Applejack stood by the trunk of one of her many apple trees, looking up at the blue pegasus napping on a low branch. On any other day, she wouldn’t think twice before whirling around and giving the tree a solid kick with her powerful hind hooves. Today, she was standing perfectly still apart from a slight flick of her tail and shuffle of her hooves, staring up at the pony of her dreams.

Rainbow Dash had been invading her dreams more and more often and it was becoming difficult not to just stare at her when they met up around town. Something had to be done, but that didn’t necessarily mean it was going to be easy. All day she’d been shifting between hope for and dread of this moment. Now that it was here, she took a deep breath, gave her dread a metaphorical buck in the flank and cleared her throat.

“Uh, RD you awake? I got somethin’ ta talk to ya about.”

A magenta eye peeked out through a cracked cyan eyelid. “This isn’t about that hay bale I borrowed last week, is it? Because Big Mac already chewed me out over that.”

Applejack suppressed a smirk, her brother only went into lecture mode if somepony did something really wrong. “Nah, it ain’t that. It’s a bit... It’s somethin’ else.” It’s a bit personal; she was about to say, but she was afraid that might scare Dash away before she got a chance to get this off her chest.

Dash raised her flank in the air, her wings raked back as she stretched, looking not entirely unlike Opalescence or Winona. Applejack felt her mouth go dry as she watched this objectively innocent act, finding it anything but innocent. The feeling was compounded by every allegorical butterfly in her stomach fluttering to life as she watched Dash spread her wings and glide in a lazy spiral to the ground.

“So, what’s up?” Dash landed a few hooves away, folding her wings away and looking AJ in the eye, awaiting whatever this was. Applejack swallowed and licked her lips, fighting against the dry feeling in her mouth so her voice wouldn’t crack. The delay it provided was just a happy coincidence.

“I wanted ta know...” she started, willing herself to keep her voice steady and calm, “if you’d want ta go out with me sometime.” Her eyes closed involuntarily as she spoke the last five words. Slowly they opened again as she awaited an answer.

The response she got was completely unexpected. “You’re a fillyfooler, AJ?” Dash was staring at her as if seeing her for the first time.

“Well, uh yeah. I am.” Applejack blushed a bit, looking down at her hooves as she scuffed the dirt. “Figured it out a long time ago, when I learned the difference between colts an’ fillies. Weren’t never any colts that turned my head, but I was plenty fond of fillies.”

“Wow AJ, I never would have guessed.” Dash’s expression was unreadable, a mix of many different emotions.

“Never had a reason ta bring it up before now.” She shrugged and then winced as an unpleasant thought entered her head. “Shoot, did I get it wrong too? Y’all ain’t a fillyfooler?” Applejack grimaced looking back up at Rainbow.

“Uh, not exactly. Well, kinda I guess. I like mares yeah, but I also like stallions, so I’m uh... both?” Dash gave an uneasy chuckle and shrugged.

“Oh.” Relief fought with trepidation inside her. “Well, what about my question then?” The cowpony suddenly found her hooves fascinating again.

Dash let out a sigh. “AJ, I just don’t know. I need to think about it.”

Applejack’s ears flattened against her head. “If ya don’t want to, y’all can just say so. I can.. I can take it.” She nearly lost the fight to keep her voice steady.

“AJ, it’s not like that.” Dash winced as Applejack turned her head away. “No seriously, hear me out, okay?” She smiled as Applejack turned back and sat down on her haunches.

“That’s better.” Dash sat down herself and started to explain. “We’re really great friends and we’ve got lots in common, right? Heck, I’m closer to you than I am to ‘Shy and I’ve known her longer.”

“Yeah, I reckon so.” Applejack nodded, perking up a bit..

“And, jeez...” Dash blushed a bit and flicked her tail. “I can’t say I’ve never thought about you like that.” Applejack’s ears stood at attention, hearing that confession. She opened her mouth to respond, but Dash continued.

“I didn’t think you were into mares, but there’s more to it than just that.” It was Dash’s turn to scuff her hoof on the ground now. “I know I haven’t been much of a big picture pony, but I gotta think about more than just me when it comes to dating.

“What if it didn’t work out? Would we still be able to be friends? And that’s not just us either, that’s Twi and the girls and the Elements. What if the Elements stopped working for us because we broke up? I mean, the last guy I dated still gives me dirty looks whenever I have to visit the weather factory and that’s been almost a year now.” Dash brought a hoof to her forehead in exasperation.

Applejack thought it over for a long moment, her face a mixture of emotions. “I think I see whatcha mean, Dash. That is a bundle ta think about.” Applejack dropped completely to the ground, laying her chin against her crossed forelegs.

“But part of me still wants to say yes.” Applejack looked up, Dash had moved closer while her head was down and now she was barely two hooves away.

“Ya mean that?” The earth pony sat back up, looking the pegasus in the eye.

“Yeah, I do. I like you a lot AJ, and I think you do understand the stakes.”

“Reckon so.” Applejack nodded, still not taking her eyes from Dash. “I’m kinda ashamed I didn’t think of it myself.”

“Ponies can do some crazy things when it comes to love, believe me.” Dash grinned sheepishly and AJ blushed.

“So?...” Applejack implicitly asked the lingering question.

Dash smirked. “So, you asked me out, where are we going on our date?”

Author's Notes:

Most stories I've seen put Dash into the lead role in starting the relationship, either having to convince Applejack or finding her willing. I wondered what would happen if their places were reversed, and even more, what if Dash had a legitimate reason to be wary of starting a relationship with her best friend.