//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 
// Story: A Rainbow Forms 
// by TheRainbowDashShow 
//------------------------------//

Rainbow Dash poked Applejack in the stomach with one of her hooves, causing her friend to jump up in fright. She laughed, however Applejack did not, nor did she say anything, she just stared at her friend, annoyed for startling her. Neither of the two had fully planned out what they would say to one another.

"So…" Rainbow Dash's mind went blank, and only one question popped back into her head, "Why have you been avoiding me?"

"Ah haven't been avoiding you, ah've just been busy." Applejack said her eyes shifting around to avoid eye contact as they always did when she lied.

"I can tell when you're lying you know. I'm pretty sure the whole of Equestria could tell it's so obvious."
Applejack's cheeks turned bright red. "Fine, ah have been avoiding yah, what's it to yah?" she snapped back.

"Well, I just want to know why you won't talk to me. I've been trying to talk with you for almost two days now, I'm pretty sure I even saw you sneaking into the woods just as I came to your house yesterday."

Applejack grew more irritated, the conversation not going anywhere in the direction she had hoped it would, "Well maybe that's cause ah didn't want tah talk with yah."

"Why?" Rainbow Dash asked, knowing she would get the answer if she kept at it.

"Because ah just didn't!" Applejack shouted back

"What aren't you telling me?"

"It's nothing!" Applejack turned her head trying to avoid looking at the Pegasus.

"Just TELL ME!" Rainbow Dash commanded staring hard at Applejack.

Applejack finally caved in, "FINE! Ah heard what yah were saying in yer house the other day."

Rainbow Dash stunned, only managed to say, "Wha-huh?"

"Ah heard you talkin' bout yer feelings back in yer cloud." Applejack's voice burned with anger as she recollected everything she had heard.

Rainbow Dash's heart sank, and she whimpered quietly, "I thought… that… you would at least understand."
"Yeah, well, ah guess ah don't." Applejack snorted back, turning around and leaving her friend.

Rainbow Dash's eyes began to swell and she made no effort to hide it. Feeling broken, she slumped down to the dusty road and let the tears flow freely as she watched as Applejack stomped away. She tried to call out to and plead for her to come back, but her words were drowned out by her sadness, and soon Applejack was out of sight.

Rainbow Dash finally regained enough of her strength to fly away. Now all she wanted was to be some place she couldn't be disturbed. Flying high above the forest she dived into it, landing by the lake and waterfall where she had followed Applejack to just last night.

Rainbow laid there and cried, her body trembling with the emotions that coursed through her. Everything around her felt gray and pointless. Now she had not only lost her best friend, but her friend couldn't even seem to tolerate the way she felt about her. She cried harder as she thought about just how close-minded her friend was.

Rainbow Dash's tears eventually came to a stop, not because she was done crying, but because she had dried up all of the tears. Her body continued quivering and her breath was rapid and short. The world felt like it was falling apart around her. She closed her eyes and lay there, ignoring the increasing cold and the water that splashed down onto her head through the leaves above her.