Laying in her bed, Applejack stared up at the ceiling. Her thoughts mainly on the date that was going to happen tomorrow, or rather today. Her bedside alarm clock showed that it was 2 o’clock in the morning. No matter how hard she tried to relax, the orange mare just couldn’t bring herself to get to sleep. Tossing and turning at this point was useless, which Applejack was fully aware of. Instead, she got to her hooves and started down the stairs. Perhaps a cup of tea would help. At least, that was what Rarity had often told her.

Which tea did Rarity tell me to use, Applejack struggled to remember, If I remember right it was something like Camel. Think, Applejack, think. Oh, buck it. Ah’ll remember the name when Ah see it. She gave me a few boxes of tea. So, it’ll be one of ‘em.

Opening the cabinet, she looked closely at the labels. Earl Grey, Peach Ginger, Apple Cinnamon, and Chamomile were all there. Somepony had opened the Apple Cinnamon, which she could take three guesses of who it had been. Grabbing the Chamomile, she opened the box and took out one packet. Grabbing the honey that they had gathered over the past two days, she mixed the tea and the honey once the water had boiled. Waiting a few moments, she looked out the window. The sun had yet to wake, which she had always been used to; however, feeling tired and nervous had its effect on a mare. As the minutes ticked on, the mare slowly drank her tea; her eyes still wandering over her surroundings. The herbal smell and taste lulled her mind and she soon felt drowsy enough to go to sleep. Meandering up the stairs, Applejack yawned several times and soon found herself wrapped in the dreams of tomorrow.

As she awoke to the dawning of a new day, the Earth pony grabbed her faithful Stetson and followed her familiar morning routine once again. This time she wasn’t worrying about the harvest, but rather the date that she had set up with Rainbow Dash. Where could she take Dash that would ‘wow’ her? The Dandelion Café was rather dull and Rainbow Dash didn’t do dull. There was that new club that Rainbow had been talking about with DJ-P0n 3. What was it called? Club Tropicana. Yes. That was it. Finding the landline and the phone number, the orange mare turned the dial on the house phone. It took forever to dial with this phone, but it was the only phone Equestria had. It was either that or send a note, which probably took longer. Deciding on the latter, the orange mare continued to make her reservation for tonight. Once booked, Applejack went back to work.

“Applejack,” Big Mac called to his sister.

“Yeah Mac,” she responded calmly.

“We got a problem,” the stallion stated.

“What is it this time,” Applejack sighed.

Noticing the contraption in the middle of the barn, Applejack growled. This was her younger sibling’s doing. Calling for her little sister, she fought the urge to buck this thing all the way to Timbucktu. Sure, the orange mare admired her sister’s talent for building things, but this wasn’t the place to test them out. Applejack and Big Mac already had enough trouble with the harvest and this would just add to that problem. Hearing little hoofsteps, Applejack stood with a stern look on her face as she saw Applebloom turn the corner.

“Applebloom,” the mare said, crossed, “What did I tell y’all about building those darn contraptions ‘verywhere, ‘specially in the barn.”

“Sorry Applejack,” the yellow filly said, “Won’t happen again. Promise.”

“Ya said that last time Apple Bloom,” Applejack warned, “If it does happen one more time, Ah’m gonna ban ya from the barn, alright?”

“But---”

“But nothing Applebloom,” the orange Earth mare stated sternly, “Ah don’t want to see this again. Understand?”

“Got it,” the filly whimpered, “Ah’ll go take it out and destroy it.”

“Good,” the elder sister responded, “I don’t mind ya tinkering, but not here. Big Mac and Ah got a harvest to get done and we don’t need a lesson in how to use the dang thing right now. Ah’m already behind now. Go on. Get. Ah’ll talk more with ya later.”

“Okay,” Applebloom said as she pulled the contraption from the barn and out the doors.

“Now,” Applejack sighed, “Let’s get this show on the road. Big Mac, yer gonna take the west field and Ah’m gonna take the east one. Hopefully get all the apples done in a few hours. Ah got somewhere to be tonight.”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac replied.

As the day drug on, Applejack continued to ponder what was ahead for her. She had never considered a date with Rainbow Dash until now, but it was happening. What was she going to do? She couldn’t ask Granny Smith. Applejack knew that her elder wasn’t too fond of the idea. It would take Applejack hours to convince Granny that she wasn’t a bad pony, just felt more of mares than she did for stallions. It wasn’t as taboo as it was back then because now ponies were more open-minded to the idea of two mares or two stallions together. To be honest, Applejack had never really perished the thought. However, she had never really seen herself being a “fillyfooler.” It seemed odd to her. Continuing her thought process throughout most of the day, the time passed and it was nearing the time for her date.

Ah’ve got an hour to get ready fer this, Applejack pondered, Ah don’t know what Ah’m gonna wear. What should Ah wear? Maybe that dress that Rarity got me for Hearth’s Warming. That’s too fancy...Hm. Maybe that dress that Ah got from Mac that one year. Yeah. It is simple and it’ll be perfect for this.

Opening her closet, Applejack grabbed the off-white summer dress. It was a perfect fit and was just right for this date. Brushing her mane and tail, she removed her faithful hair ties and Stetson. Setting her hat down on her bedpost, the orange mare sighed. She was not ready for this first date. It seemed like it might be her last because of the nerves that she had. The mare looked at the wooden clock that was above the threshold of her door. It was time. She had to be at that club in ten minutes. Running, she headed out the door without really saying goodbye to anyone. Right now all she could focus on was the date that would be waiting for her. Finally reaching Rainbow Dash’s home, Applejack shouted up at her with some flowers in hoof. This was her defining moment as a marefriend to the cyan Pegasus.

“Hey AJ,” Rainbow Dash called down as she began her descent towards the orange Earth pony.

Once Rainbow reached Applejack’s level, the Earth pony felt a small peck on her cheek. A familiar rush of warmth brushed her freckled cheeks red. This was a start to their first date. Trying to find the right words, Applejack just spit out nonsense. Hearing Rainbow Dash giggle, the orange mare’s ears pinned to the back on her head.

“Come on,” the cyan Pegasus said, “We should get going. I don’t want to be late for our reservation. It is hard to get into this place.”

“You’re right,” Applejack replied, finally able to form a complete sentence, “Come on sugarcube. By the way, ya look mighty nice this evening.”

“So do you,” Rainbow responded uncharacteristically.

Alright, Applejack wondered, how am Ah supposed to get through this date? Ah’m at a loss for words and can’t even think straight. Ah ain’t ready for this ‘ere date. Ah must seem like fool in front of ‘er. What am Ah supposed to do?

The two walked in silence towards their destination. Applejack just couldn’t find the right words to say. It had become painfully awkward for the two on this first date. The Earth pony’s pulse was rushing and she felt herself shaking. Despite the amount of times the two had spent together as friends, nothing had prepared Applejack for this. It seemed that nothing could have prepared her for this.

Once they arrived, the young couple walked up to the hostess stand and were greeted by a young tan mare with the hearts as her cutie mark. Stating the reservation name, the Pegasus led the two to their table and set down the menus on the table. Applejack thanked the young Pegasus and pulled out the chair for Rainbow Dash. Once the cyan mare sat down in her chair, Applejack pushed her toward the table and sat down across from her. The music wasn’t too bad at the moment, but that was due to it being too early to party.

The two struck up a conversation and continued the night in semi-peace. Applejack often found herself laughing at Rainbow’s joke and captivated by the cyan Pegasus’ stories that Applejack had never heard before. Finally, the date was almost completed and it had been going great. Applejack’s nerves had finally gone away as the night had continued and the conversations had become more casual. The orange Earth pony had realized fairly quickly that despite their label, the two of them had always had these feelings for each other and they were still friends. It didn’t matter that they had labeled themselves as a couple. The Earth mare found herself barely talking, but rather listening.

Once the date had finished, Applejack paid for dinner and the two walked out the door as the party began to arrive. The two walked out, nearly touching flanks. As they walked out the door, Rainbow Dash pulled Applejack towards her and kissed her on the lips. Returning the kiss, the orange mare felt her heart leap from her chest. That was the first time she had ever felt like this. Truly happy. Of course, that happiness was short lived as she heard a short cough coming from an old mare. It was one of Granny Smith’s homophobic friends from the church they went to.

“Oh shit,” Applejack gasped.

Author's Notes:

Hello everyone!

Yes. I went and completed this chapter. Mind you I'm a bit rusty at writing this fanfiction and wanted to end this chapter with a bang. I'm going to continue to work on this from time to time, but I've got fanfictions on another site. So, I'll work on this from time to time.

I'm just going to say this before the comments go into this.

It will take time to upload the chapters. This one has no edits and will be fairly weird throughout. Please correct my grammar as I am blind to my own errors. And no that last statement was not sarcastic.

Enjoy this chapter for now.