Thunder echoed in the distance.
The growl rolled loudly through the skies above the orchard. Before long, the clouds began to cry onto the lone pegasus who sat in their shadows, on the cold, muddy ground. The weather could not express her own feelings better, she thought.
"Rainbow..."
A soft voice called her from behind, but she ignored it. It had only spoken a single word, and yet, it already irritated her. It carried pity, not concern, she thought.
"Rainbow, the storm's a-startin' up there. You shouldn't stay out in the rain," the voice persisted.
Even if she tried ignoring it, she couldn't. Yet, listening to it hurt too much. She had to find a way to make it stop, she thought.
"Just... leave me alone," she replied with a somber tone that matched that of the sky. Her small body began shivering.
For a moment, she could only hear the loud silence of the rain. She couldn't tell whether or not the voice had gone, nor did she dare turn around, fearing that the clouds' tears would not hide her own.
When lightning struck nearby, however, she did hear the same voice yelp behind her. It spoke again, just as softly, attempting vainly to hide its anxiety.
"Dash, ya'll have been actin' distant for a while now and I wanna know why. C'mon, let's head to th' barn. Maybe we can—"
"No!" she interrupted. She did not want to talk about it, much less hear so. "I wanna be alone," she lied; but the cracking of her voice betrayed her words.
She heard a frustrated huff. Hoofsteps came closer. Then, she felt an encouraging tug on her tail; but she decided not to budge.
...
Perhaps she should have budged after all, as being dragged all the way to the barn by her tail had been most unpleasant. Even so, she remained silent, and so did the voice, until the black clouds consumed the rest of the dim sky. The air had become as heavy as the tension between the two ponies sharing the fragile roof.
"You went on a date with Soarin'," the pegasus finally spoke as she turned to throw an accusive glare at the orange pony. Her tears had long since dried.
"Yeah?" was the reluctant answer she got. "What 'bout it?"
The lethal words, spat out like venom, stung through her heart. "What about it?!" she yelled. She did not remember getting up, even less so closing the distance between herself and the hurtful mare, but there she was, face to face with Applejack. At last.
"Oh, are you serious, Rainbow?!" the earth pony retorted, raising her voice as well. "Are ya jealous jus' 'cause I dated a Wonderbolt once?!"
That was the last straw.
"No, I'm jealous 'cause he dated the mare of my dreams!"
The last thing Rainbow Dash could remember of that night was a thunderclap, and the warm taste of apples.