“Hey, Applejack! Where you going?”

“My chores are done. I’m spending the rest of the night with my special somepony.”

There was a long moment of silence, and then Apple Bloom laughed. “You’re yanking my leg! I know you ain’t got a special somepony. You spend all your time workin’ and hangin’ out with Rainbow Dash.”

There was a long, long silence as Applejack just looked at her sister, one brow quirked in a curious arch.

Did she really…not know?

Finally, she shook her head, a hint of a smile crossing her face. “You’ll understand when you’re older.” Her tone was good-natured –cheerful, even- but Apple Bloom scowled anyway.

Everypony was always saying she was too young to understand things, but it simply wasn’t true. If Applejack wanted to have a secret romance, that was one thing. But to say she wouldn’t get it…

That was another entirely.

“I best be going.” Applejack continued, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder and straightening her hat. She had an unusual gleam in her eye, as if something exciting was going to happen; as if she was rushing off to meet her destiny. “Don’t you stay up too late; you were busy today.”

And with that, she trotted down the porch steps and off into the descending darkness, tale swishing behind her.

Apple Bloom watched as her sister hurried off, eyes narrowed. Go to bed?

Fat chance.

-

So she followed.

Apple Bloom waited until Applejack was a good distance away, sneaking off from the porch and heading in the same direction the older pony had gone. She tried to be as stealthy as possible, alternating between glancing after her sister’s surprisingly bouncy silhouette and the ground – There was no way she was going to blow her cover by stepping on a twig.

Instead of heading into town, Applejack made her way deeper into the orchard, the moonlight peeking through the trees creating dappled shadows on her coat. She didn’t hesitate once, even in the face of the darkening night and the spooky shadows; in fact, her gait picked up speed the further she went until she was practically running full tilt, Apple Bloom galloping behind as fast –and quietly- as possible.

Where was she going?

Applejack slowed towards the edge of the orchard, speed decreasing as another figure –shadowed and anonymous- came into view. Apple Bloom paused beside a tree, stepping quickly behind the trunk and peering ‘round it to see what was happening. She watched, breath held, as Applejack paused, nearly prancing in place in anticipation, then barreled forwards, running to greet the other pony.

And still, she didn’t stop; instead veering sharply to the right, her mysterious somepony jolting to life beside her, easily matching and keeping her pace. They wove through the darkness and trees, hooves thundering, tails flying behind them.

Then they slowed, simultaneously, flanks pressed together, as if supporting each other. One of them leaned a little –in the darkness, Apple Bloom couldn’t tell who- and they fell, rolling across the ground in a tangle and laughing together, Applejack’s hat falling, forgotten for the moment.

And there, in that moment, as they tumbled across the grass, familiar laughter echoing through the night -as Applejack rolled on to her back, pulling the other pony down beside her- there, in a sliver of moonlight…

A flash of rainbow.

Apple Bloom felt the world tilt beneath her.

-

The walk back to the farmhouse was silent, save for the occasional rustle of leaves beneath her hooves.

Apple Bloom, naturally, had a thousand and one questions swirling through her mind, but who was there to ask them to?

And besides that…It seemed wrong to speak, now, in this strange, magical hour. As if her voice would shatter the perfect stillness of the precious few remaining hours of Hearts and Hooves Day. It didn’t matter if Applejack and Rainbow Dash wouldn’t hear her. She would hear herself, and that would be enough to spoil it.

You’ll understand when you’re older.

With the way Applejack and Rainbow Dash were always bickering and trying to outdo each other, Apple Bloom didn’t think she’d ever understand.

She mounted the steps, heading for her room, still silent. Even the creaking of a loose floor board seemed wrong and loud.

Even louder still, though, was the question rattling in her mind, bursting to get out: How long has this been going on?

-

Applejack, nestled at the base of a golden delicious tree, Rainbow Dash curled at her side, had no clue her sister had been spying on them.

Not that it would have mattered anyway; there was nothing else in the world at that moment.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t asleep, just lazy, snuggled on her side with her tail fanned behind her in the grass. She looked rumpled, windblown, beautiful, even with her coat covered in a layer of dust and a leaf stuck between the feathers in one of her wings. There was nothing in the world that could diminish Rainbow’s beauty; she was absolutely wild and untamed.

And Applejack loved her that way.

While doing anything with Rainbow Dash was bound to be exciting, it was running with her that made Applejack’s heart pound like a stampede. She wasn’t sure, but the first time they had raced, kicking up clumps of sod, wind whistling through her ears, Rainbow Dash cocky and determined beside her…And when Rainbow looked over at her, smiled, tucked her head low and plowed ahead…Well, that might have been the very moment she fell in love.

But it had not been a momentous occasion; nor had it been a life-altering event. Their mutual feelings had crept up on them so gradually that neither had noticed. Instead, they had slipped easily from something close to something closer, moving on in the natural progression of things, to nopony’s surprise.

There had been no declarations of love; there had been no need for them. It was as if they had just looked at one another one day and knew: I am going to be with her through everything.

Loving Rainbow Dash wasn’t always easy, but it was moments like this –perfect, peaceful moments- that made it all worthwhile.

Until…

Rainbow stirred suddenly, a grin stretching across her face as she sat up, rustling her wings. “Race you back to the house!”

…So much for peaceful.

“Yer on!” But who was Applejack to resist?

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