"Tea is served." Fluttershy said with a smile. Rainbow Dash smiled as she took a cup and let Fluttershy pour the tea in. She licked her lips before taking a sip. She exclaimed in pain as the searing hot liquid splashed over her tongue. She barely managed to avoid spilling it all over herself as she put it down upon the coffee table. Fluttershy supressed a laugh.
"You should wait for it to cool down." She said. Rainbow raised an eyebrow at her yellow friend.
"You don't say?" Rainbow sarcastically stated. Before letting her tongue drop out of her mouth. The scalded appendage gaining immediate relief from the cool air. "Ow. This really hurts..."
"You look tired." Fluttershy said, noticing Rainbow Dash's worn appearance.
"Who me? Naah." Rainbow said, throwing a hoof in the air. "Just got done with a good days..." She yawned. "Work."
"I've seen you after a long day's work." Fluttershy said. "Please, tell me what's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong, Fluttershy." Rainbow said suddenly, taking a stern tone of voice. Fluttershy faltered under Rainbow's tone of voice. Rainbow sighed. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay..." Fluttershy said.
"I guess..." Rainbow began. "I guess I'm so tired because I spend a lot of nights wondering what would have happened by now if Applejack and I were still together."
"Rainbow Dash, you need to forget about her." Fluttershy stated worriedly. Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest and smirked.
"I already have. I don't need her. The thoughts just cross my mind at night and sometimes make it hard for me to sleep." Rainbow said before her bravado faltered and her ears splayed back as she looked down. "I want to forget her...I really do...but I can't..." Tears formed in her eyes. Rainbow wiped them and clenched her teeth in anger. "Goddesses! Why does this always happen?" Fluttershy stood and walked to Rainbow Dash, putting a hoof on her shoulder.
"You were just hurt badly by her recently. Sometimes these things take a long time to heal." Fluttershy offered.
"I know!" Rainbow yelled, her voice catching as more tears flowed. "I know that! But I don't feel any better! The more and more I think about her, the more it hurts! And I can't bucking stop thinking about her!" She began to cry, hanging her head as she sat in front of the fire. Fluttershy wrapped her front legs around Rainbow Dash in a heartfelt hug. Rainbow's tears dampened the fur on Fluttershy's shoulder as she held Rainbow in front of the fire.
"Goddesses, I hate crying!" Rainbow exclaimed before a sob leaped from her throat. "I never cry!" Fluttershy nodded as she continued to hold Rainbow Dash, offering all she could to make her friend feel better.
"I know, Dashie. I know. It'll be okay."
"Fluttershy..." Rainbow said to her. "Do you think I could stay here tonight? Please? I really don't want to be alone."
"Of course, Rainbow Dash." She said.
"Thank you..." Rainbow said before sniffling and laying her head on Fluttershy's shoulder. Fluttershy had rarely heard Rainbow Dash speak so sincerely before. She usually was so obsessed with looking cool or hip to her friends, but the pegasus seemed to really open up to Fluttershy recently. Rainbow Dash sat in front of the fire with Fluttershy, staring into the crackling embers as they slowly lulled her into a stupor. The tears had stopped flowing and Rainbow Dash's eyes began to slowly close.
Hearing Rainbow Dash begin to snore lightly, Fluttershy gently laid her friend in front of the fire before fetching some pillows. The sleeping Rainbow Dash took little notice as Fluttershy inched the pillow underneath her chin. Angel hopped into the room and curled up next to Fluttershy. She giggled as she layed down in front of the fire next to Rainbow, taking a deep breath before closing her eyes to sleep.
A loud knocking came from the front door, rousing Rainbow and Fluttershy from their respective slumbers.
"Don't worry. I'll get it." Fluttershy said as she stood and walked to the door. She opened it to find Applejack standing there, shivering.
"Howdy, Fluttershy." Applejack said, offering a weak smile.
The sound of Applejack's voice made Rainbow's stomach turn as she jumped up, eyes wide and her ears splayed back. She panicked as she looked for a way out, finally laying her eyes upon the staircase leading to the second floor of the cottage where a window undoubtedly was. Rainbow Dash ran up the staircase.
Fluttershy looked upon Applejack with nothing but a disapproving glare, which made Applejack even more nervous than she already was. Fluttershy barely registered a window upstairs being opened. She said nothing about it.
"Hello, Applejack." She said, struggling not to scream at the farm mare due to all she had heard about her.
"Mind if Ah come in for a sec? It's a might chilly out here..." Applejack said. Fluttershy's ears splayed back as she struggled internally for what to do. On one hoof, Applejack was her friend too and she looked absolutely freezing. On the other, she had broken Rainbow Dash's heart with a string of lies and fear. Fluttershy finally planted her hooves firm and looked Applejack square in the eyes.
"N-No." Fluttershy said, struggling not to break down where she stood. Applejack's eyes widened as she stepped back slightly.
"What?" She said, hurt at Fluttershy's coldness.
"Normally, I would let you in, Applejack. But I have heard many things about you. They weren't good things." Fluttershy stated, furrowing her brow. Applejack flinched slightly.
"W-What did ya hear?" She asked nervously.
"Everything." Fluttershy said. "Everything about you and Rainbow Dash. She's been confiding in me because you hurt her so badly. She's not herself, Applejack!" The sinking feeling Applejack experienced at that moment chilled her worse than the cold weather.
"Who else knows?" Applejack asked.
"No one but me." Fluttershy said. "And I plan to keep it that way. It isn't my place to tell everypony."
"Well, Fluttershy..." Applejack said. "That's actually the precise reason Ah came to ya. Ah've realized my mistake! Ah love Rainbow Dash, and Ah'm tryin' to find her so that Ah can actually tell her!" Fluttershy brightened up significantly before raising an eyebrow at the farm mare.
"Are you really?" She asked.
"Fluttershy, If Ah wasn't, Ah wouldn't be standin' here out in the freezin' weather." Applejack said. Fluttershy looked at her for a moment before stepping aside.
"Come in and warm up." Fluttershy said. Applejack nodded and walked inside, sitting in front of the fire. Fluttershy closed the door and sat across from Applejack as she rubbed her hooves together.
"So..." Applejack said. "Have ya seen her anywhere?"
"Yes." Fluttershy said. "I passed her in town earlier and we talked for a bit. She said she's going to be staying at her house for the rest of the night." Applejack quickly stood up and nodded, tightening her scarf.
"Thank ya, Fluttershy. Ah appreciate you lettin' me in to warm up." She said.
"I think it's a lost cause at this point, Applejack." Fluttershy stated. "She's angry. Hurt and angry and I'm not sure that you can get her to forgive you." Applejack sighed before looking at her, eyes watering.
"Ah know that, Fluttershy." Applejack responded. "But Ah've got to find her, apoligize and tell her how Ah feel." Applejack looked down. "Ah love her." Fluttershy gestured to the door.
"I don't mean to tell you to get out, but..." Fluttershy sighed. "Go and tell her!" Applejack nodded before walking out of the cottage back into the cold. She adjusted her stetson before taking off in a dead sprint in the direction of Rainbow Dash's cloud home. It was quite a walk, but Applejack was dead-set on her goal. This was it. The final rush.
And damned is she was going to give up now.
Every thirty seconds or so, a strong, frigid wind attacked Applejack with a devastating debilitating wave of cold. She payed no heed to her numbing hooves as she thundered through the fields toward Rainbow Dash's house. As the luxurious cloud dwelling came into her view, she doubled the speed at which she was running. She breathed heavily in a final, last ditch effort to gain some stamina for the rest of the run. This payed off as she finally reached her destination. She adjusted her stetson as she called her love's name.
"Rainbow Dash!"
No answer. Not even a sound. No lights turned on, and no movement was detected. Applejack stood still, catching her breath for a moment, the cold air burning her lungs. She gathered her breath and screamed again-
"Rainbow Dash!!!"
Still no answer came. No sign of any kind of reponse came for the orange mare standing in the cold. She stood firm however. If she had to get hypothermia, she would stand there with the affliction, waiting for Rainbow Dash to come flying down. Nothing would stop her. Nothing would hinder her. The only thing that could end her efforts to reclaim what she had lost was death. She stood, repeatedly calling Rainbow Dash's name every thirty seconds or so, making sure that her presence was established. After what seemed like hours, Applejack yelled again-
"Rainbow Dash, please come down!" A cry of anger and frustration came from the house, lighting a happy spark within Applejack. She brightened up significantly seeing Rainbow Dash flying down from her home. She touched down in front of Applejack, a look of anger on her face.
"What do you want?!" She said. "You've been down here half an hour screaming! I can't hear myself think!" Applejack smiled and scuffed her hoof on the ground lightly as she shivered from the constant cold.
"Hey, Dash. Ah haven't seen ya in a while." Applejack said, blushing heavily.
"That's because the last time I saw you, you told me that you hate me and that you want me out of your life." Rainbow said before going into a hover. "Now let me honor that request." Applejack grabbed Rainbow's tail between her teeth before she flew back into her home. Applejack pulled Rainbow back onto the ground before spitting her tail out.
"Now, Rainbow Dash, you know Ah didn't mean that! Ah was just caught up in the moment!" Applejack said.
"Sure okay." Rainbow said, lowering her brow and looking away.
"Ah'm bein' honest, Rainbow!" Applejack said.
"Yeah, because you've been so truthful lately." Rainbow said to her. "How's it going with Caramel by the way?"
"Ah broke it off with him." Applejack said. "And now Ah have somethin' Ah need to tell you." Rainbow continued to scowl at Applejack.
"Go on, then." Rainbow said.
"Ah...Ah love you, Rainbow Dash. Ah always have." Applejack said. "Ah just...didn't see it until tonight..." Rainbow looked at her, continuing to scowl.
"Are you bucking kidding me?" The pegasus narrowed her eyes in rage.
"Uh..." Was all Applejack could reply with.
"You think you can play with me like I'm some kind of love toy, then break my heart, ignore me and rebuke me, lie to me and poor Caramel, and come back and apoligize, tell me that you just didn't see it and that it'd be all hunkey-dorey?" She said. "You make me sick, do you know that?! You make me sick!!!" Applejack flinched slightly at Rainbow Dash's verbal assault, her ears splaying back.
"Ah made a mistake, Dash. Ah'm sorry." She said.
"Oh, you're sorry." Rainbow said, dropping her tone to mock Applejack's sincerity. "Yeah, well sorry isn't really gonna cut it at this point! Do you have any idea what you've done? Not just to me, but Caramel?! Did you even see that you'd have to break his heart when you got with him? Do you even have any consideration?! "
"Yes, Ah do!" Applejack said, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. She looked at Rainbow and planted her hooves firmly to the ground. "And Ah'm tryin' to end all of it now! Ah'm sorry! What Ah did was wrong! Ah'm sorry Ah lied to you! Ah'm sorry Ah decieved Caramel for my own personal gain!" Applejack's voice softened considerably. "Ah'm sorry Ah never told you how much Ah love you..." Rainbow Dash shook her head. Fear spread within Applejack as she teared up. "Ah love you, Rainbow Dash."
"Well, Applejack," Rainbow said, softly. Her tone filled Applejack with hope as she listened. "I don't love you...not anymore. It's over. You've lost your chance."
Despair coursed within Applejack. She had lost the mare she loved. The mare that had loved her so dearly, that had not given up on her, was giving up on her now. Honestly, could she be blamed? Applejack had treated her like dirt and halfway expected to get out of it scot-free. She finally understood how Rainbow had felt that cold night outside Cafe Du Mane, the absolute feeling of hopelessness that crashed down on her like a warhammer. Her ears splayed back as her eyes flooded with tears. Her legs shook, not from the cold, but from the true feeling of losing somepony so precious to her. At this point, she would've been blessed to have any kind of a friendship with the pegasus from that point on. In all likelyhood, she and Rainbow Dash were done. Applejack sat down and sobbed, tears soaking and chilling her cheeks.

sorry for the late update guys hope you enjoyed this chapter!