Chapter 6

Rainbow Dash growled angrily as she slammed the door of her cloud home behind her. Due to the door frame being made of clouds, it made no loud noise of any kind. This only served to anger her even more than she already was. She had just returned home from her little secret rendezvous with Applejack in the barn, and Applejack had spurned her again. Tank happily got out of his bed and began to walk to her, but she payed him no mind. She was in no mood for comfort, or a hug. Tank looked into the kitchen, where his reptile chow sat, unused. He was hungry.

Rainbow tromped noisily into her room, her teeth clenched in anger. She jumped into her bed and simply laid there. She could not fall asleep, or rest, due to her overflowing anger at her current situation. After a half an hour of laying down and stewing in her own rage, Rainbow Dash jumped up again and paced around her room.

She wished she could say that she couldn't understand it. She wished she could just chalk it up to not knowing and begin on the path to forgetting and healing....But she did understand it and she did know. These facts were habanero peppers in the steaming hot stew that was her rage. The pegasus usually flew around her house a few times to blow off steam. It hadn't worked. She had done it fifty times before she entered the house, still as angry as she was when she left the barn.

The barn reminded her of Applejack. Applejack reminded her of why she was so filled with fury. She gritted her teeth as her pacing came to a stop in front of her bed. Her ears splayed back as she screamed. She threw the heavy concentrated cloud mattress off of her bed and across the room. Tank, who had just entered the room to comfort Rainbow, retreated into his shell in fear. Rainbow threw her new Daring Do novel across the room into a wall, which she proceeded to punch. The cloud wall, which was concentrated heavily, was very hard and hurt the pegasus' hoof every time she struck it.
She didn't care. She turned and bucked her bedpost, breaking it.

Rainbow turned around, breathing heavily and surveying her room. Her mattress had knocked quite a few things off of one of her bedside tables, even knocking a bedside table over. Her bedpost, of course, was broken, and her new hardback Daring Do novel was ruined. This disheartened her, but not nearly as much as the next thing she saw. Tank's shell, undoubtedly containing Tank, was trembling slightly in the doorway to her bedroom. Rainbow sighed as she walked over to the shell and picked it up. She stroked the top lovingly.

"Shhh...Tank, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." She said, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry I scared you." Tank, feeling a tad bit safer at the sound of Rainbow's soothing tone, came out of his shell and looked up at her. Rainbow smiled down at him, a tear glancing off her cheek.

"I'm gonna get this mess cleaned up..." She said, putting him down gently. Rainbow stood and sauntered over to her overturned mattress, straining as she lifted it up and let it fall back onto the bed. After making the bed and adjusting the blankets to her liking, she picked up her bedside table and set it right side up, replacing the lamp (that was miraculously unharmed) and other trinkets that had fallen. Rainbow then picked up her Daring Do novel. She cringed, as she had paid many bits for the book. The spine was bent badly and many of the pages were wrinkled heavily. At the very least, it was still readable. After struggling to straighten the spine and flatten the pages to no avail, she laid the book back upon her nightstand. Examining the bedpost, she realized that there was nothing that she could do about it being broken, except have it replaced.

Rainbow Dash sighed as she walked into her bathroom. Her head was aching and she was tired. A nice, cool shower seemed to be the right way to go at that moment. Taking one of the small clouds she had stored in the shower, she punched it a few times to coax a steady stream of nice, cool water from it. Not freezing, not hot, but just right. She stood in the shower and washed her body, utilizing her soap to wash any post-roll-in-the-hay dirt from herself after her romp with Applejack in the barn earlier.

She tried to growl again at the thought of the farm mare, but couldn't manage it for the life of her. She had flown around her house fifty times at high speeds just minutes before her explosion, and it was catching up with her now. After washing her mane, she used her hoof on the wall to support herself as she breathed heavily, letting the water run down her face. She was broken, emotionally and physically and it seemed as if there was no recovery. The feeling of dread that spread through her like a plague hindered her thinking.

Rainbow Dash began to cry. She knew she rarely cried. She knew it was out of character for her to take something like this the way she was, but she didn't care. Not anymore. The only thing she even really cared about at the moment was her pet tortoise Tank, who was undoubtedly waiting for her outside the bathroom. She sniffled and exited the shower, using a medium sized cloud as a towel to absorb the moisture. After wringing the towel out and storing it for later use, she left her bathroom and layed down on her bed, lifting Tank up with her.

Rainbow Dash sighed as she stroked his shell, letting him relax. As Tank began to close his eyes, the pegasus began to think.

'You and Applejack both know that she's scared. Nothing's gonna change that.' Rainbow thought to herself, taking care not to wake Tank up. 'She kissed you, Rainbow Dash. She owes you the truth...but how to get it...' She thought more and more, attempting to come up with a solution. Rainbow had already tried to get Applejack back by being sweet and understanding, then alluring and attractive. Both seemed to have a profound effect on the farm mare at the time of their execution, but ended up failing at the end. As far as Rainbow Dash could see it, there was only one more option.

Assertive and demanding.

The more and more Rainbow Dash went over the three words in her head, the more sure she became of their success. She had to be assertive and demanding this time. Catch her off guard, as it were, and demand for her to tell the truth. Applejack couldn't hide forever. Rainbow thought of the coldness with which Applejack refused her. She thought of the way Applejack lied to herself just to cover her own hide when she should take responsibility for starting the whole thing. Rainbow clenched her teeth again, but quickly calmed herself down.

'I'm gonna get to the bottom of this if it kills me.' Rainbow Dash thought angrily to herself. She tried to sleep, but she couldn't.

Not now.

Not until this horrible fiasco was over and done with.

Applejack breathed heavily as she sat at the market, vending apples to the various ponies that traveled back and forth. No matter how much the mare told herself that it was for the good of her family, she couldn't shake the pure boredom and monotony of it all. Applebloom sat next to Applejack, bored out of her wits as well.

"Sis, how much longer do we have to be here?" Applebloom whined, sparking slight annoyance in Applejack. Applejack gazed upon the large clock on a building in front of the market entrance.

"Four more hours..." Applejack said, sighing. "Ah know it's boring, sugarcube, but we gotta do this. Ponies love our apples, so we gotta sell 'em so we can put food on the table."

"Ah know that." Applebloom countered, flopping her chin on the ground. "Ah just don't know why Ah can't go play at Sweetie Belle's or somethin'."

"So let me get this straight. Ya'd rather have Rarity make you try on a whole bunch of clothes than sell apples?" Applejack said, expecting her baby sister to be repulsed by the idea.

"Well, yeah. As long as Ah get to hang out with Sweetie Belle..." Applebloom said dejectedly. Applejack looked down at her, puzzled, and eventually sighed.

"Oh...alright." Applejack said. "Ah suppose Ah don't really need ya here." Applebloom jumped up, beaming happily at her sister. "But you go straight to Carousel Boutique, ya hear? Ah'll come get ya when Ah'm through here." Applebloom nodded quickly.

"Okay! Thanks, sis!" Applebloom shouted before sprinting in the direction of the boutique where her friend lived.

"Y'all be careful, now!" Applejack yelled worriedly after her.

"Excuse me, miss. A dozen of your finest apples, please." She heard a smooth, familiar voice say.

"Sir," Applejack said without even turning around. "Ah'd be happy to-" She stopped when she turned around and looked upon Caramel standing before her.

"Hey." He said with a smirk.

"Caramel!" She said with a small smile. "Ah wasn't expecting to see ya here."

"Well, I shop for groceries too." He said with a small chuckle. Applejack scoffed at herself.

"Of course ya do. Ah don't know what Ah was thinking." She said. "What did ya say ya wanted?"

"A dozen apples...Hey! I actually remembered this time." He said, poking fun at himself. Applejack chuckled, beginning to put the apples in a bag for him.

"Here ya go." She said warmly. "Hope ya enjoy 'em!"

"I'm really excited about tonight." He said.

"Tonight?" Applejack responded, raising an eyebrow. "What's tonight?" Caramel frowned slightly.

"Uh...Our date?..." He said, slightly worried. Applejack's eyes widened in suprise at her own capacity to forget.

"Oh, yeah!" She said. "Sorry, sugarcube. Ah just got a lot on my mind since yesterday." Caramel dismissed it with a wave of a hoof.

"Don't worry about it." He said. "Just shows that we have something else in common. So, how long have you been here?"

"Oh, just about two hours. The fun part of the job's over 'till next year." She said to him. He nodded.

"How much do you usually sell?" He asked her. Applejack adjusted her stetson, looking up to the left.

"Oh, usually half to the whole thing. Apples go like crazy 'round here." Applejack said with a small chuckle.

"I bet." He said. "Hey, Applejack, listen. I don't want to sound like a jerk, but that kiss after our first date a couple days ago...it just seems like we're moving a little too fast, y'know?"

"Yeah." Applejack said, nodding slightly.

"I just want to take the oppurtunity tonight to get to know you." He stated. Applejack nodded understandingly.

"Yeah, Ah get it." She said to him. "Ah'm sorry if Ah made ya uncomfortable." He shook his head.

"Quite the opposite, actually." He said with a small blush. "You're actually a really good kisser." Applejack blushed herself.

"Well, thank ya." She said. "Ah appreciate the sentiment."

"I gotta go. As you can see..." He said, gesturing to his overflowing saddlebags. "I've got a lot of groceries." Applejack laughed.

"Alright. Ah'll see ya tonight." Applejack called. He waved at her before walking away, leaving her, once again, alone at the apple stand.

'He really is a good guy.' She thought to herself. 'But what about Rainbow? You can't forget her.'

'Ah could forget her anytime Ah want...'

'No Ah can't...'

"What should Ah do?" She whispered to herself. She felt like she was running away from some great beast, and the only way out was to make up her mind and select the right passage to enter. She sighed as she dropped her face on the stand, frowning heavily. "You don't love her...you don't..." She reaffirmed this to herself several more times. She knew her friends wouldn't judge her if they found out about her and Rainbow, and she had seen no other signs of bigotry in Ponyville aside from the Cakes. But just because she didn't see any other judgemental ponies, didn't mean they weren't there...right? They could be important customers of hers, and if they were half as hateful as the cakes about fillyfooling, they would undoubtedly cease business with her.

"Ah miss her." She said. "Ah know ah do." The feeling of dread that seemed to be perpetual at this point flared within her.

"Okay...pros to bein' with Rainbow..." She whispered to herself, beginning to create a small list for herself.

"Hi, Applejack!" A cheerful voice said from in front of her, making Applejack shout out in suprise, only for her to behold Pinkie Pie, positively beaming, as always.

"Oh...hey, Pinkie." Applejack said, sighing.

"Are you okay?" Pinkie questioned, tilting her head slightly to the side, her puffy pink mane bobbing.

"Yeah. Ah'm okay. Ah just have a lot on my plate as of late." Applejack said tiredly. Pinkie Pie giggled happily.

"You made a rhyme!" She said. Applejack smiled.

"Ah suppose Ah did." Applejack said. "Ah'm a poet and Ah didn't even know it." Pinkie Pie burst into laughter, rolling around on her back. Applejack was sure the line had been used hundreds of times before, but Pinkie looked like she had just heard it for the first time.

"Oh! You kill me, Applejack!" Pinkie said, wiping a tear from her eye. "So, did you hear?!" Applejack raised an eyebrow and adjusted her stetson at the ambiguous question.

"Uh...hear what?" She said, confused.

"Rainbow Dash has a special somepony!" Pinkie exclaimed happily with a squeal. Applejack's heart beat heavily in her chest. She rubbed the back of her head and looked to the side nervously. "Love is in the air! I can smell it!...It smells like cake!...Wait, that's just Sugarcube Corner!"

"Uh...yeah, that's great Pinkie." Applejack said. "Uhm...any chance that she told ya who it was?"

"Nope." Pinkie said. "I just know he's a stallion!" Applejack sighed silently in relief. But this also struck a chord in Applejack. Had Rainbow Dash finally moved on to a nice stallion as well? The idea sent yet another feeling of dread through her, which she ignored.

"She came to Sugarcube Corner the other day and bought him a big, chocolate heart! She seemed so...happy to do it!" Pinkie Pie lied, but Applejack didn't know.

So Rainbow hadn't moved on...why would she think that? Of course Rainbow hadn't moved on. A pang of guilt assaulted Applejack as she sat behind the stand.

"I just thought I'd come over and say hi." Pinkie Pie said. "I guess I'll be leaving, now!"

"Where ya goin'?" Applejack asked the pink party pony.

"To go tell Twilight! I have to spread the good news!" Pinkie said, bouncing. "I would have done it yesterday, but I was sick from eating too much chocolate! Bye, Applejack!"

"See ya, Pinkie!" Applejack said with a smile. She flopped her chin down upon the stand counter and closed her eyes. She was already tired enough to go to bed. She opened her eyes and looked back up at the clock and closed her eyes, regretting it instantly. As if on cue, a cold wind blew and chilled her to the bone. Damned if it wasn't winter already, Applejack was cold.

"Three hours and forty-five minutes to go..." She said despairingly to herself.

Rainbow Dash flew from the weather patrol office with the determination she had always been known for. The near-freezing air battered her and tried to hold her back, as if it was trying to prevent her from reaching her goal. Not even an angry dragon could keep her from accomplishing what she had set out to do. Rainbow Dash was going to find Applejack, the element of honesty, and get her to tell the truth.

'Why don't you just quit, Rainbow?!' A tiny voice in the back of her head screamed at her. 'It's not worth it! Why torture yourself?' The point was a solid one, to be sure. Any normal pony would have just stopped, gone home and begun on the path to recovery...But Rainbow Dash was no normal pony.

'I'm doing this because I love her!' The pegasus thought to herself. 'And I know she loves me too!'

She wouldn't be cheated, not when the mare cheating her was cheating herself at the same time. No, even if Applejack wouldn't get back together with her, just to get the farm mare to admit to the truth, would have been enough for her. Night and freezing cold were descending upon Ponyville quickly, so Rainbow increased her speed to Sweet Apple Acres.

It was time to find out the truth.

The pegasus touched down in front of the Apple Family's farm house and knocked promptly on the door. It was opened after some time by Applejack's little sister, Applebloom. She looked up at Rainbow Dash and smiled. Rainbow couldn't help but smile back, despite how she was feeling.

"Well, howdy, Rainbow Dash!" She beamed.

"Hey there, Applebloom." Rainbow responded. "Is uh, Applejack around?" The filly shook her head.

"She's on a date with Caramel right now." Applebloom stated. "Oh, speakin' of, Ah heard the good news from Pinkie earlier! Congratulations!"

"Huh?" Rainbow responded plainly, tiliting her head slightly to the side.

"On findin' a new coltfriend!" Applebloom said excitedly. "You an' Applejack are gonna have so much to talk about, what with the both of you havin' new coltfriends and all!"

"Oh yeah, we do have a lot to talk about." Rainbow said with slight venom in her words.

"Rainbow Dash, it's really cold. Why don't ya come inside for some cider?" Applebloom asked sweetly. Rainbow smiled warmly.

"Aw thanks, Applebloom. But I gotta talk to Applejack about a special project we're doing together." Rainbow said. "Could you tell me where they are? It's really important. She'd want to know about this." Applebloom nodded.

"Sure. They're at Cafe Du Mane." Applebloom said before shivering. "You sure you don't need that cider?" Rainbow nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks, Applebloom." Rainbow said before beginning to take off.

"What's the project?" Applebloom said, stopping Rainbow Dash where she was. Rainbow slowly turned to the filly and looked down at her.

"Uh...we're making something...for...Twilight. Yeah, Twilight." Rainbow said with a small, proud smile at the fib she had just created. Applebloom looked confused for a moment, but nodded.

"Okay! Bye, Rainbow!" She said before closing the door. With a newfound determination, Rainbow turned in the direction of Cafe du Mane. The cold wind chilled her to the bone, making her shiver, despite her previous disposition towards it. Rainbow Dash now wanted to reach Cafe Du Mane, not just to confront Applejack, but to get some warmth as well.

She flew against the wind toward Cafe Du Mane, looking down momentarily to see if any others were out at the moment, in the cold like she was. No other ponies walked the streets of Ponyville tonight, aside from a few getting from their respective point A to point B. Rainbow Dash finally touched down in front of the eatery, walking promptly inside. The hostess, an attractive Pink Unicorn with a blue mane in a fancy outfit smiled at her.

"Good evening, miss." She said. "How may I help you?" Rainbow Dash's frown remained in it's original position, not budging a centimeter.

"You can't. I'm meeting somepony here." She said. The Unicorn raised an eyebrow and frowed slightly.

"Alright then. Go ahead in." She said, sounding slightly offended. Rainbow Dash wouldn't usually be so curt or rude with someone she had just met, but she was on a mission and absolutely nothing was getting in her way. The pegasus entered the main atrium of the restaurant, looking around, not seeing Applejack. The fancy lights that always used to thrill her so glowed brightly in contrast to the night darkness coming in through the windows. Different groups and couples of ponies sat, chatting happily and making merry, possibly in celebration of the impending Winter months. Rainbow Dash, of course, was in no mood to celebrate tonight.

Slowly and methodically she walked through the restaurant, her eyes darting back and forth almost frantically as she searched for Applejack, most likely pretending to laugh at one of Caramel's not-so-funny jokes. A glimpse of orange made her heart skip a beat, but it turned out to be an orange stallion with a red mane. Shaking her head, she continued on through the place, continuing to search for the farm mare she loved. The back room was all that was left. Indeed, through a large window on the wall seperating this room from the rest of Cafe Du Mane, Rainbow Dash saw Applejack, smiling at Caramel as he carried on with one of his tales.

Rainbow Dash's heart beat faster than it ever had as she struggled to make her legs move to carry her closer to the door to the room. She slowly walked, not taking her eyes off of Applejack. The innate urge to run and fly away back to her cloud home struck her, but she stood firm and continued to walk, furrowing her brow. She stopped in front of the door and inhaled deeply, closing her eyes.

'Alright, Rainbow Dash...it's now, or never.' She thought to herself, putting a hoof on the door. 'One final shot...you can't mess this up. You can't lose her...not Applejack!' With this thought burning into her mind, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and pushed the door open, walking into the room. She looked at Applejack, only seeing the back of her stetson.

"Applejack!" She said louder than she had planned. Nearly everyone in the room turned and looked at her. She did not falter or move, she only kept her eyes on Applejack. Applejack was the last one to turn around, a look of disbelief on her face. Applejack was completely suprised, and somewhat elated, to see Rainbow Dash again. Rainbow looked sternly into Applejack's eyes, never breaking her gaze.

"Rainbow Dash...Ah...What're ya-"

"What am I doing here?" She said. "I'm here to talk to you of course. Why else would I be here?" Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash with incredulity that matched the pegasus' determination. The farm mare frowned.

"Ah don't think now's the right time." Applejack said angrily.

"Oh, I disagree, AJ. I think now's the perfect time. Did you want to talk outside, or among everypony else here, including Caramel." Rainbow said, gesturing to Applejack's date for the night. "Hey, Caramel." Caramel waved back slightly.

"Ah'll meet ya tomorrow, and we can talk then." Applejack said through clenched teeth.

"We can talk now." Rainbow reaffirmed. Applejack narrowed her eyes at Rainbow and turned to Caramel.

"So, go ahead and continue, Caramel." Applejack said, choosing to ingnore the pegasus. She knew that there wasn't even a possibility for Rainbow to make such a scene in public.

She was wrong.

"Fine." Rainbow said, narrowing her eyes. "I know why you want to just keep trying to cover up the fact that we were in a-"

Rainbow was interrupted by Applejack sprinting across the room to put a hoof over her mouth. Rainbow, in outrage, slapped Applejack's hoof away roughly. Applejack moved her face closer to Rainbow's, Rainbow Dash doing the same, both of their eyes ablaze with fury, both clenching their teeth in anger.

"Your choice, Applejack." Rainbow said, words sharper than a spear of Celestia's Royal Guard.

"Fine. We can talk outside." Applejack responded, venom mixing in her words. Rainbow smirked and proceeded to turn around and head for the exit of the restaurant. Applejack quickly turned to Caramel and frowned.

"Ah'm really sorry, Caramel." Applejack said.

"Hey, by all means. You and Rainbow have always been good friends. If you're angry at each other, you guys need to hash it out." Applejack smiled at him before following Rainbow through the restaurant. Rainbow smiled to herself as she felt her stomach become light.

'Alright! It's working! Keep the pressure on, Dash...' She thought as they exited the restaurant and walked a small distance away. The wind had ceased to blow, leaving behind a chilling still air that made Applejack crave indoor heating, and making her all the more angry at her former lover for dragging her out here.

"What in the hay are you doin' Rainbow Dash?!" Applejack said angrily.

"I'm doing what's right." Rainbow responded. "Why are you hiding from the truth?!"

"You still on that, 'You're scared, Applejack.' Thing? Ah told you, no matter what, it's over, and Ah was never afraid of nothin'!"

"Goddesses, why are you so stupid?!" Rainbow exclaimed, raising a front hoof, eyes widening slightly.

"Excuse me?" Applejack said, again in shock at Rainbow Dash's pure audacity.

"You go parading yourself around like your above me, like you're too good to admit that you actually did love me at some point!" Rainbow yelled. Applejack felt shame shoot through her body. "But I know, and have always known, that it's nothing but a big, stupid cover-up for the fact that you're too much of a coward to face what others think of you!"

"You Take. That. Back." Applejack said, fury rising up inside of her. Applejack's mind was being assaulted with so many different emotions at this point. Suprise, anger, shame, sadness, dread. All coming together to make her feel generally unpleasant about this whole situation.

"No." Rainbow said flatly. "If you really are going to end it with me for good, then at least have the common decency to admit to me the true reason for this!"

"What's that?" Applejack said, a sweat breaking from her brow, despite the cold.

"That you're scared. You fear other's opinions, when they shouldn't even matter to you!" Rainbow said. "Don't lie to my face like you've been doing. Just at least be a good friend and tell me the truth!"

"Ah ain't gotta explain myself to you!" Applejack responded. "You don't own me!"

"But I did call you mine for a time, remember?" Rainbow said. "And you called me yours!"

"So what, you're gonna try to kiss me right now or somethin', right?" Applejack asked, half chuckling.

"No. I'm done with that." Rainbow said.

"You'll never be done with it!" Applejack yelled. "You'll never let go!"

"I will if you justtell me the bucking truth!" Rainbow screamed. They stood before each other, each in a defensive stance. Rainbow Dash noticed that Applejack was trembling. Whether it was because of the cold, or because she was truly getting to her was unclear, but the pegasus decided to press the assault.

"It looks to me like you're the kind of mare that just plays with other ponies hearts before throwing them away, huh? You can't just kiss me and start all of this and then throw me away when you get a little frightened! How long until you ditch Caramel for some stupid reason?!" Rainbow continued to press on. "Maybe I should go let him know!"

"Shut up." Applejack said.

"I always knew you were tough, Applejack, but I never knew you could change into a coward so easily when the pressures on!" Rainbow continued to shout at the farm mare. Applejack began to tear up.

"Shut up!" Applejack said again, her voice breaking slightly. Rainbow noticed this.

'It's working! She knows how wrong she is!' She thought. 'Time for the finisher!'

"You know, maybe you aren't the element of honesty! Maybe there was a mistake!" Rainbow yelled, stepping toward Applejack. Applejack's ears splayed back as she backed into a tree. "You sure don't have any trouble lying to me!"

"AH HATE YOU!!!" Applejack suddenly screamed in Rainbow's face, making the pegasus jump back in suprise. "Get outta my life!" Applejack herself was suprised at the statement.

It took Rainbow no time at all to register what Applejack had just screamed at her. She stumbled back, eyes wide as plates, pupils shrunk. Her mouth hung open slightly as her entire resolve, this huge tower built up over the previous weeks, crumbled into nothing. Her ears splayed back and her breathing increased in frequency as tears immediately began to flood her eyes and streak down her face. Applejack hadn't looked away. She hadn't stuttered.

Rainbow Dash merely sat and stared at Applejack in silence. Applejack stood, breathing heavily, tears running down her face as well. Rainbow Dash struggled to speak through her tears.

"F-fine!" Rainbow said with a sob. "You want me out of your life? You got it!" It was at that moment that Applejack realized that what she had said was going too far.

"Rainbow..." Applejack barely said before the pegasus turned and immediately took off into the sky. Applejack's heart dropped as she sprinted with all of her might after the pegasus. "Rainbow!!!" Applejack screamed, but Rainbow Dash was gone, disappeared into the night sky. Applejack's blood ran cold. She wished with every fiber of her being that she could take back what she had said.

"Rainbow Dash..." Applejack whispered, the tears on her cheeks stinging from the cold. Shame burdening her as she slowly walked back to Cafe Du Mane. The warm temperature or the company of Caramel could not console her, however, as she remembered Rainbow Dash...and how she had just lost one of her best friends.

Rainbow Dash flew through the sky, freezing cold wind buffeting her as she continued to cry. Applejack said that she hated her. That she wanted Rainbow Dash out of her life. Despair eroded her insides as the statement continued to play over and over in her head like a sick, sadistic tape recorder. If Rainbow Dash were to fall, crash and freeze to death overnight, she didn't care. She couldn't care. She felt truly and immovably alone. For right now, the pegasus had one place on her mind.

Rainbow touched down in front of Swingin' Manes, the local bar-dance club. She heard no music thumping from outside, however, so it must have been a slow night. Perfect. Rainbow tromped in and stumbled to the bar. She wiped her nose and sniffled.

"What'll it be, sugar?" The bartender, a red unicorn stallion with an orange mane asked her.

"Vodka. Straight." Rainbow said. "Gimme the whole bottle." The bartender whistled to himself.

"You sure about that, sweetheart? Seems a little bit too much for ya." He said.

"I'm not going to drink the whole thing, stupid!" Rainbow exclaimed, a tear falling down her cheek. "I just...like to serve myself." The bartender noticed her sorrow and took pity on her. He put the bottle and a shotglass on the counter in front of the heartbroken mare. She immediately poured a shot and downed it without a single grimace or frown.

"Heartbreak, huh?" The bartender said, looking at her.

"I wonder what gave me away." Rainbow said flatly.

"Who was the moron stallion that dumped you?" The bartender asked.

"Are you hitting on me?" Rainbow asked him before downing another shot. She raised an eyebrow at him. He shrugged.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. But the question still stands." He replied simply. Rainbow looked around the club. Aside from another pony at the bar, no other soul occupied the club besides employees.

"Well, it was a mare, actually." Rainbow said. "And, uh...it's a long story."

"So you're bar door swings both ways, huh?" The bartender inquired. Rainbow nodded before downing another shot. "Well, I'm here until three. I've got all the time in the world." Rainbow chuckled.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. I didn't mean anything by it." She said to him. He put up a hoof.

"Don't worry about it." He said to her.

"Well, y'know, me and this mare...we were going steady for a while. Things were getting pretty serious, and I was loving it. I really...felt for her. Well, she was always scared to be seen with me in public." Rainbow took another shot. "I understand why she was at first, but then it got to a point where she wouldn't even really hug me in public."

"Sounds like she was ashamed of you." The bartender said. Rainbow pointed a hoof at him.

"That's exactly what I said!" Rainbow exclaimed. "So, she keeps denyin' it and sayin' that she isn't. So we get into a lil' tiff and go our seperate ways. The next day, she breaks up with me!"

"Harsh." He commented. Rainbow nodded as she poured and downed yet another shot.

"So, I keep trying to rekindle it with her, ya know? But she keeps lying to me and saying that she doesn't love me anymore. We even had sex after that and she said that it was just to get me off of her back!" Rainbow ranted, throwing a hoof into the air. "And so, after all that stupid crap, I went to her for one final try tonight and she told me that she hates me." Rainbow downed another shot. "And now I'm here..."

'That's 80 proof Vodka...she must be able to hold her liquor.' He thought to himself. Rainbow Dash buried her face in one of her front legs on the counter.

"I love her!" She said. The bartender patted her shoulder. He had seen many cases like this before. "She told me..." Rainbow raised her face up from the counter. "That she wants me to get out of her life...so that's what I'm doing..." She took the bottle of vodka. "Right now!" She began to drink from the bottle before the bartender took the bottle back.

"Okay, hon. I think you've had enough." He said. "My advice to you is try to forget about her. It can only add painful association at this point." Rainbow got up out of her seat.

"Just...put it on my tab." She said.

"Don't worry about it. It's on the house. You needed it." He said. Rainbow nodded at him before exiting the club back out into the freezing cold of night. "Don't drink and fly, hun."

Fluttershy was stirred awake by a heavy knocking at her door. Her eyes grew wide in fear and apprehension. The timid pegasus barely made a sound as she got out of bed. Another knock rang through the house, startling her yet again. She walked slowly and quietly to the door and opened it. There stood Rainbow Dash, shivering and crying.

"Please..." Rainbow barely sputtered. "Let me in..." The yellow pegasus immediately stepped to the side.

"Oh, come in, Rainbow." She said. "Why are you in the cold, if you don't mind me asking?" Rainbow stumbled to the side before straightening herself again. She plopped down onto the couch.

"I'll tell ya what, Flutters..." Rainbow said. "You come sit here on this couch with me an' I'll tell ya all about it." Fluttershy nodded timidly before heading to the couch and lightly sitting down on it with her friend.

"Well, Applejack and me are done." Rainbow spouted.

"W-what?" Fluttershy said in dismay. "What happened?"

"Funny, I've already told this story once tonight..." Rainbow said. "Well, it all started out the night Applejack and I hooked up." Fluttershy silently gasped to herself. "We decided to start dating, and so we did. We had a lot of fun together. We'd go on walks, we'd have picnics, we'd go eat together...well, at first she was kinda scared to be see with me in public. But after a couple weeks, when she hadn't changed, I called her out on it. Of course, she denied it. Next thing ya know...she breaks up with me! Well, I tried to get her back a few times, but eventually it came to a pretty big argument tonight and she told me..."

Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash eagerly, awaiting her to finish her story.

"What did she say, Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked. Rainbow looked up into Fluttershy's eyes. Fluttershy noticed how Rainbow Dash's eyes looked slightly deadened.

"She told me that she hates me." Rainbow said dejectedly, dropping her head. Fluttershy covered her mouth and gasped.

"I...I don't-"

"Gosh, Fluttershy, you're so pretty..." Rainbow said randomly, looking up at Fluttershy, seemingly in a stupor.

"Oh, why, thank y-" Fluttershy was interrupted by Rainbow Dash's lips on her own. She squealed slightly as she pushed Rainbow Dash away. Her mouth tasted of alchohol. "You're drunk." Fluttershy said. Rainbow's eyes widened as she shook her head slightly, a look of terror on her face.

"Fluttershy! I-I'm so sorry!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, now much more aware than she was. "I don't know what came over me!"

"It's okay..." Fluttershy said. "You're under the influence and you didn't mean it. You're sleeping here tonight. Come on. Let's get you to bed." Fluttershy helped Rainbow up off the couch. Rainbow put a front leg around Fluttershy's shoulders. Halfway to the bedroom, Rainbow collapsed onto the floor. She sobbed.

"I'm so sorry..." Rainbow said hopelessly, crying. "I just...I lost Applejack...I couldn't get her back..."

"You didn't lose Applejack, Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy said, stroking her multicolored mane on the floor. "She abandoned you."

Obligatory End-of-Chapter Author's Note: Oh, GAHD! It seriously hurt my heart to write this chapter. Will it get better for our heroes Rainbow Dash and Applejack?! Will old wounds finally heal?! Or will Rainbow Dash find a new lover? Will Applejack atone for her sins? Will I stop asking these annoyingly unhelpful questions?! Probably, at some point. (Seriously, take these with a big grain of salt, because they definitely could happen, and they definitely could not.)Don't forget to leave a comment and give a like if you guys are enjoying this story! Cheers!