•)10(•

Someday...

Just a bit hotter and the temperature would be just right.

Fluttershy used a hoof to test the water in the shower while turning the knob the other to adjust its heat.

'Just a little more... There. Perfect. Oh, I hope Rainbow is okay with it...'

"The shower's ready, Dashie..." she said as she walked into her room, in which her companion was waiting, lying on the bed. Fluttershy was so glad that things had turned out this way. Before, whenever she saw Rainbow Dash, she would always get the butterflies inside herself. But now, whenever she saw her, she got a different feeling inside. It was like a warm wave of wind blowing through her. It wasn't just the feeling of knowing she's in love with somepony, but also the feeling knowing that somepony loves her back.

"Okay," came Rainbow's reply as she sat up from the bed. "Thanks, sweetie."

Fluttershy held her horses for a second... Did she really just call her... sweetie?

Affectionate names usually did not fit Rainbow's personality or attitude. Maybe she was choosing to be more open with her. It wasn't like her to do that. Maybe Rainbow had gone a little softer because of her.

"W-wow..." she said quietly. "That seemed a little... uhm... soft for the Rainbow Dash to be saying..."

Rainbow looked at her with a sheepish grin. "Yeah..." she laughed. "But please, please don't tell anypony. I still have my reputation of awesomeness to keep, you know..."

Fluttershy nodded and gave her a nuzzle. She found it kind of wonderful that she was allowed to nuzzle her best friend whenever she wanted to. Not that she would ever think of abusing such a privilege, she just thought it was pretty neat. All throughout her fillyhood, she only wished she could do it at least once. And now she could do it all she wanted to.

"Hey," said Rainbow, beginning to walk out of the room, "would you like to join me?"

She knew she wasn't able to resist the temptation, and she never would be.

"I'd love to..."

Love was her new favorite feeling. It was what gave her the heartbeat she had. Some would even say it was the most wonderful feeling of all time, and she wasn't one to disagree.

Fluttershy tested the water again. It was still the perfect temperature, just as she had set it. It was perfect for her, at least. But was it perfect for Rainbow, too? She turned to look at her as they both stood beside the shower in the bathroom.

"Is the temperature okay, Dashie?"

Rainbow wondered what Fluttershy was so worried about. They had each other, they had a shower, and they were sharing it with each other. Why was she so concerned about the temperature of the water? She reached a hoof under the spray of the shower to humor her anyway. "It's perfect," Rainbow answered kindly.

Fluttershy smiled back. "Oh, good..." She then looked at the shower and realized how small it was. Surely, it would be cramped if they were in at the same time... "Oh my..." she said. "Do you think it will be... cramped?"

Dash gave her concern a little thought. "Maybe," she said. "But we'll be fine. Here." She gestured for Fluttershy to follow her in. "Come on in. I'll show you what to do."

Rainbow waited for Fluttershy to step in with her, giving a relaxed sigh as the water ran down her sky-blue body. As Fluttershy stepped into the shower, Rainbow began to stand on only her hind legs. Fluttershy noticed this and asked "Do you, uhm... want me to do that, too...?"

"Yes, actually," said Rainbow.

The plan was perfectly possible, but not commonly used. It was, as you might imagine, for both ponies to stand up on their hind legs so there would be enough room for the two of them. The slight problem with this was balance. Rainbow, however, actually had a remedy for it.

She noticed, as Fluttershy stood up, that she was having a hard time keeping her balance.

"Fluttershy," said Rainbow.

Fluttershy looked at her while still trying to keep her balance.

"Use your wings," said Rainbow, gesturing to her own which she was using, "to keep your balance. You can put the tips against the edge of the tub. It'll help, trust me."

Fluttershy trusted her and took her advice, pointing her wings out and letting them give her support from the sides of the tub. Slowly, she began to regain her balance, becoming able to stand on her hind legs without anymore trouble.

"There, you got it now," said Rainbow. "Doesn't that help?"

Fluttershy nodded happily. "Oh, yes... It does..." She then looked at Rainbow with admiration. She wondered where she learned to do that and when she ever had to do that in the past. It was truly a puzzle to her. She'd never had another marefriend before, had she?

Rainbow stood under the hot spray, wondering why Fluttershy was staring at her with what looked like alot of envy. Was she jealous of her knowledge, maybe? The way she had earned this knowledge was just from plain, old personal experience. She had a tub that had been broken several times before. One of the times repairing it, the clumsy repair pony accidentally replaced it with the wrong piece, making it too small. After an argument between the two that didn't go too well, the repair pony flew out the door, hoping to never have to replace the thing again. Rainbow then realized she had been to hard on him, but there was nothing she could really do. She had then decided to just roll with it and learn how to use the tub and shower the way they were.

Rainbow also remembered how there was nopony else there with her whenever she was in her house. It seemed like it would be awfully lonely there now, seeing as she now had a wonderful new companion to share just about everything with. One funny thing about this was that it had not even been a day since they're relationship started, yet she was already fond of being with somepony all the time. The other funny thing was that she had never felt this way about anypony before, yet she now had the most certain knowledge that she would never feel this way toward anypony else.

Rainbow then wondered if Fluttershy even knew that...

"You know, 'Shy, there's something I should tell ya..."

Fluttershy stopped her oblivious stare and asked "What's is it, Dashie?"

Rainbow walked toward her slowly. Fluttershy was a bit surprised, but not intimidated by her approach.

"Did you know..." Rainbow started, before she embraced the shy mare, being careful not to touch her wings so she wouldn't lose her balance, "...that I've never..." She then started to massage behind Fluttershy's shoulders, causing her to lean against Rainbow's chest. "...felt this way..." Rainbow now had Fluttershy's and her own weight upon herself, but the strength she had in her wings was perfectly fit for the task. "...about anypony before?"

Fluttershy was so caught up in the massage that she almost didn't catch her words. When she finally caught them, she looked up at Rainbow with sparkling eyes. "R-really?"

Rainbow ran a hoof through Fluttershy's damp mane. "Truly."

Fluttershy put her forelegs around her lover, closed her eyes and sighed happily, still lost in the massage. "...Wow... That... that's... wonderful..." She felt so much like doing something to show that that really meant something to her, but she could hardly think at the time, thanks to Rainbow's handy hoofwork.

As Dash looked down at her, she kissed the top of her head and moved her hooves to a different spot on her back. Finding a spot just below the wings, she felt Fluttershy shiver and adjust against her so she wasn't putting most of her wait on her. It was then that she realized how much Fluttershy was enjoying this. If it weren't for that, she might've felt guilty about how much control she had over her. She herself was enjoying it, also. She would have to make a habit of doing this.

The massaging continued on without interruptions. Fluttershy tilted her head up and opened her eyes to look at Rainbow Dash with curiosity and envy. "Rainbow...?"

"...Mmhmm?"

"When did you get so good at, uhm... massaging?"

"Hmmm...?" Rainbow almost thought she misheard her. "Am I really that good?"

Fluttershy snuggled up against her as best she could. "Very much so..." she sighed slowly. "You're just so good that I feel like... like letting you know how wonderfully good you are, but... I'm just not sure how to show you..." As she spoke, she came up with the simplest idea. She mentally slapped herself for not coming up with this earlier. "Oh, wait..." she said. "Here's a good way, I think..."

Rainbow closed her eyes and waited for what she knew was coming. What she expected came in the most expected way. Their lips collided soft and gentle with each other. Both could feel how eager the other seemed to be. They didn't know what it was that made them so sure about each other, but they were certainly sure. Also, this was only their fourth kiss they shared. Though, they both had a feeling that they would lose track after this shower.

What Rainbow didn't expect also came. Only this time, it came in, well... an unexpected way. She felt a caring hoof sooth around the edges of her left wing. But despite the fact that the action wasn't sudden, it startled her, causing both wings to twitch wildly. Because of this, Rainbow lost her balance and tumbled backward out of the tub, Fluttershy following her.

Rainbow lay on the wet bathroom floor, Fluttershy on top of her. Their kiss had ended during the accident. Fluttershy grinned sheepishly. Rainbow knew it wasn't her fault. She could have made a joke about it, but she wasn't in the most mirthful mood. That did not mean that she was in a bad mood; she was still awash with love and other emotions. Instead, she just kissed her again, hoping to forget about what just happened.

Fluttershy graciously accepted, returning the kiss without hesitance.

This kiss took a different turn. It started out to be one of apologetic and forgiving motives, but soon grew into one with more wandering hooves. As Fluttershy moved her hooves around Rainbow's body, she found that her friend's wings were still splayed out on the floor. She figured it would be okay to touch them now, seeing as she didn't need them for balance anymore. She could only hope that it didn't bother her, though. With this in mind, she did just that.

When her hoof barely met the edge of the left light-blue wing again, she felt it twitch as it did before, only less wild. She slowly started to put more weight into her touch so the wing wouldn't give so much of a reaction. As she did so, she felt it shiver and lose its tenseness. This finally gave her the opportunity to do whatever she wished with it. But before she did, she wanted to make sure the other wing was relaxed, also. Using the same movements, she checked Rainbow's right wing. It was still tense, but not nearly as much as the left, so it was easier to calm. As she went on to sooth them one at a time, she heard and felt a relaxed moan from Rainbow. Fluttershy broke off from the kiss and looked at Rainbow. Rainbow looked back.

"Is something wrong?" Fluttershy asked, her face riddled with curiosity and concern. "...You seemed really... tense..."

"No..." said Rainbow. "Nothing's wrong, really." She then smirked and said "I just thought that I was only one who could control my wings..."

Fluttershy blushed. "I-I guess I just... have a-a... a sort of touch that... has a calming feeling, I guess..."

"Guess animals aren't the only thing you need to tame every once in a while," Rainbow laughed lightly.

Fluttershy leaned in and nuzzled her. "And..." she said, "they aren't the only thing that needs a little... T.L.C.... every now and then..." She then leaned in and whispered "...And fifty percent of the time, the other thing only needs the 'L'..."

Rainbow Dash blushed hard and didn't give her a chance to say anything else like that by pulling her in and kissing her fervently. Saying things that were that seductive - but still loving - didn't fit Fluttershy's regular personality. In fact, just about anything seductive coming from Fluttershy was out of place, even despite how slimly seductive it was.

Rainbow Dash assumed that maybe she just wasn't used to that side of her yet. Maybe she was kind and shy on the outside. Maybe, when Fluttershy became used to these more intimate moments and experiences, she would also become more open, thus letting her inner self out. She would still be kind and shy Fluttershy, of course.

Their fervent kiss eventually turned into many shorter ones, each being a part of one fluent motion. Their breathing became faster and deeper. As Rainbow's chest rose and fell, Fluttershy would rise and fall along with it. They then started rubbing along the sides of each other, making each other moan and whimper softly. Also, as their actions became more heated, their minds blocked out anything and everything around them. They slowly became unaware of all things happening at the time as they stayed on the wet floor, kissing, rubbing and occasionally rolling.

The only thing they knew was that they had each other, completely and endlessly, all to themselves...

And they wouldn't have to share with anypony...

~ * * * ~

"Stop yer... yer cryin', ya sob..." Applejack told herself.

She had been trying not to choke on her tears for a full three hours now. It was finally becoming controllable for her.

She was now in the bathroom, staring at herself through the mirror. The reason for being here was the fact that it would be an easier mess to clean if her tears all landed on the counter, rather than her bedroom floor.

"Ya... ya just need ta be supportive o' her and Fluttershy, cause she's all hers now..."

She walked out of the bathroom to look at her bedroom door.

"She's... a-all... hers..."

She started sobbing again, not nearly as hard, but hard nonetheless. Her tears were hot and long-lasting and her breathing became harder and harder. She was beginning to believe that she would never be able to get over Rainbow Dash. Moving on seemed impossible to her. She was so sure that she was supposed to be with Rainbow Dash someday. Ever since she was a filly, she was sure. Often, she would recall the memory of that moment when became so certain...

~~~

"Ah'll never even think 'bout leavin' y'all again," I cried in Granny Smith's forelegs. Big Mac was standing beside us, smiling.

I had just returned home from Manehatten, following a rainbow that pointed me in my destiny's direction. I never knew until now that I was supposed to be would be right where I was in the first place.

"Tha's some fancy new colors ya got there, Applejack," I heard Granny say.

"Beg pardon...?" I said, looking up toward her. "Got where?"

Granny pointed to my flank, showing me what she meant. Now I knew what that would mean if there were new colors on my flank.

Sure enough, it meant what I had hoped.

I looked and saw three bright red delicious looking apples as my cutie mark. The corners of my mouth stretched and rose as far as they could comfortably. I couldn't believe my own eyes! It finally came! I knew that rainbow meant something!

I looked back at Granny and smiled with tears in my eyes. "Guess that means Ah'm supposed ta be here, don' it?"

"It sure does, Applejack," she replied. "It sure does. By the way, how'd ya find yer way back 'ere? It ain't like y'all can jes' walk 'round the block an' find yer way home from Manehatten..."

I looked away for a second before looking back. "Granny, this'll sound a might unlikely, but... Ah followed a rainbow an' it pointed me straight here."

Granny ruffled my mane. "Well now, that sure is somethin', ain't it?"

It was somethin' alright...

But where in Equestria did it come from? What caused it?

I was confused about it until a day later. Y'all can probably imagine what happened.

I was in the Apple orchard, helping collect apples that had missed their buckets. Big Macintosh wasn't quite experienced enough to know exactly where each one would land, so there was actually a need of the job was doing. I carried small saddlebags to hold the apples I gathered. Apple after apple, they all looked mighty scrumptious. I couldn't wait until dinner today! The only thing I had to hold back was my appetite; they were all so tempting! Just one look at them, and I swore I could feel my mouth watering, stomach growling, and hooves trembling. If I were to look at them for too long, I was worried I might just turn red or green, depending on what color the apple was that I was looking at.

I heard loud and obnoxious snoring somewhere nearby. 'Golly, that's loud!' I looked around for where it was coming from, glancing around trees and whatnot. It was when I looked around a certain tree that I realized it was coming from up above.

I tilted my head up to look where the apples normally grew. It was then that I saw one of the most adorable sights in my entire life...

A blue pegasus filly, just as young as I was, sleeping peacefully on a branch right above me. Her wings were laid out on either side of her body, hanging down below the branch. This was a sure sign that she was completely tuckered out. Usually when a pegasus is extremely tired, they don't even have the strength enough to fold their wings in.

But the one thing that made me blink twice was her tail. I could see it clearly as it hung down next to her wings. I had never seen such a tail before. So many colors! Every color that could be seen in a...

'...A rainbow.'

A rainbow colored tail. That must be very special to her. I could only imagine what she looked like when she was flying. I looked at my own tail and suddenly became very envious of colorful one she had. Then I looked at the strands of my mane that hung just above my eyes and realized it was the same as my tail. Was hers the same as her tail, too? That would make it all the more special!

I took a few steps to the right to see her at a better angle. Yup, her mane matched her tail perfectly. Gosh... That's gotta be a real gift. I would be lucky enough to have just two colors in my hair, let alone six.

But then there was something else that I saw...

I looked and saw that she was laying on her tummy in a sort of curled up manner. Her head was turned to the left, almost looking at me if her eyes were open. Her forelegs were acting as a nest for her head, surrounding her chin, but still easily used as a pillow of sorts.

Her breathing, the way her form slowly moved up and down made her look absolutely precious. It almost made me want to... to do something... something I couldn't quite think of yet.

Then I did it. I knew what I was gonna do, and I did it. I was gonna let Big Mac know, ask for his help to get her down and let her sleep in a more comfy place.

When I did so, Big Mac didn't seem to have any problems with it, so he took an old and broken, but not pointy branch to get her down from the tree. He then carried the rainbow-mane pegasus into the guestroom and let her rest for however long she needed.

The whole time, as she slept, I stayed right at her bedside, watching her. I almost wanted to cry. She was just so darn adorable! I watched her, but she didn't even move. This was when I started to get worried. Sure, she was breathing, but she didn't even stir or twitch or anything. It was odd.

"Dinner's ready! Come an' git it while it's hot!" I heard Granny Smith call out from downstairs.

'Dinnertime!?' I thought. 'But... Ah can't just leave 'er like this...'

I then felt and heard my stomach argue otherwise. It always had to have a say in everything, didn't it?

This was when I heard the bed sheets move a bit. I looked to see if she was waking up. It looked like she was. Wait, did she hear my tummy?

I wondered if her eyes were the same color as her mane and tail. That would be a sight to see. I'd never really seen multicolored eyes before.

She turned her head toward me slowly and opened her eyes just as slow. Now this was something I didn't see coming.

Pink. Sort of magenta-like.

The way she looked at me made me want to smile. And so I did. "Hey there, sugarcube."

'Whoa... What did I just say? Did I just say 'sugarcube'?'

I really liked the sound of the name. I didn't even know her real name yet, so I might as well call something.

"Hi," she greeted back in a tough, determined voice. She then looked all around the room, immediately not recognizing it. She then sat up in the bed. "Wait! Where am I!? What am I doing here!? Who are you!? Where's Fluttershy!? What's that--" She stopped, catching the scent of apple pie from downstairs. "...Whoa... What's that smell?"

"That," I said before any other questions came along, causing her to look at me, "is the smell of apple pie. This," I gestured all around us, "is the Apple family house. Ah'm Applejack. Nice ta meet'cha." I extended a hoof to her.

She accepted it and said "Rainbow Dash..."

Rainbow Dash. Wow... Well, it definitely made sense.

"Say..." I said after letting go of her hoof. "Where're ya from, Rainbow Dash?"

"Cloudsdale," she replied. "Or, at least, that's where I'm staying for Summer Flight Camp with Flutters--Hey, wait! Have you seen Fluttershy anywhere?"

I shrugged. "Can't day Ah have, sugarcube. What's she look like?"

"She's a light yellow pegasus pony with teal eyes, a really cute--I mean, uhhh, really long pink mane. She likes to hide her face behind it sometimes cause she's super shy."

Whoa. She sure knows this pony by heart--

"Oh! And she's my best friend."

That would make sense.

"Well," I said, "was the last ya saw 'er?"

"I was doing a race for her honor against some bullies!" She stood up on the bed and puffed her chest out.

"Oh, that's so sweet of ya ta do that fer her," I said.

"Yeah, you should've seen me! I whipped those bullies good! I was going so fast that I did a Sonic Rainboom!"

"Sonic what now...?"

"Rainboom. Have you not heard of that?"

I shook my head.

"Oh. It's only the most awesome thing in the history of ever! It's where you go so fast that you cause a sonic boom, only you leave rainbow colored trail behind you! And I just did it! Isn't that awesome!?"

Well, that is mighty awesome... "That sounds like quite a feat there, Rainbow. Say, I found ya sleepin' in one o' our apple trees out in the orchard. Do ya know how ya got there?"

"Oh, yeah. After I crossed the finish line, I couldn't stop going, and I think I crash-landed in the middle of that orchard. I saw what looked like the most comfortable spot, and it happened to be in that tree. Man, that was really comfortable for a tree. I'll have to remember that spot."

I giggled a bit and imagine a rainbow trail leading straight to Sweet Apple Acres.

'Wait a second...'

"So that's what that was..." I said. She looked at me quizzically.

"What what was?"

I looked at her again. She was the whole reason I came back to Sweet Apple Acres. "Just yesterday," I said, "Ah came back from Manehatten cause Ah found out that this was where Ah belonged. But what lead me back 'ere was a rainbow that pointed straight toward Sweet Apple Acres. Ah... A-Ah think that must've been you... makin' that rainbow... Oh, wow...! Ya have no idea how much that means ta me..."

"Whoa..." she said, stunned. "Wait, yesterday!?"

I nodded. She went wide-eyed. "Oh no..." she said.

"What?"

"I had class... and I missed it today..."

That was the last thing she said before bolting out the window. Golly, she was fast!

"Applejack?" Big Mac startled me. "Ya comin' fer dinner?"

I turned around to see him standing in the doorway. "Uh, yeah... Sure..." I stood up off the bed and walked past him, through the door and down the stairs for some apple pie.

I never even so much as saw her again until my adult life came in. I heard that she got a job as a weather pony here in Ponyville. We ran into each other at Sugarcube Corner and immediately recognized one another. We said our 'hello's and had a good little chat. It wasn't until she did a second Sonic Rainboom, this time at a flight competition in Cloudsdale. It ended up reminding me of the first time she did it, and I saw her in a different light that day. I saw her as somepony who was always there for anypony, but most of all, I saw her as somepony even more special...

I never knew I would, but... I was.

I was fallin' in love her.

And I would tell her someday.

~~~

However, 'Someday' is not a day of the week. It never will be.

She never did tell her. Despite all of the chances she came upon, she just never worked up the courage to. She was always afraid of what reaction she might have received.

But now, she was too late. Rainbow had a marefriend that Applejack couldn't be more jealous of. Now she would never be able to tell her how she felt. She felt more tears roll down her cheeks as she reached for the knob to the room...

~ * * * ~

The last thing she remembered was imagining what Applejack's reaction was after the news of the new couple. She had not actually seen the reaction due to the fact that... that...

Oh, dear... What did happen, anyway?

She then heard the door open.

Wait, what door? There was a door?

She sat up in bed and looked around for a door.

Wait, whose bed? There was a bed? Why was she sleeping in it?

Her thoughts were interrupted as she saw who came in to the room. She rubbed her eyes and looked again.

"Applejack?" she said, confused.

Applejack seemed to have been oblivious as to if there was anypony else in this room until now. Applejack stopped walking and looked at who was in the bed.

"Oh," she said, "sorry, Rarity... Ah didn' know anypony else was in here..."

Rarity laid back down. "It's fine, dear. Really, it is. But let me guess... You didn't want to go to your own room because it reminds you too much of Rainbow Dash... Am I correct?"

Applejack was a bit stunned. How did Rarity know that? "Yeah..." she said, "but... how'd ya know that?"

"Well," said Rarity, "I do know a thing or two about romance. I've read many novels about it, you know... Ever since I started to develop a small crush on somepony, I started seeing emotions in your facial features that were similar to mine when I would look at my own crush, because I knew what it felt like to not even be noticed by that somepony I was attracted to. In fact, I still have hoof-made posters of that somepony in my room."

'Posters?' Applejack noticed how open Rarity was being. Why was she letting her know all of this? This was Rarity she talking to, wasn't it?

"Say..." said Applejack, "ya wouldn't mind sharin' with me who that somepony was, would ya?"

"Well..." said Rarity, "I actually still have a crush on that somepony, but I'm not sure if I want to say who it is..."

"Oh..." Applejack frowned. "That's fine... Ya don't have ta show me if ya don't want--"

"But..." Rarity interrupted, "...maybe it would be better if I were to show you..."

"Show me?"

"Show you." Rarity slowly started stand up out of the bed. After brushing herself off, she trotted up in front of Applejack and asked "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Ah'd sure like to."

"Promise that you won't tell anypony?"

"Ah promise."

Rarity glared at her expectantly.

"Ah Pinky Promise."

The glare continued.

"Ugh... Cross mah heart 'n' hope ta fly, stick a cupcake in mah eye," said Applejack, going through the proper motions.

"Good." Rarity inched over to her ear to whisper in it, but then she had a better idea. She figured it would be much more simple this way, anyway.

She move her head so their muzzles were less than an inch apart. She could see the worry in Applejack's eyes, but she still had to try this. She leaned just a little further until she could almost feel Applejack's quivering lips.

Applejack's mind was blazing. She didn't know what to think. She knew what was going to happen, too. She had no idea Rarity felt that way about her. It was simply bizarre to think that she would do this. Applejack wasn't sure what would happen after this. She wasn't sure if she would ever be the same. The only thing she knew for sure was that she wanted some peace of mind.

...But how could she have it now? What could help her gain any? She knew that maybe some food or sleep might help. She was just so utterly confused right now. She just wanted some--...

...some comfort.

Maybe this would help, after all...

"Don't stop now, sugarcube..." Applejack whispered, almost pleadingly. But instead of waiting to receive an answer, the farm pony put one of her forelegs around Rarity and pulled her closer, closing the distance between their lips.

Rarity's eyes went wide. She was shocked. But soon she let herself fall into the kiss, closing her eyes and wrapping one of her forelegs around Applejack tenderly.

Their minds wandered as they kissed. Applejack could feel how much Rarity wanted this. She noticed how she must have practiced alot to be a this good at kissing somepony who had a completely different opinion in just about everything. Rarity was a good kisser, too, so it paid off.

Rarity could feel that Applejack wasn't entirely sure about this. It felt as if she was hesitant to do anything else at this point. She could tell she wasn't into it as much. Maybe she just needed a little push...

Rarity hesitantly pulled away and looked at her with love and encouraging. "It's okay, dear," she whispered. "Don't be shy..."

Applejack smiled and nodded, before leaning in to kiss her again, this time with both forelegs around her tightly. Rarity did the same, so they were both on their hind legs only. They both knew they would lose their balance eventually, and in turn, made a mutual decision to walk further into the room until they were right next to the bed. This way, when they needed to, they could fall onto it without getting uncomfortable.

Their single intimate kiss turned into several smaller ones. All of which would smoothly flow into the next. Their breathing became faster and harder as they shared this unexpected moment with each other.

They began to tilt to the away from the bed a bit. This meant that when they tilted the other way, it would be time to let balance give in.

And they did.

As they lay sideways on the bed, they kissed a few times more and then decided to pull away before they went to far.

Looking in each other's eyes, their breathing began to slow, both being overwhelmed with emotions and feelings of comfort, wanting and serenity. Neither said anything for the time being. They only stared at each other, thinking about what just happened and slowly letting ot sink in.

They were scared.

They were confused.

They were excited.

They were slightly ashamed...

...and then they were scared again.

The process in their minds repeated five times over before one of them decided they had something to say.

"Golly, Rarity..." said Applejack, almost sounding famished. "...How long... h-have ya felt that way?"

Rarity still needed to catch her breath. "About..." she said, taking heavy breaths, "Since about my teenage years." She finally steadied her breathing. "Do you remember the first time we met, Applejack?"

Applejack had to think for second before nodding. "At the park, right?"

Rarity nodded.

"Boy, I tell ya... That was one nasty fight we had..." Applejack giggled at the memory, but then she realized something.

"Wait, we... had a fight. It was similar to the one we had at Twilight's slumber party, only alot more violent..."

Rarity frowned in remembering their 'little' fight. It wasn't like any simple argument at all. There were scrapes, bruises, ruined outfits and chipped hooves. It was, however, about the same thing: their differences.

"Oh, yes..." Rarity regretted admitting. "It was rather violent... But anyway, dear... That night, after we made amends and said our good-byes, I had a dream..."

"Let me guess," Applejack interrupted, "About me?"

"Yes, actually. But it was strange... I had a dream that reminded me of you and all the things about you that I didn't like... I remembered waking up with a headache. I had intentions of avoiding you as much as possible, but try as I might, my father desperately wanted me to see how big your farmland was. He had heard all about and seen it himself, so there must have something nice about it, and so I decided not to argue any longer. We went to the farm and when I saw you, I basically had to force the distaste in my expression."

"Force?"

"Yes, force. It wouldn't show itself naturally like it used to for some reason. Then I remembered that dream I had... How I looked at you the night before was different from when I looked at you at that moment. It was different in a most dramatic way, too. You see, I remembered how much my father traveled and talked with other ponies. It always made everything so complicated. It changed his schedules too often, made him late for appointments, and he didn't have much time to spend with his family. I just found myself surrounded in a world massively filled with nothing but complications! But..." She paused for a moment.

Applejack waited intently.

"When I looked in your eyes, I saw... simplicity. It was the one reason I could be been envious of you. But then I shook my head and looked at you again, trying to rid my mind of the envy, but I saw it even more so. Your eyes, your mane, your fur, your hat... Even the way you stood was so simple! I couldn't deny it anymore, I was downright jealous of you. And after the next few nights, I came to find that I didn't want those attributes, but rather I liked them. I found that they matched you perfectly. Also, in due time, I started finding myself looking at you with a sort of wanting. I discovered that I did want those attributes. Not to have as mine, but to be able to own them, almost. I-I wanted you, Applejack... and as soon as I realized that..." She started sniffling before she continued. "I also realized how much I really care about you. I started hoping that you would never have to face a life with as much complication as mine had. To this day, I still don't know how such a simple life is. Also, don't get me wrong, yours is probably just as complicated, seeing your family's history, but you sure know how to make it look otherwise. But anyway, I knew I had grown to care so much about you, and it eventually lead me to falling in... i-in love..."

She paused again, tears unintentionally at the ready.

"I didn't know what to do about the feeling. I didn't want to tell you right away, but I also didn't want to wait for too long. It turns out that I ended up waiting for quite a while. I was too afraid to admit it, I guess. That's why I acted the way I did at the Twilight's slumber party, and I'm... I'm sorry for that..."

The tears finally let loose, streaming sideways across her face as she was still laying on their sides.

"Wow..." Applejack was deeply touched by her friend's history. She wiped the tears from Rarity's face with a hoof and said "Ah can't believe Ah never even noticed how ya felt until now... That's real, real sweet of ya... but Ah'm jus' not sure if Ah can fall in love with ya, sugarcube..."

Rarity lowered her head in disappointment and was ready to continue crying.

"...but Ah can sure try..."

Rarity looked at her with hope. Could it really be possible, even after all the emotions she had just been through?

Applejack lowered her voice to a whisper. "And it could always help, especially when yer kissin' me the way ya do..."

In Rarity's mind, it was worth a shot.

Rarity scooted closer and kissed her again, long and lovingly. She wanted to show her just how much she loved her, but could only hope to be on the receiving end of that same feeling.

Applejack willingly returned the kiss. Maybe there was hope for her down this path. Maybe she would learn to move on. It may take a long while, even after tonight, but she could see the start of something good here. She could see a light in starting anew, and maybe she would be happy in the end.

Maybe.

She decided to let her thoughts go for the time being, and just let her pain be eased with the intimate help of her unicorn friend. She let all of her hesitance disappear and she put in as much love as and passion as she could into the kiss. She didn't know what would happen after tonight...

...but she also didn't care for the time being.

She needed this.

Author's Note

SO... Tell me what you think of this one. Also, my faith in this story has grown back. I've decided I'm going to finish it, but not anytime soon. It will have MANY more chapters.

One other thing... It be really great if any of you could give me advice on not just grammer problems, but also story-related. Like, if a point in the story doesn't get across quite as clear as it should, let me know. Anything that you guys see fit to mention, please feel free to do so.