The summer sun beat down on the town of Ponyville, its inhabitants taking the opportunity to spend the day outside and bask in the midday warmth. Sugarcube corner was doing a roaring trade in ice-cream sandwiches, the School of Friendship decided that today was the day for classes to be taken outside, and the parks were crammed with Ponies of all ages simply enjoying clement weather. The birds sang their heavenly chorus in the trees, the blue sky was bereft of clouds, and a lazy breeze rolled across Celestia’s own country.

At Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack had taken the day off. It was an unusual move, for her at least, but she figured that Big Mac and his wife could handle anything that might come up on the farm for one day at least. The farm and surrounding acres of orchards provided the solitude that was lacking in the nearby town, and save for the chirping of the birds in the trees, all was silent on the Apple family grounds. Applejack sighed in contentment and leaned back against the fence, her rear hoof resting on the lower slat. She adjusted her hat to maintain the shade across her eyes and continued her silent observation of the only other Pony within a mile of her. It had been several years since Princess Twilight Sparkle had left for Canterlot, and though Ponyville could never be described as sleepy, what with the School of Friendship still in full operation, it couldn’t be denied that less world-ending incidents seemed to occur there these days. It afforded Ponies like Applejack more leisure time, especially now that Sweet Apple Acres had Sugar Belle in permanent residence helping out with chores. On days such as this one, it meant that the apple farmer was able to attempt to settle the ongoing question of just who was best. If somepony would get on with it, that was.

“You plannin’ on takin’ that shot anytime soon?” She asked, amusement tugging at her voice.

Rainbow Dash made no reply, her tongue jutting out of the corner of her mouth and her face twisted in concentration. She bobbed the horseshoe she held in her hoof lightly up and down, testing its weight, her eyes fixed on the stake stuck in the ground several meters away. Numerous other shoes littered the ground around the pole, glinting in the sunshine. Applejack swatted at a fly that buzzed annoyingly around her head before sighing again, this time from irritation. Rainbow Dash had still yet to pitch her shoe.

“Ah ain’t got plans to be stood here all dang day!” Applejack grumbled.

Then it happened, finally. Rainbow Dash’s foreleg shot forward at frightening speed, and the shoe was sent hurtling towards the stake. The clattering metallic sound that rang out a split second later signaled that the Pegasus had scored a ringer, but Applejack squinted at the pole just to make sure. Sure enough, there lay Rainbow’s shoe at the foot of the stake. Rainbow pumped her hooves in the air and began her inevitable victory routine.

“Yes! YES! Ringer! Did you see that, AJ? You’re never catching me up! You’d need to pull a ringer out of the bag yourself just to tie this game!”

The apple farmer pushed herself off the fence and lazily walked to the throw line, apparently in no rush to continue with the match. She gave the Pegasus a slight sideways nod.

“Not bad, Rainbow,” she said, her words dripping with condescension. “Who knows, maybe one a’ these days you’ll become a real sports-pony.”

Rainbow Dash sat on her haunches and folded her forelegs huffily.

“Whaddaya mean?!” She griped. “I’m a Wonder Bolt! It doesn’t get more real than that!”

“Uh huh.” Applejack replied dismissively, picking up her horseshoe. “Well, that’s as maybe...”

She lined up her shot, and flung the shoe towards its target, taking much pride in the fact that it had taken her a fraction of the time it had taken Rainbow to aim. She was rewarded by the sound of another metallic clang, the unmistakable sound of yet another ringer. Applejack’s horseshoe fell to the base of the stake and entwined with Rainbow’s previous shot.

“Hoo-wee,” the orange mare commented, adjusting a hat that didn’t strictly require adjustment. Rainbow Dash could only look on in open mouthed horror.

“Tie game?!” The Pegasus yelled, extending two forelegs towards the metal pole. “Oh, come on!”

“Yup,” Applejack responded smugly. Considering the game was a draw, she was doing an excellent job of acting like she’d won. “Good game, Rainbow. Ah guess we’ll just have to wait until next time to settle this.”

“No!” Rainbow Dash shouted, leaping to her hooves. “No, no, no! There must be something else!”

A look of confusion flashed across Applejack’s features.

“Somethin’ else?” She questioned.

“Yeah!” The Pegasus confirmed, kicking at the dusty ground with her hoof. “Another game, contest, challenge...something!”

Applejack rolled her eyes.

“Forget it Rainbow, I gots chores to do.” She griped, casting her eyes across the rolling hills of Sweet Apple Acres towards the farmhouse. It was a jolly clash of red in the green grasses of the hill it rested upon, and it stood out magnificently against the brilliant blue of the sky. As Applejack watched, the weathervane that sat atop it shifted in the gentle breeze, creating a couple of bright flashes of light that lingered even when the mare closed her eyes. Applejack smiled, her heart swelling as she gazed upon her home. The house was a barn conversion that she herself had helped to build many, many years ago, and every lick of red paint that adorned it was done by some member or other of the Apple family. To look upon the house, her house, was to gaze back into the past, at generations of Apples who had chosen to make this unprepossessing corner of Equestria their home. Her thoughts were unceremoniously interrupted by the now ranting Rainbow Dash.

“Leg wrestling?” The Pegasus asked.

Applejack rolled her eyes, before snorting and returning her gaze to her friend.

“We’ve done that.” She replied. “‘Sides, ain’t no way you’re bringin’ these babies down.”

She flexed her foreleg for Dash to see, her muscles bulging under her coat to emphasize her point. Rainbow’s eyes lingered on the display for a fraction of a second before she rolled her eyes.

“Tug o’ war?”

“We’ve done that too,” Applejack reminded her friend. “You always cheat by flyin.’”

“I promise I won’t do that this time!” Rainbow begged.

“That’s whut you always say,” Applejack admonished. “‘An anyway, we ain’t got no rope, an’ ah ain’t trottin’ all tha way to the barn to git one.”

Rainbow frowned and went back to pacing up and down, visibly ransacking her brain for some sort of new game to play. Applejack looked on in amusement. She was cute, the way she refused to give up despite being so obviously outmatched – it was cute, it was cute, that was what she’d meant. As Applejack hid her tiny blush by once again looking across the Equestrian landscape, Rainbow piped up once more.

“Staring contest!” She yelled triumphantly.

“A whut now?”

“A staring contest!” Rainbow repeated, stomping her hoof on the ground in excitement. “We’ve never done that!”

Applejack mulled the thought around her mind, struggling to remember. Of all the silly games they’d ever played, had they really never played the simplest one of all? If they had, she couldn’t recall when.

“No...no, ah guess we haven’t.” She said finally.

The Pegasus punched a hoof into the air.

“Perfect!” She declared. “Rules are simple. We each stare into the other’s eyes, first one to blink loses.”

“Into each other’s eyes?” The orange mare repeated, with a raised eyebrow.

“Well yeah,” Dash said with an air of condescension. “Else how are we supposed to know the other’s blinked?”

Applejack sighed, before shrugging.

“What tha’ hay.” She said stepping towards her friend. “If’n it’ll finally settle this once and fer all, then fine.”

“Ok, ok,” Rainbow said excitedly, positioning herself in front of her friend. The two mares locked eyes, preparing themselves. Applejack blinked several times in rapid succession. “You ready?”

“Yup.”

“Annnnnd, go!”

Applejack stared intently into Rainbow Dash’s eyes, taking in their deep magenta. The Pegasus’ brow was furrowed, and her lips turned up in a near snarl of concentration. Poor creature. She was never going to win this fight. Not specifically this fight either, but in a general sense. How long had they both been at this, Applejack absently wondered. It must be years now. It seemed like whenever the farmer had even a little bit of time to spare, there was Rainbow, inventing more and more ways for them to pit themselves against each other, in an ongoing campaign to prove who was the better Pony. It was certainly strange, but stranger still was the fact that Applejack seemed to look forward to their time together, perhaps more, even, than any of their other mutual friends. Applejack was honest in all things, even her own feelings, so she knew she was overly competitive. The idea that she’d let Rainbow waltz away with the title of ‘Best Pony’ without a fight was one that she couldn’t accept, but now, having been at it for so many moons, she wondered if there wasn’t something else to it. She liked Rainbow Dash, sure, despite their constant bickering, but that only seemed to be scratching the surface of the matter. What was it about this Rainbow Pegasus that made her willingly give up more of her precious time than any of her other friends? Why was she now, seemingly for the first time, having difficulty articulating her feelings to herself? What was it about her? What-

Applejack blinked. The barely noticeable blackening of the world for the shortest of split seconds signaled, both to her and to Rainbow Dash, that the contest was over, and she had lost. A growl of frustration escaped her lips, and she threw her hat to the ground even as Rainbow’s obnoxious victory taunting began.

“YES!” Rainbow bellowed before shooting into the air and hovering ten feet up, her wings beating frenetically. “You blinked! I win! I’m the best Pony! I-”

“Best ‘a three.” Applejack demanded, retrieving her hat and dusting it off before returning to her head.

“What?” Rainbow replied, still from her airborne position.

“Ya heard me good and well, Rainbow,” Applejack snarled. “Best ‘a three. You ain’t won this yet.”

The glee dropped from the Pegasus’ face as she slowly descended. Once all four of her hooves were planted on terra-firma, she looked at her friend with a steely expression.

“Fine,” she said coldly, “if you like losing that much.”

Once again she took up position, and immediately noticed that a determined Applejack had closed the distance previously between them by a good few feet, to the point where they were now both in what could be considered each other’s personal space. Rainbow grinned a vulpine grin. Intimidation tactics weren’t going to help her friend win. She wet her lips and blinked a few final times.

“Ready?” She once again asked. Applejack closed her eyes for two whole seconds before she replied.

“Yup.”

“Go.”

Poor Applejack. She didn’t know about Rainbow’s secret tactic. By rapidly shifting the point of focus of her eyes, she could ensure that they moved around in her sockets just enough to keep the whole eyeball moistened to hold back the need to blink. What a sucker the farmer was, and how sweet would it be when finally, she was forced to admit that she, Rainbow Dash, was the best at any game or contest anypony could come up with. Her eyes skipped across Applejack’s freckles and lingered on her piercing green eyes. The farmer’s expression was neutral, her eyes wide, looking directly into the Pegasus’ own. What would they do once that she was crowned winner and best at everything for life? There’d be no reason for them to continue hanging out as much as they did, and that created a weird feeling in Rainbow’s stomach. Focus Dash! Eyes on the prize. Even as she thought this, she found that she couldn’t tear her gaze from the green of AJ’s irises. Green like an apple. Rainbow scowled in frustration. Spending time with Applejack, it was...it was aight, to say the least. Even when they were apart she increasingly found her mind drifting to the orange mare, absently cooking up more and more ingenious ways for them to compete. Why was that? Was it because the smokin’ hot farmer never gave up? Wait a trotting second-

Rainbow Dash blinked. She clasped her hooves to her face, as much to hide her minute blush as much as anything else. She prepared herself for Applejack’s teasing, but it never came. When she looked back up, the mare was still doggedly eyeballing her.

“The decider,” the farmer said simply, her voice low and unamused.

“The decider.” Rainbow confirmed grimly, once again taking up position. This time, it was she who edged closer to her friend, so the mares were virtually nose to nose.

“Ready?” Rainbow growled.

“Go.” Applejack replied.

Their final bout began, both mares grimacing at each other.

Looking back, it was impossible to say who made the first move. Later, much later, each of them would naturally blame the other for what happened. All they knew in that moment was that one second they were looking into each other’s eyes attempting to settle a bet, the next their lips were locked together in an intense kiss. It was like an explosion of passion, a force that neither of them could resist. Rainbow let out a muffled moan as their tongues connected and they began to slowly explore each other. Their game was long forgotten; both of their eyes were closed by this point. Applejack raised her hoof and ran it through Rainbow’s spiky mane, the coarse hair brushing against her pastern. The Pegasus too raised her hoof and clasped Applejack’s in her own before deepening their kiss, eliciting a light sigh of pleasure from the Earth Pony. Their lips continued the embrace for several more seconds before they parted, their foreheads pressing together. They stared at each other for three long seconds, breathing heavily, before either mare realized what had just happened.

“Aghh!” Rainbow Dash commented, leaping away from the apple farmer as though she were on fire.

“Aghhh!” Applejack countered.

“Aggghhhh!”

“Aggggghhhhh!”

After their brief but admittedly clamorous exchange, a beetroot red Rainbow jetted off the ground and disappeared into the blue infinity of the sky. An equally crimson faced Applejack tilted her head back and watched her go. Within seconds the Pegasus was a speck in the sky. Applejack rocked back and forth on her hooves.

“Hrm...guess I’ll just, uh...hm.” She said to nopony in particular, before bolting in the direction of her home.

Rainbow Dash rocketed through the clear sky. Not yet, don’t think about it yet. Gah, why were there no clouds about today?! Where was a nice fluffy cumulus when you needed one? For once, she cursed the efficiency of the Pegasus weather team.

She was halfway to Cloudsdale before she found a suitable candidate, hanging alone, somewhere over the fields beyond the School of Friendship. She zipped towards it without bothering to slow down, and buried herself in the soft, cool vapor. She lay inside for a few moments, waiting for her breathing to return to normal. It didn’t, even though she hadn’t pushed herself that hard to get here. It was still coming through in deep, ragged rasps.

What in the actual holy hay had that been? Why had AJ ki – why had she done that? Rainbow’s face burnt at the memory. Surely the farmer wasn’t that desperate to win? It was a darn dirty trick if it was, and that was from a Pony who knew her way around a dirty trick or two.

‘Of course she tastes like apples...’

Rainbow silenced her mind as a swarm of butterflies invaded her stomach, her cheek heat showing zero signs of abating. Quite apart from Applejack, why had she run away like a frightened filly? Why wouldn’t her rebellious body just calm down?! She began to take deep breaths, silently counting to ten. When she was done she didn’t feel a whole lot better, but at least the pounding in her chest and the thunderous sound of blood rushing through her ears had lessened somewhat. The chilly cloud was helping too, offering some relief to her flushed body. Okay, it was okay. She was hidden in her cloud, nopony could see her. Time to sort this out.

Did...did she like that? The thought sent the butterflies into a frenzy, and her face began to glow anew. Hmm. Well, that wasn’t a good sign.

Okay, okay, maybe she liked it a little. Not a huge amount though, obviously. Like, maybe she twenty percent liked it. Being generous. But that didn’t make it okay that Applejack had just done it, without so much as a warning. Rainbow thought that she was supposed to be the one who played rotten pranks on her friends.

Unless. Unless it hadn’t been a prank, and AJ had actually...wanted to do that. The Pegasus scooped wads of cloud onto her head. She scrutinized her memory closely, desperately searching for any example of the farmer playing any kind of trick, prank or jape. She came up empty. Stupid element of honesty.

Rainbow took a gulp of air as she fretfully pondered what to do next. For some reason, the notion of the element of honesty lingered in her mind. Okay, so she should be honest, with herself at least, here in the solitary safety of the cloud.

‘Ohmigosh, ohmigosh, ohmigosh...it was nice.’

Princess Celestia on a bike. Applejack was, like, super-cool, not that the Pegasus would ever dream of telling her that. It was pretty much the main reason why she always wanted to compete with her. Like, if she could beat her in games or whatever, then that would prove that she was the cooler Pony. Which she was. Obviously.

‘Game recognizes game,’ she thought absently.

So then, now what? With a fresh stomach lurch she realized that she couldn’t stay in this cloud forever. Should she just go home and act like the whole thing never happened? Mentally she imagined Twilight Sparkle’s stern face.

‘Friends talk about their feelings, Rainbow.’

‘Shut up, Twilight. You’re not even here.’

Dismissing the imaginary Alicorn, the Pegasus was left with the feeling that, not here though she may be, she still perhaps had a point. Besides, if she didn’t speak to AJ and find out just what the hay was going on, then there’d be no shot at any more...niceness.

Not that that was what she wanted. Not definitely. Maybe.

She began to voluntarily pant in a futile attempt to calm her nerves as she began to dig through the bottom of the cloud. Once she reached the bottom, she created a small hole, slid through it, and allowed herself to free-fall for a good few moments before she spread her wings and shot off back in the direction of Ponyville.

By the time that Applejack had galloped back to the farmstead she was a sweaty, panting mess. Her stomach was doing flip-flops, and it genuinely felt like she might need to throw up. As she neared her front door she silently prayed that there wouldn’t be anypony else about. She tentatively pushed her front door open, and those prayers were dashed. Granny Smith stood with her back to the mare at the kitchen counter, beating a pie mixture in a large bowl.

“Applejack?” She said in her usual wizened drawl. “You’re back from your little contest nonsense with Rainbow Dash so soon?”

“Yeah...” her granddaughter replied distractedly. “I, um...yeah.”

Granny turned around, giving Applejack her full attention. Her brow furrowed and eyes narrowed.

“Young ‘un, are you feelin’ alright?” She asked, plodding to the mare and placing a hoof on her forehead. “You done look like you’ve seen the ghost of Great Grandpappy Apple Turnover.”

“Ah...ah...y’know whut Granny, I do feel mighty nauseous.” Applejack stammered, glad to be handed an excuse. It wasn’t as though it was untrue.

“I gots just tha’ thing!” Granny beamed, turning from the mare and reaching into one of the upper cupboards. After rummaging around for a few seconds, she produced a small green bottle before grabbing a spoon from the drying rack by the sink.

“This here cod liver oil’ll have ya fitter’n a worm in a zap-apple in no time.” She cackled, pouring some of the amber fluid into the spoon.

“Now Granny, there ain’t no need to-”

Applejack didn’t get to finish her sentence before the foul fishy liquid was thrust into her mouth. She tried to swallow it down before the taste invaded her senses, but it was no use. Her tongue registered the flavor and the smell crept into her nostrils, leaving her a coughing, spluttering mess. Well, if she didn’t feel like puking before, she sure did now.

“Ah, quit yer belly achin’, it ain’t that bad.” Granny grumbled, returning the bottle to the cupboard. “When I wuz your age, I had this every night before bed!”

Applejack found her mouth filling up with saliva and she dipped her head down between her forelegs taking long deliberate breaths.

“Thank ya, Granny,” she managed to choke out, with little enthusiasm. “Think I’ll maybe go take a lie down for a few minutes.”

“Okay sugar-plum,” Granny replied, turning her attention back to her pie mixture. “If’n ya need anythin’ jus’ give me a holler.”

Applejack trotted out of the room and up the stairs as quickly as she dared, not wanting to give the impression that she was desperate to get away. Mercifully, she didn’t run into either her brother or sister on her short journey, though that wasn’t too much of a surprise. Big Mac was most likely off somewhere making kissy faces at Sugar Belle, and Apple Bloom was probably busy with the Crusaders, doing Celestia knew what. She reached the door to her room and slipped inside, slamming the door slightly behind her. She leaned back against it, her forelegs splayed, as though she were trying to stop somepony from barging in. Slowly, she slid down until she was sitting on the bare floorboards.

Spartan didn’t even begin to describe Applejack’s interior decorating. There was a sturdy applewood bed with a patchwork blanket next to a bedside table with a lamp, a tiny bookcase and little else. The only other decorations were several lassos hanging at strategic points around the room, and a landscape picture of Sweet Apple Acres hanging above the bed. The mare looked around dumbly, taking precious little comfort in the familiar surroundings, before crawling to her bed and scrabbling under the covers. She frisbeed her hat across the room and pulled the blanket over her head, instantly regressing to the days when she was a foal hiding from monsters. In the relative darkness of the covers, there was one thought that assaulted her mind.

What in the whole history of apple loving hay had just happened? The memory alone was enough to cause eighty percent of the blood in her body to decide that her face was the hippest place to be right now. She’d kissed Rainbow Dash. Had she? Or had Rainbow kissed her? Didn’t matter. The end result was the same. How was their friendship supposed to survive this? No doubt Twilight’d know. Too bad she wasn’t in Ponyville anymore.

Her boggled mind began to play scenarios where Rainbow came to see her.

‘Hey Applejack. What happened the other day was kinda weird. I think we maybe shouldn’t hang out together for a little while.’

An involuntary gasp forced its way into her lungs. She didn’t want that. Not at all. She’d come to see the multi-coloured Pegasus as her best friend among some really close friends, and the thought that they wouldn’t be able to spend time together anymore was frankly horrifying. So what if they bickered and competed all the time, so what if she sometimes brought out the obstinate stubborn nature in her, when all was said and done, Rainbow Dash was the one Pony that she felt like she could tell anything. Even if she didn’t always, or even often, agree with her, Applejack knew that Rainbow would always stick with her, no matter what.

Guess that’s the bearer of the Element of Loyalty for you.

She liked Rainbow Dash. A lot. Gah, this was so confusing. Okay, don’t panic. Focus on what happened. The kiss. Did she like that?

Yes.

Gosh darn it. She grabbed a convenient pillow and held it over her burning face. She lightly pounded on it with a hoof as she emitted a low groan.

Okay, that was something, though. A tangible certainty that she could grasp. She needed to talk to Rainbow. She’d just have to be completely open with the Pegasus, say that yeah, they kissed, so what. If she wasn’t into it then fine, but there was no way in Tartarus that it was gonna get in the way of their friendship, they were far too close for that garbage. Heck, she’d take it straight to Twilight if she had to. If there was one Pony who could be relied upon to fix a friendship mess, it was-

A light rapping on the door brought her mental ranting to a screeching halt.

“Applejack?” Granny Smith called through the door. “Are ya still awake in there?”

Applejack tore the pillow and blanket from her face.

“Yeah, Granny.” She called back. “Y’all okay?”

“I’m jus’ fine, sugar,” Granny replied through the still closed door. “But yer pal Rainbow Dash is here.”

At this Applejack fought the blanket off her body and leapt out of the bed.

“Rainbow’s here?” She called, a twinge of panic seeping into her voice.

“Thas what ah said,” Granny confirmed. “She done looks like she’s got what you got, paler’n a winter moon.”

Applejack scrambled to retrieve her discarded hat, her stomping hooves on the hardwood floor echoing throughout the room.

“I told her to come on in, but that silly filly said she’d wait for you on the porch.” Granny continued absently.

Applejack flung the bedroom door open and sprinted past her grandmother.

“Sorry Granny,” she yelled at the stunned elder. “I gotta go talk to her!”

Granny Smith rolled her eyes at the dust cloud that had an instant earlier been her kin.

“Young’uns.” She muttered.

Rainbow stood nervously on the porch, one hoof rubbing the back of her head. After shifting her weight from hoof to hoof for a few moments, she turned and trotted down the steps to the porch with a light trip-trap sound. Best to not look too eager. She waited on the dusty ground and resumed her weight shifting activity. The seconds that ticked by did so unhurriedly, as though they were suddenly in no rush to pass.

‘She’s not coming,’ Rainbow thought. ‘She’s probably too weirded out. She-’

Her thoughts were cut short by the front door of the farmstead being ripped open and a breathless Applejack darn near throwing herself onto the porch. She stood, panting at the top of the three wooden stairs, a hearty blush playing across her freckled cheeks. At the sight of her, Rainbow’s own cheeks flushed red. She wished she could look away from her, but she couldn’t; it was like she was seeing the mare for the first time. The way she stood, examining the floorboards of the porch, one of her forelegs nervously cocked behind the other...it was cute. She was cute.

Rainbow’s mouth hung open, and she silently thanked Celestia that the apple farmer couldn’t currently meet her gaze. The Pegasus snapped her mouth shut with a barely audible click, but in the warm stillness of the late afternoon sun, it was enough to get Applejack’s attention. Her head snapped in Rainbow’s direction, and for the first time since the Earth Pony barged onto the porch their eyes met. For the longest time, all they could do was stare at each other in an odd parody of the game they’d earlier played. A light breeze rolled between them, ruffling the spikes of Rainbow mane. The tiny movement was enough to spur the Pegasus into action.

“H-hey, Applejack,” she stumbled. “I, uh, thought maybe we should talk about earlier.”

Applejack continued her silence for several more seconds before she replied.

“Yeah, uh, ah reckon we should.”

She took a nervous glance behind her. From where she stood, through the kitchen window Rainbow could see Granny Smith pottering about inside.

“Let’s take a walk,” Applejack continued, slowly and deliberately descending the porch. Rainbow nodded approvingly, and the two began to saunter back in the direction of their earlier competition. For a few minutes, neither mare dared speak, nor look at each other. There was a question, several really, hanging at the forefront of both of their minds, but each of them was having trouble putting it into words. Finally, Applejack made the first move.

“So, uh...” She coughed, when she was sure that they were about twice the distance out of earshot of her home. “You, uh, you wanna tell me what that was all about back there?”

“I was gonna ask you the same question!” Rainbow replied, looking up from her close examination of the grass they were walking over. “Why’d you kiss me?”

“Me kiss you?” Applejack retorted with narrowed eyes. “It was you who kissed me!”

“Nuh-uh,” Rainbow whined, regressing instantly to a foal. “I was concentrating on the game, and then suddenly you were all over me!”

“Oh-ho-hooo! Ah git it. You knew you were about to lose, so you thought you’d try and distract me.”

Rainbow Dash kicked at a clump of grass in irritation.

“You must be joking, AJ. I was about to hammer you into the dust. If anypony was trying to distract anypony it was you! That’s why you were running your hoof through my mane after you did it!”

“Well, ah seem to remember somepony starting to hold hooves with me like a second later! An it wasn’t like you wuz resistin’ much, movin’ yer tongue all around mah mouth, makin’ yer cute little moans-”

“Now listen Applejack-” Rainbow growled dangerously, poking her nose into the other mare’s nose. Both Ponies froze, glancing down. At some point during their walk and subsequent argument, they’d gotten intimately close. Each of them quickly took a step away from the other, maintaining their personal space.

They continued trotting, silence once again descending upon them. For a few minutes the only sounds that could be heard were the birds in the trees and the breeze rolling through the grass. Applejack coughed. Rainbow looked in her direction but said nothing. Still they walked. The quiet began to become excruciating.

“Aw, Tartarus!” Applejack exclaimed at last, snapping. “It don’t matter how it happened, all's that matters is it did happen!”

Rainbow nodded. She agreed, but it didn’t exactly give her any clues on where to go next.

“Yeah, okay, so...?” She ventured.

“So?”

“So now what?” Rainbow spelled it out.

Applejack sighed. They were at the top of one of Sweet Apple Acres rolling hills, and on the next hill over she could see the shoe-pitching stake, each of their last throws still at the base of it, entwined and glinting in the sun. She stopped at the sight. She turned to the Pegasus and looked her right in the eye, removing her hat from her head and holding it to her chest.

“Rainbow, you’re my best friend,” she said solemnly. “An ah don’t want somethin’ silly like this t’come between us. I know ah can be mighty ornery at times, but ah really like the time we spend together, an ah don’t wanna lose that.”

Rainbow’s mouth hung open, stunned by a bolt of pure honesty. Applejack’s blush had returned in full force, but the Earth Pony made no attempt to hide it or look away. Even though she could feel her own cheeks burning, Rainbow forced herself to look into her friend’s amazing green eyes. It was the least that she could do.

“You’re my best friend too, AJ. And there’s no way I’m ditching you because of this. You...you’re well, y’know...”

“Yeah?” Applejack prompted with a whisper.

“Awesome,” Rainbow finished. “And I wouldn’t let anything get in the way of hanging out with an awesome Pony like you.”

Applejack breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile danced across her face. Seeing that grin made Rainbow’s heart pound in her chest, like she’d just chugged twelve coffees.

“Hoo-wee,” the farmer responded, shaking her head and returning her hat to it. “Ain’t we a pair?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow chuckled. “I guess we are.”

Applejack moseyed over to the fence that ran the length of both hills separating the apple trees from the fields and slumped down on her haunches, her back to the wooden beams. She sighed all of the pent-up tension out of her body.

“Ah wuz worried you wouldn’t wanna hang out no more.”

“Are you kidding?” Rainbow replied, walking over to her and plonking herself down beside her. “I was afraid you wouldn’t!”

Applejack laughed.

“Such a silly thing...” She breathed.

“That’s why I knew I had to come back and find you.” Rainbow said, plucking a daisy from the ground. “Sorry, by the way.”

Applejack looked at the Pegasus. She was staring at her hooves, absently fiddling with her flower.

“Sorry?” She said in confusion. “Fer what?”

“Running away like that.” Rainbow replied quietly. “I just, like, panicked or whatever.”

“S’alright,” the farmer chuckled. “Ah ran away too. Jus’ wasn’t as quick as you.”

“Nopony’s as quick as me.” The Pegasus boasted with a wry smile.

Applejack snorted another laugh through her nose.

“No. Ah reckon not.”

There was a small pause while both of the mares quietly examined the grass in front of them.

“Ah’d like t’think ah’d’ve gone lookin’ fer you too,” Applejack mused. “Jus’, y’know-” she gestured to her own back - “Can’t fly.”

Now it was Rainbow’s turn to laugh through her nose.

“You’d’ve never found me. I spent ten minutes hiding in a cloud.”

Applejack threw her head back and let a loud guffaw echo around the apple trees.

“It’s not that funny.” Rainbow grumbled.

“It kinda is.”

“Yeah? Well, where did you hide?” Rainbow chided, looking at her friend. “I know you weren’t just going about like nothing happened!”

Applejack looked away.

“Bed.” She muttered quietly.

“Ha!” Rainbow shrieked.

Another pause. They returned their attention to anywhere but each other.

“You said I was cute.” The Pegasus broke the silence. “I’m not cute.”

“What?”

“You said I was making ‘cute little moans’ or something. When we...y’know...”

“Oh!” Applejack cried with a start, her face reddening yet again. “Yeah, ah...ah guess ah did say that...”

Rainbow hid her own scarlet face by pretending to scan the skyline in what she hoped looked like a vigilant manner.

“Those weren’t ‘cute little moans’.” Rainbow continued, still avoiding her friends eyes. “Those were...I dunno, grunts of passion or whatever.”

“‘Grunts of passion?’” Applejack stifled another laugh.

“I dunno!” Rainbow cried, turning her angry tomato cheeks to the mare. “The point is, they weren’t cute. I’m not cute. Like, ever.”

“Whatever you say, Rainbow.”

A bee buzzed merrily between them for a few moments before settling on one of the daisies that were growing underhoof. It scrambled about for a few moments while both mares scrutinized it intently. Then, as if it somehow knew it was interrupting something, it took to the air once more, buzzing away on its erratic flight path. Applejack sighed. Despite what they’d said only minutes earlier, there was definitely some tension between the two of them. She hoped against hope that this was something that would fade over time, maybe even get to the point where they could joke about it, but for now she supposed that this was just something that the both of them would just have to weather. She glanced at her blue friend. She could tolerate it for her Rainbow Dash time. She smiled a wide smile.

Suddenly the Pegasus looked at her, and she almost sprained her neck pretending to inspect the paintjob on the fence.

“So, ummm...” Rainbow floundered, scratching at her head with her hoof. “I was wondering...”

“Yeah?”

“N-never mind.” Rainbow Dash dismissed, breaking her eye contact. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Ah, come on Rainbow,” Applejack smiled, giving her friend a light dig on the shoulder. “After what we just been through, you’re gonna clam up now?”

“Ok, ok,” Rainbow chuckled, rubbing her leg. “It’s just... did you like it?”

The breath caught in Applejack’s throat.

“Did...ah...like what?” The orange mare stalled for time.

“You know what I mean.”

Applejack gave the tiniest of nods. She took a moment to consider her answer. She couldn’t lie to her friend, but on the other hand, a brutally honest answer might not be the best approach either. The moment rapidly became several.

“Maybe.” She answered. “Why, did you?”

“Maybe.” Rainbow Dash parroted. She still wasn’t looking at Applejack, but she lowered her hoof to her side, right on top of the farmer’s. Applejack looked down at the blue hoof on top of her own with an open-mouthed stare, but she made no effort to move it.

“Did...” Applejack whispered, finding that she had to force the reluctant words out. “Did you wanna do it again?”

Still Rainbow wasn’t looking at her, and she continued not to do so for several more long seconds before she turned and flashed her wide purple eyes at her friend.

“Maybe.”

They stared into each other’s eyes. Slowly, with the speed one might apply to sneaking past a sleeping bugbear, they moved their faces towards each other. Each mare felt a jolt of electricity as their lips touched, and as they did so both of their eyes rolled closed. Their hooves still touching, Applejack lifted her limb and allowed her hoof to slowly caress up Rainbow’s leg. When she reached her shoulder she scootched her whole body towards the Pegasus so their hips were pressed together, and she slipped her leg through the gap in the fence, around Rainbow Dash. The Wonderbolt again let out one of her totally not cute whines as she parted her lips and her tongue licked at Applejack’s mouth, begging to be allowed inside. The orange mare complied, with a moan of her own. Her hoof now free, Rainbow raised it and began to stroke at the fur on Applejack’s chest, gently swishing her hoof through the ochre hairs.

Neither could have told you how long they stayed that way for. It could have been six seconds or six years. All conscious thought seemed to stop, they were simply receptors to the incredible pleasure that was coursing through their bodies as they sat, gently and unhurriedly exploring each other’s mouths. It was only when her tongue felt tingly and her lips became numb that Rainbow broke off the kiss, and even then she did so only by planting a series of pecks on Applejack’s muzzle, across her freckled cheeks and down her neck. Here she stopped, but only because this looked like the softest and most inviting place she’s ever seen, and she found that she simply had to nuzzle her face there, just a little. As she did so, she drifted her hoof down from AJ’s chest and around her side, pulling her close in a tight hug. Applejack panted lustily as she took the opportunity to run the hoof that she was hugging Rainbow with through the mare’s incredible multicolored mane.

“Well now,” the farmer breathed. “This is quite – ah – quite the pickle.”

“Wt id?” Rainbow replied, from somewhere inside the fur on AJ’s neck.

“I’m not so sure we can just go back to the way things were before now, Rainbow.” She sighed happily.

The Pegasus looked up at her from her nuzzle spot, her bright eyes glazed with worry. Applejack stretched her neck back as far as it would go just so she could see her friend’s face and smile down at her. The Pegasus locked her eyes with her own, her expression apprehensive, her face still flushed.

“Cuz ah don’t think ah kin not do this with you again.”

“Well, I guess I’d be okay with that,” Rainbow replied, after a femtosecond’s worth of thought. “If you really want to that is.” She added, with a mock eyeroll.

“Ah do.” Applejack beamed.

“Oh, uh, okay.” The Pegasus practically turned purple. “I do too.”

Applejack squeezed her marefriend tight, and Rainbow Dash continued to bravely explore the unknown region of the fur on AJ’s neck. Applejack planted several kisses on top of her head, whilst gently stroking her shoulder with her hoof.

They stayed there for several hours, renewing their kissing at regular intervals and shifting their hugs to fully appreciate each other’s bodies. By the time the red stained sky of sunset gave way to the first pale blue of the night sky and the brightest of the shining stars became visible, Applejack was lying on her back on the grass, Rainbow Dash on her side beside her, the latter’s foreleg under the former’s head, both of their hind legs intertwined.

“So, are we, like, going out now?” Rainbow asked, rubbing her muzzle into her lover’s cheek.

“Ah reckon so.”

“Awesome. Do we have to tell everypony though?”

“I weren’t plannin’ on keepin’ it a secret.” Applejack shot her a concerned glance.

“No, I know,” Rainbow hastily clarified. “But do we have to, like, tell them how it happened?”

Applejack grinned at her with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s just there were parts of today when I was less bad-flanked than I normally am, that’s all.” The Pegasus pouted.

The Earth Pony thought for a moment, processing her answer.

“Nah,” she said finally. “All that matters is that we’re a thing now. Don’t matter how it happened.”

“Doesn’t matter how.” Rainbow sighed, stretching to plant a kiss on Applejack’s lips.

The last of the day’s sun ebbed, and more and more stars began to twinkle in the velvet sky. Over on a nearby hill, two linked horseshoes twinkled back.

Author's Note

Hope you, like, like it or whatever.