Rainbow Dash floated over to the bed and took a seat,
"So, what do you want to talk about?" You sit next to her and began eating,
"I wanna stop this stupid shit... I'm tired of walking into the kitchen and feeling like there's a bullseye on my forehead. " You sigh heavily as you continued, "I know you can understand where I'm coming from." She nodded slowly,
"I do, Anon. I never meant for things to get like this."
"Then why did you lie? Why did you lie to me Dash? I need to know." Her ears splayed back and she looked down for a moment, assessing thoughts before speaking again,
"I-I don't know! I just wanted you to leave before Soarin came so you wouldn't feel worse, but I did. I should have just told you the truth." Her voice wavered, teardrops growing in her eyes,"I let you down so hard that day. When you kicked me out of your house a few weeks ago, I was mad at you. I said a lot of hurtful things that I wish I could take back! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She broke down crying, digging her hooves into your bed. You hesitantly raise your hand, resting it on her back,
Her body shook and trembled with each sob that wracked her frame. When was the last time you interacted with her like this? Once she calmed down a little, you talked next,
"Now it's my turn to apologize, I'm sorry for playing the victim card as hard as I did. When I saw you and Soarin that night, I took a huge hit. I cared a lot less about my appearance. Not to mention that I put on a few pounds," you got the point across by pinching your belly, "I was gonna stay bitter too. Then Nightingale came in and made me happy again. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have invited you guys to stay for Hearths Warming Eve." She looked back up to you with pinkish eyes,
"Are we...friends again?" You shake your head,
"I never said I forgave you. I mean I'm giving you a chance. I'm not saying it's impossible to regain my trust, but I'm not saying it'll be easy either." You gave her a reassuring smile,
"Thank you for giving me a chance. Even though I don't...really deserve it."
"Bullshit, if I'm willing enough to give you a chance, then you deserve it." You push yourself up from the bed and stretch, "Now let's get back downstairs so I can make us something to eat. One single slice of cake isn't really enough for me."
Twilight welcomed you back,
"There you are. We were wondering what was taking you both so long." Nightingale trotted up to you. You got on one knee to meet her height and she leaned her head forward,
"Did you do it?" She asked with a noticeable tone of worry,
"Mhm." The thestral squealed girlishly and peppered your face with kisses,
"Mwah! Mwah! Mwah! Mwah! That's my Anon!" Everypony in the room went slack-jawed, all except for Pinkie. She just turned into pink dust as if Thanos had just used the Soul Stone and snapped his fingers,
"Oh...my."
"Well, ain't that somethin'?"
"Well, well, well! It seems Anon has been quite busy in his leave of absence." Rarity tittered,
"How long have you two been an item?" Twilight asked; albeit with a stunned look at her face,
"Anon told me his feelings last night" She nuzzles your chin and sighs, "I'm so glad I did."
"I'm going to go make something to eat for everyone," the mares answered with a collective "okay". You turn your attention back onto Nightingale, "What do you feel like having?" You asked her,
"I think I want some cheeseburgers with bacon."
"Read my mind." You rose back up and placed your attention on the others,
"I'm gonna go whip us up some dinner, anything in specific that you guys want to eat?"
"Do you think you can make some hayburgers and hayfries?" Rainbow Dash asked,
"I'm not really keen on cooking food with hay in it, think you can help me with it?"
"Buck yeah!" You walk into the kitchen, with Rainbow Dash floating slowly behind you, "Anon?"
"Yeah?"
"What's it like eating meat?" You raise your eyebrow,
"Why? Wanna taste?" Her face visibly turned green,
"Sweet Celestia no! I just always wondered why you eat it." You reach into the freezer and pull the food out. You get out the seasoning salt and sprinkle it into the ground beef while you handed her the hayburger mix,
"For one, it's a really good source of protein for humans. Even though we can eat vegetables, vegetables don't offer as much protein as meat. On my planet, I'm what you would call a meat lover. The reason I know so many recipes for meat is because of my dad. He'd always have a barbecue on Saturdays. He was the one who had taught me how to fill burger patties with cheese and bacon wrap hot dogs."
"You eat dogs?!"
"No, oh God no! They have that name because they're shaped like Weiner dogs." You decided to keep out the fact that some humans DO like to eat dogs,
"Oh okay, you had me going there." She chuckled nervously,
"Don't worry, I don't eat dogs." You laughed a bit before you continued cooking, "How's Scootaloo been?" You could visibly see Rainbow's mood brighten,
"Her wings finally grew to the right size and she started flying."
"No way!"
"Yeah, way! I said the same thing when she flew onto my back!"
"Oh man, that's awesome! With you there to train her, she'll probably be one of the fastest mares of her generation." Rainbow Dash scoffed,
"Pssh, one of the fastest? I think you mean, the fastest!" You shook your head and laughed, there's that boastful attitude,
"We'll see Dash, we'll see."
"Done with the hayburgers," she flew up to the cabinet and grabbed the plates, "See you in the living room, Anon."
"I won't be long," When she left the room, you sighed, "This is the best Hearths Warming Eve ever."
When the burgers were finished, you turned off the oven light. Before you left the kitchen, you noticed a bottle of whiskey on top of the fridge. You grab it by the neck and look at the brown liquid. You opened the cap and walked over to the sink,
"Don't need that anymore." You poured the alcoholic liquids into the drain and tossed the glass bottle into the garbage can.
Returning to the living room, you gave Nightingale her plate and sat next to her. She rested her head on your shoulder,
"Thank you, Nightingale."
"For what?" You kissed her ear,
"For making me happy again."
"Awwww." You got to your feet and pulled everypony into your arms,
"This has been the best Hearths Warming Eve I've ever had in my life. Thank you, all of you for not giving up on me, even when I had given up on myself. I'm sorry for taking so long to get out of my funk."
"We're just happy to have you back Anon," Twilight said,
"Glad to be back Twilight. And I promise to never leave again."
And with that, our story comes to a close. Some will say Fin, others may say that's all folks, but I shall say:
The End.