Applejack's POV

If this trip got any worse, I was gonna throw myself into the woods and let nature take me.

We had been stranded for four hours, and just when Twilight managed to hitch us a ride into town, it started pouring rain—thick, heavy raindrops pounding against the truck roof like Celestia herself was laughin' at us.

"Welp," I muttered, watching the downpour from the truck window. "This just ain't our day."

Rarity groaned dramatically. "Ugh. Rain? Now?! This is an absolute nightmare!"

Twilight sighed. "Statistically speaking, the chances of this happening—"

I cut her off. "Twi, if ya' say 'statistically' one more time, I swear—"

Pinkie gasped. "WAIT. DOES THIS MEAN... WE'RE HAVING A HORROR MOVIE MOMENT?!"

Fluttershy whimpered. "P-Pinkie, please don't say that..."

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Alright. Look. We need to find shelter now."

Rainbow smirked. "AJ, you say that like we're about to get struck by—"

BOOM.

A massive lightning bolt lit up the sky.

Rainbow flinched. "...Okay. Maybe you're right."

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, ya' think?"

After walking through the rain for twenty miserable minutes, we finally found an old cabin tucked away in the trees.

It looked old. Like real old. The wooden beams were cracked, vines crept up the walls, and the front porch creaked under our weight.

Rarity gasped. "We are not staying here."

Twilight crossed her arms. "Rarity, do you want to sleep in the rain?"

Rarity dramatically placed a hand on her forehead. "If it saves me from this monstrosity, then yes."

I ignored her and pushed the door open. It creaked like a dang horror movie, but at this point, I was too tired to care.

The inside wasn't too bad. Dusty, a little damp, but at least it had a fireplace and a few old couches.

Rainbow kicked the floorboards. "Hey, this place isn't terrible. It's kinda cool."

Fluttershy whimpered. "I-It looks haunted..."

Pinkie grinned. "WELL, THEN IT'S PERFECT!"

Twilight clapped her hands together. "Alright. We'll stay here for the night. Tomorrow, we find an actual way to the cabin we rented."

I sighed. "Fine by me."

We all started settlin' in, wringin' out our clothes and claimin' spots to sleep. The fire crackled, fillin' the space with warm light.

For the first time all day, I let myself breathe.

Then—

Pinkie gasped.

"Oh my gosh. We're all alone... stuck together... in a tiny cabin... overnight."

She grinned.

"WE HAVE TO PLAY TRUTH OR DARE AGAIN!!!"

Rainbow groaned. "PINKIE. NO."

Too late.

Pinkie already had the bottle out.

It started simple.

Fluttershy picked truth and had to admit that she secretly named every squirrel she met.

Twilight picked truth and still refused to tell us who she had a crush on.

Rarity picked dare and had to go outside in the rain for a whole minute (she screamed the entire time).

Then, of course, it was my turn.

Pinkie grinned. "Applejack... truth or dare?"

I sighed. "Dare."

Pinkie's eyes gleamed. "I dare you to share a sleeping bag with Rainbow Dash tonight."

Silence.

My stomach flipped.

Rainbow choked. "WHAT?!"

Rarity gasped. "Oh my stars!"

Fluttershy covered her mouth.

Twilight looked way too amused. "This is getting interesting."

Pinkie smirked. "Hehehehehe."

Rainbow scowled. "PINKIE. WHY."

Pinkie shrugged. "Because I can."

I swallowed hard. "Uh. Well. I mean. We don't have enough blankets, so—"

Rainbow's face turned red. "AJ, do not try to justify this."

I crossed my arms. "You scared, Dash?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, you did not just say that."

I smirked. "I did."

She groaned. "Fine. FINE. It's just for warmth. Nothing else."

"Of course," I said smoothly. "Nothin' else."

Pinkie cackled.

And that was how I ended up stuck in a way-too-small sleeping bag with Rainbow Dash.

Help.

Now, let me tell ya' somethin'.

Rainbow Dash cannot sit still.

At all.

We had been lying there for ten minutes, and she had already shifted fifteen times.

I sighed. "Dash, for the love of Celestia, stop movin'."

"I can't help it!" she hissed. "This bag is small!"

I groaned. "Well, maybe if you didn't sleep like a tornado—"

"Oh, excuse me, Miss Perfect Sleeper."

We glared at each other.

And then—

The storm outside got worse.

The wind howled, trees shook, and the thunder rumbled so hard it rattled the walls.

Rainbow, who was definitely not scared (she totally was), tensed slightly.

I smirked. "You alright there, Dash?"

She huffed. "I'm fine."

Another loud crash of thunder.

Rainbow jumped.

I raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

She crossed her arms. "I said I'm—"

Then, the power went out.

The fire flickered. The entire cabin fell into darkness.

And Rainbow Dash immediately grabbed onto me.

I froze.

Like. Completely froze.

Because Rainbow Dash—my rival, my competition, the girl who never backs down from anything—was holding onto me.

For a second, we didn't move.

Didn't say a word.

And then—

She pulled back way too fast. "I—uh—shut up."

I smirked. "I didn't say nothin'."

She muttered something under her breath and turned over.

But as I lay there, staring at the ceiling, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Her hand on my arm.

Her warmth pressed against my side.

And, most importantly—

The fact that I didn't mind it.

At all.

Rainbow Dash's POV

I couldn't sleep.

Not because of the storm. Not because we were stuck in a creepy old cabin.

But because Applejack was right next to me.

Like—way too close.

Like—if I moved even a little, we'd be touching.

And I didn't know why that was messing with my head so much.

I mean—who cares, right? It's Applejack. My rival. My biggest competition. The one person who has been annoying me since we were kids.

And yet—

I swallowed.

I could hear her breathing, slow and steady. The fire had almost burned out, leaving only soft embers glowing in the dark. The wind outside howled, rattling the windows.

I clenched my fists.

I shouldn't be this aware of her.

And I definitely shouldn't be noticing how warm she was. Or how her hair smelled faintly like apples and campfire smoke.

This was stupid.

I rolled over, forcing my back to her.

Just ignore it, Dash. Go to sleep.

Meanwhile, everyone else was wide awake.

Rarity whispered, "Oh my stars, I can't believe they actually went through with it."

Twilight smirked. "I can."

Pinkie wiggled her eyebrows. "Oh-ho-ho"

Fluttershy, who was curled up under her blanket, whispered, "D-Do you think they'll admit they like each other?"

Rarity gasped. "Fluttershy! I didn't know you were invested in this!"

Fluttershy blushed. "W-Well... it's kind of obvious, isn't it?"

Twilight pushed up her glasses. "Extremely obvious."

Pinkie giggled. "OH! What if they wake up cuddling?!"

Rarity gasped dramatically. "Scandalous."

Twilight sighed. "We need a bet."

Rarity grinned. "Yes. Absolutely. Who wakes up first and how they react."

Pinkie whispered, "I bet Rainbow wakes up first, completely freaks out, and falls off the bed."

Twilight nodded. "I second that."

Fluttershy mumbled, "I-I think Applejack wakes up first, but doesn't move because she likes it."

Silence.

Then Rarity squealed. "Oh my heavens, Fluttershy, you are one of us now."

Fluttershy blushed. "N-No, I just—"

Twilight smirked. "We'll see in the morning."

And with that, they all drifted off to sleep.

Rainbow Dash's POV

I woke up feeling... comfortable.

Which was weird, because the sleeping bag was tiny, and I had spent half the night tossing and turning.

So why was I warm?

Why did everything feel weirdly nice?

I blinked blearily, shifting slightly—

And immediately froze.

Applejack's arm was draped over my waist.

Like, full-on casual cuddling position.

Like, we've been doing this for years type of position.

My brain short-circuited.

WHAT.

WHAT.

WHAT.

My entire body locked up. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. My face was on fire.

Then Applejack shifted slightly, murmuring something under her breath. Her grip tightened for a second before relaxing again.

OH.

OH NO.

I panicked.

Full-on, complete meltdown.

My heart was slamming against my ribs. My breath hitched. I needed to move, but if I did, she'd wake up, and what if she thought I liked this?!

Which I didn't.

At all.

Nope.

Not even a little.

I had three options:

Stay frozen and hope she moves first.

Gently push her off and pretend nothing happened.

Panic and make everything worse.

Guess which one I picked.

With zero brain power, I flinched so hard that I completely rolled off the cot and HIT THE FLOOR.

Hard.

"GAH—"

THUMP.

Applejack jerked awake. "Whuh—?"

I scrambled backwards across the wooden floor, my face burning. "N-NOTHING. MORNING. HI."

She blinked at me, still half-asleep, her hair a complete mess. "What in tarnation...?"

I forced a laugh. "Haha! Oh wow, I, uh—guess I just—rolled off! Hah! So clumsy! Anyway! Breakfast?! Anyone hungry?!"

Applejack squinted at me. "You good, Dash?"

I nodded aggressively. "Yup! Never been better! Moving on!"

Then I heard it.

The sound of muffled laughter.

I slowly turned my head toward the others.

Rarity, Twilight, Pinkie, and Fluttershy were all awake.

Watching.

Smirking.

And worst of all?

Pinkie was writing something down.

I narrowed my eyes. "Pinkie... what are you doing?"

She grinned. "Updating my romance journal."

I choked. "YOUR WHAT?!"

Twilight pushed up her glasses. "Well, well, well. Looks like Pinkie won the bet."

Rarity sighed dramatically. "I was hoping Applejack would wake up first, but I suppose watching Rainbow freak out was worth it."

My jaw dropped. "Y-YOU GUYS BET ON US?!"

Fluttershy blushed. "S-Sorry..."

Applejack groaned. "Y'all are insufferable."

Pinkie giggled. "Sooooo, how was it?"

I glared. "HOW WAS WHAT?!"

Pinkie wiggled her eyebrows. "The cuddles."

I grabbed a pillow and threw it at her.

After way too much teasing, we packed up and finally left the creepy cabin. The storm had passed, the sun was shining, and we were finally heading to our actual destination.

But even as everyone talked and joked on the way back...

I couldn't stop thinking about it.

The way Applejack had held me.

The way it had felt nice.

The way my heart had reacted in a way it shouldn't have.

I clenched my fists, shoving the thoughts away.

This was nothing.

Just a stupid accident.

It didn't mean anything.

...Right?