//------------------------------// // Hillside // Story: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic -- Off The Record // by The King of Hearts //------------------------------// Hillside -- Alex sat in a comfortable silence with Rainbow Dash. The two had just made up after weeks of unfriendliness, and both of them were happy to be rid of it. Neither of them had made eye contact with the other, they were simply staring out to the almost set sun, and all of the colors it brought to the sky. “It’s beautiful…” Alex said, breaking the silence between them. “I couldn’t imagine the sun looking like this back where I come from…” Dash perked up at this. She wasn’t very good at making small talk, so hearing him mention his home world gave her an opportunity to start a conversation with him. “What was it like?” She asked. “Your world I mean! Not the sun… in… your world…” she laughed nervously, not really sure why she was nervous in the first place. Alex laughed softly then sighed. “My world is just so different from this one… Where can I start?” Deciding to stay silent, Dash watched him intently, happy that he was opening up to her. “First of all… Everything looks so different,” Alex started. “Everything here has so much color. So much vibrance… But, this world is somehow… Less defined.” Not really sure what this meant, Dash spoke up “What does that mean?” “It’s not an easy thing to explain…” Alex said trying to find the words. “You’ve seen a picture drawn by a filly, right?” He asked, knowing that cartoons didn’t exist in this world for him to compare this too. “You know how the picture looks like… well… a drawing?” Vaguely understanding what he meant, Dash nodded. “It’s like if you were pulled into a world that was entirely made up of drawings like that…” Alex said slowly, not sure if his explanation was making any sense to her. “I probably sound like an idiot, huh?” “You don’t,” Dash said, starting to get what he was trying to say. “It just really makes me wonder what your world looks like, if this one looks like a drawing to you.” “Well… That’s not something I think I could possibly explain.” Alex said with a chuckle. Dash chuckled. “That’s alright. Why don’t you tell me something else about your world, Spot?” Smiling at the use of her new nickname for him, he thought for a moment, trying to find something to talk about. “Well,” Alex started again, happy to have someone listening to him about this stuff. “Everything is just so DIFFERENT.” He said, feeling like he had said ‘different’ one too many times. Gathering his thoughts, Alex took a deep breath, and started listing off everything he could think of. “There’s no magic in my world, or at least, I don’t think there is… Ponies are just unintelligent animals, people don’t break into song and dance for no reason, there is a LOT more violence in my world than yours, No one is just nice to each other for no reason… Except maybe in Canada…” Alex said, earning a strange look from Dash, he then continued, “Grass is NOT what they eat, people aren’t able to fly, or defy gravity, or make whatever they want happen…” “That’s mostly just Pinkie Pie” Dash said, not realizing that just made it make LESS sense to him. “And…” Alex finally said, “That’s why this world is WAY better than mine… Besides the ‘eating grass’ thing.” Dash smiled. She was happy he liked it so much here. However, it brought a question to her mind. “Don’t you miss your family?” Opening his mouth slightly, Alex thought back to the painful memories he had experienced right before he came to Equestria. “I’d rather not talk about that.” He said finally. Sounding a little angrier than he meant to, which he immediately regretted. “Oh, Sorry…” Dash said, taken back a little. “Listen, maybe I should--” “I didn’t mean to sound that way,” Alex said, cutting her off. “It’s just a sensitive subject for me… How about you tell me about yourself instead.” Seeing the clearly apologetic look on Alex’s face, Dash immediately felt better. “ Okay… Well, as you know, I’m really into flying!” Happy to be past the ‘family’ subject, Alex listened to Dash, just as she had for him. “Ever since I was young, I was in all the classes, camps, clubs...” Dash said, hesitating slightly, “That’s how I met Gilda, by the way.” Nodding, Alex allowed her to continue. “Anyway, all that learning… All the practice, it’s all been for one thing!” Dash said, her voice starting to squeak as she explained her main drive. “The Wonderbolts!” Alex had heard of these ponies. They performed stunts, supervised official Cloudsdale activities, and helped out with all kinds of disasters. It made sense that Dash would want to become a part of that team. He heard they were the best. And he had a feeling that she would fit in with a group like them amazingly. “If I could join up with them… They could be so much better!” Dash explained excitedly. “They could use my cutie mark as the official logo! I could teach them all of my tricks, they might even change their name to ‘The Rainbowbolts!’” Smirking slightly, Alex had to ask. “Really?” “No.” Dash said laughing, “I mean, it would be GREAT if they did, but, not even I’m THAT full of myself. I know I’m not the best. But, maybe I could be one of the best someday… Right?” She said looking at the ground modestly. “Of course,” Alex said with a smile. “I’ve only been here for a little while… But you’re still the best I’ve seen!” Blushing slightly, Dash looked up to thank him for the complement, but as soon as she looked into his eyes, she immediately forgot what it was that she was going to say to him. Alex hated how often he found himself losing his train of thought because he looked in to her eyes. He was getting lost in them somehow. Normally, he would have looked away, but she seemed to be pretty absorbed in him, so, he took the opportunity to absorb himself a little in her. After a few moments of the two staring at each other, Dash finally started to come back to her senses. Realizing how close together their faces were, she abruptly pulled away and laughed nervously. “Whoa! Would you look at the time?” She said looking at a drawn on watch on her ankle, “I think we’d better be getting to bed!” “We?” Alex asked jokingly, unaware of the downward spiral he was sending her in to. “Wha— N…No!” Dash stammered, her eyes wide open, “It’s just late, and-and… I think we should be heading to our own beds! Because I DEFINATELY don’t want to sleep with you!” Widening her eyes at what she had just said, she stammered on, trying to correct herself. “But- You’re- I’m not saying that b- because I don’t like you or anything! Because- I’m- I’m sure you’d be very nice to sleep with... ugh...” Dash just stopped. Letting out a defeated sigh,’ she quickly turned away from him. At this point, she was blushing so deeply from embarrassment; the red mixing with her blue coat was starting to make her look purple. Alex didn’t say a single word. She had dug herself a pretty deep hole, and he knew that he would probably just make it worse if he said anything. Dash sighed, something about this stallion made her sound like an idiot. Normally, she could handle herself extremely well. And if the rare time came when she COULDN’T handle herself, she would just get mad and storm off… But not this time. She told herself it was because they had just made up, and she didn’t want to start another fight with him. But, deep down, she knew the real answer. He was a good looking pony. And she was REALLY starting to realize it. “I’m just gonna go…” Dash said, still facing away from him. Alex knew she was embarrassed, so, he decided to just let her head home. “Alright,” He said simply. “Goodnight, Colors.” “Goodnight Ale- ahem, Spot.” Dash corrected quickly, turning around for a moment to face him. “And if you’d like to learn how to fly, let me know, alright? I think it'd be a great way to get to know each other better!” Alex smiled and nodded. Still blushing lightly, she turned and took off into the sky. Dash couldn’t believe that her opinion of him could change so fast. She had only been on good terms with him for a few hours, and she was already acting like a filly with a crush on a boy at school... Was it supposed to happen this fast? It was like going from one extreme to another. Like jumping out of a tub of ice and into a hot spring... or, maybe she had just finally been brave enough to admit to herself that he was kinda cute. He was handsome for a stallion, even if he was a little on the small side. Everypony thought he was funny as well. The truth was, he was the kind of pony that she was usually attracted to. And she had known that since the beginning. The anger she felt toward him was nothing more than a reflex. And with that anger gone, she was finally experiencing the other symptoms of attraction. Stammering, blushing, butterflies. She hated it... But, she was a little excited too. Sighing, Dash flew toward her house, wondering how much sleep she was going to lose to overthinking about this guy. -- Alex sat alone on the hill long after she had left, he had been thinking the exact same things about her. But all sorts of things kept popping up in his head. 'You think a horse is sexy.' 'You're thinking about banging a horse.' 'Uncle Chet would make so much fun of you if he knew.' "Geez... " Alex muttered, "Maybe Gilda isn't the perv after all." Forcing those thoughts from his head, he thought back to her eyes, and let out a sigh. He hoped that he would be seeing much more of her.