"THE GAMES WE PLAY"

ALTERNATE ENDING #15 (cont'd)

Guest Submission from BubbleBerry Pop

Fluttershy hovered anxiously as AppleJack stepped aside to let her in. Her mouth opened and closed several times as she struggled to figure out how exactly to phrase what she wanted to say.

Seeing the troubled expression on her friends face made the farmer’s ear droop, what she was trying to say was quickly becoming clear. “Listen sugarcube, I know what ya’ll is going to say so you really don’t need to. I shouldn’t have gotten mad and I promise to apologize later alright…?” AppleJack was having trouble keeping eye contact as she kicked at the floor.

“Ohh… ummmm… that’s nice that you are because you really should apologize…. but that’s not why I’m here…” The pegasus let out a squeak as AppleJack’s attention was suddenly fully on her again. “Wh…what I mean is…. I just wanted to see how you are doing.”

“How do you think I’m doing Fluttershy? I’m upset… upset that Rainbow would pick Rarity over Pinkie, upset that Rarity is so happy to be with Rainbow now while Pinkie is depressed… but most of all I’m upset with myself for waiting so long… and now I’ve blown it and it’s too late…” The farmer was fighting a losing battle as she fought back her tears. “It just not fair Fluttershy, I was gunna tell her you know… when we got back to Ponyville. I even spent good bits for a reserved table at the fanciest place we got back home, but now it don’t matter…”

The pegasus already had her hooves wrapped around the farmer as the tears began to flow, “shhhh… there there Applejack, just let it all out. Everypony needs a good cry every now and again.” Fluttershy cooed softly in her ear as she pet Applejack’s mane.

Applejack pulled away from the embrace as she tried to force the tears away, “yeah well I don’t! I haven’t cried since I was a filly and I aint gunna start now.” Despite her best efforts the tears wouldn’t stop, only causing her to try and rub them away, “I’m a big mare, I shouldn’t be crying like some school filly that lost her favorite ribbon.”

Fluttershy simple smiled as she pulled her friend back into a comforting hug, this time the farmer didn’t fight it as she sniffled a bit, “I umm…. hardly think that you could…. compare Rarity to a ribbon in this situation…. If it’s okay for me to say that…” Fluttershy waited for a response but when none came she decided to continue, “you never actually owned Rarity… she was always free to make her own decision, and now she did. None of us should fault her for following her heart like she did, even though it was done at the expense of Pinkie’s feelings and unknowingly yours.”

Applejack just shook her head as she thought about it, the tear flowing slowing slightly, “but it aint right, she knew about Pinkie’s feelings and went after Rainbow anyways.”

Fluttershy simple smiled as she stroked the work horse’s mane again, “So you are expecting her to ignore and forget her own feelings and step out of the way for somepony else?”

AppleJack could feel her argument crumbling, “b…but she’s the element of generosity…” She knew it was a lame excuse but it was all she could think of.

“So Rarity isn’t entitled to her own happiness as long as she gives so that everypony else is happy? That doesn’t seem very fair does it?”

With a sigh the farmer hung her head defeated, “I know, I just wish that happiness was with me…”

“If you love Rarity like I know you do, then I know you’ll find a way to be happy for her and for Rainbow.” With a smile Fluttershy wiped away the last of the tears as she got up, “but I’ll always be available if you need to talk alright?”

“Alright, thank ya sugarcube, and I’ll do my best. It’ll just take some time to get used to is all.” Getting up from her spot AppleJack stretched a bit before heading to the door, “I should probably check on Pinkie then.” She was just about to leave when she suddenly turned around again smiling, “Hey Fluttershy, ya’ll still fancy that spa pony right?” For the first time Applejack had a genuine smile as her friend turned a dark shade of red nodding, “well I did spend a good amount of bit for that fancy reservation. Would ya’ll be interested?”

Fluttershy simple shook her head as she joined her friend at the door, “oh no I couldn’t, besides I’m sure you can find somepony else who would appreciate a night with a friend.”

“You’re probably right, thanks again Fluttershy. I do appreciate it.” With a nod the two departed ways, Fluttershy to her room and AppleJack to Pinkie’s. As she approached the door, AppleJack found it surprisingly quiet but decided to knock anyways. With no response after a few minutes she decided to knock a second time and a third but still got no response. “Pinkie are ya’ll in there? I wanted to see how you were doing.” Again all she got in response was quiet, “Pinkie! Come find me when ya get the chance alright?” With a sigh the farmer headed back to her room to finish packing.

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Twilight was on her bed quickly scribbling away into her third book as Rainbow continued to tell the whole story from start to finish. Rarity just sat peacefully leaning onto her marefriend, perfectly content to have Rainbow’s wing wrapped around her. Rainbow was nearing the end when Twilight closed her current book and opened a new one to continue, “so that’s when we found you two in the alley way right?”

“Right, so by then we already had our first kiss and I guess I already knew I loved her,” With a smile Rainbow turned and gave her marefriend a kiss on the cheek, eliciting a small giggle from the unicorn before she continued. Twilight once again scribbling away in her notes, “so after we got back I told Rarity I wanted to talk to Pinkie but she insisted on joining me which at the time I didn’t want… and well basically the conversation ended with Rarity leaving in tears…”

Rainbow’s ears dropped as she thought about it but instantly perked back up again as Rarity nuzzled against her smiling, “though I’ve already forgiven her for that, I do understand her reasoning and she was right I probably would have made things worse.”

“Honestly though I’m not sure I believe that now anyways, Pinkie just ended up kicking me out of her room shortly after I entered…”

Twilight simply watched fascinated as the two comforted each other as she took more notes, “so what happened next?”

“After that I just went back to my room feeling really depressed, I knew I was losing both of them at that point and had to do something about it. Deciding who to go to first didn’t take too long but when I went to Rarity’s window she was still upset and ended up locking me out…. I was desperate to talk to her so I did the only thing I could think of and bought her a red carnation just like the ones she had sent me as Mare Do Well. At the time I had completely forgot about the meaning of the flower until Rarity shoved it in my face again later demanding if I really meant it. It was then that I finally admitted it to her and myself that yes I did mean it.”

A faint blush was making its way onto Rainbow’s face causing Rarity to giggle again as she leaned in for a kiss, which the pegasus gladly accepted letting it linger a few moments before finally pulling away. “Though I must say it was much more romantic than anything I’ve read in a book.”

“Wow…” That was the only thing the purple unicorn could think as she set her book and quill aside, “that’s actually quite the story. Can’t say I agree with your chosen method but I don’t really know romance to be honest I suppose if it ends up in a success then who am I to judge anyways. Though what about earlier? What happened with Pinkie and AppleJack?”

“Oh that… well Pinkie and AppleJack didn’t take the news about me and Rarity very well this morning…”

Rainbow hung her head low as Rarity did her best to comfort her as she continued on, “Pinkie took it rather hard… probably more so than she did when we threw her that birthday party last year. We want to make sure everything is alright, but she probably doesn’t want to see us anytime soon.”

“That may be for the best actually, just give her some time…. She may come around eventually. Our friendships have managed to pull through in tougher times right?” Twilight still seemed optimistic as she went back to taking notes. “But I am happy for you both, though with all these notes I was kind of wondering if you two would mind if I made your story into an actual book. I’d change our names though of course and have it published as fiction just in case.”

Rarity couldn’t help but giggle once more as Rainbow just looked on confused, “Twilight darling, I’m not sure anyone would be interested in reading our story, but I am flattered.”

“Yeah Twi, who’d be crazy enough to actually enjoy our story anyways? That just seems kind of weird.” Rainbow just shrugged as she turned her attention back to the mare under her wing, “though there was some cool action in our story.”

“And romance.” Rarity added with a smile, “but still I don’t know if many ponies would like it.”

“Well just something to think about right?” Twilight was determined to get them to agree but decided she’d just try to bring it up again later. “So I was also wondering though, so all relationships start like yours did?”

“Oh no darling, ours was just a special case that was probably taken much farther than it should have been.”

“Oh…” Twilight could feel her ears drop as she wrote down more notes, “so then how does one normally get a mares attention anyhow?”

Rarity could feel a small smile creeping onto her face as she looked at Twilight try to avoid eye contact, “usually with little acts of romance, like an anonymous letter or some flowers. Mostly just to let the mare know they have an admirer. Most mares do enjoy the mystery behind a secret admirer. Though why do you ask Twilight?”

The purple unicorn turned a few shades of red as she turned away from the pair, “n…no reason… just curious is all.”

Rainbow was a little slower to catch on but when she did her smile mirrored Rarity’s with ease, “oh? Well you are an egghead so I guess you would be curious about that huh? Is there anything else your curious about?”

“Oh well ummm…. Are then any other carnations that maybe don’t mean as much as a red one but come somewhere close? Y… you know for research purposes….”

“Well I will be sure to look that up for you when we get back home Twilight,” Rarity leaned more onto Rainbow as they watched Twilight’s face continue to get redder. “But now I do have a question of my own if you don’t mind.”

Immediately Twilight’s ears went up as she started to feel more comfortable moving into something she was more familiar with, “alright then, what is it Rarity?”

“Who is the lucky mare?” Both Rarity and Rainbow burst out laughing as Twilight’s face finally got the deepest shade of red possible.

The three mares continued to talk until well into the day until finally Rainbow and Rarity had to head back into their own rooms to finish packing. Slowly each of the mares began making their way to the station where their train awaited, Pinkie was the first to board as she put all her stuff in and headed straight to her room hoping to avoid meeting with any of the others. She just didn’t feel like talking to anypony today.

As luck would have not thirty minutes after reaching her room somepony was already knocking, “Pinkie? Are you in there sugarcube?”

Reluctantly Pinkie went and opened the door, “What? I don’t want to talk to anypony right now…”

“I know Pinkie, but I just wanted to come and make sure ya’ll was okay. I know how you are feeling so I wanted to-

“How could you know how I’m feeling? How could any of you know?” Pinkie’s voice was filled with spite and anger as she moved to closed the door, “just go away.”

AppleJack shoved a hoof in the door as she saw it closing, flinching quite a bit as the force used shot pain through her leg. “Trust me Pinkie I know how you feel…” The farmer could feel her ears drooping as she looked down to the ground, “and I know it’s not going to be easy to get over…”

Pinkie could feel her anger dissolving as the realization dawned on her, but her anger quickly flared up as that realization came, “You liked Rainbow too didn’t you? Great just another pony that would have taken her from me! Go away AppleJack!”

AppleJack flinched again as the door was slammed on her hoof once more, “Wait Pinkie, it’s not Rainbow that I liked okay… I wasn’t gunna take her from you.”

Pinkie just glared and looked away, “If you don’t like Rainbow then how could you know how I’m feeling huh? You’re just a liar!” As she turned around to leave AppleJack there the real realization dawned on her and she turned back around, “you liked Rarity didn’t you?”

With a small nod the farmer finally stepped into the room, “Yeah, so now you know why I know how you feel huh?”

“Oh Jackie! I’m so sorry for being such a big meanie to you! I didn’t know! Please don’t hate me! Pinkie was already close to tears as she pulled her friend into a tight hug.

“P…Pinkie… c…can’t breathe…”

“Oh sorry…” The party pony finally released her friend and just sat there feeling even worse.

“It’s alright Pinkie, ya’ll didn’t mean it.” With a small smile AppleJack pulled Pinkie into a gentler hug, making sure to wipe away any tears as she did so. “Feeling any better Pinkie?”

“A little…. Thank you Jackie!” With a small sniffle she wrapped her hooves around the other mare actually smiling a bit as she did so, “You’re a great friend, not like Rainbow or Rarity.”

As she pulled away AppleJack simply shook her head, “Pinkie, now ya’ll know I can’t just let you believe that right? Rainbow and Rarity are still our friends”

“I know, I ‘m just not happy right now… but you understand that right?”

“I do sugarcube, but we can’t let this ruin our friendships now can we?”

Pinkie’s smile faded slightly but she nodded anyways, “No, but it’s hard… how do you do it AJ?”

AppleJack just smiled, “well I had some help to realize it, but I learned that if I did love Rarity then I would be happy that she is happy, and the same should go for you and Rainbow.” Before Pinkie could respond AppleJack decided to continue, “and I know that it’s not going to be easy so I wanted to ask that maybe you wanted to join me for a friendly dinner date tomorrow night, Just as friends though. I figured we both could use the company and I already had the table reserved anyhow. So what do you say?”

Pinkie simply nodded and smiled more, “That sounds nice,” Once again the pink mare grabbed her friend in a hug, “A friendly dinner then maybe we could throw a party? Just for us?”

The earth farmer couldn’t help but chuckle, “Sure Pinkie that sounds great.”

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18 MONTHS LATER

Celestia stood proud in front of the two mares as she spoke the final lines for the ceremony, “I now pronounce you mare and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

AppleJack didn’t have time to prepare herself as she was suddenly tackled with Pinkie planting many sloppy kisses all over her face and neck. The crowd stomping in applause for the happy couple. Amongst the crowd Fluttershy stood blushing as Lotus leaned lovingly onto her, the pair only having been dating for a few months now. Next to them was Twilight, a now bestselling author, and her date Princess Luna, with Twilight only just recently gathering enough courage to ask out the princess. The only pair that was missing, wasn’t missing at all and if anypony looked up they’d see the dark purple and rainbow colored tails hanging off a cloud overhead.

Rarity curled up close next to her marefriend as she cautiously tried to look over the edge, the idea of being in the air still bothering her to an extent, “I still have no idea why I let you talk me into watching the wedding from up here… You know I don’t like heights…”

Rainbow smiled as she nuzzled Rarity’s neck, “I know, but there was something I wanted to ask you…” A blush was already forming as Rainbow moved a bit on the cloud, “something important that I wanted to do…” Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves rainbow turned to retrieve a small box she had from under her wing. “With hearing that AppleJack and Pinkie were getting married, well it got me thinking…” Rainbow did her best to position herself to look like she was kneeling as she opened the box revealing a small white gold ring with accented with a dark purple jewel. “Rarity, would you make me the happiest mare in Equestria?”

“YES! Of course I will Rainbow!” And with a smile the four friends on the ground knew exactly what had just happened as they heard the excited acceptance from up above, and they couldn’t be happier.

THE END