"Soooo," said Rainbow Dash, "you're saying you want me to go on a camping trip with you...just the two of us? Together? Alone in the wilderness?"

Applejack nodded in agreement, seeing nothing odd about the invitation. She needed somepony to accompany her on her trip to deliver a shipment of pies to a far-off town, and she needed somepony tough. Applejack knew that she would probably be alright making the journey herself, but she wasn't about to let her pride get in the way of her safety. Normally, Big Mac would fill that role, but he was busy with other errands, and out of all the other ponies fit for the job, Rainbow Dash seemed like the best option.

Applejack thought nothing more of the invitation. "Yup, it'll just be us two. I need somepony to accompany me for safety's sake."

Rainbow Dash gave Applejack a contemplative look, slightly raising one eyebrow as if trying to read her mind. "Alright," she replied hesitantly, "I'll go with you."

Applejack smiled. "Thanks, RD, I really appreciate it. You know how someponies are. Normally I'd go myself, but I wouldn't hear the end of it if I didn't get somepony to go with me. Granny Smith would have me tied up like a hog in a hog-tyin' competition."

"Yeah, yeah, no problem," Rainbow Dash replied nonchalantly. She wasn't about to let her odd suspicions of Applejack's romantic feelings for her get in the way of remaining loyal to her friend. She would, of course, remain reserved and watch how things panned out. She still wondered why Applejack chose her for the job, though. Out of all the other ponies she knows, she chose me as her first option?

"Well, alright then! I'll get everything packed up within the hour. You can meet me at my home then."

"Sure thing, AJ. Do I need to pack anything?"

"Not much. Make sure you bring a cozy blanket or two for us though. The nights can get awful cold out there."

A cozy blanket? Cold nights? thought Rainbow Dash. There's definitely something up with Applejack... "Okay," Rainbow Dash replied. "Is there anything else I should bring?"

"Nope," she replied with a grin. "I've got everything else covered. You just rest up while I get ready."

The ponies said their salutations and went their separate ways. Applejack, happy to have found somepony to go with her on this journey, trotted home contentedly. If she didn't find somepony on such short notice, the entire delivery of pies would go to waste. She was just thankful to have such a loyal friend to be there for her.

Alone in her home in Cloudsdale, Rainbow dash paced nervously. "Okay, okay..." she said to herself. "Applejack just needed somepony to help her out, that's all. She said it herself: Big Mac is busy, and I was her first choice after that. Nothing more to it...right?"

Rainbow Dash wasn't entirely convinced with herself and stopped her pacing. Big Mac...busy with other things? Does he do anything else besides work on the farm with his family? Rainbow Dash thought contemplatively for a few moments trying to think of the things Big Mac does with his free time.

"...Okay, I've got nothing..." she said to herself with an exasperated sigh. "Maybe he is busy with something else. How in the hay should I know? He isn't exactly the most talkative or social type...but...why was I her first choice after Mac?"

The nervous pacing once again started up. "Why not Pinkie Pie? Or Twilight?"

The thought of Fluttershy or Rarity accompanying Applejack on her perilous journey didn't even cross her mind. Those ponies wouldn't last a single night without having some sort of major freakout. But, Twilight had powerful magic on her side, and for Pinkie Pie...well...she was just Pinkie Pie. If anything bad happened to them, Rainbow Dash was sure Pinkie Pie would find some crazy way of getting out of it.

But Applejack didn't choose them. She chose Rainbow Dash. I mean, I am awesome and all...but I'm not exactly the camping type... she thought to herself. True, she had gone on camping trips before, but not like this. This was going to be work. She'd have to carry a bag slumped across her back that would be too heavy to allow her to fly.

"Ughhh," Rainbow Dash sighed. She hadn't realized upon accepting the invitation that she wouldn't be able to fly. She thought momentarily about making up an excuse for why she couldn't go, but there was no turning back now. Sometimes Rainbow Dash wished she wasn't so dang loyal all the time. She had accepted her friend's request and there was no way in Equestria that would get her to take it back.

Not even a sneaking suspicion of undesired romantic feelings from her completely platonic friend...

It was early afternoon when the two ponies had begun the long trek away from Ponyville and towards the region south of the Hayseed Swamps. Applejack towed a large wooden cart behind herself, seemingly with ease even though it looked extremely heavy. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash carried a small pack with bags hanging off each side, filled to the brim with supplies they would need for the journey. It felt extremely heavy to Rainbow Dash, even after just a couple hours of walking, but there was no way she was going to ask for less weight. Especially not to Applejack.

But she was dying of exhaustion, and hatched a plan. "Hey...Applejack?"

"Yeah, RD?" she replied.

"I've...gotta say, it's pretty impressive that you can carry so much weight behind you like that. You earth ponies are tougher than you look."

"You sayin' we earth ponies don't look tough?" Applejack said with a raised eyebrow.

"No no no," Rainbow Dash quickly replied, "I'm just saying...it's impressive, is all."

Applejack gave her a perplexing look. Rainbow Dash, givin' me compliments? "Thanks," she replied flatly, surprised at the sudden compliment from her highly competitive friend.

But Rainbow Dash had a good reason for going against her normal self. She didn't go out giving compliments to anypony without a really good reason, and this time, she really did. Although it didn't seem to have worked. She had hoped that Applejack would have taken the compliment as a challenge and offered to take some more weight off her back, but apparently she had not.

Instead, Applejack was left wondering: Is Rainbow Dash hitting on me? Applejack shuddered inwardly at the thought. Not out of disgust or anything, just in surprise. She didn't pin Rainbow Dash as the type of pony to swing that way. Although...she was rather tomcoltish. And so am I... Applejack suddenly realized, and a look of shock appeared on her face momentarily. Did Rainbow Dash really have feelings for her? Do I have feelings for Rainbow Dash? she thought, immediately answering herself with a no. Or do I...

Rainbow Dash, looking sullen and dead tired, trotted tiredly alongside Applejack as they continued on their long journey into the Hayseed Swamp as the sun began to set behind them. Rainbow Dash put aside her seemingly unlimited desire for competition and stopped moving. "Should we look for a place to hit the hay?"

"Sure," Applejack replied. She wasn't exactly that tired yet, but she could see the pegasus was starting to grow a little weary. Or was she just pretending to be tired to get some extra daylight hours in to spend alone with her instead of going straight to sleep? What are you thinking, Applejack thought to herself. Rainbow Dash, pretending to be tired? There wasn't a thing in the world that would get Rainbow Dash to look tired short of...well...actually being tired. Still, it wasn't even that late yet. The sun was a ways above the horizon, but Applejack gave her the benefit of the doubt. It would be nice to rest and talk awhile as friends in the peaceful, quiet wilderness surrounding them.

Rainbow Dash began unpacking her bags next to a medium sized boulder, taking out a single Wonderbolts blanket. Applejack eyed her worriedly. "Hey...RD?"

"Yeah, Applejack?" she replied, pulling out a pillow, also branded with Wonderbolt imagery.

"Where's my blanket?"

"What do you mean, you told me to pack my own stuff."

"You didn't pack me a blanket?"

"No."

"I told you to pack us some blankets."

"Well, I heard you tell me I just needed to pack for myself. What's a pony to do?"

Applejack momentarily had a desire to get angry at her friend, but decided against it and sighed. "Well, it ain't gonna do us any good arguing over who said what. Looks like we'll be sharing."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. Yup, she definitely didn't tell me to pack two blankets, knowing I'd only pack one and this would happen. She's definitely got some feelings for me... "I guess so," she said with a sigh. Applejack definitely had a plan in mind when she picked Rainbow Dash, so it seemed.

It was going to be an interesting night.

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