//------------------------------// // Two // Story: Grounded // by MissytheAngle //------------------------------// Grounded Two Beyond the shocked reactions and the few words muttered between them, silence reigned for a long several minutes after the truth was out. They simply stared at each other, though constantly, Twilight's eyes glanced over to Cobalt, who did not seem fazed by their new visitor, nor did he question the awkward silence. “Cobalt, maybe you should go up to your room. I have to talk with my friend for a minute,” said Rainbow, unable to handle the insanity of the silence any longer. And she doubted she could talk to Twilight without him being the very topic, and she did not want him to hear it. “'Kay,” he said as the earth colt walked up to his room upstairs. He smiled at Twilight kindly, who gave a sweet smile back, before going into his room. But then it faded when she heard the door slam, and it turned to a look of absolute bemusement. “Rainbow... I.... what happened? I mean, what I mean is,” she sputtered, obviously unable to handle this situation calmly. “When did this happ—how old is he?” It took her a moment to stick with a single question, as no doubt many were racing through her mind. “Just turned five a while ago.” “Five? Then... then you had him just around the time you left!” she exclaimed, eyes wide. She trotted up to the prismatic maned mare with a questioning gaze. “Wh-I don't even know what to say.” She took a heavy breath and rubbed the sides of her forehead. “What's there to say? It's no big deal.” Even Rainbow nearly winced at her words the second after they fell from her lips. They came out so much worse than she planned. Sure enough, Twilight's eye twitched. “Y-it's just, you've been gone for years, and—” A flash glinted in her eyes as something dawned on her, a piece of this large puzzle beginning to be placed in. Rainbow frowned, knowing full well that Twilight, being the intelligent mare she was, would get the answer quickly. Glancing up the stairs as if she could see Cobalt, she hoped he was not listening in their conversation at this point. “You left... and that has something to do with him.” It was not a question. And her sudden calmness was strange, almost disturbing. “Hey, don't put any blame on him, alright?” Rainbow Dash said, arms crossed over her chest as she abruptly flew a few feet in the air, floating just over Twilight’s face. “He didn't do anything.” “I know, I know he didn't. But still, it was because of him you left, right?” Twilight's brow quirked. Shoulders sagging in defeat, Rainbow landed on the ground and said, “Yeah, kinda. B-but I didn't want to, at first. I just wasn't sure how to handle it, so I left to take things on by myself.” “We could have helped!” Twilight suggested in a louder tone than necessary. “I can handle things on my own, you know,” Rainbow Dash countered. Twilight stood quiet. “You could at least have said good-bye,” she then said. There was a softness to her voice now, quickly switched from her interrogative state. How did she do that? “It would have been complicated if I did that. Everypony would try to convince me out of it, or even ask why! I just didn't want to get in that kind of mess. If anything, I was too...” Twilight waited, but Rainbow Dash did not respond immediately, her voice caught in her throat for some reason. She refused to make eye contact with Twilight, backing down as the tables turned; rather than wanting to be in her face, she wanted to be just about anywhere else. “Too what?” Twilight questioned. In response, Rainbow grit her teeth. “Never mind. You have any other questions? 'Cause I don't have all day or anything. I have to set up dinner,” Dash said, already heading into the kitchen. Setting up dinner suddenly seemed far more compelling to do than have Twilight interrogate her. Granted, all that was to it was getting plates and the pizza out, but it was better than nothing. Twilight peeked into the kitchen, which was mostly a cupboard and a round table with a couple chairs adorning a room smaller than the living room. She walked over to Rainbow Dash, who stood immobile at the counter. “Rainbow... are you alright?” The Pegasus let out an angry huff. Losing her temper and cool would just worsen the situation, so she needed to calm herself. Any stress that arrived alongside Twilight needed to leave. Turning around and leaning against a counter, she said, “Heh, yeah, I'm just awesome, thanks for asking!” “I didn't mean to bother you, really. I'm just concerned.” “Twilight, if you haven't noticed, I've been doing this for five whole years, so there's nothing to be concerned about. I can take care of him fine and everything. You don't need to worry about that.” “But that's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about you,” Twilight corrected her. Breaking the gap between them, she pressed a hoof on her shoulder. “As soon as you saw me out there, you ran away. Why?” Rainbow hissed under her breath, realizing she hurt Twilight long before they even started talking. The entire day had taken a turn for the worst, for both of them. If one of them wasn't looking miserable, it was the other. And Rainbow Dash certainly wasn't helping either of them with prolonging her little lies and secrets. “I left 'cause I didn't want anypony to know. And now that you're here, now the secret's out!” She fell into the chair, wisps of her hair brushing into her vision. “I don't know what to do now.” “You could come back to Ponyville,” Twilight suggested. All that answered was a quiet Pegasus and her full attention of nothing but the floor. She brushed a hoof against the table in circles. Rainbow Dash being quiet was close to unsettling, unwonted. Twilight's ears sagged. “We just really missed you, Rainbow,” Twilight stated. “Yeah, I know. Look, can we just sit down and relax for a second? I really need a drink,” Rainbow Dash said abruptly, on the verge of begging for a change of subjects. She headed to the fridge for a container of water, followed by two cups. “Ya want some water?” “Sure.” Dash poured water into two cups and set them on the table, adding three plates surrounding the circle. “Is it a minute yet? Can I go down?” a tiny voice called out from upstairs. Only a shadow of an earth colt could be seen. Rainbow Dash chuckled, looking at the clock. It had been ten minutes since sending him up. Still, popping her head up the stairs to see a tiny, light blue figure at the edge above, she said, “Not yet. Just a bit more.” All they heard after that was, “Aww!” before another door shut. Rainbow's grin fell when she turned back to the unicorn, who was biting her lip and had sat down at the dinner table. Clearly, many things still bugged her that were not yet answered. And she knew that letting them go unanswered would only make things more suspicious. With a defeated sigh, she looked to Twilight. “I know you still have lots of question. Just hit me. Might as well get it over with.” The unicorn nodded and almost instantly let out the first question. “Did you ever think of coming back?” Twilight began. “Once, maybe twice, but obviously, I never thought much 'bout it. I was just... well, it was a lot to think about. Plus, I had a kid to take care of; the last thing on my mind was heading back home all of a sudden,” Rainbow stated clearly, though deep in her mind, she thought of other reasons as to why she hadn't gone back. Hopefully, none of this registered on her face as she pondered it. It was gone unmentioned as Twilight tapped a hoof against her chin, thinking of her next question. “Umm... how is he doing?” “Cobalt? What d'you mean by that?” A brow arched upward. “I just mean, like, how is he? As in... is he a good kid?” Clearly, Twilight noticed her awkward addition to this conversation, yet no matter how hard she tried to cover it up, it only ended in babbling and blushing in her cheeks. “I don't know; I've never had to ask questions about something like this before.” “He's fine, really. It’s not like you have to ask about him. I mean, I'm not asking for an interview for a job or whatever.” “Oh, yeah, that reminds me. What do you do here to get money for you two? And this apartment?” Twilight asked. She looked over the generally decent home of the two, which had a few large rooms overall minus upstairs bedrooms and a bathroom, but for Rainbow, that was enough for the two of them. “I just got a job at a restaurant—as a waitress. Not really as fun as working in the clouds, but better than, like, cleaning up their garbage, right?” she suggested with a light chuckle. “What about the Wonderbolts?” Rainbow Dash's face fell. “What 'bout them?” “Do you still want to tryout for them? It was a huge dream of yours,” Twilight said, as if the reminded was required. “I know. But I haven't thought about them much.” Twilight looked taken aback. “Really?” “Yeah.” She tried to keep her face straight and nonchalant as she took another sip of water. Inside, she thought, Although I wouldn’t kill for an extra reason to fly around a lot. She wiped her mouth of the drips of water that slipped away from her tongue and said, “Next.” Twilight took a glance upstairs again and thought for a minute, eyes only staring to the top of the stairs. Twilight glanced back, snapped from her daze. She shook her head lightly and said, “Oh, sorry. Who's, uh, who's the husband? Is it someone we know or--” Rainbow froze, only placing her cup onto the table. That question she should have seen coming a mile away, yet she had no way to answer it. And Twilight said it so easily... because it should have been, at least a little. Only this was an entirely different story. She glared down, right into her cup. Her mouth opened to come up with something, but in the end, she had nothing. Not a single lie or anything. As for the truth, she barely considered it. And she refused to do so in any way. “Okay, enough asking me questions. My turn: what's up with suddenly coming here? It's been five years, Twilight. What exactly brought you here?” Twilight's mouth slacked a moment, and Dash thought for a slight second that Twilight would be too determined to get answers from her about Cobalt's father. She waited with an anxious twitch to her tail. However, Twilight's stare suddenly fell to the floor, which only drew Rainbow's suspicion (and confusion) more. Though it was nothing necessarily to get angry about, something just made her furious and she could not hold it in. She glared at the wall. Twilight's bag glowed with soft pink as she opened it with her magic, catching Rainbow's attention again. There were several items in there, from the few seconds Rainbow got to see into it, but Twilight only took out one thing. She handed it to Rainbow Dash, who asked her friend to land it on the table. Rainbow read the parchment aloud; not all of it, but enough: You are graciously invited to the wedding of Ink Blot and Twilight Spar— Rainbow cut herself off from reading the fancy writing and glanced at Twilight. Her heart leaped and then sank in nearly the same few moments this news sunk in. In four years, she clearly had missed so much... Any chance to speak up were gone when Twilight interrupted her train of thought. “The wedding isn't for a few months, but I had these prepared beforehoof by Rarity. And... I had to find you to ask you to be one of my bridesmaids,” she said, the movement of her hooves now catching her attention far more than Rainbow's reaction. While speechless for what Twilight had accomplished in the time Rainbow missed in Ponyville, the idea of going to the wedding instantly spelled disaster across her mind. Of course it would be in Ponyville, and of course her other friends would be a part of the scholar's bridesmaids. “I can't go back,” Rainbow stated in a quieter tone, an overwhelming shyness invading her. “Why not?” The disappointment in Twilight's face hurt her, but when Rainbow's eyes glanced up to the ceiling for just a moment, more ideas clicked into Twilight's head. The unicorn's ears fell back. “It's about your son.” She sure can figure things out quick. Someone ought to get her a medal. “Cobalt—well, Cobalt Streak—but, anyway. I can't just leave him, but if I do bring him with me, of course the others will see him! They'll never look at me at the same way again; they'll hate me!” “Why would they think that? Everyone missed you so much when you left. No matter what happened to you, we'd still love you.” Twilight paused, chuckling. “When I saw him, I didn't know what to think. But then I accepted it, because it's what you do with your life. Actually... I'm really happy for you.” But Rainbow Dash just couldn't feel quite as elated as her friend, the hidden lies haunting her the longer she stared at her friend. “You don't know what happened, though,” she grumbled under her breath. “No, I don't. But still, I can see it in your eyes that he's changed you a little, that... he means so much to you. I don't care who the father is at all; all I care about is the mother... Rainbow Dash, you seem to be doing really well with him,” complimented the scholar, eyes glowing with tears begging to fall. “And it makes me so proud of you.” Damn these nampy-pamby moments—she's going to get to me! The Pegasus gritted her teeth, but soon released a smile. Twilight's words were close to breaking her, they were so generous. “Thanks, Twi'. I mean, I didn't exactly end up like this to get your approval or anything, but it means a lot to me.” Twilight laughed slightly. “I know that. But you have no idea how much I want you at that wedding—everyone will love to see you again.” “Even if I have my son with me?” “They'll love him.” Rainbow shook her head. “No, that's not it! I wasn't sure about that, but I doubt they'd hate him or anything, but... that's not what I'm worried about. They'll—for all I know, they'll think of me differently! They'll think I'm-I'm soft or something,” she told her, earning a sigh from Twilight. Twilight's eyes shined with concern, a genuine feeling that brought more of a smile on Rainbow Dash's face. “You're still Rainbow Dash. You're still the Pegasus we knew before you left—you're just a mother now. That won't ever change what we think of you.” “How can you be sure? What about, say, Applejack?” “What about her?” Twilight cocked her head, bemused. The Pegasus sighed, laying on the chair again. “Forget it. I-I still don't know, Twilight. Just... give me time to think, alright?” she asked in an exasperated tone. Exhaustion began to fill her, time lost on her. Twilight's smile eased her. “Tell you what; it's pretty dark out, so I don't think I'll be home tonight. By tomorrow morning, you can give me an answer before I leave. That'll give you plenty of time to think,” she said. “Sure, sure,” Rainbow accepted, relieved. But then she realized the evident. “But you should stay here. We don't exactly have many places, but you can take my bed.” “Thank you, Rainbow. I'll just take the couch, though. I don't mind... Dash?” “Yeah?” “It's really good to see you again. Nothing can change that.” Rainbow nodded absentmindedly, the sincerity in Twilight’s words bringing a warmth to her chest that reminded her just how strong their friendship had been--and still was. She finally called down Cobalt to eat and let Twilight join in on their dinner. “That was way over a minute,” Cobalt argued, causing Twilight to giggle at his mildly irritated face, his somewhat chubby cheeks with hints of red added. They ate in silence for a bit, knowing whatever they conversed about would be listened into by him if they tried. So Twilight instead listened to Cobalt's day at school along with Rainbow, who mostly paid attention; mostly being that most of what he said wasn't anything new except for a few simple things. “And then when the teacher left, these two fillies got in a fight. And ‘cause this one boy liked the one girl, he squirted glue all over the other one’s mane, and then everypony started throwing stuff ‘round ‘till the teacher came in,” he said, an air of excitement all but exploding from him. His blue hooves spread out, and a wide smile stretched on his face. Rainbow Dash smirked at his enthusiasm for the silliest things. “Oh, that’s awful,” Twilight played along. She then flashed him a feigned accusing look. “You didn’t throw anything, did you?” Cobalt looked severely offended, but his eyes widened. “No!” Twilight was easily amused, or at least pretended to be to entertain Rainbow Dash's son. She smiled and nodded whenever he showed real enthusiasm over the simplest things. Dash just watched as Twilight interacted with her son and saw a new light in Twilight that she saw in plenty of ponies when around Cobalt. He never had to do anything except be so adorable. At last, Twilight bade Rainbow Dash good-night and fell into bed. The Pegasus found an extra blanket and pillow in a closet in her room and gave them to her. Cobalt followed his mother upstairs to get some shut-eye, as well. Or, in some cases, only try. Sleep eluded her that night, the pros and cons of both going or not fighting to the death. She, once the brave and strong Rainbow Dash, could not handle reality creeping onto her. And yet she knew she could not hide any longer. It was pathetic. Still, was she ready to reveal this to everypony? This secret that she kept from them for so long by running away? When she woke up to the blinding sun glaring under her eyelids, she thought harshly with a grumble, Not now, sun. Five more minutes. But the sun was relentless, and continued to bath her in bright sunlight. Finally, she gave up on getting any extra sleep. Pulling the blankets from her body, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. It took a minute to realize what happened yesterday was not a dream, especially since her dreams were often about being high in the air, maybe a Wonderbolt or two at her side. Not a care in the world, and she loved it. As soon as she headed into the hallway, Cobalt stepped up from the bathroom. His smile was bright as he approached his mother. “Hey, Cobalt. What's up?” Rainbow asked. “Are we're really gonna see your friends?” Rainbow glared at him, a single brow high on her forehead. She almost asked him why he said that, especially with it coming out of nowhere, but then she had an idea. No wonder he looked so ecstatic early in the morning--even on weekends, he hated anytime before nine to get up. Now, however, it all made sense. “How much did you hear, nosy?” she then teased with a grin. “Just that.” For some reason, despite his quickness to answer, he refused to keep eye contact with his mother, a timidness in his eyes just like that. Rainbow Dash decided to let that slide. Being nosy was the last thing she cared about him doing. “I dunno, kid. I'm still thinking about it,” she stated with a faraway look. A wave of disappointment made Cobalt's face fall. “Why don't you want to see your friends? Are you mad at them or something?” “Heck, no,” Rainbow Dash dismissed the idea. “Things are... just complicated.” Cobalt blinked several times with those big rose eyes and tilted his head. It took a moment for her to know why. Snickering, she said, “I don’t know if I’m ready to see them yet, that’s all.” “That's too bad.” His disappointment washed into his eyes. He jumped into her hooves and stared up at her with those big, sad eyes. “When do you wanna see them?” “I’m not sure, Cobalt. I don’t have an exact day for that.” If looks could kill, Cobalt’s innocent, cherubic gaze would have at least sent Rainbow Dash to the hospital. “But you should! And I’ll be super super good and everything, I promise.” Rainbow Dash did not think about it quite yet; there was something else she was thinking about. “Why do you want to go so bad? It’s not like you know them,” she quipped, even more befuddled than before. Why he wanted to go so bad was beyond her. He shrugged. “It seems like fun.” When he smiled, revealing a set of pure white teeth, a squeak sounded. A squeak, of all things. She hated when he did that so much. Ugh, why does he have to be so cute?! she thought as she hugged him tightly back. After this warm moment, she dug her hoof against the top of his sandy maned head in a playful noogie. “Ah, hay, we can go. 'Sides, everyone will go nuts when they see you.” This pleased Cobalt, whose face perked up instantly. He jumped up with another squeak, wrapping his body onto one of her forelegs. “Awesome! I can’t wait!” Rainbow Dash froze, letting what just happened sink it. She then sighed, realizing her defeat. As Cobalt fell from her grasp, she groaned into her hooves. Defeating by cuteness... she thought she had learned to get used to it by now. Apparently, this was not the case.   She walked downstairs and saw Twilight sitting casually on the couch that was her bed that evening. Hovering with a pink aura before her face was a green spine novel. Rainbow rolled her eyes, thinking, She’ll always find time to get her head into a book, hunh? “‘Sup, egghead,” she greeted with a grin. Twilight’s eyes jumped up, and she placed the book onto a nightstand. “Sorry. I was just reading one of your books--although you mostly have old Daring Do books. Rainbow just nodded. “Whatever. So... I think I’ve made up my mind.” This sucked in Twilight’s attention. “And?” “Alright, I bite. Heading back to Ponyville for a few months doesn't sound so bad,” Rainbow Dash said. Cobalt grinned in approve beside her. Twilight's face was alight at this news. If anything like Pinkie Pie, she might have burst through the ceiling. She ran up to Rainbow Dash and gripped her into another, much tighter hug. “Oh, thank you, thank you, Rainbow! You have no idea how happy I am!” she squealed. “Yup, I definitely can’t tell,” she said, but nonetheless, she laughed at Twilight’s sudden burst of happiness. In a Twilight levitated a small parchment, taking it in for a second. “This has the schedule for the trains on it. I understand if you need to clear things up here before you go, so we’ll go later tonight,” she explained quickly, trotting over to place the book back in its place--she even took a moment to indicate whether or not she put it in the right place. Before Rainbow Dash could so much as take another breath after this, Twilight cut her off with more questions. “You don't mind staying in Ponyville for a few months, do you? I mean with your work and all, and Cobalt going to school—” “It's no prob, Twilight. We’ll figure things out as we go along,” she said, flashing her a quick wink of reassurance. “I gotta get packin', but we'll be real quick.” “Take your time.” She turned to Cobalt and asked him, “Ya need to bring anything for the trip? It’s gonna be a while, Cobalt.” Cobalt let out a sound of deep thinking--or as deep thinking as a five year old could. He just shrugged. Rainbow Dash shook her head and said, “Let’s head upstairs. If there’s something you wanna bring, bring it into my room and we’ll take it.” The Pegasus zoomed into her room and grabbed a nearest suitcase, Cobalt following on hoof slowly towards his room. She roamed through her room, checking to find whatever necessities she needed, such as a pillow and blanket, and maybe one Daring Do book... or two... or five. However, throughout her packing, she tried to think over what would happen when they returned to Ponyville. Who she would see, what she would say, and how to add in the fact she left five years ago because she had a son. She groaned and buried her hooves onto her face. Yes, this would go perfectly!