Rainbow Dash lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Why was this bothering her so much? It was a brief slip. Nothing wrong with it. Applejack was her friend. She was cool, dependable, confident. Rainbow admired those traits. But cute? She didn’t think of Applejack that way.
Rainbow knew it was silly, but she couldn’t stop thinking about that word. It must have been this whole dress ordea. It was making her think weirdly. This must just be because of how beautiful Applejack looks with her mane braided up like-
Wait, where did that come from? Rainbow felt confused. She didn’t know why this was bothering her so much. or what was causing these thoughts. She was, however, aware of a warmth in her cheeks. She couldn’t deal with this on her own, but who should she turn to? She needed a close friend to help her understand her feelings. With a sigh, she got off the bed and turned towards the door.
Meanwhile, Applejack was enjoying a moment’s respite from her work. She was glad to be done with all that dress business for the week, but she knew Rarity wasn’t done with her yet. She and Rainbow would probably need to try on yet more outfits next week.
The thought of Rainbow Dash reminded her of the incident earlier today. She told Rainbow the dress held her attention, but that wasn’t all of it. Rainbow looked good. Really good.
It wasn’t weird to think that of her best friend, was it? Applejack knew it wasn’t, but she couldn’t keep from feeling weird. And then Rainbow had blushed at her. Twice, in fact. Rainbow had avoided talking about it, but AJ knew it was about her.
“Something bothering ya, sis?” Big Macintosh asked.
“It’s nothin’. Just been feeling a bit weird since ah was talked into that dress thing with Rarity today,” she replied.
“Do you wanna talk about it?”
Applejack didn’t, really, but she knew her big brother just wanted to help. “ah dunno. Just, somethin’ weird happened today. Rarity made Rainbow look really good, an’ I dunno, seems weird to think of my friend like that. An’ then, when she noticed, sh started blushin’ somethin’ fierce, and wouldn’t talk about it later.”
Big Mac raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
“Ah just dunno what to think. Rainbow’s a good friend, an’ I just don’ know what any of this means. I just wanna understand.”
Big Mac nodded. “How do you feel about Rainbow?” he asked.
Applejack was surprised by the question.
“Well, she’s my best friend. We’ve been through quite a bit together. We have a sort of bond, I suppose,” Applejack said.
Big Mac smiled. “Seems like you two are pretty close.”
“Yeah, you could say that. Ah suppose of my friends she’s the one I can relate to the most. Strong, not girly, athletic…”
“Well, clearly you and Rainbow are very good friends. There’s nothin’ odd about acknowledging your friend looks good.”
Applejack looked up. “Ya think?”
“Of course.”
Applejack smiled and nodded. “Thanks, Mac.”
“Though, maybe there’s more to it…” Mac mumbled.
“What was that?” AJ asked, not quite hearing him.
“Nothin’, AJ. Go on and get some rest,” he said.
Applejack nodded and entered the farm house.
Elsewhere, Fluttershy was enjoying a quiet evening when she heard a knock on her door. Opening it, she saw Rainbow Dash.
“Hi, Rainbow. What brings you here?” she asked, softly as always.
“I just need someone to talk to,” Rainbow said.
“Well then, come in,” Fluttershy invited. Rainbow complied, and sat down on the couch. Fluttershy did the same.
“So, Rainbow, what did you want to talk about?” Fluttershy asked.
Rainbow told Fluttershy about about the dares, about the dresses, about the incident, and about the weird thoughts.
“Oh my,” Fluttershy said. It occurred to her that she owed Rarity 10 bits. “It sounds like you have feelings for Applejack.”
“Feelings?” Rainbow asked, trying to comprehend what her friend was saying.
“I mean, you know, you like her.”
“Are you saying…”
Fluttershy nodded.
“I do NOT have a crush on Applejack!” Rainbow shouted.
“I’m sorry, it just sounded like…” Fluttershy began, looking for the right words.
Rainbow felt even more confused. She didn’t have a crush on Applejack. Did she? “I’m sorry, Fluttershy. It’s just… I don’t know.”
“I bet what you’re feeling is very confusing. It may take some time to understand,” Fluttershy said.
“Yeah.. Thanks anyways, Fluttershy.”
“You’re very welcome, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow nodded and walked towards the door of Fluttershy’s cottage. “See you,” she said. As Fluttershy replied, Rainbow knew one thing for certain.
It was going to be a long week.
Back at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack’s thoughts were echoing that sentiment. The more she thought about the incident with Rainbow Dash, the more confused she was. How did she feel about Rainbow? How did Rainbow feel about her? The questions became harder to answer. She knew they were close, but… how close?
The events at the boutique replayed over and over in her mind. What had happened? What did it mean? Applejack considered what she thought of Rainbow. “Rainbow’s strong, confident, loyal,” she whispered to herself. She admired those traits. Rainbow Dash was a good friend… but was that all?
Applejack shook her hand slightly. She was tired. She could always think about this tomorrow. For now, she needed some sleep.
As the sun went down, Applejack closed her eyes, knowing that the following days were not going to be easy.