This idea has been on my mind for months but I wasn't sure how to write it. This is for "Suited for Success" (Season 1: Episode 14) I just wanted to write Rarity braiding Applejack's hair before the show, but then it turned into more of a study on Rarity, I think. Either way, I hope you will enjoy. Read on!

It wasn't exactly chaos backstage at the second, impromptu fashion show. But it was close.

"Oh dear, oh dear. Wait, miss butterfly. If it's stage fright we can just-"

"Pinky, stop eating all the tarts. The party is for after the show!"

"Don't you think our entrance would be cooler with real lightning bolts?"

While Fluttershy rushed around comforting her animal friends, and Applejack tried to corral Pinky Pie, Rainbow Dash and Twilight were busy arguing about the special effects. If they had been like this before the first show, Rarity had been too mortified to notice.

"If we bring in real storm clouds for the show they could start raining everywhere," Twilight protested. "That's why we're doing the effects with magic!"

"Ooo! I think you should have it rain! You could make it rain candy, couldn't you?" Distracted by this new idea, Pinky left the food alone and bounded over to pester Twilight. With a sigh of relief, Applejack stepped back out of the fray.

Right now Applejack was probably the only one that she didn't need to worry about making a mess, but Rarity couldn't help herself. She stepped up to her friend, smiling at her handiwork. Applejack looked best in sensible, earthy colors, just as she had predicted.

Applejack shifted nervously under her appraising gaze. "What is it? Do I have it on lopsided or something?"

"You look perfect," Rarity reassured her. "Oh, just let me do up your mane to match and you'll look even more perfect!"

"You're not going to curl it, are you?"

"Of course not." Rarity used her magic to grab a pair of hairbrushes and begin brushing Applejack's mane and tail simultaneously. Tangles fell out of her hair with almost no effort. "But it's so thick and silky, it would look lovely in a braid."

"Braids are fine if that's what you want," Applejack allowed.

Rarity focused on braiding Applejack's tail first. She used her magic to make sure she didn't allow one single hair out of place. Applejack craned her neck back to watch. For some reason she still didn't seem to be her usual confident self, practically balanced on her hoof-tips with nervousness.

"Don't be so nervous. No one is going to laugh at any of us this time. When you're the most beautiful filly in the room, you're the one who gets to laugh."

"I wasn't worried about that. I just don't want to mess up your dress after you went to so much trouble making it." Applejack seemed reluctant to even put her full weight on her forelegs in the customized boots.

"Don't worry about that," Rarity laughed, moving up to focus on braiding Applejack's mane. "I designed those clothes to be sturdy! They're for you, after all."

She had wanted all of her friends' personalities to show in their dresses. Pinky Pie's fun-loving friendliness, Rainbow's brash liveliness, Fluttershy's quiet elegance, Twilight's mix of innocence and maturity... of course Applejack's clothes would have to keep up with her.

That down-to-earth strength was Applejack's best feature. If only Rarity could keep her from getting dirty all the time, maybe drag her along for a pony-pedi now and then... but at the same time, when Applejack relaxed and smiled at her, Rarity wasn't sure exactly what she would really want to change if she got the chance.

Rarity indulged in one last fussy little nuzzle to be sure Applejack's braided mane hung just right. "There. I don't think you could be any more perfect."

"I'm going to remind you of that next time you try to give me a make over."

To her surprise, Applejack moved to nuzzle her mane in return, even though it didn't need adjusting. At least, she didn't think it had needed adjusting. Had she let herself get messy right before the show?

"Don't worry," Applejack reassured, before she could even start worrying properly. "If they can't laugh at us, they definitely can't laugh at you."

"Rarity," Twilight butted in, "What should I do? Pinky Pie wants it to rain candy and I-"

"That's fine as long as it matches her dress," Rarity answered automatically. She still had her nose in Applejack's mane. While she would have liked to step back and admire her handiwork, she couldn't seem to leave the comforting scent of apples and brown sugar. Applejack had been baking treats for the party all morning, as determined as Rarity was that everything would come out right this time.

"You do know what you just agreed to, sugar cube?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, of course."

"Rarity, is everything all right?" Fluttershy wanted to know. Her butterflies, finally calmed, had landed on the flowers strung through her mane.

"I think she's losing it," Rainbow Dash shared in a stage whisper.

Rarity hadn't realized how long she'd been standing there with her face tucked against Applejack's mane. She sidestepped, trying to retain her all-important dignity.

"I think Rarity needs some candy to cheer her up before the show," Pinky Pie decided.

"No, I'm fine. Everything is wonderful."

Rarity was trying to laugh it off when Applejack bumped shoulders with her, giving her a conspiratorial smile. "We'll go first and clear the way for you. They won't know what hit 'em."

Rarity wasn't worried about the fashion show. She had confidence in her designs and even more confidence that her friends would pull them off flawlessly. She couldn't have said why that one little nudge made her go weak in the knees for a moment.

She had designed Applejack's dress to be sturdy, like her friend. Just looking at the cut of their dresses one could see how different they were. Her own was a mass of gold-trimmed ruffles that suited her sensibilities as a high-class fashionista. So why was it that, for just a moment after the chaos had calmed, she found herself longing for something sturdy to lean on?