//------------------------------// // Part Three: With You // Story: Galley Alley // by The Red Parade //------------------------------// The sky was blue today, and Velvet Light wanted to fly in it. “Velvet, come on! Stop acting like a foal!” Velvet dug her head deeper into her pillow, pulling the covers up above her head.  A foreleg jabbed her chest through the sheets. “Velvet! You have to take your medication or your wing isn’t getting any better!”  “Just leave me alone, Rocky,” Velvet muttered.  “Ugh!” Rocky Storm poked her shoulder. “You’re literally being a drama queen right now!” Velvet scowled but felt a blush creeping up her cheeks. She groaned, resisting the urge to flip over onto her bandaged wing.  “Star!” Rocky shouted. “Velvet is being silly!” Velvet poked her head above the blankets to glare at Rocky. “Shut up!” “What’s going on?” asked Star Hunter as he poked his head into the bedroom. He narrowed his eyes at Rocky. “Rocky, Velvet needs her rest. Leave her alone.” “She’s not taking her medicine,” Rocky whined, crossing her forelegs and tossing her mane dramatically. “Tell her to stop complaining and eat it!” Star Hunter gave the two an exasperated look, before slamming a hoof to his face. “Rocky, just leave her alone. Velvet, if you don't take your medicine, then how do you expect your wing to heal?” “Maybe I don’t want it to heal,” muttered Velvet as she burrowed back into her fortress of safety. Star trotted over and Velvet felt a weight on the edge of the bed. “...do you want to talk about what happened?” he asked gently. His voice brought with it a crashing wave of humiliation and anxiety. Velvet bit her lip, blinking rapidly to dispel the tears in her eyes. “...no.”  Star sighed, and his disappointment wrought more shame onto Velvet. “Okay. I won’t push you then. Come on, Rocky, I’ll start dinner.” “But it’s my turn to cook,” Rocky pouted as Star stood up. “And you still need supervision so you don’t burn our house down,” Star chuckled. “I’ll help you, ‘kay?” “Fine,” muttered Rocky, secretly relieved that she wouldn’t have to be alone with the kitchen appliances again.  Two sets of hooves trotted out of the room before the door gently shut. Velvet counted to thirty in her head, and when she was certain neither was coming back, she poked her head out from the blankets with a groan. She sank her head into the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. “I’m so stupid,” she muttered, the shame giving way to guilt. Velvet squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her hooves to her forehead with a growl. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” As she shifted in bed pain shot through her right wing. With a defeated sigh, Velvet sat up and reached for the medication Rocky had left on the bedside table.  The sky was slightly gray today, and Velvet wanted to fly in it.  “I said, did you get the flowers from Lilac yet?” “What?!” Velvet rolled her eyes, ears folding down as the grating noise of a lawnmower drowned out Rocky’s words. Rocky grunted, glaring at the pegasus in a safety vest that was pushing a lawnmower up and down the lawn. “Did! You! Get! The! Flowers!” “Oh! The flowers!” Star nodded with a grin. “Yeah, I got them! Lilac gave me these really cute stickers too, I’ve got to ask where she got them!” Velvet glanced up at the sky and closed her eyes. She inhaled deeply, letting the smell of freshly cut grass fill her lungs. The wind flew through her mane, chilling her body while the warmth of her companions on either side fought it back.  When she opened her eyes again the lawnmower had stopped. Velvet glanced back to see that the pegasus gardener was having a conversation with an earth pony on a balcony above. After the two exchanged some words, the pegasus flew up to meet him.  Velvet watched him fly enviously, the urge to spread her own wings surging through her body.  “Velvet? You alright?” “Huh? Yeah, I’m fine,” Velvet muttered as both Rocky and Star glanced at her nervously. “You wanna like… run around or something?” Rocky suggested. “It’s supposed to rain tomorrow and I don’t want to drag you out in that for exercise.” “I’m fine,” Velvet repeated with a roll of her eyes. “Yeah? You don’t look fine,” Rocky murmured.  Velvet turned to face her. “Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Rocky stuck out her tongue at Velvet. “Ladies, please,” Star said, stepping in between them. “Velvet, Rocky means well, we’re just worried about you.” “Well… don’t be!” Velvet replied, trying to hide her blush. “What?! How can we not!” shouted Rocky from behind Star. “You broke your wing! I think that’s a pretty good reason to be concerned!” “Please, do you want to tell us what happened?” asked Star, reaching for her hoof.  Velvet’s eyes flitted back and forth, looking for an escape route as a deep red blush filled her cheeks. Not finding any, she buried her head in her forelegs. “Fine! I wanted to impress you with a flight trick, okay?! Are you happy?!” There was a beat of silence. “What? Why?” asked Rocky, genuine confusion in her voice. “Ugh! Because the two of you are so talented and good at so many things, and I just feel like I’m dead weight,” Velvet replied, sinking deeper to the ground. “I… I saw this one trick the Wonderbolts do where you fly really high then fall, before you pull up at the last second and I thought it’d look really cool and…” her voice wavered and fell to a whisper. “...impress you.” She felt a hoof on her shoulder and looked up to see Star smiling at her. “Velvet, you don’t ever have to impress us. We already love you for who you are!” “Yeah, we really care about you, y’know,” Rocky added. “And it sucks when you keep pushing us away like you’ve been doing.” “I was embarrassed,” moaned Velvet. “I mean, I did that trick because I wanted to prove I wasn’t dead weight but here I am, needing you guys to care for me…” Rocky laughed, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. “You’re really silly, Velvet. You’d do the same for us. That’s what love is!” “I guess,” muttered Velvet. Star kissed her other cheek before gently lifting her to her hooves. “C’mon, let’s get back home and get some soup in you.” Velvet nodded and the two began walking back towards their apartment. “I almost had it too,” muttered Velvet. “Just crashed into that stupid tree.” “Velvet? Please never do that again,” Rocky replied. “You scared the piss out of me when you crashed.” “You really did,” Star observed. “I’ve never heard her scream that high before.” “Hey! Don’t act like you didn’t scream either, tough guy,” Rocky shot back, hitting him in the back of the head with a wing. Velvet laughed as her two lovers bickered with each other. She was glad that she wasn’t the only silly one. The sky outside was gray, and Velvet was glad she wasn’t flying in it. “Could you bring me another cup of cocoa?” she called to the kitchen. “I think you’re getting a bit too used to this service,” came Rocky’s reply. Velvet snorted. “As if you weren’t going to bring one!” “...you got me there.” Velvet looked out the window as rain poured down onto the balcony window and onto the gardens below. She leaned into Star’s side, pulling the knitted blanket up higher against her body. Soon Rocky appeared with some fresh cups of hot chocolate and joined the two on the couch. “Geez, is Evergreen really still out there?” she asked as the faint hum of a lawnmower echoed from below. “Think so,” Star answered. “I wonder if he’s applying for that groundskeeping job?” Across their apartment the balcony door slid open and a confused earth pony poked his head out. The gardener pegasus flew up and the two exchanged words before hugging one another. “Awww!” Velvet giggled, and soon Rocky and Star did as well. The earth pony caught their eye and grinned before pulling his companion into a kiss. “They’re adorable,” Velvet said. “You’re adorable,” said Star, messing with her mane. Velvet blushed and lightly slapped his foreleg. “Yeah, well you two are silly!” “Well, you’re the silliest,” Rocky replied, nuzzling her side. “Kids in love are very silly,” Star replied, hugging the both of them. “Kids?! We’re all the same age, tough guy! Don’t act like you’re older than us!” “Hmm, I am more mature though.”  “No you’re not!” “Guys, please… let’s just enjoy the storm,” Velvet decided, sipping from her drink.  A second of silence passed before Rocky spoke again. “I can’t lie though… Evergreen’s kinda hot, huh?” Two slaps echoed through the apartment followed by a chorus of laughter.