Applejack took a long, deep breath. At that moment, her senses were filled the sweet, delightful smell of Sweet Apple Acres' trademark orchard. That, as well as the smell of victory over Rainbow Dash, whose face was covered in slight frustration.
"Welp, there goes your third loss fer the day!" Applejack chirped. "Loser takes home the horseshoes."
Rainbow Dash groaned and flew to the spot where a few metal horseshoes resided. She picked them up and stuffed them away in her saddlebag.
"Not fair!" she whined. Rainbow Dash flew back to her competitor with pursed lips. "I didn't get to warm up when I came here!"
"I didn't too," said Applejack, "and I would've won anyway."
A nose crunch and an eyeroll. Then, a sudden realization dawned on Rainbow's face and she quickly rummaged through her other saddlebag.
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot!" Rainbow Dash, after digging through who-knows-how-many items from her pouch, pulled out a brown tattered notebook, with the words 'Lazy AJ's Planner' crudely scribbled on the cover.
Applejack raised an eyebrow at the playful jab. "Lazy, huh?"
"Well, when I lost that bet, I know you found the perfect opportunity to escape your chores," Rainbow smirked. "Nothing wrong with that. Laziness is clever efficiency, after all!"
It was a few months earlier when Rainbow Dash lost a game of hoof-wrestle. The loser had to do a chore for the winner, and luckily for Applejack, she was spared weeks of math, writing, and doing the dreary task of finishing a planner.
The notebook was new and clean when Applejack first bought it from the store, but now it was worn-down as if somepony had mistaken it for horseshoes and threw it across the field multiple times. But she supposed it didn't matter. Never judge a book by its cover— that's what all of Equestria and their mothers always say!
And the saying was right. When Applejack flipped through the pages, she was genuinely surprised at how clean and orderly the writing was. The headers were even written in cursive! Every chart was spot on, the prices and logs were pretty much as accurate as it can get, and one wouldn't have to squint to figure out a letter or word. She didn't know that Rainbow held such talent, especially since that darn pegasus always writes with crayons like a little filly. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, was biting her hooves off in anticipation.
"So?" she said. "What do you think?"
Applejack smiled sweetly and nuzzled Rainbow Dash. The latter recoiled in surprise and embarrassment. She mentally laughed at how much her friend resembled a boiling kettle.
"I think it's mighty fine, sugarcube!" she complimented. "Your penmanship's a keeper!"
Rainbow smiled sheepishly. "I actually got help from Fluttershy. Didn't want to disappoint you with chicken-feet writing."
"Really? That's really sweet of ya, Rai—" Applejack paused when she flipped through the last page. She eyed it meticulously.
The pegasus in question raised an eyebrow in curiosity. What could AJ had possibly saw? Did Rainbow Dash leave a stain of ketchup when she finished? Did she bring the wrong notebook? Was it even finished? Not a second has passed and her mind had already bombarded itself with a million questions, and Rainbow Dash was back on sweating profusely.
"W-What is it?" she asked.
"Rainbow Dash?" Applejack started. "Do you... Do you know that thing where little fillies write the name of someone they like at the back of their notebooks?"
"Yeah! I remember Fluttershy used to do that when—"
"..."
Rainbow's eyes widened. Oh no...
A bullet pierced through her heart and it sank to the bottom of her stomach. There was no way, she thought. It wasn't even close to possible. Rainbow Dash didn't write anything at the back of that notebook! Someone must've put a name in there! But then, there was always this possibility...
..that a half-awake Rainbow Dash, bored to complete oblivion, could've written it out of sleepiness.
She remembered, quite clearly, that she had fallen asleep when finishing that notebook in the middle of the night.
Her eyes widened even more.
"Hmm..." Applejack squinted her pools of emerald, completely keeping her focus on the notebook. "Interesting."
Rainbow couldn't take it anymore! "W-why? What's in there!?"
Applejack didn't reply.
"Rainbow, I didn't know that you... Wow."
Rainbow stiffened, her pupils dilating in response. "Applejack!" she exclaimed. "Somepony else m-must've written that there! I don't remember writing anything on the last page, okay!?"
A pregnant pause befell on the two.
"A-Applejack? Can I borrow it? Please?" Rainbow muttered and shakily reached for the notebook. Applejack noticed the pegasus's presence and simply gave it to her. With the upmost sense of emergency, Rainbow Dash immediately flipped through the back of the notebook as fast as her hooves can move. She cringed at the thought. What if there was a name there? Applejack will surely tease her non-stop about it! Or worse...
With sweat building up on her forehead, she flipped to the last page, anticipating a name written fumblingly on the page...
"Y-You're mistaken!" Rainbow Dash desperately blurted, "I swear I didn't write anythi—"
...only to find a blank piece of paper.
Nothing was actually written there.
She looked back to Applejack, finding her in the midst of holding back a booming laughter. Rainbow's priceless face was enough to ignite the bomb, and Applejack collapsed on the grass, holding her stomach amidst an onslaught of laughs.
"Bwahaha! You-- Y'all should've seen yer face!" she wiped a non-existent tear on her freckled cheeks. "I--- Oh sweet Celestia!"
Rainbow Dash frowned heatedly and groaned. Her face was as red as the apples on AJ's flank, and she tried her best not to cower behind her colorful mane in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.
So it was all a prank!? Rainbow thought. Darn you Applejack!
"Grr... You're enjoying this aren't you?" she muttered.
Applejack stood with noodle-like legs, still recovering with giggles. She regained her composure and looked at Rainbow.
"Oh my apples, Rainbow. Seein' you all flustered like that. You're as red as a beet!"
The pegasus looked away. "Hmph! No I'm not!"
Applejack nodded her head and patted Rainbow on the shoulder. "Okay, honey. Whatever you say."
Rainbow's ears perked up. It was one of those instances where Applejack calls a friend the 'h-word'!
"Anyway, I'm sorry for teasin' you like that," Applejack added. "Cider seasons's comin' and all, so how 'bout I make it up to you with a lil' taste of what's to come?"
"Great, another tease." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "But... that'll be great."
"Right. Now follow me."
The two made their way to AJ's home, where the pegasus had trailed behind with a defeated lag. Applejack opened the door slowly as to not wake a sleeping Granny Smith, who was peacefully rocking on her favorite chair.
To Rainbow's surprise, the quaint house smelled like... She shook her head. Whatever it smelled like, she didn't know what terms to describe it, but all she could gather was that it's a combination between Sugarcube Corner's cozy interiors, Applejack's awesome apple shampoo, and the orchard's fresh nature-kissed scent— something that had helped the pegasus nap in the green leafy canopies.
It was a while since she last visited the place, and it always felt welcoming every time she stepped through the door. Of course, the house wasn't a majestic sky mansion above the clouds, but it felt warm, intimate, and honest.
"I think I kept them in my room," Applejack quietly said as the pair began their ascent on the stairway. "Use yer wings. Wood's kinda creaky."
Granny Smith shuffled in her nap, causing Applejack to pause abruptly on her tracks and the trailing Rainbow to crash on her rump.
"Watch where you're goin!"
A few steps later, and they were already on the second floor. A sigh of relief escaped from Applejack's lips as she trotted nonchalantly to her room with a pegasus on an invisible leash.
Rainbow Dash, once again, took a moment to digest the interiors. The woodwork and floorboards were very much in the same style, but everything else felt personalized and catered to Applejack. From the purple curtains, the snug bed, to the ligneous door. A few glimmering trophies shone themselves to Rainbow's magenta pools. They were perched above a little shelf on the laminate-finished wall; a testament to the farmer's victories. Everything reminded Rainbow Dash of Applejack, and she loved every inch of it.
"Your room's awesome!" she complimented.
With a keen eye, Rainbow spotted her friend setting down Lazy AJ's Planner on a lamp-lit desk.
"Thanks, sugarcube."
Making her way to a corner, Rainbow Dash spotted a few ropes, a whip, and a khaki hat hanging on the wall. "Now what are these for? Looks like something Vanhoover Cedar would wear!"
"Uhhh, who's that?" Applejack asked as she pulled out a chest from underneath the bed.
"Daring Do's sidekick!" Rainbow Dash explained. "So in chapter forty-seven in Daring Do and the Vast Blockade, Daring Do was trapped in a circus train car with a lion, so she had to use the whip and—"
"Rainbow Dash."
"Oops," the pegasus put a hoof on her mouth. "Sorry, sorry."
Rainbow continued to eye every single corner of the place, noticing some quirky little details here and there. She was quite amused at how many apple symbols littered the room, as if there wasn't enough apple-related emblems in Sweet Apple Acres. From the signs, to the logos carved on their fences, and to Applejack's awesome flank. Those delicious fruits were everywhere! Then again, the Cloudominium was just the same, except it was all rainbows and lightning.
Then, her eyes landed upon some pictures on a mahogany table. There was Applejack as a little foal, followed by some older photos with Big Mac and a much younger Granny Smith. There was also a picture of a peach mare and a pale-yellow stallion; probably AJ's parents. Then, she came across a vibrant photograph that contrasted itself among the rest; it was all five of her friends, together with Spike. Her heart melted with nostalgia— it was those days, not long ago, when Twilight was still just a unicorn and the Wonderbolts was merely a dream.
As she stared at it for a little longer, Rainbow Dash spotted a little something poking behind the frame. She gently pulled it out, careful as to not knock something over.
It was a poster of Rainbow Dash as a Wonderbolt. A striking pose, a confident smile, and the glint of the sun reflecting on the trademark goggles.
The pegasus grinned and tucked it back from where it was before. Yup, she was awesome.
"Oh what in...?" Applejack suddenly muttered. "Where the hay is it?"
"Where is what?"
"My cider!" Applejack paused and thought for a moment. An idea seemed to pop in her head before saying, "Hmm, I think I'll go check downstairs. Mighta misplaced it somewhere. Wait here, okay?"
"Sure! Won't touch a thing!" Rainbow assured.
"I find that hard to believe," were the last words Applejack said before leaving the room.
Now, Rainbow Dash was alone again.
Not a second passed and the pegasus was already bored. With a few loop-de-loops, backflips, frontflips, and just flips in general, Rainbow had decided to sit still before Applejack could catch her doing pegasi gymnastics. It was only when she did a barrel roll that a particular object caught her magenta eyes.
She squinted and flew over to the desk. Beside Lazy AJ's Planner was another book, but it was much thicker, prettier, and cleaner. She opened it and saw the very first page.
Applejack's Journal
Rainbow crunched her nose and laughed. "Too embarrassed to call it a diary? Oh, AJ! Nopony's gonna read it if you hide it good enough."
Then, a smirk.
"But you didn't hide it good enough."
Rainbow decided to wing it and attempted to read some snapshots before Applejack's return. However, just as she began to turn another page, a pang of guilt had taken over Rainbow's conscience. She huffed and closed it.
"Nah," she whispered. "I shouldn't do it for her sake."
Rainbow's plan was to either lie down on AJ's bed and wait for her, or hide behind the wardrobe and startle her as payback, but the pegasus's eyes drifted to Lazy AJ's Planner once more, causing her to recall something else.
"Do you... Do you know that thing where little fillies write the name of someone they like at the back of their notebooks?"
Applejack's word echoed in her mind, and Rainbow's chest tightened ever so slightly. A question popped in there now, something that had bugged her since that day in Whitetail Woods. A slight dash of curiosity. A light nosiness that might wash her with peace once she finally got to know.
Who did Applejack like?
She had to like somepony. It didn't matter how much one should fawn over the idea of romance— everyone had an apple of their eye. They could hide it behind nonchalance and composure. They could hide it behind a facade of confidence— of competitiveness, of teases and antics, of mischievous pranks and a few glimpses here and there. One could dismiss it, but no one could avoid it.
Rainbow knows that those emerald eyes had a desire... so who was it?
With her hooves, the book was flipped over, revealing the empty back cover.
Rainbow Dash couldn't admit to herself that she had desired something, or someone. But one thing's for certain: right now, there was a want— no, a need, to know the identity of Applejack's crush. Besides, if it turned out there wasn't anything written there, then it won't matter anyway.
Rainbow Dash took a long deep breath. At that moment, her senses were filled with the sweet, delightful smell of Applejack's room. That, as well as a little hint of guilt.
Here goes nothing.
She took a little peak at the very last page of AJ's diary, not enough to uncover it entirely, but enough to take a tiny peep. There was something written there! The first few letters were...
"Tu-"
Rainbow Dash's heart skipped a beat.
"TU!?"
Who the hay was—
When her mind had finally comprehended what she saw, Rainbow Dash immediately sulked and slouched with utter, raw disappointment... and sadness.
"So it wasn't me..."
Her mind immediately went through all the names she could think of that started with "Tu". Was it ColoraTUra? Turner? TIME TURNER? Was it Turquoise Thunder from Cloudsdale!?
HOW DID APPLEJACK EVEN KNOW HER?
A sigh escaped from her lips.
Then, a spark of determination. Rainbow's mind burst in flames. She gritted her teeth and returned her attention the that darn journal.
"NO!" she exclaimed. "I HAVE to know what it is!"
Rainbow Dash slammed her hooves against the desk and flipped over the back cover with thunderous urgency. Her heart was about to jump out her chest in anticipation, and the dragons in her stomach were already burning through her insides! This was the moment of truth. Whoever it was, Rainbow was about to know!
With that, the last page was presented itself before her in its entirety.
However, instead of finding a name of a pony, there were only four, dreadful words written on it.
Turn around, Rainbow Dash.
"T-turn aro—"
When Rainbow whirled her head to look what was behind her, she knew it was already too late. Her befuddled expression was met with Applejack's smug, smirking face, inches apart!
She... She got me!
Rainbow Dash was dumbfounded. She just sat still, eyes widened in shock, and mouth agape in trying to discern what had just happened to her.
Applejack couldn't hold it any longer, and just like earlier, she burst out laughing. Her laugh was so loud that it even awoke Granny Smith downstairs! And Rainbow's embarrassment was so utterly extreme, she could feel her ancestors bear the pain of being played like an absolute fiddle!
"Hahaha! Oh my... Oh my sweet..." Applejack managed to say, "You.. You should've seen your f— Bwahaha!"
The pegasus immediately took off from the ground and examined the chest that Applejack had rummaged through. And there it was— three bottles of that darned apple cider that Applejack said was 'missing'. It was all for a stupid ploy? A bait?
"You— You tricked me!" Rainbow's cheeks was about to melt for the millionth time that day! She could feel her blood boil as if she was a whistling kettle. "Y-You... varmint! Pest!"
Applejack paused for a moment before laughing again. "Hey! That's my line!"
Rainbow couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed a bottle of cider and opened the window to the rolling landscapes outside!
"O-OH! Would you look at the time!" she said with gritted teeth, embarrassment rushing through her veins like flustered adrenaline. "Looks like my weather pony duties are—"
"I thought you ain't a weather pony anymore?"
Rainbow realized her mistake and covered her red face with the bottle. "S-SHUT UP! THANKS FOR THE CIDER, OKAY? GOODBYE!"
With that, Rainbow Dash took off for the skies, leaving behind a rainbow trail of unmitigated bashfulness.
Applejack was alone now, still reclaiming her composure along with the sides of her stomach that still hurt from all those laughter. With one last deep breath, she was finally able to snap out of it.
The remnants from her fit earlier were all gone. Yet, certain things remain the same.
Shaking hooves, twitching lips, ears drooped and glowing rosy cheeks. The backdrops were different this time, but the elements were still there. She hearkened back to that memorable day in Whitetail Woods, the first ever instance she felt these mysterious emotions. Butterflies in her stomach that not even Fluttershy could control. A feeling in her chest that tickled her at every glimpse of the pegasus...
There was no way to stop it, as in her experience, it only went away when she slept for the night. The only thing that the farm pony could do was bring a hoof on her rising-and-falling chest, beside a heart that rapidly beats as fast as raindrops on a storm, in a fruitless attempt to calm her nerves.
She made her way back to the desk and grabbed a pencil. With it, she scribbled out two words: 'turn' and 'around' on the last page, leaving only the name of that rainbow-maned pegasus on the paper.
Applejack sat and smiled.
"I'll tell you one day, honey," she whispered. "Just so you wait."
Author's Note
Not my first fanfic, but it's my first in this site 
Also, spot the references if you can 
Let me know if there are some errors I should fix!
Thanks for reading!
