Title:           Slowing Down p21 "Simply Scandalous"
Author:          Hellmeister
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/cMNNY7pM
First Edit:      Wednesday 23rd of March 2016 11:21:02 AM CDT
Last Edit:       Wednesday 23rd of March 2016 11:21:02 AM CDT

AJ POV
 
>Well, the lecture Granny Smith gave you was far from pleasant, but at least she waited until your headache had gone.
>She's been in the same shoes a few times in her youth, so she carried some empathy for your actions.
>But, she was loud and clear. "Grow up".
>You argued that she drank too much 3 Apple Family Gatherings ago, but she didn't catch that.
>Well, your ticket for the Gala arrived today.
>You can't believe it's been another year since the last one. It didn't seem all that long ago.
>You also got a letter from Rarity, who says she's given all of the dresses a re-design before the Gala.
>You're going to be there, along with Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy and Pinkie to check them out tomorrow, the day before the Gala's on.
>You suppose it feels natural to alter 'em a little, considerin' some of the changes you've all gone through.
>It's...Kinda scary.
>You didn't think any of you would EVER change.
>You don't like it.
>Twilight was on the same rung of the ladder you were on when you first met. Now she's a princess.
>She can move the sun and moon around with her magic, she's got her own castle now...
>You have a feeling it won't stop there.
>What if she eventually ends up like Princess Celestia and Luna, cooped up in her castle all day, having to dedicate all of her time to regal duties?
>What if something bad happens to them?
>She'll have to take over for moving the sun and moon around the sky.
>...You're afraid you'll lose her at some point, somehow.
>You mean, you almost lost Rainbow Dash, and she was...Well, she was RAINBOW DASH.
 
>You're actually kinda glad she came over this morning, even if it was just to look for Anonymous. You haven't seen her in a while.
>She's not gonna fall in love too, is she?
>Sheesh, what if some of your friends end up gettin' MARRIED in the future?
>Ugh. It's messin' with your head.
>Come on, snap out of it. If things change, things change. You can't stop 'em if they do.
>You've got some work that you're supposed to be doin'.
>You chuckle.
>Guess you're rooted to the earth in more ways than one, huh?
>"Hey, Applejack!"
>The melancholy is lifted from your attitude.
>Here's the lover boy himself, showin' up to work.
"Howdy, Anon. Not drunk this tahm, ah hope."
>He laughs. "I'm as sober as you are. Well, as you are now." He smirks.
"Heh heh! Touché!"
>With all the changes he's brought in his wake, he's still a welcome ray of sunshine.
"Well, yew wanna get started?"
>"Ready when you are."
>Oh, right, Twilight was looking for him.
"Say, uh, Twilight was over here a while back. She was askin' if you were at work yet. She find you?"
>He looks puzzled.
>"Yeah...She said hi..." He seems to be thinking about something. "Weird."
"What's weird, sugarcube?"
>"Oh, nothing." He starts to walk over to the barn. "Let's get to work."
>You shrug, and follow after him.
>"I'm not gonna have another day off, am I?"
>You smile.
"Sure hope not."
>"Me too. I've been meaning to earn my pay for quite a while."
>You give him a bemused look.
"Shucks. Really?"
>"Yeah. I mean, don't get me wrong, the time off really helped for me to...Set my mind straight, but I've been feeling bad about neglecting my job."
"That's...Real admirable, Anon."
>He seems somewhat surprised at your choice of words. "I'm, uh, glad you think so, AJ. Thanks."
>Dang. You can kinda see where Rainbow's coming from.
>Dedicated, hard working, heck, who wouldn't want him?
>...Nu-uh, wipe those thoughts from your head.
>You enjoy competin' with Rainbow, sure, but over something like THAT? No sir.
>You sigh.
>...No sir.
 
>"You OK, Applejack?"
>Shoot. Anon's still there.
"Heh. Right as rain. Why?"
>"You just, looked kinda sad for a second."
>You'll look 'kinda sad' again, if he keeps this up.
"Fer petes sake, Anon, ahm fine." You give him a smile. "Don't y'all worry none 'bout me."
>"If you say so."
>There's a short pause before the silence is broken again.
>"Do you...Know why I was in your room when I woke up yesterday?"
"Yew were, WUT?!"
>You'd like to know too.
>"Uh, don't worry, I don't think anything happened. I-I mean, I don't KNOW what happened, but I know it wasn't like...That. OK?"
>Wait, what does he mean by, he 'knows'?
"How'd you reckon?"
>He scratches his chin. "Well...There was a note in the room. In cursive. Whoever wrote it was definitely sober, for a start. I can't really think of anypony who'd want to take advantage of me like that, let alone any who would leave a NOTE after."
>You suppose that's reasonable enough. You're still curious, though.
"Whadidit say?"
>He takes a second to loosen up his neck. "No idea. I suck at reading cursive. I might've been able to decode it eventually if I took it with me, but I wasn't thinking straight."
"Yew just, threw it away?"
>"Nah, I...Kinda left it in your room."
"Y'sure?" You stop moving towards the shed, now excited. "Well, ah could just go get it now!"
>He seems to perk up a little, and turns to face you.
>"Uh, well, sure! Thanks." He then seems to mull it over a little. "Haven't we got work to do, though?"
"It shouldn't take THAT long. Ah'll see if ah can find it!" You head off in the direction of the house. "Don't go nowhere!"
>"Wouldn't dream of it!" He yells back.
>You can't help it, you're hooked.
>You want to find out what it says just as much as he does!
>Well, maybe not, considering it's his memories and all.
>But it might help you remember something from 'that night' too.
>Plus, it's your room we're talkin' about here.
>If anything's happened in your room that you weren't responsible for, you need to know.
 
ANON POV
 
>You see Applejack open the door and go inside.
>She's a good friend.
>Still, you're a little antsy around the idea of delaying work again.
>It better not be anything TOO scandalous.
>So scandalous that it'd cause the whole farm to stop working though? Come on.
>You're getting some work done today, and that's final.
>It's been a pretty crazy past few days.
>You've been invited to the gala, you developed a crush on your best friend, you got a ton of free pie, slept on a bench outside with Rainbow Dash, met the Princess of the Sun while you were drunk, STILL earned her favour and there's a slight chance that you may have slept with a pony.
>That's enough for one lifetime, and your life's not even CLOSE to being over yet.
>A part of you is expecting to wake up any second.
>It started with a dream, so you won't be surprised if it ended as one.
>It's a stupid ass dream, too. You keep having it.
>You leave your job, you call a cab, the cab takes off the road and...You don't know, goes into hyperdrive?
>There's no way that it was real. You didn't work at that job and you didn't live in that city. Yet you just, accepted it at the time. It was definitely a dream.
>Still.
>Your clothes are the same as the ones you wore in the dream, minus the jacket. You ditched the jacket soon after you had a house of your own. It wasn't practical.
>It doesn't make any sense.
>Why the heck would you go to sleep in these clothes? You must've been exhausted.
>Or...Drunk.
>Damnit, you've got a headache again.
>Can't you think about something else?
>...No. Not that.
>You've only just convinced yourself to be OK with the idea of Equine/Human romance.
>Thinking comfortably about doing THAT requires you to be more than OK about it.
 
>Oh. Maybe you WON'T have to think of something else. Here she comes.
>...In a hurry.
>Alright, it can be something big, but please, let it be the last you'll hear of it.
>"A-anon!" She looks very startled. "Check it."
"What?"
>"Consarnit, look at it!" She presents the note in her mouth to you, and you take it. "Is it DEFINITELY the note y'all saw when yew woke up?"
>You examine it carefully, but you still can't decipher it.
"I guess, why?"
>"Y-y' guess?! C'mon, be sure!"
>Is something wrong with it?
"Fine, I'm sure. What is it? Who's it from?"
>She pauses for a moment, still wide eyed, and staring directly at you.
>"...Y' positive?"
"YES, I'm positive."
>It has to be. You recognise it from yesterday morning. Same size, and the curves on the paper look familiar.
>"Weyll, if it is...Whoo, nelly."
"Come on, Applejack, who is it?!"
>"A-ah, ah can't say it out loud." She beckons you to come closer.
>If she could actually tell you, that'd be great.
>You bend in.
"What?"
>She seems to take a few seconds of mental preparation, and then, in barely a whisper;
>"It's Princess Celestia's signature."
>...
"I guess that makes sense."
 
>She seems extremely surprised, and rears backwards, falling onto her rump.
>"It, makes...SENSE?! ARE Y' CRAZY?! Th-this is...!" She looks around, and lowers the volume of her voice. "This is Princess Celestia we're talkin' about! Wh-whadaya mean it makes sense?!"
"I recieved a letter this morning from Princess Celestia saying she met me and had a great time hanging out with me, so, I suppose this is what she meant?"
>It seems Applejack took that the wrong way.
>"WHUT."
"I mean, there's no way that she'd do something like THAT, right? She just didn't know where I lived, so she took me upstairs into your room to make sure I had somewhere safe to sleep. It makes sense."
>"...Oh." She breathes a heavy sigh of relief, then grins, giggling; "Phew! F-fer a second there, ah thought it was somethin' AWFUL!"
>Evidently so.
>You take a moment to wait for her to calm down fully, then ask;
"We gonna get back to work, now?"
>She's still laughing a little. "Sure thing, sugarcube."
>For the first time in a while, you were able to get some actual work done. It felt really good.
>In actuality, your body aches all over, but your conscience feels great.
>It's your break now, and you know exactly what you're going to do.
>Time to give Rarity her ticket.
>Oh, wait...Won't you be sacrificing some time with Rainbow Dash?
>Guess you'll have to do it fast. She can come with you, if she wants.
>What should you do after? Buy Rainbow a drink? Some food? Both?
>The café'll do nicely. You can get tea again.
>Should you hug her? She seems OK with hugging now.
>Your head is swimming with possibilities and expectations.
>Wait.
>You haven't actually asked her if she'd like to go to the Gala with you or not.
>It's only two days away. Doing it today seems like it'd be convinient.
>Will she...Say yes, though?
>Eh, you won't make it seem like a date. You'll just ask her.
>It's not like she won't come to the Gala anyway. It's just a social gesture.
>You can't lose, right?
>...Right?