The only thing she remembered was the way she held out her hoof for a bump, and Dash returned it.
Applejack could put together the rest of the scene of their first meeting, she knew it was in the apple orchard, in the spring time, and she knew what the orchard looked like in the spring. She knew what Dash looked like, obviously. She knew they'd smiled at each other. Made some friendly conversation. But if anypony asked if she remembered the first time they'd met, the thing AJ actually remembered, as if she was there, was bumping hooves.
There were a lot of things like that. Saying “I love you” for the first time. She was sure they had said it, they'd said it a million times since, so there must have been a first. It must have been after their first date, and before that night in the barn. But for some reason that first “I love you” had to be put together from hints, while the way Dash looked picking her up for their second date, an uneventful trip to Sugarcube Corner, sometimes popped into her head without anypony bringing it up.
A rough kiss after a race, sitting in the park on a Sunday, a moment from a train ride, these were what Applejack's love was made of. It felt weird that it should have such a flimsy foundation, but those memories were the ones that weren't flimsy. They were strong and true, they were real, while all of the things that were supposed to be important seemed like a play she had seen.
That was comforting, in a way. There were only so many big moments in a life, but there were a million little one, smiles, and touches, and mornings in bed. A million chances for a mind to freeze the world, to grab a feeling and hold it so it was true forever. A million pieces that made her love for Rainbow Dash strong.
“Hey AJ! Wake up!” Dash shouted, hovering just a few feet away.
Applejack blinked. “Huh?”
“I told you three times it's your turn. You were totally zoned out.” Dash nodded to the horseshoes next to her.
“Sorry, just thinkin' on somethin'.” Applejack said, noticing the way that Dash was smirking at her, noticing Dash's mane was falling across her face, and breeze from her flapping wings. The sky was clear and the sun was shining down at her back, and over on the horseshoe stake AJ could see that Dash missed one but the second was laying right next to the stake.
“Thinking about me?” Dash asked with a grin.
“Somethin' like that.” Applejack smirked back, enjoying the moment.