"Get yer apples here!!! Fresh, delicious apples!!!" Appleboom shouted towards the passerby's. She was standing in front of Caramel's Apple Cart, the orangish colt doing his best to fill his customers' orders as the sun hit the center of the sky, signaling that it was lunch time. Applebloom shouted with glee as she spotted her big sister in the crowd "Hey Sis'!!! What you doin' in town?" Applejack smiled and trotted over to her, giving her a gentle hug.

"I'm just relaxin' after a bit of apple buckin'," Applejack said, pulling away and smiling "Gonna go see Rarity for some chitchat, you need anythin?" Applebloom shook her head, smiling

"Nope! You have a good day Sis'!" Applejack nodded, turning and heading back down the street. She was happy that business was picking up, seeing as how winter was coming up soon and the temperature had already begun to drop. Most ponies wouldn't want to bother themselves with the cold so they could buy apples. No, the sales HAD to go on in the warm months.

She hummed quietly to herself, ponies moving about the street, buying, selling, browsing, or otherwise chatting it up with their friends. She was just about to turn onto the street where the Carousel Boutique was located when she heard a familiar voice calling out to her

"Applejack, darling! What brings you into town this fair day?" Rarity said as she waved from a nearby street-bench, sipping some tea casually. Applejack tipped her hat to her and shouted back

"Well howdy Rarity! Ah was actually just on mah way to see ya! You gotta moment?" Rarity patted the empty spot next to her and spoke with glee

"But of COURSE dear! Come, sit down and we'll talk." Heading over, Applejack climbed up onto the bench, turning to face the street and nestling down on her belly, tucking her front hooves inward. Rarity smiled as she sat and said "Well, tell me, how are you today?" Applejack shrugged, an indifferent expression on her face

"Purty alright ah guess...work was a bit rough today but, nothing ah can't handle!" Rarity nodded and smiled, but frowned as she saw that Applejack's eyes had shifted towards the ground, the corner of her mouth twitching. Rarity had always been a master of intricate and delicate detail...and it wasn't just with dresses. She cocked her head, smiling as she spoke with a delicate tone

"Applejack dear...are you alright? You seem distracted." This earned her a surprised look from the country mare who felt a blush creeping across her cheeks. She grimaced a little, looking to her left at a flower nearby...a cyan flower. She sighed and muttered

"Just gotta few things on mah mind is all...it's what ah wanted to come talk to ya about..." Rarity nodded, gently waving with her hoof and whispering

"Go on, go on." Applejack sighed, tipping her hat back and looking up towards the sky and saying

"Well...ah've been feeling a bit...differently, bout of our friends and ah know you're in touch with all them froo froo feelins' and all so..." Rarity sighed, shaking her head at the apple mare

"Really darling, you don't have to be such a brute! Feelings aren't something that are girly or...ugh...froo froo. They're a part of who you are darling. Now what do you mean...differently? Surely you're not saying you don't like one of us as a friend anymore!" Applejack sighed and look down towards the ground mumbling

"Well that's just it...ah don't know how to feel bout' it anymore. It's not somthin' ah'm used to feelin'..." Rarity frowned and dipped her head, mumbling as well

"it's so awful...I only wish that whatever it is...that you'll resolve your problems with us soon..." Applejack looked up, confused as she said

"Now hold your horses, ah didn't say ah had a problem with anypony..." It was Rarity's turn to look confused, raising an eyebrow at the apple mare.

"Well..." Rarity began, "if you don't have a problem...then what do you mean by feel diff- ooohh...." Her eyes widened as Applejack blushed, pointing a hoof at her and saying with a loud voice

"Now don't you go gettin' the wrong ideas ya hear? Ah only said ah felt differently bout' her and that don't mean what ya think! Ah don't even know what to call it so...that's why ah came to see ya. You know more bout' this than ah do, so that's that!" Rarity nodded as Applejack said her piece, putting a hoof to her chin and letting out a low "Hmmm..." She nodded as she turned her eyes back to her friend.

"Well...how exactly DO you feel? Can you describe it at all to me?" Applejack sighed, looking towards the ground and muttering

"Ah...ah don't know. Whenever she's around...I can't think, mah mind wanders. Ah'm always helpin' her up when she goes and busts her flank, and carin' for her when she's hurtin'. Ah feel more...attached to her, and when she leaves a part of me really, REALLY wants her to come back...to spend time with me or....somethin'" Rarity looked like she was going to cry, shaking her head at her friend as she gave her a look of comfort and whispered

"Oh Applejack...that's beautiful!" Applejack looked up, raising an eyebrow and muttering

"What in tarnation you on about now?" Rarity smiled and put a gentle hoof on Applejack's back, whispering excitedly

"Oh darling, I think you're falling in love!" Applejack's eyes widened as the word 'love' slowly made its way through her brain, the connection being made.

She blushed heavily, looking back towards the ground with wide eyes as she breathed

"O...oh." Rarity gave her a comforting pat, watching as other ponies walked by, attending to their own worries and needs for the day. They sat in silence for awhile, Rarity giving Applejack a moment to think about what she said and Applejack still too dumbfounded to say anything. It was another few minutes before she spoke in a questioning manner "Ah...ah love Rainbow?" Rarity's jaw dropped at this, her eyes growing wide as she breathed

"You're in love with Rainbow Dash!?" Applejack blushed a darker shade of red as she pointed her hoof at Rarity again and shouted

"Hold your horses! Ah...ah still don't know if ah even love her!!! Ah...don't know what to think alright?! Ah need to think..." She sighed as Rarity nodded, hopping off the bench and giving her a comforting hug, whispering

"There there dear...it's ok. You can't rush feelings like this. Give it time...take a walk, eat something, mosey around town. Maybe spend some more time with Rainbow Dash today...see if you do really like her, ok?" Applejack nodded as Rarity pulled away, giving her a small wave of goodbye and trotting away.

Applejack sighed, actually wishing that Rarity hadn't left. She didn't want to be alone with this...she didn't know what to do.

"Rainbow Dash...Rainbow Dash..." She muttered a few times, trying to feel how the name sounded in her head. She thought long and hard about her, her wings, her talents, her mane...her body. She felt her breath catch and she blushed like mad, bopping herself with her hoof and shaking her head. "Lam sakes...I need somewhere to breathe and think...but where?"

~~~

Twilight Sparkle hummed as she moved about, using her magic to levitate a dusting feather and clean a few of her bookcases. It was one of the days she had set aside for herself, away from her studies, to actually do some work around the library. She heard a knock at her front door and she called out "Spike!!! Can you get that?!" Hearing his name, Spike ran from the kitchen with a simple

"Uh huh!" and ran for the door, opening it wide and smiling. "Well hey Applejack! What brings you to the library today?" Applejack smiled a little and tried as best as she could to hide the sad and confused look in her eyes as she said

"Ah was jus' comin' by to see Twi'...she here?" Spike nodded and stepped aside, letting the country mare walk in. Hearing the door shut, Twilight turned her head to see who it was and smiled, exclaiming with glee

"Hey Applejack! It's good to see you! What brings you by here today?" Applejack sighed and sat at the wooden table, head in her hooves. She looked up after a moment and said

"Well...ah needed someplace to think...and ah figured 'well the library is where ya go to think and stuff' so..." Twilight stopped dusting, trotting over to her friend and asked in a concerned voice

"Is everything ok? You're not in trouble or anything are you, cause you know I can get Celestia to pull some strings..." Applejack chuckled and shook her head

"Naw...it ain't nothing bad. Really it's somethin'...somethin' ah just need to think bout' for awhile. Why don't ya sit down Twi', Ah'll tell ya all bout' it."

Twilight sat down, looking over to Spike and muttering

"Could you get us some tea?" Spike nodded and ran for the kitchen, Twilight turning her head back to Applejack and asking with a smile "Well? What's up?" Applejack sighed and looked towards the table as she spoke

"Ah...ah've been feeling a bit different towards Dash lately..." She looked up with her eyes, a blank look etched on Twilight's face. "Ya know...as in liking her..." Twilight still looked confused. "As in...liking her MORE then a friend?" Twilight's mouth opened for a second and she let out a tiny

"Oh...Oooohhh!!!!" Applejack facehoofed, groaning

"Why in tarnation is everypony makin' that noise?" Twilight looked stunned, cocking her head in confusion and muttering

"How many other ponies know?" Applejack shrugged, looking up at Twilight and muttering

"Well jus' you n' Rarity...but she made that same noise too, like it was some great mystery that had done been solved or somethin'" Twilight shrugged as Spike came out with the tea, pouring her and Applejack a cup. Twilight took a sip and let herself savor the flavor for a moment before looking up at her friend

"You know Applejack...ponies don't pick up things automatically, unlike Pinkie Pie...sometimes we really need things spelled out for us." Applejack took a sip of her own, carefully balancing the cup on her hoof and sighing

"Yeah...ah know. It's just that...ah'm really confused right now...ah don't know if ah really have taken a fancy towards her..." She reached a hoof out to the fruit bowl that rested in the center of Twilight's table and asked "Can ah have an apple?" Twilight nodded as Applejack sighed, pulling the shining morsel from the basket and taking a bite, talking as she chewed "Ah'd just like to know...ya know? Rarity thinks spendin' more time with her might make me feel a little bit more clear about how ah fe-"

BANG!!!

"UGH! Finally! Enough of that boring stupid uncool classroom, I thought I was gonna die from the bo- what the hay!?" Rainbow Dash had burst into the library, her voice causing Applejack to gasp and tilt her head back, the unchewed piece of apple she had just bitten off lodging in her throat. She started to choke, her hooves flying up to her own neck as Twilight burst up from the table, shrieking

"Oh my gosh, Applejack!!!" Rainbow Dash rushed over as her friend struggled to breathe, coming up behind her and wrapping her front hooves around her middle.

"Don't worry I got ya!" Rainbow shouted, heaving her front hooves up into Applejack's stomach, trying to give her the Heimlich. Applejack was blushing like crazy as she felt her back rubbing itself roughly against Rainbow's chest, feeling herself getting pulled into her crush's hooves. Twilight could only sit back on her haunches in utter shock and blushing terror, her hooves over her mouth. Rainbow Dash gave another heave and sighed as Applejack spit out the large chunk of apple, the piece bouncing away on the library floor. Rainbow Dash smiled "Whew! That was a close one...good thing I was here other wise you would have been toast! Right Apple...jack?" She hadn't even noticed Applejack running from the library, her face the same color of the apples she bucked.