A Much-Needed Distraction

"It's Applebuck season, Rainbow. You know I ain't got time for this." Applejack brushed the mare off as she continued her work, bucking her hind legs into a nearby tree and gathering the scattered fruit in a basket before moving onto the next.

Rainbow Dash had been bothering her all morning. While the pony had always had a penchant for loitering around the farm, she'd been especially persistent today, begging Applejack to join her in some kind competition. If she were being completely honest, she hadn't really been listening well enough to determine what exactly she'd wanted to do. While she didn't mind her presence, she would have been lying to herself if she said she wasn't a total distraction from her farm work—for a number of different reasons.

"Come on, AJ, it'll only take a little bit. Don't you want to have fun for once?"

"I'll have plenty of fun when the chores're done."

"UGHH," Rainbow Dash groaned, dragging her hooves down her face in exasperation. "You're such a buzzkill."

"A what now?" The farm pony paused her work to raise an eyebrow at her words.

A sly grin spread across Rainbow's face. "Buzz. Kill."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Prove it." The pegasus took flight, hovering above her with her hooves on her hips as she leered down at Applejack, taunting her.

"How?" She huffed, wiping away the beads of sweat that had begun to appear on her forehead during her work.

"I think you know how."

Rainbow Dash tackled her, the two of them becoming a tangle of limbs and wings as they tumbled through the grass. Applejack let out an "oof" at the impact before coming to her senses as they stopped rolling, shoving the other pony in the shoulder playfully.

"Now, Dash, wrasslin ain't—" Before she could finish her thought, a hoof jabbed into her side, eliciting a guffaw of laughter that worked its way out of her mouth of its own accord. Before she could get ahold of herself she was prodded again, tears blurring her vision as she stared up at the vicious glee on Rainbow's face and fell victim to her merciless tickling. "Stop-I can't-Breathe," She pleaded between laughs.

Finally, her attacker relented. "All right, all right," She conceded, moving to release Applejack from her grasp and lift herself off of her. "I think you've had enough."

Just as Rainbow stood up, she was knocked off balance by a kick to her middle, sending her barreling into the ground and onto her back. In a flash, Applejack was on top of her, her hat toppling off of her head as she pinned the pegasus beneath her with a rueful grin. "My turn."

"You know I'm not ticklish—"

She was cut off as Applejack pressed into her, allowing the full weight of her body to rest atop her as she leaned in, a different kind of fire lit in her eyes. Gone was the playful fun of their little competitions—this look was new. Their noses were practically touching, and Applejack's breath was hot on her muzzle as the unfamiliar spark of desire ignited within her, a low flame that burned deep in the pit of her stomach. Rainbow's eyes fluttered shut as AJ pressed her lips to hers, the excitement and energy of their tussle translating into a passionate, burning kiss that left both of them gasping for air.

Rainbow could do nothing but stare up at her friend in awe, her wide eyed gaze completely transfixed on the mare that had quite literally taken her breath away. Applejack held her stare with the same amount of incredulity, as if even she herself were in shock at her own actions. She could feel the rise and fall of the earth pony's chest against her own, the frantic beating of her heart as a deep rouge bloomed on her cheeks.

As if returning to herself, Applejack shot up with a jolt, pushing herself off of Rainbow Dash with her front hooves and standing up, knocking the wind out of her once again. "I-I'm sorry, I dunno what-" She stumbled over her words, fumbling for the hat that lay abandoned in the grass beside them and tugging it back on, pulling the front down slightly as if she could hide her flustered face beneath its wide brim. "Rainbow, I-"

Rainbow Dash leaned up on her elbows once she'd finally caught her breath and looked up at her friend, concerned. "AJ, it's okay-"

"No! It's not..." Her voice was panicked, and she had a hard time swallowing past the lump in her throat as she scuffed at the ground with her hoof. "I didn't mean it."

Rainbow had a crestfallen look on her face as she croaked, "You didn't... mean it?"

Applejack finally tore her gaze from where it had been pointed at the blades of grass beneath her and noticed the expression the pegasus wore. "Well, I... I reckon I did," She admitted, ever the element of honesty. "But I just—I didn't mean to do it in the moment without thinkin' like that. I didn't even ask you—and... I can't.. I can't ruin our friendship because of something like this, so please..." She sniffled, showing an uncharacteristic display of emotion as she voiced her feelings.

Rainbow took her by the hooves and eased her back down onto the grass beside her, offering her a small smile as they came to eye level. "Nothing's ruined," She reassured her. "I know I'm hot stuff. It's not your fault you couldn't keep your hooves to yourself."

Applejack let out what could have been either a chuckle or a groan at her antics, and Rainbow took it as a small victory. "Seriously. I know I'm not the best at... expressing myself all the time," She admitted, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. "But we can, like, talk this out if that's what you want to do. Cuz, y'know, that kiss wasn't exactly one-sided." Her own cheeks tinged pink at this confession, and between the two of them they were right at home in the orchard, blushing as bright a red as the apples around them.

"I s'pose we oughtta..." Applejack mumbled. The pair of ponies weren't exactly known for being good at talking about their feelings and were more prone to settle something over a fight or a contest than talk it out with one another. She spared a glance over her shoulder at the line of plump apple trees behind her. "Tell you what, sugarcube... I really do gotta get through all this today. Much as I'd like to sneak off with ya, I can't just leave my family to fend for themselves. Whaddya say we meet up later over some cider 'n... talk?" Applejack gulped, focusing her attention back on the mare beside her as she awaited her answer.

"Or," Rainbow Dash tapped a hoof to her chin in thought then grinned. "I can stay and help out with your chores. That way it'll go faster."

"I couldn't ask ya to do that," Applejack frowned at her friend's suggestion, but wasn't entirely put off by it. "Don't you got other things to be doin'?"

"Pshaw, nah. If I had the time to goof around here before, I have time to lend a hoof. Guess I could have done that in the first place, but I—we—got a little carried away." She winked.

Applejack let out a nervous chuckle. "I guess it couldn't hurt if ya wanted to stick around a while," She offered, getting up and helping Rainbow to do the same. "Would make things mighty quicker with an athlete like you around."

"An athlete like me, huh?" Rainbow bumped her flank into Applejack's playfully, a teasing lilt to her voice as they settled back into their normal routine.

"Right. An athlete on my level." She corrected with a nod of her hat.

"Ohh, I see how it is."

The pair shared a laugh as they made their way over to a batch of ripe trees waiting to be bucked and got to work.

"Whew, I'm plum-tuckered out." Applejack sighed, stretching out her sore hindlegs as she met up with Rainbow in a small clearing near the barn. They'd taken only a few hours to accomplish what the cowgirl might have needed the whole day to do, and she was relieved she'd accepted Rainbow's offer to help. Between the two of them, they must have set a new record for the amount of apples bucked in one day.

They filled the wagons with the dozens of barrels of fruit they'd picked and left things in Big Mcintosh's hooves, allowing him to do the brunt of the heavy lifting as he transported the cargo into storage.

"So..." Rainbow broke the silence between them while they watched Big Mac haul the wagon away. "How about that cider?"

Applejack rolled her eyes and huffed, "Shoulda known you wouldn't've let that one slip." She glanced over to the farmhouse, where Apple Bloom and Granny Smith were inside cooking dinner. "Let's go in and get some, then maybe find us a more... private spot to talk."

Rainbow nodded in agreement, then followed her as they made their way through the field and inside. She greeted Apple Bloom and Granny Smith, who thanked her for her hard work and struck up a conversation with her while Applejack poured them two mugs of cider in the kitchen.

"Is there anything else we can get ya, dear?" Granny drawled as she stirred the food atop the stove. "Yer like family, y'know."

Rainbow opened her mouth to say something most likely dripping with innuendo, but Applejack shot her a warning glare and cut in, "No, Granny, thank you. I'll be back in a bit."

With that, she dragged Rainbow Dash out of the house and back to a spot behind the barn, further down the field and into the cover of the trees beyond.

"Jeez, it's like we're going undercover. How far are we gonna go?" Rainbow scoffed after a few minutes of walking.

"Ah," Applejack stopped with a jolt, turning to look at her apologetically. "Here's fine."

Rainbow descended from where she'd been flying a few paces behind her. "You okay?"

"Yeah, sorry," She let out a puff of air before taking a seat beneath a nearby apple tree. "Just... in my head, I s'pose."

The pegasus plopped down beside her, taking a swig of cider and letting out a content sigh. "I get it." Applejack looked over at her curiously and she shrugged. "I mean, I know I'm awesome and I always seem confident, but that isn't always the case. Sometimes my thoughts fly even faster than I do!"

"That so?" Applejack gave her an affectionate glance. "What kind of thoughts are flyin' around in that head of yours now?"

A blush crept up Rainbow's cheeks, and she averted her eyes as she murmured, "I'm thinking I want to kiss you again."

A hoof under her chin gently turned her head back towards Applejack's, who had a searching expression on her face as her eyes flickered between Rainbow's own magenta ones. When she gave her a bashful smile, the earth pony accepted it as confirmation and leaned in slowly until their lips met once more. This kiss wasn't rushed and messy like the one from earlier had been, but it contained the same amount of passion. It was electric yet soft, and conveyed between both of them what words had yet to. Rainbow threw her hooves around Applejack's neck as the kiss deepened, letting out a small moan as AJ pulled her close.

The kiss awoke something deep within them that they hadn't understood until then: a fondness for the other that went far beyond the limitations of friendship.

When they broke apart, the shock was less present but the awe lingered. They stared at one another, panting, and slowly released the tight grip they'd had. When she'd steadied herself, Rainbow cleared her throat awkwardly. "Uhm, ahem. Aren't we supposed to be talking?"

Applejack gave her an annoyed frown, but her eyes still shone with mirth. "This ain't on me, missy. You started it this time." She pointed an accusatory hoof at her.

"Me?" Rainbow gasped dramatically, putting on her best impression of Rarity. "Why, Applejack, how could you accuse me of such a thing?"

They made eye contact for a moment then giggled, clearing the tension that had mounted between them. "Really, hon, talk to me." Applejack reached forward and held her hoof with a reassuring smile. "Where do we... stand now?"

"I..." Rainbow started, looking down at their intertwined hooves. She glanced up and met Applejack's gaze with an air of openness and vulnerability that was rare for her. "I don't know."

Applejack faltered for a moment at her friend's uncertainty, wrangling her own thoughts on the matter. She tried to get ahold of her emotions, to calm the traitorous heart within her that still skipped a beat when she looked at the pegasus beside her. She'd known for a long time now that she thought of mares in the same way most other ponies thought of stallions. She'd come to terms with that, had accepted that part of herself and been brave enough to share it with her family and a few close friends. This, though... this was new. She and Dash had been friends for many moons, but it wasn't until recently that she'd started to see that reckless hothead in a new light. She had a charm to her that was effortless, and her loyalty to her friends was admirable. Not to mention her charismatic personality and athletic prowess that served as the icing on top.

There had always been a tension between the two of them, taut as a rope, from when they would butt heads over their group of friends or fight one on one in a number of competitions, the chemistry was always there. Sure, over the years it had been nuanced, nothing but a spark of competitiveness they both had within them that was simply exacerbated in the other's presence, but over time it developed into something that neither one of them could acknowledge out loud, growing and growing until it couldn't be ignored any longer, resulting in the outburst that had happened earlier that day. The rope had snapped. Applejack felt a bit of relief in knowing that she wasn't the only one that had sensed what was between them, but she was still unsure where they would go from there.

"Well..." AJ fought to keep her voice from wavering; it was now or never. The little game of back-and-forth they'd been playing for so many years would just continue if she didn't take a chance and put all her cards on the table. "Dash, I... what happened between us, it—it didn't mean nothing to me. It meant everything."

Rainbow's eyebrows shot up at her statement, but she stayed quiet, allowing her to continue. "You've known that I like mares that way, 'n... I guess over time I started feelin' something for you that went beyond our friendship." Her eyes began welling up at her confession, but she simply sniffled and fought to hold in her tears, determined to speak her mind completely. "I don't want us to just go on like nothin' happened. I want—I want—" Her voice broke as a sob racked her body, and Rainbow slid a hoof around her, considering her with concern as the tears came.

"Shh, shh," She murmured, rubbing comforting circles on her back. "It's okay. Why are you crying?"

"I just—" Applejack hid her face in her hooves as the torrent continued, trying to get ahold of herself. She hadn't expected the fear of rejection to be so debilitating. Between hiccups, she managed, "I'm scared, I guess."

"Don't be. I'm not going anywhere." Rainbow frowned down at her friend, who looked up at her with watery eyes. Her heart clenched in her chest at the sight. She didn't think she'd ever seen Applejack cry before, at least not like this. She'd laid everything bare, and it was only fair for her to be equally honest with her. "AJ, I like you. A lot. Whatever this is between us, it—it's amazing." She ran a hoof through her mane as she tried to capture her feelings in her words. "I don't want us to ignore it, either. I want to try, to see where this goes."

"No matter what," She wiped a tear off of Applejack's cheek. "We'll always be in each other's lives. Whether we're friends, or... something else. Got it?"

"Yeah," Applejack sniffed, the last of her tears subsiding at her words. She hugged her then, tight and unrelenting, and neither of them pulled away for a long while. Rainbow didn't look at her face or try to kiss her, she just wrapped her up in her hooves and held on tight without an ounce of selfishness to it.

When they finally let go, Applejack pressed her forehead to Rainbow's and shut her eyes. "Thank you," was all she said. It was all she needed to say, as the pegasus knew everything left unspoken, whispered into the world with just those two words. The sun had begun its descent to the horizon by then, and despite the subtle darkness befalling them, they stayed under the trees, lit by the occasional glow of a firefly.

They shared a gentle kiss beneath the swaying leaves of the apple trees, and it wasn't until the day had completely departed and night had crept in that they made their way out of the orchard and back towards the farm.

They trotted side by side, complicit in the comfortable silence that had settled over them, until Rainbow spoke up. "Just one thing. Can we promise not to tell everypony yet?"

"Sure," Applejack replied with a questioning lift of an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"Pinkie's gonna lose her mind." She cringed, imagining the pink pony in her mind. "She's gonna scream and tell everyone and throw us a party and make a huge deal out of it and—" She winced at the proposed scenario. "I'd like to avoid that as long as I can."

Applejack hummed in agreement. "I reckon that's how she'd react. This can be our little secret for now."

Rainbow shot her a sly grin and brushed the tip of her wing against her flank, the feathers shooting a tingle up her spine and making her shiver in excitement. When Rainbow saw the reaction she'd gotten out of her, she did it again. This time Applejack came to a halt, her eyes fluttering closed as she suppressed what would have been a very inappropriate sound as they neared the barn. "Stop that," She grumbled through gritted teeth as she got ahold of herself and picked up her pace.

"Alright, alright." The blue mare snickered as she bumped her side into her girlfriend's and stopped just outside her home. "But I'm remembering that for later.

Applejack stomped a hoof into the ground and made her way up to the front door, turning to throw one last glance over her shoulder. "You better." And with that, she was gone.

Once Rainbow was certain she'd disappeared inside, she shot into the air, doing a flip and a few zigzags before letting out a quiet "Woo hoo!" and making her way further into the sky, returning to her home in the clouds with nothing but a certain pony on her mind.

When they finally did decide to tell their friends about their relationship, their reactions were not at all what they'd expected.

"We know, darling," Rarity scoffed, her attention on her newly manicured hoofs not breaking in the slightest. Twilight and Fluttershy nodded in agreement, and Pinkie Pie shot up out of her seat.

"Yeah! It was kinda obvious the way you guys were constantly making googly eyes at each other, and being together all the time, and doing this and that, but I'm still SUUUPER excited that you told us! You know how hard it's been to hold in all that excitement?" Pinkie paused, taking a deep breath in to continue her long-winded rant.

"I'm sure we can guess," Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath.

"Hold on," Applejack put a hoof up to her face, her eyebrows pinched together in exasperation. "You're tellin' me y'all knew already?"

"Um... yes?" Twilight said with an apologetic smile. "What kind of Princess of Friendship would I be if I hadn't sensed the balance shift somehow? It took me a while to figure out what was going on between the two of you, but once I did, it all sort of made sense."

"It's true," Fluttershy added. "You've both seemed so much happier these past few months."

"Huh." Applejack snorted, looking up at where Rainbow Dash was floating with her hooves crossed over her chest beside her. "Well, I'll be. I guess we underestimated y'all." She tugged at Rainbow's hind leg, signaling her to come down and stand next to her. She swung a hoof over her and said, "Since the truths out there 'n all, I guess we don't get to surprise you no more."

"Psh, yeah, thanks for ruining it." She grumbled. AJ relinquished her hold on her and instead used her hoof to tousle her rainbow mane affectionately.

"Chin up, sugarcube. They're happy for us regardless." She leaned in to whisper in her ear, "And I thought you didn't want nopony makin' a fuss over it, anyway?"

Rainbow Dash shoved her playfully in the shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. You know I like the attention."

"I do." She laughed.

"We ARE happy for you two!" Pinkie squealed, hopping over to envelop them both in a tight squeeze. The others joined them shortly after, joining in on the group hug and congratulating the mares. "And I already have a party planned to commemorate the occasion!"

Applejack and Rainbow Dash exchanged a warm, knowing glance at this, reminiscing on the short but wonderful time they'd spent together as partners. They cherished the memories they'd made so far and looked forward to the ones that were to come, basking in the joy they felt in sharing their lives with their friends.

Despite their initial reluctance to jeopardize their friendship, the love that had blossomed between them was something worth fighting for and would hold strong for many moons to come. They had each other, and the two of them could ask for nothing more.

Author's Note:

My first MLP fanfic. Hope you enjoyed. :)

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