“Hm, hm, hm~” Rarity perused an assortment of silks and fabrics, carefully considering each one. Today, one of her most important customers was visiting her - a dear friend, who deserved the absolute top-of-the-line in fashion.

Applejack sat awkwardly in the middle of the room, her eyes anxiously following the fashionista as she ran to and fro. She was indecisive, but Apple knew it was because she cared - she gave her all, even when it was something as simple as a single accessory.

“Alright, I have some ideas!” The tailor pony approached the farmer with a selection of scarves all floating in the air, arched like a rainbow above her head. They were all warmer colors, yellows, oranges, and reds, along with a single black design. “I think these would all look simply marvelous on you, but do you see any that catch your eye?”

“Hmm…” Applejack didn’t know the last thing about fashion. All she’d come for was to get some accessory for her date with Fluttershy - she rarely wore more than just her hat, but she wanted to impress her. Rarity had suggested a scarf, and she’d agreed. “How about… this one?” She pointed to the middle - a simple flannel pattern, red and black.

“Ah, a classic pattern! Not one that has much of a place in my store, generally, but for someone of your more natural beauty, it may be just the perfect thing.” The other scarves all flung themselves onto a nearby work desk as the chosen one floated in front of Applejack’s neck. “I think this will do wonderfully~” She stepped closer, grabbing the apparel in her hooves and tying it around Applejack’s neck, adjusting and ruffling it in just the right way. It was in a triangular shape on her front side, worn like a neckerchief.

“How do I look?” Apple’s cheeks reddened slightly.

“Adorable, darling - I love it! It’s just what you needed to really pull your rugged look together!” A mirror floated in front of the earth pony; she tilted her chin up to get a better view. It really did look nice! She was sure that Fluttershy would love it.

“Thank you, Rarity - this looks amazin’! How much do I owe ya?”

“Oh, nothing at all, dear - I made that scarf with you in mind! It was simply a piece from an earlier outfit I’d made for you to model, though I ended up having to scrap that concept. I always keep the pieces though - you never know when somepony might need them for something such as…” She tilted her head down and smiled mischievously. “...a date~?”

The earth pony blushed, eyes widening in surprise. “H-how’d you know that?”

“My dear Applejack, I think we’re all well aware. The walls at Twilight’s castle are a little more thin than you may think.” She winked to the farm pony. “And, well, you two did spend an entire hour in the bathroom during our meeting - it isn’t hard to imagine what was going on in there.”

“A-an hour!? I thought it’d been 30 minutes!”

“And that would still be long enough for us to figure out what was happening~” She chuckled; seeing Applejack getting flustered was a rare and glorious sight. “Just make sure you take the scarf off before you get into it again - wouldn’t want it getting dirty~”

“R-rarity!” The earth pony covered her face with her hooves; she burned with embarrassment. Rarity laughed even harder.

“Oh, this is just precious!” She leaped toward Applejack and enveloped her in a hug, wrapping her hooves tight around her neck, rubbing their fur together. The farmer’s particular scent, a mix of hard work and apples, was always so comforting - she couldn’t help but give it a whiff anytime they embraced. “Don’t worry, honey, you know fully well that none of us mind it~ Have fun tonight~”

“Well… actually…” Applejack returned the hug, and whispered in her ear. “I noticed you had some… um, other types of apparel in the back. You don’t think I could ask you a few things as a friend, d-do you?”

Rarity’s ears perked up. “Oh, Applejack, I had no idea you were that kind of pony~ What led to this sudden interest~?”

“W-well… i-it’s a bit embarrassing to say, but Fluttershy’s the one who really got me to consider it. Early today, I, um, might’ve lassoed her on accident, though it turns out, she kinda liked being… erm, restricted.” She gulped - it was so difficult to say this all out loud. “And, well… I liked it, too.”

Rarity’s face turned as red as a strawberry. Her jaw hit the floor. Fluttershy… lassoed… restricted… oh boy. “O-oh my…” She cleared her throat. “If you were anyone else, I think I’d be asking you to leave right now, but because I love you dearly… come up to my bedroom.”

“Oh, Rarity, I-I don’t think I’m up for anything like that - Fluttershy and I are open, I think, but I still need to talk to her about that and figure out exactly how it works-”

“Get your head out of the gutter, Applejack, I’m not trying to have my way with you tonight!” She chuckled; really, it wasn’t her intention at all… though, on another night, it certainly could’ve been. “I just wanted to show you some things. I’m sure you know how to use a rope… but there are certain ways to do it while keeping your partner comfortable and safe. I also happen to have some supplies for this sort of thing that’ll be much more cozy than what you might find on your farm.” She finally separated from Applejack and beckoned her upstairs.

Applejack followed close behind. It wasn’t too much of a surprise to hear Rarity had an interest in this type of thing - Apple had always pegged her as the type.

The unicorn soon stepped into her bedroom and opened her closet, pulling out a chest of toys meant for the bedroom. Applejack’s mouth hung open as she watched her rummage through it - she could only name about a quarter of the container’s contents.

“Surprised~?” Rarity chuckled. “You know, it’s always the higher-class mares and stallions who want to get a little more frisky in bed than usual.” She considered saying something to Applejack along the lines of, “Though, I’d happily choose you to join me over them any night,” though she thought better of it. She’d wait till she had a little more information on the status of the Apple-Shy relationship. “Ah, here it is!” She held up a spool of black rope, soft and comfortable, much more so than normal rope. And more fashionable. “Alright, since we don’t have much time, I’m just going to teach you a few of the very basics.” She grabbed the end of the rope with her teeth and pulled it out, the lowering her eyebrows. “On your knees, Applejack~”

“Well, I think that’ll be all you need, in the end!” Rarity spoke as the two rushed down the stairs - Applejack was running out of time. “You can borrow that rope - I promise it’s clean, I always make sure to sanitize everything after use!”

“Thank you for this, Rarity - I really appreciate it. If this goes well, would you show me a little more next time?”

“Oh, of course, dear~ But take it slow for now. Remember to use the safe word system I taught you, and don’t let Fluttershy tell you she’s ok if she really isn’t. You know how she is - you need to make sure she’ll tell you if she’s uncomfortable, physically or mentally.”

“Right, absolutely - I’ll make sure we’re as safe as could be. I would never want to show her a bad time.” She lifted her hat and placed the rope underneath - no need to show her cards right off the bat. “And, um, Rarity?”

“Hm? What is it, sweetie?”

Rarity’s eyes went wide as Applejack placed a sudden kiss on her lips. A simple peck, but it was enough to make her cheeks heat up, more than most stallions could manage. “Thank you again. I’ll talk to Fluttershy about the whole open-relationship deal… and maybe, next time, you can show me how to do things a little more… intimately, if you know what I mean~”

“Oh, A-applejack!” Rarity had gone from completely calm and put together to entirely flustered. “My, I won’t be able to sleep a wink tonight after that! Go, don’t make Fluttershy wait, and stop getting me so excited - save it for when we have some real time together~!”

Finally, it was Applejack’s turn to chuckle. “Whatever you say, sugar. See you soon!” She waved goodbye and quickly trotted out the door, right towards Fluttershy’s cottage. The spool of rope thumped against her head, her heart beating in rhythm with her gallop, the scarf around her neck waving in the cool evening wind. It may have been a chilly night, but she was as warm as could be.

And soon enough, she was going to be very hot.

Next Chapter: Chapter 3.55: A Home For Flowers Estimated time remaining: 52 Minutes