They both walked towards the bench under the tree. AJ sat down and watched Rainbow as she sat down. Applejack saw how Rainbow squirmed nervously on her place. She was sure that Rainbow had something on her mind.
"Is something wrong, sucargube?" she asked. Rainbow winced and gave her a goofy smile. "Everything's fine, just thinking about stuff," Rainbow replied nervously.
Applejack wasn't sure what game Rainbow was playing with her, but it was making her rather unease. She decided to play along for now. They sat in silence for a while. AJ watched other ponies walk past them and spending their time in the park. She saw Lyra sitting in her unique way on the bench with Bon Bon. AJ saw them talking and giving quick kisses to each other. She was happy for them, but she was also a bit jealous. She had never had a special somepony.
It made her frown. Applejack turned to look at Rainbow Dash, who was still quiet and looking even more tensed up. It started to make her even more uncomfortable and concerned.
"Okay that's it," she said while looking at Rainbow. Rainbow looked back with confused look on her face. Applejack continued: "Ya have been acting pretty strangely all day, what's bothering ya?"
Rainbow's eyes widened. She trembled a bit and her mouth opened and closed as she tried to say something. Then she closed her eyes and hung her head down. "It's nothing important," she says. Applejack knew that it was a lie.
"Rainbow, ya know ya're not a good liar," AJ said with a gentle voice. She didn't like seeing her friend being sad, so she started asking her:
"Did somepony do something to ya?"
Rainbow shook her head.
"Did ya do something to somepony?"
Rainbow shook her head again. Applejack didn't know what to ask next. What could possibly be wrong with her friend. She thought for a while before she asked:
"Is it a colt?"
Rainbow shook her head, more irritated way this time. AJ had no ideas left. Except one:
"Is it... a filly?"
Rainbow didn't do anything, just looked at the ground. Applejack was a bit shocked. She didn't know that Rainbow was into mares. Well maybe she did, after all it was pretty obvious. Actually everypony knew that Rainbow Dash liked the company of mares more than stallions. Applejack blushed as she imagined Rainbow making out with another mare.
Applejack snapped out of her daydream and returned to the task at hand.
"Ya told her that ya like her and she didn't like ya back?" Applejack asked. Rainbow opened her eyes and looked at Lyra and Bon Bon. She then said: "I haven't told her yet."
"Why are ya so sad then?" Applejack tried to cheer Rainbow Dash. She didn't look any happier though. Rainbow turned to face Applejack and said: "Because if I do and she doesn't feel the same way I do, Our friendship could be ruined..."
"Ya know that Ah'l be here for ya, no matter what. That's why friends are for," AJ comforted Rainbow.
"That's the point! We may not be friends after I say this..." Rainbow said. She was looking terrified. Applejack began to outline the situation. She saw that Rainbow Dash was looking right at her eyes. She knew that Rainbow wasn't fooling around. Rainbow was dead serious. It made Applejack feel like something was stuck in her throat and she gulped before asking: "So what ya are trying to say is..." She was interrupted by Rainbow saying: "I think I have some feelings for you..."
That hit Applejack like a train. A hard blush formed on her face, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped while her heart beating like crazy. She didn't know what to say, her best friend just told that she had feelings for her. How do you react to that?
They sat in silence for a good five minutes, before AJ asked: "Since when?"
"Since the sleepover at Pinkie's," Rainbow muttered.
AJ remembered the kiss she gave to Rainbow that night. She tried to calm herself while trying to clear her head. She wanted to run away from this situation, but it clearly would make things even worse. The only thing she could do now was to talk to Rainbow.
"Now Rainbow, Ah don't know what ya..." she didn't have time to finish because Rainbow suddenly took off, leaving only couple of blue feathers floating in front of AJ. Applejack stood up and was shocked. She watched as Rainbow started to fly away and shouted: "Rainbow Dash! Get back here now! Ah didn't finish yet!"
It was too late, Rainbow was already gone.
"Darn you!" Applejack shouted to no one in special. She then noticed that everypony near her was watching her. She felt a urge to quickly flee and so she did.
After getting away from the interested crowd, Applejack started to think what just had happened. Rainbow told her that she had a crush on her, and after that she had flown away. Applejack had to find her, otherwise she could not have another chance to make things clear.
"So she actually likes me? How I'm just a simple farm pony and she's soon to be wonderbolt! Besides, we're both mares, what would Granny Smith say?"
Applejack walked towards the way Rainbow flew. She tried to keep an eye on the clouds. She knew that Rainbow Dash liked to lie on the clouds when she was sad. She also knew that Rainbow liked to read romance novels, she never admitted that to anypony else than AJ. Applejack actually knew much more than anypony else about Rainbow Dash. She was the first pegasus who AJ had ever met. since the day they met, they had always been best of friends.
Maybe that was why Rainbow had formed those feelings.
Applejack started to think about the good times she had had with Rainbow, like the Running of the Leaves. She smiled as she though about her friend.
Then she remembered something. AJ took her hat off and watched as the sunshine reflected from the apple shaped pin that Rainbow had bought for her. She touched it gently and a smile formed on her face.
"I need to give her a chance, I owe her that. I have nothing to lose."
Applejack put her hat back on her head and started to trot forward.
"I just have to find her first."
Applejack soon reached end of the park. There she tried to find any clues about her winged friend. She didn't see anything else than couple of houses and one cloud on the clear blue sky.
"Nothing here, just some houses and... Wait a minute. What's that?"
Applejack raised her hoof to cover her eyes from the sun and looked at the cloud. She saw something hanging from the cloud. It was rainbow colored tail.
Applejack sighed and started to make her way towards the lonely cloud. As she got closer to the cloud, she could see that rainbow was lying on the cloud face down. Applejack was getting nervous again, she was about to do something she had never done before. Applejack was now under the cloud. She looked up and saw Rainbow's tail hanging over the edge of the cloud. AJ took a deep breath and shouted: "Rainbow Dash! It's me, Applejack!"
AJ saw how Rainbow's tail quickly disappeared and her face peeked over the edge of the cloud. Rainbow then went back lying on her cloud, shouting: "Go away, I don't want to see you right now!"
Rainbow didn't sound angry, but more like sad. Applejack didn't give up.
"Don't make me come up there! Ah just wanna talk, so get yar rump down here!"
Rainbow was silent.
"Ah mean it!" Applejack shouted.
For a while AJ was sure that Rainbow wouldn't get down, but then Rainbow rolled off from the cloud and started gliding towards her. Rainbow landed with a small thud. She was looking really depressed. Rainbow looked at AJ and asked: "What do you want?"
Applejack looked at her friend and hugged her gently. AJ felt how Rainbow's body went stiff.
"what are you doing?" Rainbow asked with quiet voice. Applejack broke the hug and said with a gentle, caring voice: "When ya flew off, Ah started thinking. Ya have been really nice to me today -" Applejack pointed at the pin on her hat "- Well always, so Ah thought that it wouldn't hurt anypony to have a try... with ya."
Rainbows eyes widened and they looked a bit watery. "Really? I thought you were mad at me for telling you..." Rainbow Dash said.
"Why Ah would be mad at ya for something like that?" Applejack said and hold hoof on Rainbows shoulder.
"I don't know," Rainbow said. She blushed and grinned when she continued: "You really want to be with me?"
"Ah am going to give it a try! If it works then sure, we can be together," Applejack said with cheering voice. Rainbow looked at her and took AJ's hoof in her own, then she said: "I promise you: It will work!"
After that she planted a quick kiss on Applejack's cheek. Now it was AJ's time to blush. She smiled and hugged Rainbow while saying: "Ah really hope so too."