The bartender looked pitifully at Alez. "Let's hope she doesn't come back, huh?" Alez ignored him and pushed through the crowd. He stopped in the doorway, and turned toward Octavia, "see you again?" Octavia nodded slightly, and Alez dashed out the door after Lightning Dust.
It had started to rain, and it was cold. Alez shivered as he trotted up the steps that he had climbed earlier that day, before meeting Lightning for the first time. Alez reached the door, and knocked loudly. He waited five seconds, ten seconds, then thirty seconds. "Lightning Dust? It's me, Alez, from earlier today!" There was still no answer. On a hunch, he turned the knob, and the door opened. He trotted in, and found her sitting at a table with her head in her hooves. He patted her gently, "hey, don't worry, it's okay."
"No, Alez, it's not okay. I shouldn't have yelled at you."
"It's okay. Is there anything I can do?"
She lifted her head off the table. "I really want to apologize to Rainbow Dash, but I'm just too afraid to face her."
"Well, I don't really like Rainbow Dash myself, but I know her, and I guess I could take you."
Lightning wiped her eyes, and sighed. "You'd really do that for me?"
"Yeah! No problem! Except that I've got no idea how to get to Cloudsdale. It's been awhile."
"I was just there, for the...competition."
Alez was unsure of his plan. He had no idea of how Rainbow Dash would react to Lightning Dust showing up to apologize. "Let's just hope we catch her in a good mood. I've never really flown long distances before," he said, flapping his small wings once or twice.
"You've got a horn too. Can you do magic?"
Alez closed his eyes, and his horn lit up yellow, as a coffee mug levitated a few inches off the table. He set it down softly, and relaxed again. "Unless you need someone to lift weights for you, I'm pretty useless as far as magic goes."
Lightning Dust sighed, "Don't tell anypony, but I always wanted a little brother that was more powerful than me."
Alez smirked. "That, I can do. Now, lets get going, before I change my mind."
"Are we almost there? My wings are tired."
"That's Cloudsdale right in front of us. Where did she live again?"
"House eight, Cloud nine. That should be right up there."
Alez landed on the edge of the cloud, and was surprised when his hooves sank in a few inches. He allowed himself to giggle, and gallop in a circle, and feel the soft cloud beneath his hooves. He glanced at Lightning Dust, who was giving him an odd look. "Have you never felt a cloud before or something?"
Alez blushed. "It's been a while, I guess. That's her door over there, um..."
Lightning giggled, "oh Alez, you're so clumsy...and modest!"
Alez blushed even more. "Don't be ridiculous. You stay here until I ask you to come, okay? I just want to greet her first and make sure she's in an okay mood."
"Sounds good, and, Alez, thanks again."
"Not a problem," Alez said, starting to trot toward the door. He proudly strutted up to the doorstep, and knocked loudly. The door opened instantly, and Rainbow Dash did a double-take when she saw Alez. She laughed, "Well, you're not the pizza delivery pony, but hey, I haven't seen you for months, kiddo!" She proceeded to squeeze the air out of his lungs with a bone-crushing hug.
"Nice to see you too, Rainbow." Thank goodness, she appears to be in a good mood. "So, Rainbow," he said, prying her off, "do you remember, by any chance, the Wonderbolts Academy?"
"Sure I do! I had a blast!"
"Do you, by any chance, remember Lightning Dust?"
A shadow passed over Rainbow's face. "Do I...remember...Lightning Dust? Yeah, I do." She was suddenly not the same pony Alez had known and looked up to, quite literally since he was a few inches shorter. "I want you," she said, pointing at Alez, "to tell me," she pointed at herself, "why you would bring up Lightning Dust."
Alez opened his mouth to explain, but somepony else decided to do it for him.
"It's me. I'm sorry, I really am."
Before Lightning Dust could even react, Rainbow Dash was all-in-her-face. "I don't know why you're here, or who brought you, but-"
"Dash! Calm down! I brought her here!" Alez yelled.
Now Rainbow Dash was in his face. "You brought her here? I thought you were cool, Alez, but you're with her now! Thinking I would just apologize like that?"
Alez's instincts told him that nopony should be in his face like Rainbow Dash was. Before he could stop himself, he felt his stomach tying into knots, and then his horn lit up, and emitted a blinding flash of yellow light. Rainbow Dash was encased in a glowing yellow sphere of energy. Her mouth was wide open.
"Oh my - I've never done that before! I'm so sorry! Rainbow-"
"It's okay. I'm okay. Just...leave me."
"Inside the bubble?"
"I'll get out, don't worry. I just want you and Lightning Dust to be far away when that happens."
Alez nodded, and took Lightning Dust's arm, and flew off of cloud nine, and away from Rainbow Dash.
"Well, that could have gone better," Alez said. Lightning Dust was doing her head-in-hooves-thing again, and this time, she was crying too. They were back at Lightning Dust's apartment, which was darker at night than at day. Alez looked out the window, and wondered if Rainbow Dash felt that same way about the incident. Alez didn't know, but she did. In fact, she was also sitting on her couch, with her head in her hooves.
Alez sighed. "Is it okay if I go now? It's getting late."
"Please don't, Alez. I need somepony to keep me company."
Alez sat back down on the couch. Lightning Dust put her head down on his lap. The rain poured down in sheets, blowing noisily against the windows. It sounded like a dampened roar as it hit the roof. They sat in silence for almost ten minutes. Lightning Dust finally broke the silence. "Alez, I've got something to ask you."
"Ask away."
"How old are you?"
"Fifteen. I turned last February. And how about you?"
"I'm seventeen."
If her head wasn't on Alez's lap, he would have jumped. "You're only seventeen?"
"I was twelve when I entered my first competition. You know Alez, we're a lot alike."
"I guess so."
"So, that's where my second question comes in. You've, just so kind to me through all of this. I mean, we just met yesterday! You've made me realize that friendship can survive extreme circumstances, and that nopony is left feeling depressed when you're there to help out."
"Well, thanks! You've been really nice to me too, and...um..."
"Alez, Do you like me?"
What Alez experienced next can be compared to this: one of those videos of a nuclear bomb going off many miles away, so you see the explosion, but you don't feel the shockwave until a few seconds later. The explosion was the words that came out of her mouth, and the shockwave was the flood of thoughts that hit him like a steam-roller and wreaked havoc on his mind. "Do...I...er..."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, Lightning, I really-"
There was a knock on the door. Lightning Dust lifter her head to allow Alez to get up. He trotted over to the door, and grabbed the knob. He paused for a second, thinking who would be awake at this hour. He swung the door open, and gasped sharply. "Sweet mother of Celestia!"
"Don't worry, kid, I come in peace," Rainbow Dash replied.