> Technicolor Love
>  by PinkiePiePlease
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Close Calls
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is my first fanfic. Parts of it are a pretty risque so if that's not your thing you might not want to read. I think it's worth the read though so please enjoy.

Technicolor Love

Applejack lazily sniffed the fresh spring air that whisked by her nose as she gently dangled her four hooves beneath her. She did not know how she came to be there, up in that tall tree, but she found the position to be unbelievably relaxing. She laid in silence for what seemed to be several hours before opening her eyes and gazing below her.

The branch she was laying on was suspended over a pond that resonated a deep blue in the light of a midday sun. Applejack yawned lazily and frowned as a sudden feeling of discontent washed over her. One second, she was perfectly happy and the next moment she felt oddly mournful, even angry. These feelings twisted suddenly into fear and regret. She did not know from where these emotions came but she felt them tear through her body, leaving her in turmoil.

She laid still however and, as time went on, she felt these feelings dissipate only to be replaced with profound sadness. Applejack could do nothing but gaze down into the pond as a solitary tear poked out of the corner of her eye. It rolled down her cheek and dripped off her chin to create a ripple in the blue water below. She opened her mouth and let out an audible sigh.

As the loud breath escaped her she heard a pleasantly old and rickety voice next to her ask, "What's wrong Darlin'?"

Applejack turned her head from the pond to peer at her Granny Smith. She was perched on the branch next to hers in the same lazy fashion. Her face, however, showed a kind smile in light of Applejack's tumultuous emotions.

Applejack sighed again and responded slowly and simply, "Ah don' know."

She then shifted her weight to the side and gently rolled off the branch. Rather than plunge to the blue waters below, Applejack drifted down. The air seemed to carry her on a soft current, and she proceeded to gently float in a circle above the water. As she floated, she turned to her side and let one of her forehooves skim the top of the water. All this she did with her face puckered up in contemplation. From above she heard Granny say, "What do ya mean Ah dunno ya silly filly? How can ya be sad 'thout knowin?"

A moment passed in silence as Applejack continued her circuit of the water. Her reflection gazed up at her from the rippling blue as her hoof produced tiny waves in the water. She was finally able to say, "It feels like somethin's missing. Ah don' know what though."

From above Applejack suddenly heard Granny Smith cackle. Applejack looked up and frowned angrily and demanded, "What'so funny?"

Granny stopped her laughing and said, "Yes ya do too know wat yer missin. You just don' wanna admit it."

Applejack scowled and demanded, "And just what in tarnation is that?"

Granny Smith just smiled and said, "Wake up. It's time fer Zap Apples!"

Applejack's eyes flashed open to see Applebloom jumping up and down in excitement on the bed. "Wake up Applejack! Granny says the crows came in the night, and the Zap Apples are ripe fer pickin'." Applebloom's smile showed her bursting over with excitement.

Applejack just moaned and rubbed her eyes with her hooves. Then two realizations came to her at the same time. One was that the Zap Apples needed to be picked. The other was that Applebloom had come into her room without asking again. She opened her eyes again and scowled at Applebloom saying, "What have I told you 'bout comin' in here 'thout asking ya little Wipper Snapper?"

Applejack shooed her little sister off her bed. Applebloom fell off and landed on Winona, sending her into a barking fit. Applebloom rubbed her rump and said back in derision, "Don' be mad at me. Granny sent me ta come get ya."

Applejack whisked her golden mane out of her face and launched off the bed to land on her little sister. She jabbed her hooves into Applebloom's sides and began tickling her. They rolled on the floor for several minutes with Applebloom laughing herself to tears. When Applejack finally let up, Applebloom swore she would knock next time. She then took off downstairs. Applejack stayed back and got out her brush. She quickly brushed the bed head out of her mane and put on her red hair tie to hold it together. She grabbed her signature Stetson and put it on her head, pulling down the lip to make it tightly fit.

Before heading downstairs to join the rest of her family, she stopped in front of her mirror. Seeing her reflection caused her briefly to remember the dream she had just had. It reminded her of how she had seen her reflection in the water of the lake. All at once, the sinking feeling she had had in her dream came back to her, and she suddenly felt a little depressed. "What was that all about Ah wonder?" she said silently to her reflection. She heard Applebloom call her name from downstairs, and she snapped out of her thoughts. She sighed the same defeated sigh she had had in her dream and trotted out of her room and down the stairs.

She was greeted in the kitchen with a breakfast of pancakes and apple juice. Applebloom was standing up in her chair and eating as fast as she could. Big Macintosh, having gotten up earlier, was almost finished himself. Applejack smiled at the festive family scene before she received a rough nudge in the flank.

"Get yer tootin palootin rear in gear little missy! We got Zap Apples ta harvest and only a day ta do it." The jabbering nonsense got Applejack to laugh. She might have hit her back if Granny Smith weren't so old that they were all scared of breaking her. Instead, Applejack just sat down and had breakfast with her family.

At the same time, in the far corner of ponyville away from Sweet Apple Acres, Rainbow Dash fluttered her eyes in greeting to the first rays of sun that were peeking through the eastern windows of her cloud. Normally, she would have slammed her eyes shut and gone back to sleep for several more hours. She never really considered herself completely rested until at least noon. Today though she had promised Applejack that she would help with the Zap Apple harvest.

Rainbow Dash threw her wings out and banished the cloud blanket she had enveloped herself in. She jumped up and did a full body stretch in the air. She didn't know why, but she was almost giddy with excitement. She was usually so groggy right in the morning, but the thought of spending the day with Applejack gave her unusual enthusiasm. She was about to burst out of her window when she stopped herself cold and wondered aloud, "Why am I so excited?"

She stopped flapping her wings and settled back down on her bed. She stared out her window to the horizon. It was still a pale orange, but it was growing brighter by the moment. Rainbow loved sunrises, but she almost never saw them because of how late she would sleep. She tried pondering for a moment as to why she was so excited but very quickly lost herself in the beauty of the sunrise. She simply stared in awe for several moments. The deep orange penetrated the clouds in the distance and made the entire landscape seem surreal. Without thought, Rainbow Dash said aloud, "It's beautiful, just like her coat."

As soon as the words had left her mouth, Dash brought both her hooves over her lips and glanced around the room as though afraid someone might have heard. She felt her face turn scarlet as she thought to herself, "Did I really just say that?"

Before she could answer herself, she jumped up and took off through her window to Sweet Apple Acres. As she flew, she avoided all thoughts of what she had just said and instead looked at the city of Ponyville as she flew over it. Almost nopony was awake at that early hour. The only other pony Rainbow Dash saw on her way to the ranch was Ditzy Doo doing her rounds. Rainbow Dash waved a hoof at her as she flew over. Ditzy promptly responded by throwing both her forelegs up and waving back. This caused her to dump her satchel on the ground and made a lot of mail pour out.

Rainbow Dash just chuckled at Ditzy's antics and kept flying. Nopony else would be awake except the Apple family. Rainbow chuckled to herself again as another thought struck her. Applejack was probably one of the first ponies awake every day while she was probably the last. Now she was up before Celestia herself to work. "Well, not quite before," she said to herself as she again looked at the sunrise and saw that it was losing the orange hue that had captivated her earlier.

The town came and went and soon she came to the outermost orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. A broad smile sprang to her face as she noticed the Zap Apple trees that were growing in a secluded section separate from the other trees. Only the day before the apples on the trees had been a dull gray and ugly to look at. They had been by no means been made prettier by the ugly black leaves that had hidden the fruit. Now, however, the apples were a brilliant assortment of colors. Each and everyone showed the seven colors of the rainbow from one end of the spectrum to the other. Rainbow Dash could already feel her mouth watering at the thought of tasting the delicious jam that would be made from them. She sped onward until at last the Apple house came into view.

Applejack was just then exiting her house to go to the day's work. She stopped in her tracks and looked up to see a streak of brilliant colors in the sky. She could not believe her eyes as she watched the cyan pegasus pull up to a stop in the air and land in front of her flashing her big smile. Right then, she felt her heart flutter uncontrollably in her chest and her previous feelings of disappointment disappeared.

The pegasus opened her mouth to say something but stopped on seeing Applejack's expression. Her mouth was hanging open in disbelief. Rainbow Dash laughed and struck a pose while saying, "What's wrong AJ? Are you too stunned by my awesomeness to even say hello?"

Applejack snapped her mouth shut and shook her head. "Nah, Ah'm just stunned ya came so early. Ah never seen you awake this early. What's the occasion?"

Rainbow Dash chuckled and said, "Don't you remember? You asked me to come help you with the harvest. You only get one day to do it and all."

"Ah know that, but I still didn' 'spect ya ta come so early. You never want to work so Ah's countin' myself lucky if ya showed up at all."

Rainbow Dash laughed. She stood up on her hind legs and crossed her forelegs in front of her chest while saying, "Work? Ha! This Earth Pony business will be easy peasy. We'll clear that entire field in ten seconds flat."

It was Applejack's turn to chuckle as she asked, "You got any bread under that butter darlin'?"

Rainbow Dash's cheeks reddened a little as she admitted, "Well, maybe just a little bit more than ten seconds." They both laughed.

Applejack walked by Rainbow Dash and jabbed her in the flank saying, "Well Ah guess we otta get ta workin' then. Big Macintosh and Applebloom have already gone to start buckin'."

Rainbow Dash grinned, "Heh heh, yeah I guess we ought to." Her smile persisted as she trailed Applejack. While following, she could not help but admire Applejacks hind legs. Unlike any other stallions or mares she had ever seen, Applejack's and her brother's legs were corded with powerful muscles that gave them a very definitive shape. It must have come from the years of apple bucking. Rainbow Dash considered herself to be the best athlete she knew but she secretly envied Applejack's strength. She looked down at her own legs. They were much thinner and not nearly so defined. This was, of course, a trademark for most pegasi who spent the majority of their time in the air or sleeping as Rainbow Dash did. This still left her with the feeling that her legs were thin, almost ugly.

Rainbow Dash looked back at Applejack's legs. To her, they were so much more powerful. So much more . . . beautiful. Rainbow Dash felt her eyes getting lost in the hind legs. They moved so fluidly and with such determination. Her eyes drifted up Applejack's legs to her flank. Her walking drifted to the right so she could get a better view of her thigh. She silently marveled at the definition of her flank, at the way her cutie mark slid over her strong muscles.

Just then the sliding stopped and Rainbow Dash was interrupted with a question, "Now why is yer mouth hangin' open?"

Rainbow's eyes shot to Applejack's as she stuttered, "Huh, what?"

Applejack laughed and explained, "Yer mouth was hangin' open like ya'll were thinkin' bout somethin'. What were ya'll thinkin' bout?"

Rainbow Dash tried very hard to keep her face from turning a bright red as she said,
"Oh, uh, you know, just some boring old stuff."

"Sounds interrestin', what kind a stuff?" Applejack prompted.

Rainbow Dash bit her lower lip as she tried to think of an answer. She lied through her teeth, "I was thinking about how good all those Zap Apples will taste. Heh heh. I'll bet they're going to be hooflicking good."

Applejack turned forward again and responded, "No need ta worry. Ah'm sure they will be." Applejack answered seriously but she knew something wasn't right. She wasn't the element of honesty for nothing. She could tell Rainbow Dash was lying. She pondered as they walked over why her best friend would be lying. She thought to herself, "If she isn't thinking about Zap Apples, then what is she thinking about? And why was she looking at me like that?"

A sudden realization swept through Applejack the moment she asked the question to herself, "She was looking at me." Applejack did not dare turn around to look at her friend as she felt herself blushing violently at the thought. It just simply couldn't be. Applejack could feel her insides churning with the thought of the possibility that Rainbow Dash might be looking at her in that way. She felt a cacophony of feelings sweeping through her and many of them confused her. She felt scared, very scared. Nopony had ever looked at her the way Rainbow Dash just did. She also felt confused. Rainbow Dash was a mare and mares aren't supposed to look at eachother like that. She understood very well the fear and confusion she felt but another feeling tore through her that she would never have expected; hopefulness.

She kept facing forward as she thought. They were nearing their destination in silence, and she was thankful for that. Little did either suspect that they both avoided conversation for similar reasons. She wondered again as to why she was so hopeful. For just a second, Applejack entertained the thought of Rainbow Dash liking her and vice versa. She felt her face pucker up into a mixture of a smile and a pout. She smiled because, just in that second, that dream seemed to be happy. The pout took over and came in full force as she immediately dismissed the idea. Mares weren't supposed to be together like that and she was probably just fooling herself in the first place. Rainbow Dash probably felt no such feelings about her. She was just thinking of something else she didn't want to tell Applejack was all it was. She hung her head and sighed silently, scoffing herself for even thinking of such a thing.

Applebloom suddenly burst around a tree and asked, "How come ya look so glum Applejack? It's time fer Zap Apples!"

Applejack broke from her reverie and found herself surrounded by the black trees that bore the colorful fruit. Her frown instantly broke away as she saw the beautiful fruit. She didn't know why but she very much loved the rainbow colors of the famous fruit. It always reminded her of the day she got her cutie mark. She followed that rainbow home to the orchards that could grow this beautiful fruit.

She looked to her right as Rainbow Dash came to a stop next to her. The cyan pegasus was looking up at the colorful fruit with her mouth hanging open. Applejack chuckled when she noticed a bit of drool dripping from the corner of Rainbow Dash's mouth. "Maybe she really was thinking about Zap Apples," Applejack thought to herself. She felt the sick feelings return to her stomach as she considered the thought, but she put on a smile as she asked her best friend, "So do ya wanna jus' fly up there and rustle the branches 'til they all fall off?"

Rainbow Dash noticed she was drooling and sucked it up quickly, hoping that nopony had seen her. She turned to Applejack and grinned sheepishly. She looked down at her legs, noted how skinny they looked and looked back up to Applejack and said unusually softly, "Actually, I was wondering if you could show me the way you get the Apples out by kicking them."

Applejack chuckled and responded, "What, ya mean buckin' 'em?" She eyed her friend from top to bottom and said, "Ah don' know. Apple buckin' is tough business. Ya could really hurt yourself."

Rainbow Dash suddenly felt like her pride was being attacked as Applejack doubted her. She sprang up in the air and said challengingly, "Are you doubting the number one athlete in all of Equestria? I bet by the day's end that I'll be even better at bucking apples than you."

Applejack gave a sly grin and said, "Oh yeah sugarcube? Well alright then. I'll show you how to back 'em apples, but we'll just wait til the end a the day ta see who bucked the most."

Rainbow Dash gave a sly grin herself and asked, "We're doing a race then?"

Applejack slammed her right fore hoof into the ground and responded with determination, "Oh yeah sugarcube."

Just then Applebloom piped in and said, "A race! Woo, yeah. We're gonna have heaps a fun today! Ah gotta go to Big Macintosh." With that, Applebloom scampered off further into the orchard, supposedly to where her brother was.

They watched her go as Rainbow Dash landed in front of Applejack and asked, "So can you show me how to buck the apple trees then?"

"Oh sure, of course. Uhh, right this way." Applejack lead Rainbow Dash to the closest tree and positioned herself in the prime bucking distance. She looked At Rainbow Dash to get her attention and explained, "Now, the big trick is ta put yerself at the proper distance." In a quick movement she hiked up her hind legs and planted her hooves against the tree. "Ya gotta make sure that yer far enough away that yer hind legs can extend all the way and plant solidly like this."

She brought her legs back down and nudged forward a few inches. She brought her hind legs up and balanced them against the tree again. This time they were propped much closer to the base of the tree. Applejack caught Rainbow Dash's eyes again and explained, "If yer too far away though, ya'll will come up too short and hit too low. That'll make ya pull muscles." Her legs came down again and she stepped back closer to the tree than before. She swung them up and bucked as hard as she could. She hit the tree hard but only a few apples shrugged from their branches and fell. She motioned her head behind her and said, "If ya try ta buck 'em too close then ya'll won't get full power and they won't fall."

Rainbow Dash chimed in, "I got this stuff down. Now move over." Applejack made way for Rainbow Dash and watched her position herself. Rainbow Dash put herself a bit skew from the tree and a little too close. Before Applejack could say anything, Rainbow Dash threw up her legs and kicked back. Only one hoof planted, barely causing the tree to shudder, while the other missed it entirely and went right by the tree, causing her to lose balance and fall over in the grass. Applejack couldn't help but chuckle at her friends mishap, earning her a quick glare from Rainbow Dash. Before she could make an indignant remark, Applejack helped her to her hooves and moved to position her.

Applejack threw her hoof over Rainbow Dash's shoulder and guided her to the appropriate distance. Rainbow Dash allowed herself to be moved around. While Applejack had her arm around her, she marveled at its strength. She found it oddly comforting to have Applejack's arm around her like that and she was almost morose to have it taken away. That feeling washed away instantly as the arm around her shoulder was removed only to be placed on her flank. Applejack had stood up on her hind legs and grabbed Rainbow Dash's rear to position it correctly towards the tree. Rainbow Dash just looked straight forward and gasped slightly. She felt her stomach become extremely warm and constricted as Applejack stood behind her and held her. She bit her lower lip hard as she felt moisture beading between her hind legs.

The hooves on her rear suddenly disappeared, and she heard Applejack say, "There ya go Dashie. Now wind up and give 'er a good buck."

Rainbow Dash shook her head, making sure Applejack didn't get a good look at her discolored face, and kicked as hard as she could. The adrenalin of her current situation gave her more energy than she usually had, and Rainbow Dash tried desperately to banish the feelings she was having. Both her hind hooves connected with the tree and she felt the wood shutter behind her. All around her, technicolor apples fell in appropriately positioned baskets.

Applejack whistled, "Woowee! Ya got every one. Ah didn't think ya had it in ya on the very first try. Good fer you sugarcube." It was then that Applejack noticed that Rainbow Dash was panting. She craned her head to get a look at Rainbow Dash's face and saw that she was very red. "Uhh, Dashie, are ya okay?"

Rainbow Dash jerked her head away and said, "Nothing. I'm fine."

"But yer all red and. . ." Applejack was cut off by Rainbow Dash turning and running to another tree and bucking it as hard as she could. She was not quite as successful with the new tree as the prior one and had to buck it twice to get all the apples down. She immediately sprinted to the next tree and bucked the apples out of that one too.

Before she moved on, she called out to Applejack in the steadiest voice she could muster, "Are you gonna get working too or am I gonna have to do all the work for you? I've already bucked three trees, and you've got none."

Applejack laughed at the challenge and said, "Oh no ya don't Rainbow Dash. No way yer gonna win this." The race was on and a more energized competition could be found nowhere else in Equestria at that moment. All of the baskets had been set and all the ponies had to do was buck the thousand Zap Apple trees before tomorrow. It usually took Applejack and Big Macintosh the entire day to pick the Zap Apples and even then some of them would get missed sometimes. Applejack was glad to have Rainbow Dash helping. It would mean all the difference.

The hours passed by quickly as Rainbow Dash and Applejack zipped from tree to tree working as fast and as hard as they could. Due to the awkwardness of that morning, they did not say anything to each other the entire day except to maybe make a jibe at each other here or there. Applejack was used to the hard physical labor and was bucking trees at a rate of about one every forty seconds. Rainbow Dash however was not nearly as fluent with the labor and while she had had a quick start, she gradually lost steam throughout the morning. She knew there was no way she could keep up with Applejack, but she did not give into the temptation of giving up. She just couldn't. She wanted desperately to be strong like Applejack was.

Five hours of unbelievably grueling labor passed by and the sun had just reached its zenith. Rainbow Dash had bucked over two hundred apple trees while sprinting as fast as she could between each one. Just as she was closing in on her three hundredth tree, she felt her vision going blurry. She brought a hoof up and wiped a thick sheen of sweat off of her forehead and looked around. All of the trees seemed to be moving and dancing about her. She tried to balance herself and make her way to the next tree but stumbled and landed face first into the ground.

She clutched at her stomach and rolled over to vomit on the ground. The trees kept dancing around her in circles and she began to feel very dizzy. She shut her eyes and felt her entire body cringe. She felt very ill. In the distance, she very vaguely heard the rattle of a triangle being struck. It was the Apple family call to lunch, but her mind could no longer conjure such understanding. She could only lay there and lose herself in delirium.

Applejack heard the triangle as well. She had just kicked her 350th tree. She was completely drenched in sweat and could not believe how exhausted she was. "There's no way Rainbow Dash coulda kept up with these here numbers. Why, Ah've never worked so hard in my life Ah don' think." She smiled to herself in satisfaction and wondered just how well the pegasus had fared. She would have been ecstatic if Rainbow Dash had done as many as half the number of trees she had done. That would mean hours of less work for her.

She slowly made her way over to the farm for her lunch. Double timing the way she had left her unbelievably sore. As she walked, she spotted a flash of color through a thicket of the trees. More appropriately, she spotted a pile of colors on the ground that wasn't under a tree. Applejack chuckled and trotted over. She figured that Rainbow Dash had gotten bored and tired and had laid down for a nap.

Her smile disappeared after she closed the gap between them however and found Rainbow Dash shivering. Shivering of all things. She sprinted the rest of the way, feeling a knot of fear tightening in her stomach. When she got to Rainbow Dash she was horrified to find a pile of vomit next to her. Her entire blue coat was flushed pink, and she was shaking uncontrollably. Applejack had never seen it before, but she remembered hearing about the likes of this from Big Macintosh once when he had warned her about working too hard. Rainbow Dash was suffering from a heat stroke.

Applejack felt her heart racing and tears springing to her eyes as she bent down and shouldered Rainbow Dash onto her back. When she felt she had a good hold of her, she sprinted back to the farm as fast as her exhausted hooves would allow her. She was running even faster tired and with Rainbow Dash on her back then she could ever remember running. All the while she shouted at the pegasus on her back saying, "Stay with me Dashie! C'mon girl, you can make it. Oh Celestia Dashie, keep breathing girl. Don' worry 'bout a thing little missy. We're gonna have ya right as rain in no time at all." She said the words with every ounce of conviction that she could possibly muster but her eyes were flooded with tears dripping with the sweat on her brow. If she knew anything about heat stroke, she knew that a pony could easily die from it if her friends didn't act fast.

She cleared out of the orchards and saw the family farm just ahead. Applebloom and Big Macintosh had already sat down with Granny Smith for a meal of corn bread and apple pie. They all looked up to see Applejack approaching at a fast gallop and calling, "Quick everypony we gotta run an ice bath fer Dashie! She collapsed of a heat stroke, and now I think she's seizin' up."

Applebloom and Granny Smith sat still for a moment, neither immediately grasping the situation because of their youth and advanced age respectively. Big Macintosh immediately jumped from the table yelling, "Oh no! C'mon Applejack, we gotta move."

Big Macintosh flew into the house and went right to their freezer. He grabbed out a large pail of ice from the market and flew into the first floor bathroom and dumped the contents. Applejack came in right behind him as he was turning on the water. "Don' wait fer the water. Throw her in."

Applejack cantered to the side of the tub and dumped the shivering Rainbow Dash in the water. After a few seconds, her shivering became even more violent until her eyes burst open. They were bloodshot, confused, and frightened. She wildly looked about the bathroom and tried to spread her wings. She flailed wildly, trying to get out of the tub and started screaming, "I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!" over and over again.

Big Macintosh tried holding her down and grunted loudly when he received a sharp kick in the side of his head from both of Rainbow Dash's hind hooves. He looked over at Applejack and said, "We have to calm 'er down or else she's gonna kill 'erself."

Applejack nodded and slammed her two fore hooves on Rainbow Dash's wings to keep her from flapping out of the tub. This only drove her to a new level of insanity though as she flailed even wilder than before. Big Macintosh lost control of her hind hooves again, and she brought them up for another solid kick in the side of his head. Big Macintosh stopped fighting with her right then and simply flopped over backwards, unconscious.

Without Big Macintosh holding her, there was no way Applejack could hope to keep Rainbow Dash in the tub. She frantically decided to do the first thing that popped into her mind. She launched herself in the tub of freezing cold water and wrapped Rainbow Dash's entire body in a tight hug. She squeezed her forelegs around her neck and her hind legs around her lower back. She clung so hard that Rainbow Dash's frantic flailing could not hope to remove her. Her own body was shaking violently as her chest heaved from sobs of utter despair. Through the pain of her own ragged breathing she shouted into Rainbow Dash's ear, "Ya can't die on me Dashie! Ya just can't. Ah love you Dashie. Please don't leave me." She choked, "Ah love you."

After two minutes that felt like two hours of endless thrashing, Rainbow Dash finally ceased her dreaded movement. She stopped moving all together. Applejack opened her eyes which had been shut throughout the ordeal and sat up to look at her best friend. Her breathing was slowly turning back to normal and her face was no longer contorted in pain. Right then, in that freezing cold water, she looked almost peaceful. Despite being so cold, Applejack turned off the faucet and hugged her friend close again, making sure to keep her face above the water.

After a minute of collecting her breathing in the freezing water, Applejack felt a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up to see Granny Smith standing over her. Her face was full of love and concern, but her voice was still stern as she said, "There's no point in the both of ya gettin' sick. Yer Dashie's calm now so you can let her be a moment."

If the water weren't so cold, Applejack might have blushed from hearing Granny Smith call Rainbow Dash her Dashie. She got out of the tub and shook off the freezing water while Granny Smith wrapped her in a large, warm towel. Applejack thanked her and glanced down with a worried look at her brother who was still sprawled out on the floor. Granny Smith saw her concern and instantly dispelled it by saying, "Don' fret none over his tough skull. He's taken a lot worse than this little filly. He'll be up in a couple hours ta finish with the harvest."

Applejack responded, "Nah Granny Ah'll just go finish myself. He shouldn't have ta work none anyways with how he got hit."

Granny Smith's response took Applejack back a moment, "Most certainly not young missy. You are gonna stay here the rest of the day ta take care of yer Dashie."

Applejack winced at Rainbow Dash being called her Dashie again and this time she was certain the blush was more evident. She stuttered, "But what if Big Macintosh don' feel like harvestin' when he gets up?"

Granny Smith next sentence almost did not register in Applejack's head as she said, "Those Zap Apples can rot fer all Ah care." She turned Applejack's head back to the tub and stated with unarguable conviction, "Makin' sure the filly ya love is safe is way more important than a silly crop a apples."

Applejack opened her mouth to argue, to shout, to say anything contrary to Granny Smith's bold statement. All she could do however was cry and wrap her Granny Smith in a hug almost as tight as the one she had given Rainbow Dash. She cried into her shoulder for a solid minute before she was finally able to shutter a weak, "Thank you, Granny."

Granny Smith pushed Applejack back and said, "Yer Dashie has been in the tub long enough. Why don' ya dry 'er off and take 'er ta yer room. After this ordeal, she's gonna need a friend ta hold 'er when she wakes up."

Applejack sniffed and nodded and dropped the towel she was wrapped in to pull her Dashie out of the tub. Her breathing had evened out and now she seemed to only be shivering from the chill of the water as the pink hue that had tainted her blue coat had left her. Applejack dried her off as best she could and shrugged her onto her back. Before heading up to her room, Applejack turned to Granny Smith and asked, "Where's Applebloom?"

Granny Smith explained evenly and simply, "Ah sent 'er to 'er room. She's too youngin ta be seein' other ponies die."

Applejack blanched and shivered as she was again hit with the cold reality of what had just transpired and of how close Rainbow Dash, her best friend, had been to death. Without another word, she burst into a trot out the door and up the stairs to her room, making sure that her little Dashie didn't fall off or hit anything on the way.

When Applejack finally got up to her room, she shut the door. Rainbow Dash was still a little wet, but Applejack didn't care. She pulled back the blanket in her bed and slipped the blue pegasus in. As soon as Rainbow Dash had left her back she started shivering harder. The words that Granny Smith had spoken rattled around in her head, "She's gonna need a friend ta hold 'er when she wakes up."

Applejack bit her bottom lip as she looked at her friend in her bed. Applejack wanted nothing more right then than to hug her close and keep her warm until she woke up. What worried her was how Rainbow Dash would react. She could not believe she was admitting it to herself so brazenly after completely refuting the idea that same morning but she loved Rainbow Dash. She loved her with her whole heart. She just couldn't come to terms with that until Rainbow Dash was so close to death. Now she knew in her heart that there was no way she could go on ignoring her feelings for her closest friend.

She felt a sudden sickness in her stomach then, the same sickness that had been following her throughout the day, the same sickness that had haunted her in her sleep. She felt it more powerfully than ever before. Now she knew the source. She realized right then that what had been missing from her life had been the mutual love of her best friend; this boisterous blue coated, technicolor maned sweet and lovable, tomboyish pegasus who had been her companion and competition for so long. The only thing that stayed her hooves from approaching was the thought of her forwardness causing her to lose her best friend. The only thing Applejack could imagine being worse than not having the friendship she wanted with her best friend was the idea of not having a friendship with her at all. She felt her shoulders beginning to bob as tears of indecision rolled from her eyes.

Just when she felt like her heart would bottom out from despair she heard a shaky voice come from the bed. Applejack's eyes shot up to see Rainbow Dash looking at her weakly. The shivering pegasus said, "A-Applejack, I'm c-c-cold."

Applejack did not give another thought to her actions. She launched into the bed and grappled her Dashie in a tight hug and cooed, "Ah know sugarcube. Ah know. Shh, shh. It's gonna be okay. Applejack's here. Applejack's got ya." Applejack reached down and pulled her blanket up and over their heads so it completely surrounded them in a warming cocoon.

Rainbow Dash pushed harder against Applejack, trying to snuggle even closer and stuttered in her ear, "I-I m-m-managed to get get t-two hundred and and ninety four trees bucked."

Hearing Rainbow Dash talking like the apple contest was still important pushed Applejack over the edge. She had tried to look strong for her Dashie, but she felt like it was her fault that her best friend had gotten into this. Applejack buried her head into Rainbow Dash's shoulder and cried long and hard. Rainbow Dash, feeling as taken with emotion as Applejack was, cried into her shoulder too. Their tears and the chill of the cold bath stacked onto the exhaustive day very quickly caused both ponies to fall asleep in each other's embrace.

It was not until several hours later that Rainbow Dash finally awoke. When she first became conscious, she felt more comfortable than she had ever remembered feeling in her entire life. She had spent her entire life sleeping on clouds or in trees. Never once had she slipped into a warm bed with another pony to keep her warm. It took her a moment of wondering why she was so comfortable before she remembered where she was and who she was with.

Her heartbeat quickened and she suddenly became very aware of the weight and pressure of Applejack's legs wrapped around her body. Rainbow Dash started to breathe faster as an excitement she had never felt before began to well up in her. She felt the area between her rear legs moisten again, only this time that spot was in direct contact with the sleeping Applejack's thigh. Her heart was racing now as the pent up sexual energy in her body bubbled over to bursting. She could not contain herself as she felt her hind legs tighten around Applejack's thigh. Her mind screamed at her to stop, it wasn't right, how could she be doing this to her best friend, but her body ignored her mind and she felt herself very slowly rubbing her midsection against her best friend Applejack.

She could not believe how good it felt. She was seeping heat now and she felt sweat beading on her forehead as she tried desperately to continue her heinous actions in silence. She could not contain herself however, and a stifled moan escaped from her pursed lips. Applejack heard this moan and woke up to the feeling of the hot and sweaty mare rubbing up against her. In the darkness, under the covers of the blanket she had pulled over their heads, she could not even tell if Rainbow Dash was awake or asleep. What her Dashie was doing to her caused her heart to race and the same intense heat and moisture she felt against her thigh quickly sprang between her legs. She wanted so much to answer her friend's advances, but she was deathly scared that her friend was actually asleep and only doing what she was doing subconsciously.

Finally Applejack couldn't take the pressure anymore. The heat, the desire, it was too much for her. In a very shaky and nervous voice she said, "Dashie."

Rainbow Dash immediately stopped what she was doing and her entire body flushed with unbelievable shame. She burst into tears and pushed away from Applejack, falling from the bed. She stammered, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Oh my Celestia, I'm so sorry." With that she turned and bolted for the window.

Applejack saw the hot shame on Rainbow Dash's face and finally knew the answer to her question for certain. She knew the shame her best friend was feeling, for it was the same shame she felt; the shame of wanting so much to have what one should not even consider having. Applejack saw Rainbow Dash's attempt to flee, to abandon the love the both of them wanted so badly to have. Applejack, however, had decided earlier that day that she would be there to hold her friend, and there was no way she was going to let her slip away from her, not when she had come so close to losing her.

Applejack leapt from the bed and tackled Rainbow Dash's hindquarters just as she opened the window. Rainbow Dash made a brief struggle to escape but was quickly overturned by Applejack. The orange mare pinned the blue pegasus to the floor and held her there by her wings. Rainbow Dash looked up at her friend, the shame still evident in her expression as she awaited what she was sure would be a violent and well deserved thrashing. This was not to be however.

Applejack bent down over her best friend and engulfed her mouth in the most passionate kiss imaginable. Her little Dashie was a little slow to respond, but she felt all of the worry, all of the fear, all of the shame, and all of her inhibitions flow from her in that instant. She kissed back with equal intensity as she reached up and pulled the orange mare into a tight embrace. There was no misunderstanding each other's motives now as they let their reason slip away and they lost themselves to their secret desires.

Applejack pulled away from Rainbow Dash only briefly to say, "On the bed."

Rainbow Dash responded by rolling Applejack on her back. She stretched out her wings and flapped them until she was aloft. She gently flew over, Applejack in tow, to the bed where they had started, refusing to break from the magical kiss again.

With the added comfort of the bed they squeezed together until their hot, moist midsections met in a delightful mesh. Their beautiful kiss broke apart then as they both began gasping for air. Their lungs seemed unable to keep up with the intense exertion as the two fillies pressed into each other and rubbed their clitorises together with devilish need.

They struggled and sweated against each other for several minutes until Applejack felt the pressure building in her abdomen first. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she felt herself climax into a rocking orgasm that made her eyes roll back into her head. She lost herself in delirium for a moment and Rainbow Dash was left to go on her own tempo. She went faster and faster until she felt herself building to her own climax. Her breath started coming out in squeaks until she finally felt herself release.

Rainbow Dash was not done however. She had wanted this so badly and she did not mean to stop until she was finished. She continued rubbing and sliding against Applejack with all her might. The Earth Pony surfaced from her temporary stupor to the feeling of her sensitive area being continuously ravaged. She felt torn as the tenderness left her feeling more pain then she could bear while at the same time creating even more pleasure than she had had before. She looked up at Rainbow Dash whose eyes were closed and her mouth hung open heaving from the exertion and pleaded, "Please Dashie, no more."

Instead of stopping Rainbow Dash merely opened her eyes and stared into Applejack's emerald orbs. She bent down and gripped her in a powerful kiss and would not let go. She slid faster, her body demanding more air than she could get through her nose, but she would not let go. Applejack felt herself getting light headed as she received less and less air to sustain herself. At the same time, their pace picked up, and the lack of oxygen pushed them to over the tenuous edge.

Suddenly both ponies started whimpering as they both came to a second climax at the same time. Their kiss ended as they felt the existential peak of their lovemaking fulfilled. The moment was so gratifying that they simply collapsed into each others arms and fell asleep again, neither pony having the energy to form even a coherent thought in the wake of what they had done.

The two had so much enjoyed their intimacy that neither of them had been privy to the presence of another body in the room. Standing in a now open doorway was Applebloom. She was splayed out on her rear with her mouth hanging open from what she had just witnessed. She heard Granny Smith's voice calling from downstairs to snap her from her shock, "Are those two young fillies gonna come down and eat their dinners?"

Applebloom suddenly jumped and backed out of the room, hoping that neither her sister or Rainbow Dash had heard her Granny. She reached up and shut the door, for once really wishing that she had just remembered to knock first rather than burst into Applejack's room like that. Her face was flushed with fear and confusion as she walked downstairs and told her Granny that they were too busy sleeping.

"Did Rainbow Dash seem ta be doin' any better?" asked Granny Smith with a touch of motherly concern in her voice.

Applebloom gave a blank stare to her dinner of carrots and lettuce and said, "It looked like she was feelin' better Ah guess."

Granny Smith smiled, oblivious to the state of the shaken Applebloom, and asked Big Macintosh who sat at the table as well, "Did ya get the rest of them apples bucked dearie?"

Big Macintosh smiled and said, "Eeyup. There weren't many left. Rainbow Dash near worked 'erself to death. She bucked more trees than Ah did fore lunch. An this was her first time doin' it. When Ah got back to them there weren't more than a hundred er so left. Ah spent most of my afternoon just gatherin' some of the baskets."

"That's good dearie. Ah was hopin' none a them went ta waste." She turned to Applebloom and asked, "Are ya excited ta be makin' Zap Apple jam with me again tomorrow? We still gotta paint the pink polka dots ya know."

Applebloom forced a chuckle and said, "Uh, yeah Granny. It's gonna be tons a fun."

Granny Smith heard the tremor in her voice when she spoke this time. She stopped her eating and asked, "Is somethin' wrong dearie?"

Applebloom put her face down and silently responded, "No." Then a thought struck her and she said, "Well, there is somethin' that Ah wanted ta ask ya."

Granny Smith gave a gentle smile and prompted, "What's that Applebloom?"

"Well, ya know how colts and fillies are supposed ta get married and all?"

Granny Smith looked at her carefully and said, "Yes?"

Applebloom bit her lip before finally asking, "Well, could two fillies get married an be tagether like that?"

Big Macintosh suddenly choked on some of his food at hearing the question and had to excuse himself from the table. When Granny Smith was left alone with Applebloom she asked her, "Now why does yer silly filly self be askin' a question like that?"

Applebloom avoided eye contact with her Granny but continued as she said, "Ah was wonderin' cause Ah saw Applejack an Rainbow Dash cuddlin' close to each other like my momma and pappa used ta." She looked up at Granny Smith with a face that seemed hurt and confused and asked, "Why would they be doin' that Granny? They aren't like a momma and a pappa."

Granny Smith thought very carefully about what she would tell her granddaughter. She was suddenly worried about how much Applebloom had seen of Applejack and Rainbow Dash together but she did not dare pry those images from her for fear of making her feel even more worried or worse. After a moment of silent contemplation, she said very seriously, "If Applejack and Rainbow Dash were cuddlin' tagether like a momma and a pappa, that means they're in love. Sometimes friends can become even closer than usual an they can fall in love 'thout meanin' ta."

Applebloom sulked in her chair for a moment, absorbing what her Granny had just told her and asked, "So that's why Applejack an Rainbow Dash were tagether like that? They love each other?"

Granny Smith smiled, despite her own uneasiness and said, "I jus' spose yer gonna have ta ask them fer yerself aren't ya. Ya can ask them when they get up, and then ya can tell me. I'd like ta know if they're in love too ya know."

Applebloom would have been very skeptical about asking, but her worries lessened greatly on hearing in how cavalier a manner her Granny was taking what she thought to be rather traumatizing information. Big Macintosh came back into the room, and they finished their meal in silence, making sure to save some leftovers for Applejack and her friend.

A few hours passed and, upstairs, Applejack was the first to wake up from their excursion. She looked through bleary eyes at her technicolor lover in her arms and yawned. She brought a hoof up to rub an excessive amount of dried tears and sleep from her eyes so she could better look at her Dashie. She gently brought her hoof down and stroked her wild, colorful mane lovingly. Applejack marveled at how happy she felt. It was as though the world had slowed down on their account and everything that was wrong had righted itself just for their sake. She wished nothing more than to just exist in that comforting moment forever.

Her stroking brought the blue pegasus in her arms to life and Rainbow Dash opened her vermillion eyes to be greeted by Applejack own emerald orbs. She smiled wide and whispered, "Good morning Applejack."

Applejack laughed softly and said, "It's not quite morning sugarcube. How're ya feelin'?"

Rainbow Dash stretched her legs out a bit and yawned herself and said, "Pretty good, now that I'm with you." They shared a mutual blush and came together into a brief kiss. Rainbow Dash broke from it and asked, "What all happened? I don't remember much. I was bucking apples and before I knew it I fell over and lost consciousness." She closed her eyes as she thought and went on, "Then I woke up next to you and we were cuddled so close together." She felt her face turn red as she remembered losing herself, "And I started rubbing you and you woke up and we just made love." She opened her eyes again and looked at Applejack with wonder and asked, "It was so wonderful, but it all happened so fast. How did we end up together like that?"

Applejack hugged her Dashie close and regaled her with the whole tale of how she had gone into heat shock and been put into an ice bath to bring her temperature down and how she had been so cold and so desperately needed someone to be by her. She explained, "Ah couldn' bear the thought of losin' ya Dashie. Ah love you so much. Ya woke up in that bed fer just a moment an told me how cold ya'll were, and Ah just lost it. Ah jumped in bed with ya an cuddled ya close an it made me so happy knowin' Ah was keepin' ya warm." She felt her eyes get wet as she went on, "An then you told me 'bout how ya'll had bucked two hunerd an ninty four trees all by yerself. Ah can't believe you worked so hard." She gave Rainbow Dash a serious and scolding look and asked, "Why in tarnation would ya go an work yerself so hard like that. You had us so worried. Granny Smith thought ya'll were gonna die. It was a stupid competition, but Ah still can't believe ya'll would do that."

Rainbow Dash frowned and explained, "I didn't do it because of the competition. I just wanted to be strong and powerful like you are. You work so hard, and it shows so clearly. I feel so weak and insignificant next to you. I guess I wanted to impress you so you would like me better."

Applejack kissed her Dashie again and said, "Ya never had to prove anythin' to me Darlin'. Ah already thought ya'll were the best an strongest friend anyone could hope for."

Rainbow Dash blushed a little and smiled. After a moment of quiet she meekly said, "I'm glad I did what I did though. If hadn't worked myself like that than we may never have come together like this." Rainbow Dash's smile twisted into a wry grin as she said, "Besides, you're a pony worth almost dying for." Applejack responded only with a nuzzle.

Then there came a loud rumbling from Rainbow Dash's stomach. Both ponies looked down and realized that neither of them had eaten since morning. Rainbow Dash hadn't eaten at all that day. Applejack snickered and said, "C'mon Dashie. Let's go get somethin' ta eat." The two rolled out of the bed and nearly collapsed on their legs from being so sore. They grunted through it however and made their way downstairs.

They came into the kitchen and found Applebloom sitting on a chair with her head rested on the table. She glanced up at their approach and said, "Granny said she saved some supper for ya'll. It's in the 'frigerator."

Applejack dug into the refrigerator and pulled out the leftover carrots and lettuce. She dished it out on two plates, and she and Rainbow Dash seated themselves opposite Applebloom to eat. With both of them being so hungry, they tore into the food with ravenous appetite. All the while they ate, Applejack noticed that Applebloom stared at the pair with a very curious and contemplative stare. She finally asked her little sister between bites, "What are Granny and Big Macintosh up ta?"

Not breaking her curious stare she responded, "Granny is nappin' an Big Macintosh is out gatherin' the baskets a the Zap Apples." She dug a hoof in her cheek as though in deep contemplation and asked very directly, "Are you an Rainbow Dash in love big sis?"

Both ponies stopped eating and eyed Applebloom seriously. Rainbow Dash looked questioningly at Applejack and Applejack shrugged. They turned back to Applebloom and Applejack asked, "Now why are ya askin' a question like that?"

Applebloom looked down at her lap, suddenly regretting asking the question and hesitantly explained, "Ah, Ah was wonderin' cause I saw you two in bed tagether earlier and you were doin' stuff that Ah thought only fillies and colts could do." Rainbow Dash and Applejack blanched in horror but Applebloom went on very calmly to say, "Ah told Granny that ya'll were cuddlin' like momma an pappa used ta and ya'll seemed so happy." She looked back up from her lap with a curious and confused expression and said, "Granny said that if ya'll were cuddlin' like that then you must be in love. Then she told me ta ask ya'll myself so thats what I'm doin'."

Applejack stood up from her seat and rounded the table to Applebloom. As she approached, the smaller filly cringed like she had said something wrong. Applejack did not hit her or do anything unpleasant though. She reached up and pulled her little sister out of her chair and cradled her in a warm embrace. Rainbow Dash also rounded the table and sat behind the two.

Applejack hugged Applebloom close and whispered in her ear, "Yes it does. Rainbow Dash an Ah are in love."

Applebloom smiled to herself with her face buried in her sister's shoulder and asked in a muffled voice, "Does that mean she's gonna come around more an be like another sister?"

Applejack beamed at the question and turned around to her lover and asked, "Ah don' know. What do ya think Rainbow Dash? Ya think you would like to come around more often an be like a sister ta Applebloom?"

Rainbow Dash felt a tear well up in her eye. It had been a long time since she had been part of a family. She turned the sisters around and surrounded them both with a tight hug, squishing Applebloom in the center. She looked them both in the eye and said, "I think I could handle being a sister to you little squirt. You're a good kid and all." Rainbow Dash grinned mischievously, "But if you want to be my sister, you're going to have to learn how to be cool like me. I'm not going to be a sister to any slacker."

Applebloom weaseled a hoof into a salute and said happily, "Ah won't let ya down Rainbow Dash! Ah'll be the best sister ever." They all shared in a great bout of laughter.

From a doorway, Granny Smith peered into the kitchen and smiled at the scene. She felt like crying she was so happy. She sighed to herself and went back to her chair to continue her nap. She laid back and said out loud to herself, "Ah'm glad my little dearie found what she was missin'." She cackled to herself and whispered, "Always follow your dreams."

Thank you so much for reading. This was my first fanfic, and I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave critical comments if you thought I maybe could have done something better. I have some other ideas for fanfics if any of you would like to read more of my stories. This one only took a couple days for me to write so I'm sorry if it wasn't the best.