Title: Slowing Down p3 "Work" Author: Hellmeister Pastebin link: http://pastebin.com/mJJ2WD7s First Edit: Wednesday 9th of December 2015 12:51:44 PM CDT Last Edit: Last edit on: Thursday 24th of December 2015 06:34:49 PM CDT Rarity's POV   >Why, oh WHY did you put her in that dress. >In hindsight, it was an terrible idea. >You knew were going to try and teach her how to drink tea properly. >You knew what happened the last few times. >Of course it was going to get stained. >... >Be calm, Rarity. >You can't get angry at her about it. >You suppose you may have thought it would've given her some incentive to succeed. >To not spill the drink. >Prehaps it's your fault. >...Poor thing. >You know that she doesn't like sitting still, >That she's not a big fan of tea, >And that she's probably quite uncomfortable, all things considered. >...But she's trying ever so hard. >She really wants to impress Anonymous, but she has no idea how to do it herself. >You won't be able to teach her EVERYTHING, but... >...It's the least you can do. >You take a sip of your tea. >It's not bad. A little on the dry side, but still, rather nice. >... >You look at her again. >You force a smile in an attempt to reasure her. >...Good. She seems a bit calmer now. >You'll watch over her progress and see if you can provide a few tips for her technique. >Admittedly, however, she still needs a LOT of help. >...No, NOT ON THE DRESS-   Anon's POV >...That's all the tools you'll need. >Phew. >When you first applied to work at the farm, you were feeling confident. >You've got a fairly decent physique, and it seemed like the sort of job you could get behind. >Of course you didn't know at the time that the ponies KICKED the apples out of the trees, >But regardless, you think that you've still been a pretty good farmhand. >Mainly due to all the other farmhands not actually having hands. >It seemed like a family business at first, but they were welcome to volunteers. >Befriending your soon-to-be-boss didn't hurt either. >Soon after meeting Rainbow for the first time, meeting Applejack was all but assured. >They're really close friends, and you seemed to have a lot in common. >You even got to have a few 3-way competitions. >Between Rainbow's speed, and Applejack's strength, it wasn't easy at first. >But eventually, your "fairly decent physique" had developed into something more...Herculean. >You lost one of her little bets, though. >That's how you came to work here full time. >You didn't even make the bet. Rainbow just used you as a chip. >You've continued to work past the time that you were originaly supposed to do it for, but she didn't mind. >It just became a thing. >Speaking of your boss... >The orange bundle of horsepower is heading your way. >She has a bunch of apples in buckets attached to her saddles. >You can hear the sound of trees being pounded in the distance. >They've started already? >Guess they can't wait for you all the time. >Oh. Right. You've just been leaning against the barn. >That's probably why she's heading your way.   >"RISE AND SHINE, SLEEPYHEAD!" >Pft. Same old Applejack. >She always gets so bossy when you're and work. >...Probably because she's your BOSS, jackass. >Still though, she's a joy to hang out with. >You haven't really been able to, lately. You've been busy with the harvest. >Well, THEY have. there's not much you can do when you've got a bunch of self-aware horses with superhuman strength as your co-workers. >Or should that be superequine? You're not sure if what they're capable of is "super" in comparison to what other equines are normaly capable of, >But they're still physicaly superior to humans in almost every way. >Almost. They're still tiny. >Sometimes you find it difficult to take them seriously. >This time is no exception. "Hey, Applejack. How's the harvest going?" >"If ya came over here an' helped us, yew'd find out. Git!" >She spanks you on the rear. >The force of it pushes you off of the barn, but it still makes you laugh. "Alright, alright. Geez." >You grab the wheelbarrow filled with tools, and follow Applejack to the orchard. >It looks like quite a walk, so you decide to start up a conversation. "So, how are you doing?" >She shrugs. >"Fine, ah guess. How're you?" "Pretty good. My ass hurts." >She chuckles. >"Well, maybe you won' be just sittin' on it next tahm." >You sigh a sigh of mirth. >A moment of silence passes. >"...How's Rainbow?" "What? You mean you don't know?"   >She stops walking for a second so she can scratch her ribs. >"Eh, well..." >She sighs. >"She uh...Hasn't really been hangin' out with me as often as she did." "...Really?" >"Nope." >She looks away wistfuly. >You scratch your head. "Well, I don't know why that would be." >"...Ah might have n' idea..." >Huh? >She spoke a lot more softly than she usualy does. >Wait. She's been with Rainbow Dash a lot longer than you have. >...Maybe she knows why she's been acting...differently. "Applejack, has anything about Rainbow Dash that seemed...Odd, lately?" >She raises an eyebrow at you. >"Like wut?" "Like...I don't know, different. Less like...Her. You know?" >She pauses for a moment, still looking a little...down. >"...Well, she ain't tellin' me nuthin', that's fer sure." >So she has noticed something different. >But...Why wouldn't Dash tell her anything? >Did they have an argument or something? >Whatever it is, she isn't happy about it.   "Do you...Have any idea what it could be?" >She seems to think carefuly about what to say next. >"Well...No offence, Anon, but...I think it has sumthin' to do with...Yew." >What, you? >Why you? >Does she have a problem with you, or something? Did you go too far with the trash talk or something? "What do you mean?" >She sighs again. >"Well, Anon, she...Seems to be talkin' about you a lot. Whenever I get t' see her, that is..." >...Is that what she's so down about? >So, let's get this straight. >Dash is acting...Differently around you... >She's talking about you a lot behind your back... >And to top it all off, she's prefering your company over AJ's? >If it was just the first two, it could've been that she some kind of issue with you... >...No, she could still have an issue. >She must be focusing on you because she's trying to work it out without hurting your feelings. >She never was good with words. >... >Well, however it is, you hope she's OK... >"...Tell 'er I said hi, next tahm y' see her, y'hear?" >Damnit. >Now you feel guilty. "...Sure. Applejack. I...I'll talk to Rainbow dash. See if we can all hang out together again." >She perks up a little at that. >"Y' sure?" "Well, yeah. What are friends for?"   Time passes...   Rarity's POV >You've finished with tutoring Rainbow Dash for today. >You're walking with her as she exits the boutique. >...Through the front door, this time. "That wasn't too bad, Rainbow Dash. You're definitely getting better." >She's scowling. >"Yeah, yeah." >She doesn't seem convinced. >Darn. "I really mean it, you know. You'll be a true lady before you know it." >You hope you don't sound too pretentious. >...You swear you could hear the sound of a trombone playing a short, tragic tune, far in the distance. >It's probably Pinkie Pie. >You've learned to accept that she simply just works that way. >...Wait, is she implying- >"...I guess I'll just keep practicing." >Ah, Wonderful. You can work with that. "Trust me, Rainbow, you'll be fit to dine with royalty once I'm done teaching you." >She smiles, but she still looks a little sad. >...If only there was anything more you could do to cheer her up... >Oh! Right! >"Well, I'll catch you later, Rarity. I've gotta meet up with Anon." "Wait!" >...She stops, mid-take off. >Her legs are splayed out in odd positions, bringing to mind a dog wanting to play with it's owner. >You stifle a giggle at the likeness. >"Yeah?" "...Do you have a brand of tea you like? I never asked." >She pauses for a moment. Still in the position. >It's impressive that she's able to hold all of that potential energy. >"...Do you have cinnamon?" >Oh. Who knew. "Yes. Uh...Thank you, Rainbow Dash." >And...she's off.   RD POV 123, ABC >That could've gone better. >She's right though. >If there's anything you've learnt from your time flying, it's that practice makes perfect. >Yeah, it's just like flying. >...Well, you were good from the second you got in the air. >Maybe it's a little different. Like actually learning to fly, instead of being awesome right off the bat. >None of that matters now, anyway. You're meeting up with Anon. >You can't wait. >Whatever he's doing, he's going to drop it. >You want to be with him, and you want him now. >...Y-you'd better not say that to his face. >You're gonna give him a crash landing better than the first. >...All feelings aside, you were crushing him at horseshoe toss before you bailed. >Because you were late. Not anything else. >...You're not lying to yourself. >OK, that was a lie. >You sigh through your nose, not opening your mouth so you don't get a bug in there. >Nopony likes bug breath.   >...Why don't you just tell him? >I mean, he knows who you are. >If he says no, well...That'd be stupid. >...OK, maybe you want to wait. >You can't just tell him that...ANYWHERE. >... >You're pretty sure he's interested though. >The way he looked into your eyes back then, >The way h-he...held your hoof... >T-the skilful w-way he put his hand u-u-under, and- >OK, FOCUSING ON FLYING >Shoot. You almost crashed, there. >You sometimes forget that wings are particularly expressive when it comes to pegasi body language. >You're lucky that never happened when Anon was watching. >...While you were near him, sure, but... >He didn't see it... >...Right? >...Whatever. He's gonna get it. >You have your stallion in your sights. >And you're not going to let him escape. >You brace for impact.