It had been a few days since Rainbow Dash had found herself in Applejack's embrace, muscles tensed in anticipation and her eyes wandering to her lips, despite her best efforts. The whole trip home she had replayed it over and over in her head, imagining what might have happened had she stayed longer, had she leaned in, had she kissed her. She thought about her foreleg around her, such a normal thing, yet it caused such an un-normal reaction. She wanted it so bad, but it also...scared her? It was the weirdest thing. Is that what Fluttershy always felt like?
The closer Rainbow Dash felt with Applejack, the more she felt the need to pull away, to escape before she screwed something up. But it was so...hard. She wasn't in control. Her heart had a mind of its own. Not to mention her body seemed to as well. Being with AJ was almost painful, yet she wanted nothing more. It was as if she was on the tip of her hoof, but no matter how far she reached, she just couldn't quite grab her. Sweet Celestia, this made no sense!
Rainbow was so deep in trance she flew into three clouds on her way home. She blamed it on the fact that it was dark.
Even just two days without seeing the cowpony made Rainbow a little anxious. Knowing she could run into her at any time meant keeping her guard up. But keeping her guard up meant always thinking about why she was keeping her guard up, which always led her straight back to Applejack, the one pony she wished she could keep out of her mind. Rainbow began her day tip-toeing through town, getting startled at every little noise, flinching at anything out of the corner of her eye. She did this for about an hour.
"Wait...I'm literally so stupid."
There was one place she knew AJ would never ever be: the sky. How she didn't think of this earlier she didn't know. Rainbow decided to continue her day in the clouds, looking down at Ponyville from a safe distance.
"Ugh! I'm sooooooo bored."
The pegasus tossed and turned on the small cloud she had landed on. She had nothing to do. Normally she'd hang out with Pinkie or something, but she was busy at Sugarcube Corner today. Twilight was probably doing some important princess task and Rarity was probably making dresses, two things Rainbow Dash wasn't particularly interested in. And Fluttershy? Probably having a tea party with Angel! Or worse––Discord! Who, by the way, was clearly in love with her. So lame.
Holding onto the cloud, she extended her wings and began to flap. Might as well look around and see if there was anything fun to do.
Rainbow swore on Celestia she did not do this on purpose. She must've spaced and lost track of where she was going. There was no way this was where she meant to end up. Just no way! In fact, it was the opposite. Was it opposite day? Was it opposite day and Pinkie forgot to tell her? It must've been. Or maybe the cloud was from the Everfree or something, cause it had to have had a mind of its own, because this was not what Rainbow wanted! Not one bit, not even 1%, zero, zilch, nada, never, nil, not one part of her, negative percent, just...no.
Right?
Rainbow sighed in defeat, flopping down onto the cloud and covering her eyes with her hooves.
How in the hay did she fly to Sweet Apple Acres.
After a few deep breaths, Dash blinked one of her eyes open, moving her hoof ever so slightly. Welp, she was still there. As slow as she possibly could, she stretched her neck over the edge of the cloud, peering down at the hundreds and maybe even thousand apple trees. This felt all too familiar.
It was peaceful at the farm. Quiet. The only sound she heard was the wind rustling through the leaves on the trees. There was a reason this was one of her favorite napping spots. The beauty, the stillness, the serenity, the tranquili––
"Alright Big Mac! Ah'm feedin' the pigs n' then Ah'm headin' to town!" Applejack's voice boomed.
Oh ponyfeathers. Rainbow instantly retreated.
"You know she can't see you," Dash muttered, talking to herself in the third person. She rolled her eyes. She was being such a scaredy pony! Who was she, Fluttershy? Oops, two Fluttershy disses in the same day. Sorry Fluttershy.
Leaning back over, she watched Applejack trotting from her house towards the farm. Even though she could clearly see the pigs from where she was, it was a tad far. It's not like it could hurt to get a little closer...
Shut up.
Rainbow flapped as discreetly as she could, hoping AJ wouldn't notice the slightly fast paced cloud above her. Luckily, Earth ponies usually paid more attention to the ground. Rainbow placed herself close, but still a safe distance away from the farmer. Ugh, it was a perfect view. As she spied––no sorry, just watched AJ, she felt her mind race a million miles an hour. First it was the way she walked, the inviting sway of her hips, how she could almost see her muscles flexing with every step. Then it was her mane. Her beautiful blonde mane, moving with her head in perfect synchrony, her tail also following suit. She wished she would take out the silly hair bands; Rainbow wanted to see it in its natural form. Applejack grabbed the bucket of pig food in her mouth, carrying over to the pen. Oh for Celestia's sake, she even made that look good! It wasn't even fair! She was so effortlessly beautiful, it almost made Rainbow upset. It shouldn't even be allowed to look that good! It was infuriating. If Rainbow wasn't so confident, she would probably question whether she was in love with AJ at all or if she just wanted to be her!
Rainbow was so deep in her reverie she didn't notice the soft sound of flapping wings approaching her. She also didn't notice the breeze the flapping caused on her back, nor was she aware of the suspicious expression the pony behind her was making.
"Uh Rainbow Dash? What in Equestria are you doing?"