The thick hot air and the intense summer heat caused most ponies to stay inside and shield themselves. The pale green leaves on the trees rustled softly as the breeze blew through them. The earth began to shake, the branches bobbing in all directions knocking loose most of the weaker leaves, allowing them to dance downward to the dusty dirt trail below.
Two ponies galloped past, their hooves landing with a crushing force from each step. Beads of sweat formed on the two ponies they were locked neck and neck in competition. The orange mare pulled forward, letting out a small grin as she took the lead. This hadn't lasted long though; the Pegasus took notice, mustering all her remaining strength she matched her opponent's speed.
The hard dirt they trampled on merged into lush soft grass. They slowed down, eventually coming to a halt. Once again they had ended their race in a tie, the outcome never changed, and the two hardly expected it ever would. They let out small laughs as they attempted to catch their breath.
The orange earth pony enjoyed their races, because of the challenge her friend brought. The games always made her push herself further, testing her limits. She was grateful to have a friend like the Pegasus. One who was as competitive as her, and equally matched as she was.
The sky-blue Pegasus however, had a different reason for why she enjoyed the races. She would never admit it, but truthfully her reason was that it was one of the few chances she had to be alone with her friend. Since they had first met as fillies, strong feelings had developed for her companion. The mere thought of her caused her heart to start racing, and she scarcely thought about anything else.
Rainbow Dash gazed into Applejack's dazzling forest-green eyes. Her golden mane swaying in the breeze, shining like stars as the sunlight beamed down on it. They proceeded towards the lake and sat down in the damp grass, where they continued to rest. The only sounds to be heard, were their heavy breathing as they recovered from their race.
Finally, Rainbow Dash broke the silence, "Hey, Applejack?" she said softly, trying to hide the subtle shaking in her voice.
"Yeah Sugarcube?" Applejack responded in her southern accent.
Rainbow's mind raced as she tried to think of the right words to say. She couldn't wait much longer; she needed to tell Applejack how she really felt about her. Several moments passed while Rainbow Dash stammered unintelligible words, blood flowing rapidly to her cheeks, changing them to a bright red. The Pegasus turned away in an effort to hide her blushes, "Forget about it."
There was an awkward silence the rest of the trip back to the farm. Once arriving, Rainbow Dash parted quickly and quietly, hoping not to raise anymore suspicion from her peculiar behavior.
Secure inside her cloud home, Rainbow Dash allowed herself to begin scolding herself for backing out of confessing again, "Gah! What's wrong with me?" The Pegasus swiped her hooves at her dresser knocking some of her possessions to the fluffy floor. She plopped onto her plush bed, resting her head into her hooves, taking slow breaths to calm herself, "I need to just go up to her, and tell her the truth. Just stare her straight in the eyes and say it! Then it'd be over with and I wouldn't have to hide this anymore."
Rainbow Dash looked out the small window, Sweet Apple Acres was only just visible from where she was. She had spent many nights, just gazing at the farm for hours, dreaming of Applejack and what they could be sharing together. The Pegasus paced around inside her cloud, rehearsing aloud how she would tell the orange pony of her feelings. "Applejack, we've been good friends for such a long time now, but, I want to share more than just friendship with you, and I've been thinking…" the words vanished from her head.
She smacked herself in the face, "Why is this so hard?" she yelled, glancing back through the window; she let out a quiet sigh, "Applejack, I… love you." She lay back down on her bed, and closed her eyes, hoping that maybe her dreams might have an answer for her.
Rainbow Dash exhausted from the race soon fell into a deep relaxing sleep. At first her dream was blank, eventually though, an image began to form. She found herself staring at her reflection through a kind of window. As she continued to observe through the glass Applejack soon joined the two. The Pegasus whispered something into the orange mare's ear and she began to smile. Rainbow wrapped her wing around the orange mare pulling her in close, pressing their lips against one another.
The image seemed to rewind itself just after the Pegasus had whispered her words. However, this time when she had spoken, the orange mare backed away slowly with a look of disapproval and disgust. The Pegasus's eyes began to water as Applejack muttered something just before turning around to run away. Rainbow Dash called out to her pleading for her to stop, but she ignored the calls and kept running.
The dream came to a close, awakening Rainbow Dash with feelings of nausea, "What if she can't accept my feelings…" she thought, "How could she be able to look at me ever again? Our friendship would be ruined!" The idea caused her eyes to swell with tears. She pulled her cloud pillow to her chest and hugged it tightly. "I don't want to lose Applejack as a friend, but I can't keep hiding my feelings for her either." Soon she was unable to contain her emotions any longer, and she began to weep softly into her tightly clutched pillow.