"Yeah, Rare?" The cyan Pegasus asked with a hint of curiosity, flying into the boutique as Rarity shut the door behind them.

Rarity drew in a deep breath, and let it out slowly: giving thought on how to phrase her inquisition. Her eyes gave off her unimpressed mood, and her mouth curled into something between a disgusted snarl, and a saddened sigh.

"Why did you leave Pinkie and I like that?" She said flatly. "We could've found Applejack after you simply turning around, and getting us. Why did you think running off, and leaving us in a sweltering hot desert was a good idea?" She asked, her pitch lowering with her head on her emphasis on the desert.

Rainbow rolled her eyes with a disinterested "Pfft... like that even matters!" and turned to leave. Her tail was easily caught in Rarity's aura, however, and she soon found herself hanging upside-down: face-to-face with the angry Unicorn.

"Care to explain? Because you're not leaving here until you do, you know." Rarity deadpanned, while also managing to sneak in a intimidating growl.

Rainbow lazily rested her hoof on Rarity's muzzle, with dulled eyes. She just hung for a minute in silence, until she spoke in a tone that betrayed that she was hardly thrilled with the conversation.

"I thought you could stand to lose a few pounds with a little harmless exercise: seeing as how you're always on a diet of some kind, or nagging about your weight. And that train food got you looking like a marshmallow with legs." She said dryly. "So, you're welcome. Can I go now?"

Rarity had to refocus herself, and close her gaping jaw before responding in a chastising tone: "Convincing- and insulting -as your point may be, I'm simply not buying it. Knowing you, Rainbow Dash: you rather would've preferred to pay for ten cakes on the way home, and tempted me into eating them. With me getting 'harmless exercise' as a desperate last result, so spill it!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes, and spoke again in a slightly more irritated tone: "Fine, I just wanted to hassle you into seeing what it's like to be physically active for a short time, so you'd respect why I have such a packed nap schedule throughout the week."

Rarity didn't believe her, but she didn't know why: something in the way she said it, it just seemed like she was hiding something. An Idea clicked into her head: it was stupid, foalish, and an immense bluff that she would have no way of pulling off, but it was worth a shot.

She smiled evilly: "You haven't read the latest Daring Do book yet, have you?" She inquired.

Rainbow's head whipped around. "What?"

Rarity went for the kill: she lifted her right eyebrow, and tilted her head so that her right eye dominated most of Rainbow's focus. She pooched out her lower lip, and her eyes sparkled.

"Would you like to know how it ends?" She offered.

"You wouldn't..." Rainbow hissed, before quickly losing her cool: "would you?"

"Try me."

Rainbow was sweating profusely, expose her inner emotions to another pony, or keep Daring Do and the Crystal Skull a worthy read?

Toughest. Decision. Ever.

"Alright, fine!" She shouted, catching Rarity off guard enough for her to drop the poor Pegasus. Rainbow sat up, rubbing her head: "You'll get the whole story, a'ight? Just let me take a breath first."

Rarity, now slightly concerned that she may have pushed too hard- and on the wrong buttons -floated a couple of cushions over for them to sit on. She watched as Rainbow inhaled deeply, and let out a defeated sigh:

"I was worried about Applejack, alright?"

Rarity raised an eyebrow: "That's hardly something to be ashamed of, Rainb--"

"No, I was worried that I'd never see her again if she got away. You seem like you thought we'd have found her again, but I wasn't willing to take that chance. Applejack is the oldest friend I made in Ponyville, and she and I have always been close, in our own ways. We often held competitions, personal wrestling matches, races, the like. Y'know, she's the only pony to beat me at a hoof wrestle? Or at anything, for that matter...

"I couldn't risk letting my closest friend fly off into the sunset with the chance of me not ever catching up: it would leave a pit in my heart deeper than the one left by anything else. I couldn't let her go, I just... couldn't let her disappear... not without trying my best to help her."

Rarity raised an eyebrow: this heartfelt confession was certainly not what she expected. She didn't expect anything in particular, mind, but she definitely didn't see this coming!

"And, well..."

Rarity's head snapped back up as she heard Rainbow start muttering again:

"... as far as leaving you behind on the way home, I was too busy congratulating myself on finding Applejack: too relieved to see that she was coming back to stay for good, that I forgot to even consider remembering... well... about you guys." She admitted sheepishly, looking at her hooves.

"I'm awfully sorry, Rare, but I-... I just forgot. My loyalty to one friend outmatched loyalty to another."

Rarity thought for a moment, and smiled warmly, pulling the daredevil in for a tight embrace: "Apology accepted, Rainbow."

Rainbow returned the hug, until a light bulb clicked on in her brain: "Wait a minute... you don't read Daring Do!" She cried, drawing her head back.

Rarity chuckled: "A lady needs to know how to bluff, Rainbow." She stated.

Author's Notes:

As requested, here is the third and final installment in W.H.Y.!

As always: if anything seems OOC, let me know. Constructive Criticism is always appreciated.

Until Next Time, and God Bless You!

~Amethyst Dawn.