Things were especially quiet back at the library. Compared to the bustling town just outside with all the ponies beginning to return from the gorge, it was a safe haven, and a silent one. All was quiet, save for the faint sound of running water up on the second floor, down the hall in the bathroom. The sound of hooves clopping on the hard floor of the bathroom could also be heard every now and then, their tone amplified by the hard surfaced bathroom, echoing around harshly within.
The silence was broken by the sound of the front door opening, the bell hung from the door jingling as it swung open. Twilight promptly entered, followed up by Rainbow Dash, and eventually Applejack, Fluttershy, Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. They all entered with their eyes wandering the inside of the library, still looking for Wildfire after their departure from Ghastly Gorge.
“Wildfire!?” shouted Dash, wandering the room, taking a quick look around before making her way back to the sun room in the back of the library.
Twilight continued up stairs, making her way up to the second floor and taking a moment to check the room. She stood still for a second, trying to listen for Wildfire. All she could hear was her friends wandering around down stairs. She also noticed the sound of the running water, dripping and spilling about in the bathroom. She perked her ears up, catching the clopping of the hooves on the tiled floor.
“Wildfire?” called out Twilight.
“I’m in the shower! Hang on!” returned Wildfire, the sound of the running water silencing itself with the squeak of a pair of chrome nobs turning over.
All the others began making their way upstairs, coming into the room one by one. Twilight seemed perplexed, hearing the sound of the shower curtain being taken aside and the continual clopping of hooves on the hard tiled floor of the bathroom, as well as the sound of fabric whipping about. She made her way down to the bathroom door, knocking a few times and waiting for a return.
“Yeah?” said Wildfire.
“What are you doing in there Wildfire?”
“I was taking a shower.” said Wildfire, finally opening the door, walking out with a towel wrapped around his long white mane, wings half stretched out to let the air hit his wet feathers.
“I wanted to get the eel snot out of my mane.” said Wildfire, chuckling some. “It smelled like low tide.”
“Ah.” said Twilight. “Well, in that case, thank you.”
“I thought I heard Rainbow.”
Twilight nodded. “Um-hmm. She’s in the library with the rest of the girls.”
Wildfire made his way back down the hall, towel still wrapped around his head and still whipping his wings around to get the water out of his feathers. All the girls were standing up, looking at Wildfire as he entered the room. He noticed how relieved they all looked, probably from seeing how he was still standing after being eaten alive. Even Rainbow Dash, who was still coated in dust and wearing her medal, was giving Wildfire a somewhat proud look as she smiled bashfully at him.
“There’s going to be a finishing ceremony at Town Hall. Celestia said to meet her there after we find you.” said Twilight, following Wildfire back into the room.
“Ok, yeah. Sound good.” said Wildfire.
Wildfire looked back at Dash, the room becoming silent. Dash stood proudly as the medal hung around her neck, gleaming in the sunlight coming in from the window. She stepped a bit forward from the other girls, coming closer to Wildfire. Her face remained bright, and her magenta eyes were looking at Wildfire a lot softer that they would have been prior to their fighting. Wildfire returned her the same look, making gentler eye contact, the fogginess in his two-tone eyes not quite as evident in the dimmer light of the library.
“Hey.” greeted Wildfire with a bit of gusto.
Dash giggled a bit. “Did you let me win? ‘Cause you got really slow there at the end.”
“Yeah, I let you win.” said Wildfire, smiling cheekily. “It had nothing to do with the fact I had trouble with the rock slide at all.”
“Yeah, I could tell you were struggling.” said Dash.
“Thank you.” said Wildfire.
“Eh, why don’t we just call it even?” said Dash.
Wildfire nodded in agreement, his eyes falling to Dash’s shiny new trophy.
“You’re not jealous, are you?” asked Dash, lightly teasing Wildfire with the medal.
Wildfire looked at it, and shook his head.
“Nah.” said Wildfire. “I don’t usually get a lot of trophies anyway.” smiled Wildfire, earning another smile back.
“Well, I’m gonna want a re-match. Some place where we don’t have to worry about any cave-ins, or any Eels.” said Dash, her kind smile mixing with a hint of her game face.
“Sounds fair. That way I won’t have an excuse to be giving up any medals.” said Wildfire, getting a laugh out of Rainbow.
She looked down at her medal, still shining under the light.
The room silenced itself again, Wildfire and Dash still smiling at each other, Wildfire glancing at the medal around Dash’s neck, and the dust collected in her mane.
“So are you two done fighting now?” asked Pinkie Pie.
Dash and Wildfire looked at each other, Dash smiling kindly at Wildfire. Wildfire almost didn’t return her gesture. He seemed reluctant at first, but started looking at the floor in wonder, taking a quick moment to think about what he was going to say. Dash tilted her head, frowning a bit, not liking Wildfire’s hesitation.
“Rainbow Dash held true to her word.” said Wildfire. “She raced me, and she beat me like she said she would. I don’t think there’s much for me to be angry at. In fact, maybe I should apologize.”
“No.” said Dash, shaking her head. “I should be the one apologizing.”
Wildfire cocked his head sideways in confusion.
“I almost didn’t race you. I felt really bad about hitting you the other day. You didn’t deserve that. And after seeing how much I hurt you, I can’t imagine how that must have made you feel. I know how it made me feel…”
Wildfire nodded along as Dash spoke to him, listening intently to every word she was saying.
“I’m sorry.” said Dash.
“Me too.” said Wildfire. “Maybe if I wouldn’t have been such a jerk that day, then we wouldn’t have been fighting this entire time.”
“Yeah…” said Dash, nodding in agreement.
“Look. Maybe it’s just that we got off on the wrong hoof here.” said Dash, stepping up to Wildfire some more, her eyes bouncing between his eyes and his hooves as she talked. “Could we just try starting over?”
Wildfire nodded. “I think I’d like that.”
Dash nodded back to him, holding up a hoof to him, still slightly caked with some dirt.
“I’m Rainbow Dash.” she said, whipping her mane out of her face.
Wildfire returned her a hoof, tightly locking his fetlock around hers and giving it a firm shake.
“Wildfire.” returned Wildfire, smiling and looking Dash straight in the eye.
Twilight sighed, slouching some as her head hung lazily to the floor.
“About time…” said Twilight.