As predicted, with the passing hours, the temperature steadily declined. Despite her initial misgivings, Rarity was now huddled tight under the blanket as though she had been born in it. Every so often, she glanced over to her friend, who was trying to stay warm as well despite her rain-soaked clothing that clung tightly to her figure. Rarity wanted to offer the blanket over, but she knew Applejack’s stubbornness would never accept it. It was beginning to make her feel a little guilty: her friend had been doing all the work, all the figurative and literal heavy lifting, and all she’d managed to do was complain and annoy her friend.

“How you holding up?” Applejack asked, breaking an almost hour-long silence.

“Cold. Hungry. About as miserable as one could expect.”

“Okay then.” With barely an announcement, Applejack just popped the door open again and hopped back out into the rain. After a few minutes with Rarity staring out into the darkness in blank confusion, the farmer returned with a small box tucked under her arm. “Here you go.”

She set the box down and opened it to reveal a six-pack of apple fritters—part of the cargo that they had been trying to deliver.

Rarity only managed a quiet, shameful ‘thank you’ in response. She ate in silence, but once more couldn’t find herself able to take her eyes away from the girl next to her. She wanted to say something, but all her words felt so fleeting at this point.

“I’m… sorry about earlier,” she eventually murmured. It wasn’t much, but it felt like a start. “I could’ve tried to be a bit less difficult. I wasn’t being a very good friend…”

“It’s okay,” Applejack replied as she helped herself to one of the snacks. “My screw-ups are the reason we’re in this mess anyways. There’s enough blame to share between the two of us.”

“If Rainbow Dash were here, she’d be able to just run back to town in a heartbeat,” Rarity whimpered in dismay. “Twilight probably could’ve used her magic to get the truck running again. Fluttershy could’ve talked some birds into flying back to your house to grab your bag. Pinkie could’ve used her magic with these fritters to make a signal flare or something. But me? I’m probably the most useless of the bunch right now… I don’t even know why you asked me to come along. Makes about as much sense as me asking you to judge a fashion contest.”

Applejack answered initially with just a wistful sigh before leaning back and casting her gaze to the rain cascading down the windshield. “I needed someone to talk to,” she finally explained. “Well, that’s not quite true. I wanted to talk to you about certain… things.”

“I get the feeling this isn’t going to be about the latest fall lineup in Vanity, is it?” Rarity quipped back. “I don’t understand: we bicker more than any other two in our circle. I thought I’d be the last person you’d turn to.”

“It’s because you’re so… y’know, you’re good at that touchy emotional stuff,” Applejack admitted, a faint glow rising to her cheeks. “And I know we have a tendency to go at it like two co—er, roosters in a pen, but… we’re still friends, right?”

“Of course,” Rarity said while offering back a comforting smile. “I might not always agree with you, but I’ve always appreciated your candour. It’s just… sometimes I have trouble phrasing those sentiments appropriately.”

Applejack snickered, which sprayed a few flecks of fritter about the cabin. “That’s putting it mildly.”

“So what sort of ‘touchy emotional stuff’ did you want to talk about?” Rarity had a playful spring in her voice that matched the smirk upon her face. She was clearly relishing the opportunity to see her hard-headed friend open up a little.

“Okay, well… the thing is… um, that is to say I, uh…” Applejack’s voice began to falter as she fumbled to find the right words.

“Is it about Rainbow Dash?”

“That obvious?”

“Well you have been a little distracted today.”

Applejack finished off the last of her fritter and then followed it up with a few deep breaths to steady her nerves, or perhaps to just buy herself some more time. “The thing is Rarity… I’m uh… I’m—”

“Gay?”

“—I’m ga—hey! D-did someone tell you already?”

“You wear your heart on your sleeve, AJ; it wasn’t hard for me to figure out,” Rarity explained, wagging a playful finger at her friend. “You think I wouldn’t notice the way you stare at Dash whenever she went by in those little running shorts of hers.”

Applejack turned several shades of red, which at least had the pleasant side effect of staving off some of the nighttime chill. “Y-yeah, guess you would be the one to pick up on that,” Applejack murmured in her unease. “Except the real kicker is… Dash ain’t.”

“Really? Are you certain?”

Applejack gave a somber nod. “Worked up the nerve to talk to her about it last weekend: marched right on over to her house, barged into her room and everything. She made it pretty clear, though, and in no uncertain terms that she don’t plant her crops in that field.”

“Oh dear, that must’ve made for an awkward conversation.”

“Awkward?” Applejack repeated, pursing her lips as she pondered it over. “Maybe not as much as it was for the guy whose dick she was sucking at the moment, but… yeah, I guess awkward would be a good way to put it.”

Rarity stared in disbelief for a moment, as if clinging to the fleeting hope that Applejack would turn, grin, and reveal that last part to be just one big joke. No such reassurance ever came.

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Rarity finally offered her condolences. “That must have been hard to take. How are you holding up?”

“Well, I’ve been better.”

Applejack fell silent afterwards, losing herself once more in the water cascading down the windshield. She had trouble finding the right words or some magic combination that could fix what she was feeling. Maybe if she had more experience with these kinds of conversations, she’d know exactly what to say, but that was also why she had wanted Rarity of all people to be here. A part of her still wondered if maybe Sunset Shimmer would’ve been a better choice, but at the same time she didn’t want a literal magic solution to what ailed her. She needed to learn how to handle this on her own, even if every voice in her brain was telling her to just quit complaining.

For her part, Rarity knew to keep silent and give her friend the time and space she needed to approach the conversation on her own terms.

“You remember a few summers back when I went to that big rodeo competition?” Applejack asked.

“You came back and locked yourself in your room for almost a week,” Rarity replied. “By the time we forced our way inside, you were trying to fill out job applications for a cherry farm.”

“Exactly,” the farmer said with a somber nod. “I kept telling myself I was fine and that I was just handling my problems on my own as I always had. Truthfully, though, I was just running away from them. I don’t want to keep repeating those mistakes, so… here I am, trying to face my problems.” She let out a weary sigh as she leaned to one side, resting her chin upon her hand and bracing herself against the door. “When you realized Trenderhoof didn’t care for you… how’d you feel?”

“Worthless. Like I was invisible. Like all the effort I poured into making myself look my very best was wasted because some poofy-haired brat decided he was going to have a cowgirl fetish and pine for somebody who spends maybe five minutes on hair and makeup each morning!”

Applejack cocked an eyebrow for a brief moment, and her gaze panned between her friend and the ex-fritter that Rarity had inadvertently crushed in her hand. “Um… sorry?”

Upon realizing the results of her subconscious response, Rarity flashed a hasty and apologetic smile. “N-not that I hold any of that against you, darling,” she insisted while wiping her hand on the seat cushion. “What I’m trying to say is that it really undermined my sense of worth and confidence. I’m over it now, but at the time I felt like if I couldn’t get his attention then clearly I wasn’t worthy of being a proper lady.”

“So how’d you get over it?”

Rarity reached over and set her hand down on Applejack’s shoulder, giving a firm squeeze as she smiled more warmly. “Because of you, of course,” she answered. “Whenever those feelings of doubt came back, I could always count on your honesty and friendship to remind me of what really mattered in life. I doubt I could’ve recovered from that as easily if it hadn’t been for you.”

“Heh, well that’s me: ol’ dependable Applejack.” Despite the smile, there was a hint of bitterness in the girl’s voice. “It’s just… I dunno. I realize it’s a load of hogwash, but I can’t help but think maybe if I were a bit more like you, then maybe I wouldn’t be in this situation. I mean, aside from Trenderhoof, I ain’t never had somebody give me the time of day. I just… you make it sound so easy.”

“I know I can be a bit boastful at times, but this look does take a lot of work,” Rarity insisted, flicking her perfectly curled coiffure to the side just to emphasize the fact.

“But like you said: you can pick out any guy at school whenever you please,” Applejack insisted, her voice giving way to some of the despair she felt. “You can ask anybody at Canterlot High to describe you: fabulous. Or gorgeous. Or beautiful. Or stunning. What do I get? That country girl with the funny accent.”

She fell silent once more, save for a light ‘thump’ when she rested her head against the glass of the driver’s side door, followed a few seconds later by a pitiful groan.

“What’s worse is I know it’s stupid to feel like this. I got turned down by one gal: these things happen, and it don’t mean I’m worthless but I just…”

“Can’t get rid of that sinking feeling in your heart and the nagging voice in the back of your head?”

Applejack sighed and nodded slowly.

“Darling, I’ve drowned my fair share of those sentiments in tubs of ice cream,” Rarity explained with a sheepish smirk across her features. “Probably more times than I’d care to admit.”

Lifting her head from the glass, Applejack regarded her friend with a definite look of surprise on her face. “Really?”

“I’ll let you in on a secret, but you have to promise not to tell a soul. Pinkie promise, in fact!”

“O-of course.”

Now it was Rarity’s turn to take a few breaths in order to steady her nerves, though whether she needed to or because she wanted to add a little dramatic pause was anybody’s guess. “Applejack, my dark, terrible secret is—”

But before she could finish her sentence, there came a sudden jostling noise from the back-end of the truck, as if something had just shifted the crates about in the flatbed. It was loud enough to catch both girls’ attention and they immediately turned their gazes towards the back window.

“Uh, w-what was that?” Rarity murmured as she cast a nervous, sideways glance to her friend. “T-that was just the wind, right?”

“You helped me load the truck: you know those things ain’t light enough to be moved by a breeze.”

“I know, but if not the wind, then… who?” Rarity began to tense up, swallowing hard as she clenched the blanket tighter around her figure. “Is there… um, a lot of wild animals out here?”

“Sure: skunks, possums, rabbits—”

“What about bears? Or wolves?” Rarity exclaimed as she pulled the blanket over her head, leaving only the smallest of openings for her to see through. “W-w-we’re safe in here, though, right? Oh, where’s Fluttershy when you need her?”

Applejack hadn’t considered something like a bear, and now all she could imagine was a giant grizzly rummaging through the backend of the truck; a bear that would surely not be contented with just mere apples, not when there were two tasty little girls sitting inside the truck like snacks in a lunchbox. But the truck could keep them safe, right?

The old… old… old family truck.

“I… I’m gonna check it out,” Applejack announced, though even her voice was a bit shaky.

Before the apprehensive farmer could exit the truck, Rarity grabbed her by the elbow. “A-are you sure that’s a good idea?” her friend asked.

“No, but somebody has to,” Applejack said with a resigned groan. “B-besides, it’s probably just some tiny critters attracted to the food. And I’ve got my magic strength so I… I should be okay. You stay here, and I’ll keep you safe.”

Rarity could only watch through her wool-framed viewport of the world as her friend stepped out into the rain-slicked darkness. She could see Applejack’s reflection in the side-view mirror as she trudged around to the back of the truck. All of sudden, the intrepid farmer let out a panicked yelp and disappeared from sight, as if grabbed from below.

“Applejack!” Rarity shrieked.

Without a second thought, Rarity threw her blanket aside and burst out from the truck. She raced around to the back with a magic gemstone raised up front like a shield, and the flashlight held high. If that bear—or wolf or mountain lion or whatever—wanted a piece of Applejack, then it’d have to go through her first!

“Stay away from her, you damn, dirty beast!” she cried out into the darkness.

“Uh, Rarity?” a voice perked up from below.

Rarity glanced to the ground and saw her friend lying in the grass and mud, a puzzled look upon the farmer’s face.

“Oh, y-you’re okay,” she remarked while flashing a sheepish grin.

“I slipped,” Applejack explained.

After letting her magic dispel and relaxing her stance, Rarity helped hoist her friend back onto her feet. While she was relieved that nobody was hurt, it was a little disheartening that she had jumped into the rain and mud for nothing. Now she was just as drenched as Applejack and with nothing to show for it.

Just then the truck suddenly jostled from side to side, as if some significant force had just pushed against it. Applejack and Rarity turned to the source of the noise, and through the darkness saw a pair of shining golden eyes gazing right back at them. They both let out a terrified shriek and leapt into each other’s arms, clinging for dear life. In a brief moment of sanity in the otherwise raging maelstrom of fear and panic, Rarity directed her flashlight towards the mysterious creature.

The light revealed a deer staring back at them, which promptly turned and fled at the sudden noise and light.

As sanity returned to the girls, they exchanged glances and soon realized they were still holding onto each other. They quickly jumped back, grinning sheepishly all the while.

“Ah-heh, you… uh, sure did scream loudly there,” Applejack joked along with a forced laugh.

“Well you should’ve seen the look on your face when that deer came out,” Rarity replied, laughing in kind alongside her friend.

The pair quickly checked on the cargo and discovered the lid from one of the boxes had been dislodged. “Must’ve come off when we crashed,” Applejack postulated. She plucked a half-eaten apple from the crate, took a quick look, and then tossed it over her shoulder. “All that noise must’ve been that deer climbing over the back.”

After replacing the lid, they retreated back into the shelter of the truck. There, they were able to breathe a sigh of relief, albeit for only a few seconds before Applejack broke out into a boisterous laughter. It proved infectious and impossible to resist, and Rarity soon joined the merriment. The girls laughed and laughed until they could hardly breathe; a sense of calm soon returning as the pair settled back down.

“Boy, we sure did look like a pair of fools back there,” Applejack said between heavy breaths.

“I went out there with a flashlight—a flashlight, of all things!” Rarity exclaimed. “I probably looked about as threatening as a drenched kitten.”

“You definitely got the drenched part down.” Applejack then let out a sharp exhale as a forceful shiver overcame her. “S-speaking of drenched.”

“My goodness, Applejack! You must be freezing,” Rarity said with a gasp. She realized then that her friend had gone out in the rain four times now, most of which without her boots or even a decent coat. Her friend was shivering from head toe, and even through a shirt and bra, Rarity could tell her friend was getting perky. “Were you just going to freeze to death without a word?”

With a stern grunt while folding her arms across her chest, Applejack put on her usual façade of stubbornness. “It ain’t that cold,” she insisted despite all evidence to the contrary. “I’ll be fine.”

“No, you won’t!” Rarity snapped. “And especially not when your clothes are all completely soaked through.” She paused for a moment to consider her options, but only one solution came to mind. It wouldn’t be easy, but her friend was worth the price. “Applejack, take off your clothes.”

On the bright side, at least one part of Applejack was no longer cold as her face turned redder than a Red Delicious. “Say what now?”

“You heard me. Take off those drenched clothing before you catch your death of cold.”

“I don’t think being naked will help me much.”

“We’ll use the blanket and share body warmth,” Rarity explained, holding up the aforementioned item. “Seriously, Applejack, this was covered back during Camp Everfree.”

Applejack didn’t think she was on the brink of hypothermia, but she had to admit she was feeling rather frigid, and it wasn’t going to get any better for quite a while. Still, the suggestion brought about a lot of implications that understandably made the girl feel a little anxious about the idea.

“Doesn’t that mean you have to take off your clothes too?” Applejack asked.

“Yes. Yes it does, but unless you want to try and drag that deer back to the truck, I don’t see any other sources of warmth,” Rarity insisted, her voice growing more determined. “Now strip or I swear to god, I will tear those clothes from your freckled behind.”

“Y-yes ma’am!”

Despite the thought still making her a brilliant shade of crimson, she began disrobing: a cumbersome process while still inside a car. It also didn’t escape her notice that Rarity was stripping down as well, revealing her slender, ivory curves in all their splendor. Now the two had been friends for many years, having spent time at the beach and gym class change rooms on numerous occasions, but none of those moments brought the kind of heart-racing tension Applejack felt now. And the fact that her friend was willing to go to such lengths for her sake did not go unnoticed either.

“Is something wrong?” Rarity asked, snapping the farmer from her momentary trance.

“N-nothing!” Realizing she had been staring longer than what would’ve been considered polite, Applejack quickly averted her gaze and turned her focus back to removing her mud-stained socks.

Rarity just smirked in silence, noting her friend’s sudden bout of bashfulness. It’d be a lie to say it wasn’t a bit amusing to her, and perhaps if Applejack had been paying attention at that moment, she would’ve seen the mischievous glint in the other girl’s eyes.

Once the two girls were wearing nothing but their birthday suits, Rarity grabbed the blanket and shuffled over to Applejack’s side of the cabin.

“Now make some room; if we’re doing this, I’m being the little spoon,” Rarity insisted with a playful tone. Her friend swung her legs up so that they were resting across the bench-style seat, and then she climbed onto Applejack’s lap.

“C-could you not quite phrase it like that,” the country girl murmured. She would’ve said more but fell deathly silent as her friend pressed up back-to-front and draped the blanket over their shoulders. The warmth was so inviting—intoxicating even.

“Oh my, you really were cold,” Rarity remarked. “Could you be a dear and wrap your arms around me?”

Though blushing furiously, Applejack nonetheless complied. As she draped her arms over her friend’s shoulders, they were taken hold of and pulled in closer by her now smiling and purring friend. God, she was so soft… her skin felt like silk. Damp silk, but still. As her friend settled in, resting her head upon Applejack’s chest, the red-faced farmer caught a hint of an apple’s aroma. It took her a moment to realize it must’ve been coming from Rarity’s hair, perhaps the shampoo or body wash she used.

“You know, despite the circumstances, there really is nothing quite as divine as a pair of warm, strong arms holding you late at night,” Rarity mused.

“I-I’m sure you’ve been held by better arms,” Applejack muttered back.

“Actually, I’ve never done this before,” her friend answered in a suddenly sober tone. “Haven’t even had my first kiss, in fact.”

“Really? But you said—”

“Words, darling,” Rarity interrupted. “Just words. I can talk a mean game, but the truth is I’ve had no more luck finding love than you have.” She let out a wistful sigh as her fingertips idly brushed up and down the lengths of her friend’s goose-bump riddled arms. “Sure, looking fabulous can turn heads, even make one of your closest friends turn into a cherry tomato, but all I’ve attracted are either people who are shallow or people who treat me like I am. It’s enough to make a girl question herself.”

“Oh come on, Rarity, anybody who's taken the time knows you ain’t shallow in the least. I mean, sure you can get a little… um, vain at times.”

“Which I am more than willing to admit to,” Rarity hastily answered. “Yes, I can be a little vain at times.”

“And critical.”

“Yes, yes, that too. I know I’m not perfect; I have my failings, same as anyone else.”

“But at the same time, it’s because you’ve got such an eye for detail. You see things and you know how to make them look their best,” Applejack added. “It’s part of who you are, and while I know I can sometimes get on your case about it… honestly, I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

Now it was Rarity’s turn to blush a little, but thankfully her position meant that Applejack could only see the back of her head. “Thanks. It really means a lot to hear that, especially from you,” she answered.

“Really? ‘Especially’ from me?” Applejack repeated with a puzzled look.

Rarity nodded slowly before pulling the blanket up a bit more to cover her face a bit. “Is that really so hard to believe? I care about you; I care about what you think of me… and sometimes I wonder if you ever think of me in the same way that I think of you.”

Whatever words she had prepared soon became lodged in Applejack’s throat. She could feel her friend’s heartbeat: it was racing. Probably faster than her own. Questions began swirling through her mind as she tried to make sense of what her friend just said. This was not what she was expecting when she started up the truck that morning.

“Why are you telling me all this now?” she whispered, anxious and confused.

“I… I’m not sure, to be honest,” Rarity answered. She shifted a bit in her friend’s embrace, pulling Applejack’s arm in firmly, like a blanket, so that she could feel their warmth and security again. “Maybe I’m just finally realizing that what I want—the kind of person I need—is someone who’s kind, and dependable, and compassionate, and honest, and selfless. Somebody who understands me better than I understand myself at times. Somebody who can make me laugh, make me feel safe… like that no matter what I do or who I am, they’ll always have me.”

Rarity shifted her position, twisting about so that she could look her friend in the eye—those splendid viridescent eyes. She reached up, cautiously at first, and stroked the farmer’s cheek with the back of her hand, brushing a few damp strands of hair to the side.

“I just want you to know that even if you sometimes feel like you might not mean much to the world, there’s people who you mean the world to,” she said before leaning in closer. She pursed her lips ever so slightly, which caused Applejack to pull away in surprise.

“R-Rarity, w-what are you doing?”

“Keeping you warm,” Rarity replied, her voice soft and inviting. She waited a moment to see if Applejack showed any reluctance, and when no objections were made, she closed the gap and kissed her friend.

Despite waking up with the worst crick in her neck from having to use the driver’s side door for a pillow, Applejack was in surprisingly good spirits the next morning. The worries that had plagued her mind and left her so distracted the day before seemed like distant memories now, and she knew that was due to, in no small part, the young teen that still slumbered atop of her. Rarity seemed to have made herself rather comfortable on top of Applejack, using her chest as a pillow and clinging to her body for warmth.

Applejack almost felt sorry she’d have to wake her up at some point. She would’ve let the sleeping beauty rest, but now that she was awake, she couldn’t ignore the stiffness in her muscles. She tried to stretch out her joints without too much disruption, but the loud pops and crackles soon brought Rarity murmuring back into the world of the waking.

“Mornin’ there, sleepyhead,” Applejack greeted.

It took a moment for Rarity to remember where she was, but the realization soon set in with a crimson flourish. “Good morning to you, too. Did you sleep well?” she asked, gazing up to her friend.

“Pretty good, actually; though I will admit that you were right about the whole uncomfortable seats thing. I reckon there’s a bolt-shaped indent in my shoulder now.”

“Well I happen to be quite comfortable right here,” Rarity said. She nestled her head back into the farmer’s chest with a playful giggle, to which her friend responded by shifting her hands until they were hooked behind the small of Rarity’s back.

“So… about last night,” Applejack began, “and what you said. You… um, you really meant it, right? Y-you weren’t just saying those things to make me feel better, were you?”

“Of course. I meant every word,” Rarity reassured her. “I know we’ve had our differences, but we’ve been through a lot together, and we’ve always come through closer than before.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply nothing or stare a gift horse in the mouth—”

“Are you calling me a horse?”

“I-it was just a figure of speech!”

“I know, I know. I’m just teasing,” Rarity said with another laugh.

After rolling her eyes, Applejack tried to steer the conversation back to her original concern. “But seriously, though, what does all this make us?” she asked, picking her words more cautiously. “Last night was incredible and all, but I don’t want you to feel like you’re obliged to—”

Before she could finish her thoughts, an ivory fingertip pressed firmly against her lips.

“Please don’t think so little of yourself,” Rarity said in a firm but compassionate tone. “I want this; I want you. Don’t you want to see where else this can lead to?”

Applejack smiled back as she took hold of Rarity’s hand and held it gently against her cheek. “I’d really like to see where this goes too,” she answered. “As you long as you’re willing to rough it with this stubborn country gal.”

Rarity laughed again, running her thumb along the side of her friend’s cheek and lips. Slowly, she leaned in and planted a tender, loving kiss upon her friend’s lips. “I believe I can manage that, as long as you don’t mind putting up with this nit-picking primadonna.” She then reached under the blankets and grabbed a part of Applejack that made the farmer turn red from ear to ear. “And I certainly don’t mind this sort of ‘roughing it.’”

“A-are you sure that’s a good idea? It’s kinda broad daylight now,” Applejack replied.

“Oh, pfft! We’re in the middle of the countryside,” she said while pushing herself upwards just enough to see out the windows, “there’s hardly anybody around for miles and—” All of a sudden, her expression froze and she gulped. “S-say, where exactly was this delivery supposed to go?”

“The White Tail County Fair,” Applejack answered, too distracted by her friend’s figure to look anywhere else.

Slowly, Rarity lowered back down and pulled the blanket back over herself. “I… I think we might’ve found it.”

Applejack sat up to see the truth for herself, though it didn’t take long before she, too, wanted to hide underneath the blanket again. The field she crashed her truck into just so happened to be the same field the organizers had marked for public parking. All around them were rows upon rows of cars and trucks, and off in the distance, she could see the balloons, tents, and banners of the aforementioned county fair, in all their brightly coloured and festive glory.

“Well, at least we won’t have to go far to get help.”