Applejack burst through the door to Twilight’s Library.

“Twi! Please tell me you’ve seen Rainbow Dash!” The orange pony said frantically.

“Not really. I haven’t actually seen her all day. Why?”

“Well,” Applejack sucked in a huge breath, “She came to see me earlier today while I was harvesting some apples - cause ya know, harvest season never seems to end ‘round here, ‘cept in winter - and she asked me out, which musta been real hard on her seein’ as we’re old friends and both girls, and I said no - cause I ain’t gay - and she seemed real offended by it for some reason and now I can’t find her anywhere, Fluttershy and Derpy say she ain’t home, and I’m afraid she’s run off somewhere.”

Twilight just blinked. She was pretty sure this was the most AJ had ever said in one breath. And probably ever.

“Look, AJ,” Twilight slid up to the distressed pony, “it’s Rainbow Dash. She’ll be fine. She’s probably just training for the Wonder Whatevers.”

“No Twi. Ya weren’t there. It’s different this time. She was real hurt for some reason.” Applejack backed out of the library.

--

Rainbow Dash didn’t even bother to stop by her home. She didn’t have anything she truly wanted to keep. And carting stuff around would just slow her down. By this time tomorrow she would be in Los Arabias, and once again start over.

‘Third time’s the charm, right?’ Rainbow thought to herself.

It was two days before winter break. Everypony would be sent off to visit home tomorrow. Going home wasn’t really that bad, but being separated from her friends was. For the first time in years, Dash felt like she had a place.

“Hey R-dee, what’s up?” Harmony floated down to her blue friend. “Excited to be heading home?”

“Not exactly, Harm.”

“Awww, why not? You gonna miss me?” The white pegasus smiled, as if hiding a secret.

“‘Course not,” Dash winked. Harmony gasped in mock hurt. Rainbow giggled. “Well, maybe just a little?” She admitted. The discussion turned to break itself and their plans for vacation. While Harmony was talking, Rainbow was gearing herself up to confess.

“Hey Harmony,” Rainbow interrupted her friend’s monologue on some new band, “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course!”

“Well, I was wondering if you wanna go out or something.”

“What?”

“Do you wanna, like, uh, go out sometime? Or something...”

Harmony was shocked. Of the many things she expected from Rainbow Dash, this was not one of them. But the white filly recovered quickly. She lowered her eyes and forced a small, sympathetic smile.

“Sorry, sweetie, but this mare is the stallion-loving kind. But, hey,” Harmony punched her embarrassed friend softly, “your secret dies with me.” Before Dash could even reply, her friend had changed the topic back to music and hot new bands.

The following day, Harmony appeared outside of Dash’s door to say goodbye.

“I’m leaving in a couple minutes, but I was thinking about what you said yesterday and,” The white mare pressed her lips against Rainbow’s very gently. She quickly pulled away. “Just a thought.” Harmony trotted away.

That thought kept Rainbow’s spirits up through the whole vacation.

--

“Hey Mac! Ya seen my saddlebags anywhere?” Applejack burst into the shed, “I need them.”

“Eeeyup,” the big, red workhorse said slowly. He kicked the bags over to his sister.

“Thanks,” AJ swung her head down to snag the personalized bags. “I hate to run off again, but-” Hoof. Massive hoof. “Uh Mac? You’re standing on my bag.”

“Eeeyup,” the stallion said. “And I’d hate to see ya run off again also. Especially when there’s work to do. You’re weeks behind on harvest.”

It was true. Applejack had been neglecting her duty on the farm in order to go off on adventures with the group. And no matter how hard she worked, she could never make up for lost time.

“Sorry, Mac, but I gotta go. Rainbow Dash ran away-”

“No.”

“What?”

“No. Ya gotta put family first.”

“She is family. She’s my best friend. And I am going to bring her back.” Applejack turned and stormed out the door of the shed. She knew she was being unreasonable. Rainbow was fully grown, she could take care of herself. And the farm really could use AJ’s help. They were struggling to break even this year, and the barn still needed repairs. But none of that mattered if Dash was gone. Nothing mattered if the arrogant blue pony was gone.

--

“Hey Gaybow Dash.” These were the first words Rainbow heard when she got back from vacation. Vacation itself wasn’t too horrible. Her mother spent most of the time working, and Dash spent most of the time practicing. And thinking about Harmony’s farewell. But then she came back to this. It wasn’t really the name  that hurt. Rainbow had suffered through worse before. But it was the way Harmony said it. And the way the other ponies giggled. As if they all knew some secret and could barely resist blurting it. As if they knew...

Dash lowered her head and glared. “You didn’t.”

“Didn’t what? Tell everyone that you forced me to kiss you? How you always act so friendly in the showers? Don’t deny it,” Harmony added as Dash attempted to protest.

“Why?” Dash breathed through gritted teeth and tears.

“Because, I don’t make nice with freaks. I can’t be friends with a fucking fillyfooler.” The group around them went silent. There were a couple chuckles, and a shout of ‘ooooo.’

“I told you that in secret.”

“I don’t think that forcing a kiss on somepony counts as secret, especially if it’s in front of a camera.”

“You were the one that kissed m- wait, ca-ca-camera?” Rainbow thought back to the kiss. They were mostly inside her room. There was no way somepony could have gotten a picture. Unless...

The photograph fluttered to the ground. Her room was blurry, but the centerpiece, Rainbow Dash and Harmony, was amazingly clear. It was true, from this angle is seemed as if Rainbow was the one who forced the kiss.

“Clicksy is a good shot.” Harmony smiled. Her old friend was shaking. Tears of rage glistened at the corners of Dash’s eyes. This was simply too much at once. Her best friend, her only friend, had betrayed her.

--

Fluttershy finally managed to get her nerves under control. She wasn’t the breaking-into-your-friend’s-house type of pony. But Applejack had been so insistent. And Fluttershy was curious. She hadn’t seen her fellow pegasus since early that morning. And Rainbow hadn’t seemed exactly right. She was whispering to herself about unicorns, freaks, and something that sounded extremely harsh. Fluttershy didn’t really catch it all.

She ducked through the window and listened for a beat. Nothing. She hoped Derpy was still watching outside, instead of chasing after muffins or whatever. Fluttershy stumbled in the dark. She realized that this first time she had ever actually been in Rainbow’s house. The yellow pegasus suddenly hoped that her counterpart wasn’t home. She was pretty sure that the blue mare would prefer it if the first time Fluttershy visited would be when she was invited to do so. Awwell, too late to turn back now.

Fluttershy managed to find the light switch without  an extreme amount of bumps. The pegasus was amazed by what she saw. The room lit up with an extensive array of color. Light reflected of mirrors and through prisms. The rainbows formed hid under a thin layer of cloud, creating a ‘dark rainbow.’ Fluttershy trotted through the house, distracted by Dash’s interior decorating skills. It seemed out of place with the blue mare’s personality. Even Rarity would be shocked at the amount of crystal. But despite the lavish decoration, the house was tactful. Nothing seemed too extreme.

Fluttershy trotted down the hall, quietly calling Dash’s name. After five minutes, she decided that Rainbow wasn’t here. Choosing a door at random, she barged into Rainbow’s bedroom. After marching down the extremely beautiful hallway, Fluttershy was amazed at how misplaced this room was. It was darker, messier, and essentially fit Rainbow’s personality. Satisfied she had found the right room, Fluttershy set herself to the task of snooping.

--

Dash’s roommate requested a transfer within a day of being back. ‘Conflict of Interests.’ The blue pegasus couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Dash was, honestly, glad. The two had never really got along, though they were a long ways from enemies, and Rainbow simply wanted solitude.

Rainbow’s classmates got worse as the days got longer. Boys started asking if she would “do stuff,” with other girls for them. Girls refused to be around her. They’d move tables, skip showers, and some even went as far as to transfer classes. No one wanted to be near a fillyfooler. Rumours got worse and even the administration started to pick up a few. The school had arranged therapy sessions in order to analyze Rainbow’s “peeping problem.” After they got that all sorted out, she was forced to go at least once a week, for behavioral examination. Then came the talent show.

Rainbow almost skipped it. She wasn’t sure if she could face the entire school. But she had been practicing for weeks. And maybe, just maybe, it would get ponies to like her again. She convinced herself to do it, planning on a short, five minute, routine of aerobatics. The stage wasn’t overly large, so she would have to focus more on grace than speed. But that was fine. She could do grace.

She was scheduled to follow a very poorly done magic act. Half of the tricks failed, and the other half were too simple to be considered tricks. This greatly boost Rainbow’s morale. There was no way she could be worse than that. Dash took the stage and waited for the first few lines of her song to start. The cloud hoops lowered and the beat started. It took Rainbow a few seconds to recognize it. The song was Katy Pony’s new song, “I Kissed a Mare.” The room erupted with laughter. Rainbow didn’t wait around. She tore off the stage. This was one act too many.

Harmony would pay.

--

Fluttershy couldn’t resist a little spring cleaning. She knew that she was supposed to be looking for clues pertaining to Dash’s disappearance, but the yellow pegasus couldn’t help herself. She may not be as bad as Rarity when it comes to neatness, but Fluttershy simply could not tolerate such a mess. Besides, she might find something as she cleaned.

Unfortunately for the pegasus’ sensitive eyes, she did. Hidden under a mess of sheets and, for some reason Fluttershy couldn’t fathom, underwear were a few copies of Rainbow’s special “romance” magazines. Fluttershy kicked the pile away instinctively. It crashed into one of the glass picture frames on Dash’s nightstand, knocking it over to the ground. The frame shattered.

‘Oh no! Ohnoohnoohnoohno,’ Fluttershy snapped out of her unwanted daydream. She fluttered over to the broken pile of glass and was once again shocked by her findings. There was a picture of the six of them. There was also a picture of a much younger Dash and some white pegasus. But not just any pegasus.

--

“That’s the lead singer of Out of Harm’s Way!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “I love that band.”

Fluttershy nodded. “And look, she’s making out with Rainbow.”

“Why didn’t Dash ever tell us she knew one of the members of O.H.W?” Pinkie jumped up and down.

“Fluttershy, how did you recognize her?” Applejack asked, motioning toward the white filly.

“Oh well, uh, O.H.W. is one of my favorite bands. I really like the songs Death Note and Broken Train...”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Right, well, Pinkie, do ya know where they’re touring?”

“Of course silly! They’ll be in Los Arabias this weekend, and then they’re going to Fillydelphia, and-”

“Great,” Applejack interrupted, “Go get Twilight and Rarity. We’re going to L.A.” Next Chapter: Chapter 3 Estimated time remaining: 26 Minutes