The lighting in Apple's room was something like sunlight one day. It was bizarre - even on the days where there wasn't a severe cloud cover, the sun always seemed to be covered by a cloud anyway, or somehow duller than anywhere else.

Why that was, she had no clue.

'It doesn't matter. All that matters is seeing if Apple likes that drawing I made her.'

Apple unfurled it and studied it. "It's us stargazing. Neat!"

It was an idealized version of it, with an owl soaring overhead, and Orion clearly visible on the sky's cloudless dark blue. But it was for the most part faithful to the night of their memories.

'I'm surprised ten-year-old oil pastels still look decent. Who knew?'

"It's great. I love it! Looking at it, all the memories just rush back. How'd you ever get so good?!"

"Lots of practice, I guess."

A tiny giggle. "Practice and talent. My dream job's always involved art, but you can do even better." She re-rolled the paper and set it aside. Then she flopped onto the bed next to her and sighed.

"...Is something bothering you? I really like your art, I'm not better."

"Oh, I didn't mean it in an I-hate-my-art way. I'm good. I just can't find the energy to do it."

"...It's not depression, is it?" Marsh's voice cracked.

Apple's hand found hers. "Nah, it's more of an artist's block. Whenever I sit down to draw, I just feel weird because I wanna be with the real you instead for a date or something."

'That's... Wow.' Marsh blinked, her heartbeat quickening. 'I'd be thrilled if it wasn't making her miserable.'

"...Ugh, I... thanks. I guess it's only natural I help you break your block."

A shocked blink. "Wha- really? That'd be awesome!"

Marsh hummed. "Yeah... T-that's what girlfriends do."

Girlfriends. What a foreign word. It rolled off her tongue as smoothly as sandpaper, but it felt kind of nice, too. Her face warmed up a bit as she continued.

"I guess we can get away from the canvas and do something a bit different." Apple looked at her with interest. "As for what, I'm not real sure. Um, well..." She sat up and glanced around Apple's room. Crumbled-up balls of paper practically carpeted the floor. A baseball bat, a poster with ponies on it, a box of pickup sticks. Miscellaneous stuff bought just to make it feel a bit more like home. Elsewhere, there were lessons to be done, and rounds of board games.

"Aha! We could clean this room up."

"Wha- Clean?! But Marsh, that's not-"

Marsh turned to her. "I mean, come on. Stepping around all your ideas you didn't finish isn't going to help you create anything new. Besides, it needs to be done eventually. Might as well be when I'm here to help you out."

"Mmph, I just don't... wanna."

"What if I rewarded you at the end with some cookies or something? Then would you put effort into it."

Apple suddenly perked up. "...Chocolate chip or peanut butter?"

"No, oatmeal raisin. Just kidding. We have the ingredients for either, but not both."

"So you're saying we could have a baking-and-eating-cookies date when we're done? A sweet date with a sweet friend?"

'A date... She sounds pretty excited, too. Gee...' A bubble of warmth rose in her chest at the thought. "I-I like that. Now let's get cleaning!"

XXX

Cleaning was never easy work. At the mansion, cobwebs and dust bunnies had a way of appearing out of thin air.

('It's not even worth it questioning how dust bunnies exist here. Everything about this place evades rational explanation.')

Apple made cleaning about as easy as herding a toddler to take a bath. She belly-ached. She made excuses to take breaks. Every five minutes, she declared a "fun break" where they had to stop all work to hold hands for at least two minutes. "It's crucial," Apple had said. "I'll die if we don't!"

('Okay, she's cute, I like holding hands, but it's her excuse ten times in a row... She's so childish!')

But, to Marsh's surprise, Apple's room was pretty clean by the time an hour passed. She crossed her arms and admired their handiwork. "We did well," she said to Apple with a grin. "Now it's a question of what we'll do next. I'm thinking we should do the whole thing today, get it over with. So we should dust, scrub the walls, mop, even sweep the balcony.

Apple chuckled nervously. "Uhh, maybe we could wait a day? And I really, really don't want to mop, if that's okay."

Marsh blinked, flummoxed. 'What did mops ever do to her?'

Apple sat on the ground to rest. There was a slight quake to her arms that made Marsh frown. 'Sheesh, it must have been horrible, whatever it was! Who would even hurt her?'

'...It's not important now.'

She sat beside her and patted her stem. "It's alright. We don't have to mop, or anything like that. The floor looks pretty clean already, y'know? All that really matters is that you're happy."

It took Apple a moment to stop shaking. One of her tightly-shut eyes opened to look at Marsh after. "Yeah, those things kinda hurt. Thanks..."

Marsh hesitated, then slipped an arm around her. "You're safe, and you did it! You cleaned! You cleaned like a baby, but still. We don't have to do it again for a while. I-it also means it's time for that sweet thing. Um, should we go downstairs to get that oven fired up now?"

"Yeah, sounds great." She smiled. "Thanks, Marsh. Though, um... I had something different in mind. If you don't mind." Apple turned a little to more directly face Marsh. "I'd rather have a date with my sweet Marshmallow than cookies, even sweet chocolate-chip ones."

That tiny, shy grin, as if she was still thinking about mops but trying to change the subject. The way she nervously tapped the tips of her fingers together. The way she didn't flinch away from her touch. Warmth bloomed in Marsh's chest.

Suddenly their lips met. Marsh smiled and closed her eyes into the kiss for two seconds before jerking away.

"S-sorry! I-I wasn't thinking..."

Apple blinked, dumbfounded. Her hand rose not-to-subtly to her lips, as if she could hardly comprehend what happened mere seconds ago. "That's alright. I never think."

Marsh licked her lips. Upon tasting the vague apple-y taste on her lips (the fibrous skin-part, anyway), she rubbed them with the back of her hand. Her blush grew. "N-no, I mean-"

"I know. It's okay! It wasn't bad. Dunno what you did to make it tickle, though..." She giggled into her hand. "You're so cute."

"It's something girlfriends do," Marsh mumbled. "I-I've been thinking about it, as stupid as it sounds."

Apple surprised her by putting an arm around her too. "We should spend our next date art-ing. I really want to capture that moment on my easel."

Apple dipped in to kiss her again, to Marsh's surprise. It lasted just a second, it was hardly more than a peck, but the warm sensation still lingered after they broke apart.

"You shouldn't paint us kissing!" She added in deadpan, "Artistic and reckless are totally different."

"Anything goes in art!"

"It's the absolute worst way possible for Bow to find out."

"What?! Who cares about her? She'll find out anyway."

"Find out what?"

Marsh snapped to attention. Bow was raising a quizzical eyebrow. She looked thoroughly irritated, with crossed arms and a tail that twitched erratically.

Marsh instantly angled away from Apple and took her arm back. She chuckled nervously. "Bow! H-hey there."

"Yeah, Marshy. Glad to see you... Considering you've hardly talked to me for two weeks." Her tone was measured, and just as cold as the anxiety in Marsh's chest. Bow glared at Apple like she was going to lunge.

Apple glared right back. Before she could retort, Marsh shoved her away, surprising her enough to exclaim.

"I'm really sorry. I'll explain it all l-later," she said to Bow. 'When Apple's asleep, that is. She'll be way too short about this.'

"...Yeah. I look forward to hearing that explanation."

Marsh jolted at Bow's cold tone. It hadn't been unexpected, but still, Bow had never spoken to her that way.

'She'll come around. She won't like it, but if I explain it real carefully, it'll all be fine.'

"Anyway, we can go play a board game together, if you want," Marsh offered with a smile.

Bow sighed, expression softening a bit. "Fine. I'll go get it and meet you in your room."

Bow backed through the wall. As soon as Bow was fully out, Apple groaned, crossing her arms. "She's the worst! She's a menace! How dare she act like she can make your life choices?!"

"She's just upset we didn't let her know sooner, and might I add, you haven't been very nice to her." Marsh crossed her arms and sighed. 'Just as I'm getting a bit comfier with this relationship thing, this happens...'

"I can go explain it to her," Apple offered, but the way her fists clenched implied something else in mind.

"No. I can take care of it."

It would be a thankless task, and Marsh knew it.

There were rational explanations for why she'd suddenly fall for Apple, of course. She knew them.

Apple grimaced. "...Whatever."

'But they're living reasons. Bow's not living. This could be... hard. Bow's totally right, I just have to explain it decently.'

"You paint while I play with Bow, okay? I want something beautiful for the corkboard, or for the wall, if you really do paint. ...'Kay?"

"Okey dokey. I hope you come back with me soon, I don't like Bow."

"Which is to say, 'I hope you have a good time with Bow', right?" Marsh countered.

"Sure. Sorry. Um, thanks. And, if we don't visit again before you two talk or whatever, good luck. And tell her I'm here to stay."

Marsh smiled. "Thanks. It should be a breeze, she's pretty reasonable when you get down to it."

'Which is to say, thanks, I'll need it.'