High Society Birthday

[Kale]

This was it. The night they'd all been waiting for.

And they were going to be late.

Kale was partially to blame. At the last minute, Rarity had unleashed a surprise on him: she'd put together an ensemble for him, one she was sure would make him look "simply precious!" He didn't dislike the design; he did have to admit, it was quite cunning. But it wasn't the type of formal wear he usually opted for, covering not just his neck and chest, but wrapping around his torso and ending in long sleeves. The stallion had spent a good amount of time fidgeting with those last portions, unaccustomed to the feeling of not just one, but two layers of fabric around his front legs. Not to mention the way the back hem chafed against the base of his wings.

Not that he'd mention any of this to Rarity. He wasn't about to repay a friend's generosity by complaining.

Glancing at the clock, Kale gave a start. The invitations had all said 7:00, and it was 7:08! Only staying to adjust his tie one last time, the stallion walked briskly into the hallway. He could already hear the steady, genteel murmurs of polite conversation emanating from downstairs; unconsciously lowering his head, he walked as quietly as he could until he passed the stairs.

He was alarmed to find that Rarity and Applejack were taking an even longer time to get ready than he had. Standing outside the door to the guest room the two mares had been staying in, Kale knocked a few times with one hoof then stepped back. "Applejack? Rarity? Are you almost ready? They're starting!" he called through the door.

High society was awaiting all three of them.

[Rarity]

She was trying to keep calm, (or, at the very least, keep from squealing), but it wasn’t easy. This was it. A very important night for Applejack, as well as Kale. And, in her own mind, for herself, too. (A contact was a contact, after all.) Yes, they had been staying with Kale’s parents, who were hosting the party for Kale’s mother in their home- so it would only make sense that they would help set up for the party and get themselves ready in a suitable amount of time.

Well, they had helped setup.

In her mind, being late was justified. It was ‘fashionable’ in some cases; making them appear as if their time belonged solely to themselves. They were in no hurry to arrive, because they had no need to be. The rules of high society [generally] made sense to those who were raised in them. Or, in Rarity’s case, one who had worked hard to learn and practice them.

It wasn’t easy to express what she was feeling. Not only because Rarity was so incredibly giddy- but because she hadn’t expected anything like this to take place, ever. Applejack, of course, was still in somewhat of an uproar, but Rarity didn’t blame her- it was just nerves. Though…she could have, and should have, kept all of her rough-housing to a minimum. Thanks to her, Rarity had to brush out her hair, and style it all over again. (Thank goodness she hadn’t gotten dressed before hoof.)

But now was hardly the time for her to think about herself. She stepped away from the finished product that was Applejack, her mouth and eyes opened as wide as they could as she tried to take it all in. “Perfect.” Up to this point, she had used that word to describe many things- none of which compared to Applejack. Her canary mane was rolled into a high bun with a generous amount of pin curls hanging just above her neck, while generally unruly bangs were parted down the middle, swooped to each side, and curled along the ends.

Of course, that was only the beginning.

The make up Rarity had applied was dark and smokey. Although it was…well, a lot more than Applejack had wanted- they both knew what Rarity chose would be just right. Heavily blended brown and black shadow made Applejack’s eyes stand out amongst all her other features. Such dramatic definition contrasted charmingly with the rusticity of her freckles.

In keeping with Applejack’s provincial ways, Rarity was careful not to overstate her appearance. The dress she had made for her was meant to compliment her natural beauty, (And Kale’s ensemble, of course.) It was apple red, and just long enough to graze the floor. She had created it with Georgette fabric, which is light and breathable- something Applejack would be thankful for. It was less constricting, and allowed plenty of movement. Round, puffy sleeves gave her athletic forelegs a more gentle and feminine look- as the pleats did for her even stronger, apple-bucking hind legs. Golden heels graced her hooves, giving just the height she needed to keep the big barrel curl that was Applejack’s tail, off of the floor.

Rarity had held her smile for so long, one may have thought her face had frozen that way. Not that she would have any complaint against that, because this good mood was sure to last. If it hadn’t been for her own wonderfully made up face, (which was…very much more theatric than Applejack’s), tears would have been flowing. Thankfully, her wide, toothy grin was enough to keep her emotions in tact.

“Applejack, you look flawless.” She sighed happily, a job well done. “Kale‘s parents, why they will be so taken with you.” A glimmer of light reflected in her eyes, another daydream floating through her mind, “And Kale himself…he won‘t believe his eyes.” Truthfully, she felt as if the poor pony should be warned; he had no idea what he was about to be exposed to. Not that he would protest, she was sure.

Staring in awe of Applejack was halting progress. Now that Rarity had seen her completed, she wanted nothing more than to get her downstairs among the crowd as soon as possible. There was only one problem- she wasn’t ready yet. It was alright, she told herself. Applejack was the main attraction. The time taken to perfect her friend was not in vain. It was now just a matter of how long she would have to take to perfect her own self.

“Darling, if you would excuse me…” She gestured to the curlers resting in her mane. “I need to finish up, so that we may join the party. It is positively criminal to keep you out of sight looking as you do!” She gave a delighted smile, then made her way into the bathroom.

Curl by curl cascaded down into her face. She used magic to both remove the curlers, and brush what had been released. (It was the most gentle of her options.) In complete contrast to Applejack‘s mane styling, for once, Rarity was letting her hair loose. The thick curls were slowly stretched out to sultry waves, forming a swirl at the tip. Her look was far from calm, however. Not only was her make up quite the production, but she had covered herself in plenty of fine silver and Tanzanite encrusted jewelry, (one piece, a hair brooch, making sure to keep her from looking ‘understated.’)

She made eyes at herself in the mirror, testing out her general range of emotions; seeing how they displayed to the public in her current look. They were deemed satisfactory, and with a quick wink she returned to the bedroom, her stream of magic already at work sliding the dress off of it‘s hanger. Unlike her friend, Rarity had chosen a far more striking approach in terms of her own dress design. It was a silver silk gazar gown with an indigo tulle underskirt; the back stretched a few good inches, leaving a train as some sort of stage for her wavy tail. The section under her torso spilt down the center, revealing the bright indigo embellishment. Rarity smiled while putting it on, knowing everpony at the party would adore it- though, not as much as she did.

She opened her mouth to ask Applejack her thoughts on the ensemble, but as she did, a knock came upon the door.

"Applejack? Rarity? Are you almost ready? They're starting!" Kale beckoned, sounding a bit frantic.

Rarity laughed softly, “Kale, darling, we are nearly finished. No need to rush.” She tried her best to stay calm, but as she finished dressing and slipped on the same sparkling heels from the Gala, it was apparent that she, too, was ready to get out there.

“Applejack.” she looked at her friend once more, knowing the two may not have much of a chance to speak for the rest of the night. “You look beautiful-” she paused, looking over her shoulder and levitating a bottle of perfume over to Applejack, spraying her twice, “Now you smell beautiful,” she let out a little giggle before recalling her regal demeanor, “And most importantly, I hope that you feel beautiful.” She leaned in, giving a nuzzle of encouragement.

“Now then, come along. We wouldn‘t want to keep them waiting any longer.”[/color][/size]

[Applejack]

Despite how wonderful Applejack felt on the outside, she was a mess inside. She hated all of this frou-frou dressing up. And the fact that it was a Manehattan party no less... No, she did her best to suppress those less-than-happy memories of her fillyhood. After all, despite what Rarity thought, AJ believed, that tonight wasn't about her.

No, her goal tonight wasn't to shine, make an impression, or anything like that. Her goal was to not embarrass herself, and thereby embarrassing Kale in front of his family for bringing an ... as Rarity might put it, an 'uncouth, unrefined country pony', with him.

She went over to the mirror, taking a long look at herself while Rarity continued to marvel at how wonderful she looked. AJ... well, she didn't really care too much, but she did have to agree that Rarity really did outdo herself this time.

As she looked over herself, she tried to remember everything her Aunt and Uncle Orange had taught her. After all, when she was a filly she was well on her way to belonging in a place like this. "Alright Applejack, jus' like they taught y'all..." She coached herself, trying to look more confident in the mirror... It certainly looked like she was ready... but Applejack barely recognized herself. In fact, the earth pony felt like she was acting out a lie just by dressing up like this. "Jus' don' embarrass Kale an' everthin'll be fine..."

Kale knocked at the door, and since she was just waiting on Rarity, she was just about to go out to join him... but those wobbly heels really slowed down her movement. Rarity got to her first, making Applejack gag and wave her forehooves in the air from a sudden attack of perfume. She hated that stuff! But it was too late, and Rarity's encouraging words and nuzzle were enough to calm her down. She'd just have to get Rarity back for that later...

Applejack opened the door, letting Rarity. She didn't really think that going last might make her stand out more. In fact, she was expecting the opposite. She hoped that Rarity was dressed up enough to serve as a distraction so she could simply sneak behind her unnoticed. The last thing she wanted tonight was too much attention. "Ready Kale?" she asked with a sheepish smile, "Y'all're lookin' pretty sharp."

She slowly wobbled her way to the door of the party, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, and to let her two friends go through first.

[Kale]

"Kale, darling, we are nearly finished. No need to rush.”

The fact that Rarity's reassurance was muffled by the still-closed door to their room prevented it from being very reassuring. Despite being far less eager than the unicorn to attend this party, Kale wasn't as comfortable with the idea of being 'fashionably late.' In his mind, you either showed up on time, or not at all; being late drew too much unwanted attention. (Attention that, no doubt, Rarity would take excellent advantage of.) So, the pegasus stood in the hall, impatiently swishing his tail and waiting for the two mares to finally be ready.

When the door opened, however, his concerns about time melted right away.

"Ready Kale? Y'all're lookin' pretty sharp."

Kale had expected Rarity to look great. After all, her entire livelihood was based on affecting an air of cultured elegance; had she lived anywhere but Ponyville, events like this would probably be de rigeur for her. But somehow, he hadn't really expected that Applejack would look very different. Consciously, he'd known that she'd probably dress for the occasion, but he hadn't really known what to expect.

The polished, practically-perfect pony that stood before him was, therefore, a bit of a shock--the kind that leaves a stallion gaping for a moment before he realizes how stupid that looks.

"Thanks," Kale responded automatically, still trying to wrap his mind around this drastically altered Applejack. "You look great," he said with a sheepish smile of his own. After a moment, though, the stallion realized he was essentially ignoring Rarity. No matter how stunning Applejack looked, that sort of behavior was just rude, so he cleared his throat and turned to the unicorn. "S-so do you." Clearing his throat, Kale indicated the stairs with a sweep of one hoof. "Shall we?"

[Rarity]

The moment Rarity had been waiting for specifically, was this very one. Though it went slightly different than she had imagined.

Kale was, in fact, stunned by Applejack’s presence. No surprise there, of course. And the moment they shared of total appreciation for the pony before them was beyond words.

However, Kale didn’t come up with some exceedingly sultry or poetic thing to say, literally sweep her off her hooves in a wind of passion and fly her to a remote location that he had remembered from his childhood in Manehattan, where they would no doubt spend the night expressing their profound love for one another, as well as plan their future together.

But he was still very sweet.

Despite the lack of cliché romance, Rarity smiled upon their small interaction. Nodding her own thanks to Kale as he directed a compliment to her as well.

“We shall.” she decided for the trio, sauntering before the other two- intending to make it known that they were a couple. Regardless of their perpetual schoolyard crush state.

---

Not even the train on Rarity’s dress could make a more dramatic descent down the staircase than she. Eye contact was made with each and every pony in sight. A few radiant smiles were sent to, whoever appeared to be, an eligible bachelor. Most of which were returned with obvious interest. She took note of which. (After all, she’d gotten them here and dressed them. Her job was all but done.)

A few times, she glanced behind, making sure they were still following along. Or, was it to see if Kale had whisked her away yet? Ah well, it was his mother’s birthday after all. “Oh!” she gasped, pivoting as gracefully as possible, while allowing her mane to flip in a very glamorous fashion. “Kale, darling. Please, if you would point out your parents to us.” She craned her neck, peering out over the party. It was best to see which direction to head, before they had reached the ground. “And..” she shook her head, blaming all of the excitement and stress, “I am sorry to say that I do not recall your parents names.” Rarity flushed openly to the crowd. She’d been told it was rather appealing on her.

Certainly she wouldn’t forget this time. After all, they were only a short trot away. But, out of respect, she stood to the side. “Please Kale, Applejack.” She smiled reassuringly at them both, “It would only make sense that the two of you would address the family first.” She peered around, looking for something specific to do.

“Oh gracious! How could I have forgotten!” She pointed to the gift table, “I did not even remember to bring your mother’s present down!” She took a few polite steps up the staircase, “I’ll join you two soon enough!” And with one quick glance around, galloped up the remainder in a frenzy. [/color][/size]

[Kale]

The moment Kale had been dreading specifically was this very one.

And it went pretty much the way he'd imagined.

True, the considerably more glitzy Applejack was quite the deviation from his expectations. In fact, it made this somewhat easier; now, he wouldn't have to worry about anypony looking down on her. In fact, accent aside, he bet that she could do at least as good a job at fitting in here as him. Which isn't saying much, Kale thought wryly--but truly, the country mare looked astonishingly city tonight.

But that didn't mean that their grand arrival to the party would be pleasant.

The same attention that Rarity basked in, the sea of eyes turned toward whosoever came down the stairs, might as well have been an army of piranhas for the way Kale feared them. But then, at least piranhas were predictable. And piranhas were honest. They didn't hide their teeth the way these affluent ponies tended to hide their distaste for anything 'inappropriate'--and they'd probably do just as badly if they tried. If this was an excessive analogy, it would be difficult to convince Kale of that. He simply tried to bury the thought as he and Applejack descended, step by step, side by side.

At least he wasn't going to the piranhas alone.

Once they'd reached the main floor, it was easier. They were no longer the focal point of the room's attention, and the small talk proceeded uninterrupted. Kale breathed a small sigh of relief, glad that they could just blend in to the crowd now. With any luck, they could gradually drift off to the side somewhere and avoid the worst of this.

“Oh! Kale, darling. Please, if you would point out your parents to us.”

"Uh...sure," Kale replied, scanning the room for sight of the two. Had this been a Ponyville event, he might have briefly hovered above the rest of the crowd for a better view, but this was Manehattan, and that sort of thing might be considered uncouth. So, instead, the stallion settled for peering through a sea of faces before finally seeing his father. Conveniently enough, his mother was with him, so Kale lifted a hoof and pointed at the pair.

“And...I am sorry to say that I do not recall your parents' names.”

Kale furrowed his brow. Just how much attention had Rarity been paying over the past two days? Evidently her attention was very focused on something else, and to be honest, the pegasus wasn't sure he wanted to knot what it was. "Alright then," he said. "That's my mom, Marey Kay." Glancing aside at Applejack, he added, "She owns a makeup company." Quite certain that the earth pony would find that somewhat distasteful, he hurriedly shifted both his pointed hoof and the conversation toward his father. "And that's my father, Silver Screen. He's an actor."

Please Kale, Applejack. It would only make sense that the two of you would address the family first.”

Again, Kale furrowed his brow. "What? Why wo--never mind," he cut off hurriedly, deciding that he'd rather not have Rarity put her train of thought into words. He just watched silently as she blurted something about forgetting presents, secretly figuring that she'd planned it that way. Glancing uncomfortably at Applejack, he put on a weak smile. "Well...are you ready for this?"

[Applejack]

Applejack seemed to be doing a good job of hiding the fact that she was more nervous than ever. She hadn't done something like this since she was a filly. And even then she wasn't good at it. She was at a total disadvantage. Rarity lived for this sort of thing. Kale grew up with it. All these other ponies obviously understood what was proper. She just had a few memories to draw on. Thankfully, her Aunt and Uncle had taught her well.

When the trio... or rather duo, since Rarity seemed to insist on going first... descended the stairs, her eyes darted around. She wasn't sure where to look, who to smile at, or whether to just keep a straight face. She suddenly found herself wishing she had her hat to push down over her face.

Once she was finally at the bottom step, she was just another face in the crowd. She was so relieved that she only barely caught Kale’s pre-introduction to his parents. She didn’t seem to mind as much as Kale worried... at least, she didn’t mind them any more than she minded other Manehattan types.

Then Rarity brought up presents, and Applejack’s eyes went wide with realization, a little color flushed into her cheeks as she looked over her shoulder and realized that she had, in fact, been balancing her present on her flank this entire time... She gave a bit of a sheepish smile and took it off, holding it in her hoof. She surprised herself with how concerned she was about making a good impression. It wasn’t herself that she was worried about embarassing, she assured herself. She was worried about embarrassing Kale in front of his family, for bringing her along.

Finally, the moment came and Applejack was finally in front of Kale’s parents. She cleared her throat, willed up everything she had learned as a filly. “Good evening, you must be Silver Screen, and a very Happy Birthday to you Missus Mary Kay. It’s a delight to finally meet you both. I’m Applejack, a friend of Kale’s from Ponyville.” Her tone was... well, perfect. Not even a trace of her usual accented drawl. Had the situation been different, she might have sounded like she was trying to mock Rarity or something. The thought only occurred to her a moment too late that she probably should have let Kale do the introductions first.

Her ears flattened slightly, and she managed to maintain a smile. She quickly tried to cover up her first of probably many mistakes by extending her present to the birthday mare. “For you, an apple pie picked and baked fresh from Sweet Apple Acres, only a day ago. I really do hope you enjoy it.” She glanced to Kale, forcing her smile to stay up.