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A Colorful Background
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After Dash departed from the group, they moved on, and went back to the Orange’s mansion, where they had stayed last time. Incidentally, Mosley Orange, and his wife had been away on business once again, allowing the friends to have the house to themselves once again without anypony in charge. Well, besides Ramsley.
Rainbow Dash had been gone the entire day with her parents, leaving everypony hoping that everything was working out with them.
“Dash sure has been gone a long time.” Twilight said, walking into the living room of the mansion. The sun had already started to set, and nopony had heard from her at all.
“It does seem like they had a lot to talk about,” Rarity giggled, “They had a couple of preconceived notions about her…”
“That’s an understatement,” Alex agreed, “She probably doesn’t talk to them much… I wonder why.”
“Oh, that’s because…” Fluttershy began, before covering her mouth, “Um… Never mind.”
“Huh?” Spike asked, “What was that?”
“Oh, it was nothing,” Fluttershy lied, “I don’t even remember what I was going to say…”
“Come on Fluttershy!” Pinkie spoke up, “I why does she avoid her parents?”
“I’d also like to know,” Twilight agreed.
“I don’t want to pry,” Alex began, “But I’d really like to hear this.”
“Oh… I don’t know—“
“Ah’ come on, sugar cube!” Applejack burst, “Tell us!”
“I’m quite interested in this myself,” Ramsley admitted.
“Um, Okay,” She said quickly, as she had really wanted to say this anyway.
Everypony huddled closer to her, in some kind of attempt to keep others from hearing her explanation, even though they were the only ones in the mansion.
“Well… Rainbow Dash’s parents have always… had a plan for her.” Fluttershy began, organizing her thoughts, “She was a fast filly from the start, and her father knew that she had potential of becoming a very skilled flier, and potentially, a Wonderbolt.”
Everypony silently followed along.
“So, he started putting her into camps, like the ‘Junior Speedsters,’ which is where she met Gilda,” Fluttershy continued, “Her Dad always pushed her so hard... He would tell her that she was the best, that everypony was below her, and that if she worked hard enough, the whole world would be hers.”
“That sounds like a bit more than building confidence,” Alex said.
“It makes sense,” Twilight explained, “I mean; Dash had to get her attitude from somewhere.”
“She’s actually way better now,” Fluttershy smiled, surprising everypony, “Dash was winning races against ponies twice her age, and getting a lot of attention around Cloudsdale… They were even planning on sending her to an early Wonderbolts training program a few years ago.”
“I’ve never heard her mention such a thing,” Rarity said, cocking her head, “Why didn’t she attend?”
“While she never said it to me, I think it was because she just wanted to be a normal girl for a while,” Fluttershy answered, “That and… well…”
“What?” Everypony asked in unison, wanting to know why Rainbow Dash would have passed up such an opportunity.
“It was over me…” Fluttershy admitted, looking down, a bit shamefully.
“You…?” Alex asked.
“What could you have done?” Applejack asked.
“Her Dad wanted her to be the best... which meant that she couldn’t have anypony holding her back,” Fluttershy explained, “And it might surprise you all to know, that I wasn’t a very good flier when I was a filly.”
Everypony immediately felt badly for her. They all knew where this was going next.
“He told her that she shouldn’t have friends that were going to slow her down…” Fluttershy continued, “And since Dash had spent so much time over the years looking out for me… She wasn’t about to stop.”
“Wow…” Twilight said quietly.
“Dash never had many friends growing up… Mostly because she thought she was better than everypony else, and they thought she was rude because of that,” Fluttershy said, “But she always made sure that I was left alone by all the bullies that tried to pick on me. She always took care of me.”
“That’s so sweet of her!” Pinkie smiled.
“I don’t think her father ever directly told her to stop being my friend, but he sure did insinuate it to her,” Fluttershy said, “He said that she needed fast friends, not helpless ones; otherwise she would always be slowed down.”
“What about her mom?” Spike asked, “You seemed alright with her.”
“I don’t think her mother had anything to do with it,” Fluttershy said, “She was always so nice to me.”
“What happened after that?” Twilight asked, wanting to get back on track.
“She got in a big fight with her Dad, and eventually decided to move away from home,” Fluttershy said, “She said that she would become a Wonderbolt by herself, and that being the best wasn’t worth losing her best friend.”
“Good fer’ her!” Applejack beamed, proud that her friend would stand up to her father that way.
“There were some other things too that led to her leaving… But I never asked her about them,” Fluttershy finished, “It made her uncomfortable to talk about it.”
“I’ll have to ask her about this,” Alex said, “I’d be really interested to hear it all from her.”
“Then tell us after!” Pinkie shouted, “I wanna know too!”
“Do y’all think she’ll just… open up like that?” Applejack asked.
“Maybe not right away,” Alex said, “But I can get her to, I’m sure of it.”
“Good luck, dear,” Rarity laughed, “Try not to upset her too much.”
Suddenly, the front door was opened, and Rainbow Dash immediately walked inside.
“Hey Dashie!” Pinkie greeted, “How was your—“
Dash ignored her, and walked up the stairs, toward whatever room was hers.
“What’s up with her?” Alex asked, as Dash’s parents walked through the door a moment later.
“Welcome back,” Ramsley said slowly, “How was your time out…?”
“Well, it was going fine,” Flash explained, “But when we started asking her about becoming a Wonderbolt, she seemed to get a bit stiff.”
“And then when we asked her about her sexual orientation, she got even worse!” Firefly said, “I had so much hope when I saw her long hair, that she had started looking for a nice Pegasus to settle down with. But, she left the dinner table as soon as I brought it up!”
Everypony was silent.
“Perhaps she was just a bit overwhelmed,” Firefly suggested, “Let’s give her some time to herself, besides, the competition is tomorrow night.”
Flash nodded, “But we’re getting right back to it tomorrow morning!”
“Of course, dear,” Firefly rolled her eyes, “Now, why don’t we go to bed?”
“Which room was ours again?” Flash asked Ramsley.
“Oh, allow me to show you,” Ramsley said, walking up the stairs, “It’s just this way…”
“Do they know that Dash doesn’t want to become a Wonderbolt anymore?” Alex asked everypony quietly.
“If Dash didn’t mention her Wonderbolt training a few months ago, does that mean Ramsley hasn’t mentioned it to her parents either?” Twilight whispered, “Are they totally in the dark?”
“They just think they’re here for the competition, in hopes that it’ll bring Dash closer to becoming a Wonderbolt,” Alex theorized, “I don’t think Ramsley would explain all this stuff, I think he would just assume that they already knew, because Dash had told them. They are her parents after all.”
“So she’s probably going to be upset until she comes clean to her Mom and Dad.” Spike said.
“Maybe somepony should go talk to,” Fluttershy suggested, looking right to Alex.
“I’ll go, I’ll go,” Alex said, “Do you guys know which room she’s in?”
“The one at the far end of the left hall,” Twilight said, “That’s the opposite side from her parents. Mine is right next to theirs, I think.”
“Okay…” Alex said, thinking for a moment, “If they start heading for her room, let me know, okay?”
Twilight nodded, “I’ll keep my ears open.”
“Thanks,” Alex said, standing up, “Wish me luck, you guys!”
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Alex quietly snuck down to Dash’s room, and knocked on the door that had her luggage sitting outside of it. She must have walked past it in her hurry.
“Who is it…?” Dash asked from the other side of the door, sounding a bit down.
“It’s Alex…” He whispered, looking cautiously over his shoulder.
Immediately she opened the door, and pulled him inside.
“Did my parents see you?!” Dash whispered harshly.
“No…” Alex said, tiling his head in confusion, “What’s up with all of this, anyway?”
Dash sighed, and walked over to her bed, “It’s a long story…”
“Fluttershy already filled us in a bit,” Alex said, hoping this wouldn’t upset her.
“That’s good,” Dash said, “I wouldn’t do well with telling that story myself.”
“You really don’t want to see them, huh?” Alex asked.
“It’s not that,” Dash sighed, “It’s just… I’ve become a new pony since I saw them last. And I don’t know how to tell them that I don’t want to become a Wonderbolt anymore.”
Alex nodded.
“They have no idea that I was in the training camp already, or that I gave up my place on the team, so that I could make out with you instead.” Dash explained, “It’s always been my Dads dream to see me on the Wonderbolts…”
“Wouldn’t he just want you to be happy, no matter what you do?” Alex asked.
“Honestly… I don’t know,” Dash sighed, “He’s always wanted me to be a Wonderbolt… And to be honest, so have I. It’s all just so complicated…”
“What about me…?” Alex asked a bit nervously, “Why didn’t you tell them that we were dating?”
“I prefer the term boy-toy,” Dash smiled, “Coltfriend is pushing it.”
“It would be pretty weird explaining that to them,” Alex admitted sarcastically, “Hey Mom and Dad! This is my lay!”
“Exactly.” Dash giggled, “But seriously… You’re not exactly the type that my father would choose for me.”
Alex cocked an eyebrow.
“I just need to take my time explaining it to him, that’s all.” Dash said, “I hope that doesn’t hurt your feelings too much.”
Alex nodded, “I understand, besides, I’m pretty bad with ‘girls fathers’ in general.”
“I never would have guessed,” Dash laughed.
“Whatever you decide to do, just let me know,” Alex said, “I’ll back you up all the way.”
“Thanks,” Dash smiled.
“I’m going to head back to my room,” Alex said, seeing dash suddenly look ill, “Uh… What’s wrong?”
“I… I was kinda hoping you could spend the night again…” Dash admitted, “I didn’t sleep so well on the train.”
Alex understood, “I had the same problem… Was it because of Bolt?”
Dash nodded, “It woke me up a few times on the train ride over here.”
Alex completely understood.
“Are you sure it’s safe for us to do this? What if we get caught?” Alex asked, knowing that it might cause a sticky situation for her if either of her parents show up.
“I don’t think they’ll bother me,” Dash said, “They always used to give me space when I needed it… So I hope they’d do it again.”
“Alright,” Alex agreed, “I’ll stay the night; but no funny business!”
“Puh-lease,” Dash laughed, “You’re my boy-toy! You don’t get to say ‘no’!”
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A few hours had passed, and Twilight sat in her room reading before she turned in. She had been listening for Dash’s parents, so that she could warn Alex in time to escape.
But, it didn’t seem like her parents were going to be coming out. They had talked for a few minutes, and then had broken out in some kind of argument. But, it ended rather quickly, with both of them apologizing to one another. From that point on, it had been quiet.
Looking at the clock, Twilight decided that it was too late for them to be going to check on Dash. So, she closed her book, and put it back in her bag.
However, just before she extinguished the light, she heard Firefly say something on the other side of the wall.
“I’m going to check on Dash,” She said, “I’ll be two minutes.”
“Alright,” Flash said groggily, clearly being woken up by her, “Take your time…”
Twilight immediately stood up, and ran to the door, before realizing that she couldn’t walk there, otherwise she’d be seen. So, she decided to teleport herself there.
Quickly casting the spell, she left her room, and appeared in Dash’s room.
“Alex!” Twilight whispered loudly as her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room. After a second, she was able to make out the two in bed.
“Oh, Twilight!” Dash said sitting up, “What’s up?”
“Your Mom is coming to check on you!” Twilight said, “Get him out of here!”
“I can teleport us out of here,” Twilight said, walking toward him.
“Don’t worry, I can do it,” Alex said, starting to cast the spell, but taking a moment longer than Twilight would have liked.
Suddenly, Firefly knocked on the door.
“Rainbow, are you still up?” She asked.
“Uh… Yeah!” Dash said, “One sec!”
“Alex, just let me teleport us!” Twilight said, seeing that he was taking too long.
“Is something going on in there?” Firefly asked, faintly hearing Twilight’s voice.
“N-no!” Dash lied.
“Well, I’m coming in!” Firefly announced.
Deciding that she had waited long enough, Twilight reached to grab Alex, but missed him, as his teleportation spell finally kicked in, teleporting him under the bed, and out of sight. Twilight then went on, to lose her balance, and fall face first on to Dash’s stomach, as Alex hadn’t been there to grab on to as she first intended.
“What’s going on in here—“ Firefly asked, seeing the two girls in the bed together, “Oh dear…”
“Nononono!” Dash said, as Twilight quickly righted herself, “It’s not like that!”
“Now, sweet heart, you know that I won’t judge you for liking girls!” Her mother said supportively.
“She’s just my friend!” Dash tried to explain, while Twilight blushed silently.
“Just a friend…?” Firefly asked, smiling coyly, “Well… To tell you the truth… I had a ‘friend’ like that when I was your age.”
“Mooooom…” Dash whined, really, really not wanting to hear this.
“But I still ended up with your father,” She continued, obviously nudging Dash in her direction, “So have fun, but keep your mind open!”
Alex lay silently under the bed, listening to Dash’s mother talk about her previous exploits with other mares. And all he could think was ‘Nice’
“Anywho! You girls have fun,” Firefly winked, walking out of the room and turning around, “I’ll see you in the morning, missy.”
She closed the door behind her, and left them alone in silence.
“I’m going to kill Alex,” Twilight whispered, her face still flushed as she stood up, “I’m. Going. To. Kill. Him.”
“Why?” Alex said, poking his head from under the bed.
Kick. Kick. Kick.
“I’m sorry…” Alex whimpered, “Whatever I did, I’ll never do it again.”
“Good.” Twilight huffed, “Next time YOU can get caught in that position!”
“No thanks,” Alex said, “It’d be super awkward.”
“Well, I’m going to bed,” Twilight said, “I’m not coming to help next time.”
Teleporting herself again, she left them alone.
Alex also teleported himself back to the top of the bed.
“I think it would have been better getting caught with you…” Dash sighed, lying back, “I just wanted to go to sleep…”
Alex nodded, “let’s just make sure that we aren’t caught next though… Your mom might think you’re a bit… easy.”
Dash simply closed her eyes, and pulled the covers over herself.
Alex got the message, and lay down next to her. Dash had her competition tomorrow, and a lot of confessing to do to her parents. Basically, she needed as much rest as she could get. So, he was going to be here for her, and make sure that she slept through the night peacefully. Tomorrow would be tough on her… But he was going to be here for her, no matter what.
Alex leaned forward and kissed the back of her head, “Goodnight, Colors.”
“ ‘Nite Spot.” Dash smiled, knowing that she was going to have a good rest tonight.
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