Applejack is a Silly Pony
Applejack had just finished ‘buckin sum apples’ when she noticed her rainbow-maned friend approaching. She tilt her hat and greeted.
“Hey, Dash! How are ya?”
Upon hearing the earth pony’s wonderful country accent, the pegasus put on a smile.
“Hi AJ! You wanna do something? I finished my weatherwork long ago, and I’m tired of napping.”
“Uhh... how can ya get tired of napping? It’s not really tiring. It’s actually a cure for tireness”
“Well excuse me so very much, I meant bored. So, are you up for a race?”
“How could I turn down a challenge from my arch nemesis?”
After battling each other out in all kinds of imaginable competitions, they both collapsed on a hill, just as the day began to come to an end. At first they just laid there, side by side, watching as the sky changed colours - from a light blue pretty close to Dash’s coat, to an intense orange not unlike Applejack’s.
The pegasus broke the long silence.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Yeah...”
Small talking was the only thing they could manage to do, being so exhausted, and as such the conversation went on.
Good friends as they were, they talked about everything and nothing, fully trusting the other to understand and keep it a secret. And so, the topics got more and more personal...“Say, Dash... you ever really been in love with someone? Like, more than just a li’l crush?”
The winged mare just shook her head.
“Pfft, no way! I’m just so busy training for the Wonderbolts... I don’t have time for anyone. And colts are just so... stupid, and selfish. I could never even stand having one as a friend, so I don’t think I could ever want to live the rest of my life with one!”
She chuckled a bit. AJ looked at her, indifferently.
“What about... fillies?”
A look of surprise entered Rainbow’s face.
“Uhh, what?”
“You know, it doesn’t have to be a mare and a stallion...”
Dash tilted her head, giving her friend a funny look.
“Two mares together? Haha, that’s just silly!” the light blue pegasus tried to put on a smile as she did her best to hide the nervousness in her laugh.
“I wouldn’t say that, it’s not much different from ‘normal’ relationships, and pretty common. Haven’t you noticed Lyra and Bon-Bon?” Applejack said in a serious tone.
“Wait, what? Are those two... I always thought they were just very good friends, but it does make sense now that I think about it...”
An awkward silence fell upon them, and seemed to last forever. Until the blonde-maned pony broke it.
“Well, I should be going. I’m really tired, and I have another long day in front of me.”
“Already? The sun hasn’t even fully set yet. Don’t be silly, AJ!” Rainbow teased.
Applejack put on a stern look on her face.
“Well, I guess I am just a silly pony, so you’ll have to excuuuse me.”
She frowned, grunted and trotted away.
Who’s a silly pony?
You’re a silly pony!
Who is?
You is!
Applejack...
Rainbow Dash just stood there, looking confusingly as the orange earth pony walked away. It was not until her friend disappeared into the horizon that she let out a “Oooh!” as the last pieces of the puzzle fell to place.
Even though she felt tired, she couldn’t relax the slightest when closing her eyes. she had too many thoughts and emotions that needed to be sorted out. While this usually is better taken care of by ones unconsciousness while sleeping, it was so overwhelming that she just couldn’t get it out of her head.“Applejack...” Dash sighed.
She couldn’t stop thinking about her. How she always was so brave, strong and hardworking... she was really a good friend. But she was starting to see her ‘friend’ in a completely new way. While she had admired all those aspects before, she had not really admired them like she did now. Or perhaps she had only not dared to admit it to herself.
When AJ had mentioned... it, Rainbow began to feel nervous. Memories from her days back at Junior Speedsters had decided to revisit her mind.
She was pretty much the same back then; stubborn, proud, tough... but also friendly and loyal. That didn’t help her to get many friends though, as she almost always was busy flying. And she certainly had no time for stupid colts! She did get ‘funny’ thoughts about some of her few filly friends though, but she just shook them off as if they were nothing.
Rainbow Dash pondered for a while.
“I guess I’m pretty silly too...” the pegasus said, finally confessing for herself.
At the Apple Farm, a certain orange pony could not sleep, either. She lied about having a lot to do tomorrow, in fact she had the day off - but wanted to go to bed anyway since she didn’t have much else to do, and needed to be alone for a while, be able to think.Applejack had hoped her friend would share her feelings, or at least... be the same way, so she’d have a chance. But judging by Dash’s reaction, that was not the case at all.
“I shouldn’t have assumed that just because of how coltish she is...” AJ pondered for a moment.
She wondered what her friend thought of her, now that she knew her secret. Maybe she didn’t even want to be friends anymore? The earth pony let out a frustrated grunt as the idea hit her.
She finally decided to, tomorrow, ask for RD’s forgiveness, and beg that she would forget that whole conversation. She wouldn’t let some silly feelings destroy her best friendship!
Applejack woke up to someone knocking on the door. She was slightly shocked when she went up, looked out the window and noticed it was light as day. She always rose with the sun- but now it was set relatively high in the sky. She figured it must have been because she was awake so late thinking, when she heard the knocking again. Slightly rushing to the door, she opened it to find her cyan-blue, rainbow-maned friend.“Hi...” Dash managed to say before becoming a bit embarrassed and looked away.
“About yesterday, I-” AJ interrupted her here.
“No, ah... I’m sorry. I just assumed that with all your rainbows and toughness... I have been looking for an opportunity to tell you for quiet a while now, but I was apparently too naive. I should just have kept it to myself, you probably think I’m a creep now...”
“What? No, you’re the same Applejack I’ve always known!” Rainbow Dash put on a warm and convincing smile, looking into her friends deep, green eyes.
“So... we can just hang out, as usual? I’m actually off today, I just lied so I could get away from the awkward situation.” She looked away, feeling a bit of shame for betraying her element of harmony.
“Actually, it doesn’t necessarily have to be as usual... you see, I’ve done a bit of thinking. About... our conversation. I’ve always really liked you, AJ. Much more than any of the others. But it was not until last night that I discovered... no, accepted that I liked you in a very special way. At least, that’s what I think... I’m not sure, there are just so many thoughts and emotions going through me, still.”
They looked at each other in silence for a moment, until Rainbow spoke again.
“Do you maybe... wanna, like, go out? On dinner, a walk, or something?” A blush could be seen on her cheeks..
The orange mare was taken by surprise, but quickly regained her posture. “Ya, that sounds great, sugarcube!” she said as her face was stretched by a big smile.
The pegasus let out a sigh of relief. “I mean, it couldn’t hurt to try... I want to give this... us... a chance.”
Her friend responded by leaning in and placing a soft kiss on her muzzle.
Rainbow Dash blushed even harder.
“Applejack, you silly pony...”