"What lies before us and what lies behind us are nothing compared to what lies within us."

-William Marrow

What Lies Within

In the quickest way possible, Rainbow had finished her work in the clouds, buzzing like a bee, moving at seemingly unintentionally rapid speeds, hoping that nopony would see how red her cheeks still were. She would probably never hear the end of it if she was noticed.

She wasn't scared. She wasn't.

This was what she kept telling herself as she hid under her bed at home. She was not afraid of those few moments with Applejack. She was not afraid that she'd be red for the rest of the day. She was not afraid of the fact that she would eventually have to meet up with the farm pony again at seven to practice for tomorrow and probably end up humiliating herself to no end, ruining both her reputation and her once competitive but now awkward friendship with Applejack.

She groaned and buried her face in the floor, putting her hooves on her head and pulling lightly on strands of her mane. Who was she kidding? It gave her the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it all, and it wasn't like she could just tell it to go away, either. It would only keep invading the personal space in her head if she tried.

She then turned over onto her back. "Applejack thinks I'm beautiful?" She said to herself. The thought may have been much more than odd, but it made her wonder. It made her wonder if she really was beautiful, but also if anypony else thought she was beautiful. Was she beautiful to anypony else? She could only think of one way to figure out that answer, but she couldn't imagine she would ever be caught in the embarrassing act. The act of asking somepony if they thought she was beautiful.

And... What's so awesome about being beautiful, anyway? It's not that great, is it?

...Is it?

"Well, Applejack thinks I'm beautiful..." she said aloud. "And Applejack's the coolest pony I know, besides myself... So, there must be at least a few things about it that are pretty cool, but..."

But what was cool about it? Surely, there were a few things, but what were they? She honestly hadn't the slightest idea...

'Is there some sort of advantage in life that you have when you're beautiful?' she thought. 'Maybe all the attention gives you more confidence... But I don't need that, I'm already confident.' She rolled out from under her bed and stood up, walking over to a window nearby. She rested her chin on the windowsill as she looked out to the Acres. There was something she wanted to put her hoof on, but couldn't. It was hanging at the edge of her tongue, and she couldn't feel what it was. She wanted to say it, but somehow it just wouldn't come out.

Running out of ideas quickly, she gazed around the Acres, looking lazily for something that might be able to help in her useless quest of whatever she was looking for. The only thing it ended up doing for her was give her another headache of scattered thoughts.

It reminded her of what Applejack thought about her. Her cheeks turned red, once again thinking of how she had described her.

She turned away from the window, walking over to her bed. She sat on the edge of it, trying to think of anything but AJ.

She couldn't. She had not once been complimented on her appearance before. Never. It just didn't happen. The only time she could ever recall anything like that were a few times where she heard a pony or two mention her mane. But come on! Who else has rainbow mane?

There was certainly something uneasy about the way the farm pony had shared her thoughts. She seemed almost afraid to admit what she had. Her posture was almost shaken, her eyes were wandering, and her words were not very organized. AJ's mind must have been moving frantically at the time.

Why was that such a bother, though? What made it so important to her that she couldn't stop thinking about it?

As she pondered more, she came to thinking about how her friend normally acted. She was trustworthy, straightforward, strong, courageous, stubborn... honest...

There was still a whole list to go through, but she had stopped at the one trait. The trait that defined the farm mare's very being. The Element of Honesty. She must have known she wouldn't be able to hide it for long, so she just let it out then and there, right in front of her. There was only truth in what she told her. She said what she meant, and she meant what she said.

'She meant what she said...'

'She said I'm beautiful...'

"Applejack thinks I'm beautiful..." she said aloud.

For once that afternoon, Rainbow Dash felt more flattered than confused. Somepony actually took the time to notice something other than how awesome she was. Quickly, acting on curiosity, she galloped into the bathroom to observe her features, mostly around her face and mane.

She found nothing particularly appealing about herself. But, then again, this was from her own point of view. Anyone can think what they want about themselves, but when it comes to outward appearance, the true judges are anyone but the one being evaluated.

Hanging her head and sighing heavily, she moped out of the bathroom. There was no way of resolving this with anypony else without the conversation taking a massively awkward turn. Things were already awkward enough between herself and Applejack.

'It's not like it could get any worse, though...' she thought.

Perhaps talking to her again wouldn't be so bad.

With her mind set, she waited.

Actually, waiting could wait.

She dashed out the front door, in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

<><><>

"She'll never look at me the same again..."

Applejack sat at the table, continuously talking to herself about everything that had recently occurred. She didn't like it. Not. One. Bit.

She figured that Rainbow was probably thinking about the exact same thing, only from a recipient's point of view. It must be horrible! Applejack felt like dirt. Not because of the Earth Pony inside of her, but mentally. Figuratively. What kind of best friend are you if you make your friends uncomfortable around you? She felt unforgivable. Totally at fault.

She removed her hat and pathetically plopped her head down on the table. She felt as if she had been nothing but inconsiderate. A complete jerk.

How would Rainbow ever look at her again? There just wasn't a single scenario she could imagine without herself and Rainbow fumbling with speech, stumbling with hooves, and crumbling with emotions. All possible scenarios made perfect sense, too. But none of them ended the way she wanted them to.

...but then again, how did she want it to end? Given all the things that had happened, there wasn't really anything she could imagine would be good. There wasn't any hope of being the same as before, but is that what she really wanted? She lifted her head up from the table.

'What do I want?' she thought. She wanted a good, solid friendship, nothing more.

"No..."

"Ah don't..."

She wanted more, but she couldn't quite place the definition of more. There was something on tip her tongue, in the back of her mind, in plain sight...

...but she couldn't speak it, couldn't place it, couldn't see it.

She didn't know what to think or feel, except for the fact that she knew she was more stressed out than before.

"Ugh..." she groaned. There had to be some way to resolve this with going the wrong way. Or at least, some way to clear her mind. She was beginning to feel the presence of a headache coming on.

Headaches are dumb. That was all she knew about them at the time.

A sudden crashing noise came from upstairs, sounding similar to a mischievous sister who had just toppled something fairly large while snooping.

Grunting, Applejack stood up from the table began trotting to her room, leaving her hat on the table. "Apple Bloom! Ah told y'all not ta be reachin' up fer mah bandanas! They're on the top shelf o' mah dresser for a--" she stopped and gasped.

"Hey, AJ," said the cyan Pegasus, waving sheepishly. She had apparently crash-landed in the center of the room, and was still in the process of getting back on her hooves. Feeling sympathetic, Applejack rushed to her side to help her up.

"What're ya doin' here, Dashie--I mean, uh... Dash?" Applejack fumbled with her words.

Rainbow paused for a moment before shrugging the nickname off. "I guess I just thought you'd be in here, that way I could, uh... y'know, have a better landing pad..." She laughed nervously.

Applejack raised a brow. "Have a better..." She shook her head. "Look, that's not what Ah meant."

Rainbow stopped smiling and understood. She then rubbed the back of her head. "Oh, uh yeah, I kinda got work done early, so uh... I was wondering if we could start practicing. Now, I mean. Well, if you want to..."

Applejack felt the heat rise in her cheeks as she watch her friend fiddle with her words. Just looking at her made her mind wander. She almost sounded like Fluttershy in that moment...

Snapping back to reality, she found her own words a little too quickly. "Oh! T-that'd be fine. With me, Ah mean. So... yes...?" She then noticed that the Pegasus had not even been listening at the time. Sighing and face-hoofing, she then cleared her throat. "Rainbow."

"Huh, wha-?" The blue mare shook her head lightly.

"There's somethin' else, isn' there?"

Lips trembling, Rainbow sat down on her haunches. She let out a defeated breath. "...Yeah."

"Ah reckon Ah know what it is, too, am Ah right?"

Rainbow nodded.

Sighing again, Applejack decided to face her fears, sitting down beside her. Before she spoke though, Rainbow beat her to it. "I guess I haven't been thinking regularly, as of this afternoon. My mind just keeps going back to you, when you said I was beautiful." Applejack felt the heat rise again. "I've been thinking about non-stop this afternoon, as I already told you, and it still won't go away. I mean, the thing is, I still really, really want to help out with the whole thing about following your dad's hoofsteps, advertising for Sweet Apple Acres and everything..." Rainbow then looked at the farm mare. "...but after that awkward moment today, I don't how I feel about being around you so much. Uhp, no offense!"

Applejack nodded slowly. "It's fine, really. Ah kinda have the same issue right now. Ah also figured this might happen. Ah mean, Ah feel awful fer just leavin' ya with only that ta think about. Ah should've jus' kept it ta mahself, Ah guess. Ah mean, look at you. Yer not exactly in the best, uh... mental state, ya know, to be doin' anything in public, really." She then looked away and slouched. "This is all mah fault, too. Ah should've just left ya alone about it... Me an' my big mouth. Sheesh." She felt a few small tears well up in her eyes. "This is just dumb."

Rainbow could only nod every once in a while as her friend spoke. She was about to speak up, but Applejack began to talk again.

"...yet..." The farm mare sat up again and looked at the Pegasus. "...yet, it really feels like Ah should've said more. Like there's somethin' Ah missed, or something Ah'm missin'." She turned away. "Or..." She looked at Rainbow out the corner of her eye. "...or somethin' we're both missin'."

Rainbow looked at the floor, her eyes widened slightly. Her cheeks reddened noticeably. Thinking about what Applejack's words, there was only one conclusion she could come to.

'She has a crush on me... and she doesn't even know it.'

She then heard the pony next to her stand up. She looked up and saw Applejack looking right back at her. "Here's what Ah figure, Rainbow," she said, trying to hold back any sadness in her voice. "If this all is a bit... too awkward, uncomfortable fer you, it's fine with me if you quit right now. Ah can still do it on mah own. An' Ah'll still do whatever Ah can ta help you get into the Wonderbolts. Ah know it's what you've always wanted, so there's no point in tryin' ta stop ya. Ah'll still help ya, alright?"

Rainbow was staring speechless at Applejack. She would stay true to her word, even if Rainbow didn't? It wasn't confusing...

...it was dumbfounding. She just didn't get it.

She felt her heart start beating more noticeably. She could now feel every beat it made. She felt a warmness around that area, as well. She didn't know what to say.

And she had said nothing long enough.

With a huff, Applejack turned and started to walk out of the room. Rainbow was brought from her stupor seconds later, clumsily stumbling with her hooves to stand up. Once she finally managed, she quickly rushed to where she was standing in front the orange mare. "Applejack! I--"

She had lost her words once she realized she was not receiving a friendly gaze of any kind. She stepped back a bit, but the farm pony still looked at her in the same manner as before.

"What?" said Applejack, irritated. Rainbow then realized she had not only made things more awkward, but she had disappointed the orange mare.

'There... There has to be a way to fix this,' Rainbow thought. She had not a single clue how, but she knew she had to do something. To kill the awkwardness, and to gain forgiveness.

To have her friend back.

But what could she do? What was there to do? She had to do something...

'She has a crush on me... but she doesn't know it.'

It made the tiniest of sense, but at the same time, it could work. It had two results, each of which would happen without the other.

The first was that she would end up having their friendship repaired, they would feel more comfort around each other instead of discomfort and awkwardness, along with the possibility of something more.

The second was that of a ruined friendship. The last thing she wanted for either of them.

Only hope had driven her to make her decision.

Thus, she wiped her lips with a hoof, looked at Applejack, and stared right into her gorgeous green eyes, which were staring right back. Using only will-power, she forced herself forward and placed her lips on her friend's, somewhat harshly.

Applejack's eyes were wide. She had a hard time comprehending what was happening. Her thoughts, however, were quickly becoming more scattered and she eventually could not control them. As she tried to struggle, wiggling gently, she felt Rainbow's hooves surround her, looping around her neck and pulling her closer.

Rainbow felt the shame, pulling her friend into this. Something so intimate, she figured she had put her in a state of shock.

Applejack honestly didn't mind the kiss, but she knew it wasn't a thing that friends just did with each other.

Yet, somehow... it felt okay right now.

She stopped her struggling and gave in, closing her eyes, relaxing her muscles and returning the kiss. She still felt the little ounce of shame, but she didn't care anymore. At least, not for the moment.

She soon found her mind to be at ease with this sudden action that Rainbow had taken. Slowly, she copied the Pegasus, wrapping her forelegs around Rainbow's neck and pulling them closer. Feeling as relaxed as they could be, they felt each other give off a sigh of relief and contentment. They both stood on their hind legs, relying on one another for balance. Their kiss grew, gaining more reaction from both of them, which went from more lip movement to stroking each other's manes. They ran their hooves through the strands, as if searching for something. Rainbow eventually reached the hair tie at the end of Applejack's mane. Then, letting her instincts take over, she carefully untied it and dropped it to the floor.

Applejack enjoyed the freedom of movement she had in Rainbow's hair with her hooves. It was soft and silky, despite its constantly messy appearance.

They both felt like they could continue this for eternity, and they wanted to, but their lungs told them otherwise.

Feeling the need to breathe, they pulled their lips away and breathed deeply, staring into each other's eyes. It was the most wonderful of feelings to have. To see that the other was fully aware of what they shared. They were alone as a pair, but as individuals, they were not. They had each other.

While they both breathed heavily in anticipation, the silence was broken by Applejack. "Was... Is there really... that much between us?"

Rainbow swallowed. "I-I guess, but... I didn't really know, either... I guess, maybe I just--"

"It's okay, sugarcube," Applejack interrupted. "Ya don' have ta answer that. T'ain't fair ta neither of us." She paused and looked back toward her bed. "Ah'm guessin' it'll still be a while 'fore we start gettin' our heads together again." She looked back at Rainbow. "Not involin' our lips, Ah mean." They both blushed. "So, what'd ya say we take ourselves a li'l nap? Ah'm real tuckered out, what about you?"

Rainbow nodded. "That sounds awesome right about now. But wait, did mean... together?"

"Do you really wanna be sleepin' alone after a kiss like that? To be honest, Ah mahself am already startin' ta feel attached. It would really mean a lot to me, okay?"

Rainbow nodded quickly and let go so they could both stand on their own again. "Oh, it's totally fine with me, I just... I've never really slept with another pony before. Let alone a mare."

"Oh, well, come on then." Applejack gave off an almost-obnoxious yawn. "There's a first for everything. And me neither, by the way. Ah've only slept with Apple Bloom a couple o' times, like if she had a nightmare or somethin'."

"Yeah, but that's totally understandable. And different, anyway."

They stood on either side of the bed now. Applejack climbed in first. She then slid the sheet open for Rainbow, inviting her warmly. Rainbow complied and slid into the bed with her.

"Apple Bloom?" Applejack called.

"Yeah?" came a small, muffled voice.

"Can ya wake me up around six-forty-five?"

"P.M. or A.M.?"

"P.M.."

"Sure thing."

"Thank you, sis."

"Whatever. Yer gettin' kinda lazy, as of late."

"Oh hush, you..."

"Have a nice nap."

"Psh..."

Rainbow just giggled at her friend's conversation. She then realized what would happen if Apple Bloom were to wake them up. "Wait, won't she see us?" she whispered.

Applejack waved the pressure off. "Ah'll jus' tell her it's a sleepover."

"Oh." Rainbow shrugged. "Yeah, that'd probably do it."

After getting comfortable, they couldn't help but just lay there and gaze at each other, neither saying a word. They wanted to say so much, but they didn't know how. They couldn't find the words for it. So, instead, they both reached their hooves out and gently embraced one another, feeling the warmth of each other. They smiled peacefully, basking in the comfort they were offered from each other. It wasn't long before they felt their eyelids getting heavier, their exhaustion eventually welcoming them to their dreams.

They could only hope for the best.

Author's Note

OKAY. So... It's been a while, and I apologize deeply for the giant delay in all of my stories, because I haven't updated a single one of them until now. I've mostly been working on music as of late, because I'm actually doing a couple songs with Feather.

Yes, Feather.

Anywho, I finally took the time to make another chapter, because I've kept you guys hanging for quite some time now.

Have a chapter!

Also, let me know of any mistakes.