hoof out to the young mare.

Exie tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Wait, so you're going to help me unload this cargo for... nothing in return? I can toss you a few bits, if you want."

"No need. Consider this your welcome to Ponyville. You still gotta tell me your name, that's just good manners."

Exie reached up and touched her hoof to the mare's in front of her. "My name is Exie. I'm from Manehattan, and I'm here to open up a store called Sew Fine. We sell Nightmare Night apparel and accessories."

Applejack forcefully shook the little mare's hoof and pulled her into the wagon. "Pleasure to meet ya, Exie. I saw you carryin' that big 'ol box all on yer own, and any hard workin' mare is good in my book."

Exie grinned and pulled her achy hoof away. "So, you wanna be friends?"

"Shoot, I thought you'd never ask." Applejack nodded her head leaned against a crate.

"So, do all the ponies around here share your accent?" Exie asked, hoisting another box onto her back.

Applejack lifted one as well, carrying much more easily than the little mare beside her. "Nah, it's just the Apple family with our accent. I'll show ya around town when we're done here; maybe introduce ya to the rest of my friends, too, if ya'd like."

"Hmm," Exie tossed the box down and caught her breath. "Sounds good, but I... Huh... I kind of have a lot of work to do here, though. So maybe I'll tour the town with you tomorrow."

"Gotcha. Work comes first. I'll meet ya here first thing in the mornin' so we can get a jump on everypony before they get too busy. So, you're runnin' the whole store, all on your own?" Applejack headed back to the cargo and lifted another box while Exie slowly followed behind.

"Uh-huh. I plan to hire a couple ponies within the next few days to help out though. Know any pony in need of some extra bits?" The young mare took a deep, calming breath before biting down on a rope handle and dragging a box across the ground.

Applejack leaned up and thought for a moment, removing her hat and scratching her head. "Uh... Not that I can think of, unless you wanna hire my lil' sis, but she can be more trouble than she's worth."

Exie dropped the rope and looked Applejack over, noting her strong, independent posture and well toned body. "I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you are one good looking mare."

Applejack cleared her throat and glanced away. "Aw shucks. You don't look half bad, yourself. That's a strange getup you're wearin' too, but it looks good on ya. You sell it in this store?"

"Not exactly," Exie left her crate and wiggled her flank as she trotted past the blonde mare. "We do sell similar things, but my boots are a cut above your typical Nightmare Night store merch. See?"

Applejack gulped as Exie stretched her hind leg in front of her face. "Looks mighty fine, if ya ask me."

The little redhead trotted in a circle around Applejack, then wrapped a foreleg around her neck, running the tip of her other hoof in circles around her chest. "Look, Applejack, you're clearly a million times more fit than I am, and I'm afraid I'm going to die if I lift another box. Would I be too much trouble to ask... to ask for more help?" Exie fluttered her lashes before turning to face the ground.

Applejack blushed and stepped backwards, her hooves slightly wobbly. "Well of course I'll help. That's what... uh, friends are for, right?"

"You're so kind," Exie stretched her back and legs out, pressing against a crate. "I can't wait to meet the rest of the ponies here."

Applejack's eyes trailed up and down the mare's back and legs, then swallowed a large lump in her throat. She hurried and rapidly carried the rest of the boxes into the building one by one, beads of sweat forming over her brow.

"Whelp, all done. Lemme know if' ya need help with anything else - I'm gonna head on home now." The earth pony forced a wide smile and cantered off down the street.

Exie giggled at the sight and smacked her own flank. "You go girl."

She shut and locked the front door, then began unpacking the boxes and crates one by one. The building already had most of the fixtures needed to set the store up, including clothing racks and wall shelves. Exie quickly and fluidly sorted through the boxes, starting to separate and organize sections as she went. She placed fake blood and fog machines off to one side, sliding them down a shelf as she tossed costumes onto racks according to gender, age, and theme.

As she opened a large crate, she found several tall window posters. Gathering them up, she turned to hang them but immediately dropped them with a startled squeak.

A blue pegasus with a rainbow mane stood outside with her face pressed against the window. Exie frowned and trotted to the front door.

"Can I... help you?"

"Nope, just watching you set the place up." The pegasus grinned and nodded.

"Well, could you not? It's kind of... weirding me out." Exie explained as she trotted back inside.

Rainbow Dash let herself in and began rummaging through boxes. "This is so awesome! I can't wait for this place to open up!"

Exie scratched her head and couldn't help but laugh. "What do you think you're doing? You can't just come in here and go through my stuff."

"Oh... Sorry... Heh, I guess I got a little excited." Rainbow Dash dropped a hoof full of miscellaneous items and placed her hooves inconspicuously behind her back.

Exie rubbed a hoof against her chin and looked into the cerulean mare's deep magenta eyes. "How would you like a job? You seem to love this place, so it'd be fun."

Rainbow Dash fluttered into the air and thrust her hooves up high. "Yes! Does that mean I'll get a discount?!"

"Mhm," Exie nodded and dug out a clipboard. "You get twenty percent off, and you'll make... four bits per hour."

"Sweet, I'll have to work around my weather team duties, but I have plenty of free time." Rainbow Dash grabbed a pen and signed the application. "All done?"

"Well, I'm going to interview you now and make sure you're qualified for the job," Exie explained, "so take a seat. This won't be long."

Rainbow Dash nodded and sat on a crate across from Exie, who looked at a blank piece of paper in a notebook, pretending to read.

"First, would you consider yourself to be a friendly, approachable pony?" Exie asked, looking into the mare's eyes.

Rainbow nodded and breathed over the tip of her hoof. "Definitely. Everypony I meet loves me and can't wait to talk to me."

Exie giggled and made sure Rainbow Dash saw her eyes run up and down her body. "I can see why."

The pegasus turned away and scratched the back of her mane, then Exie asked the next question. "What would you consider to be your greatest quality?"

Rainbow Dash laughed and looked upward. "That's a tough one, since I have so many awesome qualities."

"Clearly not modesty," Exie added.

Rainbow Dash felt her confident bubble pop and lowered her ears, somewhat embarrassed. "Heh, yeah... Well, I'm natural born leader, and I get things done quickly and effectively."

Exie began drawing little hearts and rainbows on the otherwise blank page. "Good. One more question..."

Rainbow Dash nodded and Exie narrowed her gaze, staring deeply into the pegasus's eyes. "Can I trust you? I have a lot riding on this, and I need a mare I can rely on to help me get things done."

Rainbow Dash stood up and approached the young mare, raising her hoof to touch hers. "I give you my word; I'll be here when you need me, and I'll do my best!"

Exie smiled and nodded. She looked into the young pegasus' eyes again, reading sincerity. As Rainbow Dash gave into curiosity and opened another box, Exie's eyes and mind began to wander. She looked over the mare's attractive, messy mane style, her chest and wings, then her eyes slid down to her perfectly fit and slender stomach. She couldn't help but eye Rainbow's well sculpted haunches and thighs, and most of all her alluring round flank.

"Hey! Are you... checking me out?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow and crossed her hooves. "It's okay, I've been known to have that effect on ponies."

Exie shook her head and trotted up to the mare. "Hah, yeah... sorry. You're not quite what I expected. I couldn't help but stare a little."

"What did you expect?" The pegasus asked as she continued sorting through the box.

Exie scoffed and shook her head. "No offense, but I thought this place was gonna be just a bunch of muddy roads and bucktoothed donkeys. Now every mare I run into looks like a freakin' fitness nut, getting me all flustered. Uh, again, no offense."

"None taken," Rainbow Dash said as she puffed her chest out. "Not all the ponies around here are as great as me, but I have some pretty great friends I could introduce you to."

"Well, if they're half as stunning as you, then I'll love them." Exie winked, knowingly stroking the proud mare's ego.

"Yeah, half as great as me sounds about right." Rainbow laughed and looked towards the door. "They're really cool ponies though, you'll definitely like them. By the way, who else did you run into?"

Exie shrugged and tossed the rest of her box of clothing onto the appropriate racks. "Some nice mare who helped me unload my cargo. Apple-something. Great body, wears a cowboy hat."

"Applejack?" Rainbow snickered and leaned down in front of Exie.

"Yeah, that's right. You know her?" Exie asked.

"Psh, do I know her? She's one of my best friends." Rainbow leaned in closer and whispered, "She's really hot, but I don't think she swings that way."

"Ha," Exie raised an eyebrow and crossed her hooves. "Oh, yes. She most certainly does swing that way."

Rainbow Dash skeptically tilted her head and frowned. "No way. I've been dropping signals for years, and she never responds. Come on, the only way she could pass this up is if she was straight."

Exie looked the mare over in agreement. "You have a point. I'd jump on you the second you invited me to. But I'm still a hundred percent sure she definitely reacted to my flirting in a positive way. So, you have feelings for that mare?"

"Nah, she's just my best friend, and I'm not looking to be tied down." Rainbow Dash blushed and shook her head, taken aback by the forwardness of the young mare. "You... You really think I'm that attractive?"

"I do." Exie lowered her eyes and bit her lip. "Sadly though, I'm unable to fraternize with employees."

"Oh..." Rainbow Dash looked to the floor and thought for a moment. "So, what would happen if you did... fraternize?"

"Well," Exie grinned and nodded towards the back of the building. "Nothing, as long as no one tells."

Rainbow Dash gulped and looked up and down Exie's neck, chest, and legs, her eyes fixating on the torn leg-warmers. "I... I have to go! Please don't fire me!"

The pegasus darted out the front door and disappeared into the sky. Exie sighed and continued setting up the shop, angry with herself. "Damn it Exie... Take it easy..."

Rainbow Dash flew into Twilight's library window, knocking several books over as she fluttered to a small couch.

"You know, there's a door..." Twilight grumpily levitated the books back to the desk in front of the window and huffed, glancing back at the clearly troubled pegasus. "Was there something on your mind?"

Rainbow inhaled deeply and pressed her hooves into her eyes. "Twilight... Can I ask you something?"

"You just did," the unicorn teased as she took a seat next to her friend. "You can talk to me about anything Dash, you know that."

"Okay," Rainbow took a deep breath. "... What would you do if Celestia came onto you?"

Twilight frowned and leaned back. "What?!"

"You know, like... came on to you?" The pegasus nudged her fiend, raising her eyebrows.

"No, I get it. But I can't imagine why you'd possibly ask me that. What's going on?" Twilight asked.

"You're the smartest pony I know. I just don't know what to do. My new boss was hitting on me, and I think she's pretty hot, but I can't just go on breaking rules and being with her. Right?" Rainbow asked, hoping for a loophole.

Twilight Sparkle giggled and suppressed her blush. "Okay I get it now, but I honestly don't know what you should do. Either you have to report your boss to her superiors, or just go through with it. Or quit. No matter what you do, your job won't last much longer if you tiptoe around her advances. It probably won't last if you accept them either."

Rainbow Dash tilted her head and considered her position. "How long would it last?"

Twilight frowned and shook her head. "I can't possibly know."

"Okay. Thanks Twi! You're the best friend a pony could ask for!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she darted back out the window, knocking the freshly stacked books back over.

"Get back here and pick those... up..." Twilight groaned and re-stacked the books with a forceful burst of magic.

Rainbow Dash pushed through the front doors of Sew Fine in time to see Exie's young, slim body stretched out as she placed a box on the top shelf. The pegasus raised her eyebrows as a devious grin slid across her face.

"I'm back."

Exie nodded and stepped down, reaching into another box. "Good. That was your break. Back to work then; we still have quite a bit of setting up to do. You can get things on the high shelves more easily that I, so pick through those boxes and fly all the bundled decor to the top. Thanks."

Rainbow Dash dropped her grin and glanced around, noting how well the setup was turning out. "Hey, I like watching you put things on the top shelf."

"Hmm..." Exie hummed as she smiled and began assembling a frightening lawn figure.

The frustrated pegasus lifted a box of decorations to the top shelf and began lining them up. "So, are you always this big of a tease?"

Exie scoffed and dropped a plastic skeletal limb. "Hey, I'm not the one who rejected you and ran off."

"What? I didn't reject you! I just had to... take care of something first." She hastily emptied the box and fluttered down. "You're the one who's rejecting me right now!"

"I'm not rejecting you, I'm just trying to get this work done!" Exie shouted.

"Well if neither of us is rejecting the other, then what are we doing?" The pegasus asked, her voice lowered.

Exie shrugged and shook her head. "Look Rainbow Dash, I think you're crazy sexy, and I'm having a really hard time resisting you... I just don't want to be the town slut that everypony comes to looking for sex. I was like that in Manehattan, and..." she took a deep breath and looked down. "I guess old habits die hard."

Rainbow Dash nodded and turned away. "You have a point, I mean, we did like, just meet. It would be pretty sleazy of both of us to just... hook up now."

"We don't even know anything about each other," Exie added.

"You're right. Let's get to know each other a little better then, as friends." The pegasus spit onto the bottom of her front hoof and held it out to the little mare, her eyes closed and smile wide.

Exie tilted her head in confusion, then shrugged. She grabbed onto the blue hoof, eyeing the saliva sliding down its center, then licked it up in one wide-tongued stroke.

Rainbow Dash cringed and scooted away. "Whoa! What was that?!"

Exie blushed and shrugged, wiping her mouth with a coy smile. "I thought you wanted me to."

"No, you were supposed to bump my hoof with yours... I guess it's a Ponyville thing. I thought everyone did it." Rainbow wiped her hoof on her chest, then looked down at the slippery mess and sighed.

"Oh, and here I was thinking you were sharing a fetish with me or something. Huh. My mistake," Exie said, watching the flustered pegasus as she continued unpacking boxes.

"What the heck kind of fetish is that? I hate ponies touching my hooves..." Rainbow glared and stomped, her ears flat.

"That's a shame, because it looks like you take good care yourself. I've seen mares with pretty nasty hooves before, and that's pretty much my biggest turnoff. Especially hooves with removed horseshoes, gag." Exie trotted up to the pegasus and lifted her leg, rubbing the tips of their hooves together. "Are you sure you don't file these? They're so smooth."

Rainbow glanced side to side, then lowered her eyebrows. "Sure, I file them, but that's because I've got to be smooth all over to maintain maximum speed!"

Exie breathed onto the blue hoof, then polished it with her soft, black leg-warmer. "I can appreciate a mare taking care of her body, and it really shows with you. Every inch of you is in top condition. You're like a... a supermodel, or something."

Rainbow grinned, loving the words Exie pumped straight into her egotistical mind. "I am in great shape, aren't I?"

"Mm, hmm." Exie squeezed up Rainbow's forelegs, chirping a giggle as she ran her hooves over her sleek muscles. "You have to let me work out with you. I can't fly, but I can keep up with whatever you can do on the ground."

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "We'll see about that. Meet me tomorrow morning and I'll walk you through my routine."

"Sounds great, but I can't." Exie lowered her ears and kicked at the floor. "I'm... meeting Applejack so she can show me around."

"Applejack, huh? Well if you decide you'd rather loosen up with me, I'll be at the pond. Don't let AJ fool you; she's a top-notch athlete, but she's pretty dull sometimes." Rainbow Dash wiggled her flank and trotted to the door.

"Leaving already?" Exie dropped a box of fabric and tilted her head.

Rainbow opened the door and glanced back over her shoulder. "Yup. Catch ya later. Can't wait to get to know you a little better."

"Me neither," Exie muttered as she stared forlornly at the pegasus dashing out of sight. "I can't wait to meet your friends..."

Author's Notes:

Happy splosion day! Make sure to leave comments! How'd I do with the characterizations of each pony? I hope they're solid!