She was lost again. Lost in those deep, green eyes. They were drawing her in, a force beyond measure, a gravity for which she had no wings. She drew ever nearer, the aura of green and orange surrounding her, its fog leaving bliss wherever there was doubt. She could feel Applejack’s warm breath against her, and was suddenly very conscious of her own. But she still drew ever nearer.

Their lips met.

It was a wonderful elation, an instant of pure joy. Applejack’s lips were somewhat dry after her day’s work, sticking ever so slightly to Rainbow’s as the force and passion put upon them increased. They quivered lightly, but offered no resistance from her assailant. Her mane was thick and dense, but felt smooth under the gentle pressure of Rainbow’s hoof. Every curve of her toned flank only served to entice further the pegasus, who now gently pushed her prize into a supine position. Rainbow, whose own eyes were now closed as she enjoyed the physical sensations, was barely aware of how the farmer’s body trembled below in shock and confusion. The earth pony’s mouth was sweet, carrying the distinctive (and unsurprising) taste of some sugary, apple-based confection. Her tongue pulled back instinctively from its seeking predator, but soon they were entangled nonetheless. In this moment of euphoria, Dash had no other thoughts, no fears and no doubts. She wanted that feeling to last forever. She had no intention of letting it end. At long last, all the uncertainty and worry were gone from her mind, her body and her spirit were harmonious, together expressing the same love.

If nothing else, the flavor was a welcome relief from the bitterness of Pinkie Pie’s strange potion.

… Pinkie Pie’s strange potion …

… Pinkie Pie’s strange potion?

Too much confidence!

With this realization, the effects wore off in an instant, and all of Rainbow Dash’s recent troubles rushed to take their place. Her mind screamed uselessly at her for allowing this situation to come to pass, and her natural instinct to flee overtook all rational thought. Without even another glance at her prey, she was in the sky, panic-struck.

She flew low over the apple trees, piecing together the ramifications of what she’d just done. Thoughts and consequences ran through her mind unabated. That was definitely over the line. Friends don’t act like that. What if Applejack didn’t want to be friends anymore? What if she never wanted to see Rainbow again? What if she had Princess Celestia banish Rainbow from Equestria, or throw her in a dungeon, or banish her and throw her in a dungeon in the place she was banished to! Did Celestia actually do that kind of thing, or had she just been talking to Twilight too much? What if news made way to the Wonderbolts? They would never accept her now!

“Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!” she yelled into the sky in a naïve attempt to quell the assault of her own thoughts.

Still lying on her back, it took Applejack a minute or so to recover from Dash’s onslaught. The rainbow trail of her escaping friend was long-since gone before she asked the now-empty sky, “What the hay was that?”

True to her name, Rainbow dashed through the streets of Ponyville, not at all sure of her destination. In her directionless haste, her wake drew the attention of idle passers-by, who awaited a trick of some kind and were disappointed when it didn’t come. An excited Scootaloo clapped and cheered for her idol, even with only seconds to recognize the rainbow mare before she was gone once again. Rainbow only realized her destination once she had crashed through its window.

She grabbed Pinkie Pie by the shoulders and jostled her, shouting, “Pinkie Pie! Your stupid potion! I kissed her! I kissed her and now she thinks I’m some kind of creep and it’s all because of your stupid potion! She probably doesn’t want to be my friend anymore, she probably thinks I’m a weirdo! Why couldn’t you just butt out?”

Rainbow breathed heavily, glaring daggers at the smiling pink pony before her.

“Oooooooooh!”

Not quite the response she had been hoping for.

“Well,” a third voice made its presence known, “I can see that you have a guest, so I’ll just be on my way then.” Twilight shimmied towards the stairs, trying to make a nonchalant retreat while also avoiding tripping over any of the scattered boxes of party supplies which were the primary adornment of Pinkie’s cluttered living space.

Definitely not the response she had been hoping for.

“Yes,” a fourth voice chimed, laughing nervously, “thank you so much for the invitation, Pinkie, but I really must be off.” Rarity gracefully slid towards the stairs as well, more adeptly winding her way through the obstacle course than Twilight had.

Rainbow darted instinctively to block the way out. Her eyes wide and bloodshot, she veritably shrieked at her friends, voice cracking, “How much did you hear?!”

“Um …”

“That is to say …”

“I didn’t mean …”

“Not that we’d ever eavesdrop …”

“Everything.”

Rarity nodded in agreement, before echoing Twilight’s sentiment. “Everything.”

Rainbow sat, mouth agape. Her mind had abandoned her, leaving her a stupefied shell staring silently at the three mares before her. This was it. Everypony knew. So why, she wondered, wasn’t it liberating at all?

Twilight walked slowly but determinedly to the dumbstruck pegasus. She sat down at Dash’s side, close enough that they could feel each others’ warmth. Both were entirely still except for the the delicate rhythms of their breathing. In the gentlest voice she could muster, the lavender unicorn asked, “She?”

Rainbow nodded.

“Who is ‘she’?”

Rainbow looked up at Pinkie, hoping the usually talkative earth pony would tell her secret so that she didn’t have to. Pinkie smiled and passed a hoof over her lips, indicating she would never break such a promise. It would have been a kind gesture if it hadn’t been exactly the opposite of what Dash was hoping for.

“OK, Rainbow Dash, you don’t have to tell us if–”

“Applejack,” she managed to squeak out.

“Oh.” Twilight pondered her reply for a moment. “That’s … nice?” Affairs of the heart were never the intellectualite’s forte, so she struggled to be comforting for her clearly distraught friend.

“This isn’t how this was supposed to happen at all.” Rainbow fell to the ground and covered her face in her hooves. Surely this couldn’t be happening. She was sure she would wake up and find it was all just a nightmare, and Pinkie’s meddling had not revealed all of her deepest secrets to everypony, and over the course of just two days. None of this could be real.

A hideous silence filled the air, nopony quite sure what to do next. Rarity and Twilight glanced nervously at each other, neither able to communicate any ideas to the other through the hushed void. Pinkie jittered uncomfortably on all four hooves, not satisfied with the lack of happy, smiling faces in the room.

“I think you need … a party!”

The unicorns present glared at Pinkie. OK, she thought, not a party. But when there was no party to be had, there was only one solution: a song!

She cleared her throat.

“Oh no,” Rarity grumbled, “she’s not going to sing, is she?”

Of course, she was.

Author's note: This is the chapter in which I risk what small readership I have by making a multimedia experience. The background instrumental (piano) to Pinkie's Lullaby is available here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/64227214/PinkiesLullaby.mp3. You'll just have to imagine Pinkie's voice, I can't sing soprano.

“Rainbow Dash, please don’t feel this way,

“your friends just want you feeling happy, loved and gay.”

“Bad pun, Pinkie,” Twilight interrupted.

“Well at least I’m trying!

“Rainbow Dash, be honest and be true.

“Be sincerely you.

“And know we’ll always love you!”

It was surprisingly serene, considering the source. Her voice had the soft kindness that Rainbow had only heard in it once before, and it soothed her like a mother’s lullaby.

“Rainbow Dash, there is no need to be sad,

“love should make you glad, no matter why or who.

“And even if she does not feel the same way that you do,

“you’ll make amends. You’ll still be friends. A true friend would never leave you.

“Rainbow Dash, we’ll always be your friends,

“to the bitter end, and even farther, just for you,

“Rainbow Dash, be honest and be true.

“Be sincerely you.

“And know we’ll always love you.”

Rarity wiped a tear from her cheek. Twilight clapped politely until she was hushed by the singer.

“I figured she could use a good afternoon nap,” Pinkie said softly with a giggle, pointing at Rainbow’s sleeping form.

The trio of waking mares snuck down the stairs silently and said their goodbyes.

“You know, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight declared before leaving Sugarcube Corner, “you’re a really special friend. Don’t you ever forget that either.”